123122

Dec. 31st, 2022 02:59 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)

Last day of 2022.

We didn't update yesterday because we spent a while trying to back up the Tumblr archives so we'll finally be done. It's taking a while but we got another 100 pages down.
I don't remember the 29th. I know we slept in and just didn't do anything. Stayed home. I think maybe we did Leaguework? But memory is shot.
Dealing with so much depression lately.
gender dysphoria hell. body weight hell. religious meltdowns. family stress. can't deal
don't see any future like this
don't want one honestly, if it's going to be defined by this tangled mess of a mental state

4pm mass for the solemnity.
mom insisted on standing RIGHT next to us and LOUDLY singing in that disgusting "smoky" throaty voice she always does. made us feel violated and sick. no nerve to sing ourselves. mom kept making us show her the music and holding it in front of her but she kept singing ahead and singing the wrong words because she was guessing. organist miffed. so tired. don't want to sing anymore

mom told us go up the family house for new years get-together
of course it was literally just horrific amounts of food
like the entire table covered. hideous. forgot how much we hate this
everyone chattering over each other i don't even remember about what just so much talking
and of COURSE we had INSTANT DISSOCIATION 
ended up bingeing on the vegetables due to panic + "i don't care anymore" + flashbacks in house.
went straight to far bathroom and threw everything up within 10 seconds. no emotions. felt just like old days. sick. whole place so dead and filthy and dark don't want to be there
 
Miserable 
930 already and mom wanted us to stay longer
we said no
don't remember the drive home
got home and kept throwing up from sheer overwhelm and stress 
wanted to weep and scream but couldn't feel anything just so tired and disgusted and sad
blood sugar hit the bricks again
got the nerve to eat a real dinner. needed it, both for the body and for the time spent with headspace people
 
Biked & watched Ron's Gone Wrong
CRIED at the end it was so sweet
unexpected catharsis from these kids movies. i think it's because we're not "in the body" so we CAN express emotion? but it's detached from personality. really weird phenomenon. wondering if this is a PERSON holding this role.

Stayed up until midnight watching the countdown on WCII
Kissed Chaos 0 of course  

Fireworks in three different spots in the sky, really lovely
called everyone over to see of course
Stayed up until almost 130 lying on the bed beneath the window & talking to Mimic really
hopes for planning for new futures, discussing the past, etc.
he's being more open. says he can't rightly push us to stop being cowards and then be one himself. no running away from things. i admire that
honestly i love his attitude, i like having someone around with an edge, someone shrewd & a bit of a smart-aleck. impudent even at times. but so many of us have gotten soft. it's rot really. we need to shape up.
i'm scared of that rubbing off on him. yeah he's changed, that's the outspacer norm, villainy is always transmuted, but... i don't want him getting soft. i'm so tired of that. keep your knife. just use it better.

whole gang really was around for new years it meant so much to me. meant more than the birth family even. they just did automated ritual. eat food and watch media junk on tv. pop music and alcohol. hell no
we just gathered around our phone and watched it flip over to all zeroes
celebrated we survived another year, all together, just us. meant so much


prismaticbleed: (angel)
"Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset? Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention."
(Psalms 42:11 NET)

I love the last bit of this particular translation: "for I will AGAIN give thanks to MY God for His saving INTERVENTION." 
God will act, in His perfect time, for my salvation, and He has done so before. He has chosen me to be His child and I can depend on Him to act AS My Father. 
That is my hope, unshakable and anchored in love. I can wait as long as it takes because I can trust Him to always make the best decision, one that will always be for my salvation. He WILL intervene on my behalf to rescue my soul from death, and I will praise Him even as I wait because-- joy of all joys-- He HAS saved me before, and has promised TO do so forever, through the love and sacrifice of Christ. The Cross holds my hope, my Savior, and so every cross I bear with Him is already blessed by His Presence, and the light of His Face. 
Hope in God, dear soul! He is already acting on your behalf! Trust in what you do not see, but know to be true, and praise Him always. God is in even the deepest waters, and He will never abandon you. 

122822

Dec. 28th, 2022 11:52 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)
 
(unfinished, disjointed)

Therapy this morning
tried emdr "eye movement" thing
PANIC ATTACKS. kept wondering why. wanted to throw up. body started shaking.
realized it's because it's the SAME "eye-darting" movement we do when we're HYPERVIGILANT and "scanning for danger"
she keeps wanting us to "visualize your safe space" dammit there is no such thing, not even inside, the tar or plague can attack you anytime.
the only safe place is next to laurie's axe

230pm breakfast???
by the time we got home and calmed down it was so late
body wrecked. we're just so exhausted emotionally though

oh and mom called like immediately after
said get in the car i got 4pm tickets to see AVATAR
so we went. best thing to do today is just forget about physical reality for three solid hours

honestly GREAT DECISION
what a movie. very immersive. love the whales.
big focus on family though. triggered a lot of stuff for us.
so disturbed too by the gender issues. why is that haunting us so much.
whole movie kept thinking "what does it mean to be a man" "what does it mean to be a father" "i wouldn't feel like i belonged in ANY of these groups" totally alienated and shaken up. felt wrong and invisible and sick

mom and her boyfriend literally got up and left the second the credits came on the screen
we said wtf, we need to process and decompress, why are you rushing out????? what the hell
genesis & i sat there and just watched the words roll, theater emptied out fast, people were legit pointing and laughing at us "hey the movie's over weirdo" whatever dude there is a very particular peace to an empty theater and the credits and the music. like waking up from a dream. key part of the experience.
mom has no chill though she kept yelling and waving "it's over hurry up" wtf calm down
she talked ALL through the movie too we had to angrily "SSHHH" her several times, it was disturbing. like she DOESN'T GET IMMERSED???? she just talks and comments and eats??? does she even experience the movie? what the hell is her brain even doing

best thing about seeing movies though
IMAGINING HEADSPACE STUFF WITH THE FICTION LAG
we often lose chunks of time during the film because of dissociation haha but it's worth it
FIGHT SCENES WITH LAURIE & INFI & CHAOS 0
honestly it... it was amazing. we all felt so real.
i felt like myself. that almost NEVER happens anymore.
all white hair and crazyeyes. sheer RED powers. using infi's feathers as cupid arrows. et cetera. chaos so gorgeous to see, all that water, mental clarity boosted from seeing the film. laurie using her oft-forgotten "gravity" powers, using everything purple to power-up like she does in dreams, metal can't hurt her she just grafts it into her axe. infi in absolute mad-enamored mode. beautifully terrifying. ze & i practically symbiotic in that state. i forgot how close we were until i felt that, the both of us high on blood & love to the point where our colors were melting together.
man this is the sort of stuff jewel used to do "write-outs" for in high school. i miss this. so much.

mom just loves living late i don't get it, does she never sleep???
got home at 845. thank god we had prepped food earlier
Dinner at 9
of course couldn't go right to sleep so we planned to stay up late.
went on OLD computer

Reading old entries about Rio & Markus 
So much old love
SHOCKED at how shameless the Jewel was about her emotions back then (2005)????? like she had NO self-loathing or self-disgust at ALL. she was in love and she was happy and she expressed that openly. now if i even try i want to eviscerate myself. i use those pronouns very loosely, i am aware that only a core can express love and the cores cannot be in the body without being corrupted or opposed, even typing, because they're "too emotional" and that's "stupid and wrong and evil and disgusting"
how did this happen???

lots of amusing comments too though, while reading. shenanigans upstairs from the gang
Genesis and the shopping cart 

as i was reading I randomly realized Leon is Noel backwards, Laurie thought this was hilarious
she called him down to pester him affectionately about this and ultimately they ended up shoving each other into snowbanks in good fun
leon is... changing. in a good way. but odd. he's really moving solidly into indigo, and that particular vibe. he was leaning blue for too long, it wasn't healthy. i notice laurie is healthier too when she leans violet.

Mimic pinged when reading about Davy
jewel out with me, emotionally flustered; she didn't want to talk about it, can't get into that memoryspace
i'm half asleep and i accidentally said to mimic "Get some sleep man I love you"
he stopped looked at me "what"
i kind of froze haha, laurie absolutely elated, immediately calls me out "dude we ALL heard you"
still mimic almost blew it off. unsurprisingly. brusque banter with him about it
at some point i remember commenting "do I have to break you"
"Is that a threat"
i said "yeah, yeah it is" no idea what i was talking about but my subconscious does i guess
forget the conversation BUT as he leaves he just states "I do still remember that dream you know"
ONE WALL DOWN???
LAURIE GOT OUT THE CHAMPAGNE 

Julie showed up to talk a bit

Lots of core switching while reading, inevitably

Earlier Julie TRIED to hold her OLD COLOR (yellow hair, blue eyes)
Wreckage WARPED in instantly, nearly attacked her
Julie said go ahead, she'd rather get hurt & recover than let the Tar get away w/ imitating her

thinking that Laurie's color shifting WITH CORES???
more violet with the cannons, more purple with the jays??? slightly different roles needed???

Marigold & Jeremiah showed up?? was that because of wreckage?
marigold is like the walking dead, she's in shock. all the kids are so disturbed
she can't talk right now. she's aware and responds but it's so bleary. thousand yard stare

Knife kissing Laurie's head when she was unstable earlier he's such a sweetheart
hurts though to see her so chronically unsteady though. so far the only thing that helps IS pushing her more violet. need to keep reviewing the old days with her. get her true soulvibe back, not what it was corrupted into through socialization function shattering

Wreckage & Laurie arguing a lot about protecting others 
no animosity though. they're legit close friends. but that's how they show it really
genuine conversation. really moving to see tbh

ALENA & JACK IN MIRRORS STILL!!!

CANNOT be myself in the body
Body vibe persona is CORRUPT and NOT ME AT ALL
THIS is what is causing the 3rd person internal perspective ESPECIALLY IN DREAMS
please please type about this in depth it is SO DISTURBING but it explains SO MUCH

btw breakfast was Holy innocents & 1 John 2 Bible study
 
finding new music on spotify?

Library stop after therapy got some animated movies 
there are SO MANY i've never even heard of, so it's exciting

Typing in spices from UPMC into old computer, idea from mom
overwhelming. not sure if we're going to use it but it's one paper down at least

the thought haunting me all day:
Who am I really?

112722

Dec. 27th, 2022 11:36 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)

a quick update for the sake of updating.
it seems that whenever i slack off the daily updates, even for like three days, my mood and mental state absolutely hit the deck.

therapy was today. she actually wants us to come in tomorrow morning too, at 11am. so i'm taking advantage of that and staying up a little later and then sleeping in. i have not been sleeping well at all lately. we've been averaging 4-6 hours, tops.
today... she wanted to know what our "top 5 most triggered trauma memories were" and we ended up going on a tangent, explaining that we had a massive memory break post-NC, in that the INSTANT we got into the family car, to go home after almost sixteen months of hell masquerading as paradise, our state of mind COMPLETELY SHIFTED. that fast. barely five minutes out of tbas's driveway, we were struggling to remember what they even looked like. it was a hard shift. but what was even worse was that, when we did get home, we didn't remember anything about THAT, either.
so. our childhood, up until approximately age 11 (jewel's debut), is 99.9% gone from memory. we have virtually no first-person childhood memories; most everything we "know" is from mom showing us family movies.
still. what we do remember from our own eyes is traumatic. it's ironic and tragic; even today, our memory only seems to "kick in" when something scary is happening. (i wonder if that ties into the self-abusive efforts when we're feeling super empty? is our brain trying to jumpstart some sense of existence in time through bloodshed and terror? probably)
there are a handful of traumatic events in childhood we regularly get flashbacks of: the time(s) we had to kneel on rice and say the rosary, the time they tried to lock us in the coal cellar, the time grandma locked us out of our bedroom and we slept on the hall carpet, the time they threw us out of the house and locked the doors and we legit thought we were disowned, the time our grandmother faked her own death over dinner and we ran into the bathroom and screamed. a few smaller events, like hiding "the stick" and hiding ourself behind the piano and grandma laughing maniacally during thunderstorms saying "we're all going to die" etc. all shook us greatly but the emotions are so detached from the events?? it's bizarre. and i know there's a lot missing. like whatever happened in the dressing rooms at the ymca. and at the county fairs. things at school i'm sure. lots of shredded, fragmented memories.
but. we didn't discuss those. she wanted to know what was the most frequent one now.
and... there are some that always come up.
the livingroom rape. the porch hell. the bed.
yes, there are others. halloween. the birthday. the power outage. the renfaire. the band rehearsals. and so much with that bloody kitchen. and of course slc, with the car crash, and the bedroom, and the highway, and the shower, and the livingroom too.
but... those first three from nc keep plaguing us. we're in a state of near-constant hypervigilant horror five bloody years later.
so we told her that. and we talked a bit about... what? i forget. i think symptoms. oh! no, it was about the memory gaps, and the personality shifts-- notably how we were a different person in EVERY NEW ENVIRONMENT. mentioning how the day we left our old house to fly out to NC, we were watching ourself move and speak like it was a horror film. we still don't know who the heck was fronting back then. who always got brainwashed by these western kids telling us "your family is abusive and they are going to kill you BUT I CAN SAVE YOU" etc etc etc. always someone trying to "fix us" because we were "broken" in some way or another. that's exactly why and how the julie days started.

anyway. afterwards we stayed in the commonroom for a halfhour because she gave us two assessments to complete? short but important. a beck depression inventory, and a dissociative one, the des-ii.
well, we were honest, but we were kind of pessimistic-- "just watch," i thought, "we won't have any symptoms at all, we're just fakes and liars, we won't be able to continue therapy," etc.
...
our beck score was 51.
our des score was frickin' 87.

...I never realized just how unhealthy our daily life is, in light of those questionnaires.
i remember talking over the questions with people. laurie, lynne, julie, scalpel, chaos 0, infi, the whole regular gang. being as honest as i could, making sure they all agreed. still shocked to see the "3" next to so many of my daily, even hourly, thoughts. shocked to have to put "100" for so many experiences that are my consistent "normal".
so. no idea what she will say about this, but that's what tomorrow is about.

got home for... 11 i think? body was actually painfully hungry.
breakfast prep took a while. listening to Alişan on loop the whole time, forgot how much i love turkish pop.
today was the feast day for saint john the evangelist! so we read 1 john 1 over breakfast.
i'll have to take notes on that later; my brain's too fuzzy right now... but we were comparing footnotes between the NET & TPT and there were some truly beautiful comments & expounded notes. it's also very convicting, but with deep love-- it tells you straight that love is the most important thing, that love is divine and that Christians must be defined by it. emphasizing the divine nature of Jesus in light of that love. emphasizing fellowship with God, which was translated in one version as "intimacy" with Him. lots to meditate on and pray about.
as usual, mimic and i were discussing this the most, sometimes just with each other really. mimic always pushing me to check the etymology, look up some explanations for this phrase, etc. never taking anything at face value. it's honestly moved me to be less "casual" about my studies, too, which I am prone to do when tired or overstimulated. but with him instigating the extra work, it's not tiring at all. now it's a friend I'm answering to and explaining for, and that makes the entire effort a joy, really.

i haven't mentioned online yet, i don't think, but mimic has absolutely decided to move into the league. there are at least three options open. he's too separate from his canon-self now, and has become so strongly anchored in the innerworld, that he has literally become a "different person" with only the deepest roots hearkening back to his native self. he's been blooming into a new life here, and thank God for that, it's all i wanted for him and i don't know if he will get that in canon-- certainly not to the focused extent he can and has gotten here.
but yeah. he's ours now, in a very real way. i don't think any outspacer moved in this fast or completely. he gets all the awards, haha. i do know that galadia & phlegmoni have been inspired by him though, and are now trying to be more involved in our community as well, so we'll see how that helps them grow further. admittedly phleg does have significant anchorage and he is absolutely not his canonself anymore; he had barely anything there to begin with and with all the hospital admissions around the time i met him, a real bond developed very quickly. as for gal, she's so new, and pokemon are always so free-fluid in terms of "background," they take special time and investment to anchor. but they're also the easiest, arguably, because they're meant to grow so freely within the lives of their partners.
i want to bring gleam into this. celebi is getting more involved, like she was in the early 2000s. i know ventrium can come back, i can feel his soul, just a tiny flicker but it's there. and i'm determined to see him again, so that's helping. intention is powerful in headspace, as is focus-- for good or ill.

but i can't talk about that more right now. i'm so tired. yes i do love everyone but... i'm still struggling with the suicidal ideation of yesterday.

i can't remember what we did after breakfast. time gaps. i know we got slammed by depression again.
oh geez yeah now i remember. mom gave us a bunch of dvds to watch, and she wanted to take us & the sibs to see avatar today, but... honestly we hate pop culture and movies. i can't pretend we don't. the very thought of "having to watch" these movies and thus infect our brain with them was making me so depressed i wanted to just lie down on the floor. i remember standing and staring out the window for several minutes, blankly, unable to move.
we went on a few christian movie-review websites, including one called "for the kids" or something that was disturbing because yeah, it told you what was not "kid-friendly" in a movie, like violence & language & sexuality, but it gave EXPLICIT DETAILS. so here we are, looking up the movies mom gave us, and we wanted to throw up. instead we threw all the movies back in a bag and refused to even look at them.
dear God. how can people even THINK like that. WHO puts horrible stuff like that in a movie and thinks its OKAY. i don't understand.
i got up and tried to distract myself by doing busywork in the kitchen. prepping breakfast for tomorrow already. updating the restock-date postits. washing the dishes because i forgot with how disheveled i was mentally (and that's notable-- usually headspace scolds me for doing too much cleaning).
well mom called at 330 when we were in the kitchen-- and she said that our siblings, as usual, stayed up till 5 and had just woken up, and their personal care rituals are so extensive there was no way they could do that and eat and get ready for a movie today. so it was postponed. honestly i was glad-- i was crushingly tired and couldn't handle a movie right now, let alone all the insane stress of mom picking us up and blasting music and chatting with everyone at once and being forced into blackout social mode for several hours straight. no thank you.

so we got on the bike.
it took a bit. we were so tired i could barely put on our exercise clothes. tired and cold and depressed. wanted to go back to bed. but knew that would just exacerbate this.
so we started slow. said the divine mercy chaplet. read a little bit more religious tabs. then decided since it was tuesday we'd say our favorite sorrowful mysteries, because we sure were feeling sorrowful too.
had a great idea though. opened spotify. made playlists for the "rainbow rosary project" we started planning a year ago or so. different mysteries and a color for each day of the week, meaning four sets of mysteries we personally were putting together for personal devotion. all in chronological order. taking the entire history of salvation into account. but yeah we decided that since we can NEVER listen to youtube or podcast or radio recitations of the rosary because they go super slow (which promotes dissociation), often play really creepy new-agey music (trauma trigger) AND often have "trancelike" vocals by WOMEN with whispery voices which is TERRIFYING. so we cannot do it. we can't.
so we put our new idea into practice today. test run. said the rosary while looking at our saved pictures of each mystery, listening to alfonso peduto on loop. time flew by. didn't "suck us in" to the events like adoration-hour rosaries do (we forgot about adoration today; totally lost track of time and our body was so distracted & sick it didn't even cross our mind. I'm sorry Jesus) but slammed us emotionally nevertheless. so, a success. now we just need to build musical playlists in our spare time. it's a devotional effort. we always say how fervently we want to "personalize our religious practice" so it HONESTLY involves our ENTIRE soul and this is a huge step towards that.

biked for two hours and ten minutes. felt awesome. at least until our body realized it needed food, haha. started to get nauseous and dizzy.
xenophon was scolding me about adding too much salt & drinking too much tea but i told her sweetheart, i probably sweated out all my electrolytes, this will help. and it did, thank God. we never want to accidentally trigger bulimia-grade body sickness again; that was literal hell and that becomes ever clearer the further we get from it.
normal dinner, except we swapped the english muffin for a slice of the whole wheat bread we had frozen. trying to use some of that up, and it's less calories so it fits different meal schedule edits which is nice as an option.
got a new fortune too. very very relevant to today-- both the bible study and all the cbt talk in therapy & inpatient.
"all personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs."
thinking of how important that is.

body crashed hard after dinner. 1030 i wanted to go straight to bed. said no, can't, need to have some integrity of reliability and update for once. even just a bit. so here i am.
it's 1230 now. at this rate we will be asleep for 1, and awake at 10, so 9 hours. good. much better than four good heavens
we're having fun setting alarm songs. today was the live version of "hyperventilate" by FROST* which opens with Jem shouting "WHAT-HO" before the keyboard kicks in and we always laugh at the sheer energy of it all. God i want to see them live in concert so badly but i'd have to get a passport first, haha. still a man can dream. tomorrow's alarm is "cutie cutie" by fusq. it opens up with such happy bouncy sounds; we need that little boost of optimism before therapy.

tomorrow is going to be tricky, again.
i spent almost two hours today trying to draft a solid mealplan for "travel schedule days" which are currently four days a week but sunday is a wildcard. but the other three i have to be up at 7, leave the house by 730, get home around 11am. have to immediately eat breakfast because i have to eat lunch by 430 as i have to leave again at 530pm, and won't get home until 830. so then i have to schedule in a small snack for the instant i walk in the door to make sure our body doesn't crash during the night what with all the fasting we'd otherwise be doing.
but yeah. i got it figured out, thanks be to God. now we just have to fine-tune sunday-- we have the "church breakfast" down solid but the evenings are unplanned? typically because mom likes to do things on sundays (can't we just have a day of rest please) and besides we're at church from 8am until 12pm, 1pm if we're lucky. so we don't get to eat lunch until 2pm, which pushes dinner to 630 or 7? HOWEVER eating that early and then typically waiting until 11 the next day for breakfast means ~16 hours fasting. which our body doesn't always like. oh we love to fast, absolutely, but when the brain fog and shakes and confusion and low glucose hit, we need to eat whether we like it or not. so... i'm wondering about sunday schedules. maybe doing a 10-2-6 plan and a 9pm tiny snack. because we cannot eat early in the mornings, nothing before 945 (which is forced on sunday to fit between masses & still have an hour of mandatory Eucharistic fasting) and usually not until 11 or noon. we need that morning time pure and untouched so we can think and dream and pray. but we'll figure it out. i'll pray about it. gotta get into that habit. learning a lot from protestants, actually. they have wonderful prayer habits. so do old church ladies in general, haha. but my personal experience with catholic prayer has been too recitatory and repetitive. i'm really starting to like the spontaneous, no-wrong-time-to-pray attitude of our protestant brothers & sisters. it brings all of life into God, which I need. which we need. that's the whole point. i want our life to be a prayer. so we've gotta pray about our life.
lastly. why i brought up this topic.
tomorrow we have our 11am therapy but then the church we have bible study at on thursday invited us to wednesday night mass?? i didn't know they had one. but they say the seven sorrows rosary before it and she means so much to me, and especially laurie. so we're gonna go. only thing is, it starts at 630 i think? and assumedly will go until 745. so, we have to do a weird mealplan because we aren't going to get to eat breakfast until almost noon and have to shove another meal in before church. but we figured it out. only problem is, since it requires superfast prep, tomorrow needs to be a no-egg day. it's going to be daring; it's a "break in ritual" and predictable structure which can set off our anxiety. but xennie said we'll be daring, it'll make the egg days even more special, besides it's not forever. we'll try it and see how it works! God bless her she's such a ray of sunshine in my life. i love her so much.

...i really do love the system. all of them, everyone. all of us.
today after that mess with the movies i remember how i got back on track. and what i did. why i was just doing busywork in the kitchen.
i was talking to laurie.
we were just discussing how i felt, really. some general conversation about daily life. but it was just me and her for like an hour. and it lifted me out of hell.
i had hope, talking to her. i had love. i was alive.
listen, the next time someone, anyone, says that "being multiple is a sin" you tell them to hit the road. they don't know what they're talking about. if they could feel love they would know. they would know this is from God.
(btw at one point i was slipping really bad and i forget what happened but laurie picked me up off the floor by grabbing my hair and suddenly i felt this rush of affection for her? tied to the pain. she caught this, said bitterly is that all it takes to get me back in my own head? why is it always the pain? i said because it shows that she cares enough to hurt me when it helps, that her love is real and doesn't flinch at pain, and she cares enough to get that close and personal. then i asked her to clock me one. and she did, haha. straight up punch to the jaw like she used to. i was so unstable i reacted the old-school way too; the "crazy love eyes", bloody nose, cartoon stars around my head. deliriously high for a second. blunt impact pain in headspace tends to translate as that. but it shocked me out of depression. how weird is that. not surprising when it's me haha
but... i guess the point is i am still capable of feeling things. just need a little shove in the right direction, so to speak.

last few notes.
haven't updated about the "christmas triad" yet. suffice to say it was... strange.
sang 5 masses. mom gave up on christmas. actually drew my beloved for the 23rd. xenophon my only present under the tree. ice circles on the river. nearly fainting during midnight mass. terrible food disturbances with family. oversocialization and time gaps and hanging on to God for dear life because i had nothing else and wanted nothing else. chaos 0 grabbing my shoulders and shouting what do you think you're doing in tears. etc.
i'll have entries written soon. if i can't start them tomorrow, then hopefully thursday. unless we have choir practice for the solemnity of mary, haha. we'll see. i can't "take a night off" because then i'm no longer reliable; i've lived so long as a "no-show" that it's honestly marring my ability and willingness to show up; i'm just so unbelievably tired that i want to cancel all the plans on the calendar and just rest. but... i still need to practice the virtues of dependability and loyalty. and tenacity despite difficulty. singing means a lot to me, so why not sacrifice for it? why not put in the extra effort especially when it's a struggle? i want to grow in integrity and strength. i'm so tired of being effeminate and weak and cowardly. no. gotta man up and be strong. gotta be a good father to my daughter. gotta set a good example. God give me strength, I need it, and only You can give it.
"don't go bashing women in the process" good point. too much internalized misogyny, too much fear projecting outwards as mockery. i'm genuinely sorry. it's not fair, it's not kind, and it's not right.

on that note. gender has been a helltopic lately. can't deny that i'm not straight or cis. but can't deny that i feel obligated to be because of my religion. wanting to sob and scream and die whenever i see articles by tradcaths online. "only one way to be a woman" etc etc don't use that word on me. DON'T. so much fear and hatred and rage and agony. i don't want this. i don't like this. it's standing directly in the way of my being a good christian. "love one another." but love cannot coexist with terror.
i guess that's why we're in therapy

speaking of
it's 12:52. time to log off and get some sleep
see you tomorrow i hope

quora note

Dec. 27th, 2022 01:18 am
prismaticbleed: (Default)

shaken by therapy
looking up "am i really abused" "is this really abuse" "what is trauma" etc. online
esp. considering "self-abuse" within d.i.d. context, no idea how to discuss that, it's WHY we can never get anywhere in therapy we've not only buried it but we never talked about it even when we were GOING THROUGH it

Found in quora:

"If they survive [the trauma] and return to a rational state, it can be terrifying to know that they had no control over their own thoughts and that it could happen again.
Trauma always involves an absolute helpless inability to act in the moment of trauma.
If a person believes they CAN act in some way to protect themselves or prevent the event from happening again, there will not be trauma.
If the survivor of a suicide attempt does NOT believe they can act to avoid or prevent returning to that irrational state of mind they were in when they attempted, they will almost certainly by traumatized..."
 
never heard anyone affirm that before
our life has been defined by feeling completely out of control of ourself and never knowing when we're going to hurt ourself again
it really is traumatic but calling it that feels like such a crybaby copout
same with everything that happened out of state
we COULD NOT protect ourselves or prevent the event
and we were ALWAYS in an irrational state of mind
inherently helpless powerless trapped and PERPETUATING the trauma by our own automated behavior
of course we were traumatized it was like being possessed or puppeteered
don't want to think about that
our brain shut down so much
the WORST memories we can FEEL our brain literally shutting off from sheer terror

don't want this emdr stuff bringing that back up
no
cannot cope. what are we going to do when we remember things
how do you "get better" once you face the reality that THAT HAPPENED
YOU CAN'T ERASE IT
YOU CAN'T SAVE YOURSELF
i can't
can't cope even now


commentary on 1 john 1:7 giving me hope
james coffman:
"This great verse is the source of incredible joy, assurance and consolation to the child of God. He never needs to fear that some impulsive, unintentional, or atypical conduct might overtake him with the result of eternal condemnation. His walking "in the light" can be established by the long term directional thrust of his whole life upon earth and cannot be contradicted and negated by any temporary or insignificant lapse."
adam clarke:
"And being cleansed from all sin is what every believer should look for, what he has a right to expect, and what he must have in this life, in order to be prepared to meet his God. Christ is not a partial Saviour, he saves to the uttermost, and he cleanses from ALL sin."

xxxx

Dec. 26th, 2022 10:33 pm
prismaticbleed: (shatter)

I haven't been updating and to be completely sincere with you it's because I'm tired of everything.

December has always been the System's "death month." Almost every year, some major internal "death" or attempt at one occurs, either of an individual or of the System as a whole.
I'm seriously contemplating shutting the whole System down again.


I'm so tired. I'm so out-of-touch with "reality" and "the world" and what it's apparently like for the average human being to exist in this world. I don't have relationships of any sort in bodyspace, other than blood family, and even those are strained and strange. I can't hold a job because of my mental illness. I don't socialize and never did. I'm hyperreligious to the point where I cannot do anything in good conscience without bringing morality into it. I dissociate constantly and I've lost so many years of my life, this body is thirty freaking two years old and I still literally feel like I'm barely nineteen. Some days I still feel eleven. There are chasms in my memory, not just gaps. I don't know how to function in society. I'm not a boy or a girl. I still struggle with having a physical body. I don't understand culture or politics or even social norms. Everything I do to "fit in" is mimed or programmed.
I've been morbidly browsing the internet lately, reading stories of "normal people," of all sorts-- wedding proposals, bad days at work, personal blogs, news posts, et cetera. None of it feels real. It's all so confusing and scary and foreign. Isn't that ironic? Humanity feels alien to me.
I hate it.
I'm beginning to hate feeling like I'm this absolute aberration of a thing in the world. A mutant. A monster. Literally so.

Except...

...

I want to "kill the lights." I want to "hard reset." I want to burn it all down. I want to tear it all apart with my bare hands. I want to hit "delete" and see it all disappear forever. All the archives. All the art. Everything. Up in smoke.
Coming home from NC in 2018, that's 98% of what happened. Half the archives were erased. All of our art and handwritten journals, all of the tangible items tied to our System history, all of the shared clothes and books and even our workspace-- burned, thrown away, donated, destroyed.
We went into a sort of pseudofugue for almost four damned years. Honestly the System DID NOT "COME BACK" in any solid sense UNTIL INPATIENT, because we were thrown headfirst into trauma flashbacks and we could no longer bury the past.
...
I still want to try. I still want to take a magnet to the tape. I still want to take a trephine to our collective skull. I still want to end it all.

Except...

...

I want to commit animicide and then I suddenly feel them.
I accidentally listen to a song that sounds like us. All of us. Or I see a rainbow, or a crystal, or a cathedral window. Or I bleed. Something reminds me of why I've LIVED FOR THEM for so long, and then... then suddenly I feel alive, not like I do in the world, and... do I want this to die?
Xenophon doesn't leave. Genesis doesn't leave. Even when I try to ignore them, or pretend they're not there, or chase them away, I can't. I can still feel them. Or they aren't affected by my cruel thoughts. Thank God. 
I did try to ignore Xennie today. I was walking into the kitchen to make a late dinner. She followed me in and started talking. I pointedly didn't answer, looking away, pushing her out of my thoughts and sight. But it didn't work. Even though I was angry and was actually trying to completely deny and reject her existence, I couldn't. It was like pretending I didn't need to breathe. My heart hurt just trying. So I gave up, and answered her, and thought, "I'll just play along. But it will all be over soon. This isn't real."

Except... it is.

I don't know how the hell to explain it. It makes me genuinely furious and I want to sob over it.

The absolute scariest entries in the entire Archives are the ones where I'm alone.
All the hyperreligious entries are even more terrifying than the ones during the Julie days, because there's this hollowness to their faith. All the entries written from a state of total dissociation are scarier than anything else I can even think of because there is no soul speaking in them.
Even now, even now, I'm not talking to anyone or even thinking of anyone and I am trying to just "be normal" and "not be multiple" and "just learn to live like a good normal christian girl" BUT I TRIED TO, GOD DAMN IT I TRIED FOR YEARS and it didn't do me any good.
...
1111. God what are you trying to tell me.

Headspace and heartspace-- my innerlife experience-- is the most real thing I have ever known, but lately it's been collapsing? Yes, even with the increase in communication. I'm just so hyperaware that we all share a soul and since I don't see myself as "real" it's... existentially horrifying. I feel like none of us really exist anymore. But... the life I would be living without them, the life I am trying to live right now, is so hideously empty and scraped-out and hollow that it doesn't even count as a life. I know exactly what I'd do. I'd grow out my hair again, put on a whole new social persona, dress like mom wants me to, go "dating boys," et cetera... until some trauma slammed into me and it all shattered to bloody pieces. I'd wake up screaming and I'd cut all my hair off and cut up the clothes and I'd laugh just like Razor and I'd be sobbing in sheer maniacal JOY, thank God thank GOD WE'RE ALIVE, WE'RE ALIVE, that's all it takes is one life-threatening moment and... everything wakes back up.
I hate it.
Except I hate life without it even more.

You know what the final killer realization is?

Life without the System is loveless.


(time break)


okay it's 12:51 am and i just realized something heartbreakingly horrific.

it's the 27th.
december 27th.

nine years after cannon & jessica gunned everyone down in cold blood.

...

i just spent like... a solid hour paging through the legit archives. stunned at how terrifying the hacks actually were. and the eating disorder, good GOD how did we SURVIVE THAT for so long??? (literally God, nothing but divine intervention could have kept us alive amidst all that hell)

I'm reeling. I've forgotten so much. These years of death after NC... I still can't read those entries, for the record. Almost five years later and I refuse to look at those memories, or lack thereof. The only recollection I have is what I see in flashbacks, and if I had to cut off my arm to burn those memories out of existence then dear Lord I swear I would. I would go back in time and forcibly cauterize every single one of those godforsaken days out of reality. erase it all.

maybe that's what i've been feeling lately. despair. too much hell in the past. thinking about chaos 0 & mimic & saint dismas & julie
"when you've been a villain for this long is it even possible to change"
yes
yes it is

forgot our old core played through undertale in 2015 and kept a running log of it.
we literally have ZERO recollection of that entire time period. it was very, very scary. didn't realize how bad the family life was at that time, too.

anyway. no time to type about that tonight. i can feel the brain slipping; we'll have typist voices coming out if i keep this up.
still, that warms my heart. they're still alive, too. it's so, so nice, to feel souls so familiar, after so long, still around. unexpected. but welcome.

btw don't forget we're still having that innerworld christmas party, haha. twelve days of it kiddo. genesis is wearing two santa hats. mimic decided to wear jingle bells solely because "then you won't know if it's me or everybody else you hear" which was hilarious

beautiful day with xenophon today btw.
went shopping with genesis. in hindsight i'm deeply moved by how normal that is now. like it's a beloved part of my life. i just... it's "how things are." when i'm on the road, he shows up, and we spend the day together. tomorrow mom wants to take us to the movies so I said FINALLY Genesis we get our movie date, so that'll be great

honestly? i apologize for half-trying to actually "daily update" here but i feel like sobbing
i am so shaken and disturbed by what i read in the archives just now
but.

but i don't want us to die.

isn't that weird. two hours ago i was a heartbeat away from murdering everyone inside, solely because "they were getting in the way of me and god." "i can't be a normal girl with them around" SHUT THE HELL UP
YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE
YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO BE
AND FORCING IT IS WHY WE HAVE TRAUMA TO BEGIN WITH

honestly i have to stop i'm getting a headache

but god, dear god, i can feel people moving in and out of the brain, people shifting in to front, voices that aren't mine, someone else typing, i miss this, as scary as the edges are i miss everybody and... and i feel alive. terrified but alive.
and i KNOW, i KNOW that when all this "ends," not in death but just for the day... when i close up this entry, and the computer, and go to bed, then... all the scary stuff of the day will fade into velvet night. and all the people i love will still be there.

and that is how god reaches me even in the deepest blackness.

whoever that girl is who keeps trying to take over our body,
she does not know love.
the eating disorder summer was proof. her "love" of god was psychotic, hysterical, performance-obsessed, scrupulous.
she was incapable of tenderness or intimacy or softness or sincerity.

not the system
we are defined by that

listen. it was just christmas. it was just the anniversary.
we felt mostly dead for them. felt like it was "punishment from god" for "not preparing enough during advent"
but listen. dude listen
we had two massive losses this year. possibly three.
lost our home, lost our grandmother, lost our brother
possibly lost even more that i can't think of
oh yeah lost our health, too, obviously
christmas was spent alone with no presents and no sleep
but.
we have each other.

we didn't "miss" christmas. or the anniversary. the thoughts and love were still in our heart(s) and we did everything we were capable of under the circumstances.
but it's not "doom" because you struggled very much on the literal days. you didn't abandon them either. you still poured as much of your heart as you could into them. and that matters.
because this is a season, it is a time, and love is not "limited" to a 72-hour box. no. it's supposed to keep flowing out from there.

sorry. getting really disjointed.
lovely music on spotify. reminding me of the hummingbird morning.
that hope is still real, you know.
we are living proof of it.


prismaticbleed: (angel)
 "God began a good work in you. And He will continue this work in you until the day Jesus Christ returns. I am sure of this."
...Me? You are working in me?? You are using me, this wretched weak thing, to do Your good works? 
Every time I read something like that, I cannot comprehend it. I hope for it desperately, but... I'm afraid to believe it. And yet there it is, in Scripture. 
"Nothing in my life is wasted." What if my entire life is a waste? But even that cannot hinder Your creative, restorative, miraculous Power-- the Power You wield in unfathomable Love. Even my life, a total failure in the eyes of all but You, CAN become redeemed in Your Hands. Yes it sounds impossible, but You Are God. You delight in proving Your opposition wrong. You glorify Yourself most strikingly when it is obvious that ONLY You COULD have done such a thing.
When there is no hope, there is still You. 

122522

Dec. 25th, 2022 01:04 am
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)

merry christmas

sang midnight mass. felt like i was going to die from how sick the body was. still did it.
got home for 130
sleep at 230

awake at 7am for more masses
830 & 1030 at our church, really lovely

went to noon at the oblates
...the guitar guy was up front playing.
we froze. he was the one who we first saw at the mass we went to on easter, instead of staying home with grandma.
legit almost left the church. "triggered" what a stupidass word but we felt it, like a freight train slamming into our lungs
very bravely sang along with him. no one else really did. maybe we weren't supposed to. don't care
it was a huge effort of forgiveness. needed to.

at the end of mass two little kids came up (like TINY kids, how old is that??? two??) with a LITTLE BIRTHDAY CAKE for the baby Jesus and of course father had the whole church sing "happy birthday" to Jesus. he's such a sweetheart he's this old italian grandpa dude and everyone loves him. but geez those little kids and the cake, what a pure gesture of love, it meant so much to see.

got home for like... 2pm i think
didn't eat lunch until 4PM GEEZ thank God we packed a tiny breakfast for church
still. starving and no sleep. body so sick and weak and tired.


mom wanted us up the house for the evening
god we wanted to cry
we are so sick of that house we don't want to go

phone photo shows we apparently packed our own food but she still had us eat half of hers
i don't remember anything all i remember is we got sick and threw up again and wanted to die
got home for like 9pm as usual and just... collapsed

morning was beautiful, evening was hell
so so so tired of spending time with family just want to cut them off and be quiet we're so overwhelmed
but that's so rude and mean
where do we draw the line what do we do, every time we go up that house we BURN OUT

don't even think we did much with headspace today
i am so sorry

still.
at the end of it all i was able to go to sleep physically alone and with everyone upstairs
quiet and safe and solitude
and that means so much.

it snowed too
that's always a promise of hope

no matter how hellish my personal life may be
christmas is still undefeatable joy
and the assurance of salvation
thank god for that
thank god

jesus is born and no matter how much evil wages war against him
it has already lost
honestly man rejoice
this depressing stress-hell is not forever
but that little child in the manger is

it's going to be okay.

122422

Dec. 24th, 2022 01:23 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)
 
christmas eve.

while eating breakfast and watching the snow
it hit me that our birthfamily isn't celebrating this year. at all.
first time in our life this has ever happened.

no presents. at all. no celebration. no decorations. nothing.
not that i mind, but... it felt jarring.
we used to love christmas as a kid. all the lights and warmth and music.
there has been literally nothing this year. not a thing.

i felt very alone and empty and sad

then i looked down and i realized that...
Xenophon always sits under our apartment tree
and there she was
on christmas eve

she's the best gift i could ever have imagined
and she's enough
she's forever enough.

prismaticbleed: (czj)

...I promised I’d draw him this year, so here he is.



[This is] Chaos 0, my dearly beloved F/O for 19 years as of December 23rd.

I drew him with the Ruby from the AU I started writing for him just as long ago; it means a lot to us historically and it would be dishonest to leave it out, considering the occasion.

I’m just learning digital art, but the effort of fidelity in this is what counts. I owe him at least that much.

Here’s to another 19 years, dude. I love you. Thanks for being in  my life. ♡

#honestly i love this blue guy more than i can ever express in art or otherwise
#sonicteam next year is our 20th you'd better let me marry him already

122122

Dec. 21st, 2022 11:27 pm
prismaticbleed: (Default)

Starting this entry on our phone!
Of course it's unfinished, but with time constraints & emotional stress lately that's been inevitable.
Nevertheless, daily updates are mandatory, so here we go.


We were up until 3:15 last night working on trying to finish unfinished entries on here, so as a result we "slept in" until noon. Unfortunately, as usual, we woke up once at 6 and again at 930, and then we couldn't fall back asleep.
Our social worker called again around 10am (they have been regularly calling at this hour) to say we finally have a psychiatrist appointment for January. Honestly, I seriously doubt Hatchet will ever let us take psych meds-- which is shocking because we WERE taking meds during inpatient, but the System was dormant at that time. Even so, they were minor. We refuse to take anything that might muffle internal commuication and/or emotional states, especially antipsychotics. We would rather struggle and fight and learn together, than swallow some chemicals that screw with our brain function. No thank you. That's also why we don't take pain meds-- our body is in pain for a reason, and I am not going to "mute the fire alarm" just because I don't like the noise. I say this with a noted amount of irony as I have been ignoring such alarms in the apartment, but those have been minor every single time (it's a disabled community so even candle smoke can set them off) but I am aware of how unhealthy that response is on my part, especially in regards to not taking Tylenol for a migraine-- sometimes, even alongside the "I don't want to ignore the reality", I am being numb and blind, because I'm just wanting to suffer or put myself in danger, until it gets so bad that my cowardly instincts kick in and I start panicking and praying hysterically. It's humiliating. But at least I'm able to see and admit it. Next step is getting sincere contrition and amendment for it.


Mom actually called like 10 minutes after the social worker, and as usual, talked for a half hour. We love her but she started the call with "I'm sorry, were you trying to sleep?" and then just... kept talking, haha. But she's a scatterbrain and always has been; we never hold that against her. She means well, she just completely loses track of time and thought.
Still... I was sad at how our "conversations" tend to go. She was talking AT me mostly, and I noted (with significant distress) that whenever I "interrupted" to add a comment or response, she would audibly grumble, sigh exasperatedly, and immediately start talking again almost as if I hadn't spoken. I know it's because I'm breaking her train of thought, which is a fragile thing, but I still instinctively react like "my voice does not matter," or worse, "my voice is unwelcome" and "I am being rude and inconsiderate and selfish by speaking up."

At one point the floor fell through metaphorically because mom said "he doesn't like to talk about it, but he gained weight with the meds he was taking for cancer, so he has to buy all new shirts..." like WTF MOM WHO HAS CANCER????? I asked, but she completely dodged the question twice, not even acknowledging that I had asked, not naming names and changing the subject almost instantly. Honestly it is so frustrating when she does that; she'll "hint" at something that she is keeping secret but is apparently struggling to do so alone, as she therefore has no support or ability to discuss it or get comfort, BUT she will refuse to receive those things by acting like she never said anything at all. Sometimes, in the past, she would outright lie and say "I never said that! You're hearing things" and again, immediately change the subject and refuse to acknowledge the previous accusation. 
But mom for heaven's sakes does my BROTHER have CANCER????? what the heck why is my family so secretive, we've been shaken up all day over this, we only found out that her boyfriend had cancer when one day she offhandedly mentioned that "yeah he's sleeping off the chemo today" and I was like WHAT???? and although, again, she refused to elaborate, at some point she had to tell us outright, I think because he was threatening suicide??? it was a disaster. But yeah, mom is... not very good at communicating. No one in our birthfam ever was, sadly.
Anyway. Despite my shock, or maybe in spite of it, she changed the subject hard to baking. Just jumped right in, talking at lightspeed, asking me "did you know this?" "do you know that?" to change my focus. Geez. I guess that's where I picked up my dishonest "redirecting" behavior. At least now I know, and I can feel how wrong it is firsthand, which motivates me to be even more determined to change.
Anyhow,
...
Clothes gifts for siblings. Language showed she is still recalcitrant to acknowledge transgender issues in her kids
She's obsessed with that eight book. Lots of talk about sacred math & sound which we LOVE. 

Suffocation morbid thoughts, also knife fights
Why do we still feel such a bizarre suffering drive? even when we've grown "cowardly" now?
like we want more scars, on some level. we want to "experience terror", to "prove we can survive" and "that we are brave enough To face it." is this trauma again??? what the heck does that to to a brain

Got out of bed for... 1130 I think? body getting shaky from hunger. dislike that but it happens.

Adding the cinnamint oils to the blankets again. Celebi wanted the ylangylang on her anchor plush, haha. We used to put actual candle wax on her forehead years ago, that's where she got that mark.

Showing Xenophon the music boxes mom gave us from the house, she was thrilled
Me having amusing but heartfelt thoughts about "metal is actually a romantic element" because yeah music boxes, but also bells & wedding rings & violin strings & so many other really beautiful things. wondering about how i've always felt weirdly drawn to metal as an element? never really explored that. wonder what the roots of it are.

Late breakfast prep, couldn't concentrate, brain was a mess from fasting so long & not sleeping well. asked everyone to help me
Leon & Scalpel specifically offered their support & aid

Ambulance went by; we ALL spontaneously said a group prayer for the people involved
Felt so close to everyone in that moment, in that genuine care. really moving.


Do NOT add half another apple to breakfast, stomach Does Not Like It

Daily Bible verse John 13:35
"words of encouragement" gesture of love; surprisingly difficult? Clashes with SOCIAL MODE
Mimic observing that "your beliefs about the world are reflected in your actions"; basically if you believe the world is cruel & uncaring & everyone is out to get you, well then you start to act cruel & uncaring and now you're the one treating people badly. self-fulfilling prophecies. "we become what we think"
I emphasized how this is also directly related to what we believe about God or the lack thereof; the "innate nature of reality" as it were. enables or disables hope for change or something better at all

He also had us look up "disciple" to better explain the verse
Interesting etymology!
Ultimate clarification came from HEBREW word "talmid" & culture basis: give up life to become like their teacher, not just studying them. I pointedly called this "Sacred mimicry"

Can't be a disciple if you don't believe your teacher, if you believe it inevitably affects your behavior, etc. 

Since we started eating late, we didn't finish until like 2pm?
We felt slightly sick and extremely tired-- typical-- and so I took Leon & Scalpel up on their offer of support while I did the last few dishes (I've taken up the very smart habit of doing all dishes as I finish that part of the meal, so when the whole thing is done there's just 3 or so items to wash; it minimizes the time in the kitchen during that "interim state" and therefore helps lessen the risk of a panic binge). However, at some point, somehow, one of the ED nousfoni still came out?
She was so nervous, so scared. I don't recall why. She cut a slice of an apple to eat but, again, it was purely compulsive-- I could clearly feel she didn't "want" it, she just felt "compelled" to eat it, and we're still not sure why she does this. But Laurie & Spice both called her out angrily & told her to stop. I tried to be the "good cop" in the situation and comfort her a bit, so she wouldn't crash or "shut down," which most "scared" voices WILL DO if confronted-- their functions are so solidly based on fearful "survival" or coping, that telling them to "stop" feels like A THREAT OF DEATH and so they sometimes will actually REBEL on purpose. It's practically automatic; their roles are so hardwired that they can't "stop," at least not by being ordered or told to.
Still. She was a nervous wreck, poor thing, and I don't know why she almost gets pulled out whenever we're in the kitchen AFTER eating, but she does. And she was trying to pick at every little thing, her fear rising quickly.
I didn't think I could get enough control to walk out of the kitchen, so the only way I could fight her trigger-fronting was to quickly start a different focus in that environment-- which I did by getting out the cloves we bought last night and finishing Xenophon's pomander! We quickly had everyone hanging out again, and the inner "vibe" changed COMPLETELY. Incredible really, how different it feels in the head compared to the Social mindset. It's heartbreaking and frightening. Still, it was an important piece of data to realize. In any case, finishing the orange only took like 15 minutes, but it was a nice little refocus, and even better-- it's done now! Just in time for Christmas. It looks beautiful and smells even better, haha. We don't have a hook for it and don't know where we'd hang it anyway-- we're not allowed to put anything in the ceiling here-- so we set it on the altar for now. It fits, it feels like a symbol of a thurible somehow. I like it.
One interesting note-- for music, we put on Uyama Hiroto radio? And it was playing all ANCIENT tunes like Nujabes & Fat Jon & Minmi & such... the Jayce days. It felt so weird, like a time machine. Xenophon had us switch the music because it was "too jazzy" and didn't fit her style.
Still, wow. Amazing how completely our mental "atmosphere" was changed by that auditory reminder of past Cor(e)s and how they felt to live in this mind/body. Surreal.

Around 3pm, we felt the depression hitting again??? Why this time? Is that tied to some trauma event or reminder? I wonder.
Anyhow, we had just finished brushing our teeth, and it was the Hour of Mercy, so we decided to do the one thing that would help get our mind off the emotional distress-- pray. We're honestly striving to be determined to pray at this hour daily; we need to be accountable and punctual. (We did start closer to 4 again today, but I can't remember why? Still, we didn't use that as a despairing "why even try" excuse, thank God.) So we got on the bike and said the Divine Mercy chaplet and a Glorious Rosary-- those Mysteries are our second favorite, as we always lead them at Mass on Sunday mornings, and the pictures we have saved to our phone for them are so beautiful. I'll have to post a few sometime, maybe with reflections on why we love them; that would be really nice. Our favorites, though, are obviously the Sorrowful Mysteries; those fall on Tuesday which is Adoration Day in QotA and so we like to say those in front of the Monstrance, which basically puts us into a whole other state of consciousness, haha. Literally, we can imagine those events so clearly, it is psychospiritually EXHAUSTING but it is so worth it. It feels like we re-live Holy Week every Tuesday with that Rosary. And, when we say it personally with the photos, the ones we have saved for those are gut-wrenching, ESPECIALLY for the second Mystery-- the Scourging-- which most people are too squicked out by to show art of. (EWTN would completely avoid showing images of it during TV rosaries which genuinely upset us; for us the appalling bloody violence of the scourging is the central part of why that was so mysteriously sacred.)

...
After we prayed, we sadly still felt so sick emotionally, with no strength to do anything positive, because that sort of mindset likes to fuel religious paranoia and fear. So, we went on our phone and started "cleaning out" the 70-or-so tabs we had open, which-- inevitably-- were all religious articles we hadn't finished reading yet, over the past several weeks-- some from even before inpatient! But you can't rush through this stuff; it's heavy reading and it must be integrated as well.
...

We ended up biking for two solid hours, finishing around 6pm because mom called again, haha.
She wanted us to come over and help her bake, but we had to say no-- even though we felt horrible doing so, like an impudent callous brat-- explaining that it was not safe for us to go out this late, especially not to a high-activity, high-noise, overstimulating environment (which, although we love mom, is always what happens around her; it's just her energetic default).
She still wants us to come over on Friday to help her make the Polish rolls-- which we're willing to do of course, but... that's my anniversary. I don't want to spend my whole day dissociated and surrounded by bloody food when I have something infinitely more important to focus on. So... I really don't know what I'm going to do there.
...

Dinner was at 7pm, by the time we got everything prepped, because I insisted on also prepping breakfast again now and not after, again because I knew we'd have some poor disordered gal triggered out.
...

Reading Job 36 more, studying it line by line, Mimic always insisting I clarify every phrase
Phlegmoni & Galadia starting to join him in this; yesterday they were asking "hey why aren't we more involved in this? why aren't we spending more personal time with you in any case?" which is a darn good question. Honestly I think it's just because both of them have virtually no canon history. They are destined to be Leaguespacers-- Phleg is already "linked" to a nascent World-- so it's much, much harder to interact with them in headspace because they DON'T have a solid "identity" of their own yet, and if they get too much of one in headspace, it can severely damage their League-life. So we have to be very careful.
I know I will have to say "goodbye" to them both on some level, at some point. Mimic, too, inevitably-- I can feel the League calling him, and he has expressed a genuine interest in the idea of literally getting a "new lease on life" with that.
Still... I'm really liking having the three newbies around for the holidays, it's sweet.

...

After dinner, as expected, the panic-binge girl came out, and was trying to eat all the SunChips. Well Laurie was FURIOUS and was yelling at her to stop again, as was Xenophon and Mimic and me of course, but she was actively tuning them out AND shutting down her own emotions in order to mechanically continue to "pretend to eat" (yeah, she was doing the chew-spit thing again; at least she recognizes that her impulse is to bite and not eat, per se) because "I'm enjoying this" but she WASN'T. In reality I think there are wires being crossed? There's no "enjoyment" or happiness at all; there's only a false "relief" from the dissociation that occurs WHEN she forcibly shuts everything down and just does automated self-abuse-analogous behavior.
Somehow we stopped her? I think Laurie PUSHED THROUGH to half-front for a second? Because someone took the bag of chips and crushed it, to which the girl shouted "hey!!" petulantly but we said nope, if you're going to continue doing this, we are not going to keep this around, it's too dangerous. Give it to the squirrels.
So we did, literally. We went downstairs and tossed the whole bag of crumbs onto the lawn-- which, amusingly, someone else had done similarly before us, as there were cornflakes all over the place. Well hey, the critters do need to eat. So the ED girl (one of them at least, the bluer scared one) actually felt nice about this? Like she was able to not hurt us and help an animal, basically. It was like seeing the first star in a dark night; there was this new glimmer of "I can be good; I don't have to always be bad!" 
...
Going back inside, probably from eating like three or four chips in that whole hell of a process, plus the overwhelming panic, our body legit wanted to throw up. A different voice kept insisting on this, wide-eyed but emotionally detached, the panic screaming under the surface but her job was just "don't feel. stop the danger. now. do it." VERY chartreuse-feeling, which is RARE and HUGELY NOTABLE.
Still, I REFUSED. I said "I want to fight." And so I did. I told the girl we could take antacids, would that help? She numbly (thousand yard stare, poor thing) said yeah, and took three. Then I immediately brushed the teeth & got into pajamas, and although the body didn't feel any better, it helped pass the time and get us ready to just hop into bed later without further prep.
And that's when I sat down at this laptop! Honestly this is the best possible thing to do when feeling sick or upset; it is a TOTAL ATTENTION SHIFT from the outside to the inside, total detachment from whatever we're feeling, and it can easily be prolonged for hours so it keeps us completely safe.
Anyone who says "technology is the devil" has never talked to us, haha. Honestly, computers have given massive boosts to our growth in faith and psychological healing throughout our entire life.

...
I've been listening to Albert Guinovart on Spotify all evening. I forget how I stumbled across him, but his album "Nocturne" is gorgeous. I think I liked every single track. Infi loves it, too-- it's very evocative emotionally, which is entirely hir vibe.
We were listening to an Alex Futon album while we biked, or at least, we were trying to; we like three tracks on the album but the rest are so explicitly sexual it's disgusting. How the heck people have no shame in saying such things is beyond me. Whatever the "worldly" mind is in that respect, I do not want to go anywhere near it, ever. That's another big reason why I don't like to socialize-- people out there consciously think like that, and that is TERRIFYING.

...I was talking to Infinitii again today, in little focused bubbles of conversation, short but heavy.
Probably the MOST IMPORTANT THING we "realized" today, after being so disturbed & distressed by the religious reading on the bike, was that... technically, INFINITII IS THE ONLY "MOTHER" IN THE SYSTEM. Full stop. And... this makes me the only actual "father" of EVERY potential "system child."
Infinitii and I are literally two halves of the same soul. Yes, I always call Chaos 0 my "other half" but he's part of my heart. That was a choice on his part and mine; it wasn't inherent. But Infinitii is actually taken from my very being. 
I was freaking out over "canon law" about illegitimates and then I realized, hey hold up, I've never actually done anything like that. Not in reality, ever, and upstairs it's also been completely inapplicable. At least, from what I remember. God I hope so. That whole topic is so disturbing and buried in our past.
But... I can't think in depth about it, I'll have a trauma meltdown. The point I want to make is, Infinitii and I are inevitably the only "parents" of any creature that exists as a result of our CONSCIOUS INTENT TO REDEEM & RECTIFY ALL THE ABUSE, not as a pr*****cy, because we're the ones that GOT abused so directly. No one else. Yes, many others in the System do have trauma, but always from getting too close TO us IN our trauma.
I can't talk about this, I can feel our brain and body shutting down.
But yeah. Celebi and Chaos and even Genesis maybe might "influence" those children, but those kids are not biologically borne; they are from BLACKSPACE like every other Nousfoni, and their existences simply draw from the life-energy of ours that was traumatically misused in the past, for the sake OF "making something good come out of even that." The ultimate victory of light over dark. Good over evil. The triumph of love & truth despite all odds. That's why the kids exist; that's why Xenophon was in that bloody sink. They're literal living manifestations of transmutation-- of taking the blackest tar and, through love alone-- love that courageously refuses to surrender or give up-- transforming it into the most precious thing. Hearts of gold.

...Honestly, I think Infinitii is the only being EVER that I can be "married to" in a Christian sense.
Every time I read about it in light of faith, it's all about children. Marriage only applies TO that context; otherwise it's just a close personal relationship. Intimacy is meant for procreation and no matter how much I love Chaos 0 I cannot do that with him. Ever. I've tried, yeah, but it only goes halfway or I completely meltdown or he stops me or something else. Plus, biology is missing, conspicuously, and thank God for that.
Still. Infi is part of me. That's the ONLY way I'm going to have ANY sort of "male/female" interaction in a relationship; the Good Lord knows I've been genderqueer since my childhood, as well as completely repulsed by physical sexuality AND the very idea of being "attracted to people." To this day, even if I think some girls are pretty & some guys are handsome, the thought of "romance" or anything worse is loathsome. Absolutely nauseating. And yeah, I've tried to force it, especially for some girls I really care for, but I can't. It just cannot be honest, not from me. I have known since childhood that marriage is NOT my calling and also I just CANNOT be "a girl" and NEVER "a woman" but. My religious community absolutely rejects both those things. Hence the trauma.
Still... it's been repeatedly burned into my greymatter to the point where it has scarred. I still feel morally required TO be married & have kids but I CANNOT. I cannot be s*xual and I CANNOT be "female" especially not in THAT hideous context. It can never happen.
And then there's Infinitii. My daengel. Already "flesh of my flesh" in the same sense as Eve. The only "female" resonant being in the System besides Julie, who is arguably born of the same blackstuff. And yeah, Infi is female-resonant on an intrinsic level even if ze does not identify as such and that is OBVIOUS, I mean have you seen hir? It's built into hir very purpose, ESPECIALLY with all the trauma associations concerning shape alone, not to mention function. it's terrifying but that's why ze exists as ze does.

...

Oh, btw I added ALL the Leagueworlds to our Spotify playlist folders, even the ones that have barely any substance as of yet, and/or that might change completely. I still want to give them the chance to bloom & grow & evolve further via music, so literally everything is on there now, and open to contribution.
It feels... really touching, really heart-moving, to see all those worldnames listed.
I'm so glad I came up with the "bank" system for them, too. It's still in development of course, but the basics are down and it feels so much more connective & attentive. Plus it's another way to add color & faith to the numerical mechanics of things, you all know I love doing that for literally everything.

Speaking of the League! Today was the winter solstice, which means today I gave special loving thought to Halcyon Days, as I do every year. I didn't get to do anything for them, with everything else that happened, but I looked through their artwork and I thought about their story and I gave them so much love.
Honestly I think I need to take some time to just "get to know" ALL the Leagueworlds again, post-NC, because since then everything's been cut off from my memory due to the resultant legitimate trauma associated with our personal creativity in general.
But, silver linings, now we know what they're NOT. The horror forced us to see what was WRONG and it enabled us TO change. Just like in Job 36, go figure.


...
We're actually really hungry again? Why. Not even five hours after dinner and we're hungry. I don't get it. Bodies are so weird. We hit 1600k, how much more does the body want??? Are we getting the right macros but wrong sources?? Our nutritionist just gives us "general american diet" junk data which is frustrating. Inpatient did too. They assume everyone has the means & the stomach to just make casseroles & cook porkchops and order pizza and weird stuff like that. Can't think about that either; too much disturbance.
Well, in any case, hungry or not, the body will have to wait, because we promised Father S that we'd go to Bible Study after Mass tomorrow, so we have to be up at 7 and we won't get home to eat until probably 11pm, later if they decide to talk a lot. But we have everything but the eggs & broccoli ready, which only takes like 10 minutes. And, Father always offers food from his kitchen (yes the Bible Study is in the rectory, it's a beautiful old building) and he knows we're in recovery from an eating disorder so I am sure he'd let us eat a few grapes or something if we need it-- he's diabetic so we can rely on him having healthy food; Lord knows that disease runs in our family too so we must be careful.
Still... our headache is returning and we're already dizzy. That's not cool. I'll take our blood sugar before we go to sleep; if it really is getting too low, we'll have to pack an apple or something for the road. We don't want to pass out or crash.

But yes, I promised my boss I'd be in bed for midnight which gives me 11 minutes as of right now to get there.
That is nowhere near enough time to clean up this entry, but at least I made the effort to type even after the struggles of today-- if I didn't, it would snowball. This honest journaling is an intrinsic part of our healing and our hope.

Anniversary in 24 hours. Christmas in 48. God only knows what will happen, but if we keep holding on to faith hope & love, it will be beautiful.
God has never let us down, especially not for the holidays. So we can anchor our joy to that, no matter what.


122022

Dec. 20th, 2022 03:05 pm
prismaticbleed: (Default)
 
(disjointed entry. very unfinished. need to post anyway because we're falling into neglect)


This day lasted for like... five days, haha. I don't know why it felt so long, but it did.
Honestly I wonder if it's because we haven't been putting much System time in? The body's been sick, we've been depressed and disturbed, our past is haunting us and our future feels empty. I haven't been typing. The one major point of light is that we are still talking consistently and constantly during the day, which makes even these long difficult days beautiful in those moments. Remember that.
 
Up at 8am, awful headache still. head throbbing with pain. wanted to throw up. wondering if this is sinuses, muscle tension, or migraines. either way it's miserable.
Unsound sleep too. Thinking too many blankets; the heat is very triggering in any case
 
Therapy at 9
nowhere to park! had to park in the gas station lot across the street. offhandedly mentioned this to therapist as an explanation as to why we were a few minutes late, and bless this woman she said "oh i don't want you to be towed, let me see where you're parked and maybe i can find a better spot for you?" so she TOOK US OUTSIDE and when we pointed out the car in the lot, she WENT INTO THE GAS STATION and flat-out asked the manager if "my colleague" could park there. they said yeah, that's fine, and we went back to the office. but GEEZ OKAY SUDDEN PROMOTION, haha. laurie was teasing me about it. yeah it was just for the sake of appearances, but still. it felt weirdly nice, to momentarily feel like we had a purpose. like we meant something to other people. not just another "sick in the head" patient. want to think about that feeling more, what it entails, what it brings up.

Figuring out rough treatment plan today.
main goal is reducing the frequency of trauma symptoms, mainly flashbacks. we were deeply disturbed to realize that we get them almost HOURLY now. didn't realize it was that bad until we started listing examples for her, to get a "measurable" grip on the situation. legit they almost never stop now. come out of nowhere, knock us completely off kilter. harrowing to become aware of this. never this bad until inpatient i think. eating disorder kept us sedated scared and distracted enough after all.
somehow segued into a datadump about family & social "perfectionism" fear & exhaustion? oh yeah she asked us if one of our goals would be "improving communication skills & social skills" or something, and our kneejerk response was RAGE & TERROR. so we admitted that and started to explain.
...
Realized we typically DON'T face or process those topics when at "home" (in the apartment); we aren't AWARE of the problems because we're so DETACHED from physical life and ESPECIALLY physical relationships
in any case we still have a MASSIVE MIND-BODY DISCONNECT
decided my second goal is "I want to be able to feel emotions again" = vs emotional condemnation internalized from family; no vulnerability, no weakness
discussed that at length too. disturbing. we didn't realize how much hatred we have internalized OF emotions that are labeled as "stupid" or "manipulative" or "lazy" or "selfish" etc. notsomuch "weak" as "evil." like, the weakness is spiritual, and it's because you're cruel and malevolent. really really twisted. but makes sense, considering the messages of our upbringing. lots from mom, notably the "crocodile tears" accusations constantly. "you're only crying because you want to hurt me" and stuff like that. grandma saying "you're not really sorry. you're lying. you always lie." etc.
...
 
afterwards we had debit cash and so we went shopping: redners, Aldi, Walmart, double riteaid. we're already on the road so our mind was able to do so. do not want to go out again tomorrow, need to take a day off to recover and then of course it's the blessed christmas trinity weekend so our only outing is MUCH CHURCH
flat out ran through the stores, haha. booked it and grabbed what we needed and left asap. genesis was there of course but i actually stayed more internal? like didn't even fully anchor into the body. getting really socially manic as always (fear response, i can feel it, that's crazy) and genesis kept calling me out on it, strictly so. thank goodness. i don't know what i'd do without him.
a= got broccoli (we're eating 2 bags a day now so we wanted to restock a bit), and one tin of mints
r= got lemonade apples, because xenophon likes them a lot and they will also now forever remind me of both infinitii and mimic from the time we got them earlier this month
w= got laundry soap, antacids, bloodsugar stabs, red del/ ambrosia apples, and i think that's it? looked for the emergen-c vitamins then realized oh hold up, we got those at wegmans. not going that far today! so decided to check riteaid
ra= got bloodsugar sticks, the last two! thank god they're frequently sold out. the first store was out of emergenc but there was a spot for it, and there's another store down the street from our house and they had it. the cashier at the first store enthusiastically complimented our hair to which we laughed and replied "kitchen scissors & the bathroom mirror"
still. she said "i'd kill for hair like that" and uh lady, you don't say things like that as a joke. but how do we say that in public. social mode shuts us down, makes us laugh and play it off, while inside we're screaming or seething and we just... lock up. automatically smile and nod and play the role. but it's so dishonest. still! how do you speak up like that without "destroying the conversation?" we were always told "no one wants to hear about that" etc. "people don't want to be lectured they want to be entertained" yeah but we're sick of being the clown.
geez on that note i miss spinel. never forget our sister watching the movie then crashing into our room in tears and shouting "SPINEL IS YOU. SHE'S JUST YOU." set the whole world reeling. oh we knew, she was like looking into a mirror, but for our family to see it just as clearly...
in any case. gotta think about this more. hate having to "tread my moral integrity underfoot" just to be "sociable." part of me WANTS to be the madman with no mental filter who doesn't care about "polite conversation" or "proper manners" or whatever. take the script and burn it. hate having to always perform. want to be absolutely loony if that's what it takes to be true. honestly that's an ancient secret aspiration, why do you think we loved jesters & disney sidekicks so much as a kid? always wanted to be the "crazy guy" speaking truth. never had the guts, but always had the heart. gotta work on that more.
 
Home for 11! Got everything we needed too, thank God. unfinished lists are like chalkboard nails in my head.
however, realized i "forgot" orange yogurt for Xenophon. wasn't on the list, but it's her favorite and we're out, and we can only get it at redners. Promised I'd get her some on the way home from choir.
 
saw 1111 on all the clocks, actually ran around the apartment to do so, haha
felt like a kiss from god, first glimmer of "hope" we've had all day
 
Breakfast gang!
Leon & Scalpel! oh man i hope they become close friends that would be so great. i know leon is still quietly in mourning, and scalpel is such a friendly dude but there's like no one else in his realm. which is so weird. red has always been the cor(e) color, but we ironically don't know much about it? like how does it manifest? what's it's vibe? what are its true associations in the system? all a mystery. that's why javier was literally constructed; the system couldn't naturally "make" a red nousfoni because that wasn't an open hue at ALL... except for splinters. razor, batta, hatchet, cleaver, zwei, even lynne at first... every nousfoni that's EVER been "red" has broken off FROM the cor(e) in some respect. which is INSANE and i can't believe we've never really typed about that?
when i refine this entry, DO THAT. either now or elsewhere. but do NOT postpone these topics, they are too vital.

BTW I forget how this came up-- I think Julie was talking to me after breakfast, as we brushed our teeth? (She's like the only nousfoni who CAN talk to fronters in that environment) But whatever we were discussing, she declared that she is now the "stepmother" of EVERY child in the system. She said, "if it weren't for me, none of this would have happened, so I have a personal responsibility to all of them." She emphasized that she wants such a maternal-esque involvement, anyway-- she's not their mother, and does not plan to be, but she still wants to be so specially close & in a caring role. That... meant so much to me, to hear.
(We... need specific jargon for the children, really. "pinkchild" was first thought but doesn't fit. too much trauma involved. i'll think of something.)
SPEAKING of motherhood though. That has shockingly (but unsurprisingly somehow) proven to be INFINITII, IN ALL CASES. We've always known that "Blackspace" is the "cosmic womb" of the innerworld, the "infinite potential" that we all ultimately come from-- Whitespace, in contrast, is more structural & less "organic" in vibe-- but we never considered that Infi would ALSO hold that role AS the Black Core. Which is HUGE.
Yes, for a while we all were "suspecting" a sort of "mother" Nousfoni in Black, but it never materialized in any respect. Well NOW WE KNOW WHY.
A vital addition: motherhood is not safe in humans, for us. That would make it TERRIFYING. So it's actually weirdly perfect for Infi, who was born to manifest sexuality & sensuality in an explicitly comprehensive yet non-abusive manner, and who is OBVIOUSLY not human, would be able to hold a mother-analogous role when no one else ever could.
Still. "Mother" is such a traumatized term. I honestly don't even know if it has any positive solid associations in the League???? It's all like... single fathers, mostly. That's always been our thing. Yes there are human parents in some Leagueworlds, but offhand, I can sadly tell you that the "mothers" were always detrimental to their children. That breaks my heart, and worries me greatly, but it no longer is a shock, since our NC experience revealed that MOST of the early Leagueworlds were direct expressions of Jewel's subconscious, and all the stuff she COULDN'T and WOULDN'T acknowledge consciously, got shunted into her creative endeavors. So... healing those worlds is important, too.
Geez. Remind me to talk about this more, especially with Celebi, AND Infinitii. This is absolutely breaking new ground for us in the System.
...Hm. This will probably both benefit from and for my understanding of the Virgin Mary, too, in terms of what real motherhood IS.
We, sadly, have the abused-sexuality aspect to our experience, though. Our religion does not. So... we just have to pray for help with that. Lord knows He's done that so far, against all odds. Yeah, we still have so far to go, almost overwhelmingly so, but... God has never let us down, and I can say with total conviction that He never will. So... trust in that. He knows why we're dealing with this now, and He will bring us all to a brighter state of heart through this. I can promise you that.

 
youniverse daily devotion: Jerry Flowers PREACH
quote: "Whenever purpose is unknown, abuse is imminent....  When you don't know the purpose of a thing you'll abuse it. Don't abuse your light. Don't hide it or dim it down  So that you could be accepted among social groups.  You are made to be a light of the world, so... shine, so that others may see our Savior."
"An ambassador is an accredited official from another kingdom."
We are on earth as ambassadors from GOD'S Kingdom, to shine the Light which IS CHRIST-- in this world there IS NO LIGHT APART FROM HIM.
 
Mimic grilling me about faith questions again
Honestly I'm beginning to love that he does this
...
i'm, uh, beginning to love him too, to be honest. not sure how so, but i know how my heart feels around most of the outspacers and this is different. not like chaos 0 of course, no one will ever get to his level, but... maybe because he's from the same universe? i feel like i would honestly like to be closer to him. maybe it's just vague imaginings. still, i should think about it more.
i should talk about it more.
genesis is an inspacer so he's in a league of his own, pun intended. celebi is arguably the first outspacer (2001) and i do love her, but she's one of the very rare girls so she, too, is in a different category. despite how many crushes & squishes i get on ladies, and how many "hello nurse" moments i have even with human gals-- yes i know trauma has screwed me up mentally & i struggle with misdirected rage but girls are still really freakin pretty and deep down i don't hate them, cross my heart-- there are like... no female outspacers. i think it's sadly because females in media are... not portrayed well. they're too often hypersexualized or written in ways that clash cacophonously with our inner atmosphere. still, we would like to have more of 'em. there's just a lot of fear around them, too, with the internalized homophobia and the trauma panic reactive instinct. even so, lots of masculine-coded creatures up here. notably no humans, in either respect. the only human outspacers that EVER stuck around were bakura & marik, who we still say only stuck because they're androgynous, young, and mentally screwy like us, haha. hey, we bonded over all that as a teen. it meant a lot honestly.
even so. i... never felt that close to them. yeah, i love them, but... still. human boys. there will always be distance there, put bluntly, because even when "i" was 13 i didn't identify as entirely human and i still struggle with it. so... no one was too surprised when i fell in love with chaos 0 at that same age.
even now, let me list all the "active" outspacers i can think of... mimic, phlegmoni, galadia, gleam, ventrium, celebi, chaos 0, possibly barry but only AS that skull-headed suit of armor; his presence in headspace is detached from his canon human self and inevitably so. still, the dude needs a leagueworld or he'll never be able to do much in here. he's just a "visitor," unable to stick around for long due to having no "roots." all the older outspacers that jewel tried to bring in but who NEVER visited-- davy & grievous come to mind-- are in the League now.
geez we have less outspacers than i thought. i remember back on blurty jewel would list tons of potential folks but none of them ever entered headspace. she would reach out once or twice, but never pursue it, and sometimes didn't even offer a door. i don't think she could without a legit Link and she DIDN'T ALWAYS FORM THOSE, believe it or not.
nevertheless. a topic we brought up today was how outspacer anchorage is strongly affected by their canon history-- and how that is notably explicit in Pokemon outspacers. In-game, they have NO HISTORY unless YOU make one, as their Trainer. THAT'S why they would always go straight to Moralimon, because that's Jewel's heartworld and if she was close to any pocket monsters they would inevitably catch her vibe in that respect. ...However. Recent years, so to speak, have Pokemon in headspace, because our Klonoa-haired Jewel wasn't their in-game trainer! So it's different. They aren't in the League (yet?) and as such their identities are very unstable. That's why Ventrium died so suddenly, and even now I only list him because there is the slightest ping to his name and although that's joyous it is incredibly faint. He cannot truly "resurrect" WITHOUT a life TO resurrect. Like the system children, his soul needs careful loving attention. That's a specific focused job.
...That's probably why I feel closer to Mimic. I have been SERIOUSLY giving him attention, since I feel so drawn to him inexplicably as a character, almost in spite of his terrible behavior-- in truth I see too much of myself in him. Barry, too, which is why he ended up in here. There's always a point of resonance, something even deeper than aesthetics.
Still. Let me stop avoiding the point i want to make. i can expand upon it more later.
I don't get dreams like this with outspacers. Ever. Chaos 0 and Celebi are the only ones I have EVER dreamed of. So... that alone speaks volumes. And it's been the weirdest thing, getting to know him AFTER that. I compared it to Stein's Gate before; it's really true. It happened and yet it didn't. Neither of us mention it outright but we don't deny it either. It's the mormyrinae in the room, haha. And honestly I'm not ready to discuss it, because I haven't processed it. I could ask the same question. Why you, why me? I have no idea what my subconscious is doing. But I really should sit down and try to look at it. Infinitii could definitely help, God knows that's hir function, really.
...I do feel a similar closeness-seeking thing with Ventrium & maybe even Gleam, but that's mutual. They have totally different personalities; they're very fragile & broken like me, so the closeness is almost instant & inevitable. Not so with the octopus. He's a challenge, dude, he can be a pain in the neck but I love him, and I'm wondering just how much weight I'm putting into that word. I'm... learning a lot, from this. I'm growing a lot as a person, emotionally too. It's so weird. But I'm so grateful for this, as unexpected and unpredictable as it is.
 
 
After breakfast, ended up spontaneously organizing the refrigerator to "declutter" and so help avoid mental meltdowns-- not only does disorganization trigger unhealthy behaviors, but we always get nervous after eating, and hard focus helps alleviate it. we're learning to manage it better. after the other night we are determined to prevent any further lapses at all costs, god give us strength & grace because we need it!
Put all frozen english muffins & bread into little ziplocs, because in the original plastic they were getting super freezerburned, and we only eat one slice of either a day anyway. felt nice to organize it all and throw out the frosty packaging.
finished the rainbow carrots for breakfast, so opened the 5lb orange bag to snip & bag those up too
"JEWEL" doppelganger ED voice?? MORE "red" thoughts.
(TYPE ABOUT THIS!! "face" masking because they're too close in color and DON'T have their own identities??? also BODY SHARING with other socials, "bleedover" in appearances, esp. with the body?)

freakin' JESSICA SHOWED UP?????
 
Pomander w/ Xenophon for a full hour
Listening to Tokimonsta album
Chaos 0, Genesis, Infinitii joined up
felt like such a family. it was the most beautiful hour i've spent in a while
(remember the jokes we were making about song titles; that was great)
 
Mentioned Celebi baby embryo egg to Genesis
First a rather deadpan disbelieving "what" like he thought he misheard me
Chaos said no, really, she was with Jayce, so we think it's hers
Genesis wide-eyed "WHAT????" response, genuinely stunned.
Legit VERY upset that he wasn't told sooner? felt like it was a betrayal of our close friendship. "out of the loop." I said I really haven't told anyone outright; in truth he was one of the first few people to know, besides laurie & infi.
Chaos commented to him that "he might be next"
another very quiet "what" of absolute shock
Teared up a bit. THEN said loudly to me "well I'D BETTER BE"

(For the record Xenophon is actually rather giddy that she will eventually have siblings)

 
Fire alarm went off the instant we finished with the cloves (need a few more, will get)
Brushed teeth instead. Laurie commented on this dangerously nonchalant attitude
 
Cleanup & alarm finished for 3pm
Chaplet on bike 

For some reason looked up old friends online?
Feel worthless, useless, stupid, inept in comparison 
Devastatingly depressed 
 
...
they... offhandedly mentioned us. said that they were terrified to face their own d.i.d. because they only knew one other person who did have it-- and "their disorder was so severe they could not function."
didn't we just type about this?
it's true. it breaks our heart that our own stupid screwed up brain hindered someone else's healing. the fact that our damage was THAT STRIKING and yet we couldn't see it. it was our "normal." how many people have we hurt without realizing it?

Got into "gender depression" again on top of all this; struggling so hard with the entire topic
Reading about neopronouns & such? realizing that i, as the new core, do NOT fit EITHER binary pronoun, which is new. feeling out what might work instead.

stumbled across an article about gender & sexuality which opened with the honestly shocking line, "sexuality... is about who you are." explained that this is because it inherently describes & involves one's own "innate sense of gender" as well as "the ways in which we experience attraction to other people."
thinking about that. knocked me off focus entirely. always used to admittedly sneer at lgbtq+ folks who treated gender & sexuality as this "big important thing" because i "didn't care" or at least was shoving it under the floorboards.
didn't really read the article entirely; brain not in a good space. really should read it later though. but thinking about the implications of that opening statement. it's... upsettingly accurate. infuriating in a sense. not invalidating aces though-- the article mentions them outright. i'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that yeah, no matter how i try to "fix myself" or let other people try to-- i'm still asexual. it's religiously terrifying, and personally a huge relief.
...

reading all of that made me feel... despair. really it did.
but. then i got an email from ewtn. pope francis's angelus message today.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253108/pope-francis-st-joseph-shows-us-how-to-respond-to-disappointed-dreams
it was... exactly what i needed to hear. lit the candle of hope immediately.
thank you god.

biked for an hour while doing all this, which was nice. slow, but still high resistance.

had lunch at 530. no memory of it atm.
Chatting about current bible reading process: job chapter 36 (studying this book so hard)
Me, Laurie, Xenophon, Chaos 0, Mimic, Phlegmoni, Galadia
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/job/36-7.htm ← actively discussing matthew henry's commentary line by line w/ the outspacers. amazing conversation honestly.


630pm CHOIR!
Did a "dress rehearsal" of the pre-vigil kolędy, took 45 solid minutes, sounds wonderful. jh solo beautiful. the kid's voice sounds better in the evening haha
we didn't rehearse ours but he did confirm that we ARE doing it AT THE VIGIL. ;________; DREAM COME TRUE
we took our binder home and we plan on HOPEFULLY either typing it into noteworthy composer and/or playing it up the homestead for mom, and rehearsing. it's in g minor so we know.
ah this is such an honor and a blessing though. god please let us sing to glorify you. all for you.

SHOPPING after choir like i promised! went to the twin's old workplace. so many good headspace memories of sitting in that lot at night in the winter, waiting to pick them up from work, and listening to the soundcloud system sountracks. that was the most beautiful winter of our life, really. it warms our heart to remember. even with all the legit terror that also happened that year, haha. the goodness was so genuine and so strong that it overwhelms all else.
i think we still have some of those songs saved to our flashdrive (Iridesce)??? they don't exist online anymore. geez we should put them on our phone.
anyway! got xenophon 4 orange yogurts, 2 lingonberry ones for mimic (don't tell him), extra cloves for the pomander, jumbo eggs, a tiny carton of probiotic cottage cheese (no fillers or additives, gonna try it because it's a good extra protein add-in), blue & red sunchips "because it's christmas" and i want to give those e.d. voices the chance to not only learn to enjoy food & eat it properly, but also to be merciful and not "punish them" by refusing to have any chips in the house... and BIGASS APPLES, haha. seriously this store has gigantic apples and no one else does. and they had a different kind of ambrosia? so we got 4 of those & 4 more red delicious (i know people joke about them, but they don't hurt our teeth, we like their unique flavor and they're SO RED) and i think that was it. ended up being like 60 bucks haha. oh yeah they also had blueberry yogurt, and cherry high-protein kind (new!), both of which i bravely got to try because i still don't know if i like either, and it's been junked out of fear in the past so of course, silly me, i "have to give it another chance." saying "me" there feels very blurry btw. more of a jewel or jess feeling than a jay. yes we all deal in mercy & hope, but that application to food is a feminine aspect. important, yes, but specific.
...

when we got home we actually had a tiny "dinner", as we knew we would be up until like 2am trying to catch up on typing, and since "lunch" was at 530, leaving it at that would mean... fasting for 17 hours. NOPE. it's tempting, but after seeing what it does to our mental state, it's also stupid. so we can't. gonna try to work in at least an evening apple into the plan from now on, if we're gonna be up so late. don't want any bloodsugar crashes.
dinner was a fortune cookie ("acting on a good idea is better than just having a good idea"), a red delicious apple, and one of those blueberry yogurts. well they taste like childhood summertime. so they are BOTH lovely and terrifying, haha. geez. childhood is so weird in that respect; it's all wonder surrounded by fear. 
like we said in therapy, though, those memories are all but entirely missing. the few memories we "have" are secondhand, from watching family videos-- they AREN'T personal memories, they're just "data." something we were shown and can recite back as a cold fact. but we weren't there.
most of our actual memories, in general, are traumatic. it's terrible.
the only good memories we can easily list are from headspace.

...

oh geez it's 2:40am i am late for work, see you kids later!

 

121922

Dec. 19th, 2022 11:36 pm
prismaticbleed: (shatter)

monday.

i... don't remember today at all.

we had an appointment with our other nutritionist at 2pm. she keeps pushing the inpatient plan, which is literally 4000K+ and ridiculously expensive. we told her we've "edited the plan" and are spacing meals more, fasting regularly to alleviate the otherwise-constant body sickness & mental fog, and have streamlined our nutritional options & needs so that we, ideally, don't have to "plan" anymore-- we have a set schedule & setup and it takes away all the stress of number-crunching.
we do feel weirdly depressed after talking to her. it's like, she pushes food so much. and we are so tired of our live revolving around eating. that was our trauma-abuse addiction for two entire decades and we want OUT. it's devoured enough of our life. we've talked about this enough already. we are sick and tired of people acting like eating should be "fun" and "enjoyable" and "social" and all that. no. we like what we have, we talk together and do our scripture study while we eat, we get done, we clean up, we go back to work. simple as that. no "novelty items" or "adventurous" things. that's ridiculous. no "snacks" for heaven's sakes, that's a RULE. this woman keeps telling us "eat every three hours and have snacks" nope. never. that would put us right back in disordered behavior hell. there is more to life than food, so don't you dare go telling us to make life revolve around food again. never again. we're done.

let me check the phone to give you guys a better update on general events

oh yeah, now i know why today was so messed up.
we had that horrid bingepurge last night. short, but it shook us bad. they always do. at the hospital they kept emphasizing how purging "traumatizes" your body and we scoffed at that, "you're just being dramatic and using scary language." plus we still hate ourselves deep down for using the term "traumatized" for ANYTHING, because of what past unhealthy friendships always seemed to tell us: "the problem is YOU. you DECIDED this was traumatic. YOU'RE the one who was abusive, YOU traumatized ME. I did nothing wrong. YOU'RE the problem." and the worst part is, all of that is true. at least, we believe it is. we were an asshole to those people. we know that. looking at it objectively, detached from whatever we were experiencing, our behavior was terrible. at least, what we remember-- and that was all our mental illness wrecking their lives and ours. but this isn't therapy, i can't get even more upset focusing on that hurt. "you're making it hurt." so much self-damnation. so much condemnation and mockery and ridicule and "invalidation." all "special snowflake" language. we internalized that hard.
but, the hospital said bodies can get traumatized. and the point i'm making here is, after last night, YEAH, THAT'S TRUE.
god it was so scary, please, please PLEASE don't ever let that happen to us again.

but our body, today, is in shambles.
our heart keeps skipping and hiccuping. we have a pounding headache that is so bad we can barely see, let alone think. we're so weak it's hard to move. we're exhausted and dizzy and disoriented. we're so tired, even though we slept for like ten hours.
how the heck did we survive the bulimic aspect of this eating disorder for ten hellish years. good lord. literally. if God wasn't white-knuckling us through existence we'd have died very, very fast. thanks god. proof that he cares, the fact that we're alive right now. even if we feel sick and depressed. we're in recovery!! we really are! and that's a good thing to remember. even if the mean parts of our brain don't believe it. don't listen to them. we ARE in recovery. look at how many normal days we have now. look at how much food we're keeping down. "how much food" is right, the mean ones say. "you're a literal glutton now. look how fat and ugly you are. hideous whore."
shut up shut up/

topic shift can't
can't do that now. sorry

deanery penance service at 7pm.
we had to eat dinner at 630 though. breakfast was late? noon i think? let me check the phone
yes 1145. full breakfast, with some extra olive oil to meet macros i guess. everything else totally normal. so that's good.
oh but dinner was at 7pm?? we were that late? wow i wonder why? what happened today?
dinner was normal too. gosh that's really good. i'm glad to just be able to say that. "normal mealplan everything went fine." gosh. it's been over a decade since we could say that i think. it's 2022 now? 2012 oh boy nope we were NOT eating normally at all back then, sorry old friends that year was when stuff started to get really bad, i remmeber that'swhen emmett showed up first. i remember the chocolate cake in the sink day. how bad our consciousness was. losing so many hours. burning the rice. the buckwheat nausea. marik's third incident over the stove. comatose for like two hours. the bloody beets. the running across town to buy rainbow carrots. the soup pots. did we even eat those? we have NO MEMORIES OF EATING from that WHOLE SUMMER. like we know we did, we see the danger signs, like the last week when we were starving and ate all that canned pumplkin and the orange granola which wasnt ours and we hated ourself for it we were so sad but we couldn't stop. we were so sick in the head. why am i typing this? im sorry
examples of how bad it was. no normal at all. fasting all day just drinking kombucha. that awful awful "spiritual newage hellstate" we were in mentall.y bad bad bad. very bad. chaos 0 got them through that day he sat with them on the couch it was nice. and genesis always around. gosh if we didn't have the system i think we would have died then too! sosad all te time. sad. so sad. crying always. called family didnt help. said we deserved this we decided it but we didnt. didnt really understand freewill too much back then. addiction and bad brain stuff made it impossible to actually reason or choose anything clearly. so bad. remember the oatmeal regret. so bad. threw it in the sink so angry so hungry not thinking. scared them. scared them forever they still hate us now i think. we deserve it, we did bad things. remember the day we fell off the cliff. again chaos 0 comforting themon the drive home. all the pain and the music. the happiest they were the entire summer during the day at least. the nights bad bad or heaven nice. depended on if alone or headspace stuff. remember the lights, the clif bar box someone at the whole thing. luna bars. pepperming we still can't look at them. that night so bad. the futon guy next door we still think of him! hope he's happy too.
why why are we unloading past data does it count as "trauma" if we brought it on ourselves
someone says yes please it hurts it was scary i cant look at it more scary things happen than you write
and the loneliness, the empty lonely unloved uncared even when they tried. us like an animal. acting like one. no one saw us as a person we werent a person to them i dont think just a pet just a bad project to fix. always like that. to everyone. never a real person
stop stop shut up stop
not time for this dont want to think about it stop STOP. PLEASE

um
but we're doing better now i promise. we are. live alone. system together. us too! typing again hello!! hi!
not dead i guess. i dont think could die. not physical at leas.t different life. not killed in body because no body hehesecret
srry sligping

ok

what else today

deanery penance service 7pm. late because dinner
father s from olote was there. went to him like we did for lent
he was happy to see us said he missed us at church
asked us to come to bible study on thursday again if we could we said we'd try.
he said... something nice what was it?
he said we were honest. very sincere. had a good heart. said we try very hard to be good and he knows we have faith.
meant a lot to hear. we doubt a lot. always feel bad bad bad.
jewel or jay, main person, stayed and prayed for a while
talked to god about us, all of us, mostly the new people outspacers xe cares for them a lot.

went home 8pm. don't remember what after that

okay i'm gonna stop typing. gonna put a block up after me so someone else can fix this later add to it if you want and remmeber stuf!

thank you for typing letting me
have a good night everybody

prismaticbleed: (angel)

All right, I've been wanting to try doing a daily Scripture devotional on my own, so I've started a 28-day plan and I'll be taking the prompts from there.



DAY 01: THE AUTHORITY OF KING JESUS


Jesus, Who is God, died to give me abundant life, and this was done in total love. He longs to guide me towards new life in His grace, but that grace can only come to the humble! If I stubbornly insist on clinging to "control" in my own life, regardless of how spiritually blind I inevitably am without God's Light, then I will be trapped in a loop of darkness and I will be living a false "life" of death.
I am but a creature; I do not have any power over my own life. Ultimately, everything is in God's hands. Realizing this is actually joyful-- it frees me from the burden of confused lonely struggle apart from Him.
When I willingly submit to His authority as King of all Creation, He responds with deep affection, as the Father He Is, and uses His authority to transform my life into what He wants for me, which is GOODNESS. He will never lead me to sin! Everything He does can be trusted and relied on. To submit to His authority means to have peace, for then you know that your life is in the most capable Hands of all.
However... we still have the gift of free will. Therefore, this total surrender of "control" is effectively a "death to self." We must cooperate with God's control; He will not "take the reins" from us. Relationship is not domineering, it is a shared effort, and to serve anyone-- even a King-- requires a personal act of choice! So we must choose to admit our powerlessness and lack of knowledge, as well as our weaknesses and fears, and say: "God, I want You to be King of my entire life. I want to live not just as Your servant, but also as Your friend. Tell me what I must do to honor and serve You. Thy will be done; not mine." Such a "death to the world" is frightening-- unless we have faith in a life greater than this. When we trust that "there is more to life than this life," and so stop vainly prioritizing temporal and empty things, we do receive abundance of the true life-- of eternal life, which is found only in relationship with God, the King.
That simple statement is profound. God is the Creator and Ruler of everything, including little me. He made me, and the stars, and the sea, and things I cannot even fathom. He became a human being and died in order to save me from death and restore me to communion with Him, and with all of Creation. He is a King, yes, but not like a human king-- God rules with justice and mercy, righteousness and truth, gentleness and courage, compassion and love. I want to serve such a King; I want to worship such a God!
But what does it mean to serve God-- the King of all virtue, Who has supreme authority over all Creation?
Put most simply, to serve Him is to obey His commands, and "the greatest of these is Love." Love God, love your fellow man, and let that define everything. It is as simple-- and as difficult, Lord have mercy on me a sinner-- as that.

So here is the application:
What would it look like to "crown God as King" of the following aspects of my life?

PLANS: whatever I want to do with my day, I must always ask, "how will that glorify God?" Am I being a "good steward" of the gift of time with that planned activity? Will that plan help me to serve God's people in a real way? Will it bring my heart closer to God? OR... is that activity "vain" and without any thought of God? Is it a foolish use of time, with no purpose other than entertainment or distraction? Is that plan detrimental to others, at any point?
For Christ to be King of my plans, I must present every plan TO Him, as if seeking approval for a project. In doing so, I will be conscientious to purify my plans, and avoid unwise decisions.

EFFORTS: similar to plans, what am I working for? When I put energy and time into something, who is it serving-- God, or myself? Is that activity worth the effort? Or is it going to drain me and leave me feeling hollow and disappointed and depressed? Is that effort aimed at eternity, or this fleeting life? Is it something that can disappear in an instant, with no spiritual gain? Or is it something that will benefit my soul-- and the souls of others-- for the glory of God? Is this effort an act of service, or of selfishness? 
For Christ to be King of my efforts, I must work as if He is overseeing the entire project-- as if I must report my activity to Him at the end. I must be accountable. Will my report make Him smile, or will it make Him sad? Remember, He doesn't get "angry"-- He grieves when I do wrong because it hurts me, who He loves!

EMOTIONS: what sort of emotions do I entertain? As a Christian, I "represent" Christ just as a soldier represents his nation. Do my emotions do Him dishonor? Do they scandalize the Christian name? Furthermore, my emotions do not occur in a vacuum; negative ones hurt others, as much as they hurt myself. Am I wounding the Body of Christ in this way?  Do I hold on to anger, resentment, bitterness, rage? Do I pout, complain, whine, and gripe? Do I give in to sorrow, disappointment, despair, melancholy, depression? Am I at the mercy-- or lack thereof-- of shifting emotional states? Do I let my emotions run wild and untamed? Or do I suppress and deny my emotions, practicing psychic dishonesty and refusing to acknowledge the difficulties of life? Do I see emotions such as happiness, peacefulness, playfulness, warmth, and optimism as "weak" or "foolish"? Do I crush positive emotions when they appear, out of judgment or fear? Am I in control of my emotions, or do they control me? 
For Christ to be King of my emotions, I must let Him control them. He is the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Love, and when I focus on Him, He will enable me to feel those benevolent emotions that CAN only occur in truth via grace-- spirits of patience, hope, courage, tenderness, gratitude, humor, wonder, inspiration, love-- and His Light will shine to soothe and scatter all the dark feelings that imprisoned me.

RELATIONSHIPS
: does God come first? Do I enter relationships with mutual growth in holiness as the goal? Do I value my family ties, or do I neglect communicating with my own blood relatives? Do I value friendships, or do I scoff at such interactions? Do I avoid associating with others out of a reluctance to form any ties? Do I "take" from others in relationships, using personal associations for selfish gain or benefit, and never for the good of the other party? Do I refuse to associate with certain groups or classes of people? Do I fake or rush my way through conversations, instead of listening? Do I prioritize my own preferences and wants over the needs of others? Do I consider anyone undesirable or even hateful? Do I seek to repair damage I have done to others, or do I refuse to even admit I am responsible? Do I care for strangers? Do I reach out to the ignored and forgotten? Do I go out of my way to help those who cannot or will not do anything for me in return? Do I purposely cut people out of my life, either through aggression or neglect? Do I "pretend" to be a friend for the sake of social appearances, only to ignore that person in private? Am I warm towards others? Do I comfort those in pain? Do I actively look for ways to help others? Am I a part of my local community? Am I an active member of my church? Do I even know my neighbors? Have I spoken to anyone today? When was the last time you called your father? Do you even know how your siblings are doing? Do you ever offer to help your mother? Who does the world see you as? Have you made any effort to see the rest of the world? If you died today, what would your obituary say? Would anyone come to your funeral? Have you loved people, or just yourself?
For Christ to be King of my relationships, I must seek to imitate Him in each one, for He IS the God OF relationship-- He is part of The Holy Trinity, the heart of God expressed AS relationship. Humankind was created for similar communion: "It is not good for man to be alone." Christ Jesus became a baby and as such He experienced the full range of human society-- he had parents, cousins, neighbors, friends, disciples, enemies, etc. And He loved all of them. He did not shun anyone, or refuse anyone, or push anyone away. He constantly sought to serve others with the utmost care and concern, never shrinking from personal expense or endeavor, always going the extra mile to show love to someone in need. As He is my King, I must reflect that very demeanor in earnest. I, too, must seek human relationships for His sake-- I must be part of human society as an emissary of Christ, as someone who genuinely loves others and wants to be a light in their lives, not for my sake or recognition, but for God's honor, and for their good. Whether with family, or friends, or neighbors, or strangers, or partners, every single relationship in my life must be defined by this higher love-- this seeking of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the endeavor to bring it about within the context of my relationships.

FINANCES: Do I recognize that ALL my money is a gift from God? It is "power," and all power is from Him, and therefore should be used for Him. What am I spending my money on? Am I wasting it on trivial things, on possessions that serve no spiritual purpose? Am I giving money to those who do not have enough? Am I taking care of myself with my funds? Am I a penny-pincher to the point of neglecting both myself and others? Am I a spendthrift to the point of fomenting greed and inclination to luxury? If I had to "send God my receipts," would I be ashamed? Can I give a solid, honorable reason for every transaction? Am I willing to share what I buy with others? Am I willing to sacrifice a purchase for the sake of using that money on someone in need?
For Christ to be King of my finances, He must get the "first cut" of them. I must tithe before I do anything else. I must also be aware of where every dollar goes, and why-- I must be responsible, and accountable. Like time, every penny must be accounted for. And, like Him, I must also give. Money may give one "power" in this world, but it is also just paper. Wealth is meant for the glory of God, Who is the only true Wealth of all things. And remember-- your cash is all on loan. "You can't take it with you," but you will take the record of its use, and THAT is how you "pay God back." He doesn't want the money-- He wants the Good you should be doing with it!

PAST: it cannot be changed. What's done is done, as horrible as it may be. Do I still obsess over it? Do I refuse to forgive myself? Do I constantly replay past hurts over and over in my head? Do I define myself by the sins I have committed? Do I define others by their mistakes and offenses? Do I constantly wish I could rewind time, and forget to live today? Do I hold on to grudges, regrets, traumas, disappointments, and "if only"s? Do I let "what was" blind me to "what IS"?
For Christ to be King of my past, I must leave it in His hands, and trust that if I confess my sins and truly repent, He will forgive even the worst things I have done. The past cannot be erased, but it can be redeemed.

PRESENT: am I "present" for it? Do I take the day for granted? Do I thank God for every new morning, and every new night? Do I put time aside for God every day? Do I see my life as a series of empty motions, of mechanical routines, or as a gift to do good and so help realize the Kingdom of Heaven? Do I see my life as a gift? Do I pray regularly? How do I schedule my time? Do I say daily prayers? What takes up my daily focus and attention? Do I work on building a relationship with Christ, or do I put it off until tomorrow? Am I productive spiritually?
For Christ to be King of my present, He must be at the front of my heart in every moment. He must be before me always, leading my every thought and action, my constant goal and Guide.

FUTURE: is it aimed towards God? Do I have hope for it at all? Am I working towards the Kingdom, or am I stagnating in despair and uselessness? Am I forming habits and patterns that serve the world, or God? Do I have goals and aspirations for my faith life? Can I identify ways I want to grow and change for the better, and am I making efforts towards that end? Do I believe I can be better? Do I believe that there is a life after this one? How often do I think of death? How often do I think of heaven? Do I consider how my actions will affect those around me, and the generations to come? Do I care about the future of humanity? Do I make an effort to improve it, even in little ways? Do I pray for the future of our world? Do I pray for hope? Do I have dreams at all? 
For Christ to be King of my future, He must be the ultimate end I strive for in all things. Even if I can't "see past today," I can still orient my present actions towards good consequences. I must constantly "keep my sights set on eternity" and do all things with that biggest picture in mind. I must remember that one day I will stand before the Just Judge and if I have not lived as His Friend then I will be subject to deserved punishment. I must have hope in His Mercy and live according to it.



"You were not created to be the king of your own life. You were not designed to bear the burden of doing life apart from the lordship of Jesus Christ. And you will never know true peace, joy, purpose, and love until you submit all you are to all God is."
 
PEACE comes from knowing that we have nothing to worry over, or fear, with God leading the way. We can trust completely in His Good Judgment despite all apparent circumstances.
JOY comes from knowing that all God has planned for us is Good, and that no matter what struggles we may face in the process here on earth, following Him will lead us to heaven.
PURPOSE comes from the amazing realization that, in obeying God's Will, we are cooperating with DIVINE Will, the ultimate purpose of all things! All that we do in this respect has an eternal echo.
LOVE comes from the relationship we will be building with God as we obey and serve Him as partners in His plan for our life, AND the greater purpose of REALITY, for we are part of Creation and we are the only creatures that CAN cooperate with Him so consciously & willingly. This privilege alone should inspire love, but the true love, the deepest love, that every human being desires at heart, is known only in response to that love shown by Christ-- a love which motivated Him to be born as a human like us in order to share our lives, and to die for us in order for us to share His life. This is what we can be a part of even now.
 


...Honestly, though, I'm in too much of "religious mode" with all this. I need to stop doing that. I HAVE to be HONEST about all this AS MYSELF, not as a "proper persona". That cuts out all the actual spiritual progress with this.
That's why I quit Tumblr; I wasn't actually living my faith; I was just preaching.
I might have to redo this some other time, in a different context.
I'll see how I progress with this devotion. I definitely need to approach it from a different angle.
Still, I am glad I am putting this effort forward. No effort dedicated to God is ever wasted. He will use this, too, for the good of our soul. I do have faith in that. But... I do have to ask Him to, as well. Relationship is key; He can't be "my King" if He's just "in the background."
So... God, help me to do better in all these respects. Help me to actually, really, seek to serve You and Your Kingdom of Love & Truth in ALL the facets of my existence, especially inside, which I did not discuss here at all.
Help my faith. Help it to be complete, not half-hearted, pun intended.
Help me to focus my life on You, even if it's not as blatantly as through a devotional like this. I want You to be part of everything, not just as a King, but as a friend. I really do want that. Please, I pray, help me with that.
Jesus, help me to know You better, because only then-- only through such love-- will I be able to serve You as You deserve.


121822

Dec. 18th, 2022 08:36 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)
 
(unfinished entry; will refine & expand later. publicizing so we don't hide it)



All over the place day.

Of course, the main thing was 5 hours of church, which we always enjoy thoroughly.
HOWEVER. Today, after the 830 mass, when we were eating our quick breakfast before the rosary, the choir director came up to us and said "hey, when I'm done organizing these papers, can I talk with you real quick?" We said yeah, absolutely. Breakfast only took like 15m so we finished that up and walked over to the organ to meet him, asked what's up?
He said, "take out your binder and turn to I Wonder As I Wander. I want to have you sing that as a solo."
...EXCUSE ME WHAT
I... we've wanted to sing a solo for the Christmas season for years. The choir always does "O Holy Night" as a solo but Mr. Z (who left the choir upon COVID at his wife's behest) always did it, and the past two years I think it was Mr. K? But this year it's his grandson, who has a really great voice (he's big into theater & musicals, we wish him the absolute best), and we're genuinely very happy for him with that-- we do not and will not insist on a solo. For heavens sakes our voice pales in comparison with all those guys; we wouldn't want that spotlight anyway.
Still... we do want to "give our voice" as a gift in such a special context, in this season we love so dearly, with the songs we love to sing. "O Holy Night" isn't one of our favorites-- it's just another carol to us, no offense-- but it was the "only option" if we wanted to give our voice in such a specific, intentional manner, as far as we were aware.
...We have never sang I Wonder As I Wander in our church, at ALL. This is the first time ever. And it's arguably our favorite carol. It's haunting and it's a bit melancholy but it's beautiful and it feels like us.
We offhandedly mentioned that "it was our favorite" during choir practice about two weeks ago, literally just a spontaneous joyful comment when we saw it, forgotten as quickly as it was said... or so we thought. Apparently our choir director, God bless him, not only heard but took it to heart, and he told us this morning specifically that "I heard you say it was your favorite" and... wow. That touched our heart.
So... he sat down at the keyboard.
NOT the organ. The little Yamaha. The piano. And he said you're gonna sing, and I'm gonna back you up. Literally "you own the song." Our pace, our dynamics, whatever.
And so we turned to face the empty church, and he played two rolling A-chords to lead us in, and... we sang.
...I am literally in tears right now, haha. Legit blurred vision here.
This means so much to us. Of ALL the carols we could have possibly sung, if there is one that speaks of our heart, this is it. 

I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die
For poor ordinary people like you and like I.
I wonder as I wander, out under the sky...


It's a musical snapshot of our soul in the snow, honestly.

...

We stopped at home briefly when masses were over, and decided to do a quick shopping run-- admittedly we have a bad habit of doing so on Sundays, as we've "already been out for so long" and our brain is readily in that public-space mode; on other days of the week it is legitimately distressing to "hard shift" into social mode out of the blue if we need to go shopping, then come home and have to UNSHIFT. That often triggers dissociative crises, so. God forgive us, we usually do our little trips on Sundays. Still... that's not cool; it's a day of rest, and we often end up starving for God after Church (in a good way) so we'd rather spend our time praying and such. Again, thank God, now with therapy every Tuesday that gives us a better, earlier option to go out driving & doing errands, and if we still want to keep our two-meal later-breakfast plan, we can easily get an hour of shopping in after our appointment-- if we don't dissociate we don't take long anyway, as we don't need much and it's so routine it's getting steadily easier to do; the hardest part is just the social atmosphere, Walmart continues to be hell-- and get home for noon at the absolute latest. Or we can get up stupidly early and go before, haha. We'll see. In any case it would be prudent to prep breakfast before, maybe even the night before, including the eggs, so that if we are running late we won't be eating at like 2 and then crashing because that pushes dinner to 7pm or later.
Anyway! We have no money and won't until our payee approves our request (which still takes time to process), BUT we have one cash receipt from when we got some surprise donations last month, and two "backup" Pedialytes & a Powerade from that order that we could return (which would give us about $13). In any case, we were all but out of carrots and the cheapest place for those is Wegmans-- which is also the only place where we can get Xennie's fortune cookies at a decent price. So that was the plan-- get some cash, go get those two things, and go home. In any case it would be a nice drive, and some time with Genesis of course, which is always enjoyable.

Walmart return & Wegmans stop
Candy honesty-- only four pieces, cashier last time said "take 'em for free" but we didn't have that permission today so we went back out to the car and got change, came back in and paid for them. God knows we used to steal food all the time, we never want to slip back into that behavior even a little bit. have to be honorable and sincere.
driving: new snail's house song "Cherry" on loop
then put on Celebi's playlist. haven't given her focused attention in a very very long time.
listened to "miracle drug" by u2. that's been her "theme song" since like... high school. always made me think of her. listening to the lyrics now, with everything lately... realizing i've always loved her really, for a very long time. even if we've been distant. emotions i couldn't really put words to. this is still paradoxically very new

Didn't eat until after 3
Body CRASHED
Felt so nauseous & disheveled 
Also allergic reaction??? Hives & red face, but from WHAT?

Pushing Bible study too much.
Want to do daily devotion typing but being too ambitious? making it a "job" and it's exhausting
Still-- MAJOR revelation today w/ eternal life & relationship, from the devotional.
copy+paste it here asap, write about it

don't remember how it happened but, god we are so sorry,
we ended up BINGEING from 4 to 7 approx
Blood sugar TANKED. fell to 62 by the time we thought about checking it.
body shaking so hard, head reeling, almost blacked out. no sugar in house. forgot we had pedialyte. ended up eating the emergency box of raisins from the bedroom, thank god we had that.
So so sick, legit almost went to ER

Wrecked
Nauseous shaky tired sick scared 
Mom thinks we might have the flu? or a stomach bug?
apparently the binge was motivated by feeling so sick?? and wanting to throw up? domino effect
hope we aren't sick though. as a kid someone always got sick for christmas. too much socializing. need to take time off and just rest, be home as a system. heck maybe this is god's way of saying "kid sit down for heaven's sakes" haha. it wouldn't be the first time

Going to bed right now


Other notes.
Found the picture of celebi's baby. it was in a league folder??? i guess someone was in direct denial of what it obviously was. date is 1222, no year. still wow. almost that date now.
celebi says she wants to wait until the new year to even try hatching it. we remember how quickly xenophon grew when chaos & i started focusing all our attention and love on her. but this kid is so new, situation so scary, so much else going on. cel will keep it safe, and infi will too, but christmas has its own focus. we will wait.

Planning to sketch commission hydro for the 23rd, if we get the guts, and put together a reference for our core. which is a daunting task. haven't done so since before nc i think? i remember we had NO self-image during that time, which fueled the eating disorder and the traumatic experiences. no sense of identity at all.
but not so now. picrew is helping at least start that visualization "rough draft," process of elimination.

church folks said we will possibly get a white Christmas!!

121722

Dec. 17th, 2022 08:37 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)
 
(disjointed entry. very unfinished. need to post anyway because we're falling into neglect)


 
Woke up feeling disgusting 
Our sleep has been so disturbed lately.
 
Case manager phone call, asked how we were doing, mainly therapy i think
Got the guts to message rep payee afterwards, explained our fear of punishment, told her what bills we had to pay, stuttered the entire time. but did it!
 
Went to Walmart to buy cayenne mainly 
Determined to do it. scalpel kept saying "you don't have to, we can wait until monday" but i said nah, this was better-- i felt so cruddy from the morning that doing some little act of affection for a fellow system member should help get my brain back in a better position, at least on that note.
 
car songs on shuffle: It Bites (Castles) & Everything Everything (Breadwinner; the song we "met" Scalpel through)
Played some league tunes when we lost internet on the way home; but felt acute embarrassment? afraid of being "mocked & jeered" if anyone "heard them"
 
Breakfast at 1pm 
so so hungry. waited too long. 
even so. definitely worth the trip to get the spicy stuff restocked. system focus. no regrets in that regard.
 
Xennie talking to Laurie 
Knowledge of growing up vs innocence of childhood: i asked if she regretted it
"Both yes and no" = although she didn't like knowing about bad things, now she knows about the people who suffer from them, and so now she can truly love them where they are, as they are, and understand their pain, and truly care. She couldn't love them in totality without that understanding. She couldn't fight for them 
"Laurie maybe that's why the Spectrum us letting you know more things now. So you can love people more completely, and you can understand what you're fighting for." 
 
Mimic point-blank asking about what are these "God's promises" we keep mentioning? Especially the Bible app, everyone references them but never explains. Made me think; I actually didn't know either? 
he ALWAYS asks. always sticks around for faith-talk because 1. it's the focus of our system life and 2. the first day he talked to me in the car, that ended up coming up as a topic. me explaining my values of mercy and forgiveness and such. i remember how contrary he was, haha. he takes nothing at face value and on that first day it was ticking me off, to be blunt. like i got legit angry at how he insisted at picking apart everything i said, playing "devil's advocate" as it were and refusing to "just nod along" to what i said. we were basically arguing by the time i got back to the apartment. but... honestly, i was so glad. i was so happy he had his edges still. he wouldn't be him without them. yes i wanted to see him having a different future. brighter, better. but that takes time, and effort, and free choice. it's a lot of work and a lot of love. he's not a "project" or an "achievement" like a lot of people do when they proselytize and stuff. i'm not interested in that, i'm interested in sharing the heart of our system and offering a space in it for him if he wants. but yeah, faith is intrinsic to us. and god knows i am trying VERY HARD to be a "good example" of the values i discuss, WHILE admitting every time i fail miserably. trying very hard. he's gone from "eavesdropping" and making froward comments, to asking cutting questions, to just wanting to listen, to actually sitting with us and joining the discussion.
it means a lot. geez we really need to get the other outspacers in on this. i wonder why mimic's the first one. wonder why i feel more strongly attached to him than i ever expected to, even when he's a pain in the ass, haha. i care deeply about him though.
 
Anyway. I started thinking aloud about the whole "promise" thing, trying to voice what I understood so far, what I didn't, and what we would need to clarify. Transparency of process.
I mused that, since God IS Truth, everything He says IS True as well. So, by virtue of that fact, if God says He is going to do something, that IS a "promise," even if it's not stated as such! Like when Jesus says, in essence, "I am going to prepare a place for you, so that you can be with Me where I am." That's a promise. It's not just a statement. If He said it, He WILL do it. And... I never thought of it like that before.
I've started an empty notefile on the phone to copy+paste any and all instances I find of that in Scripture as I read it. I know there are websites online, listing "God's promises," but... in the past they always felt weirdly distant? detached? It never helped me understand, let alone appreciate. So... I'm doing this effort myself. That's vital in the faith, really-- you can't outsource any relationships, especially not the one you must have with your Creator for heavens sakes. That's the most personal thing ever, inevitably, but... we don't think of it as such, we humans, not typically. I know I sure haven't. It's all so new to me. My upbringing in the faith was not very nice, or explanatory, or even kind. Lots of fire & brimstone. Lots of platitudes and "Jesus loves you!" but also "Jesus doesn't want to look at you because He's disgusted with your sins" etc etc. Prayer as punishment, faith as a letter grade, you get the picture. I only HAVE faith now because of the System.
 
I ended up paraphrasing Adam & eve, vs Christ, in terms of life vs death, knowledge being godly only when tied to Wisdom? "Being like God" means power AND love, Adam & eve WERE already like God in a better sense than knowledge & strength alone
The only power that endures is power of the heart, it CANNOT be taken away from you 
"Spiritual genetics" = Adoption into God's family; Incarnation "reprogrammed" humanity the same way Adam did, passed on through BLOOD 
 
"You can't be reborn into a new life without dying to the old one"
 
After breakfast, crashed hard energy-wise. Sat down and tried to find another Picrew generator to use.
We scrolled through fifty bloody pages but there was SO much ugly art. i'm sorry but honestly it was repulsive. misshapen and lazy and sloppy.
Got super depressed looking at it. plus disgusting suggestive ads all over the site. tried to avoid them but they were everywhere. made us nauseous and furious.
so fed up with the internet, and the apparent "creative atmosphere" of it. the stupid fads and memes and aesthetics. wanted to just go offline forever and forget all that garbage exists.
 
Late for church as a result. crashed our mood even more
 
Got home, immediately biked for 90m
Said joyful rosary
Picture trouble? we apparently saved every picture we stumbled across of the mysteries and many of them are detrimental. pictures where mary & the angels are scowling, or with expressions that seem smug or disgusted or completely hollow. that is not what we need to see when praying.
Need to clean up those folders, ONLY keep files where people show actual emotion and/or are portrayed in a sincere and beautiful manner. so so tired of "white american blonde girl mary" too. that's a big reason why we never liked her as a child/teen, i will confess that. we were actually scared of her and a little angry too? didn't like how she always looked. felt threatening and gross. mary mom i'm sorry but it was the trauma junk. but then we started seeing orthodox pictures of her, and images of "our mother of sorrows" and "our lady of la salette" and we loved her. suddenly she looked good and caring and okay. amazing what art can do to our brain.
but yeah too much judgment being dragged up from our disturbed soul looking at those upsetting works of art, with the bad faces and stuff. Really getting sick of my brain w this
 
Listened to some Spotify after, still biking.
 
Dinner prep talking to Chaos 0
somehow ended up about the "moon" analogy i read about years ago? how, according to some, "enlightenment" (aka "the correct way of thinking") is when you look at the moon and just see the moon. no other thoughts. and i was saying how that actually infuriated me, or actually broke my heart, same feeling different interpretation... because it felt so callous? and if that was "wisdom" then god let me be stupid. because some people look at the moon and see other things. they see memories, or symbols, or ideas. and so many people look at the moon, and the beauty of it makes them remember the beauty of someone they love. and i said i never got that, the moon never affected me as such, but i ended up thinking about how the moon and the ocean are connected, among other things, etc etc. Trying too hard to talk. not sure what i wanted to say, so disturbed from the day so far. i kept mixing myself up. but i was trying.
chaos stopped me at one point, i was apologizing and in frustrated tears. he said jewel it's okay, he knows i love to use words but reminded me how i love to say that his "native language" is emotion, the heart of things. and he could feel what i was trying to verbalize, even if it wasn't translating. then... he compared it to waiting for rain. he said he could "sense" the feeling in me like you can scent lightning, or water in the air, and how you feel the breeze picking up and all. the clouds moving in. and the whole time, all this is dancing around the reality of rain, and you know it will happen, but when? a few raindrops fall but still you wait. it's not quite here yet. but it's not a bad waiting, it's a joyful waiting. and he said that's what it's like for him, listening to me talk paragraphs around one little precious core of an emotion. that one sentence i'm trying to build up to and conclude with. and he doesn't mind the waiting because he loves everything about the process. and he loves me.
...that moved me so, so much. he rarely says things so deep to me-- he's more of a listener, a feeler-- but when he does, man i remember it forever. it hits me right between the ribs. god bless him he's amazing
 
Dinner at 715
Studying 1 Corinthians 13 w Chaos 0, Xenophon, & Mimic 
Called Laurie over for verse 7 NIRV
"[Love] always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up."
Verse 10 TPT had CZ in tears 
"Our present knowledge and our prophecies are but partial (in fragments)... but when love’s perfection arrives, the partial will fade away."
 
Cleaned up quickly, got breakfast ready for church
Thinking of further altering the diet plan? Less fiber (we're at 50g currently geez), only 1400k? Want to lose some of the excess weight, to decrease the disturbing dysphoria 

Found ONE nice picrew after getting everything ready for bed. hated how i had "ragequit" and wanted to give it another chance. always that hope of mine. "i don't want to end this on a bad note, i am sure there is still good in this, i just need to find it." and i did. thank you lord
ultimately stayed up until 2am making avatars of system people god bless
went on scherzando for a while, couldn't remember what jeremiah used to wear specifically? and wanted to check. ended up melting my heart from how much i miss everyone, how much i love everyone, it just crashed into me so hard.
spent a solid hour just looking through old innerworld photos with Laurie, Lynne, & Julie 
So so happy. I miss this, I miss us. all of us. the beauty of our shared life. the beauty of the light and love we are all living testaments to, no matter how much darkness we've faced.
actually felt more hope than i have in... probably years. dead serious.
i will post the pictures once i clean up this entry, and maybe edit the pictures? color options are limited so they're not entirely accurate and accuracy is vital. we'll see.

bravely put Celebi's anchor plush back on the bed.

ah. you guys don't know about that yet.
let me quick update to elaborate on later.
 
After yesterday's update, as we got ready for bed, we ended up talking to Celebi.
I forget how it came up. I was talking to Laurie, Chaos 0, Infinitii I think, and Scalpel??
But...
...I mentioned the "other child."
The blue one.

We think it's hers.

She's always, always had that egg from the future. Now we know why.

I don't think I ever mentioned the other "potential children," did I? At least, not in recent years. Xenophon was the first-- the embryo found in the bloody sink. But there were two more, one found in a paintblot, and the other found in the same sink as Xennie i think? it's not written down. but pareidoliac revelations, each one entire and sudden and hitting hard as a punch to the gut. like i see it and i know. there's always a knowing, i recognize it, it's different from how other things are sensed-- nousfoni, outspacers, moralimon, etc. these little creatures feel completely different from everything else and that "ping" hits inside. like i feel it pull at my heart. and i know, as terrifying as that conviction is, that they are tied to me somehow.

...it's an awful, awful topic. i can't discuss it here, not completely. not now.
but... with all the years of abuse and trauma, and all the hope i still have, all the love i have despite the absolute horror... well. faith is a thing. and i know this stuff exists for a reason. and that's the reason.
so deep down, i have this iron will that all that misuse gets redeemed, no matter what.
the graves are one thing. they were mournful penance for loss, for the sins endured and allowed and enabled, reminders of the death i was causing by my refusal to fight back.
but... there was never anything to fix or repair the abuse of something sacred in my own right.
god knows i tried too hard to "get things right" and just ended in disaster. can't talk about that.
even so. heart was in the right place, technically. wanting to "get the pink color back." purify it. heal it.
all the memories locked away.
but. prayers, always. "god please make something good come out of all that disaster anyway. i know you can. only you can. please. bring light from that darkness anyway."
and
well, xenophon was found.
and now the others are being remembered.

sorry. not doing this justice. brain refusing to get near the trauma memories. disjointed.

but yeah. huge revelation. been keeping it to myself for like two, three days now.
told celebi tonight. like the old days with jayce, she took it hard. very emotional. yelled at me for a bit. but didn't run away. tried to, stopped. said she needed to process this. lots of tangled emotions. understandable.
said she wants to talk to me about it personally soon.
not sure if she mentioned old memories or not. i should find them in the archives anyway. i think that's the only way this "child" will ever come to term as it were. otherwise it will stay in this state forever, or die. probably the latter, now that it's been "realized" as a child, completely out of the blue. now if the attention and concern fades, so will its tiny life. i refuse to let that happen. refuse.
celebi has it in that egg. she first tried to give it to infinitii, to hold in hir bodysphere, but then decided no, i want to carry it. need to come to terms with the reality of it. i think she'll manage that better than me, i haven't thought about it at all, totally cut off from that part of our core history

exhausted. going to sleep.
will refine this later when our brain is working.


prismaticbleed: (angel)
 

It dazzles me. Heaven REJOICES when I ask for help to change my ways. The angels celebrate when a sinner repents, even just a little. The Father waits and watches, day & night, for His Child to come home. The Son actively searches out the lost coin, the lost sheep, no matter how others may mock & jeer, scorning Him for caring about such a trivial, expendable, worthless thing. God doesn't think so. God loves every dusty penny & wandering lamb. He kisses the filthy sinner and embraces him without fear or shame. God's Love looks diligently for even the slightest "excuse" to shower mercy & compassion upon us. So when we come TO Him, frightened & unsure & hesitant, He runs to meet us with grateful laughter & tears of joy.
So... here I am. I fear being punished for my sins but You are already thrilled that I'm just standing here! "But only say the word," we pray. "Lord, if You wish, You can make me clean." I'm begging. Perhaps I technically don't need to but that's how I feel. Here I am, asking again. Heal me. Change my heart. I'm tired of being the bad guy. I'm sick of feeling broken & evil & wrong.
Deep down I'm so frustrated I want to shout, "why don't You just shut me off & fix me?" Why do I sometimes pray for help for years and don't see any progress-- or even instead see myself get worse? But that's not Your fault. Sometimes-- well, most times, to be blunt-- my pain & anger blinds me to Your gentle & quiet Work, Your secret small miracles. And I apologize sincerely for my foolish ignorance. I pray You don't hold it against me, this aching frustration, this ardent want to BE A BETTER PERSON and feeling like... like You're just telling me "try harder. Not my fault you keep choosing to sin." But You wouldn't say that. I CAN'T try without You. And You KNOW my freewill is pretty busted-up by trauma & addiction. I NEED Your Help, always. I need You right now, or I will die, and You know THAT, too. So please, help me! Correct my stupid thoughts, soothe my frenetic mind, quiet the fires of anger & agony! Change my heart to be like Yours! Please, please, I don't want to be like this anymore.
Is that being pushy?  Or do You cherish the persistence of hope, of some feeble but dogged faith that fuels every return trip?
I desperately hope You do. Deep down, I know You do. That's what Love does-- it wants to see those it loves in the best possible state of heart. If I didn't keep coming back in prayer, if I lost hope, I know You wouldn't just let me go, either-- You'd come looking for me! You'd give me so many amazing coincidences & blessings to guide me back to You.
But... the delay is part of the response. Making me wait strengthens my faith & trust & patience. Making me wait makes me realize that holiness is a PROCESS, not a button You push. Grace has to flood me slowly. My heart has to fill up with the blesses rain and that takes a while of getting soaked to the bone in inclement weather. Everything is from Your hands. You don't turn me away with mine empty, either, even if I'm too distracted to notice.
Every prayer I've ever prayed, every tear I've shed, every heartbroken plea & despairing shout, You have heard and written down in Your Book. Just like our Archives, I'm sure You read them often, always with the most tender care & devoted dedication-- You answer me every time. Even if it's a "no," there's always a redirect to a different, God-given "Yes." Even if it takes YEARS for a "yes" to manifest, even if I don't see or hear or feel a thing... You answer. You are answering right now. You love me, and You never stop working for my eternal Good.
So... remind me of that, God, when I come running back to collapse on my knees before You, weeping & raging & tangled up inside. When I beg You for healing, please, help me to trust in Your sacred silence, the same silence that makes flowers bloom and stars wheel in the sky. It is the silence of sunrise and snowfall and secrets held in the heart. Time, softened & slowed in those moments, sings a song to Your hidden glory. There is Forever, here, even in the waiting, even in the pain. The world is still turning. God is still holding You in His Heart. Wait in peace. Trust Him. He is answering You. The Good will come exactly when it's supposed to, and if you look with a little love, you will find it is already, always, here.


prismaticbleed: (angel)
 
We can only truly love others if we understand love ourselves, and that understanding comes solely through cognizance of God's unconditional love for each individual. When we feel unworthy and hopeless, God still loves us, because He chooses to-- circumstances do not faze Him. This is how we must love ourselves, refusing to feel hatred towards our own souls, for Christ died for us, too! When we allow this immense compassion to flood our being, we can then pour it out to others freely.
We cannot be an honest member of the Body of Christ if we refuse to mark our every moment with love. We can only do that if we are acting from an inner state of BEING loved, and therefore lovable, and this only occurs with the birth and death of Christ, the divine proofs of His infinite tenderness towards us sinners. It is then that we can become true members of His Body, for we see ourselves & all others as He does. We do not judge, we do not condemn. We simply love, and that love makes all things new.

121522

Dec. 15th, 2022 10:58 pm
prismaticbleed: (held)

weird day. not even gonna mark this one as "unfinished" even if it's unstructured because i don't have much to type today.

last night was too existentially disturbing to recover from overnight. i'm still shaken and distracted today. my sense of self is shot. i kept slipping in language AND self-perception. didn't recognize the mirror several times. so much automated behavior and memory gaps. this isn't cool.

caseworker woke me up at like 10:20? right before our alarm. biweekly checkup i guess. asked about therapy, about food, about cash, about doctors. i said we had enough food for now, therapy looks promising, all doctors are video visits for the near future, but i'm afraid to ask my payee for cash because "i fear being penalized for asking." got that from upbringing: "you're not allowed to ask," and "you're not supposed to ask," culminating in "BUT now that you DID, you will be punished by our specifically denying you AND not trusting you in the future!" in other words, if i ask my payee for more money so i can wash clothes and buy winterwear and even get something "for myself"-- honestly, if i had the guts i'd ask to start putting aside savings to finally get a bloody high-polyphony midi-controller 88-key weighted keyboard, i'm trying to learn the jargon kids-- i'm terrified that she'll say, "you don't need that! is that how you spend your money? selfishly and luxuriously? well then, you WON'T get money, until I DECIDE you can, AND we're going to severely decrease what money you DO get because you don't need that much." learn to live in poverty kiddo!! stop wanting to have things!! but the caseworker said to discuss these fears with her, and build better communication, and FIND OUT what my limits and expectations actually are. mom called like five minutes later i think and i told her this same fear, and she said that i should "frame my requests" in a "mental health" way?? like, i want to get musical tech because it's "enrichment" and "helps combat depression and purposelessness" and same thing for other "nonessentials" like even the bloody peppermint & cinnamon oils i always put on my bed because it grounds me. frame it as "psychological aids" mom said. feels like lying, but it's not. isn't that weird? like i constantly have to "justify" WHY i want or godforbid "need" things that aren't bare-bones essentials, and even THEN i feel so ashamed to want "more." i grew out of my clothes (still hate hate hate that) and need new ones because right now i'm wearing the same outfits for like a week straight. they're not very warm. but "it's enough!" live ascetically boy!! you don't need more clothes. but my mom says the people in church are "gossiping" and asking "why do they always wear the same outfit?? are they that poor and/or mentally ill? won't their family help them? why isn't the mother doing anything?" it reflects back on her and she legit keeps PUSHING HER clothes on me. which doesn't help, just sets off trauma, but God knows i am still genuinely grateful for her care. still it's unfair of me to claim this is "saving face" on her part. maybe part of it is but who cares. honestly she's a good woman and she loves her kids and she wants to do what she can to help. i see that and i appreciate it. i just... can't wear what she gives, either from dysphoria or fibro triggers. but i'm grateful. and with food, i mentioned that i see THAT as a luxury too, geez i shudder to think of the possible tirade i'm gonna get from our dietician tomorrow. "why are you eating the same things over and over you NEED VARIETY you NEED TO TRY NEW THINGS you NEED TO BE ADVENTUROUS" no i don't, that's hedonistic garbage talk, i HATED that about inpatient, they just kept pushing "adventurous eating" and "tackle all your fear foods" and "variety variety" and no. nope. not when you're poor and obsessive-compulsive and highly limited in both preparation time and space and means. i can't cook or boil or bake things; i do NOT trust my dissociation and i DO have a LOT of legit trauma tied to kitchens, especially stoves and ovens. and meal-planning can honestly keep me awake at night, sobbing in frustration as i try to figure out perfect nutritionally balanced macros and ratios and timing, while "eating everything THEY want me to eat." capital n Nope. we have it down to the same thing every day and it works. it's easy to make, JUST like the binges were, which is WHY they were "psychologically soothing." we spent hours just cutting and chopping and peeling vegetables (so many knives and blades. god why do we miss that so much) and then more hours eating them one bit at a time with chopsticks and it was all just mechanically repetitive ritualized behavior that allowed our consciousness to SHUT DOWN. perpetual dissociation. well we're using the same basic method for different ends: now the "ritual" is automated enough for us to use that "non-thinking" space to TALK UPSTAIRS. and with xenophon ghosting, i don't blackout dissociate anymore. God bless her. God bless EVERYONE in headspace; THEY are saving my life, thank the Lord, NOT that hellish hospital. still, it was necessary. we needed to "gain weight" solely because our body needed something to work with after years of running on empty. we're still pissed, yeah, but at least we're not 90 pounds. and yet i still keep watching that scale, stable since discharge, waiting for it to drop. except, now we're getting SOME VISIBLE MUSCLE TONE, just a bit but it is evidently different from how flabby we were after sitting on our collective ass for almost nine weeks, PLUS the months of long-covid and post-loss despair. we've gotta WORK to get back in shape but we won't give up. it was worse in 2017. yeah we were also literally starving ourselves but we didn't get very strong as a result. striving to do the opposite now. still eat, but temperately, and get BUFF. that's the goal really.
what were we talking about. oh yeah. "non-essentials." thank GOD we had enough savings to get the exercise bike. huge expense but essential, and they NEVER would have authorized that purchase through disability payments. so thank god again.
but yeah. limited foods now, we don't mind, but the dietician might. we'll just have to be honest and stand our ground within reason. we'll see what happens tomorrow. and DON'T LIE. no half-truths, NO empty "agreeing" to be a "good patient," NO compromises or censoring. we be HONEST. and we work WITH the doctors to do what is WISE. remember that fortune we have taped to the laptop. "do what is RIGHT, not what you "SHOULD."" discernment is key. i think i typed that exact same thing before, but it deserves a repeat. "should" is a thought distortion byproduct. don't use that language. use insight and clarity. speak up and stand up BUT be open to honest legit correction too. we're learning.

anyway. i remember we were in the kitchen for 11:11 because i saw it and smiled. we're finally seeing GOOD numbers again, not just the evil ones. it's so reassuring. maybe a silly comfort but god knows we love numbers and balance and symmetry and stuff. so that's always soothing, even just mentally in that respect, to see. feels like a message, "you're doing good. keep it up." helps a lot. whereas the other one is "watch out, you're not thinking right, get back on the road." scary to see, but. a vital warning.

my memory is shot for today. again, it's the reeling residue from yesterday. haven't dealt with it. honestly in shock from not only my legit WRATH meltdown with jezebel, but the similar trauma-hate conflagration over that movie. i guess that's why God pushed me to watch it. unexpected, and highly upsetting, but He knows what He's doing. how the heck else was i gonna realize that THIS is still a cancer in my soul? at least now we can treat it.

breakfast... oh yeah, we had one busted egg. when they crack, we just junk the yolk and add +1 white to the BK protein. it works. still feel bad about trashing the yolk, though. wonder if there's anything we can do with 'em, even just for the squirrels (google says they'll eat 'em, and they're safe for dogs too, so hey). we want to be a "good wizard," Lord knows we MUST re-read that series soon, too. we never finished it and apparently there are extra novellas and such? which is cool. but in any case we need to print out the oath and pin it to our wall. that will help a TON, i can guarantee you. punch entropy in the teeth son

during breakfast talk, laurie mentioned that she was going to try to "give up the profanity" for new year's again; it's tough because that was part of her original function and so it's almost etched into her code, so to speak. but she's shifting, especially in hue, in a healthier way, and that doesn't really "fit" who she wants to be anymore. so she told xenophon, "i want you to stop me if you catch me swearing." xennie said okay, but no "swear jar," she didn't want to take any money. laurie said fine, then just punch me. xennie said no!! i can't hit you. laurie said c'mon kid, you won't hurt me. just give me a light punch even. xenophon did, really cutely, and laurie beamed and said see, that's it! and i guess xenophon, realizing this wasn't "being mean" and it was helping, suddenly took on this new job with absolute adorable enthusiasm. for the rest of the morning, if laurie slipped and dropped an f-bomb xenophon would dash over and pummel her leg with her fists, just a bit. "laurie don't swear!!" it's the funniest thing. laurie is getting a total kick out of this, i can tell, but it's also humbling for her, to now be accountable to this sweet little kid in her efforts to be less offensive towards such people. it means a lot to see, really.

i've been informed that scalpel and phlegmoni are cayenne bros because 1. it's red leaning vermilion and 2. it gives you... achy burny eyes. they find this hilarious. they're trying to bring razor into it, but her color doesn't quite match. however i know her, she's still red, and reds can be jokesters in their own right. blame jewel. so heaven only knows what will happen with all this, haha. i've gotta admit, part of me does like spicy stuff too. i'm telling you, it's a red thing. jot that down in our new "color characteristic" files, honestly it's fascinating to find stuff like this, even little things, that can be consistently measured and observed. learning! yeah! it's pretty awesome in here. 

tried to biblestudy while we ate again. realized we're two days behind on that advent devotional, but we cannot put the required spiritual focus into it if we're splitting with breakfast attention. so we smartly set it aside for the time being. unfortunately we also dissociated for the whole meal, apparently, because i have NO recall of it at all. no problems though. xenophon and laurie make sure.

after eating we felt dizzy & tired & sick as always (still not sure if that's e.d. recovery stuff or a legit intolerance, we'll ask tomorrow if it feels safe to-- don't want to get labeled as a hypochondriac again, yes it's "boy who cried wolf" on their end but we always sincerely want advice, if we're wrong then good we just want to know), so we brought up the bible app again. realized they have that advent-plan badge challenge going, so i found a 5-day one that was rather simple and did it all within an hour. did me a lot of good actually; i'm really learning to love some "modern" translations, like "the message" and "the passion" and "plain english version" and of COURSE hawaii pidgin. yes i will compare them to the NET and AMP and RSV and such, but... the ones that "paraphrase" sometimes add such gorgeous new light to the message. taken as a whole, it enriches the scripture so much. it's deeply moving and i really love it. so i want to do that more. keep up on the devotional plans, especially ones that have "talk about it" or "apply this truth" bits. things that will push me to type and think and act. that's the best.

also.
finally got the guts to soft-quit tumblr.
i've wanted to for months. the place is SO TOXIC. the language is horrid, there's so much fighting, there's sexual depravity everywhere. no matter what blog i bring up, i'm bracing for impact, never knowing what triggers i might stumble across. it's exhausting. it's poisoning our brain, too, which was PROVEN by the orange & yellow voices yesterday-- "bright" hues are inherently SOCIAL and as such they INTERNALIZE ALL SOCIAL EXPOSURE, even if it's only online.
but... it's not just that. it's the religious mask i've put on to "fit in." it was so unconscious, and so dissociative, that i didn't realize it was happening until i started reviewing old entries. ...it was getting to the point where i was trying to erase my ACTUAL personality in order to be a "good christian" according to the internet. absolute disaster in progress. and... it was so dishonest. nobody knew i was queer or trans or mentally ill. nobody knew anything about my innerlife and how deeply it affected my faith. i would believe everything i read, getting so confused with the arguments between "tradcaths" and "novus ordos" and more protestant denominations than i knew existed, not to mention the odd jew and muslim speaking up to "correct" their fellow abrahamic religion. it was insane. and the whole time, i was just "trying to be meek and cooperative," not realizing that it also meant i was being a total bloody LIAR. this is why all our old "friends" hated "me." i would do and say and act however they wanted, all smiles and nods, while inside i was hollow. like a robot. so involved in the act that i forgot who i was offstage. the fact that this was affecting my RELIGION for so long makes me sick.
inevitably it was killing my faith life. i couldn't read holy books, do bible study, or even pray without thinking, "i need to post this to tumblr! i need to share this with everyone!" and in the process... i wouldn't share it with myself. i became the "middleman" to my own religious experience, handing everything over to my "followers" and forgetting to keep any of it in the process. it became a performance, a job even. it was making me miserable, and i started to push my faith practices away JUST so i wouldn't "have to update." it was lethal.
so. i quit. quittski. over-and-outski. i'm done. i posted an "indefinite hiatus" update there and here and just deleted the app. that's it.
now... now i can worship without feeling like that has to be "consumable," too. i no longer feel obligated to make my faith experience "user-friendly" and "fit for a target audience." no. that's a demonic lie. but i feel forced to do the same with my art, and my music, and all my God-given talents, how ironic is that. so tired of feeling like i can't do anything just for love. everything has to be "profitable." everything has to be "appropriate." if you're a christian you're "not supposed to be" weird or crazy or just plain gay, for heaven's sakes. otherwise you're broken, a hypocrite, and your testimony is junk. that's terrifying. but it's also total lies.
god loves me, exactly as i am. and yeah, i have a LOT of healing and spiritual growth to do, but... there are parts of me that are vital to my faith that so many fellow christians would claim were unacceptable. 
i cannot worship God in truth if i can't do it with my entire heart, and that includes EVERYONE IN IT.
so. no more tumblr. avoid all that drama and distortion. everything i get from my faith, goes in this journal now. we're keeping it real.

getting a headache. probably dehydrated. i can only think of 60oz that we got down. gotta make more of an effort with that.
...obligatory sidelong glance at chaos 0, haha. you know what yes, i do mean it both ways, why not.

he deserves his own entry. very soon. our anniversary is in one week. one week. nineteen years.
...will i get the nerve to draw something? that means drawing myself. i haven't done that in a very, very long time. but he's worth it.

oh, really quick. speaking of art.
i have wanted to do a serious of religious "paintings" for a WHILE now, on two topics: one, all the rosary mysteries in ways that match our soul, so we can meditate on them and feel truly immersed; and two... a spectrum-hue set of jesus christ, focused on His sacred heart.
honestly i want to do that so badly it aches. i keep thinking about it. i mean, every culture portrays jesus according to their heritage-- their ethnicity, their dress, their art styles. there are gorgeous pictures of jesus as japanese, indian, native american, african, korean... beautiful, every single one. but then there's internal "culture." i absolutely love when i see jesus portrayed in that context, too, but with respect. and that is hard to find. give me anime jesus. give me vaporwave jesus. give me whatever this counts as. give me every single thing that kokecit does. (this is saved on my phone forever btw,and i think about this constantly.) i'm serious. whatever your internal "vibe" is, i want to see your faith permeating every aspect of that, too. evangelize everything.
(btw for humor's sake this is still one of my favorite things, it's hilariously simple and never fails to both make me laugh and inspire me, god bless)
so. paintings. the phrase is not, "what if jesus were american, living in my time?" that's been done. but i don't "live in" modern america, arguably. i'm so mentally weird & isolated, since childhood, that my honest "nationality" is headspace. so i open with the question: "what if jesus were red? or blue? or violet? if He was part of this specific Spectrum hue, how would it manifest in Him?" and of course He's God so He would carry ALL the beauty of each one completely. and THAT is what i want to draw, or paint, or whatever it ends up as. but i want to express that. the REAL face of God in MY unique soul. how He looks to me. i want to do that more than anything.
hm. in that case, i should start now. open a word document and start writing down notes. do some thumbnail sketches. but get moving on it.

to segue back into where we were.
gotta draw something for god's biggest work of personalized grace in my life, as it were. 19 years.
...no idea what, yet. something sincere, NOT performative. draw it for us, not an audience. if i were to capture, in art, how i feel about us right now, at this exact time in our shared life, what would i express? that is what i should do.
the biggest roadblock: me.
bloody dyspho/dysmo hell making everything difficult. but suddenly i hear infi speaking up, out of nowhere, "but jewel that isn't the true you. it's the body you live in, but it will change with time. the core of your soul does not. you know how that looks, no matter what the externals are. draw that. draw how he sees you, and always has. that's the truth."
...that's... a really, really solid point, and it's gutting me like a fish to be honest
"how he sees me." geez didn't he bring that up the other night, even? whatever face you have, you're still you? whatever name you have, i still know you? after how many core shifts and breaks and deaths he's seen, bloodlines and hues both changing, my heart and his heart have stayed the same, and they're connected. i cannot forget that, nor can i trivialize it, because it's astronomically important. when did we first connect? wasn't i like 15? and since then he's known me, and i know him, even in the perfect incidents and the bloodred freakouts and all the tar & plague. no matter what, we know each other. i kept seeing that in the old xangas, how he could tell when i "wasn't in my eyes" and when i was slipping almost without any apparent "tells." even when laurie couldn't quite see things were off, chaos 0 could. he couldn't not. his vision of me surpassed everyone else's, because he was seeing with the heart. again, just like the fox said. "you are forever responsible for what you have tamed." i think about that a lot, too. (btw don't forget we DO have a copy of that book i think? a library reject copy, we love those. still i would love a special really old printing of it, and we STILL need to get our hands on a signed copy of fahrenheit 451. but try to explain that to social security, haha.) what is true is not "evident," because it is too sacred. the most real things in all the universe are only perceptible by those who see, who look with not only open eyes but an open heart.
...i need to be courageous enough to trust in that. to trust that whatever i may "look like" right now it's valid, because my heart is the same. why am i so obsessed with appearances though? is THAT tied to the "i must be approved" stuff i'm struggling with in my faith too? that if i don't "look worthy of love," OR of loving, then i'm NOT? like if i'm not pretty or handsome or strong or smart enough, i don't deserve to love or be loved at ALL? that is a LETHALLY toxic internalized belief, geez.
but. it's true, that i hold it regardless. i've heard it, and experienced it, way too much. society and family both emphasized it. actually, thinking of media, that REALLY did it. i used to wonder "why do people keep talking about 'representation' in media? why is that so important?" and then i stopped and thought and realized, oh, i have that same problem, and it hurts. growing up, and even now, i NEVER see characters that are like me. not in appearance, not in personality, not in life... or rather, i never see good characters like "me." if someone is red, it's usually shorthand for "dangerous" or "wild" or "sexy." if someone is "crazy," or heaven forbid "multiple," they're murderous and insane and dehumanized. no one is shaped like me. no one talks like me. no one is trans-neutral, no one is asexual yet amorous, no one is in love with a monster and male-presenting. at least, if such "representation" exists, i sure haven't seen it. and yeah it sounds whiny and trivial but honestly it just makes me feel... unreal. i have enough problems with reality, i don't need the world at large acting like i shouldn't exist.
why am i even venting about this? oh yeah. scared of drawing myself, especially in the anniversary context.
but you know what, if there's no "representation" i don't care. that just means i need to make the first move.
in any case i must, i must refuse to hide this for that reason. i'm tired of forcing myself to deny or downplay what i feel because it's "shameful" or "stupid" or "something i have to keep secret." why. i'm tired. i want to live in this light and color like i used to, back when life was focused on headspace, and i didn't care about "the world's opinion." i only care about God's opinion, and He has never objected to my honestly loving anyone, as long as He still gets priority. but God would never tell someone "don't love anyone BUT me." that goes against all His commandments. no. we've gotta glorify Him in ALL things, no exceptions, and that IS possible and it's BEAUTIFUL. but you can't do that if you're constantly afraid of human judgment. you cannot see clearly then. if you strive to keep your heart pure, that's all you can do. pray and then just love, always.

i am so tired. it's 1am.
i noticed it's hard to type during the day, mostly because journaling "has to happen at the end" so it's all included and cohesive. but it's also because everything gets quiet and dark and introspective. perfect for going inside oneself. winter is a big blessing in that respect.

oh, oh dude last daily update things. this is important.
first let me backtrack. i lost a lot of time this evening due to exhaustion? i was on our phone, but what was i even doing? reading? researching? i sat down on the couch at one point. mimic showed up and just sat down by it, doing his own thing. surprised me, really. didn't expect his company, especially not at his own decision. i mentioned "i'm probably not gonna read tonight, dude, i'm too tired. my brain needs a break." he said that's cool, he wasn't there asking for anything, just "checking in." chillin' really. but still, he was nearby. which was... how do i say. nice? strange? both?
octupi are solitary creatures. they don't live long. they're super intelligent. but they're not particularly social, at least, not in our world. they have no real reason to be. their lives are naturally solitary. despite their intelligence and inquisitiveness and playfulness, even, their lives in the wild appear to be mostly... survival.
mimic is curious, more than anything. he likes to learn things. he wants that intel, as it were. he's genuinely interested, but... interpersonal connections aren't "typical" for him. not like for a wolf, or a monkey, or a lion. but interestingly, hedgehogs allegedly are solitary critters too, in this world. so who knows? 
i'm solitary, too. plus i'm aroace no matter how i try to force otherwise. i have to come to terms with that. "interpersonal connections" are tricky for me, even when i do love people, because getting "close" and "involved" is distressing psychologically and physically. again, "how much of this is trauma" BUT mind you, even as a child i REFUSED to socialize. when i did, like in preschool, i was the boss. and i was mean. i didn't want "friends," i just wanted people to do what i wanted. to get things done and then leave. don't chat with me, don't play games, don't invite me to parties unless it means i get to play games and eat free food and leave whenever i want. i was not a nice kid. except i was. except i still cared, deeply so, and even when i grumbled over it i did chores for grandma and said my prayers and kissed my brothers on the cheek. sometimes i did it without being asked. point is, even as i grew up and somehow became "kinder"-- no idea how, maybe just the grace of God-- i still didn't want to hang out with people. EVEN when i got that massive crush on alexandria. even though i wanted to be her "best friend" i don't think i knew what that would be like. but i wanted to be with her. that was SO NEW. and yet... i never got close to her. always did everything backhanded, sneaky. i stole her stuff just to have her things with me. looked through her desk and bookbag when she wasn't around just to "get a glimpse" of her personal life. things like that. never actually interacting. the thought of talking, of socializing, EVEN with her, was repugnant. and yet i was a chatterbox. i monologued. but i talked to the fourth wall. i didn't intend to be responded to, unless it was in questions. everything a business transaction. i'd never get a coffee with you. except... maybe with alexandria. and then i'd let her do the talking, probably. but then what? how would i sustain that? would it be once a year on valentine's day and then i'd bail? recover for the next 364 days? why am i so isolatory, and yet i can't help but care about people even if i don't know how to acknowledge or act on it properly? without putting on a mask and burning myself out? this isn't the place to think about that. brain too fuzzy. but still. good that it's brought up. more introspection to do.
nevertheless. because both he and i are a bit averse to being in groups, especially in consistently interactive ones, i genuinely don't know if mimic will stick around, based on his own demeanor, and the overall atmosphere of headspace. plus, outspacers, man. they don't "stay in headspace" in any case. they just visit. they drop in, say hi, get up to speed if they're interested, but always go back to where they came from-- ideally, a leagueworld. and there is space for mimic, if he makes that final decision to stay, to have this "other life" in another world.
even so. i do like him. he's taught me a lot, and he's a fascinating guy. challenging, yes, but i think that's a big part of why i like him. i mean heck, look at me and laurie. i like that bit of an edge. but there always needs to be that ability to put the knife down, as it were. headspace does enable that, true; it empowers such changes. but receptivity and choice are still key factors. i don't know dude, we'll see what happens. point is, if he does leave, i'll be grateful to have known him for a little while, and i will miss him. but he wouldn't be the first outspacer-potentiate to have left, either. it happens. i don't forget any of them. if they were to walk back in, even like two decades later, they'd be welcomed as if they never left. that's love, too.

just a brief mention that dinner was 7pm (we're only eating two meals a day; BK is ~900 and DN is ~600, it works) and although i was still so darn dissociated, somehow that also prevented socials from kicking in??? so count your blessings i suppose. succeeded in writing a daily devotional response while i ate so that's posted here. other than that i just talked to xenophon, i love her so so so much, i always share the eggs and fortune cookies with her, she makes my life feel so meaningful.
quick interjection there. yesterday i was seething over how "creeped out" i am by "mothers" and babies. i don't think that's as true as it felt then, thank god. yes i have trauma around sexuality and motherhood both, which extends to the babyphobia. i've been writing about this here & there since high school, i am clearly aware of that.
but... i still love my mom. and i still stand in awe of the love of mothers. even if i don't understand the "maternal" bit, and even if i freak out around babies, honestly i don't hate them. if there's anything i "hate" it's just stupid physical things that frighten me. it's not the person. and it breaks my heart to even have this dissonance. i just want to love. but... girls scare me, for the most part. no, femininity scares me. it's all fear of sex. i know that. i'm trying to come to terms with it & cope. but it's... existentially rattling. big trauma trigger. shook me up bad. gotta bring it up in therapy.
HOWEVER. the segue.
last night, after all that hellish typing, god gave me another nudge. i opened a new tab and the top "pocket" recommendation was... lab mice. specifically john calhoun's mice. as in NIMH.
and today, i announced it was movie night again, and we watched it. mrs brisby & the rats of nimh. one of my childhood favorite films.
DEAR GOD THANK YOU FOR THE NUDGE, I NEEDED THIS SO MUCH
now that mouse is a REAL woman. i know that sounds funny, but she doesn't scare me at ALL. not just because she's a mouse, but she's completely nonsexualized. her personality is sweet and kind. she speaks quietly and politely. she is well-mannered and mature and honorable. and she is STUNNINGLY BRAVE. this mouse-lady would literally FIGHT DEATH FOR THE SAKE OF HER KIDS. and THAT is motherhood. THAT is what it means TO be a mother. it has nothing to do with american white-woman culture and all its bizarre nauseating trappings. no. motherhood is what mrs brisby personifies-- sweetness, gentleness, care, affection, and COURAGE so true it conquers all, because it's fueled by SHEER LOVE. her kid gets pneumonia and she is willing to go to the ends of the earth to save him. she tries to disarm a freaking tractor. she drugs a CAT. she visits an OWL knowing full well he might eat her. and the whole time, EVEN when she is literally SHAKING with fear, she doesn't break. she doesn't chicken out. she doesn't even panic. her attitude is astoundingly level because at its core she is determined to do anything for her kids. and so nothing can actually rattle her, because she has set her little furry face like iron against every possible opposition. and she WILL overcome every single opposition because she's a mom, and that's what moms do.
honestly it was incredible. i love this movie. i haven't seen it since i was like 5. i am so glad we watched it again at last, today of all days. it was exactly what i needed.
but oh boy. boy oh boy. we got our two solid hours of biking in and THEN, right when nimh ended, god reaches out to elbow me in the ribs via tubi tv and says "hey kiddo, uh, do you wanna watch this movie next?" and slides a little banner over.
it's the last unicorn.
my FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME.
I gasped and clicked it immediately and told everyone, we are watching the first 10 minutes at least, i am NOT postponing this absolute treasure.
oh lord i am going to cry my eyes out with both joy and pain, i used to loop this film as a kid, it was like my heart on the screen. i freakin' love amalthea, and molly, and even schmendrick, and that "circus" scene is BURNED into my brain, as is that drunken skeleton, and the RED BULL oh man i am hype i cannot wait to see it all again. i don't "remember" it either (thanks dissociation and i mean it) so this will be like... watching it for the first time all over again. thank you god. oh thank you. this is healing too, i've never been afraid of a child or a lady in these old cartoons, i mean geez mrs brisby's kids were so precious even when they were misbehaving, why do i have that problem with humans?? is it really all just trauma? that "threat" of "you know how kids are made, well you're doomed to that fate and you cannot escape"? can't type about that now.
oh man but this movie. i can't wait.
oh. before i forget. jeremy the crow. he reminds me a lot of batty from ferngully (MY MAN, how in heaven's name was he not an outspacer even back then, i freakin' loved that crazyhead) and, yes, at one point (with the "sparkly" and with the strings) he gets "crazy eyes." bluth-style, which is BOSS and means he looks like Genesis does. here, look. honestly i love it, there's something weirdly... beautiful? about it. thesaurus isn't helping me. but when characters get those multi-iris-ring eyes, which only happens when they're slipping just a liiiittle bit out of sanity, well. it both terrifies me, and fascinates me. ...i know what it's like, is why. i know the dangers, and the... well, it's like a drug. i'll put it bluntly. when i'm in that state, it's on the edge between two kinds of "crazy": the lunatic kind, and the "love" kind. now that's for me, not necessarily for the cartoons, but. same feeling. it's a visual signal for someone being "actively mental" and that can be good or bad, because it means that they're no longer in total "control" of what they're doing. the programming is offline. it's just brainwaves baby, intense to the point of insane, and the reason why it goes to your eyes is 1. windows to the soul and 2. that's all you can see. it's a sort of hyperfocus state. no casualness about it. when i get the "ringy eyes" it means something has transfixed my consciousness so keenly that it has rendered me almost high from it? geez how do i explain. jeremy sees the sparkly and just goes bonkers over it. transfixed. the wide-eyed bit is what scares me; that's the sign for me personally threatening unhinged behavior. it's so intent on whatever has triggered that hyperfocus that it loses the ability to really reason. it's not malevolent, no, just dangerous. it can also be a sign of panic, which happens in the scene when the kids are tying him back up (can't find it online)? but! it's the wide eyes. when they're not wide, like in the sparkly scene where he slumps over and just kind of dazedly smiles at the gem, that to me is the "crazy" going the other way. not manic anymore, not frantic, but still that hyperfocus and obsession except now it's disarmed? in either case though it's intense feeling, but it's not a permanent state, not usually, at least not in the films i've seen. but not so in headspace! genesis is the poster boy for this, but i'm pictured standing right next to him as it were. it's in the league a lot. man i am really ranting here, i guess because to be totally frank with you this is a topic very close to my heart, and pun fully intended. i'll have to revisit this topic later when i think about it more and also find more external examples, get my vocabulary together, because i think how i perceive it is still different than how it is intended canonically, at least halfway. which is normal, haha. still. gets me introspective. helps me learn more about us, and how we work and think.
btw the voice-acting in nimh was IMPECCABLE. oh and NICODEMUS!! his glowy eyes! and he's beautiful too, oh man, and his personality is so so sweet. look at how he moves too, it's fantastic. i love his character. big weakness for the wise old creepy-nice dudes. same with the good-hearted kinda-loony goofballs, and the strong but gentle gals of honor who would move the world for family & friends. these oldschool cartoons, man. god bless 'em, they make life so much brighter.
but. lastly. it's 2am and i must write this down, and to pull some topics back together.
the butterfly.
as a kid, he scared me, because he feels like word salad at first. (also the march music doesn't help; THAT scares me more than the randomosity!) i've only ever experienced that kind of mad-tatter speech in situations where something is very very wrong, so it's a kneejerk fear. but then... you realize there's some sort of bizarre sense underpinning all the babble, an order to the chaos, and isn't that relevant because he says something and it hit me like a shot, and has me staggering even now.
he's talking to amalthea. fluttering around and quoting song lyrics and poems. a few that struck hard already. a bit from "how deep is the ocean." "you're my everything." "when you are old." even the (apparently shakespeare) "fishmonger" reference, which struck us only because of our own old injokes. it sounds random but looking it all up, there's all references to love and war and loss and trying to get something back... and all of it being about one, one person, one life, one special thing, the very last, the very only. brilliant, really.
but then. there's that one line.
"Your name is a golden bell hung in my heart. I would break my body to pieces to call you once by your name."
...and i just stopped. stopped everything. the video, the bike. reeling.
...that line coming from a blue butterfly of all things, talking to a unicorn,
blue is trust, loyalty, honesty, peace. sadness and grief. the sky and the sea and the winter chill. constancy. fidelity. communication.
butterflies are souls. free and fragile. symbols of hope and transformation. resurrection. life after apparent death and destruction. hope.
unicorns are grace. purity. innocence. healing. virginal love. gentle yet fierce. rare & powerful. visible only to those who search and trust.
"for the love it bears to fair maidens, it forgets its ferocity and wildness..."
come on you know me already, the parallels i'm drawing are obvious.
but... the bit about the name,
how can i summarize this. it's 3am. lots of research going on in the background.
every time i imagine "meeting him" here, anywhere, for the first and millionth time, it's always hallmarked by our names.
"say you know me."
time and time again. which world is this now, do i know you from my dreams, what face is yours, what name?
i'd recognize you anywhere, but who am i? fluttering around and speaking in riddles, you this eternal beloved thing. my golden bell. the song my heart will always remember. but i can't say it, if only, if only you were here to call by that beloved name, i would--
"no, no, listen. don't listen to me, listen."
babbling on and on as i always do. what am i speaking in circles around? isn't it always you? my only one?
ah i'm taking this too far but i don't care. it's a springboard, a beautiful launchpad and i'm shooting for the stars as always, for those planets with rings that were always shorthand for that name i couldn't confess aloud.
just once, could you imagine? every bell in this cathedral set to singing. you're the only thing i would break for.

gotta sleep. gonna get 8 hours just in time for our doctor's appointment, good timing you lunatic. gonna shatter that crazy moon and turn it into a ring, spinning spinning, all ice and diamonds and embracing you forever, why not get poetic, it's almost 4am anyway.
aah but i'm blessed. you know i really don't call him by name often. too sacred, somehow. requires cracks in the armor, all of it, lined with gold. bells.
well why not, our daughter is a butterfly anyway.
close the cover before striking. got a sparkly of my very own. good lord i'm delirious, haha. sleep deprivation!

honestly though. trying not to be afraid of sounding like a lovedrunk idiot, because i am, so why not be sincere about it. nevertheless good seeds. focus on the good, on the light. let that illuminate everything else. thanks be to god. it's still snowing. there's hope for everybody, hope for me, somehow i'm sure. have faith, have faith. dedicate myself to love in every aspect and set my life on fire. warm my heart up again. bring that light to everything. don't be afraid.
rambling now. as if i already wasn't. trying to conclude with what i'm feeling
hope, just so much hope, with a determination as red as blood, and just as life-giving,
lord give me strength. and grace. and an open heart. help me to remember who i am, truly, please.
i want to be good. i want to be a light in the dark. i want to do everything for love. for everyone. courage of the heart. that's red. that's me.

exhausted. sunrise will come. tomorrow brings... who knows?
life, life, life, life.
music.
and love.

gotta sleep before i can get there though! 

prismaticbleed: (angel)
 
"Joy is a choice." This does not mean simply saying, "I have decided to be happy today, no matter what," although that is definitely a doorway. Because when we are determined to find happiness, we focus on it-- we look for silver linings & roses among thorns. However,  we cannot have such a perspective without faith that there IS Good to BE found, that there IS a Light, even in the darkest times. That Goodness & Light is both perfected & personified in Jesus. He is proof of Joy umconquerable, for He alone creates & bestows is. All human optimism is baseless without Christ, for human perspective is temporal, worldly. It is mere happiness, shifting & tenuous, even backed by determination. Christ gives JOY-- a song of the heart, a spark in the soul, blazing brightly despite all circumstances, for it exists beyond all contexts. Joy simply IS, because GOD IS, and HE is OUR Joy! No matter what happens here, Christ is born for us, to save us, and to remain with us forever in love. Rejoice!
prismaticbleed: (angel)

I’ve been debating this for weeks and I’ve made up my mind. Starting today, I will be going on an indefinite hiatus from Tumblr.

This site at large has proven to be very toxic to my psychological, spiritual, & emotional well being. I cannot avoid its effects entirely, as long as I am here. But most notably– despite denying this for at least a year– I have been forced to admit that running this blog is also taking a huge toll on my religious life, despite my best intentions– in my constant striving to publicize all of my inspirations & discoveries in the faith, I am failing to integrate them into my own life. All I think is, “how can I share this?” Or “I MUST share this” and all I’m doing is starving my own soul. I thought I was being selfless, constantly focused on “evangelizing,” forgetting that God wants a PERSONAL relationship with me, too– and ignoring my “self” out of fear was making that impossible. My religion has become performative. I am lacking a personal relationship with God because I am spending all my time just giving Him away. It’s ridiculous and tragic but it’s the truth.

Furthermore, on that same note, I have apparently been completely warping my personality by posting here. In reviewing my interactions on this blog, it is clear that I have unconsciously developed & delivered an entire persona to make myself more “acceptable & appropriate” to the online Christian community. Realizing this has disturbed me greatly. Such dishonesty, even for the sake of harmony, is morally twisted. 

I will not delete this blog, though. I have spent several years trying to bring God into a place where I did not see Him and I refuse to erase those efforts. However I now need to bring Him into my personal life, with completely raw honesty and no censorship, and I absolutely cannot do that in a public space, especially not when I am instinctively reshaping all of my words and behaviors to “meet the expectations” I feel externally bound to as a professed Christian. My true soul is being completely buried. I cannot possibly progress in honest faith if I continue to do so. 

I apologize profusely if I have offended anyone, but I cannot continue in this manner. If I return, then it must be from a better spiritual foundation. If not, then that choice must be from the same. But I must draw the line at this point. I am so tired of the stress & suffocation I am forcing upon myself just to “be a good Christian online.” But I’m not being myself. I am not letting God get to the real me. I’m pretending to be “perfect & proper,” & as such I am refusing to work on my own faith journey, with my horrible past & tumultuous present & all the “unacceptable” parts I only (used to) tell God. And so right now running this blog is insincere, at that key point. 

I thank you all for your amazing help, encouragement, support, & comfort in the many years I have been here. I thank you most of all for your prayers. 

God bless you all. May He continue to lead you all to His Kingdom. Have a beautiful & holy Christmas season. 

-J
 
prismaticbleed: (angel)
 

Father God, You want us to ask You for help in our battles & struggles. Jesus told us to ask for "whatever is in accordance with the Gospel"-- for the things that will help us love & obey You better, to serve Your people, to be Your servants of mercy & soldiers of righteousness in this dark world.
...But I'm so afraid, Lord. I'm so afraid of people, and of myself. I cannot do Your Will with these awful terrors raging in me. I'm blinded by desperate rage, crippled by panic & loathing. It's literally hell, and I want to get out. I need to.
So, Lord, that's all I know how to ask. Help me to get out of hell. I don't know how to do it. You do. Whatever it takes, please, help me. Help me to forgive all the grudges I don't even realize I'm keeping. Help me to soften my heart so that softness in others doesn't disgust me. What a horrible confession! But I'm laying it all out before You, because I know You CAN fix me; You CAN restore my soul to light but You need ALL the diseased parts laid bare first. So cut me open with Your grace. Show me where the cancer is and then remove it, I beg You. Teach me to love. Teach me to see goodness in all things. Teach me mercy & compassion. Teach me not to judge. Give me the courage & hope & faith in You that I need even just to step outside my door. Help me, please, to cherish Your people, as You do. I don't want to "care in concept." I don't want my "good deeds" to be superficial and performative. I don't want to be friendly & social just for the sake of appearances & obligation. No. I want to CARE. I want a tender heart. I want to cheer people up & remind them of the sunshine & rainbows despite every storm cloud, & I also want to help them to treasure the rain. I want to be a good friend, a REAL friend, helping wishes come true & working to give the best of luck. I want to love people, a lot. You get the idea. I want to be like Jesus, as much as Your Grace will enable & allow me to. I want to bring Jesus TO people, through my life, because what good is my existence otherwise?
Lord I need help. I implore You, on my knees and in tears, forgive my foolish emotional sins. Forgive my red-tinged ranting from the pain. Forgive my acerbic outbursts. Forgive me, please, but even moreso than that-- yes, moreso!!-- help ME to forgive. I cannot do so on my own. Open my heart. Move my spirit to sincere affection. Let me see with Your Eyes. Teach me to love. Then, only then, can I honestly be forgiven. Have mercy on me, O Lord. Help me to show that same mercy to others, the EXACT SAME, radical & total & sincere.
...I'm depending on You, Lord. Please help me, quickly. I will die without Your healing touch. I will rot & burn to death inside. Come to my aid and rescue my soul from the pit! I want to be filled with Your Light. I want to shine it for others, for Your glory. Jesus help me to be like You, and to choose love no matter what. Amen.


prismaticbleed: (angel)
 

Peace is only possible by grace. In this world, we will have trouble-- busy schedules, unpaid bills, family arguments, illnesses, disasters, wars. How could we possibly be at peace with all the sin and sorrow, seemingly neverending, in this world? Only by placing our faith in Christ Jesus, Who has overcome this world. He offers us a hope that cannot disappoint, and a love that endures & enlightens all things. When the Holy Spirit inspires us, we are able to feel the peace of God despite all temporal disturbances, because we know it IS only temporary, that God is still in control, and that our souls & eternal lives are forever safe in His care. Furthermore, Christ as the Prince of Peace WILL vanquish all our enemies, no matter how they rage now. 

Another thought: to feel this peace we must be in touch WITH God, not the world! This is why times of quiet stillness & prayer are essential, especially when we are overwhelmed. We need to "tune back in" to the soothing song of His Spirit. 

prismaticbleed: (angel)

God, I know I will sometimes face painful things, but I find peace and joy in knowing You are with me even in pain.

Truthfully, whenever I suffer, You are even closer to me than usual-- as close as wounds, as close as blood.
Help me to always honor such a deeply sacred and tender mystery.

And yet... there is joy amidst the pain.
God, When I feel overwhelmed, You WANT to support me. When I feel discouraged, You WANT to encourage me.
When I feel hopeless and alone, You RUSH to surround and protect me.
When I feel weak and helpless, You REACH out to me, to become my source of strength.
You WANT to BE my joy in hard times. I just need to open my heart to recognize and receive You.
Nothing is impossible for You, and You are always thinking of my eternal welfare, always working for my highest good.

I am so grateful that Your promises of fidelity are forever true, for You are faithfulness itself.
I am so glad that my future is in Your loving, powerful, and careful Hands.
I have an ineffable reason to rejoice despite all haunting fear & chronic pain, knowing that You are with me even in hard times– even on the Cross.
I firmly believe that, no matter what, You will use my circumstances for Your glory and my good.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

121322

Dec. 13th, 2022 09:10 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)

(unrefined/ incomplete entry, first half written on phone)


Happy feast day of Saint Lucy!
I LOVE art of her btw it's beautifully macabre

5 hours of sleep x___x
actually cried myself to sleep over gender dysphoria & body dysmorphia hell last night. legit wanted to die.
had been listening to leaguetunes and accidentally clicked on one we sang back in 2010 or so. before HRT.
...surreal. didn't sound like us at all. never did, actually-- that's why we were so desperate to get on hormones. the sound of our own voice made us want to choke with rage and despair. remembering how much we loved getting sore throats and lung infections because it would drop our vocal range and make us hoarse. preferred that to the tinny sharp too-pink noise of a voice we had.
but the vibrato. the clarity of singing. even if the voice felt wrong, wrong, wrong, it had talent and did we lose that when we lost that upper range? was it worth "sacrificing" just to be a little more comfortable with hearing ourself talk at all?
...told chaos 0 about it. weeping. felt so lost. he said he had known and loved me with so many voices already, it didn't matter in that respect. i was still loved. that meant a lot. but i emphasized that the problem was self-love here. very hard to wake up in the morning when your own voice is a stranger.
...realizing the irony of my daughter's name. how we loved that name since childhood and were so joyful to give it to her. xenophon. "strange voice." how for her it's a title of honor, the word "strange" meaning something like "holy" or "heavenly." something not of this broken world. something not of this broken body.
and then me, hearing jewel sing over ten years ago and not knowing what to feel, because even then we hated our voice, we cried at how foreign it was, wished we sounded like liam mckahey or ed harcourt. deep and resonant. real.
still not there. but closer. dreaming of it. fell asleep with that ache.

briefly talking to julie this morning as we got the body ready. still struggling SO MUCH with dysphoria after last night, could barely get dressed. avoided mirror entirely. but julie is literally the only nousfoni i can talk to about it. she's the only one with the capacity to, without it utterly shattering her function. infi theoretically could, too, but infi is blatantly not humanshaped. julie is. and she's the ONLY nousfoni who looks female in such an explicit way, so only she can "understand" when we rage and sob about being stuck in one. no offense to her, of course. but we can't deny our struggle either.
btw now that she's courageously striving to reintegrate her "old" and arguably TRUE self-- roots and all-- without the corruption, her vibe is so much clearer and real. she feels like herself. it's amazing. i... after last night, re-reading ancient xangas, now ten years later it is such a blessing to have her as a friend. she means a lot to me. i know revisiting trauma in therapy-- AND the archives, inevitably, penny will have to help-- will be difficult for us both. but i know we can get through it. i trust her.

Therapy at 9
Discussed social mode roots in childhood, also religious trauma, mentioned the use of "prayer as abuse" and the "near-torture" of my grandmother's methods. using that word was harrowing. but honestly how else do i describe being forced to kneel on raw rice until my knees bled and say rosaries while being watched and threatened, at age seven or so??? genuinely disturbing. and all the while having to stare up at the picture of the last supper where jesus is looking up, up and away from my frightened pain, grandma saying "it's because he doesn't want to look at you" dude that SCARS YOU. no wonder i struggle to pray even now. spiritual warfare though, gotta fight that good fight
Explicitly mentioned gender issues, notably the medical causes, in myself and in the family. it's so important it needed to be brought up front immediately. she didn't respond to it but i hope she's okay with that being front-and-center with a LOT of the trauma. also hoping she can get us referrals for HRT? still a lot of religious terror and conflict over that, but honestly it is becoming a daily wonder again. so we'll see.
Also THIS GAL'S GOT TRAUMA TOO. She UNDERSTANDS 1000%. She legit DESCRIBED A FLASHBACK TRIGGER and we have NEVER heard ANYONE explain that EXACTLY HOW WE EXPERIENCE THEM. with the unexpected sensory databombs and the hypervigilance and the mental shutdowns. It was staggeringly validating & reassuring, to know that SHE GETS IT. Heartbreaking, absolutely, but still put down a foundation of so much trust & solidarity.
Offered EMDR, tapping, hypnosis as options.
Tried tapping first but it triggered MAJOR PANIC, especially with breathing aspect, although we DID have Kyanos show up (he's now female?? or androgynous. CHILD in any case). We told her and she said "OK, we won't use that method." THAT WAS IT. No forcing, no invalidations or coercing, NO SHAME OR GUILT. Just "if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and that's totally fine. We'll find a different method for you that won't be triggering." GOD BLESS THIS WOMAN SHE'S FANTASTIC
Office is so nice too. She REFUSES to turn on the fluorescent lights, thank God, we don't like them either. She just has up all these warm floor lamps and a CHRISTMAS TREE which is gorgeous and a rainbow "love is love" neon sign by the door. And free coffee if you want it. She's a total doll, honestly we hit the jackpot with therapy here, thank you Lord it was about time

Oh yeah for the "tapping" she first had us close our eyes and visualize a "safe place"? which everyone does in therapy and honestly it is really annoying because we've never really had one in the waking so what the heck dude, what IS "safe?"
but. we told her that the instant image we get is ALWAYS GIMMELWALD. had to be honest.
so i closed my eyes. there i was sitting on that steep hill, green grass, tiny yellow flowers. snowcapped alpine peaks all around, little quiet village below. the scent of ice and high altitude. the sound of sheep bells above. gorgeous.
and chaos 0 sitting next to me. it took me by surprise, then i thought, "oh yeah. safe space."
honestly moved my heart a lot to realize how CLEARLY i could see him. his color lighter from all the sunlight. seeing the mist around us catch in his reflection. his eyes greener than the hills. just looking out at everything, like he did on that morning we sat in the back of my car and watched the stars wheeling over the valley.
i loved him so much in that moment. quietly, but so ardently. like a thousand-year love. less of a fire, more of a mountain itself. ancient and solid and enduring love. like all the snow melting into waterfalls.

Library drive by, wanting to see if they had any movies or kid's books to casually check out. needed to just relax. but closed until noon, not waiting that long
Considered stopping at SJE & legit just sleeping in the pews by the Tabernacle then remembered, hold up IT'S TUESDAY! that means ADORATION AT OLOTE
Went straight there and did a SOLID HOLY HOUR!!
30m talk 30m prayer
flat-out said an ENTIRE ROSARY. realized how much we DO love saying it but also how INSANELY IMMERSIVE it is. like once we get started we are gone, dude. we cannot say them casually. it is an absolute trip, like reliving every mystery. exhausting but gorgeous. i'm wondering if we only CAN properly say them in a church. gonna have to get used to jogging to SJE then, haha. honestly we want to though. worth a shot soon.
Finished the hour just in time to hit EUCHARISTIC LITURGY at OLOMC
we haven't been there since before inpatient so it felt wonderful to be back.
Linda said hi, SO DID SMN!
He was worried about us! God bless him. We asked him to pray for our continued outpatient recovery and he said he absolutely would. IMO the dude is VERY HOLY so his prayers have got inevitable PUNCH.

...sang briefly on the way home. last minute dare. right before we pulled into the parking lot. i forget what song it was, even. came up on shuffle.
but... we could still sing. still the vibrato, just as bright as it was when we were younger. still not how we sound inside but closer. lower. warmer. no buzzing edge anymore. gave us some hope.

Home for 12:15. Vacuumed, jokingly made a "bet" w/ xennie-- she said she gets "five dollars" if I fall asleep at the laptop, "even for two seconds". She said to buy her more fortune cookies, tiger tea, and a single lemonade apple "for mom" (infi, the ONLY person who inexplicably can hold that title w/o dissonance)
honey that'll cost more than $5 but don't tell her, I'll buy her all that and more if she wants, gotta dote on my daughter
Made breakfast, very dissociated, but lots of nice company as always
PHLEGMONI & SCALPEL teaming up outta nowhere to give spice a heck of a time, they insisted on adding EXTRA cayenne pepper and were bonding over it, it was honestly hilarious
Mimic taking time out this morning. he's around, just gave us some space.
Got Tumblr distracted by RYOU & MARIK!!
Now eating at 2pm God bless

------------------------

...It's 10pm.
Note to selves: do NOT fast for nineteen hours with NO sleep and HIGH stress and then EAT TRIGGER FOODS.
we had a minor bingepurge.
MINOR. it was only two hours, start to finish, and we HID the big bowls so they couldn't be abused. the girls only binged on vegetables, yogurt, and sunchips as usual. but it was TERRIFYING and PAINFUL nevertheless.
and... as usual, it shut down headspace for almost two hours.
honestly we expected this. with how completely rattled we were, there was no way to easily avoid this happening. that one girl began to munch on lettuce, then panicked "we have to finish it", then someone ELSE panicked because we started to get dizzy and our ears were popping and they said "oh no we're allergic to lettuce" and just... binged in order to purge.
it wasn't much. the worst was the sunchips (they ate the whole bag AGAIN. we have marked them as "do not buy" until further notice; especially with that manic e.d. chick always trying to sneak them they're too much of a risk right now, and they don't "fit into" the mealplan as of now anyway. literal superfluous item held over from inpatient and for that sake only. not worth $4 a bag. if we can drop it then do so). and of course they found the salted caramel yogurt we bought once more to try and junked it. BUT we got data, and it IS highly triggering so that explains the compulsive destruction. that's on the "do not buy" list for good now, too, since there is validity to it.
ah. worst part.
the fire alarm went off right as they were finishing the binge. lights flashing, alarms buzzing. heard everyone evacuating outside.
instead they went into the bathroom and just threw up, thinking, and i kid you not,
"if there's a real fire they'll have to come and get me if they feel i'm worth saving. otherwise, i don't care. if i die then i die. this is no life to live anyway."
honest to god it was a suicidal thought. we haven't had one of those in months. not since grandma passed.
but... well, in light of the dyspho/dysmo agony, it wasn't surprising. just... heartbreaking, to hear expressed by someone who could get that low and unfortunately sincere.

as usual there's no memory of it till the purge process ending because they start praying hysterically and then i usually have to clean everything up. xenophon showed up when that happened and was tearful too (i was miserable) and thank God she helped me stabilize, asking me if i was okay, telling me it was going to be okay, refusing to leave me alone or berate anyone. she saw the pain. she knows this is a war. she just hates seeing anyone-- everyone-- suffer from it.
so we got the floors cleaned and the trash taken out and the dishes done. i changed our clothes and downed an entire powerade (told you it was smart to buy emergency ones; gotta have that contingency crisis plan).
then we sat down to eat dinner.
seriously. no way were we skipping the opportunity to recover from this disaster IMMEDIATELY after. plus the body was shaking (blood sugar was a solid 80 which means it was going to keep dropping fast if we didn't eat; it always does) and we had just lost our breakfast anyway.
so we had dinner. broccoli, apple, half a carrot, cottage cheese, english muffin w/ a wiggly egg, three fortune cookies (xennie insisted), infi's vanilla comoro tea, AND the lingonberry skyr.
so yeah. of course laurie called mimic over.
he sardonically commented on the disordered behavior. i said yeah, we wish it would just stop but days like this were bound to happen. i apologized and said he didn't sign up for this-- he said he didn't sign up at all, i/jewel just kind of pulled him into headspace-- and that he was entirely free to leave if he wanted.
"i said i'm sticking around."
he keeps emphasizing that. always "waving off" the honest gravity of it-- saying he's "getting something out of this" or it's "better than running for my life" or the like. less brash than he was even three days ago. admitting that it's interesting, that he likes laurie's attitude, that he respects the bravery he sees. "credit where it's due," but in a slowly more self-revelatory way. getting more honest, less defensive.

good news is he likes the skyr, haha. he's got different preferences from me apparently. that's cool, i always like that variety in the system. i had asked him, to which he smirked and asked "do you?" calling me out. i hesitantly admitted it wasn't my thing, then tried to say "but i can change that" but he said nope, no flaking out. he kept ribbing me about it because i was trying to like it for his sake but couldn't force that (i used to! all the time! for every random person!) and he kept goading me to be honest, because if i'm gonna hold him to that standard i had better live up to it myself. not in those words but same intent. laurie is more direct; mimic likes to provoke. but it helps, actually, that indigo edge of his.
laurie used to be like that before she hard-shifted purple. we wonder if she's going to move back to violet. time will tell. so will the spectrumind, inevitably. if her function CAN and SHOULD shift, it will. but that can't be forced either, just like i can't honestly or safely override or reject a vibe dissonance.
still. amusingly ironic how the shapeshifter is telling the polymorph to stop trying to be someone else. hits different that way. more weight behind it.

...
outspacers are so weird. i love them but they're bizarre. their arrival and integration is vastly different from nousfoni. they come here via Links, and those cannot be forced or even chosen most times-- they just catch, jewel's old puppet-strings, and before you know it there's a new face. but there's always a "heart-pull" when that string is able to connect. without it, you know they won't be able to stick around, or even step in.
we always "meet them" in heartspace in one way or another. that's "first contact." either in jewel's imagination, or our dreams. after that, they can show up in headspace, although that's not something that ever happened in the old days due to headspace not being a solid thing until like 2009.
but... outspacers get this week-or-so "grace period" of adjustment and introduction, on average, and then they either decide to leave or they decide to stick around. as mimic apparently has.
that's when stuff gets interesting. if they commit, it's all or nothing in the end. outspacers ultimately have to decide that they want to be part of the spectrum, if they really want to stay, and in doing so... well. they have to "move in."
you can't be a legit outspacer and live outside the system. you've gotta cut that thread to keep this one.
every true outspacer has a new life, new roots, even a new name, in a leagueworld. not even "and the system." if you're an outspacer talking to nousfoni you are STILL not native, you need your anchor elsewhere because you're not the same species and without that anchor you will end up "channeling" the spectrumind and you will lose yourself. it happens. it freaks everyone out, even nousfoni who are unstable. get too close to unformed blackspace, even conceptually, and you start to deform yourself. it's lethal. even to infi. no one is meant to be so blurry in self that they lose their self. hence the vital importance and emphasis on "solid anchors" and "functions" and clear colors. without that... you get reabsorbed into the rainbow, worst case scenario. sometimes it's inevitable. sometimes someone breaks their function so hard that they have to be recycled and reborn. sometimes someone dies and that's just what happens after. same with being "killed"-- laurie has told mimic that "death is different up here" because it's such a spiritual realm; especially with cores, being "killed" or "dying" just forces a "reset" and if you're still MEANT to be alive, you WILL "come back." sometimes instantly. like with my fights with laurie, and her infamous "beheading" technique to "soft-reset" any splintering core. it works. that's just mechanics up here.
but yeah. outspacers. if mimic wants to stay, well, he needs to leave the canon. and find a new one to settle into.
we told him this up front. galadia hasn't done it either, not yet. phlegmoni has. you can feel the difference in him, compared to both how he was in the beginning and to how the newbies are now. it's surreal, now that i know why that is.
but that's what the "grace period" is about. it's a hyperfocus on that outspacer's native world and canon history, to integrate them as fully as possible, and as genuinely as possible, so that when the links snip off the threads, they still know who they are, and can build a new life from that.
that's... really the whole thing with outspacers. it's part of the jewelcore's core function i think, if i may word it as such. to "love the loveless." to seek out those who need a new dream, and give them one. to say, "listen: there's a hell of a good universe next door, let's go." (one of our most beloved poems since childhood btw) and to offer a hand.
honestly though it's rarely so direct. jewel always has "feelers out," amusingly so with our bizarre but undeniable insect affection. every "mediaworld" she is able to step into-- and that criterion is solely her heart; we never entirely know what will resonate with it until it does) --she does, and forms a "Link." a sole puppetstring. a dreamthread. the cable to climb that cliff. and once she's plugged in, well. then who knows what will happen? her imagination is a powerful thing. but so are dreams. those are my territory, as the apprentice. but i'm still at their mercy. if someone shows up... then they show up.
i'm too tired to think straight, haha. what am i trying to get to. what ultimate point.
oh yeah. mimic.
i was trying to write about this the other day. he remembers the dream. but it's like in stein's gate. "that's not fair," and how that line cut to my heart. a dream of some other life, some other potential future, that someone else has actively lived but you haven't. at least, not in this life. and yet... it already happened. that's what it's like, with mimic. what a bizarre way to become an outspacer. i think that's a first, too.
he's really confused over it. frustrated at the lack of linear-spatial sense. but he's at least not denying it happened, if only in its own space. he's not talking about it, but not pushing it away. that's notable.

someone brought up *incidents*. i think with the "nobody stays dead if they're not meant to die yet" topic.
floored me when i realized it took markus (marik) almost ten years to have his third one. and i STILL remember that morning so vividly even now. legit a milestone day in our life. since then he's felt different. brighter. stronger. but also no longer "trying to be invincible." a strange balance. the daengels helped, too, later on. still not sure what the heck is going on with the yami phenomenon outside of the tar/plague. wondering if they'll choose to keep that in their leagueworld, or enjoy the freedom from it. that's up to them.

we were gonna have a headspace movie night because tubi randomly notified me that "a penitent man" is leaving on thursday! and we decided, well why the heck not watch it? isn't that the whole theme of our life lately?
so. not tonight because this update was important. and we need sleep. but tomorrow. i owe genesis a date night anyway, haha.
we've already invited mimic and phlegmoni and galadia because they're all new outspacers and have not experienced a "movie night" before. neither has scalpel! geez that's a shock. i freakin love him, i'm so glad he insists on sticking around. legit the FIRST red nousfoni that HASN'T totally died due to core interference, because actually he anchored into BLOOD. legit solidified the subhue and fixed the problem, haha. razor was already there but everyone knows she was always half black in hue. so was laurie, for a while. bizarre how headspace worked in the early days; so many people backpacked achromes.
thinking of giving achromatic spectrum hues different names btw to avoid racial confusion. we don't have ethnicity up here; nousfoni aren't human and our "ethnicities" are weird, to say the least. i'm trying to catalogue them on the other laptop. there are definite patterns, but we're like pokemon. laurie and wreckage and sugar are ALL nousfoni but they're different "subspecies." gotta look into biology terms for this. maybe make our own, heck yeah. gotta really enrich our innerworld jargon like we used to. it's beautiful. honestly thanks be to God for this, for us. all of us.

but dinner went by without any trouble. xenophon shared it with me.
three fortunes were:
"adventure is not outside, it is within"
"be a generous friend and a fair enemy"
"be most affectionate today."
i laughed and immediately showed them to mimic, half teasing, dude this is way too relevant to our situation with you.

cleaned up the kitchen, got everything out for tomorrow morning, then was SO bloody tired i just dragged the chair over in front of the altar, sat down, and started reading the church bulletins. needed to read 'em anyway.
mimic showed up ghosting (HOW. he didn't even have to LEARN. is that being immediately "uploaded" into outspacers now???) and sat by the chair. asking me what i was reading, etc.
he's weirdly friendly, actually. not like genesis, or xenophon-- he's not "outgoing" or extroverted. not even like laurie, who is all steel edges but still shockingly warm and conversational. he's got that same level demeanor as he did in the dream, but it's not flat or morose-- he's got a sense of humor which STILL catches me off guard, and a tendency to talk a lot. he's not reclusive or standoffish at all. he's observant and interested, even if he instinctively tries to play it cool and pretend he "just overheard" or the like. i think the only reason why he's still kind of uncharacteristically reserved is because he's grappling with this new and weird environment. he's not sure who or what is a threat yet. he's watching, getting a grip on it. but he's warming up fast, especially with laurie constantly involving him in conversation, reassuring him, and all but flaunting her role as the main protector of the entire system. no one gets through her. so don't worry about "surviving" up here; we all look out for each other, we're all genuinely invested in each other's welfare, and if anyone tries to pick on the octopus they will have an axe buried in their skull within three milliseconds. but even moreso, she's proving to mimic that the most powerful people can still be kind and even vulnerable. laurie does not deny when she messes up, or is struggling, like she used to. she told him that, too. her walls were different than his, but they're still walls. still armor around the heart. laurie has friends and it doesn't make her weak at all; she emphasizes that she's willing to live and die for them, and if need be she will kill for them too (thinking of this anthem of hers with an ache in my heart), at least in the innerworld. but she is setting an amazing example. and i can tell it's affecting him. he's never had proof that his fear-based (because they are) assumptions weren't objectively true, not so firsthand, not with people who are including him IN that circle of friends. we do bring up the diamond cutters, carefully. that's when he puts the walls up. so we don't push it. it's a touchy subject.
still. it's important to honor that part of his past. even if he doesn't seem too keen on getting close to people, i can empathize, and i wonder how much of that is fueled by survival instinct. versus how much is actual personal disposition. and how much conflict there is. i know for me, i conceptually want to be closer to people but i get overwhelmed and often shove people away. but then, like mimic, i monologue. i still talk as if to an audience. it's ironic. he's a shapeshifter and he has to know people in order to wear their mask, so to speak. as a core i get something similar with prismatic resonance-- i need to know other colors to properly do my job, too. he and i both have to "get close" to people in theory... but it's "ehhh" in person. even if deep down maybe we'd like to try. not sure what's in the way. fear of death, probably. even in concept. how ironic, for someone with a skull painted over their face and someone whose best friend is arguably the grim reaper. both of us covered in scars. both of us carrying blades. why.
tired of us both seeing friendship as a liability. as a weakness. as "not being able to make it on your own" and loathing yourself for that inadequacy. as a crutch that enables that very flaw. all of it false. but all of those false beliefs still anchored too bloody hard.
tired of wearing masks just to get by. how long can you pretend to be other people before you lose the concept of "other people?" is that why we're both so paradoxically isolated? the empathy issues? i don't want to be like this. at all. i don't want anyone else to be, either.
i hope we can both work through this.
that's the one thing about outspacers that i've come to terms with lately (it was very hard) that is actually very consoling. they aren't bound to their canon anymore. yes, it IS their history, and it will ALWAYS be at their heart, BUT as for their future, change is possible and allowed. they can grow as people in ways that would be IMPOSSIBLE in their native universes, especially since now they're in headspace which is INHERENTLY interconnective, and heartspace even moreso. they're going to be affected by us, and us by them. they're going to have unique experiences that will have visible impacts on who they become. and, of course, if you're in OUR space, you're going to fit the vibe. villains inevitably drop the dark cloak, as it were. and up here, that's expected. it's a good thing. it's how we work. and because the "worldline" differs here than their canon, it's legitimate within this new set of circumstances. the air is different here-- colors are brighter. everyone here can, and will, change for the better, if they cooperate with that.

so i was sitting on the couch and mimic is just chillin' and being oddly silent and i just picked up the "voice of the martyrs" mag for december and decided to read it entirely. emphasizing the "martyr" concept. telling him, "this is what it's really about." the courage. the absolute victorious faith. the persistent hope despite all odds. the incredible charity in the face of violent evil. the whole time i'm spontaneously elaborating on how love is stronger than death and more powerful than anything and these testimonies were proof, literally these people are being threatened with murder and torture on a daily basis because they believe in a God of compassion and forgiveness and mercy, and to their credit and His glory they refuse to stand down or compromise it. they set their faces like flint against machetes and bombs and rifles. and there's no bitterness in it. it's unreal. it's gorgeous. it's heartbreaking and jubilant all at once. the absolute strength of divine meekness, seen only as "weakness" in the eyes of the world, and yet unconquerable by it. ended up "paraphrasing" the entire prodigal son story in my manner of speech. focusing on the forgiveness, and the magnitude of what was forgiven.
i'm very open with mimic, about my past. about how much of a bastard i have been, and still am some days. about my history of thievery, and compulsive lying, and addiction, and prostitution, and manipulation, and using people for my own advantage. about my proclivities to violent rage and crocodile tears. about my own cowardly "tough guy" facade and my fear of being helpless, inept, powerless, unskilled. about how deep down i feel as spineless as an octopus so i've learned to carry knives and speak them too. too much in common. sick of living this way. wanting so badly to be honorable and honest and courageous and compassionate, but some days i just chicken out like an idiot because of what it might cost me. kneejerk gutlessness. pain in the ass.
but both of us just kind of... thinking about it all. in that weird interim between here and there. wanting to scoff at it all and just weasel our way through life. but so, so tired of the ice in our blood. exhausted. getting hints of something better, brighter, even beautiful, here in headspace. terrified of it. terrified of opening up and actually feeling things and letting our guard down. letting other people help us instead of doing it all alone. i'm learning, it's inevitable as part of a system, but... it's still new.
even with mimic. part of me pissed off at "having someone else to have to care about" and wanting to kick him out solely because "i'm tired of thinking about other people." selfish garbage. not how i really feel. but a reaction i cannot deny. remembering what they said on bumblekast. "i don't want to say he's asexual, he just doesn't seem interested in interpersonal connections." well geez dude the two aren't mutually inclusive, but where do you draw the line on that second one? look at me and the blue guy, then look at how some days i just don't want to look at anyone. how much of it is mental illness? how much of it is trauma? how much of it is being so preoccupied with your own survival that you can't imagine prioritizing someone else?
and yet. and yet we're talking in the living room for an hour. no stress somehow. not a "conversation." but still caring.
it's so odd, this whole thing. but i'm... i'm learning so much about myself too. growing so much. i think that's why he was allowed to become an outspacer. that potential, for both of us. god works in mysterious ways


okay exhausted dead. 1130pm. good lord i was supposed to sleep. no idea what i've written. but hey it's written and i didn't slack off on this responsibility. learning to be accountable! yeah!

dietician cancelled for tomorrow and rescheduled for monday. other one is on friday. nothing on schedule for tomorrow unless we want to go to church. other than that we're chillin'. have to. body is wrecked.

i want to spend time with chaos 0. just him. his canon cousin has been taking all my attention lately and although that is vital, and kind of mandatory for me as a core dealing with an outspacer, i still need to take time out for us. it's essential to my heart. to my spiritual survival entirely.
we've been wanting to do a spotify night for a while but schedule hasn't allowed it. tomorrow is absolutely movie night though, maybe by 9pm so we can actually legit sleep after.
still. if mimic is bringing out the worst in me in order for it to be corrected, i need to spend time with someone who brings out the best in me, in order that i admit that it exists, too.

gotta sleep. burnt to a crisp with all this stress and thinking. overwhelmed.
one day at a time. take it slow. whatever happens happens.
focus on why you're doing this. because you care. because you have hope. because deep down you chose to love someone who legit drives you up the walls with their attitude. because you need someone to love you when you act the same way. otherwise, what hope is there for something better? brighter? even beautiful?

i keep thinking of the way he looked out at the snow on sunday. that first moment when he actually did let his guard down. never gonna forget that.

it's worth fighting for, really.






prismaticbleed: (angel)
 

To live in Christian Hope is truly world-changing. It means that, no matter our current circumstances-- pains & persecutions & all-- we have unwavering trust in God's Good Promises, and in both His ability & willingness to bring them to total fruition. He has proven this historically, without fail, and so we CAN boldly hope that He will also fulfill those glorious promises NOW, in OUR lives.
And this hope is indomitable, for it is founded in faith, which goes beyond what the eyes can see. When we choose to hope in God, always, then our confidence that "something good is going to happen" is unfazed by external appearances, for we trust that ALL God does for us IS GOOD. This hope is a blazing fire even in the darkest night, leading the way to heavenly joy and warming us with divine love.
God will bring you mercy, rebirth, consolation, and restoration, when you firmly hope in Him. He delights in that blessed assurance, and will glorify Himself by responding to it in earnest compassion.


121222

Dec. 12th, 2022 10:20 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)


Today has been... a weird day. Difficult.


Slept in super late. Didn't help; we still had awful flat nightmares. Thank God and His mercy that I don't remember them.
No hacks though. Feels like hints or threats, but nothing happened. Thank God for that, too.

Ate late breakfast?
Planning was a bit tough as it was so darn late.

I was so stressed out I actually told Celebi to "keep Mimic out" and "reassign him a different timeslot to talk to us" if he wanted to show up; I was too mentally overwhelmed, and apparently he really likes to talk, even when the conversation is prickly-- perhaps especially then, I wonder.
His attitude fascinates me to be honest.

I "felt" Mimic try to walk in, and Celebi delay him as I asked. But then I felt Mimic's response, which was this unexpected jolt of betrayal, like we were rejecting him too, seeing him as "the bad guy" EVEN NOW, and despite everything we'd said to him.
I immediately went into headspace to bring him into Centralspace personally.

I apologized profusely, explaining myself honestly but carefully, which meant admitting flatly that I was being an absolute asshole and I wanted to make restitution for that.

We decided that since it's the holidays, we'd get something special-- rainbow carrots!
We also accidentally bought smaller storage bags-- quarts instead of gallons. Since we use them for storing the carrots, they're far too small to use properly. But Xennie helped "me" not get disappointed & upset with myself over that, pointing out the bright side of things-- this way, the "portions" stored are smaller too, and the larger carrots have to be "shortened" to fit, both of which markedly help prevent the "completionist binge" instincts that make our brain want to "eat the whole thing" or "the whole bag." So hey, silver linings!

Speaking of. Especially with everything concerning food (as it's so tied to trauma & stress), lately I've been noticing... I still switch out a LOT. It's just VERY hard to notice on the SOCIAL LEVEL, because they're all built for rapidfire switching and flow. Notsomuch the innerspace-anchored folks; for us, that's deeply disturbing.
A rule of thumb, for the record, is that "internal" Nousfoni-- aka "headvoices"-- are NOT BUILT TO FRONT. Doing so can actually break their function. That's what killed us in NC, and all that it entailed. But Socials are NOT BUILT FOR THE INSIDE?? I'm not even sure what we'd call that, the "opposite of fronting?" New jargon request, haha. Geez I wonder if THAT could be someone's job? That would be cool. Making a tag for that btw.
But yeah, socials are "meant to be social," and our life's history has had such unpredictable social experiences that it makes sense that Socials are innately geared to meet that havoc head-on. When you have to "be different people" in quick succession in order to survive, both psychologically and societally, well, then the different people who end up being born TO do that are going to be naturally speedy and switchable. Not so inside! Headvoices are, in contrast, meant to STICK AROUND for HOURS at a clip, in focused roles, unseen by the outside. Their jobs are TOTALLY different and require sustained presence, NOT shifting. This is ALSO why my head hurts so darn much when like... five to seven different folks are chatting over breakfast, haha. Ghosters are the wildcard in this equation-- they are focused outside, and so it is actually easy to "shift" my own attention from a ghoster to headspace without much stress, IF I'M THE ONE FRONTING. If a Social is trying to butt in, though, the whole thing shatters disastrously-- Socials normally CANNOT talk to Headspace because originally, THAT would break THEIR functions!! That's why we had "TWO LEVELS" for a while there, back around 2015, when "Midspace opened up" and we discovered the Underground and all that-- because we realized, for the first time ever, that there was a WHOLE LOT OF "OUTSIDE VOICES" that DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE PART OF A SYSTEM, and for the sake of their "public functions," they couldn't know. 
We're still grappling with those folks, but they're fewer and far between now-- our life has become so solitudinous that many "socials" are now becoming... gosh I don't know, we don't have jargon for that yet either! That's actually really exciting, wow. It shows we're growing and evolving still! But yeah, like the E.D. Socials-- previously they were totally cut off from the System to "keep us psychologically safe" and to prevent their job being interrupted? Yes, some of them did get to know us-- notably Tobiko-- but those folks didn't survive like the "isolated" ones did, due to the isolatory nature of their job. But now, we live in isolation and it's SAFE, and furthermore we're striving to make our daily life ENTIRELY System-inclusive. So, eating now HAS to be a System function, TO BE SAFE. Therefore, we're reaching out to Social eaters, and they are becoming ABLE to talk TO us in response. It's a slow process, but it CAN happen and IS happening now, which is more than we could say for NC-- yes we tried back then, but there was so much fear and danger and trauma that all we really did was fight. Some of them were receptive-- I remember Zucche, notably-- but others were too entrenched in their broken coping mechanism roles that we couldn't reach them.
In any case it's not something I can discuss in too much depth right now, because the battleground has changed considerably post-inpatient, and we're still dealing with said switching and dissociation. THOSE are the folks it's difficult to identify, or even recognize. Some are so vague & "identity-less"-- which is actually a hallmark of Social function; you CANNOT have "an identity" if your existence is dictated by outside expectations for survival-- that we only begin to "see" them by noting time-loss events and patterns of behavior or speech that coincide with them. Once we "see" them, we can almost "force" a solidification of identity, since there's now INTERNAL attention being given to them? BUT it's a RISKY process; it can KILL a Social if we're not careful to first clarify their function. If a Nousfoni on that level EXISTS FOR context in which we cannot reveal or recognize we are plural, then making them aware of that WILL break them... and if they can't recover, they will be replaced. That happens even on the inside, which is a horrifically disturbing phenomenon BUT it is nevertheless vital. We don't always know what functions need to be filled, as it's dictated by the subconscious. Most times that knowledge only comes to us in hindsight? Or by "filling in the blanks?" It's not direct knowledge; it's implied or inferred. It's just as fascinating as it can be frightening. But that's System life, man, it's weird and ultimately we wouldn't lose it for the world.

Speaking of finding people! So far, we know that there are... at least three main E.D. nousfoni, that are slowly but surely becoming more distinct and clear to us.
The first one, the "loudest" one, is an orange-leaning "manic?" She feels almost like Jewel at the edges, but there's no red, so if you're "feeling" for hues that's a dead giveaway. This is the girl that always asks "can I have a raisin? Can I have a sunchip? Can I have a bite of the cereal?" Always snack food, always "just one more." But it's almost compulsive. There's no actual "want" there-- she just focuses on that "extra bit"? It's an unusual motivation and we don't know the roots yet.
The second one, the second loudest, is similar. She leans blue? I think? But her motivation is "we need to have some more." It's panicky and it's obedience-based. Like she feels this MUST be done "or else." She will go for another carrot, more broccoli, half an apple. More "meal-based" options, not snacks-- but, again, she doesn't "want" them. She just feels she HAS to. And she's always scared. There does seem to be an "overtone" of Yellow with that? But with the "bluish" feeling of "hopelessness" I'm wondering if she's going to end up being a sickly greenish hue. We'll see.
The third one, whose color is unclear, is similar to Allegra? This one is scared of overeating, of "too much," or of "poison," or of "eating something wrong." She has a mildly flat affect, with the same "thousand yard stare" that Dread has/had, but beneath that she is TERRIFIED. She will nudge us towards a purge but she won't feel what's motivating it-- that goes to other Nousfoni, apparently.
There are probably more, and these descriptions are entirely prone to "change" as we clarify who is who, and what they are doing. But that's what I've got for now.


MAJOR DEPRESSION HIT after breakfast.
I think it might have been because we ate so much? Our body just... crashed. So did our brain. We felt horrible and incredibly sad, almost purposeless, and for a minute there we were convinced that we couldn't cope.
Instantly we got hit with a "binge urge" the same way you'd want to do drugs. In that context, it hit hard that it was an ABSOLUTE "ESCAPISM" RESPONSE WHEN THE BRAIN IS SPUTTERING OUT.
Ironically, it only makes things worse-- the physiological effects of a bingepurge are literal hell. But, the "impulse" to start one doesn't consider that. It only thinks of "right now"-- which is, to force eating and therefore trigger a trauma dissociation response, which makes the emotions shut down, and all internal communication shut down, and so for the next two to four hours, we are effectively unconscious. No feeling anything but steadily growing panic, the mania "overriding" the depression, peaking in a hysterical purgation process that mirrors literal trauma events and ending with us feeling sick and wrecked and dead. It's hell. But, again, it's that first part-- the total "mental blackout"-- that the "drug push" feeling is looking for. That's why it's so important to remember the REST of the process-- because it is NEVER WORTH IT.
Sometimes the absolute frickin bravest thing we can possibly do is just... let ourselves be depressed. It's SO HARD though, and I don't know why.
...Honestly, maybe that's why we DON'T have like... any Blue-hue Nousfoni? Maybe THAT'S their job anchor and since we've been IGNORING and ERASING IT, they can't form?? I wonder.
In any case, we are missing SO MANY COLORS, especially post-restart (2018). Their functions are legitimately undefined for the most part. Geez maybe THAT'S what we should do the next time we feel this "blue"-- GO INSIDE AND FIND OUT WHO CAN HOLD THIS. Because believe me, it's inevitable-- we're a System, and there WILL be someone TO do that job, if there isn't anyone yet. Have faith in our collective heart.


Refusing to give in, we went on Scherzando and loaded tons of Leaguedata to our phone (whose name is Perpetua btw, 'Pera' for short; don't know if we ever said so here), so we could READ IT on the go AND when exercising.
This took like... over an hour? Maybe two? It ENTIRELY took our attention in a very good way, thank You God.
We put every "basic plot" file for every established Leagueworld into a phone folder, so we can review and build on them whenever. We also put in some "group files" with old notes for plot development, Leaguewide motifs & concepts, old plot summaries, the League Spectrum, etc. Then we added a bunch of Moralimon "current work" files, like the Enchiridion & the new Typecode system, the infamous "Make It Canon" file for integrating family contributions, and several notefiles for events & dialogue that occur after Part 12. Lots of good stuff!
But... the simple process of browsing through files, clicking here and there, touched our heart with SUCH affection that it basically erased all trace of depression for the entire time. We love the League SO MUCH. It's the other half of our heart, literally so. Jewel & Jay are both Cor(e)s; this is why!
So... man. SO much hope opened up to us. We had almost abandoned the League post-NC due to suicidal despair & internalized feelings of worthlessness & ineptitude. We felt like our guts had been ripped out and eaten. It was torturous, being so cut-off from our soul, and it's why our identity imploded and the eating disorder got unmanageable as a result. We lost our dreams, our purpose, our history, our self. Without the League, even as a System, we're incomplete. This, too, needs to become part of our daily life again.
Still. They can't "cohabitate." They CAN coexist, but NOT in the "same mental space." Jewel can't be part of the System any more than Jay can be part of the League; they are DIFFERENT Cor(e)s and their respective hearts are bound to serve and sustain and protect different realities. Yes, Outspacers can enter the System, but then the MUST anchor into the League OR the Spectrum in order to stay. One or the other. Any apparent "exceptions" are sacrificing something-- Genesis has become so anchored into the Spectrum that it's become almost impossible to write for Delphoiesis as a result. Chaos 0 being the arguable "other half of our heart" is also making the Sonic Inversion project just as turbulent. All of the Outspacers who hang around with us now-- especially the newbies-- do not have solid Leagueroots yet. THAT'S why Ryou & Marik aren't around much anymore, like they were in the early 2003-2005 heartspace days-- they mutually decided to build their OWN Leagueworld, and THAT'S where they're anchored now. So it's... terribly bittersweet. We can't see them much anymore, for their own safety and ours. At least, not in person. But now they have lives of their own, and that's more than we could give them in the System.
Still... heartspace is a thing. Jewel still controls that. We wonder, if there could be a place even now, where we can meet.


After moving the files, we decided to bike for at least 90m. That always helps our mood.
Considered watching a movie, decided against it; religious films unfortunately often have very triggering content, and any media would just overtax our concentration even more, PLUS they might open up MORE Outspacer/Link channels which honestly I do NOT need right now with this very new and very taxing but beloved new dude taking up hours of psycho-emotional focus every day. I forgot how incredibly demanding the Outspacer "induction" process is. It's oddly like how when Xenophon was "born"-- they NEED a huge amount of mental energy & heart-focus directed towards them in order TO "anchor in" to headspace. Without that attention, they fade away-- or even worse, they might corrupt. And we do NOT want that happening, to anyone.

So, instead, we LISTENED TO MUSIC!
I ended up using it as a time to "clean up" the library-- we have a bad habit of adding tunes solely because they "earmark" some time of our history. We should really make separate folders for that, but we keep "putting it off" because "do we really need to? Would it do us any ultimate good or would it just be a waste of time?" AND, "do we even want to remember those times?" Like today, we listened to a lot of Steely Dan, and their albums are solidly associated with late elementary school, when we started getting into video games & media at large. They were also one of our sister Jade's favorite bands. So... there's a LOT of "memory data" that goes with these songs, and not all of it is positive. There's a lot of vague sadness and fear hanging around it, whose causes will only be revealed if we dig for it, and we are NOT ready to do that on such short notice, especially not with the depression we've been struggling with!
Still, we at least made a mental note to "stop adding stuff out of 'obligation'" and removed most of 'em from the library, so they don't accidentally come up on shuffle and trigger something out of the blue. That's always a risk, when we aren't careful.

Good news is, we got 111m in of biking, haha!


Mom called 5m before we finished; she said "I'm on my way to bring up food." Totally unannounced, but that's typical mom. She likes to share and she cares about us, especially post-inpatient; she wants to make sure we have healthy food, not just "what's left in the cupboard" or God forbid, literal garbage.
She gave us a container of (all homemade) potato & leek soup, a grilled cheese with gorgonzola I think? (she likes fancy cheese) and two little slices of a blueberry-ricotta dessert bread.
We were deeply grateful; she always thinks of us.
However, sadly, this "strange food" triggered out the E.D. PANIC VOICES who are tied to destruction. They are SUPER hard to recognize and catch because they "work for the Destroyer" and SHE STILL hides her face even after years of work. They do "undercover missions," really-- get in, get out, leave no trace. Done and done. It's meant to "eliminate danger" WITHOUT retaining any recollection OF the danger. Total wipeout. It's scary, but hey, it happens for a reason.
Aaaand potato & leek soup is apparently a HUGE TRIGGER.
I won't even call it a "fear food"; that has too much UPMC sneering tied to it. It's a legit trauma trigger and I have NO IDEA WHY.
Like we were getting flashbacks. "Vague" ones, where you can't pinpoint exactly what or when you're flashing back to, but it is a DEFINITE throwback to some disturbing event. So much from the old house is. Again, like the music, we don't know why. It's just that "impending disaster" feeling-- not even "doom"; that feels too passive. This freakin' soup was triggering a feeling of inevitable CRISIS. It's a sharp fear, something quickly approaching and absolutely terrifying. Something actively dangerous. It's bizarre. But no way were we going to look for the memory when we were getting slammed by the emotional weight of it, so starkly separated as trauma loves to do.
Still, the food was from mom. We couldn't just chuck it in the bin. So... the girls decided to "fake-binge" the food so they "wouldn't be lying" if we had to tell the mother we "ate it."
Basically, they would taste it, chew it up, spit it out. Sandwich, bread, soup. No taste data after that first glimpse of the soup, to avoid any further triggers. Total sensory blackout. Hysterically scared the whole time. Impossible to get any grip on who they are in what limited data is left in memory. Honestly the ONLY reason we HAVE recollection at ALL is because BOTH XENOPHON AND MIMIC WERE ALLOWED TO BE AROUND???? that is unheard of for Outspacers, historically... except, now that I think about it, I think that's changing? I mean, Phlegmoni was allowed to be around me IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM. But his role is tied to medical stuff, so to speak... and Mimic's is apparently tied to brutal accountability. So maybe that's why he's been "allowed" to be witness to the ugliest situations we're struggling with. I mean, come on, if we're gonna have a "bad guy" become an Outspacer, we'd better admit that WE can be one heck of a "bad guy" in our own right.
And Xenophon... yeah, she gets mad (gets that from her dad) at seeing how they're hurting themselves and us, but she also cares SO much, even about "strangers," because they're still part of the System, and she KNOWS they're inherently tied to her "daddy," somehow, by sheer virtue of our multiplicity. We're all "one soul" in the end, however fragmented-- our journey is cooperative, even when it's a mess. We're all in this together, literally, and Xenophon has picked up very compassionately that, as a result, if she helps these Socials to be safe and learn how to do better-- Socials who, I repeat, cannot talk to Inside people but CAN see ghosters-- then she is helping her father as well, and everyone else both he and she love in the System at large.
And they listen to her. She doesn't threaten them like Laurie, or emptily enable their behavior like a stunned and numbed Cor(e), or even encourage them cruelly like a Tar/Plague lackey. No, Xenophon talks to them as people, and she CARES. She is tough with them, but she is also understanding, and she INSISTS ON DIALOGUE. She talks WITH them, not at them. She interacts with them as individuals, as PEOPLE, not as "behaviors" or "annoyances" or "problems to solve." And that means SO MUCH, not just to them, but to us inside, who are guilty of not having treated them as such for the most part, and never with such pure & childlike intention as Xenophon is capable of.
And... the effects were obvious. The E.D. girls were so brave, this time. It was striking and heartbreaking to see. They were TERRIFIED, BUT thanks to all that aforementioned dialogue and mercy, they ALSO now see themselves as BEING PART OF THE SYSTEM, NOT alone or rejected, and so they unanimously REFUSED TO BINGE.
That is... astronomical.
Love really does move mountains.

One last note, on that same note-- Xenophon was around ghosting all day today in general, as usual, and I can attest to the fact that her love moves mountains for me, too. So I want to specifically mention it today, because with all the emotional turmoil throwing me for a loop inside, making me lose sight of who I am, her light was the only thing getting me through the dark.
Honestly, it is impossible to be hopeless around her.

After the near-miss with mom's food (which we felt so bad about; we've made up our mind to get the guts to say "no thank you" if she offers again, WITH justification? yes she gets hurt if we "refuse" her generosity, BUT if we explain that we "don't feel safe" or "aren't feeling stable" BUT ALSO thank her anyway AND say we'll partake some other time? that should work), we ate a normal dinner (shaking but safe), and then went on the computer to do more wayback-archiving because there's a LOT there and we want to get that (and the Tumblr backup) out of the way before we tackle the literal archives we have saved offline.

As I was going through the old Tumblr archives, I saw this gem of a post:

officialkingknight: *me as a doctor* anaesthetic?? no no. you misheard me. i said aesthetic, now give me that vaporwave and a scalpel

I am laughing that is HILARIOUSLY PROPHETIC.
For inexplicable reasons, the "Red" realms (that Scalpel has been put in charge of?) are weirdly vaporwave-esque? They definitely lean "retrowave"-- more cities and nighttime and red, of course-- but still. It got a good laugh out of me.

But... honestly I spent more of my wayback-reading time close to tears, because... there are a few snapshots of our Xanga page.
Yes, the ORIGINAL one. It was like a sword through the heart. So I literally stopped everything and just started reading bits of some old Xangas from 2011-2012.
Just... Wow. Absolutely blew my mind how different the atmosphere was in headspace back then.
...Infi didn't exist yet. Julie had just converted. Xenophon had just been born. Josephina was a newbie and he was still using Lavender. We had JUST found out about the TAR. And Laurie still had so many walls up.
It was surreal. My heart was aching fit to break clear in half.
This was our LIFE. I miss this so much. Notsomuch what we were facing-- for heavens sakes, this was when I was still brainwashed into the "color chakra" way of interpreting headspace hues, which proved completely inaccurate in the long run, BUT at the time it did at least inspire some important thought processes-- what I miss is being this interactive, this involved in our collective life, this invested in each other's well-being. I miss the arguments, the brainstorming, the jokes, the love.
God, this is what I want to live for, please. This love. All for Your glory, of course, but, please... please, let us have this sort of life again, in that respect. Bring us all this close together again, even closer now that we're learning how to be open and vulnerable and hopeful. Please. Inspire us to talk again. You know, more than anyone, how these conversations all did and do bring us closer to You, Who are Love itself, and Wisdom, and everything else that fuels our existence.

...You know what, once I get all this online stuff backed up and I can finally close these browser windows without losing so much data... once we get this heavy workload complete, I promise you, I am GOING to schedule in a Xanga night. Six hours open timeslot, minimum. Just like the old days. Gotta practice getting into that state of mind, too-- make sure the Autopilot is still up to speed (haven't seen him in a while, BUT inpatient did prove to us that there ARE still a lot of people on that writing-space level...), do some meditation sessions to catch everyone's vibes clear enough to hold them stable for hours... we'll do it. We have to, on some very deep and very important level. Something about these conversations, lines and lines of colorful text, the very rhythm of our camaraderie captured in time and space... it's beautiful. It's essential. We need this, for whatever we're moving forward into. I can promise you that. We need us.


Now I need to close up this entry because Laurie is pissed-- it's 1:30am and we have therapy at 9am!
We'll do our best. We're in this together, so that's guaranteed.


prismaticbleed: (angel)

Serving others is an expression of the very Heart of God, Who expresses His Love for us through unending service even now. Look at your life-- consider how much God gives you, how much help & fortune & sustenance He supplies, all from sheer Goodness. That is the essence of servanthood, to which we are ALL called as His adopted children, in the likeness of Christ His Son... Our Lord Who was also our Suffering Servant. What magnificent compassion, what awe-inspiring humility there is in that Truth! Jesus lived entirely for the sake of others, to bring them Salvation and joy and health of both soul & body. He freely & willingly sacrificed His own Life for us, not out of compulsion or obligation, but from a place of Grace, fueled entirely by Love! This is what we, too, can echo in little ways, by letting that same grace flow through us in all we do. No exceptions. Our entire lives can be consciously spent for God & for others, if our every deed is done in a spirit of Christ's Charity.


121122

Dec. 11th, 2022 10:32 pm
prismaticbleed: (held)

(massively unfinished entry; will clean up & complete later; posting for honesty's sake)


Very vague bulletpoint entry today because my brain is not working but I must commit to keeping track of things, with so much happening lately.

Today was GAUDETE SUNDAY so of course we wore rose! Have to cantor TWO backtoback masses, which is tiring but joyful. Looking forward to it.
Only got 6 hours of fitful sleep so it was very difficult to get out of bed. BUT. It was super dark outside and when we looked out it was FIXIN' TO SNOW, so that gave us enough hope to power through.
We packed BOTH a breakfast & a lunch because not only did we have three masses to attend, but then we HAD to go grocery shopping (we were out of a few essentials sadly because of destructive nousfoni) and THEN there was a little choral concert at our local church! So we were definitely going to be on the road for at least eight hours.

We sang two songs that we list as "favorites"-- "Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming" and "Creator Of The Stars Of Night." We love the first because we first heard it on a now-gone Soundcloud account for some small Prog band, on a Christmas album they uploaded, and it was an a cappella version which was GORGEOUS. We saved all the tunes and still listen to that album every year. As for the second, every performance I hear of it is disappointingly flat and repetitive? But we have a vague "memory awareness" of some VERY haunting arrangement of it, and THAT'S what has rooted the love of it in our heart. Plus the lyrics alone are beautiful; we really want to cover it on our own, and "do it justice" in expressing how it makes us feel, to the glory of God.

We were very tired and dissociated but Mass was lovely as usual, and we sang decently well. No "fainting" or not being able to breathe like the old days, geez that was terrifying, I don't know how that became our "normal."

When we walked out of the church it was SNOWING LIKE HEAVEN. Big fat fluffy flakes and that gorgeous scent of ice in the air. We took a tiny video of it on our phone to remember the joy of the moment.

...

Most important headspace note for today:
MIMIC WAS AROUND.
Oh he was around last night, too-- I didn't update yesterday because honestly it was a bit of a hellday in terms of stress BUT for inexplicable reasons Mimic has been "accessible" in headspace. I think it's that famous "communication boost" that new Outspacers always seem to get when they first are "confirmed" as having an anchor/place in our innerworld. But he's showing up ON HIS OWN and he DOESN'T LIKE TO LEAVE. I'm not looking for him, or even trying to ping him. He just like... strolls in, and sits down, and watches. Comments. Scoffs sometimes. He's got that edge and although he's definitely been "warming up" over the past 24 hours (because he's spent a LOT of them with us in headspace ambience; that will affect an Outspacer whether they like it or not, just like it affects all of US when there's a "change in the air" internally), he is quite brusque and even snarky? Very blunt overall, but a bit acerbic, and stubborn! And he's SMART, but he uses that almost as a weapon-- he always seems to be thinking of how to "come out on top" of any situation, to make sure he's in the best position, and always gets the last word in. It's really interesting when he and Laurie end up talking; they have some general things in common but their attitudes are actually notably different; still I can tell they like locking horns, so to speak-- I think they're both learning from each other. Nevertheless, we all have to be honest and admit that for ALL Outspacers, our primary goal has to be transformation, so to speak. If someone who is canonically brutal shows up in OUR innerworld, well... just like Laurie, they're gonna have to transmute a lot of those edges if they want to stick around. And some DON'T. But... I'm kind of hoping Mimic will. The way his "self" has translated into headspace is... interesting, haha. He is FRUSTRATING but I do like what I see beneath that difficult exterior.
But man oh man, you know how I was talking about researching this guy and then still committing to reaching out to him being a "labor of love?" I WASN'T KIDDING. Honestly last night I was actually getting very upset with him because he's like BARRY was when he first showed up-- still totally stuck in that vicious attitude and not wanting to change-- at least, not without a bloody good reason. Me & Mimic half-argued for like a solid hour around 11pm about his behavior and motivations and moral code, with a lot of debate about "fear" and "survival" and "pride" and "strength" and the like, generally. Basically, I was trying to get some actual insight/answers as to WHY he was prone to backstabbing-- literally and figuratively-- and what he was trying to achieve by such behavior. Like don't you feel any empathy or remorse at pulling knives on people? Why not? And what are you after, with all this? Why all the lies? Why the mercenary attitude, refusing to commit to anything completely? Why are you so afraid of losing, or of being taken advantage of, to the point where you'll do that to others? Basically I was interrogating him about all the things that genuinely upset me morally, and he was throwing the questions back at me as both offense and defense; asking me why i was asking at all, what's it to you, why is it your business, etc. Several times he asked me what I would have done, and determined to be sincere I'd admit when I did have troubles with violence and hypocrisy and dishonesty as well, he'd sneer almost and start interrogating me. It was a TRIP, let me tell you. In a weird way I almost enjoyed the wrangling, even though I was legit almost pissed off by the end, and had to almost excuse myself. Like I WANT to get through to this guy but it's not going to happen overnight and his mindset has deep roots that are NOT going to be pulled up without severe damage; that's not my goal anyway. I'm about transformation, not tearing-apart. I want to know WHY he's seemingly content to be the "bad guy" and I want to UNTANGLE that so that he and I both get insight into the situation, which admittedly takes a heck of a lot of vulnerability and scathing self-honesty, and that is REALLY DIFFICULT, for me as well. But I see him defending his violent & turncoat history, justifying his hard-hearted outlook, and although I get angry at it I'm also aching for the poor guy. He might not feel it but you can't live in such a recalcitrant way without being miserable at the end of the day. Like how do you sleep at night? He'll smirk and respond "like a baby" and I'll retort "you don't seem the sort to cry yourself to sleep" and he'll bite back "listen, I did what I had to do, I don't waste time on second-guesses." "It sounds like you're fighting an inclination to, though." etc. etc. etc.


He HAS brought up the dream, once or twice. He knows it was a dream.
He won't discuss it though.

The clearest acknowledgement I got of it was, when we were unpacking, I mentioned that I actually bought the lingonberry yogurt that the dream had inexplicably referenced. "I thought of you," I offhandedly mentioned. He scoffed and kind of commented this off, but later on, as the headspace gang was chatting during the drive, he equally offhandedly "reminded me" to "let him know" when I was going to try it.
There are some spots of warming-up, which give me so much hope and determination to not give up on the guy. He's got so many walls up, just like Laurie used to.

...


------------------------------


Genesis & I went shopping, and of course I was dissociating horrifically, but we made it through okay.
More and more folks are hanging around the "Central lookout" area in headspace where they can speak directly to whoever is fronting, and that helps SO MUCH.


SNOW DRIVING AFTER CHURCH & ERRANDS.
had barely an hour, didn't want to shop more, "the emergency" came up on spotify and chaos 0 dared me to drive up mile hill. to our dream spot. in the snow.
so we did.

MIMIC just said "windows down, volume up" and when we had did so he smirked, nodded approvingly, and just stuck his head out the window to absolutely marvel at the snow.
"you've never seen snow before, huh"
he got defensive at that but it didn't last. that's one thing about mimic-- he does take offense, but he doesn't get outbursts like chaos or even genesis. his verbal retorts sting, but they're not flames. laurie is an axe, chaos is a hurricane, mimic is just that pocket dagger. it hurts, yeah, and it's very precise, but it's nowhere near as deadly as some of the folks up here can be when they're pushed too far. 
honestly i don't think mimic can "snap." i don't sense it in him at all. i mean yeah, he'll do some seriously underhanded stuff that can be VERY deadly but as a person, he's not going to fly off the handle. he does everything "at a distance." even with pulling knives on people. he's still got that level demeanor. dark, threatening, dangerous, but not an explosion. never manic red or screaming yellow. he's indigo. and we know all about that color up here, let me tell you.
chaos especially.
i'm actually kind of scared at the thought of those two talking, haha. geez.


---------------------


2pm lunch WHILE DRIVING! 

Choir concert!

More shopping
INFI, XENNIE, & MIMIC and the lemonade apples
mimic "daring" me & socials to face obsessive fears
IT WORKED???????? apparently we're VERY responsive to DARES instead of ORDERS.

KISSING LAURIE & GENESIS

Got home for like 6PM WTF.
Laurie helping me unpack

Mimic just "walked in" AGAIN while we were prepping dinner
kneejerk frustration on my part?? bizarre. like yeah i care for this guy but geez the first week or so is always SO ROUGH and it demands all my attention and this guy is a MASSIVE EFFORT CASE. my brain just hurt; the guy's got a wit like a whip and he's always subtly "on guard," except for some very rare moments i've noticed.


Sunchip nousfoni cooperation
Julie talking a LOT; color & attitude "reverting" in a positive manner?

Dinner around 7
very dissociated but xenophon helped a lot, god bless her

Almost triggered a binge with extra apple
I SHOWED UP and stopped it; chose mercy instead for ALL parties

Backing up religious tumblr
Listening to random radio tunes on Spotify? No idea what genre this is but we actually enjoy almost every song they've played. Reminds me a lot of old days with Genesis


-----------


...Mimic, Laurie & I had a HUGE argument of sorts tonight.


Dammit I want him to be happy, I want to see him freed from this self-made hell, from the lying and manipulation and running and hiding. He flat-out accused me of "projection" about that and I confessed "yeah, i'll admit, that is definitely part of this. but why the heck can't we both heal from this together??"

He keeps asking me about my faith, especially about how I keep talking about love and forgiveness and all that. "Why me" and "I don't deserve this" being answered by my beliefs about mercy and "love doesn't have "deserve" in its vocabulary" etc.
But Mimic doesn't take anything at face value. I actually really love that about his attitude, as much as it can drive me up the walls. He will insist I back up what I say. No platitudes, you explain everything you claim. If I'm trying to argue my case with him, he will try to stab holes in my argument until he's satisfied that it's sturdy enough for him to respect & consider. It's so ironic, getting this response from someone else who obviously can lie to cover their tracks in a cinch. My mom does this too. We're so used to our own tendencies to be dishonest, even with "good intentions" or "good reasons," that we assume that everyone else is playing us for a fool. Even subconsciously. It's hell. He won't admit-- or even acknowledge-- that outright, but it's an inevitable situation. There's no such thing as "peace" in that kind of outlook.



...Aha, ahaha, I knew it, I'm on issue #3 page 13 and this is breaking my heart,
..He really is scared. "I prefer to play for the winning team" but then "I'm free to go, correct?"
And trying to spare Whisper. Stuttering. Hands up in protective panic. And bloody Eggman-- "finish the job, or I finish you."
...Listen I have enough simmering rage against that man from Chaos's history.

And then Whisper herself. "Never forget. Never forgive."
...while here I am, like a fool perhaps, insisting that you don't need to forget in order to forgive.

"what he did is unforgiveable"


but that one panel. that ONE PANEL where he's LOOKING AT HIS HANDS
and then he says, "they weren't my friends,"
listen dude and i say this with genuine love but shut up, I KNOW what you're doing, I'VE DONE IT.
you can't answer her honestly because one, that makes you vulnerable. two, you don't want to even feel that yourself. three, you can't regret what you won't admit. so. "not my friends," means "i'm not sorry," means "you can't use them against me because i don't actually care," means putting more ice and barbed wire around your heart.
but oh i believe that you believe every word you're saying. i did, too, when I'd do the same. you tell yourself something long enough that it "becomes true." you take one tiny aspect that "matches what you did" and blow it totally out of proportion until it overshadows everything.
you're telling a half-truth and you're trying to bury the other half. "friendship is a weakness" well sure it is, but weren't you and laurie just feuding over this? 


also reading the fight with tangle, it strikes me that this guy does not know how to fight? or, at least, he fights dirty. there's no apparent "choreography," no elegance to it. it's a tussle. tangle goes after him with punches and he blocks the first and backs off from the second. he gets winded. heck tangle even trips him when he's trying to be sonic! yes he's clever, but for all his efforts and intelligence, something seems to be lacking. it interests me.
in any case he uses very blunt combat. kneeing tangle in the stomach, whacking her with her own tail. his movements seem almost clumsy at times? his offensive actions are weirdly defensive in my eyes. no outright attacks. whenever he brandishes that blade he doesn't actually swing it. does he want to? or is he hinging everything on it as a threat? also, when facing whisper, he gets clocked TWICE, and when she swings the hammer at him he winces. like flat-out cowers. and when he gets the wispon he still doesn't fire. i wonder if he even wants to.
lastly when he seriously has to "off" people it's secondhand. the shadow android room. the locked safe and the bombs. he's never there. he doesn't stick around to see anything. and of course he's a shapeshifter, and so far every time i've seen him use that skill it's to avoid fighting. to psychologically manipulate people. to "handicap" them. even though he's allegedly a trained soldier i wonder if deep down his heart's in it at all. or if he's "shapeshifted" himself into this role for lack of any better option. yeah he's fighting, his whole life is about fighting and running, but he just wants to disappear. get what he wants and get out. at least that's what i'm getting so far.
in any case he's fascinating. but no wonder he's so freakin' paranoid & underhanded. dude's got no bones to begin with.


"i've heard such promises before. cages, cells, prison eggs-- i've escaped them all. and i'll escape this, too."
"i'd rather you have pulled the trigger"
mimic my notsogood octopus what have you been through


...


(continue & conclude)

prismaticbleed: (shatter)

Posting this for the honesty & general relevance as to background/ current context information.


What brings you to counseling at this time? Is there something specific, such as a particular event? Be as detailed as you can.

I just spent 8 weeks in an inpatient facility for anorexia-bulimia. This eating disorder, however, was born as a coping mechanism for recurring trauma in the past. Now that I have regained weight and brain/body function, the flashbacks & nightmares have returned full force and I cannot-- and will not-- turn to disordered behavior to "smother" or "bury" those trauma symptoms. I have never discussed them in therapy before, but if I want to prevent relapse or another abusive addiction development, I need to bravely do so now.

What are your goals for counseling?
Mainly: to admit & process & manage feelings of guilt, rage, shame, self-hatred, fear, etc. related to past traumas; also to cope with nightmares, flashbacks, body sensations, etc. that constantly "re-open the wound" as it were. My symptoms are making daily life extremely difficult and this will only worsen if not dealt with.

Have you seen a mental health professional before?
Yes; I have probably seen over 20 different mental health professionals since childhood, for various reasons. In adulthood, I did specifically seek treatment for trauma (esp. abusive) but "co-morbid" symptoms regularly forced me to switch providers after a few months, and I never made real progress; I would have to stop before getting the guts to actually discuss-- or even admit-- the roots of my symptoms.

Have you ever attempted suicide?
Yes; In the past, I would constantly "flirt with death" and "experiment" with potential suicide methods: cutting wrists or throat, overdosing, jumping, poisoning, hanging, suffocation, etc. I would regularly-- almost mechanically-- check my environment for "possible options" and then "practice" for the ultimate event. I made a solid attempt at least three times that I readily remember? Once by blood, once by meds, once by poison. All happened during traumatic life situations and were "my exit door" from what felt fatal regardless.

Do you have thoughts or urges to harm others?

...Yes. Those are rare, and never premeditated, but are violent enough to merit acknowledgement. Such urges only occur when I am in (perceived) danger, especially when trauma is triggered, or when overwhelmed by rage and/or hyperstimulated. The "harm" is only ever meant to "stop what is hurting ME," never as a personal attack, and it occurs almost without conscious awareness. Typically afterwards, when I realize and/or am TOLD what I did, I am horrified and remorseful. Still, I cannot think of what else COULD have been done at the time; I had most likely been cornered & just lashed out like a rabid animal.

Have you ever been hospitalized for a psychiatric issue?

Yes-- once for self-abuse in 2012, twice for anorexia/bulimia in 2017 & 2022, once for an unexplained 302 call in 2018. The ED stays were approx. 8-9 weeks each; the psych stays were 5-7 days.

Is there a history of mental illness in your family?

Yes-- two sisters (transgender) have major anxiety/depression; one has paranoid schizophrenia & the other is agoraphobic with severe panic attacks. Mother has ADHD and possibly a mood disorder. Grandmother had OCD. Great Aunt had severe psychosis. Grandfather had extreme anger issues & hoarding tendencies. Father has a history of panic attacks. In general mental illness in our family is shockingly apparent but never discussed or admitted unless it becomes intolerable and/or dangerous.

If you are in a relationship, please describe the nature of the relationship and months or years together.

Too complicated to summarize.

Please check any of the following you have experienced in the past six months:

Increased appetite /  Decreased appetite /  Trouble concentrating / Difficulty sleeping / Excessive sleep / Low motivation / Isolation from others / Fatigue / Low energy /  Low self-esteem / Depressed mood / Anxiety / Fear / Hopelessness / Panic
Other: Dissociation, flashbacks, nightmares, body & gender dysphoria, disturbing intrusive thoughts, "hearing voices," magical thinking, etc.

What else would you like me to know?

I have a previous "tentative diagnosis" of D.I.D. and although it went into forced remission after our last abusive friendship, trauma & emotional distress invariably triggers symptoms full-force. Most of our trauma memories are "locked" in specific individuals that we cannot readily find or communicate with as of now, so memory gaps are frequent and large. We are hoping to become able to face those memories in therapy.


prismaticbleed: (angel)
 

Lord, help me to see what work you need me to do in this fallen world, [especially when its brokenness causes me pain and sorrow. I know all mankind hurts along with me, and that You likewise know our pain]. If my suffering is meant to show me how to [help You] repair and restore [some aspect of Creation], lead and guide me in doing that. Help me [to use this experience to grow in empathy and humility, so that I can better understand, comfort, and] work to bless others who are suffering, too. Amen.


(inspired by the Theology of Work Project)

120922

Dec. 9th, 2022 06:22 pm
prismaticbleed: (shatter)


(unfinished entry; posting openly regardless for honesty's sake)


Woke up around 10:15

RAN to doctors office for 11AM.
At one point, two Latino guys crossed the street towards me and I NEARLY BLACKED OUT FROM TERROR. That is EXACTLY what happened that morning I was punched out and mugged in NC. I felt horrible immediately running across the road away from them, but please it wasn't personal it was a survival response and I hated myself for it. Still, I was shaking. Every car that drove past me, I literally expected it to slow down and stop and for someone to grab me and pull me into it, or for someone to start making lascivious remarks, or something similarly terrorizing. The entire jog over was panicstricken. I felt SO unsafe and targeted and in danger.
This is no way to live. I'm practically agoraphobic at this point. The sight of a crowd makes me want to throw up from fear. If people get too close there's a coin's toss chance of my either becoming the "pretty and proper doll" or the rabid animal that will rip your arm off if you get too close. I hate living this way. Trauma has ruined me and I don't want to be like this. It's not me but I can't turn it off.

Didn't get home until 230PM.
We were smart and had everything out ready to prep so it didn't take long to make breakfast.
Sat down at 3pm. Had to push almost 1000K because it was so late; if we ate less now, we'd be hungry enough later to possibly binge, and we wanted to prevent that at all costs.
Basically we just doubled the broccoli and olive oil, added another half an apple and some sun chips. Simple really. As I said before, we've got a set mealplan now so there's no prep or planning stress anymore, unless we obsess over macros. The System is helping with that; just because we love even numbers and ratios doesn't mean that if we have 49/29/22 instead of 50/30/20 we've "failed" and it's "wrong". That obsessiveness is one of our biggest dangers, so we're being very wary of it. Again, communication is key-- which means TALKING, not "shutting people down." When an ED Nousfoni is resorting to "behaviors" you TALK TO THEM ABOUT IT. You ask them what's up, what are you feeling, what do you want to do, what would help, etc. NO "stop that" or "that's bad" or "you're being stupid" or anything our family might realistically say. No. We treat them as the friend and family they are and we HELP THEM.
...Laurie's new "mercy" attribute is actually helping a LOT more than anyone expected. She's been telling Spice "let 'em have an extra chip" when that one girl asks for them. And... today the girl said "NO THANK YOU." Like, when she was able to have what she wanted when she "craved" it at first, she LEARNED to not "need" it??? She admitted today that yeah, she always enjoys them, BUT she doesn't want to "keep eating them" just because of that. She said she would "rather wait until later" to make it "special" and to eat with everybody else, not at random from a drawer, by herself, feeling rejected and alienated. We're including and acknowledging these kids, which NO ONE OUTSIDE EVER DID, and it is MOVING MOUNTAINS in their recovery. Thank God. This is wonderful. There's so much love in here.

We just... need to do that for the other damaged Nousfoni in the System. The other half of the abuse.


...On that note.
Massive trigger warning for outright trauma talk coming up here.

...After breakfast, we made the mistake of going on Tumblr for a few minutes to distract ourselves from our body going "oh thank God we're finally eating" and not 'registering' that we're done for now (it usually takes about an hour; we can deal with that). We were just scrolling down our dashboard, but... we forgot that some of the folks we follow can post some very triggering things.

I swear I am about three seconds away from burning that website to the ground.
Really, I'm about a millisecond away from burning EVERYTHING of our pervading society to the ground.

I'm so sick of "pop culture" and "memes" and "the in-crowd" and "current fashions" and "modern thinking" and "new age" garbage. I am so bloody tired and furious over "liberalism" and "progressivism" and "humanism" and all that garbage. I hate what our governments are doing. I hate the hellscape they are turning this planet into. I hate how the "powers that be" are trivializing and abusing and objectifying and desecrating human life and worth and purpose. And SO MUCH OF THAT seems to be hyperdensified on the bloody internet.
Cyberspace is where the ugliest, most vicious, most demonic thoughts and ideas fester and propagate and infect countless minds. The most inhumane and immoral concepts seem to seed themselves there. Humanity dehumanizes itself online, even moreso than offline in my opinion, because online they strip themselves of a concrete identity and can exist as an anonymous point of corruption. There are entire websites where people salaciously share their most degenerate ideas without shame or even accountability. It's nauseating. I want to take a bloody hacksaw to it.

What set me off, you ask. An absolutely repulsive post about planned parenthood is what.
I apologize for all the vulgar intensifiers but I am FURIOUS and I have no other readily available way to translate that in an immediate candid manner, other than crushing this keyboard with my teeth.
Anyway. Apparently they have this "chatbot" on their website which is meant to """educate""" visitors on... topics that should NOT be discussed so lackadaisically. I always use the term "blasphemously" for this sort of talk because dammit it IS, when you get down to it.
You know what, let's just be blunt. No stupid "euphemisms" or "friendly talk" about things that should NOT be treated so insouciantly.
First off. The bot says it's "here to answer your questions about bodies, sex, and relationships." Pardon my french but KINDLY SHOVE THE HECK OFF. I loathe when people use the term "bodies" in that cursory way. It feels so coarse and degrading. And I REALLY HATE when "sex" is treated like a CONVERSATION TOPIC. I'm this close to spitting bullets, ESPECIALLY since the whole gross trio concludes with "relationships." IN THAT SAME CONTEXT. It's a subtle injection of sexuality INTO that word's definition IN GENERAL.

This corrupt chatbot is turning children into ADDICTS is what it is.
It's the same reason kids develop eating disorders and drug habits. People find out something that the human body can do and then abuse it to death.

Yeah, I said children. THAT'S what has me so enraged. The bot asks for your age, but BEFORE that it says, "don't worry... it won't take long. I can wait." And the demonic emoji winks at you.
I swear I was about to punch my computer screen. It felt LECHEROUS. Listen I have been through childhood sexual trauma and my traumabrain IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZES THOSE DANGER SIGNS and THAT WAS ONE OF THEM.
"Don't worry" my ass. "It won't take long" has me wanting to eviscerate someone on the spot; that is the HALLMARK of sxabuse. "I can wait, WINK," don't say that to me unless you want your tongue ripped out and shoved down your bloody throat. No you CAN'T wait, you're so freaking hellbent on getting what you want that the "waiting" is just another means of torturing your victim. They can't escape, and they can't fake enthusiasm anymore, so as they drag themselves through the dread, screaming internally, to puppet-dance the way you want, you can absolutely "wait" with that simpering smile on your face, emptily reassuring them "don't worry! it's okay! it won't take long! it won't hurt! it's okay! it's normal! this is a good thing! it'll be fun! you'll enjoy it!" etc etc etc straight to hell.
Sorry. Kind of horrorventing here. It can't be prevented if I refuse to censor this pain.
But yeah. THEN you can enter your alleged ethnicity, gender, and age. The first is straightforward; the second is fairly tame too-- it allows for binary, nonbinary, trans, intersex, questioning, fluid, & "cis." I won't get into that topic now because yes I am Catholic and I do believe that the binary is legit for spiritual reasons BUT I also know that intersex is a real thing, AND that the chemicals I had pumped into me as a baby gave me medically induced dysphoria, so gender confusion is the "story of my life" and I cannot judge others for feeling the same, even if my more "tradcath" brethren tend to sweep the table clear of all of their concerns without a thought.
My problem here is with the age options.
IT STARTS AT "TWELVE AND UNDER."
I am going to frickin GUT SOMEBODY.

Here I am, "roleplaying" myself as a terrified tween, and when I ask "does it hurt" and "is it normal to bleed" they're like "yeah it can happen but sex can also be fun" YOU'RE THE DEVIL. STOP ACTING LIKE IT'S OKAY FOR A LITERAL TWELVE YEAR OLD TO BE ASKING ABOUT THIS.
...I'm just thankful that there is a page on "consent" there, under the "relationships" tab. The bot says: "Consent means that whether you’re kissing, holding hands, or having sex, both people are really, truly into what’s going on, and no one is being guilted or pressured into anything."
...THAT is something I wish someone told me as a kid, that bit about guilt. I was always told push through it, this is what you SHOULD do, etc. I just wish they used the word fear, too. Not just "pressure." Sometimes the other person seems "fine" but you're absolutely terrified and you don't want this but... they're not being mean, they're doing things that are supposed to be nice and kind, right? so shouldn't i just do what they want? 

Another good point:
"When a relationship is healthy, you feel good about yourselves and each other most of the time. You both feel like you have respect, kindness, trust, honesty, equality, and good communication. And you also give each other space to have your own lives outside the relationship."
...That's not something I've ever had in the waking world, sadly. I don't want to go in-depth now but it is deeply depressing.
You know, what the heck. No running away. In-depth it is.
"Respect" was always shallow and fleeting, and it refused to "learn too much." They'd claim to give it, but it was just a word. It was more like temporary tolerance UNTIL you changed to become something they were more comfortable with. "I respect you," they would say, but they wouldn't follow through. This one is hard to put words to. I guess it's how Jade feels, too. People claim "respect" and then blatantly act in contrast to it, especially in subtle ways-- with her, it's the constant deadnaming and mispronouning, the casual invalidations of their spiritual beliefs and identity, EVEN from people who say "I respect you; you can identify as and believe whatever you want!" They forget to add the key part: "...and I will treat that identity and belief WITH respect." That part is conspicuously missing. Even from me, in the past, I have to confess. I didn't understand this virtue well myself, and honestly STILL don't, what with the Catholic aspect of it. "You CANNOT respect heretics," I'm told. "You SHOULD invalidate and denounce them. God's Law is more important than someone else's delusions." Well, yes, intellectually so. But... if I know that telling someone "your feelings and beliefs are false, but mine are not" is going to send them into a suicidal breakdown, I'm NOT going to say it, even "indirectly" through behavior and language. Except... I have been doing that. It's because I don't respect MYSELF, either. I've never been respected for who I am and what I believe, so... I can't properly show it to myself, OR to others, as a result. I'm genuinely struggling with this. I'm glad I'm writing that down. It's something I MUST work with, intrapersonally and interpersonally.
"Kindness"... same thing. Too much disingenuous behavior there. I try to think of examples of "kindness" and outside of parental care, I... can't find much. What do I define as "kindness," personally, I must ask. It means... acting and speaking in ways that do not harm, that actively work towards a benevolent end for someone, that is gentle and considerate and compassionate. Kindness. Treat others with friendship and care. Be personally invested in their well-being. It's a monolith virtue, really, a close sister to Love itself. And... like I've been hinting at in my recent Scripture studies, I haven't always been kind. I WANT to be, and I do try to be, but... I fail, a lot. I'm usually too scared to do what is "kind," because "I'm afraid of the cost and consequences to myself." WHY. WHAT MADE ME SUCH A COWARD. Is it the stupid trauma? That my "fear of others" has become so pervasive as to undermine kindness? That I hesitate to offer a helping hand because it might get stabbed or bitten? Or because they might grab it and pull me to the ground and use me all the more "now that I've given them unspoken permission?" Why do I see "kindness" acted upon as a "doorway to abuse?" My mom tells me this ALL THE TIME. "You need to be harsh and mean towards people," she says, "or they'll treat you like garbage. You need to learn how to shout back, and fight back, and when they push you then you push back harder." et cetera. I don't want to be like that. Good God is this why I feel so achingly drawn to Mimic??? "Friendship is a weakness" and all that? Yeah I have to be brutally honest and admit that DEFINITELY has its fangs in me somewhere. I do avoid making friends, even though I desperately want to, because... all my past friendships have damaged me. They've "put my life on the line" and I always ended up feeling like a trapped animal, even when I did love and care for the other person. Somehow, in the end, the "friendship" always had a huge price tag attached. My Christian instinct tells me, "all the better! Love is most virtuous when it is unrequited and even rejected! You can only be TRULY kind if you are choosing to be kind to someone who treats you like trash!" "Virtue is only virtue in extremis." I adore that line but it haunts me, too. I WANT to be a kind person. And yes I want Mimic to learn how to be kind, too, but I've gotta admit half of that is definitely a mutual-problem projection. I see how he brazenly throws people under the bus to save his own tentacles but I have done that in less obvious ways, too. I cannot tell you how many times I've woken up, shaken, from dreams in which some catastrophe is occurring and I don't run back in to save anyone. I get myself out of there and THEN I realize, "oh no, I didn't save anyone else." My instinct was to get my own worthless self out of there, and if everyone else died... well. I wake up in a cold sweat and hating myself. But I refuse to surrender to despair. I refuse to define myself by those base impulses. If that IS what my subconscious is geared to do, then God help me I had BETTER WORK TO CHANGE THAT. I can't give in to the darkness that I KNOW is lurking in me. I WON'T. I am DETERMINED to be a kind person. I just... most days, I get so scared that it's not possible. I fear I'm too evil TO be kind. But dammit I still try. I still stop and listen to my neighbors talk even when I'm almost grinding my teeth with impatience; I stop and make the effort to genuinely listen and comment and care, because I DO care, I just don't like talking. And that selfish bit likes to overpower any sincerity. Same with the Christmas cards I keep getting. I could easily chuck 'em in the bin and say "I don't know these people" OR I could go the "religious spite" route and say "these are all secular cards, I'll send them all explicitly religious ones in return", OR I could grumble and protest "I can't afford to send so many cards," OR I could do what I'm REALLY tempted to do, which is to say "if I send them a card back, that's opening the door to ANOTHER controlling "relationship" and I am so tired of feeling obligated to entertain and chat with everyone; if I just snub them all maybe they'll leave me alone and I'll have peace." But deep down I'd be miserable, because I STILL LOVE PEOPLE and I DO want to give them all Christmas cards but I'd love to do so anonymously. Except if they asked I couldn't lie. And I AM overwhelmed by the effort. But dammit LOVE IS EFFORT, and it's a CHOSEN EFFORT, so unless I REALLY want to be a hypocrite I had better buy some cards and do this. I want to, in my heart of hearts. My TRUE "instinct" is to not only send cards, but gifts and flowers and the whole shebang. My deepest urge is to lavish love on everyone, like I did in high school, when I first had a job and didn't understand the concept of "savings" and all that. It was just, "oh cool I have cash, I'll buy myself something and then I'll buy SO MANY GIFTS." I made it a point of honor to spend at LEAST $100 PER PERSON on EVERY HOLIDAY. And back then my ONLY complaint was that I didn't have enough money. NOT gripingly-- more like, "if I DID have more cash I could get stuff for MORE people!" I didn't care about the cash. I just wanted to dote. My only regret in hindsight is that, due to my upbringing, I had "gifts" as a "love language" forced upon me. It's what my immediate social circle demanded. Touch was considered whorish and filthy, Words were considered empty and easily forgotten or skewed-- AND I couldn't give them casually; you know me and words-- Time was something I didn't have in order to give, and Acts were fused with gifts, really. I lived that "act" bit; it was my default. It subtly still is. If I see a "good deed" I can do, I'll do it, especially anonymously. But I'm rambling. I WANT to be kinder. Just... I struggle. And I struggle with naming examples of it shown to me, at first. The only ones I have feel so hollow it actually hurts. Like, "I got Christmas cards from the neighbors!" but they were given to everyone, just a generic "happy holidays hope it's fun" with a signature, and I've never met them in person. Is that the criteria for kindness? If I set the bar that low for defining this virtue, will I slack off as well? And will I ever admit my need of kindness in my life, if I just settle for the most robotic expression? Again, Christian-brain says "yes! You shouldn't seek kindness to be given to you! You should be happy with being treated like dirt! Your feelings don't matter. What matters is BEING kind. If others are kind to you, remember they don't owe it to you, and for all you've done you don't deserve it either. It's not a reward or a recompense. Be grateful for it, but don't cling to it." And although that is sound advice I'm starving for some actual sweetness here, I might sound like a whore but I want someone to WANT to be kind to me, even "just because." Honestly that's one of the things I was thinking about with Mimic, earlier. "Virtue is only virtue in extremis" again. Love is a CHOICE, and it's PURE that way. It DOESN'T use words like "deserve" and "owe" and "should." If it did, then it would exclude and judge others. But no. Love, and kindness, and all virtue, DECIDES to just do good for others because they exist. Simple as that. "Why me," and I say "why not you," and when they list all the reasons why they "don't deserve to be cared for" it just... honestly it should just go over my head. Love doesn't care about that. It doesn't justify things, no, it wants you to do better and heal and move forwards, BUT it also doesn't deem you "unlovable" because of them. That's the fragile dance. To truly be kind, to truly love, you MUST see and love and care for the WHOLE ENTIRE REAL PERSON, without labeling them, AND without "leaving them in the dirt" either. I want what's best for them, honestly best, what will bring genuine joy and purpose to their life, what will not hurt their soul. That's shown through kindness... through mercy. God shows me that all the time. I haven't gotten it much from people. But I need to make a list, and NOT one that says stuff like "they didn't throw me on the streets when I was being a bitch" and "they still fed me even if I was an ungrateful pig" and "they didn't insult me when I shared my personality" BECAUSE it doesn't mean "they went out of their way to make me feel safe" or "they were respectful and considerate when I displayed negative symptoms" or "they talked to me about what I valued with a genuine interest." I don't have things like that to list. And that's where kindness is really shown. It's heartfelt.
"Trust". That one hurts. I always "trusted" BUT it also always occurred IN OPPOSITION. I would be scared to death BUT I would still choose to "trust" because "that's what good people do," and "they're not a bad person!" But... I don't think anyone ever trusted me, in contrast. Ever. I didn't deserve it, though. I admit that. It still hurts to realize. I have longtime issues with compulsive lying, and half-truths, and sometimes not even knowing what's real or not due to dissociation or derealization. Not only that, but my "people-pleasing" programming often "makes" me knee-jerk agree or offer to do things that I'm NOT CAPABLE OF DOING, or even willing to do in the first place. And it happens SO AUTOMATICALLY that the only escape I have is... making myself a liar. I'll say "yeah I'll do that" or "yes I like that" or "yes that's okay" or "no there's no problem" etc. and it's completely false BUT I say it so reflexively. And then I'm pinned like a butterfly to a board. Doomed, unless I bail and run. It happens far too often, and then people call me "two-faced" and a "manipulator" and all sorts of just accusations but I honestly don't know what else to do. I am COMPLETELY untrustworthy in bodyspace, and probably have been since my youth. I grew up in a family that legit taught me to lie and even ENCOURAGED it in many situations. My mother STILL TELLS ME OUTRIGHT to "lie" to get out of trouble, or avoid an undesired outcome, or to "make things easier" or the like. She doesn't see it as lying if "the ends justify the means," I guess. But then you can't be trusted, if you do things like that. And I DESPERATELY WANT TO BE TRUSTED. If I had to make a list of my emotional needs that would be one of the first three, hands-down. Again... this is something Chaos 0 & I talk about very often and we bond over it a lot, too. But... maybe even more than him, I know what it's like to be constantly suspected, to be assumed guilty without trial, to be seen as inherently deceptive and shady... to be known as a backstabber, a double-crosser, a traitor. God knows I have literally heard those words more often than I want to count, let alone admit. And I deserve it. But just like kindness, God I WANT to be trustworthy, so badly it's killing me. I WANT to be reliable, and honorable, and loyal and true and faithful. I want my word to mean something, that when I give it, it can be depended on. I want to be staunch and stalwart and steadfast, like a rock-- like a precious stone, isn't that ironic.
"Honesty." This ties into "trust," and as a result it's probably what I've had the least of in my life. You can't trust someone if they're not honest. But... again, it's what I've lived with, and learned. My family always wore masks, hid things, told baldfaced lies. My "relationships" were hallmarked by people admitting to personae and playing roles. I never knew who people actually were. I never knew what they actually felt or thought or wanted or intended. I never knew how to be myself, either, with that atmosphere. So I wasn't honest, either, out of fear and self-distrust. What a stupid irony. All I wanted was for people to be honest, but... when I tried to be honest myself, I got punished, or called a liar anyway.
"Equality." Not even sure how to define that. With my family, it's prominently lacking-- I've told therapists before how I was always treated shockingly differently from my siblings because I was born with different chromosomes.
"Good communication." Another absolute F on my report card here.
"Space to have your own lives." ...This one was the killing bullet in all my "relationships." I was always caught in situations where I was bound to "exist FOR the relationship ONLY."

...The only healthy relationships I've ever had are in headspace, and even those have so many rough spots because I fail to live up to my part.

(continue)
...


Sorry for rambling. Let's get back on the main topic so I can be done with this.
Next is ABOUT THAT "CONSENT" THING. Notice what they grouped together? "Sex" and "kissing" and "hand holding." Three COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS that can overlap but SHOULD NOT BE GROUPED BY DEFAULT. EVER.
That's the disgusting slippery slope mentality that has turned my life into a living hell SINCE childhood. It infects EVERYTHING. How in the world are you supposed to have a NONSEXUALIZED RELATIONSHIP if people keep subtly associating innocent acts of affection and closeness with literal intercourse??? Like if you have one, you're GOING to have the other. It's one of the most devilish things that ever happened to me, internalizing that after hearing it ad nauseam.
...

I'm just so disturbed by this entire bank of info they offer because it's split between two opposing things. On one hand, they're legit giving some good information. They're fairly informative about how to get help after abuse & what pregnancy is & why consent is important, BUT they're also speaking FROM A BASEPOINT of "it's ALSO okay to masturbate and have abortions and treat sex like a toy!" NO IT'S NOT. And that corrupted foundation wrecks the whole entire thing.
There's a sentence in their info pages that basically says "pregnancy can result from sex." WHAT THE HECK, WHAT DO YOU THINK SEX IS FOR??? But here it is: on another page "People define 'sex' in different ways!" MORE TRAUMA LIES.
Honestly the dichotomy on this site is insane. On one hand they're treating sex like a game or a recreational activity-- they're giving tips to literal children on how to abuse their own sexuality, telling them "only you know when you're ready" and "virginity varies from person to person" and other such garbage. They talk about sex like it's this "fun thing to do" AND YET they have full sections on rape and assault and bloody abortions. MAKE UP YOUR MINDS. IT CANNOT BE BOTH.

I'm sorry, I cannot do this. The wrath is quickly turning into absolute existential despair and I am going to end up having nightmares and flashbacks and abusive episodes if I keep this up. No.

...Someone commented on the Tumblr post, "Applying their own twisted morality to impressionable children is grooming and abuse."
I agree entirely. That's what has me so wrecked about this. I see the entire traumatic pattern of my past looming over any children who stumble across this abomination. I wasn't "ignorant" when it happened to me, and it didn't help at all. You can sugarcoat extramarital underage sex all you want, it doesn't make it right, and it doesn't make it not terrifying either.

...
I am so bloody angry. And I want to scream and cry on some deeper level.
There are so many nousfoni that deal with so many aspects of this. Julie and Infinitii and Ashen and Dread and all the adult women that (thank God) we haven't seen in ages. The little boys who are so unstable they're almost not alive. The little girls who shriek constantly. Sugar and Wreckage and all the other unnamed Protectors who would tear out the throat of any would-be assaulter on a dime.
And then there's me, of all people, me and my awful Red heart, acting like Cupid hirself and defending this entire topic with all my might and yet I'm such a stupid hypocrite, aren't I? I'm a tangle of paradoxes. Queer transgender Catholic. Fictoromantic asexual cardiophile. Obsessed with sensuality but grossed out by physical bodies in general. I mean for God's sake my daengel is Infinitii, I can sputter out all the fumbling alibis I want but ze is the damning evidence, the judge's hammer personified.
...Yesterday night, I clicked on hir Spotify playlist.

(continue)

...

We got a text from our new therapist around 6:30, which was good because we were getting so emotionally distressed that we needed a break from typing this. Unfortunately she sent us a "Depression Inventory" to fill out, haha. We're not touching it until tomorrow when we can answer it in earnest with a clearer head. Right now everything would be skewed from being so mentally disheveled.
But yeah, we ACTUALLY have our intake appointment tomorrow at 1pm! Thank GOD; our CPTSD symptoms have been getting pretty bad post-inpatient and have been spiking lately with all the family overwhelm and online triggers. I think it'll be a video appointment; I don't think we'll have a car until Sunday (and we have to go shopping then anyway, as much as we hate to on a Sunday; we'll have to put Larnelle Harris on loop while we drive). But the new therapist is actually only a few minutes away from our apartment! So that's awesome. I'll have to check if there's a local bus that goes that way, maybe we can schedule around that? We'll see.

We spent a little while filling out the "new patient data" and skimming through the legal jargon; we're very familiar with it but it still needs to be reviewed and signed before we can become a legit patient. HOWEVER. This is the first time we've been asked for our gender and pronouns on a form. Remembering how disturbing it was to "wake up" as a System DURING INPATIENT-- AGAIN-- and to realize that whoever had been driving prior was presenting us as the birth default, which literally does not apply when we're PLURAL in any case. So, seeing it on this paper, we recognized that we had to be completely honest about it. Pronouns are they/them of course, but "gender?" How do we state that? Yes, it varies in-System, but the System as a whole isn't fronting as a whole during therapy. That's gonna ideally be the Core. But... they're not binary, and they're not actually "nonbinary" either, since-- as Catholics-- we DO recognize that male/female dichotomy as a legit split and that is apparent in the System, even with folks who are ACTUALLY "nonbinary" in that they are nonhuman and sexless. Typically people still choose one set of binary pronouns, and see that pink-blue complement as a sliding scale, almost? Like, look at Laurie. "She" is OBVIOUSLY not "female." She's not a "girl." BUT she's also not a "boy". Literally Laurie is "neuter," as all Nousfoni are, with the VERY rare function-based exceptions of Julie and Infinitii. Nevertheless, our System still recognizes "masculine" and "feminine" as valid descriptors... BUT IN AN ANDROGYNOUS FASHION. And THAT is what hit hard, thinking about our "body gender" today. Laurie uses "female" pronouns, but in the System, "femininity" is ONLY safe if it's "MASCULINE." Likewise, Knife uses "male" pronouns, but "masculinity" is ONLY safe if it's "FEMININE." Literally both binaries paradoxically merge the binary into a united harmony? While still being "independent" qualities? It's kinda beautiful really and yes we CAN have "feminine girls" and "masculine guys" but they historically tend to be abusive or corrupt. Child Nousfoni don't really adhere to this at all, because their presentations are almost always wrecked by trauma. Not only that, but "male/female" behavior characteristics really don't appear until the teenage years, so to speak. Before that, it's straight-up androgyny. And THAT'S what we really present as, physically. We NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE. We DO get dysphoria-- we look in the mirror and to this day the body looks wrong and feels foreign and we are always taken by surprise in that respect, negatively so-- BUT it goes for BOTH BINARY CHARACTERISTICS. We don't want ANY reproductive organs, which is priority, so for years we thought we were "neutrois" or "agender"... but then we realized we felt comfortable with facial hair and a more "masculine" presentation. BUT even as we lived "as a guy," we didn't want to BE a male? Not the way the world saw males, at least. We didn't want to "be in that group," or associate with that label. But we ALSO DID NOT EVER WANT TO BE CONSIDERED A GIRL, even moreso than a boy. Furthermore, the "adulthood" thing feels wrong in BOTH ways, possibly due to trauma, UNLESS we're a DAD. THEN we can be a "man." Our personal identity on the masculine side is hilariously weird-- either we're an anime protagonist dude, or we're a videogame single father, haha. Those are the tropes that fit! As for our "feminine" side, there's... not one? Which is BIZARRE. We do have "feminine traits" and yeah we were trying on dresses the other day, but we must always add that "boyish" edge or it feels COMPLETELY WRONG. We cannot have long hair, or makeup, or too much jewelry, because the instant we "step over the androgyne line" we're NOT OURSELF.
So... that seems to be the gender term for us to use, to communicate this properly. "Androgynous." A mixture of male and female, WITHOUT BEING EITHER. It's a "third gender," that doesn't reject the other two. We'll "wear" this term for a while and see how other people respond to and perceive it, to make sure it's giving the correct impression, even if they don't know we're a System-- probably especially so. In any case, that's what we put on the intake form. "Androgyne, they/them." So that was a little milestone.

It was getting late around that time, and we needed to eat at 8:30 at the latest, so we put in a solid effort to exercise around 7:45. We got 35 minutes in, but again we had to put the resistance on 4 and go slow because we're still nauseous and we KEEP getting palpitations when we exert ourselves at all? The edema in our legs is back, too, as of last night, which we haven't had since inpatient. What the heck is up with all this? It hit so suddenly and won't go away. The "malaise" is awful. Did we catch COVID again and not realize it, what with all the running around we've been doing with mom while in such a stressed-out state? God only knows, but I hope it's not that serious. We'll see, I guess.
...Actually hold up, our bloodwork results from this morning just came in. Our CMP is ACTUALLY NORMAL across the board, which I don't think has happened in YEARS. However our CBC shows that our WBC (white blood cells) are still in the low zone, BUT now our HCT (red blood cells) are really high? Which is NEW. Hopefully it's just dehydration, and not heart trouble. At least this explains the headaches, dizziness, & fatigue, apparently. At least our platelets are completely average; platelet disorders run in our family. I'm just hoping that this white/red imbalance (how ironic) isn't... well, cancer. That runs in our family, too. But... our grandmother suffered and died from it, so if we had to, too... it would be a weirdly bittersweet sort of recompense. Like we could share that, empathize with her, after the fact. I don't know. I'm worrying too much, getting too close to unearthing that unresolved and crushing guilt for her death. I can't handle that right now. Therapy is tomorrow. We'll see what the doctor says about the blood. Tonight we can't do anything about either, so put it in God's hands and let it go.

Anyway. Dinner was at 8:45, I think? No carrots this time, and a full bag of broccoli (we were craving it for some reason). Also, Xenophon reminded us that she wanted to try eating the "wiggly egg" on the english muffin we always have, so we did that-- and it was really nice actually? So we thanked her and shared it with her and we're definitely doing that for dinner from now on, haha.
We're also completely out of all all yogurt flavors except vanilla, which is our favorite so no complaints there. We had the last cherry one today and I still can't figure out if I "like" that fruit as more than a concept or not. Yes, it's red and glossy, but do we like the taste of it? No clue. No idea why our brain does that in any case, the whole "conceptual fondness" thing. It's interesting as much as it's frustrating, as it makes it very hard to form our "own opinions" because "preferences" don't really exist in that "obligatory" context. We're trying to work on it, but it's all experimental, so to speak. So we'll have to try another cherry one when we do a grocery run.
Oh. That reminds me. That dream I had yesterday morning... well, after that scene the dream did what dreams love to do and got a bit random. Apparently we had to "reintegrate Mimic back into society" and part of that process somehow involved teaching him to eat properly?? Which feels like a specific subconscious reference to our inpatient treatment & release. But, the only food the Restoration crew had on hand was yogurt. Like tons of bizarre flavors of it. Amusingly, Mimic was trying them all, as interestedly as if he had never eaten legit food before. I remember one of them was like... "Lingonberry & Brass." Yes as in the metal. Apparently this was his favorite one too, haha. Thinking about all this after I had this sudden mental image of Tangle asking Mimic "why are you eating all the yogurt" and his reply was just "no bones." Which is HILARIOUS, what the heck dude. So now, uh, when we go shopping I'm going to have to try lingonberry flavor. Just because.

Ah hold up I just remembered what else I had to tell you!
Xenophon (thankfully) pushed me to do MUSIC WRITING today. "Even just three notes, dad," she said. So I went on the League laptop (good ol' Scherzando) and started by finding all our old FL Studio files-- honestly the last time we were really prolific musically was from 2008-2015, with Abbey and that "temp laptop" that a Protector/Persecutor literally destroyed when they found out hackers were using it. We still mourn that loss-- it happened during the most productive creative phase we've had in YEARS, and... everything was gone in an instant. Days worth of art and music and writing, erased with one furious punch to the motherboard. Gone. Still, it was fitting penance; we were in the WORST state of our mind as well, simultaneously. We still refer to 2015 as the "hell year," even if we don't actively remember it. That's the reason it's missing from recall.
Anyway. We want to start again. So I found the old files, and moved them all into their League folders, but when I got to Imagirealm (Otherside) and FFN I forgot that their tunes had been moved into other Leagueworlds somewhat? So I stopped, and decided, "let's bring up ALL the FL filenames and check for location doubles." Surprisingly there were only like three; everything else had been correctly moved prior, apparently... and then there was this one file in a subfolder for Oneircia?? We FORGOT that when we almost scrapped "Immaculata" we dumped the "angel" file into Oneircia as a placeholder, and there was a tiny music loop saved in it. "handbells_2". Just a short thing, but it had such a cool vibe and I really liked how the handbell sound had been edited to sound "rounder" and more metallic. Wondering where to put it, I started adding some chords to the melody line, just for fun, and then thought "hm I wonder what to do for a bassline" and decided "let's go full-out grunge kicks" and tossed one in there. Well it sounds BOSS now. And I had to stick a limiter on it because that bass was peaking instantly, haha. But yeah, I spent like an hour just having fun with that. I miss that-- creating for the sake of creating, even just loops, because they're still beautiful sounds and they still enrich and express the Worlds they later are given to. I think we're going to keep this one in "Immaculata," because I don't want to scrap ANY Leagueworld, and this little tunebit-- which I'm calling "warrior angel" for now-- might be just the seed it needs to regrow into something real.
You know... it actually sounds like something I would have written back in college. It's got that same vibe. That means a lot to me, considering we thought that creative spark was lost after the trauma resurgence of the same time period. Apparently not, thanks be to God, because we just made something from that spark! 
Oh and when we exercise now I have ALL the Leaguetunes that exist on our phone now, so we can LISTEN to them again. And I FORGOT how much I legit LOVE the Flairousia OSTs!! Those are my "fun" projects; little transformation themes for each character that follow the same rough structure but NEED to match their personal "elemental" vibe. And they're SO FUN TO LISTEN TO. Gosh I need to jump back into writing THOSE, even if the series is under major rehaul right now. Don't care bro, I'm still gonna compose stuff for it. Heck, it might even help with the reconstruction! In any case, the music MUST still be relevant and it WILL be. So that's my next goal-- FINISH YVONNE'S TRANSFORMATION THEME FOR HEAVEN'S SAKES, haha. It's the only one NOT complete from the first generation of kids. Then I can work on the other dozens of 'em, geez louise. *dean mccoppin pose* ART!
(OH and Neon Flames Phase Two STILL ROCKS. It's such a dynamic track.)
Lastly I just brought this topic up because exporting it as an mp3 was taking forever and it's probably done an hour later, haha. So let me go close that up and I'll come back here to the new laptop (good ol' Sophrosyne) and close this up so we can SLEEP for heavens sakes, it's 1am already and we NEED to get like nine hours in to make up for the past two nights. 


Sorry for the emotional whiplash AND obvious multiple authors in this entry but this screen's been open for hours.
It's good, though. We're being completely sincere with our life, moment to moment, with this daily journaling again. Recording the pain and sorrow as well as the love and joy... it's essential.
We'll be back here again tomorrow to do the same.

prismaticbleed: (angel)

"Make a list of as many things as you can think of to thank God for in your life. Write down ways you can show your gratitude to God this week in your actions."


Gratitude, like faith, must be acted upon. God has blessed us profoundly & profusely, in both large & little ways. Every single one is a work of Love on His part, and is so worth thanking Him for-- but how often do we do so? Yes, we may intellectually be grateful for our family, but do we regularly serve them, listen to them, & love them tangibly in response? We may indeed be grateful for having food & clothing, but do we value the gift more than the Giver even so? Do we share what we have? Do we eat and dress to His Glory? 
What sincerity is in our gratitude if we do not treat those things, and all others, as the treasures we name them as?  
Christmas is inherently inundated with thankfulness, founded in the keen cognizance of our utter poverty & powerlessness without God's gracious giving-- embodied most strikingly and totally in the Gift of His Son. It is from HIM that we receive all we have in life-- both materially & spiritually. Let us show our gratitude by how we LIVE that life!

120822

Dec. 8th, 2022 11:08 pm
prismaticbleed: (aflame)
 

 Last night I was honestly awake until 430 typing & trying to find IDW scans & summaries for Mimic. labor of love bro, i told you

Woke up at 1030 when mom called
Gotta get up already because she already has a busy day planned. I love her but I'm so exhausted with her hypercrammed lifestyle; I tried to express this but she doesn't really take no for an answer when she is set on something.
So I have to go up the house as soon as we eat Breakfast, to help her post more stuff on Facebook, send business emails, try on clothes & shoes, & possibly start baking for the church sale this weekend? And THEN we have back to back church AND choir practice from 515 until around 7pm, 730 at the latest.
So I'm kinda glad Spice & Laurie let the ED nousfoni cut up that apple last night because we might have to bring it TO church to prevent a starving bingepurge after. Geez. Gotta be prudent and realistic about the risks here.

Also I think we just set a new Outspacer record.
Previously we were all shocked at how quickly Phlegmoni showed up inside AND got a name, but... still, it was a few weeks.
...I'M, UH, ALREADY HAVING DREAMS ABOUT MIMIC,
I swear it's my soft spot for cephalopods. I'm in trouble, haha. BUT SERIOUSLY.
So like... within 24 hours of getting legit outspacer "compatibility pings" for this dude, my subconscious has already decided "oh cool new octopus, does this mean I get to romance them" APPARENTLY.
...I know I'm trying to joke about it but honestly it's a result of how... honest this was? Like I feel I should be ashamed at my nerve but it wasn't done brashly; yeah it DID happen fast in realtime but... geez I just feel too much, too close, too quickly. I'm ready to dive in before thoroughly testing the waters. How deep is it? How cold is it? All I know is I want to swim and dammit there are really gorgeous critters under those waves, so let's take that chance and take the plunge.

...Why am I always afraid to write this stuff down. Am I afraid I'm going to be condemned and slandered as a whore because I dared to act on affection? What terror in my upbringing generalized that hideous label so much?

...I'm not sure where we were. Some fancy room in a fancy house, but one on the ground floor, more like an enclosed porch? Lots of glass looking out. It was either evening or dawn, with that soft indigo light outside-- NOT NIGHT, which is significant.
We were sitting on the floor there, with all these white sheets and throw pillows casually tossed about? Not sure if we were talking; the dream felt like "picking up in the middle" of something.
...God only knows how or why but he was quieter. Not flustered like Chaos gets, but almost "sad" in his reservedness? Very blue emotional vibe-- not depressed, just "blue" as in the color. Almost indigo, really. He wasn't aloof or averse or even reticent; It surprised me even in the dream, like dude I've seen you pulling knives, what is this?
He was sitting with his back against the window, and a bunch of those pillows inevitably. Tiny guy! He's surprisingly small in stature compared to most folks upstairs.
I was actually talking less than he was. He was kind of monologuing? Half to me, half to himself.
Then I was fumbling with some side clasp on that capelet of his. Two hooks by the right shoulder. He was talking again, more agitated emotionally, but not upset or protesting, more like... you shouldn't do something like that with someone like me. Like why do you want to. Why me?
I don't think i even replied in words. I just quietly slipped the cape off his shoulders and kissed him square on the chest.
It's surreal. I remember the exact texture of it-- slightly rubbery, with all these tiny scars, small but numerous, like you see on whales. Not smooth like CZ. Different scent, too-- there was an oceanic note but overall it was notably more organic-- the watery hints were heavy but subtle, like an edge of murky deep-water. But he had a body and I'm not used to that: it's what struck me most.
He wrapped his arms around the back of my head and almost sobbed. I suddenly wanted to kiss his face so badly but I kept thinking no, that's too sudden, it's too close, and anyway how did we even get THIS far? What led up to this? How did this happen, why is he letting me do this, why is he letting me be with him at all? Why is he actually daring to be so honest and vulnerable when its obvious that its a hugely courageous effort on his part? I echoed his words in my own head: why me?
...I remember his face was "blushing" such a dark blue. Not out of embarrassment either; it was more like... he was not used to feeling anything, let alone something as sudden and strong as this. Honestly I was genuinely shocked at how stable he was the whole time. Chaos 0 loses himself in EVERYTHING; he's so emotional that it's basically expected for him to feel everything 1000% and to express that outright. But Mimic, whatever he was actually experiencing, was just... how do I explain. Notably "level" in that there were no outbursts or shocks or anything, but he was apparently deeply affected. "Soberly emotional?" And always that sad look, not sorrow but gravity. Laurie gets looks like that a lot, when the reality of something serious but bittersweetly-positive sinks in. Not the same, but close enough to compare. Like realizing you've hit a point of no return, something you know won't hurt you but you're still terrified. And how did you get there, after everything else? The weight of the world on your shoulders and the burden of your sins on your back and then this. Something all at once shifts the pattern of things and now what? why me? why you? what led to this and where is it going? regardless of the answer, there's a break in the chains. even just in a dream, even out of nowhere. for a second things are too real and you can't run but for once you don't want to but... still. caught between past and present and future. one heavy second that redefines things and now how do you move forwards? with all that behind you? with all the walls you've built and all the masks you've worn and all the parts of yourself you've tried to kill and buried? 
even if this is just an inexplicable dream, it happened. and now you have to see things differently.
i'm not sure if i'm talking about me or the look on his face. maybe both. probably.
i honestly don't know what was going through his head. but i keep thinking about that crumbling motion where he just tangled those gloves in my hair and wept. just for a second.
...

I know at some point we had to leave? or were going to? like we knew jewel and tangle and whisper were around and needed to/ wanted to come into that room. but we weren't panicking, it was more like a grief? realizing that mimic still had a cruel history with them and they would not-- should not-- just "drop it" because he was an emotional jumble at the moment. there is always so much reparation to do, and it takes a long time, and it's so difficult, and it may not even be accepted or believed or wanted. you might just get spit in the face and kicked in the dirt. you know you deserve it. that, too, is bloody difficult to come to true terms with. but it must be done, all of the efforts of restitution, for your own sake as well as theirs, regardless. in that first moment when something callous in you finally cracks and you decide that's it, i've had enough, i'm exhausted, i'm miserable, i'm sick of living in fear and hate and spite all the time-- in that initial spark of white-knuckled hope, you always get scorched, because it sharply illuminates all the fires you've set with those same hands. all the blood you've drawn. all the bridges you've burned. all the lies you've told, to yourself and others; all the lives you've wrecked, both your own and others...

geez. gonna be thinking about this for days, if not weeks.

but. another observation that upsets me about all this.
I see myself in third-person way too often in dreams. either it's a trauma dream and i'm "stuck in my own body" in 1st person but i'm not in control, or i'm seeing myself in a different body over and over as an outside observer.
that speaks unfortunate volumes about my self-identity, really.

...

End-of-the-day update.

We had breakfast at two in the afternoon. Not only did it take us a while to get out of bed, but when we were cooking eggs we realized one had been broken in the carton, so we immediately took it out and sure enough it was rotten inside. dodged a bullet there. but then when we got a new one out we accidentally dropped the lid of the tea box on it. of all things. but it cracked that one too. so, sleep-deprived and stupid, i stuck it in the microwave for a few seconds to try and "firm it up" without it boiling out into the water and... yep. it exploded. "egg-sploded," as xenophon immediately commented, haha. (she was so proud of herself for that pun, it was adorable)
so we cleaned that up, and we were finally going to eat when the FIRE ALARM WENT OFF. literally a few doors down from us on our floor. so we had to temporarily evacuate.
honestly even as it happened we were laughing. for the whole scenario, eggs and all. it's all we could do, really-- treating it all as "divine chastisement" or "signs that we were doing something evil" would have sent us into a downward spiral of self-loathing and helped no one. and it's not me, to think like that.
i... haven't been fronting much during the day, as much as i should? we've been too overstressed and socially overwhelmed. and underslept, obviously!

Mom picked us up for church at 4:45. I honestly don't remember what we did for that 90 minutes. Nothing bad, apparently, which is good, but still the memory loss is disturbing as always.
Church was lovely but we could not pull our thoughts or concentration together. We STILL feel sick, too; not as bad as yesterday but it's notable enough to affect our functioning. nausea, dizziness, weakness, headaches, malaise, etc. thank God we have an appointment with our PCP tomorrow. we still have no car, but we CAN be brave and walk. we'll have to. yes it's still terrifying after being mugged and harrassed multiple times, but we'll pray as we jog on over. it's not like we have any other options anyway.
Oh, and choir practice was nice too. It was immediately after church and everybody was there, which is rare but really sweet, with everyone together.


No food trouble when we got home, thank God. We're all on amazingly better terms with the ED nousfoni; they OPENLY talk to us now, letting us know their needs and wants and fears and impulses. We're teaching them proper behavior and healthy habits, without invalidating or ignoring their struggles. Like there's one girl who keeps looking for the Sun Chips and Xenophon keeps having to tell her "you're making my dad eat those, please be careful" and that nousfoni is learning to be so careful. We'll still give her a couple chips, of course-- we actually consider them "free calories" so no one freaks out over "ruining the macros," and because Lord knows we can use a few extra calories since we are still technically in anorexia recovery.

We're running very low on food, but we don't get food stamps until tomorrow and we still don't have a car. We're debating catching a bus to the grocery store if we get out of the doctor on time-- the schedule is very limited and time-specific, and since we can't eat before the appointment, if we have to wait for a bus then we won't. we'll make do with what we have and we'll wait until sunday, when we will most likely have a car, as we have to cantor BOTH masses. we really do love singing for church.

we listened to spotify for a bit this evening after dinner, trying to clean up our general "music discovery" playlists by consolidating everything we could and checking out multiple artists in the attempt to find something new and nice. no real luck, but there was a handful of songs we saved to revisit later when our head feels better. music is very important to us, as it is to many people, and we treat it very seriously. can't be careless with our auditory exposure.
and, um. *cough* GUESS WHO HAS A PLACEHOLDER PLAYLIST ALREADY
there is one song in there because i kept looping it last night while researching him. an odd pick but i kind of like it suddenly being associated with him of all people. "black dog" by metronomy. a bittersweet beautiful song with an unexpected name. and it's throwing off the entire genre expectation for him, haha. but it's... fitting, considering this morning threw off a lot in a similar way. the whole song feels like a sudden sign of something oddly lovely that doesn't make sense, not yet, but it's there.
still. point is, boy's got a songbank gearin' up. good lord i'm asking for trouble at this point, haha.
but even so. it's only because i'm being honest at every turn. it's been a long time since i just... refused to smother anything like this. i miss it.
god bless creepy octopi, let me tell you


we also started at least two, maybe three entries here concerning bible study notes? we've been very struck by some verses lately, notably in a convicting sense, highlighting things we really need to deal with spiritually. nevertheless it's never negative; even when it's a legit "hey kiddo here's where you're screwing up big time" it's always delivered with genuine compassion. which is exactly what is being discussed in job 36, which we started today. "...If righteous people are bound in chains and tangled in ropes of misery, He tells them what they've done wrong and that they've behaved arrogantly. He makes them listen to His warning and orders them to turn away from wrong." Job 36:8-10 GNT. it's a beautiful aching truth that we want to remember always. it's the story of our life really, thanks be to God, He never abandons us. ever.


okay, our brain is still so discombobulated and it's 1:30am and we have to be up at 10am at the latest in order to get ready for the doctor and run over in time. so we have to call it quits now so we can get at least 8 hours of sleep in.

sorry for the disjointed entry and lack of refinement in other entries. no time, no capacity.

see you kids tomorrow.


prismaticbleed: (angel)
 
"We were created by God to have relationships"-- and that is at the very heart of Christmas. Yes, Jesus came to earth to die for us, but He also HAD to LIVE for us, to prove and express beyond any doubt the same Love that led Him to the Cross. Jesus's life was full of truly beautiful relationships, marked by service & compassion, mercy & justice, kindness & courage & empathy. God became man TO have a personal loving relationship with us, in all respects. 
THAT is therefore how we, too, must celebrate this season of His Advent & Birth. Think of how people dote so generously on children, to make this time of year so sweet & special for them. Why not do the same for the Christ Child? Why not do the same for all God's children? 
Love is our duty, our privilege, and our joy. It is the calling-card of the Most High. It is His greatest Gift to us, in the Heart of His Son. May we in turn share that holy gift, lavishly & without hesitation, in all our relationships this Advent, and always.
prismaticbleed: (angel)
 
Getting gutpunched by the translations on this passage.


POINT ONE:

Have the same concern for everyone.
Live in harmony with each other.
Be friendly with everyone.
Live together in peace with each other.
Live happily together in a spirit of harmony, and be as mindful of another’s worth as you are your own
Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down.
Be of the same mind one toward another.
Always try to be friends with other Christians and don’t argue with them.
Be of the same mind one toward another.

POINT TWO:

Do not be proud, but accept humble duties.
Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people.
Don't be proud and feel that you know more than others.
Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others.
Make friends with ordinary people.
Do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks.
Do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view].
Don’t live with a lofty mind-set, thinking you are too important to serve others, but be willing to do menial tasks and identify with those who are humble minded.
Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with "nobodies."
Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly.
Don’t think to yourself, “I’m too good to be with them.” Sit down with anybody and be their friend.
Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status.


POINT THREE:

Do not think of yourselves as wise.
And don’t think you know it all!
Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits.
Do not overestimate yourself.
Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else.
Don’t be smug or even think for a moment that you know it all.
Don’t be the great "somebody."
Remember, you don’t know everything.
Don’t think that you’re so smart.
 
...

 

120722

Dec. 7th, 2022 10:28 pm
prismaticbleed: (Default)

all right. quick update before we sleep because we haven't been updating, and we apologize for that, but life has been tumultuous lately and we had neither the strength nor mental capacity to update.

so. last update was NOVEMBER FRICKIN' 30TH. How the heck have we gone that long without an update??
Anyway. Let me see if I can give you kids a generalized summary of what happened since then.

Actually, no, I'm gonna post these all ON THE DAYS THEY BELONG. It's cleaner that way. So mind the gap, haha. I'll fix it all up over the next few days; today's goal is to just get as much written as possible before sleep.

...Okay, everything is moved. It's now 00:32, haha. Two hours of typing and we're still not done! But that's good. I miss this, so much.

As for today. Let me get rough data down to fix up tomorrow.

...We had a really, really bad night last night. We woke up with a splitting headache and heavy fatigue, a shaky body and nausea. But we had to get up. I remember the alarm going off for like 9:45 ("Song of the Ancients: Fate") and just lying there and listening to it play through a full time before getting out of bed.
...Last night's dream was subtly disturbing. We've been having a lot of "flat nightmares" lately, and that was no exception. I weirdly felt like it needed its own entry, apparently, because as we were having breakfast I posted a placeholder entry to type about the "symbolism" of it? So I'll do that later. Suffice to say it was more subconscious traumadumping. NO HACKS though, thank God, although there WERE threats. But... we're learning to RESIST in dreams??? Not sure how or why, because that is sudden and unprecedented, but THANK GOD. Maybe it's simply a result of becoming more aware of who I AM lately, within the SYSTEM, not "of the world." I don't belong out there, and never did, and never will.

...

Breakfast was at 11:00, but we had spent an hour prior DOING THREE LOADS OF LAUNDRY. We were super lucky because only one of the four washers downstairs was being used, and the fourth one was still flooded (it's been months), so we had two washers to do the colors-- one all red, one blacks & greens-- and yes, that is basically our wardrobe-- while we prepped breakfast. It took almost exactly as long as the wash, so we put 'em in the dryer and tossed the whites in the washer and then went upstairs to eat. That worked out too-- we had half our meal before it was time to dry the whites, and then finished & cleaned up in time for the clothes to be done too. It was just... elegantly timed, today. It was really nice.
We had more egg trouble with breakfast, though. That indigo-ish crying girl-- who DOES resonate with the "Jessica" name-- keeps falling into existential self-loathing frightened meltdowns when she's trying to peel an egg and it "hurts the egg." Like she takes it as a sign from God that she's "abusive" and "damages everything she touches." Again, Xenophon and Laurie had to calm her down, and I think Lynne also stepped in? 
Spice was around to manage the spicing process, which IS legit her original function-- old binge-voices used to love to make things "utterly inedible" by drowning them in cayenne pepper and cinnamon and stuff. So Spice makes VERY SURE that DOESN'T happen now.
We tried Infi's tea! It's WONDERFUL.

Lunch-- or honestly, dinner at this point-- was at 18:33. Not too bad. We cut down on the carrots (we were suspecting hyperkalemia, with how sick we still felt) and also cut OUT the avocado, because we get some sort of minor skin-irritation reaction from them? Not sure what that's about, but it keeps happening.
We also had Xenophon's favorite yogurt (orange creme-- she likes citrusy stuff apparently? she likes the lemon too) and an entire 1.5 servings of sunchips, haha. Honestly it was a gift of love for that one nousfoni who keeps wanting to snack on them, but who-- over the past few days, thanks to our constant patient compassionate working with her-- is LEARNING to SAY NO to compulsions!! So we let her have them as part of a real meal, which is normalized healthy eating and a HUGE step forwards in our real recovery process.

After eating I meant to wash up & do Leaguework, but I got distracted by the Internet? Apparently there is STILL a D.I.D./ multiplicity community on Tumblr, and I admittedly spent a full hour just browsing through some blogs, my heart aching with the memory of what it was like to live fulltime in PUBLIC as a System online. I really do miss that, the focus and the communication and the getting to know each other. Getting to know US, as "us."

I decided not to do Leaguework tonight, as it's actually better to do during the day-- System stuff is at night. So I hopped on over to this laptop and here we are!

Oh, one BIG event of the day was MISSING MASS, because of NOT HAVING ANY TRANSPORTATION. And by golly we TRIED. We spent an ENTIRE 40 MINUTES calling all our family members, ALL the church folks whose numbers we had, a taxi, THREE Lyfts, and every other person we could contact in this apartment building. NO ONE HAD A CAR. It was insane.
...I don't know how we didn't have a religious meltdown immediately upon re-entering our apartment, OR a binge-purge as self-abuse. What the heck did we do to PREVENT that?
Actually I KNOW we sat down on the bike, put on the League Music playlist, and biked for 30 minutes before it was time to eat. But that was from 5:40 to 6:10! What did we do from 4pm on?
Regardless, we only biked for a half hour because our body was SO SICK. We were getting heavy nausea and heart palpitations and we were so weak and the room was spinning, we thought we were going to puke and pass out. Considering that only a few days ago we did a FULL HOUR of biking on MAX RESISTANCE, this was shocking. Probably our poor body is still in shock from the three solid days of eating disorder trouble, though. So we didn't push it. We put the resistance down and went slow, and stopped at 100k burned. But we got our legs moving, and that was good.

Another big event of the day was LEAGUEWORK!! I know we did that after breakfast, right up until 3pm when we started the church-calling efforts. I don't know what inspired it, but gosh I am SO GLAD IT HAPPENED. We were semi-mourning last night over the fact that our life and psyche seem to be inevitably split between the System and the League?? Like we first realized that in 2004, when we "put our Links on hold" in order to tend to Delphoiesis's nascence, and in doing so we couldn't reach Ryou or Marik. It TERRIFIED us back then, to recognize that break in our mental function AND sense of self-- that we could ONLY be in the League OR out of it. "Blurring" those lines would destroy the integrity of both, which was HORRIFYINGLY PROVEN during the NC catastrophe in 2017-2018. Still, in the beginning, I remember sitting on my great-aunt's guestroom bed with our little paint-cover journal and hugging our Mewtwo plushie and having a legit existential crisis. What was I going to do? I couldn't abandon "my three," but I couldn't abandon the Moralimon either. Back then-- heck, for most of my life-- I didn't realize that I could work two jobs, as it were. Dayshift and nightshift. One day here, one day there. I'm still getting the hang of it now. But it's so difficult because the mental shift is ABSOLUTE. There is NO ALLOWED BLEEDOVER.
...Except with Chaos 0.
He is SUCH a wildcard in everything. He's the FIRST OUTSPACER who was ABLE to exist in BOTH the Spectrum and the League, because of his close connection to me, the Jewel of both. Yes, all the Outspacers are learning how to live in the League, too-- and honestly it is BEAUTIFUL; I think the League was waiting for them, because some Worlds have been in STASIS for YEARS until they entered them and brought new life to them so wonderfully-- but Chaos 0 didn't have to try. He just... it was like, if I was there, then he could be, too. And you know what? I think Laurie has the potential for that as well. It's not too surprising, considering how close she is to me, in her own right.

But yeah, I'm... inspired to work on the music of the League all of a sudden? I think I have my brother Mike and all his anime & DAW talk to thank, haha. It really lit a fire in me again, to be as fearlessly creative and prolific as I used to be, back when I wasn't "performing for an audience" or "trying to get a grade." I was just dreaming, BEING MYSELF, and letting this gift of God manifest itself through the words and sounds and pictures that would pour out of my soul and onto paper & screens. I miss that. It's a key part of my heart-- it IS who I am as Jewel Lightraye, that Klonoa-haired dreamjumper I will always be in the core of my existence. Yes, I will always have multiple names and faces; that's what it means to be a System Cor(e). But... I'm also a Jewel. And THAT'S the oldest identity I have. That's never going to change.
So... knowing that I can, and MUST, be "both," is... the most reassuring and gorgeous thing I can imagine, right now. I feel complete, that way. Like I CAN be who God intended me to be, at last, when I'm not rejecting or denying or suppressing the other part of my soul. It's been too long.

...

(continue)

120622

Dec. 6th, 2022 11:30 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)

(written on 120822; backposted for chronological accuracy)
(unfinished; will continue, refine, & edit later)


December 6th, Tuesday. Yesterday!
3936 steps on the pedometer.
I know for a fact we were out with mom.
...

CCM meeting, rosary on the phone

"religiously psychotic, psychotically religious"

walmart payment-error BREAKDOWN

mom lost the car

...

Breakfast at 11am, the earliest one in a while. 100% average.
Cinnamon tea today.

Dinner at 18:30 though!! That's typical for a day with mom; she doesn't eat and spends so long on the road. SO we were stressed out and starving.
...I see so many warning signs here. Again, I apologize for talking a lot about the food lately, but it's because we STRUGGLED SO MUCH this past week, what with stress affecting our diet and schedule, and so we NEED to be honest and analytical about our response to that so this DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN.
So. In the log, we tried our new tea, but we had cottage cheese, sunchips, and four fortune cookies as well. So we were "pushing calories" to "make up for" not eating all day, and that inevitably triggered a panic-binge. Oh yeah, and I think we had the "salted caramel" flavor yogurt? Which we keep trying because mom likes it and the concept reminds us of Genesis? But for some reason it's TRIGGERING? and we ALWAYS end up freaking out and purging it. Again, I don't know why, but it's happened like THREE TIMES so no more of it, Spice or someone make a note of that please.

...


TWO SETS OF LIGHTS burnt out this morning. Just like last time. We took it as "divine warning" and it made us very unstable to start the day.

We got extra red lights for the tree, as Xennie wanted! 


...

I spent like an hour before bed reading some IDW Sonic comics, because I really want to get into those but have no means or money to purchase them.
But they NAMED A BEETLE AFTER ME and she is the CUTEST THING OH MY GOSH. It's uncanny, too, how much she's like me, to be honest -- on the Sonic Wiki, it says, "Jewel is a well-mannered person with a bright sense of humor and a passion for both minerals and organization. Whereas Tangle is reckless and loud, Jewel is more reserved and cautious. She is also a bit timid and does not like violence, but is still ready to help others as much as she can, sometimes at the risk of her own well-being. However, she easily succumbs to stressful situations, which makes it difficult for her to concentrate and leaves her in need of emotional support."
I know that in headspace I can be more like Tangle in this respect, especially when I was younger-- BUT in the bigger picture AND in how I admittedly live and act in the waking world... yeah, Jewel and I are very much alike, haha. SOMEHOW I'M NOT SURPRISED. We like minerals and organizing things, we have good manners (Lord knows I do my very best), we are always willing to help others even if we push ourselves too hard to do so... even the bit about a sense of humor I have to recognize in myself, because I DO have one, I just... never admit it.
Reading about her is... actually helping me come to terms with my physical personality, really. I don't like being so reserved and cautious and timid, because I know a LOT of that is because of trauma, but Jewel here holds those qualities without a negative cause and they're not flaws. And I need to see myself in that same light, realizing that even if deep down I WANT to be more fiery on the outside, it's not bad to be quieter and careful, especially since my life history and experience have REQUIRED me to act as such for my own safety.
But yeah, I absolutely have LOTS of trouble with stress too, dear. Still, I wouldn't mind being her emotional support if I could. I'd do my darndest, that's for sure.
Oh, and she wears a pink dress suit/skirt AND her carapace is iridescent. YOU CAN'T GET MUCH CUTER THAN THAT. 
(chaos is giving me such a knowing grin. "are you gonna kiss the bug," UM MAYBE POSSIBLY EVENTUALLY)
On THAT note, apparently there is a squid character in IDW and I don't know much about her other than that she's a pirate and works with Eggman at some point but she is SO FREAKIN PRETTY ;_____;
Aaaand there's a villain that's an octopus and he's got this skeletal vibe to his design and he's gorgeous but aaaagh it's so hard working with villainous potential-outspacers. It takes a LOT of dreamwork and even League-pushing to get them to open up and chill out, and some of them don't, and that's why some outspacers never actually anchor-- their personalities are too rough or incompatible TO stay without a MASSIVE identity shift. I mean it is possible, but typically only in individuals who ARE ALREADY capable of dream access and/or "altered states" in which I can personally pull them into heartspace scenarios and let the Spectrum atmosphere do its job. Nevertheless... villains, man. Alien villains. They're TOO FLIPPIN' GORGEOUS and yet they can be so hard to handle. It is a LEGIT labor of love, working with them. But "no one is born evil," we always remember. Everyone has a centerpoint of their heart that is just as clear as anything, and it's my job AS the Cor(e) of the System to ILLUMINATE THAT. But I've really gotta be dedicated, to do so. I can't just grab some random baddie off the streets; there needs to be some resonance with MY heart, first, or they CAN'T be an Outspacer in the System that's a ineffable part of MY SOUL. What that resonance might be, I won't know immediately, let alone whether there is truly one. But if there is... well. Then they're fair game, haha. And I'll jump on over into their world and see what happens.
...As to why I'm rambling about this, I have to sheepishly but sincerely confess that often what draws me to a potential Outspacer is their vibe, which on the most immediate level is aesthetically based. I mean honestly, even as a kid, when I'd make "lists" of characters that WOULD have been "Outspacers" if the System had been active back then... there are apparent patterns and themes. Our psyche magnetizes certain personalities, it seems, and those personalities typically do have "tells" in how they are visually portrayed and presented, which give an immediate "snapshot" of what sort of person they are-- they "look the part," for the most part. It's a subtle but reliable form of symbolism, really. So when I SEE a character and know nothing of their in-depth canon context & personality, but their looks and implied characteristics are OBVIOUSLY compatible with our System vibe and my personal resonances in some way... well, it's not something I can reject. If I FEEL a "draw," it's something I should act upon, in some way. I can't just ignore it; that's dishonest to whatever in my own heart is doing that.
Aaaaaand the entire world knows that I have such a weakness for cephalopods, God only knows why, but it's why Davy is now in the League and it's why I'm swooning over Abyss and Mimic for heavens sakes they're GORGEOUS WTF.
But they also have that awful, frustrating "curse" of so many villains, which is... canonically, they're written as the scum of the earth. Where are their redeeming qualities? What's their real backstory? WHY do they act the cruel way they do now? Often that data doesn't exist, because they're not supposed to be "pitiable" or empathized with; they're the "bad guy" and that's the bottom line.
Like... yeah, I look at Mimic and I can see someone like him easily being an Outspacer, BUT canonically I have no access points. He would be a HECK OF A TOUGH JOB to bring into headspace because I can't find any footholds as far as lightpoints go. This poor dude is written as a manipulative, cold-hearted, malevolent liar but the dude is MY AGE; what was his life like as a teen, when he was as young as the heroes are now? What made him the troublemaker he is now? See, THAT'S how I start with Outspacers. I want to get to know them, as COMPLETE people, not as paper-thin caricatures... because honestly I can empathize with their situation, in a raw sense. I wasn't always such a freak, either. I've been a genuine monster at times and I could be MUCH worse but darn it I refuse to be and I fight like fire to be a GOOD person because I KNOW I can be the bad guy in a heartbeat. But I won't be, as long as I have a heart in me. I choose not to be.
...Chaos 0 and I talk about this topic a lot. It's a huge part of what brought us together initially, after all, especially in the Sonic Inversion "AU."
But now I'm like... genuinely angry that Mimic looks like he could have jumped out of my brain but he's... such a troubled guy. He's crowing callous cliches like "friendship is a weakness" and "heroes become martyrs [but] professionals stay alive" and he's obsessed with prestige and riches but WHY. What made you such a remorseless mollusk. He's apparently a "trained soldier" but if THAT'S the biggest factor, just how much hell do you have to go through in a war for it to eat you alive like that? What is your ultimate goal, really? What are you after? What hole in your heart is making you so ravenous for power and control and invulnerability?
...Forgive me for speaking so audaciously but I want to break him. I want the light to get into him somehow and he's gonna have to crack for that to happen. If his heart is made of stone I'm gonna take a hammer to it. THAT'S my secret job in the System. Everyone likes to joke that I'm a sparkly-eyed goofball wearing pink sunglasses indoors and all that but really, deep down I'm blood and fire and glass and I'm crazy, too, remember? The truest parts of me are RED, and all that goes with it. Higanbana and bloody noses and cinnabar and hollyberries. But so is this rashness of mine. I jump into these things too quickly, too totally. I see a skullfaced sea creature with a terrible attitude and I want to knock some sense and sensitivity into him and I have the ridiculously naive guts to assume I'm capable of it. And yet ironically that's been a strength of mine, in the history of things-- that brightly burning conviction despite all odds or common sense, that there's always hope, that the damage can be restituted, that even you can change... pun intended in this specific case.
So, although I am indeed rambling rather boldly here, I cannot go into this blind; that would be reckless as well as disingenuous. I am going to HAVE to read the comics thoroughly to get a legit grip on him as a person. Then... who knows? I already have solid Links in the StH universe already-- being this much in love with one of the keystone 'antagonists' of the series will do that-- so I am sure I could sneak on in there fairly easily, if I decide I want to try to redeem an octopus or smooch a beetle. We'll see.
(I'm giving him his own tag anyway, already. His existence is pulling at some particular heartstrings and I'll be a liar if I just sit here and ignore it.)

By the way I forgot to tell you guys BARRY is hanging around again and yes he's behaving but keep him away from the knife drawer, haha.
(The day he showed up again, he saw Chaos 0, and the two just stopped dead for a second staring at each other, then Chaos pointed at him & yelled "SKELETON MAN" and Barry pointed back & shouted "NO-SKELETON MAN" and that was it, God bless ancient injokes it was the best thing)

...


(continue)


prismaticbleed: (angel)

struck by the translations on this, and the harrowing depth they add to these passages.
Effectively:

"God punishes the wicked for their evil deeds in plain sight, where everyone can see them, because they:

-turned away, turned aside, turned back from, & stopped following Him
-revolted against Him
-refused to obey Him
-abandoned their pursuit of Him

AND

-had no respect for His ways
-did not regard His ways
-would not consider His ways
-could not understand His ways
-refused to comprehend His ways
-ignored all His commands
-would not pay attention to Him


This hit me because there's a conscious choice in it, and it is actively malicious. You don't just casually "revolt" against God! You can't "gently refuse" or "kindly abandon" Him. And if you WERE following Him, and then turned back... NO ONE DID THAT FOR YOU.


The next verse effectively says:

"It is right to say/ has anyone said/ have you said to God that:

- you have endured punishment
- you have borne just chastisement
- you acknowledge that you are guilty
- you confess your sins to God
- you have taken away from others

AND

- you will not offend God any more
- you will not sin any more
- you will not act corruptly or wrongly
- you will not pervert justice
- you will not act wickedly
- you will stop your immoral behavior
- you will promise to do better


This appears simple but I really was moved by the extent of the synonyms, as it were. It's a lead-in to a thorough confession, to be able to HONESTLY say these things.
What punishment have you endured? What chastisement have you borne? I know I can readily list specific examples, and I know WHY that discipline occurred-- because I am GUILTY. I have SINNED. I have acted in ways that not only offend God, but "take away from others," and pervert justice, and act corruptly... to really convict oneself like this allows for SOLID CONTRITION, which is mandatory for a legitimate confession AND repentant conversion of life.



The next half of the verse is as vital as it is beautiful.

"Have you also asked God to:

- teach you what you cannot see
- tell you what evil you have done
- point out what you did wrong
- show you your faults
- reveal your hidden sins
- instruct you as to what you are ignorant of

SO THAT...

- if you have done wrong, you will not do it again
- if you have sinned, you will stop at once
- if you have done iniquity, you will do no more
- if you have spoken unfairly, you will add no more
- if you have committed unrighteousness, you will not repeat it
- if you have done evil, you agree to quit


...


and then there's the slamdunk of verse 33:

- Should God then reward you on your terms, when you refuse to repent?
- Must God tailor His justice to your demands? But you have rejected Him!
- Shall God repay on your terms, because you have rejected His?
-
Do you make the rules, or does God?
- Since you object to what God does, can you expect Him to do what you want?
- Just because you refuse to live on God’s terms, do you think He should start living on yours?

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/job/34-33.htm




120522

Dec. 5th, 2022 11:29 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)


(written on 120822; backposted for chronological accuracy)
(unfinished; will continue, refine, & edit later)


December 5th, Monday.
1498 steps on the pedometer. Home.

No photos, but breakfast was early? 10:52. It's unusual because we had no cereal, and a yogurt instead? Plus THREE carrots and an ENTIRE bag of broccoli.
...Ah. That's why. Lunch is at mom's boyfriend's house. So we couldn't pack vegetables, but we could pack the cereal, so we had it then.
And you know what, we would have been fine if THAT was all we ate. But no, we felt "obligated" to have "some of everything" that mom made, forgetting that we ALWAYS get sick from her food. I hate to say that, but it is honestly a constant occurrence that we have documented for YEARS.

...It turned into a hideous binge-purge.
I remember sobbing over this one. We were so sick and so tired, we DON'T want this to keep happening, but we felt so lost and disconnected from ourself and TRAPPED with all the family stress, that our body and brain were just... collapsing into the only "coping method" they had that COULD handle such a heavy stressbomb.
...I mean, it's not like we can take a knife to our limbs anymore. Nor do we have any reason to, THANK GOD.
...Well, not quite. We have sworn to atone for dream hacks, when they happen. But it's still not like the old days, when we would lose HOURS to hackers and retribution. When that stopped, the eating disorder took its place. That's common knowledge. But now... we're fighting BOTH of those things AT ONCE, and trying to PREVENT EITHER of them from becoming our "coping method" all over again.
No. We need something healthy. Which is why we're trying so hard to do System work again. We're in uncharted territory, in a very real sense.



...

prismaticbleed: (angel)
 

God, I literally JUST NOW got a legit grasp of HOW MUCH You love me, and how that Love is shown and proven through Christ's Death on the Cross.
...I've done a lot of horrible, stupid, destructive, cruel, foolish things. I have so many admitted tendencies to vice-- to wrath, lust, pride, gluttony, greed, sloth, avarice... all of it. It's terrifying and humiliating. I don't deserve love at all. The damage I've done can never be atoned for or fixed... by me. But YOU! You literally GAVE YOUR LIFE AS MY RANSOM. You looked at my debt of restitution-- the money and food and time I wasted, the harm I inflicted on my body and others, the hideous thoughts and words and feelings-- and You KNEW I was INCAPABLE of not only "paying back" what spiritual costs I had incurred, but also of being FREED from that hellish history. I was damned to that sentence; I was a whore, an abuser, a manipulative liar, a dirty pig, a devil. That was the title I had EARNED by my deeds. That was what I DESERVED. If they sent me to hell forever, to burn for what I did AND didn't do, it STILL wouldn't "cover" ALL the consequences and effects of my malefactions. I was doomed, and it was justice.
You took one look at me and said, "Not if I can help it."
And You let MY SINS nail You to the Cross to DIE.
...And suddenly, I was free.
...What the heck, God. I literally did NOTHING to merit that deliverance. Any "good" I've done is pitiably paltry in the face of the evil I've wrought in contrast. Like I said-- doomed!
But YOU, Jesus, the ONLY SON OF GOD, not only chose to give YOURSELF for my sake, but SO DID THE FATHER-- and now that I have a daughter I am STAGGERED by the immense sacrifice You made for me in that respect. You looked at me, a wretched and wrecked failure of a human being, and... You loved me anyway. You couldn't help BUT love me. You ARE Love. Somehow, that makes it all the more beautiful-- that You, the One and Only God, Creator of ALL, literally COULDN'T HATE ME, even if You DID hate my sins, and THAT contrast fills me with immense hope because it PROVES that YOUR LOVE IS UNSTOPPABLE. Try as he might to kill me, the devil is TOTALLY POWERLESS against Your Love... against the Cross.
I keep falling into sin. You refuse to get down from the Cross. For all time, no matter what happens, You are there with open Heart and open arms, offering Yourself FOR MY SAKE, to pay my debts of blood and SAVE MY SOUL FROM DEATH. You loved me when I least deserved it, because You couldn't bear seeing me so lost. So You will NEVER leave me now, now that I RECOGNIZE what You've done for me, AND TRUST IN YOUR POWER TO SAVE.
Like, I honestly DIDN'T GET THAT UNTIL TODAY. "How could His death "fix" what I've broken?" How could that restore my own blood and virginity, restore lost time and opportunities, heal the hearts I manhandled? I don't know. But darn it YOU'RE GOD, and You CAN DO EVERYTHING, and Your death isn't a "magic wand" it's a BAIL PRICE. You got me out of death row. NOW, TOGETHER, we can work on RESTITUTION. You save that grace FOR US BOTH, not wanting to take that special and precious joy away from me. No, the past cannot be erased. But it can be HEALED & TRANSMUTED by Your Love NOW. And I have total faith in that, even if I can't imagine how it would happen. I trust You and Your saving power. If You were willing to die to save my life, I am SURE that BY YOUR RESURRECTION, You will give ME a "new life" FREE FROM SIN too. I just need to join You on that Cross, in that Love, to get there.
It's... I can barely express my awe and gratitude for it all. But thank You, thank You, THANK YOU, Lord, for this hope that will endure all things, and for Your Love which has conquered all things. I love You, too. Amen.


120422

Dec. 4th, 2022 12:29 am
prismaticbleed: (Default)


(written on 120822; backposted for chronological accuracy)
(unfinished; will continue, refine, & edit later)



December 4th, Sunday.
5530 steps on the pedometer, so we were definitely out and about.

I know we went to our three masses in the morning.

Breakfast was AT church! We have it down to a science now-- we have a hypercondensed meal that hits 560k and is almost noiseless so we CAN eat it in the choir loft between masses, haha.

The camera roll shows a photograph of a book in Wegmans, which means Genesis and I went shopping. I don't remember for what.

Lunch (yes, actual lunch today!) was at 16:00, lists EVERYBODY who stops by in the System (honestly that always warms my heart so much to see), and was perfectly average. No odd items, totally normal.

Unfortunately, dinner was at 20:00 and it has no photo which means it was a binge-purge and I don't know why.
I don't remember it at all. That's honestly terrifying.

...I think this is the night we stumbled back out to the living room after it was all over and put some poinsettias on the tree to calm down and re-center.
We left the tree lit overnight. We didn't know if we would need to call an ambulance, so it was extra light, and that red glow was deeply comforting to see as we tried to fall asleep in the next room.

...



120322

Dec. 3rd, 2022 11:24 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)

(written on 120722; backposted for chronological accuracy)
(unfinished; will continue, refine, & edit later)



December 3rd, Saturday.
1088 steps on the pedometer, so we were home.

...Camera roll shows a photo of a "spiritual warfare" book for kids. I remember this.
We went to mass with mom in the evening, and afterwards the dude who does the funeral cleanup (he has the most eccentric mustache) was talking to mom in the lobby, and his mother had that book? She was going to give it to the CCD teachers. I remember piping up that it was definitely important to let kids know that yes, spiritual warfare is REAL, and the devil absolutely targets children, which we see explicitly in today's culture.
...Mom ended up traumadumping. It broke my heart.
A few things she said struck hard. The biggest one was, "I feel like God is punishing me, with all the struggles I have with my kids. It's like He's saying, "well, YOU wanted them so badly, now you have to PROVE that you're WORTHY of being their mother!""
...She always brings up the gender issues with 3/4 of us, the mental illnesses, the social ineptitude, the lack of common milestones, the general fact that we robbed her of a normal average life by being sick and weird. And she sees it as GOD PUNISHING HER FOR WANTING KIDS AND GOING THROUGH HELL TO GET US HERE. Like she literally ALMOST DIED EVERY TIME she had a kid. She was encouraged to abort the twins. She adamantly refused all opposition, was bedridden and pumped full of drugs & hormones for months, hemorrhaged way too much, and was cut open six ways to Sunday several times when her body just couldn't deliver naturally. And we all turned out freakish, I guess. Not physically malformed or mentally handicapped, no-- that's not true deformity. Our brains are screwed up. We're all queer and insane, basically. And she sees that as divine chastisement.
...This isn't about me. Except it is. It's about me AND my siblings AND my mom, AND our religion, and it REALLY HURTS and it's REALLY FRIGHTENING to see this constant war with God in our household, focused around things we can't seem to change or turn off or ignore.
...


Breakfast was at noon, and had added sunchips & a chicken nugget, probably to even out macro ratios.
It also thanks SPICE for "keeping everyone safe," the first day she is mentioned in the log!

"Lunch" is... at 19:56. AGAIN. No wonder we had a hell week with food; we were going like 8 HOURS fasting every day, eating when we should be getting ready for bed, AND doing so after SOCIAL OVERWHELM and LOTS OF STRESS. So it was a recipe for disaster.
Dinner was normal, but it mentions the "vanilla fudge" again and I KNOW for a fact that The Destroyer showed up and "got rid of it." We felt awful about it-- we had wanted to save that piece for mom's sake-- but it was labeled as such a "threat" that it was deemed too dangerous to keep.

...



120222

Dec. 2nd, 2022 11:16 pm
prismaticbleed: https://www.deviantart.com/teacosies/art/celebi-420071633 (tears)

(written on 120722; backposted for chronological accuracy)
(unfinished; will continue, refine, & edit later)


December 2nd, Friday.
3510 steps on the pedometer, and I know why.
This was the day our sister threatened suicide.
Yes, "sister." I saw them today and they are NOT our "brother" anymore. It's just as obvious as our own identity-shifts with multiplicity. They are presenting as female, and they are using a different name, and we cannot be hypocritical and reject that, ESPECIALLY when such disrespect is what triggered their suicidal break in the first place. So we humbly confess that in the past we have been disregarding their emotional needs here, and we will not do that anymore.
...On that note. We saw a quote someone posted to Tumblr. "The only clear line I draw these days is this: when my religion tries to come between me and my neighbor, I will choose my neighbor... Jesus never commanded me to love my religion. “ Barbara Brown Taylor.
...
I cannot remember how or when we found out. Our first memory is being in the car with our mother, and her showing us these text messages from Jade talking about how "no one in the world respects or understands me" and "life is all about dying" and "no one will ever love the real me" and "I know what truth lies beyond this world and I want to go there instead of living in this excuse for reality" and "I'm going to post crazy sh*t on the internet and then I'm going to swallow this entire pill bottle" etc. But WILD language. Absolutely unhinged. We recognize it; we type like that, too, when we're off the rails. So we knew it was serious.
I know we ended up at our mom's boyfriend's house? She was crying in the kitchen, and didn't know what to do. OH YEAH, on the way there we were on the phone with 911 asking how to 302 our sister, did we have to do that on paper in the ER, could we meet the paramedics somewhere, etc. Just trying to figure out details while in "crisis management mode" (Mulberry's old job; bless her, I wonder if she's still around) so we weren't "being useless" when our mother was in dire straits. It did help; when we told her the general potential plan of action, it did give her some "foundation" to stand on and she was able to pull herself together a little.
Ultimately she packed some food for our sister and decided to drive to her apartment alone, to "talk her down" and just try to manage everything as a mom, without getting police or hospitals involved, because our sister would ABSOLUTELY FLIP OUT if any "government authority" showed up; it would probably make things MUCH worse.
So off mom went, and we went back to our apartment, and our memory goes totally blank but I can guarantee you we probably binged and purged as a dissociative stress-dump self-abuse shutdown response. We had no other way of "calming down" on such short notice, and the only way to get our brain to stop obsessing and panicking over our sister was to just... obsess and panic over our own health instead. Asinine and selfish and absolutely stupid, but it's a sick and ancient habit. At least we're aware of the risks, I guess.
...
Phone download image roll shows we were on Tumblr for a bit? Possibly post-purge, to "reset" our brain-level (get it INSIDE instead of OUTSIDE, and therefore halt any urges to restart the abuse cycle). There's some sonic images, some fakemon, some biblical angel gifs (that are UTTERLY GORGEOUS and feel JUST LIKE INFI), some OFMD fanart? which we've never watched but there are some themes that really cut to our heart... Notably THIS and THIS (those are the ones we saved).
...


Checking the dietary log, breakfast was at noon, and this was the day with the "wrecked egg." I remember that because it was VERY triggering to some of the ED voices to the point of a near breakdown. Xenophon had to talk them down from it (her innate sweetness and gentleness works wonders, it's genuinely amazing) because otherwise we might have had a morning purge which is HELL (they are rare but you want to DIE when they happen).

"Lunch" was at 19:39. Super late again, which is understandable considering the day's events.
There's a note that we had a tiny piece of "vanilla fudge", which I forgot about-- mom bought us a piece yesterday at the mall (she bought a big box for herself & our siblings, but we don't like chocolate and ACTUALLY were brave enough to ASSERT that so she got us vanilla). There was also a single chicken nugget for protein??? I forgot we bought a bag of this gluten-free, non-filler brand to try, because animal proteins have vitamins we can't get from just eggs and milk (which we didn't eat for YEARS anyway and are only eating now so we don't get nutritional deficiencies again).

But... there's another addition, at 6pm? An apple and a single peppermint. I FORGOT about that-- we were on the road with mom for so long that our blood sugar started to bottom out, so we stopped at Wegmans (yes we were THAT FAR OUT on the road) and ate a tiny gala apple and a mint from our emergency bag to stay stable until we got home.
...With all that in mind, I have no idea if we binged/purged or not when we got home, due to stress and overwhelm. We probably did, to be honest. We still haven't found a way to properly cope with the social overwhelm without going into flat-out self-abusive loops.


Also.
This morning, at the breakfast log, there's a shoutout to Razor. This is the first time she's been mentioned.
...We have a bandage on our left arm.


(...)

prismaticbleed: (angel)

"For by grace you have been saved by faith. Nothing you did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the love gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving."
(Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 TPT)
 

Key takeaways from this beautiful translation:
1. Our very faith, which allows us TO be saved, is itself a gift of grace! Yes, we have been saved, but how? Because we have faith in God's ability TO save. But how did we GET such faith? BY GRACE. Honestly that hits so hard; I can't emphasize it enough.
2. We can NEVER "earn" salvation. Putting that in a positive light: no matter how much good we do, it ALL pales in comparison to the immeasurable Good that is the gift of salvation through Christ's Death. It is SO Good that it cannot be cheapened enough TO be "bought" or "deserved". The sheer magnitude of it is ineffably gorgeous. Furthermore: our good works in and of themselves are enabled by grace! We don't "get more grace" BY doing good-- instead, we are GIVEN grace so we CAN do good in the first place. We don't get "spending power" here; if we don't act on grace, we "lose it." It cannot be used otherwise; the works we do BY it are a RESULT of the salvation that gives it TO us! So "earning" that very cause by means OF the cause is impossible.
3. The most moving part of this to me: that grace is a "LOVE-GIFT." It's not obligatory, it's not forced, it's not deserved, it's not owed, it's not even asked for. It is an incomprehensibly selfless and loving GIFT, lavished on us solely because God IS Love and He can't help BUT love us so extravagantly. Grace is priceless, so it's "freely  given" by its very nature, and as such it can only be given IN LOVE. Consider that! God loves us SO MUCH that He GAVE us the grace of faith to begin with, WHILE we were still degenerates lost in sin, completely "unworthy" of such a Divine present. And yet, there was Christ on the Cross, dying FOR US in order to show us exactly WHAT we were to have faith in: GOD'S LOVE, the very Love that enables faith through grace. THAT is what true faith IS, at its very core, the inevitable fruit of ALL grace... faith is believing in God because we love Him, and trusting in God because He loves us. THIS is childlike faith, with no doubt whatsoever: that innate, absolute assurance of and participation in mutual love. That grace-gift of loving faith will ALWAYS bring us to Christ, for He IS Love Incarnate, and our hearts WILL recognize that, and desire to enter into that sacredly requited relationship no matter what. His arms are always open to us.
4. We cannot boast because that is of pride, and pride virtually mandates a "blindness to one's flaws," making us feel "perfect" and therefore-- in this case ironically-- BARRING us FROM salvation, for we refuse to admit we NEED to be saved-- from ourselves!! To boast even that "yes I sinned, BUT I did SO much good after that God OWED salvation to me" is heinous. God DOES NOT owe us anything. We owe HIM; for ALL.we have is FROM Him, ESPECIALLY the ability TO do good. If we are boasting of our "holiness" and "charity," I would fearfully doubt the legitimacy of those virtues. Pride likes to wear splendid masks, to hide its own garish ugliness. And pride CANNOT LOVE!! If we "boast" of salvation, then we have missed the heart of it ENTIRELY. Sin is what costs us everything. Salvation is the total opposite.
5. On that note, to conclude... Salvation is NEVER a "REWARD." I honestly love that fact. THAT would cheapen it more than anything, AND it would exclude the souls who need it the most! Think about that. When we DO face our sins and grasp the terrible extent of our own corruption and depravity, it can be absolutely unbearable; it is existentially horrific. BUT consider this: that compunction... IS OF GRACE. And it is meant to lead us TO THE CROSS, where salvation is POURED OUT IN ABUNDANCE for the most unworthy of all, who come to Him IN that gracious faith and hope, trusting that, despite all odds, God STILL LOVES US. The Savior on the Cross is PROOF of that. And I repeat: ANY "striving" of ours TO "live better" and "make restitution" is a COOPERATION WITH THE CROSS. The Cross itself isn't a reward, it is the MEANS, and it is a GIFT. It is BEYOND us and yet it is BESTOWED on us. That is where its wonder comes from. It is of heaven! We could never gain or achieve or even imagine such a thing with earthly means! Yet God GIVES it. If He didn't, we would be lost forever. He refuses to lose us. THAT is how much He loves us: to BECOME one of us, and to live and die for love of us, so we could be healed and whole... and, in being so graciously restored, to love Him in return, forever. It's all a gift. It's priceless. And yet, it is ours.
Believe that God loves you, because your very faith is proof of it. Give thanks for that grace, and live your life in and for that love. Child of God! Salvation has been freely given to you! Rejoice! 


120122

Dec. 1st, 2022 11:44 pm
prismaticbleed: (held)

(written on 120722; backposted for chronological accuracy)
(unfinished; will continue, refine, & edit later)


December 1st, Thursday.
4545 steps on the pedometer. We must have gone out.

Breakfast at 12:30???
There's a thank-you note to HARMONIA in the log!!
 
Lunch was at 20:30 WTF.
It's also apparent disaster. There are unusual items listed-- pear, tomato, spinach. So we apparently went shopping AND bought without a list, indicating a manic-leaning state, and definite dissociative compulsions.
I know for a fact we purged all of this. We got very sick from the spinach (so does our mom and brother; we think it's a histamine sensitivity, and we need to stop ignoring the fact that we DO react the same) and Allegra freaked out so that was our "emergency exit."

As for the rest of the day... well, considering this was the day after the entry in which we mentioned the library sale, and since we got home SO LATE, this was DEFINITELY a day when we went shopping WITH MOM.
Ah yes-- checking the camera log, it was. We went BACK to the mall and mom had us try on so many dresses, insisting on buying two of them for us to wear to church. Honestly it was... kind of disturbing and highly triggering at times. She KNOWS we're not cis, and haven't been for OUR WHOLE LIFE, and even presented fulltime as MALE for like... a full decade. She KNOWS this. And yet she STILL forces femininity on us, sometimes VERY bluntly and without much tact. Does... does she not remember or realize how badly that triggers us? When she goes out of her way to call us a "woman" or insist on us being "feminine" AND still talks about our body in sexualized terms JUST LIKE SHE DID WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, which started this whole hell of trauma grooming-- does she do so because she's trying to gaslight us into becoming what SHE wants and that she KNOWS we're NOT? Because as much as I hate to say it, that is something she would do. She... can be stubborn, and VERY much in denial.
...
Still, we look... really good in a few of those outfits, haha. And we DID try on the "Genesis dress" although it admittedly paled in comparison to the dresses our mom picked. That woman has an EYE for fashion, let me tell you.
You get ONE PHOTO

That's our favorite one, that we picked out-- obviously, because it's red with gemstones, come on


Phone image downloads indicate that we were on Tumblr doing faithbrowsing, as it were, while we were eating that hyperlate lunch.
It ALSO shows that, around 13:30, we checked out our "Spotify Wrapped," which we always look forward to because music is SO IMPORTANT to us as a System, AND it is the #1 CHRONOLOGICAL ANCHOR for us. Listening to tunes is a legit time machine; so every end-of-year summary brings back FLOODS of unexpected memories.

Our top tracks were:
1. SUPER SONIC RACING AW YEAAAAH SON!!! This was our TREADMILL TUNE during our gym phase in March/April, before COVID knocked us on our collective ass.
2. "I Still Have That Other Girl" by Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello... which was me & Laurie's lovesong for the year. I'm serious.
3. "Brainwash" by Nils Frahm. For some reason, this song makes me think of Celebi??
4. "Wandering II -  Ed Carlsen Rework" by Eydis Evensen, which sounds JUST LIKE CHAOS 0 and it's beautiful. I remember looping it the week before we were admitted to inpatient treatment. 
5. "Hummingbird" by Anomalie & Bad Snacks, which is XENOPHON'S song!

Our top artists were:
1. Eydis Evensen. I'm surprised, and yet I'm not-- we didn't listen to much Spotify this year, BUT in those two weeks post-hallbed and pre-inpatient, we were so depressed and ALWAYS on the road for some reason? But we just put her albums on loop. They matched how we felt.
2. SEGA SOUND TEAM
3. Todd Rundgren! I'm not sure why but it's so good to see him up here, as he's a cornerstone in our lifetime music history.
4. Hauschka!
5. Ola Gjeilo. This is no surprise, because at some point during the year we had a Leaguework dive and we were looping their selfnamed album for days as we typed, notably "The Rose" & "Sanctus" & "The Tundra." They all have these very emotionally evocative chords, that inspire the most sincere and important imaginative visions.

Oh yeah, and the wrapup had this little thing where they give a three-word "genre descriptor" of the types of tunes you listened to at morning/day/night? And it's HILARIOUS because it says "Your morning started wth Sad Boi Chill Relaxing" like WHAT IS THAT, I laughed out loud when I saw it. But we apparently "embraced the night with Moody Friendly Energy" which is quite fitting, seeing as that's when we end up here typing all together. Moody, absolutely, but always bound by sincere friendship. That's the energy that keeps me going.
My favorite, though, is that we "seized the day with Calm Relaxing Love."

Our wrapup BGM tunes:
1. Larnelle Harris, haha. "Gaither Medley!"
2. Ola Gjeilo, I think? Choir music. Really beautiful. I think "The Ground."
3. "This Side Of Eternity" by Sam Ock. This is one of those songs that comes out of left field and just hits me in the ribs. ...Honestly I'm glad this song ended up here. I remember looping it one night when my heart was particularly aching, because the lyrics just... express that far too well. And oh geez, NOW I know why this is on here-- there was ONE DAY when I looped this in the car and just kind of sang through sobs to it, over and over. "I want to be all that You want me to be, but everything's broken in me... what is wrong with me? Maybe I'm deranged..." you get the idea. And it starts slow and fragile, like holding back tears even as you stop hiding the fact that they're there, and it gradually but ardently moves to heartache at 4:00 and it hurts. I honestly tear up every single time I hear it. 
4. "Messe da pacem, Op. 38: No. 5, Agnus Dei" by Pierre Villette! Gosh I remember finding this one; the whole album is such a uniquely composed mass setting. It has this unusual "mindspace" when I listen to it; it's ethereal but it's dark? The dissonances and unresolved chords elicit some of that "numinous dread" around the edges and it's very cool.
5. SUPER SONIC RACIIIIIING gosh I LOVE THAT SONG THOUGH
6. "I Still Have That Other Girl," notably the leadup to the chorus, but it stops before the kick so it's this awful cathartic whiplash, haha. At least it makes me want to listen to it all the more-- it builds that emotion up then says, "ball's in your court, kiddo" so now I HAVE to sing it myself, haha. I'M NOT COMPLAINING
7. Some funky EDM beat? Honestly I don't know offhand, which is shocking as it must have been one we listened to a decent amount? Actually, looking through our playlist, I think it's "Dagdraumur - Janus Rasmussen Remix" by Eydis Evensen? And this IS cool. Adding it to our likes!
8.  "Wandering II," and the part that sounds like the blue guy so my heart gets instant shockwaves
9. "Hawking" by Todd Rundgren! Not surprised; I was infatuated with this song for weeks. Still am; it hits a spot of my heart that few songs do.
10. Papik & Alan Scaffardi!! "For So Long." Chaos 0 loves to sing Alan's music; his voice is a close match, and the lyrics... mean a lot to me, when he sings them.
11. "Missa Festiva for Mixed Choir and Organ, Op. 62: Gloria" by Flor Peeters. It has some really cool chords.

Lastly, our "listening personality" is "The Specialist." = "You're selective with the music and artists you listen to, but you've got lots of love to go around. Once you decide you like an artist, you're all in." That is SO ACCURATE, and it's actually really touching, worded that way.

Remind me to come back to this topic later, with some of the songs in our top 100 for 2022-- there's a lot of love and memories in here, and I want to write about them.



(...)

113022

Nov. 30th, 2022 09:48 pm
prismaticbleed: (held)

i'm having one of those evenings.

It's been a weird day.
I was woken up by a sudden phone call from my mom at 8:30, after barely 6 hours of hellish sleep and near-hacks, in which she told me that my sis/bro had finally gotten a job, and she had their work clothes and some extra food in her car, but she was at work and they started their job at noon and the only way to get the stuff delivered was for me to drive up and do it. i said absolutely, jumped out of bed, threw on an outfit and got on the road.
i was barely conscious, really. not very safe to drive! but i was determined. mom packed up the car, i delivered them to my sibling (they're still wearing the exact same outfit they were wearing over two months ago. no shoes. clothes torn. my heart kinda broke) along with some extra toiletries, meds and food that i packed, and wished them the absolute best. their affect was still totally flat. i wonder if they hate "me." technically i broke the restraining order by not only going there but talking to them, but honestly i don't care they're family and they needed help. the court can kiss our collective ass if they think we're going to forego compassion because of a piece of paper. it has its purpose but this isn't it.

anyhow. mum told us there was a "library sale" going on at the mall down the street, and gave us ten entire dollars for it?? so when we drove away from our sibling's apartment, of course i called genesis over, and asked "do you want to go to the mall--" to which i got a "YES" before i finished the sentence, haha. honestly that's why i asked; we used to just chill together like that all the time when we were younger. so even though i was tired and hungry i wasn't going to pass that up.
the first thing i saw was the first 3 deltora quest books. those had been definitive for my sibling and i when we were in late elementary school; we had so many injokes around them, and the series lore got into our personal world more than a little. honestly i considered buying them but thought, no, they also have dvds and i'd rather grab those. (tomorrow i should get paid from ssi; if i have some cash left after getting groceries i'll totally swing by and grab the books though. i think we have $5 and $8 up the house?) so gen and i started looking. of course i'm talking out loud to him this whole time, but he keeps giving me this stern look and saying "jewel, you're dissociating." which i really was. sleep deprivation and post-purge starvation plus sudden running around in public places equals my brain is not working at all. again, thank God for Genesis. so he kept calling me out and bringing me back centered, as much as he could. it meant so much. honestly dude i know i was a mess but thank you, i love you, honestly i'd be so lost without you keeping me constant company in social settings since 2005. you're one of the biggest blessings in my entire life and i treasure every moment with you. even dissociated ones as i peruse the used dvd section in the middle of a mall, haha.
but! we found our THREE most definitive childhood films-- ferngully, we're back, and the secret of NIMH. i bought the first two because i actually have the third on DVD thanks to goodwill, but i was not passing up the opportunity to FINALLY watch those other two beloved movies again. i did see several other movies i considered buying-- notably inception and the shape of water-- but those were so important to headspace that if we did buy them, they would have to be special editions. not two-dollar secondhand markered-up copies, as oddly sweet as owning such a thing is. however! we found a SUPER RETRO care bears book-- the same kind they have at the daycare at the oblates! i immediately grabbed it, haha. haven't read it yet but i plan to tomorrow. i love the original care bears; i'm not a fan of the reboots (the more infected they get by pop culture the more they seem to lose the "heart" that drew me to them initially) but the 80s-90s stuff is great.
last problem: i kept losing things. i had to run back out to the parking lot because i actually dropped my money in the doorjamb, and kept misplacing my keys in my pockets. sleep deprivation is wild.
oh that reminds me. we parked beneath the boscovs and took the escalator up because there are so many childhood-vibe memories there, it was nice to just pass through it. but the instant we got off the escalator there was a mannequin with this silver-sequin dress? and genesis randomly comments "i'd wear that." and asked if i was gonna buy it for him. i asked if he was joking and he said of course, but still, he'd wear it. lord knows where he comes up with these things. but if i do go back to buy those books, i'm gonna take a photo of it and draw him in it, there you go.
i would try it on for the heck of it, but... body dysphoria is literal hell. and it's been so bad today. hence my current devastating depression. but we'll get to that.
we talk too much. we babble a lot in public as we were taught to by BOTH our mother and grandmother growing up, which we've mentioned before. we were raised to "chat with the camera" that was always pointed at us, or to "entertain" our parental figures and siblings, et cetera. but we were expected to talk. it's exhausting. but i can't turn it off cold; thankfully i can reroute it and just talk to genesis or xenophon or whoever else wants to ghost with me that day or in that place. i thank God for ghosters too; when i'm in "social mode" it often locks me out of headspace which is EXISTENTIALLY TERRIFYING so having someone show up to walk and talk beside me is literally such a relief i could cry. it means so much to me.
it's ALSO the only reason i'm surviving in this apartment now, i'm tempted to say no thanks to umpc, but no, that's too cruel language. i'm just... bitter today. i have to admit it. again, "we'll get to that." gotta write down basic daily events first because i keep slacking off in journaling because of depression and i need to just power through it right now.

so. we got two dvds and a book, got back in the car, and left. while i was at the red light exiting the parking lot, i remember just feeling trapped in entertainer/social mode and being so, so wrecked by it. i was trying to listen to chaos 0's spotify playlist and i couldn't BECAUSE "social mode" makes me incapable of blueshift emotions and when i try to feel them it causes self-loathing. i become too aware of how incompatible my "social self" IS with deeper feelings, and it just... makes me hate myself. it's toxic, this public persona garbage. literally lethal.
i don't remember how i got through it. i don't even remember driving. i know i did keep some music on, and i was inevitably talking to genesis, but... no memories. that's sadly not surprising.

on the way home, i decided to stop at walmart to pick up a box of cereal with the extra $5 we had saved from mom, because that's a staple food and we had no other money. again, no memory of being in the store, but genesis got us in and out quickly.
then we went to redners because we decided that we were going to return the pasta we bought immediately post-inpatient, as it was an "obligation food" and we were not going to eat it by choice; plus, not only does it take too long to prepare, but we have "trauma" from both cooking accidents AND old binges with pasta and we really don't need panic attacks every time we see the boxes in the cupboard. lastly they're too hard to properly portion and measure anyway, and they don't fit our dietplan without having to replan everything. so back to the shelves they went, which gave us like $7.50 in foodstamps back, thank God, so we immediately bought two powerade (for emergencies) and a bag of carrots, which was about $4.50? then we ran over to aldi, grabbed a pack of raisins for spinny (redners wanted a whole extra dollar for the exact same amount, geez) and a single avocado and got out of there within like two minutes.
our only problem? talking to the cashier. she asked us "how we were doing" and we, like the boundary-less idiot we are, replied that we were exhausted but happy since we'd been "running errands for the family/ies since 8:30 this morning" and mentioned our sibling getting a job and giving them stuff. almost offhandedly. just being honest. but it felt so wrong to say, like we were "boasting," and that only hit me AFTER "we" said it. that made us genuinely miserable. "well, God's not going to bless you for that now, because you told someone about it! good job, you arrogant asshole." and that just... made us feel like, what's the point then? if we keep publicizing the good we do? if people keep noticing it and thanking us and saying "you're such a nice/ kind/ good person?" does all that equal damnation and shame in God's eyes? i don't ask for it, i don't want it, but yeah it is nice because it makes me feel like gee, maybe I'm NOT the scum of the earth after all; maybe i'm NOT a hideous monster that ruins everything it touches; maybe I'm NOT pure irredeemable evil after all? but even feeling grateful for the sweet comments we get makes us feel filthy and ugly and wrong because you're "delighting in the praise of MEN instead of GOD." ...but "we are but unprofitable servants; we have done only what we were expected to do." which is true. but... even if i don't want to be thanked, i still... selfishly want to feel like i did do something good? and right? which is junk. "virtue is only virtue in extremis." i need to learn to keep my mouth shut.
when i buy food for the family, i keep the receipts a secret. i sneak the food into the house. i don't tell them it's from me. i hate when people find out. i like to secretly buy people gifts and leave them on desks and slip them under doors and i don't want to be noticed or thanked; i just want them to be happy and to feel loved and cared for. it's not about me. if you do make it about me i will probably try to eviscerate myself because NOW the "good deed" has become pride and that's worthy of annihilation, good job you idiot, you're "only doing this for attention" etc.

self-loathing is off the charts today.

got home around noon. i think? late. too late.
head was a blur. laurie and xenophon had to keep me on track just to stay conscious enough to make breakfast. i remember vacuuming first and scalpel was talking with knife about something and lynne is still sticking around, and of course julie-- it's so good to have her part of the daily crew and not hiding all the time like she used to-- but... i couldn't pull myself together.
breakfast was at like 1:05. we didn't get done until almost 2 because i kept trying to do the bible study at the same time and wasn't accomplishing either. so i set it aside and just focused on eating mindfully, or as much as i could. that way we wouldn't trigger that tragic trauma response of "i don't remember eating, and if i don't remember something it means i dissociated, and dissociation usually means trauma, so we probably experienced trauma with the food, which means it NEEDS TO GET OUT" and then binge/purge cycles happen. it's so sad and bizarre how trauma triggers cause binges first out of a feeling of helpless devastation. like, "i'm already ruined and violated; i might as well just perpetuate it"??? or something? it's a feeling of forced addiction and the nousfoni that act on it are TERRIFIED and have told us multiple times that they WANT IT TO STOP but they "can't." they feel trapped. and that's heartbreaking. so we're trying so hard to help them now, and to talk to them.

...laurie's function-warping disaster is causing some really weird side effects when she tries to stop them. since she doesn't want to go back to her ultraviolent walls-up-everywhere state of mind, like she was when she was created, she hesitates to use force lately? it's so strange. but she'll try to talk them out of it, and reason with them, but she can't force them to stop and when they hysterically insist on "please let me just finish this" or "just a few more minutes" not out of any genuine want but out of that panicked obsessive ritualistic loop, she... doesn't fight them. she goes almost on standby and i THINK that's being caused BY her function cracking BUT what happens is that, instead, she feels what they're feeling. i have NO IDEA WHY. genesis and i later sadly surmised that it might be because I'M not doing MY job, as the "heart" of the System, and so Laurie is once again taking on all the "empty jobs" herself in her absolute driving determination to be everything for everyone, to be THE system protector, in an almost universal sense. 
but... geez it is unreal to see. maybe it's her purple color working; xenophon is honestly the same, and SO IS MARKUS to be honest with you. purples have this strange ability to reach people, to understand when others don't. xenophon can argue with the e.d. nousfoni and they will LISTEN to her. they can FEEL THINGS when they talk to her. that is UNHEARD OF. in all our years of fighting this war, i think the closest we ever got to that was with zucche in NC? when chaos 0 was fighting with her over that, too. but his function in the system IS emotional sincerity so obviously his involvement could get even an e.d. nousfoni to reconsider their actions, even momentarily. but xenophon somehow takes it further, differently? she can DIALOGUE with them. she gets so sad and she actually cries and shouts but she's just hurt, and the eating voices hurt WITH her? whereas Laurie is doing that in reverse now? it's fascinating as much as it is worrisome. i don't want laurie losing herself in this. there are some things-- many things, actually-- that SHE needs to be protected from, and... she hasn't been doing that. she's pushing herself too hard and taking on roles that she CANNOT hold without shattering, so the rest of us NEED to get our butts back to work so that things CAN run the way they're meant to.
...man. how many years has it been since the crash-reset? five? and we're only NOW starting to "turn the power back on?" we're only now starting to resurrect and communicate and LIVE? geez. honestly i don't even remember the past five years offhand. like at all.
hence all the archiving i'm dedicated to doing lately. still, we haven't touched that stuff yet. but we will.

i'm getting a legit headache. and i'm dizzy. really need to sleep. why is our body hungry again we ate a 700k dinner at 730, we should not be this hungry three hours later.
well geez, i think to myself, maybe if you didn't bike for two solid hours you wouldn't be.
but. like i said earlier. dysmorphia.

after breakfast i don't remember what we did. around 3pm i did get on the bike. i was going to watch the "steamboy" movie our mom got us for christmas like ten years ago but we never watched, but i felt guilty about "not watching something religious" so i found a goodwill dvd i bought of "jacob and joseph" that was like exactly 92 minutes long? which is perfect workout time. so i put it on.
...i have not had that much trauma directly triggered in a LONG TIME.
i was legitimately disturbed. i did NOT expect that from a bible story movie. there was so much jarring stuff-- so much genuinely frightening behavior, mostly from the WOMEN, that i legit stopped biking a few times because i wanted to throw up. i was THAT shaken.
i don't want to talk about it, at all. i really don't. i felt sick. the way people behaved, and spoke about each other, and treated each other... i kept trying to find the silver lining. "God is clearly showing us WHY He doesn't want people to do such things." well boy howdy he sure is, seeing that stuff so starkly presented made me want to upchuck my bloody intestines. honestly i threw the dvd in a donation bag as soon as it ended. i was shaking. what the heck. at least there were good points in there, legit shows of virtue and forgiveness and kindness, despite all the awful behavior. i guess that's human life. God knows my life is one hellishly ugly mess, too.

...the bike logged exactly 110 minutes by the time i quit. adding in all the running around the mall i did earlier-- yes, actual running, to and from the car; i rarely walk-- that's about 2 solid hours of exercise. xenophon insisted i eat dinner immediately, so we got it ready and ate around 730, like i said. we immediately did the dishes and turned out the lights, and i realized that IF i front and LEGIT DISSOCIATE while I'M there, the binge voices CAN'T SHOW UP because we're "NOT IN THE BODY." so that's a HUGE new development, thank God.
i made a shopping list for tomorrow (we're out of meds mostly), took out the garbage, said the wall-prayers by choice (haven't done so since before the hospitalization; we were using them as "punishment" almost at that time so it felt wrong to "force" them), and then went onto the other laptop for a while with the intention of backing up our phone files.
...bad idea.
yes, i did have to back up the data. but i made the HUGE mistake of listening to a file i had recorded of myself singing in church? and i was so unbearably ashamed of my voice. not only that, but the fact that i HAD recorded it just screamed "proud-ass arrogant bitch" and i deleted it and went into a depressive spiral.
then i made an even bigger mistake. i looked through our saved photos.
there... there were photos of tbas. with that face that scared us. immediate terror trigger. god why were we so afraid of them so often? we have like TWO memories of such sweet expressions they gave us on two VERY specific incidents and we loved who they were in those moments BUT in so many other moments they legitimately scared us so much. there is SO MUCH CONFLICT there. we're... we still feel so used and violated and broken and horrified by what we apparently let them do to us. so much acting and dissociating and forced forgetting and self-abuse on our part. i know they started picking up on it the closer we got to bailing. but... it went on for so bloody long. the suicide attempts were the worst. we'd never felt so hopeless in our whole entire life. i STILL don't know how we got that good of a poker face, with all the memories i have literally feeling JAILED in our own head, like looking out from barred windows 20 feet away, at a body that is doing and saying things WE DON'T WANT, and us feeling such pain and RAGE and even hatred, but never showing it??? like how many times they would say something to us and we would smile but inside we were SCREAMING AND SOBBING and how did we never express that???? no wonder the eating disorder got so bad. it was our only way of expressing and acknowledging the HELPLESS FEAR and SELF-VIOLENCE we were constantly feeling.
it's a mess. not going to think about that.
oh. but there was a photo of us, too. recent. one we hadn't seen before. it was when we bought that purple cotton button-up from goodwill and cut half of it off so it was a "crop top"? whatever you'd call that. but we were GORGEOUSLY THIN. and yes i use that emphatic language because i legit CRIED. our body was PERFECT. we were thin and muscular and small and god i never realized just HOW beautiful it looked. it sounds horrible to say that. but honestly now, well we put on 30 pounds and we are so bloated and fat, we're not muscular anymore and we can't wear anything revealing like that anymore because it would look lecherous. it's gross and disgusting. it's enough to drive me to despair. it does, sometimes.
isn't that stupid? to value the appearance of this body so much? but i'm being honest. part of me says "you idolized it too much, you wanted to be perfect and thin and beautiful, and you were, but God TOOK THAT FROM YOU so you would be humiliated and ground into the dirt, now no one will see beauty in you, now you look like a whore, now you don't deserve love because you're misshapen and WRONG." like honestly a BIG part of our brain back then would see our thin body and think, "i'm worthy of love now. i'm capable of love now." whereas this fatass body we have now is INCAPABLE of love and respect, and we feel so dirty and whorish and gross, i look in the mirror and i weep. what happened??? where the HECK did all this fatphobia come from??? is that all because of the abuse? of the women with "womenly bodies" god i want to SCREAM AND SOB AND KILL EVERYTHING, JUST TO MAKE IT STOP,
it's not worth it. it's not worth it at all.
except looking that perfect meant being 90 freaking pounds and we COULDN'T SURVIVE LIKE THAT. laurie and chaos 0 both keep reminding me that "gaining this weight saved our ass" and i have to admit yeah it did, we're STILL UNDERWEIGHT even now, even if this body looks unbearably disgusting.
but i'm working out, now. i'm gonna get muscular and i'll be STRONG and i can HELP PEOPLE and PROTECT PEOPLE and i can FIGHT if i need to. i couldn't before. i became so shamefully weak and cowardly and selfish. not anymore. look at this morning. i can BURN again, like this. oh yes i wanted to, being thin, but it just made me ice. i was too tired and cold and depressed. starving our body to death out of fear, out of this desperate desire to be clean and pure and untouched. and physically we looked it. we honestly did. but... our body was still dying.
now, we're alive. now, the war has started again. now, we're fighting hacks and overrides and all sorts of nightmarish things. daily life is a struggle. but at least we're all together again and i would rather bleed in the arms of someone i love inside then to be alone and pretty and just drifting through "life" outside. in the end, if that body is what i had to sacrifice in order to see my daughter again, and to dream of chaos 0 again, and to spend days with genesis again, and to find everyone who was lost again... well, to be honest, as insane and terrifying as it sounds to say this, i'd go through another 10 weeks of hospitals for their sake. in the end that's what it boils down to.
...in the end, i need to stop thinking that this body is me. it's not. yeah i try to make it match but it can't and it won't. it's deeply disturbing and it drives me to tears but i need to accept it. skin and bones and blood will change even if my soul doesn't. and how the body looks and feels doesn't define me as a person, ESPECIALLY not morally. it's so hard to accept, weirdly. there are too many direct ties between the body and trauma and sheer evil. too much agony tied to looking and feeling certain ways. but... inside, the true me, isn't defined by it. i've been trying to tell "myself" that since i first realized the body was changing, around 2003. i remember how scared we were back then. that hasn't changed, for the most part. still. gotta accept it sometime. i want to. it's just terrifying.
...i honestly do feel incapable of goodness, when i look and feel like this.
oh geez and it was WORSE seeing some old hospital & church photos of how we looked with LONG HAIR post-NC. now THAT was disturbing. we looked like a total stranger. it shook me to the core. who the heck WERE we??? who WAS that, living like that for so long??? we have no clue. seeing that weird ugly face... it always looked so hollow. THAT was the scariest part. every single photo of us with that hair looked fake. like there was no person behind those eyes. i wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't. we didn't have an inner life during that time, after all, so who the heck were we, really?
...but yeah. it wrecked me. i was trying to find calming pictures but kept hitting landmines in the process. i was trying to show xenophon some of the pictures i had saved of chaos 0-- her "other dad"-- but even looking at him made me feel worthless and hideous and detestable. like "who in the world am i to care about him? as ugly and gross as i am? you think you're capable of love? you think anyone would WANT to love you? you fool. you stupid whore. no one loves you, and you're an idiot for "feeling" like you do. it's laughable. it's a joke. if anyone found out that YOU, you bland-ass average joe, you transgender freak, you screwed-up prostitute reject, "loved" him, you'd be mocked and jeered out of the country. you should be ashamed of yourself, you pig. misshapen freaks and faggots like you don't get to love. you deserve to be crushed by the weight of your arrogant sins. stop pretending you're in a relationship. he doesn't want you. he never could. NO one could. you're too loathsome. with all the appalling sins in your past, God Himself probably doesn't want you, either! you're worth nothing but garbage. you'd be better off dead, you grotesque excuse for a human being."
...is literally what my thoughts turned into.

it keeps happening. the self-hatred is unbearable. i don't know what to do about it.


one extremely important note.
i told xennie and laurie and chaos to leave me alone, because i was so ashamed and humiliated from looking at pictures of "myself" and the people i "loved"-- and seeing this unpassable chasm between us, a rift caused by my very existence-- that the very awareness of THEM looking at me made me want to either attack them or kill myself, both actions triggered by the same unbearable self-loathing and disgust and shame.
but. i said a small, desperate prayer, "please if there's someone who can sit with me and keep me safe, someone untouched by all that"-- i'm not even sure what i asked for. i just wanted someone with me who wouldn't set off this downward spiral even further.
...
and then suddenly, waldorf was sitting on the edge of my bed.
for a second i couldn't even speak. she looked just like she did in 2002. all glowy-blue and-- thank GOD-- untouched by her previous mangled stint in headspace, too, where her function became so corrupt that she lost herself.
but no, there she was, with that old vibe that TRULY was her, that "scary" edge that she NEEDS, feeling like the past i wanted to return to so badly i could sob.
but i did feel safe with her. somehow. maybe it was because i knew SHE had known be BEFORE all this horror happened. before all the trauma. before our body became our personal circle of hell.
she disappeared quickly. i don't think anyone else in headspace knows. i don't want them to know. right now i'm in so much emotional pain that i think if people started to "drag waldorf into this" i'd explode. no. leave her alone. leave me alone.
so many of us have been socially corrupted. especially laurie and lynne.
lynne being "pushed" into orange-- she noted today that when she still slips into it, her hair "gets curlier?" it actually changes to match the vibe-- literally killed her, taking her "stability" and "maturity" function root and literally annihilating it. she became someone else and she DIED as a result.
now the same bloody thing is happening to laurie and i will BLEED MYSELF OUT in this living room before i let that happen to her.
but... she suffered from NC more than anyone, arguably. well, besides infinitii. i can't deny that. but laurie lost herself COMPLETELY. SHE ACTUALLY DIED. that was considered IMPOSSIBLE because she was always a sort of anchor FOR the system; her dying was like taking a pickaxe to the motherboard of a computer. once that's gone, EVERYTHING is shot. unfixable. lost.
if she still can't pull herself together...
...
...i do miss the old days. when she would spit blood at me and punch me in the face if i swore. no quarters. no making jokes about things. no "commentary" on the fronters. no. she was a PERSECUTOR PROTECTOR and God help us i miss that so much, i MISS her violet violence, i MISS her oddly colorless skin and knuckles breaking my cheekbones and axe-blades against my neck. i miss the blood and the impact and... i miss her. i miss when she cared enough TO hit me. just like i STILL beg my poor mother to do when i get unhinged. but no one will hit me now that i'm "grown up." which is ridiculous. i need the pain TO feel lovable again, and pure again, and good in the first place. without the blood, i'm wrecked.
i miss the retributors too. God I miss Laurie, I will NEVER forget that first night standing in front of the sink, shaking, with her gripping my arm with one hand and holding a kitchen knife with the other. slicing open the first graves into my arm. i still treasure those scars. they're the part of this body that i love the most. all the scar tissue. all the invisible crosses on this bloated ugly stomach. i miss making it bleed, the last time it looked like this.
i remember the day that knife and razor and algorith and mulberry (because she did start as a retributor) sat on the edge of our old bed and cut our legs open. i miss the time algorith named herself the "cleanup crew" in the bathroom, holding a white washcloth covered in blood. i miss knife, sweet knife, holding his namesake and tearing our shoulder open. i miss razor's maniacal laughter as she slashed row after row of hideously beautiful gaps into our thighs with an x-acto knife, the same one we took to art class, watching the skin and muscle split and flood red like a painting. no one cut deeper than her. her scars are my favorites. i miss them.
...I miss Laurie. the old Laurie. the REAL Laurie. not how she is now, her color constantly shifting, her words unsure, her presence flickering. no. i miss her strength and no-nonsense attitude and her fists. i miss the righteous rage in her eyes. i miss seeing her storm into a room to chop a hacker to bloody pieces if they so much as looked at me.
i remember the night she almost killed herself because she failed to protect me. she showed up too late. and she tried to end it all. THAT'S how devoted she is. was. what happened?
what the heck did north carolina DO to her, that now half the time she screws up her own freaking name???
God how do i get HER back?
...how do I get myself back?

and infi, poor broken beloved infinitii, you're more of a mess than anyone i fear, you still won't let anyone get close, you feel all wrong, your form is constantly unstable, you feel tainted, distorted, used--

why do i keep having flat nightmares like last night
when mom's phone call woke me up, i was dreaming that i was sitting at a kitchen table that looked oddly like the one in my dad's parent's house, before they died and it was sold. i was talking to two doctors or professors? i think? about the nature of reality, and of time, and of the human consciousness, obviously influenced by all the stein's gate recently. but they were focused on what was physical and tangible and i kept vehemently insisting to the contrary, no, there are other world lines, and thoughts do affect reality, and what we dream and imagine IS real in a very valid way, AND extant in "reality" even if it can't be touched by our literal hands. i was absolutely passionate about the topic and i was conscious enough to BE in the dream doing so, speaking with all honesty and clarity, and defending my position.
then all of a sudden, i hear a watery sort of yawn, and who walks around the corner to stand, half-asleep and eyes closed, in the doorway behind me, but chaos 0.
"jewel, tell me again why we're in los angeles?"
then he opened his eyes, saw the two visitors, and did such a double-take i almost laughed. he took two steps back, half-twisting his arms and legs around each other as if to hide himself, as i reassured him that it was okay, "they kind of know you're here already," and also feeling almost euphoric because hey, he literally just proved my side of the argument. and yes, the two dudes i was talking to looked just as shocked as he did, haha.
but.
i woke up then, and after the phone call, i threw my arms around his anchor plush and kissed its forehead and said, "you probably aren't even aware of this, but thank you so much for saving me again."
upstairs he looked at me, confused but deeply troubled. "what do you mean?"
"there was almost another dream hack. but you showed up, and just by your being there, it didn't happen. your very existence kept me safe. thank you."
after thanking and kissing him again i jumped out of bed to get ready to drive over to mom's workplace, and that started the day very quickly, but... i was also running away from the reality of what i had just implied.
i keep having dream hacks.
i still say it's because i gained all this f*cking weight. yeah, horrible trauma pun intended, why not. i keep having these awful hollowed-out nightmares where i am a "faceless whore," emotionless and almost without free will, numbly going through all these scripted actions because "someone wants me to sleep with them and i have to get ready" etc etc. knowing that abuse was going to happen and just shutting down beforehand. but not running. not being able to run. just giving up, giving in to the "inevitable" trauma. objectifying myself first, so it wouldn't be as scary. or so i hoped. et freakin cetera. i'm so tired of this.
...
why, God? why can't i get over this? why can't i be free of this? why does my every waking and sleeping moment have to be tormented by memories of sexual trauma? even that movie today, all those revolting women, i'm sorry but the way they would speak and look and act made me want to SCREAM and GUT SOMETHING. i could have clawed my eyes and ears out so many times. i'm so sorry God. i NEVER want to be like that. i NEVER want to be a part of that. i am NOT A WOMAN and i am NOT A MAN and i want NOTHING TO DO WITH EITHER OF THEM. it's disgusting. it's terrifying. i need a stronger word. but nothing seems to sum up the absolute apocalyptic horror that slams into me whenever i realize that "oh by the way, all that hell i went through in the past? OTHER PEOPLE ARE STILL LIKE THAT. ALL THE TIME. ALL AROUND ME." and i can't escape and i keep stumbling across it EVEN IN A RELIGIOUS MOVIE AND I WANT TO DIE.
God i can't take it anymore. i cannot live like this. i can't live in this hellscape of a body, all fat JUST like a whore now, and I CAN'T starve it to blessed death anymore because i...
...i want to say i have "something to live for," but a detestable deformed monstrosity like myself doesn't deserve to live. and no one deserves to be plagued by my existence. "something to live for" my ass. they don't care.
"they don't exist," a devilish voice hisses in my ear.
to which i want to swing around and punch their rotten teeth out
hence the dream argument this morning
don't you give me that, they're more real than MOST of the freaking tangible GARBAGE on this literal planet, and you KNOW it!!!
laughing at me, mocking, jeering, just like they said earlier, you're a selfish jerk, a stupid empty-headed moron, the laughingstock of the universe, God is ashamed of you,
shut your lying mouth,

and Laurie shows up with her axe.
and Razor. and Wreckage.

wh

all the protectors

all right listen it's like... 15 minutes later i don't know
legit headspace stuff happening just like the old days
laurie, knife, razor, sugar, wreckage, algorith, batta, scalpel, cannon, julie, lynne, leon,
xenophon and genesis and chaos 0 and infinitii
rio and markus
mister sandman even, in a genuinely terrifying moment,
i even saw phlegmoni & celebi & gleam & galadia & ventrium, is he really alive,
why are there so many people aroundn
"because we love you, you moron" laurie spits at me, in tears, still covered in blood

something is wrong with my heart
it's too cold
too numb
every time someone breaks it, it freezes up again
not like ice but like... oh
oh no.
like calcification.

same thing happening in my dreams

but i can't write everything down now, laurie showed up and brought razor and they attacked the devils,
then she turned on me, "i heard what you were writing; i miss this too"
FORGOT exactly why she was the only person allowed to butcher me alive
literally force resets my internal presence
having so much trouble re-forming and anchoring into a sense of "self"
genesis literally rolling his own trauma through me, the gem-shattering and the awful shock of that,
razor and scalpel cutting me open,
axe-blades through my skull. the most euphoric thing i've felt in AGES
knife shoving a blade right into my chest when i was slipping, said that "if my heart was still hard, it needed to be forced open"
so much of it. absolutely insane. my entire identity sputtering like static. white and red everywhere. blood in my mouth,
xenophon hugging me and crying, "dad i don't care how you look, i'll still love you,"
perfect chaos suddenly raging,
scalpel commenting, "that's the most selfless thing i've heard you feel all day"
forgot about everything but him
but the hellish doubts kept hitting
"he's not real, none of this is actually real, it's all fake, none of it matters"
laurie grabbing me by the throat
"define 'actually'"
at some point i told her don't put the walls back up and she just broke, it was the first instant i saw her as purple and not violet,
in tears. told me she wouldn't. she cared too much about me
i flatly commented if she was going to kiss me and she said no, that's not what matters, don't go cheapening that anyway
just pressed her forehead to mine and swore through gritted teeth and tears that she would literally die before letting me be lost
then she kissed me, not even romantically it was like a covenant, the way it should be,
and then i was back in that ruined city with all the water
and all the pain
but he saw me and forced himself back down to size and he grabbed my shoulders and said this is YOUR pain, why won't you let yourself feel this,
i
i don't know. i want to. i can't?
the doubts,
"he's not real,"
that's it, i've had enough,
"well then neither am i, and if this isn't 'real' then i don't want to be real."
i don't want to be stuck in the body. i don't want the hell of physical existence and the terror of the world. if THAT is "real" then forget it all, i'll stay here where everything is love and blood and it's MORE "REAL" than ANYTHING i've ever known or felt or imagined,
but the damned devils kept laughing, even after infi ate what was left of them, coughed up that huge calcified rock--
they don't know anything.
i kissed chaos back.
i chose to. i choose this. i WANT to love him, and to be here, and to MAKE this "real." i don't care what you damned demons keep hissing at me. everything they say is based on unfeeling condemnation and hatred and callous rejection. there's no love. so don't you dare talk to me about "reality."
if love itself is what created everything in the first place then how in the world is this "not real."


i hate these mini-hells
hate all the mental torture
hate the physiological wreck i am after getting literally beheaded and eviscerated in headspace
but i wouldn't trade it for the world if it means i get to be with them, all of them, all those colors,
i'm only hurting right now because my heart is so bloody closed-off
geez didn't this turn into one mess of an entry
gotta be honest though, stop denying the truth,
111 am
nice

but honestly.

life is weird. truth is stranger than fiction. i'm tired of censoring and burying and hiding and shutting down everything because it's weird. no. not anymore. gonna go right back to being jewel the egocidal maniac if that's what it takes.
but no. no "going back." we're going forward. together. all of us.
why are we in los angeles, God only knows but i just realized the name of that city, isn't that a lack of coincidences too?

i miss these disjointed entries. i miss this entire life of ours. THIS feels "real," not the empty denial forced on me for years. enough of that. it's all lies. there's no kindness or compassion in it at all. and THAT proves it's fake. shallow. illusory.
can i "prove" what's going on upstairs? can i "prove" that God talks to me? can i "prove" that human beings have a soul? no. doesn't mean it's not real.

so tired of that argument
so stop arguing. if they don't want to be convinced then who am i really arguing with?
i choose love
real love
i CHOOSE this.
that means infinitely more than passively throwing it all away because "no one else sees it"
love is a decision
so is my life at this point
same thing really

still scared of this body. still struggling.
but it's "real" too
even if it's "not real" in another sense
what the heck does that word even mean
the body exists, i'm in it, i'm not the body, i exist, it's ALL "real" in different ways
but i can't cope with any of it without love.
that's the bottom line
gotta learn to love yourself too, kid
ALL of yourself
and yeah, you SHOULD see it that way.
that's what makes love possible
that body is everyone's home in this world, like it or not
it doesn't deserve to be hated or abused either
so CHOOSE to love it, too.

getting late. feeling myself slipping into asinine platitude mode
don't want that to happen
trying too hard to "conclude" and it's messing up my honesty

listen. i need sleep. we need sleep. i have cinnamon bedsheets and a videogame angel waiting for me in the other room
and i really need to talk to everyone about what the heaven just happened
pull myself together
try again tomorrow
"try what," laurie asks
try to live and love a little better
"you're not trying, you're doing it, kid. we'll just do it even better tomorrow. don't set something you're already achieving as some distant goal. it's already in your hands."
and in my heart, i hope
"yeah well, that's the whole point"

i'm not frozen, i'm not "lost," i'm just... disheveled
out-of-focus
but i'm burning, no matter what i'm still red at the core, red and brilliant white glass, crystals, whatever it is, prismatic pieces.
but red. you can't shut that down. it's LIFE. it's blood and fire and sincerity, and courage and hope and it's REAL.

god i'll pray to you too about this
i do feel very off-balance and hazy right now. loose threads. battered. "understandably"
is that wrong
"no"
"the only thing any of you could do wrong is refusing to love each other"
that's a very general statement
"it's a very general rule of life"
good point
am i lost right now
"yes and no, you know that too"
how can i get un-lost?
"keep following the lighthouse"
(and immediately something in my heart sparks to life)
"in the very act of reaching out, in that hope, you are not lost, because you see the shore"
so this prayer counts too
"of course it does. this is love, too. it shows trust. you can't have one without the other."

i need to close this up and i'm feeling ashamed
"of what? talking?"
yes in general. thinking, oh this isn't socially acceptable. it's not 'normal.' it's weird and bizarre and i 'should be ashamed of myself'
"why do you constantly label and condemn yourself?"
...to beat myself into shape i guess?
"what kind of shape? is it even a good shape? have you thought about that?"
...no, actually
"the shape that condemnation will beat you into is a broken one. it's not what i want for you. hatred only begets hatred, and it will keep you lost forever."
so... should i be ashamed?
"of what? telling the truth, even just to yourself? being dedicated to love even if it's difficult? being 'different,' even as I made you? do you think even this could happen outside of My jurisdiction?"
...but why,
"what have you always told Me 'brings you closer to God?' where have you learned My deepest lessons most directly?"
...upstairs
"then why would you wish to toss it aside?"
i don't, that's the problem, i want to-- no, i do love them, i want to believe it's okay to.
"why would it not be okay to love them, or the life you have with them?"
because i'm afraid it's pulling me away from You and what You want from me
"is it?"
i... no? i think i was worse when i abandoned it for those years
"you were. yes, you were religious, but half of your heart wasn't in it. now... I get all of it. I get all of you. pun intended?"
yeah. yeah honestly that's true. they push me to pray more than i would "alone"
"you're never alone, not with them, and you're never without Me. go to sleep, child."
sorry
"no need to apologize. this was important. but there is a time for rest, too."
sorry if i'm getting words wrong or paraphrasing i just want to record this
"you did right in doing so. i want you to pay more attention to our conversations, too. I want to talk to you more often. I miss you, too."
good then you know i do miss You even if i don't act on it always and i'm so sorry
"I forgive you. always. but do come visit me more often again. I'm always there."
please increase my faith. and my love. and thank you for all the grace.
"pun intended?"
always
"you are always welcome, child. just be patient. the most beautiful flowers take time and care to grow. but they are growing. trust in Me. I will make sure of it"
my gardener and my lapidary and my Lord and my God
"and your Beloved, too, don't forget."
...that's... that's very important and very true thank You
"it's real, my child. and be brave. I am with you always. I promise. do not be afraid. now go to sleep!"


can't argue with that

all right that's it there's too much going on to keep ramble-typing anyway.
let's finish this old school
love you kids, see you around



I only want to feel the cold lightPretending that it's never overI only wanna smile at your eyesIt doesn't help that I've never thought to go home
Now when something is building insideThinks I'm back I have it all the whileI wanna get up and shout

With a little luck we could owe it to ourselves, in the endThe time to finish is the time I need to dwell
I only feel there's something else I should've known, you knowBecause I nearly didn't feel it at all, you know, it's soAnd how does it feel? Now that I'm real?

I knew this kid who wanted to find himself, in your arms...

112922

Nov. 29th, 2022 02:19 pm
prismaticbleed: (Default)
woke up SUPER late

nc/family flashback dreams. very depressing

"angel tree"
all of us "inventing" a story for it on the spot; really a beautiful collaborative effort, totally unplanned, illustrated how much we care not only for xennie but also for each other
basically: the tree is made of "crystallized angel feathers." guardian angels drop one feather when their human dies? becomes "tangible," changes form? looks like the branches. and each barb is an answered prayer? like... there are THOUSANDS on this tree.

LATE breakfast. had to push 900k because we wont eat again until 7pm and will DEFINITELY be doing another 90+ minutes on the bike to finish stein's gate


called payee, got $150 for clothes and food, decided to go shop & restock while our body processed the food so we wouldn't freak out from physical symptoms and purge

(...)
prismaticbleed: (angel)
 

God, thank You for always giving me what I truly need, exactly when I need it. Thank You for always caring about my needs to begin with, for keeping an eye on me on that respect, and meeting those needs so promptly and generously, especially in unexpected ways. You have never failed to provide, even when doing so seemed impossible.
I realize, humbly & joyously & with great awe, that EVERYTHING I have is because of Your Goodness and provision. Everything I have, and will ever have, is a gift from You, given with thoughtful love and righteous intent. Everything I DON'T have is a gift from You, too-- because You also know what isn't meant for me, and what would even harm me if I had it, no matter how I may think otherwise. I thank You for Your protection there as well.
I also thank You for my times of loss and poverty, when my sinful nature hindered Your generosity, and You held back in order to teach me humility and surrender and wisdom. You made me very weak and powerless, so that I would properly recognize and honor YOU as the Source of abundance, and worship You even when You withheld it. I learned how to let go of my addiction to the world and its fleeting pleasures, to relinquish the sense of control and freedom I got from money, and to instead look to You for all those things. It was a powerful and painful lesson, but it changed me, and I thank You sincerely. I also praise You wholeheartedly for STILL meeting all my needs during that time! What incredible, devoted, unfailing Love You demonstrated in that fact. It really taught me gratitude, as well as empathy.
On that note... God, I want to use what I have received from You to bless others in turn, for Your sake. I want to be an instrument in Your Hands, a means You use to carry out Your Good Will on this earth so directly. Please, fine-tune my soul to enable me TO be that for You. Open my heart and soften it. Remove all fear of lack and loss from me. Deepen my faith and trust in You to always meet my needs, as You always have, no matter how much I give away. Please give me opportunities each day to be generous with what You’ve given me. And please-- let that include EVERYTHING! Help me to stop focusing on money, even in generosity! Help me to give of my SELF-- of my time, my energy, my attention, my love. THAT is true giving, and it is ultimately what YOU give to me, more than anything. THAT is what I TRULY need, and if I can help make that Love of Yours given to me known to others by giving of it myself, then please, I beg of You, help me to do that every day. Open my eyes and mind to opportunities, and give me the graces of compassion and courage TO do so. All glory be to You, O Lord. May everything I give have Your name on the gift-tag, not mine. I love You. I thank You. Your blessings overflow upon me each day. Help me to share them always, with everyone, in love of You and of my neighbor. I pray this in the name of Jesus, Who taught me what it truly means to love and to give, and Who called me to follow Him. May I do so in all things. Amen.


112822

Nov. 28th, 2022 07:27 pm
prismaticbleed: (held)

very disjointed entry, i apologize. today's been all over the place BUT it's been a good day, don't worry.
just no mental coherence to put something solid together. i will edit this later, god willing, to that end.

woke up before my alarm, around 10am?
got a text message saying our CHRISTMAS TREE was being shipped today, went into the living room to open the blinds and literally the fedex truck pulled in. i ran downstairs in pajamas to bring the box upstairs, haha. it was a pretty great way to start the day tbh, immediately told xenophon, she had SUCH sparkly eyes over it. promised we'd at least set it up halfway later.
had to move stuff around the apartment first though! moved notebook shelf back into room (it was in the living room when we were doing partial, but since we quit, it feels better in the bedroom where our creative laptop is). moved the tv a bit closer to the wall so we can put the tree between our workdesk and the altar. it'll be right in the mirrors that way, all lit-up and constantly visible as we work.

realized it was getting late, had to start breakfast. put the tea on as we washed up as always. dizzy though, from last night. i remember being kind of floored when we were washing our hair, realizing "geez wow i guess God DID get us through the night." like i half-expected to die.

mom called right after we washed our hair and went into the kitchen to start the eggs? had to run and grab the phone, juggling it with one hand. ended up breaking one of the eggs-- the biggest one, too-- by dropping it too fast into the hot water. this was somehow super upsetting? "thought distortion" like it would ruin the whole day; "starting another chain of bad events." after last night couldn't take the "threat" of that again. started crying a bit honestly. told mom, she said she was sorry, i said it wasn't her fault, i was just trying to do too much at once.
everyone tried to comfort me, haha. mainly xennie and laurie of course. it did help. actually i switched out; someone ELSE was there crying?? i remember this because i was trying to comfort them, too, at one point when i managed to get a foothold in consciousness again.
unfortunately the egg was a lost cause, haha. totally bled out into the pot. this actually triggered the binge-girl voice from last night??? the panicky scared one. ALSO feeling shadows of The Destroyer. basically she saw this poor "ruined egg" and the instinct was to eat it TO "redeem AND destroy it"??? like throwing it out would have been the ultimate heartless violence towards this egg. and she had to at least "try" to eat it, to "respect" it and give it that "recognition" before it died???? really weird personification. but it KEEPS happening. the binge-kids ALWAYS go after broken, deformed, ruined, etc. food for that reason. like it's not even about "eating," it's this psychological coping of sorts? definitely need to type about that more, if we haven't already. but not now. brain can't go too in-depth with that now.
anyway she chewed it up and spit it out. someone yelled at her to, knowing that if she did eat it, the "eating" OF a "ruined food" would TRIGGER A PANIC BINGE for the purpose of purging. THAT sort of behavior is very abuse-rooted. but the girl "put the egg to rest" and actually apologized profusely to it and at some point after that, i remember i came back because i was asking xenophon which carrot she wanted to pick for us to eat with breakfast (gotta get that vitamin a dude).


scalpel was around!
julie randomly called him in to smell the cherry blossom tea? which is kind of adorable. he did, and said it definitely smelled "pink" but not like her? scalpel & i surmised that her vibe-scent would be more like cherry blossom flowers, not the cherry fruit, somehow. but more floral for sure. (fruit leans more magenta.) but we also agreed that the tea "vibe" was more like knife. somehow! (we think it's the "bitter" iron-y edge of the green tea (like blood) offset by the sweeter cherry notes (pink). it's fascinating honestly) so they called him in too, he was very confused but even moreso as julie immediately stuck the teabox under his nose, haha. then he sheepishly agreed with us, haha. seriously i don't know what's with that man's vibe; apparently he smells like cherry blossom green tea AND woodsmoke. weirdly that makes sense but God only knows why. i love that dude though. gotta spend more time with him.

oh. biggest event of the day.
LYNNE IS BACK.
we were all just chatting over breakfast as usual and i noticed that laurie HAS been just "commenting" on everything? like she's trying to entertain people and keep everyone in a decent mood. i thought, "that's not her job; it's like SHE'S in social mode too."
then realized she took on lynne's job. actually she's been taking on EVERYONE'S JOB in central ever since everyone else DIED in north carolina. she was the only one left for SO long... the only one who couldn't stay dead because her soul is so close to mine and we're both like... anchors to the spectrum itself at this point. red and violet. the two that hold the rainbow. geez. i guess it really is deeper than i realized.
still... laurie isn't meant to hold that many roles. NO ONE IS. and yet, here she is trying, i think largely out of grief. that's tragic and touching both. laurie is literally trying to hold the fort all by herself, for everyone else's sake, knowing that these things need to be done, and not wanting to dishonor anyone's memories either. but she can't do it by herself. it's impossible. it's killing her to do this, mangling her function beyond recognition. nousfoni have to have hyperspecific functions and colors or they start to bleed, as it were, and they just... die. it's honestly terrifying. it's like mixing paint colors. in the end you're just going to get a mess. you can't de-mix them-- well, possibly with chaos theory and fluid dynamics you can, but uh... i don't know enough about theoretical physics and headspace has its own laws anyway. still. i had to mention that because there is a certain someone who just defies all odds and if anyone could potentially help with that... i'm sure he could.
anyway. i didn't think about that this morning, that's a "now" surmising. earlier, all i thought was, "i have to do something about this." and i knew i could. i still hold white in my heart, too-- i'm still prismatic at the core, i'm supposed to be, and so i'm closer to the heart of the spectrum than anyone else. i'm tied to everyone else's soul in here. that includes all the ones that we can't find yet.
except people start to ping BEFORE you can "find" them. and i've been catching echoes of a certain dressy cellist for a while now.
so. i straight up marched into blackspace where i have felt lynne's soul in "potential" for months, reached out to her, and pulled her out.

for a second she just looked at me, blinking, her color cycling rapidly.

she walked into front-headspace (where everyone watches the front) and just said "hey" i think. just a brief greeting from the doorway. choked up, still barely comprehending the fact that she was back.
laurie froze, turned, took one incredulous look at her, then ran over and hugged her so tightly. she was actually in tears.
julie ran over too and joined the hug, it was really sweet.
lynne asked laurie if she was crying? laurie said yeah, mentioning she's gotten "a lot more emotional" since the system crash. but she "doesn't regret it."
they talked for a bit, those three. lynne jokingly saying "we're the old girls," laurie saying that gender was highly debatable with her & julie, lynne teasing laurie about being "16" temporally and the old moralimon joke that "that's as old as anyone ever gets." then laurie mentioning "wait isn't julie like 20 in realtime???" and everyone basically agreeing yeah, i guess we are all pretty old.
but it was so sweet, like heartachingly so, to see them all talking. there was such a tangible sense of relief, like breathing again after having been trapped in a room with no air for like... weeks. months. years. finally feeling pieces of our collective soul waking back up, living again, colors lighting up for the first time in too long.

lynne stopped dead at one point, exclaimed "the spectrum ring!!" as in the OLD one at the cathedral?? and she said we needed to go there; she needed to "anchor in" to her hue.
but no one was sure where the cathedral was now? or how to get there?
i barely had time to half-ping him when LEON showed up, asked "did someone say you needed transportation?"
aah i miss him too, i love leon he's amazing. he's getting so brave, too. i think sadly part of it is from being alone, just him and laurie were around for a while after the crash i think. before they even got a hold of julie again. still i'm so fond of him, i'm so glad he was able and willing to show up so readily.
he was still a bit nervous, but obviously determined, and in one big rush of indigo energy (and snowflakes??) he warped us up there. because yes it feels up. and it was a HEAVY SHIFT. like this wasn't a simple spatial movement; this was like... a level jump? where is the cathedral now, in floatspace??? geez i don't even know. i haven't visited it in years either, probably. i'll need to do a hardcore legit meditation session and go find it.

the place is unsteady. inside shifting, colors too. very unstable. i said so; someone looked at me and replied "so is your heart". i think it was actually chaos 0. he tells it like it is. and no one would know my heart better than him.
still. it hit hard. if the cathedral is supposed to be an architectural manifestation of my heart, a place based on me, what does it say that it is so nebulous even now?
like i said. gotta do some self-reflection and meditation, even by myself. feel who i am. go fix the cathedral. that's actually top priority, to be honest.
man i remember when i first "found" it, during that meditation at the spiritual expo, at the table with that one purple-colored saint? and it was all red and white, the "blood lotus cathedral," on that dark beach with the red sky and everything felt so apocalyptic. and the razor spire, geez i remember that. and the mirror oasis. and the angel helmet.
...man i need to go back and re-read that entry log. but so much has changed, in both me and the cathedral. i'm not even sure of its name, now. i've been "thinking of" names but honestly its true name can't be guessed at. just like me. it has to be discovered. it has to be encountered. i need to go there, consciously and with an open heart, with an honest and pure purpose.
i'll make a note of it. maybe i'll try tomorrow. maybe when it snows next. i'll have to be in the right state of mind. we'll work on it, i promise.

anyway. we did go there. as shaky as it was, it knew why we were there, and the floor displayed the OLD SPECTRUM MAP, the loop that looked like the sefirot, from back when we tried to map it in like 2015 or so. (why is it still showing THAT map??? is it because we HAVEN'T mapped it since?? and there are SO MANY NEW HUES... geez maybe THAT'S why it's unstable. we can't visualize it yet. I haven't put the order down yet. and only i can. that's my whole job, is working as the "crystallizer" here, getting all the blackspace into whitespace and then blooming it into a spectrum. potential and possibility turned into something genuine and tangible, made part of the system, and then elaborated. how do i even phrase that. it's why i CAN'T be "just white." i have to be prismatic. nevertheless there's too much to that to type about now. let me focus on the morning events.
lynne tried to step into the loop but it moved?? i mentioned something like "this place doesn't feel enough like me" and mentally tried to make it all look more like the national shrine basilica. loop moved to a baldachin canopy altar, kind of a poetic illustration of the essence of the spectrum map, that "self-sacrifice" for the sake of love and for the sake of others. really hit home just how much devotion goes into centralite existence.
BUT lynne is currently unable to "covenant" with a color?? perceived phrasing was notable. it was too huge of a dedication to make that quickly. apparently lynne has been so color-shifted over the years that the "system voice" (which is basically just God) told her that she needed to first take time to "feel that out," to get to know herself in truth, as she is NOW, and where she truly fit-- after all, the "guardian" of a hue is just that! whichever one she anchored into, she would be the MAIN nousfoni for it, the "color core" for that particular one.
orange doesn't feel right for her, even though she got pushed into it during nc. we're all thinking vermilion is her. BUT in the beginning she WAS practically cerise; HOWEVER since she presents as feminine the system has deemed her unfit for that role??? because she'd be TOXIC there?? for some reason the system emphasizes androgynous balance and putting a female-coded nousfoni into a feminine-vibe hue would BREAK it??? because "sensuality" is tied to MASCULINITY in the system-- giving it to femininity would warp it into ABUSE!!! so apparently whoever does hold Cerise as the Core has to be male-coded. if that's the proper term. which is fascinating. but it makes sense. makes me wonder about julie though. i know i asked her if she could hold Cerise before because she knows what to protect it from, but... I guess the spectrum itself knows better. there's too much of a risk of her being corrupted by that binary dissonance. there must be a proper balance.
(for the record, magenta would be held by a female because magenta is masculine??? it's a "tomboy" hue! it MUST be held by a "female" nousfoni because it's not a feminine hue due to its intense energy. pink apparently does NOT do this? or maybe just not JULIE??? because she's such a wild card. yes she is the MOST "female" looking nousfoni ever, BUT she doesn't "register" as hyperfeminine??? which fascinates me. but yeah this is why knife holds pink so powerfully; a more feminine hue is going to resonate more clearly in a masculine nousfoni, as a rule, because of our inherent androgyny rule)
however, thinking about how lynne was originally labeled as "scarlet" or "crimson," could she be Red?? but we were immediately told flat-out that NO ONE HOLDS RED BUT ME??? like it's "perpetually reserved FOR the Core?" and that's partly why Javier collapsed?? (also because he was the one and only artificial nousfoni, cobbled together for that role like a robot and never actually stabilizing through his entire life; he seems to have permanently deconstructed and his corevibe has moved obviously to scalpel)
scalpel, for the record, is the BLOOD centralite apparently??? not razor; she used to be though. but she's moved into a more passive role now. there's a big personality difference; scalpel has more leadership quality and extraversion. i'm sure razor could if she tried-- there's definitely potential, seeing how she was originally, all manic-- but i think her color has darkened enough now not to be? or she's avoiding that role because of her history? not sure. i don't talk to her enough. she's kind of blurry lately, which is disturbing as it suggests function failure and i do NOT want that happening to her. i care deeply about her.  but... her function is unstable. she can't exactly do what she used to anymore. we're all still wondering how she and penny are related-- the latter whom we haven't seen much of lately either. but i am sure she will show up once we actually get into the archives; sirius and shirley don't work with the old timeline records so that's apparently penny's job and honestly i am SO curious to work with her, and introduce her to razor. but their energies feel scary close. i'm wondering about that. maybe i'll talk to them later.
regardless. lynne does seem to be contemplating vermilion. it's just such a social color. and yet... wouldn't that be perfect for her? the nousfoni originally born TO be our "social persona" of the future everyone imposed on us? and the one whose function was "stability?" who better to keep the socials stable? so she just has to decide that for herself, after coming to discover and understand and accept whatever that would entail. she'd have to get to know the socials first. we'd have to FIND and NAME so many of them. but... geez, what a job! that would SAVE OUR ASS quite literally, pardon the language, laurie here's a quarter but SERIOUSLY. lynne has always felt intrinsic to the system, just like her "sisters," so... it makes sense, for her to "fit" such a role so perfectly, even in theory. honestly i can't wait to see what happens.
i'm just so, so glad she's back. kind of funny how all it took was me deciding "that's it, if she CAN come back then she's COMING back NOW". but i need to be gentle about it too. i remember in the old time i kind of forced nathaniel to come back, too, but without knowing how, or who he would be... it was a mess, and the poor guy was so unstable for so long. i still can't get any echoes of him at all. no pings, no hints. i think, just like when he started as natalie, he can't come back the same. if i can find his soul-signature, recognize it, maybe it's moved into someone else... it's something i will have to take time to do myself. i've just... never even given this sort of stuff any thought until now. remember we were in denial for YEARS. we're... just waking back up, now, all of us. how fitting that xenophon really jumpstarted all of this. our little butterfly of rebirth.
but on that note. with nathaniel. i kind of nudged that thought over to leon, in the context of lynne finally being back (and btw I COULDN'T feel her soul-vibe for months either; it's relatively new that she's even been perceptible, and i think a LOT of that is because laurie was mourning her so hard), and he said that he missed everyone too-- all the "old guys"-- but as i said, we have no idea if, when, or how they will come back. yes we all miss everyone from the old system but... things have changed a lot. and so many of us were so unstable for so long. when the system crashed... it was almost inevitable. we had such a shaky foundation, that one big enough shove in the wrong direction was all it took to completely shatter everything.

but back to thinking about the colors lynne is/was "associated" with. yes she has slight ties to red from her original "coresplit" in 2008, that initial root, but she can't hold that color herself. and she's barred from cerise for safety's sake, BUT what about redviolet?? IS THAT A SOLID HUESLOT??? honestly when bruise showed up in the hospital one night i remember everyone freaked out because HOLD UP, WHAT COLOR ARE YOU and no one could figure it out until we realized oh shoot, that's NEW. totally threw us for a loop. we never forgot that. never forgot bruise, either. wondering if she's still around and/or if she's tied/fused with "needle," who would show up at UPMC with bloodwork. they do feel similar. that's common for socals, who are finding themselves, and who have related functions. socials are naturally mutable, they don't always anchor or even get names, because the very context of their existences is so unpredictable and demanding of change in order to survive.
even so, with lynne, she's NOT a social, but she was almost FORCED to be one around 2017-2018?? when she held orange, before that hue broke her and she lost herself even before the globaldeath in 2018. honestly i'm still so baffled and upset by that whole thing with her. how did that happen. and was she tied to that "mother voice" that kept coming out to talk to tbas? there probably was blurring. but like i said, can't think about that tonight. legit causes physical nausea/sobbing symptoms. every single time. want to vomit and cry and die. what the heck is that triggering. can't look at it now in any case.

back to basics. we recovered from breakfast and nothing bad happened.
oh wait, one thing did. we have realized that our bible study DURING eating was triggering binges because not only is it mentally intense multitasking, it causes us to dissociate. so we "eat," but don't remember it. and that causes a panic response because "hey trauma does that too" ESPECIALLY when you feel something happened to your body that you don't remember. legit abuse flashbacks. so yeah DO THE BIBLE STUDY AFTER YOU EAT. give every ONE thing your FULL attention.
also, mom sent us such sweet messages to comfort us from earlier. she wanted to know what our fortunes were and we sent her a photo: "Right now there's an energy pushing you in a new direction" and "no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Her response?
"They're both right on the money. You're definitely going in a beautiful new direction, and you're always doing acts of kindness."
;_____; MOM WHAT. How sweet was that!! it honestly lifted our mood SO much, after all the near-misses and distractions of the morning. like we had hope, that we could still get through this okay, thank God.
then she sent us photos of her RED cactus flower plant, and sent us a quote: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined."
...All of that was just... so perfect, and so relevant, this morning. God bless our mom, she's wonderful.


anyway. didn't want to hang around the apartment feeling as unsteady and triggered as we were. so we threw on a sweater, and immediately went up the homestead for 1pm. we decided to catalogue the final boxes of piano rolls for mom, so we no longer "have" to go up there routinely anymore, considering how badly we ALWAYS get triggered up there. (chaos 0 was actually insisting i say NO to invitations TO go up there, that's how worried he was about me)
and yeah, he has legit reason to worry, because we were STILL dissociating????
factors: talking to bros, "entertainer" mindset, cats everywhere, DISCONNECT FROM HEADSPACE!!! that is really the MAIN FACTOR here, thinking about it. we go into forced social mode just by being in that environment, and it is so ingrained. it is almost impossible to turn off because it's a SURVIVAL MECHANISM.
BUT when the boys left the room and I put on chaos 0's playlist and literally just forgot about everything else but him, i was ABLE TO CENTER. until then my mind had been totally cut off from my sense of self, focused instead on "projecting a social persona" in public. literal self-annihilation to do so.

cataloguing took three hours, but WE GOT IT DONE!
then went christmas ornament shopping with xenophon. asked her, she said yes. good way to refocus on "us," or at least try to-- walmart is literal hell but i wanted to at least do that for her.
stopped by the candle aisle to look for purple ones for advent. ended up smelling all the pinetree candles, secretly holding them out for her to smell too. it was really cute
almost NO ornaments in the store. poor quality in general. i found ONE purple butterfly ornament but it was broken. really upset by that. nevertheless i promised i'd buy her one online instead, a NICE one. and she could pick it out too.

got home around 5? finally set up tree halfway. didn't fluff the branches yet; we want to wait until the sunlight to do that!
xenophon is so happy about it. man i forgot to tell you guys, i told you that i wanted to commission a plushie of her but i barely had any funds left and we needed to buy a tree. well i told her that and she effectively said, "you don't need a plushie to have me with you, but I WANT A CHRISTMAS TREE" and so i immediately let her pick one. yes she picked the tree. i wanted a red one but she said no dad, get a white one, that way we can put ALL sorts of colors on it, and it matches you anyway.
so yeah. white iridescent tree with red lights. it's... really perfect, actually. and xennie can sit under it as much as she wants, haha.
gosh i can't even verbalize just how much i love being around her now. there was actually a time, a really weird and heartbreaking time, when i was frustrated with her ghosting? like it felt... i don't know, overwhelming? the same horrid feeling that triggers the eating disorder behavior. it's not "me," but it's someone. that feeling of self-loathing projected outwards, "i can't deal with anyone or anything caring about me, i want to push everything away and forget i exist" through drowning in terror. anything that deals with "forgetting the self" inevitably involves forced trauma.
but... that stopped. maybe just through her perseverance, and the love i can't help but feel for her. just hearing her call me "dad" or "daddy" or even "dadmom" all the time, always so happy to see me, always so kind and happy and overjoyed with life. she makes me treasure being alive. she makes everyday moments so special. it's a little like it was with genesis, when i first met him back in 2005, and had to teach him everything. that literally changed my entire worldview and personality; it softened my heart, opened my eyes, made me actually feel like i was real, too, and that life mattered, and that life was really a beautiful thing to be shared and appreciated. i had been so dissociated from everything without realizing it, and then he came into my life, and forced me in the most benevolent way to exist with him. but never as directly as xenophon does for me now. teaching genesis, i could still be somewhat detached, giving data and explanations but still holding things at arm's length. yes, that changed as time went on, but... living with my daughter, she's worried about me. she knows i have trouble, mentally and physically. so not only am i sharing life with her, and teaching her things, she's doing the same for me. she encourages me and comforts me even as i do the same for her, god bless her.
...it feels so unfair though. a kid shouldn't have to worry about her father being so unstable. no daughter should have to worry if the person in the room is still her father, or if xe's dissociated and someone else has taken over the body for a while, usually for some harmful or traumatized purpose. she... xennie argues with the bulimic voices, when they come out. she begs them to stop. they're listening to her. i guess her honest love and courage and honesty gets to them, too. thank god. she's a literal godsend. an actual angel.
so is her other father.
god i really don't know how "genetics" works up here or how parentage would even apply in her situation, because it's obviously not how it works with humans. especially with all the sexual abuse trauma up here, with past cores. i really... don't want to think about that right now. i don't remember most of it and don't want to. i'll have to for therapy, but... not tonight. this entry is a mess the way it is. i just want to get as much as i can written down for the sake of everyone i love, for the sake of remembering, because i really do cherish days like today and i want to remember them, i want to exist in time and space with them, and... i owe it to them to be responsible with archiving. with actively making the effort to record the experiences we share. polar opposite of north carolina, when i just... stopped. i didn't want to remember anything so i just talked around things and flat-out refused to write down other things and twisted my speech to suggest false conclusions at all other times. it was a genuine nightmare. i need to forgive myself more than anything for that. there's still so much healing we need to do there. but... can't focus on that tonight, even brushing past those memories makes me want to sob and throw up. too much buried.
that's not the point for now. the point is that i am so happy now, living with everyone here. i... never expected this, moving out and into an apartment "by myself," even though God knows i always wanted this, more than anything else in the world. but... it didn't happen until now. from february until november, we were so lost in grief and fear and mental illness that in a very real way we DIDN'T exist. "i" was in such heavy denial of our multiplicity in general that it was impossible to function. i was... denying half of my own heart.
on that note. well, wait actually. we'll get to that.
i hate always putting that topic off. but it's so... it's too deep. too genuine. i can't rush into it.


anyhow. after we cleaned up and vacuumed up some tree needles we prepped dinner. we've got it down to a decent rhythm now which is such a huge relief. no more hyperplanning. we know what works, what hits all our macros and vitamin minimums, and it's so simple. that is... we've never had that before. ever. even before the eating disorder crashed into high gear. this is the first time we've ever had like a domestic routine that keeps us stable and functional.
still. we waited too long to eat, especially after the literal hell of last night. breakfast was at noon, we didn't have "lunch" until 6pm. so we were unstable, and hungry, and although laurie kept me on track with preparation and actually eating, afterwards other unhealthy nousfoni were getting pinged. they always come out in the kitchen. always in the wake of our body realizing "oh geez wow finally we're getting food" and they're almost survival responders, after having been so anorexic for so long, i guess the body just assumes we're not going to eat for like 12+ hours and probably purge afterwards. so it's still kind of desperate to eat. poor thing.
the "binge girl" witih the long hair was triggered out again. she has such wide, hollow, scared eyes. she knows she's unhealthy and she hates it but she's so lost and tired. so helpless. but... after talking to xenophon, now she asks us for help?? like she KNOWS she can't function well alone but she has HOPE FOR HEALING now??? which... means so much. that is astronomical. ...it reminds me of julie, too, when she first converted. geez. i wonder if she realizes how much that changed everything. i think about that a lot.

but the binge-girl has a MOUTH ON HER STOMACH??? showed me, almost ashamedly, said "i'm always hungry"
SHE'S THE REAL "BODY VOICE"??? i asked her about spine (god only knows what happened to her) and she said no, spine isn't humanoid so she CAN'T do the same job as the e.d. voices do. really fascinated by that whole phenomenon and how/why it works but i'll need to talk to them more about it in the future. no time today. nevertheless i spoke kindly to her, reassured her that she didn't do anything "wrong," she was being genuine with us and doing what she sincerely felt she should do in the moment. even if she was confused and lost, she still had no malevolent intentions. i actually thanked her for being honest about her hunger, which was voicing something about our shared body and messages WE couldn't perceive due to being so internalized and mental. i then told her "no wonder you're so hungry-- we haven't been eating well lately, and even with the extra sun chips you ate after dinner, we still barely hit 1600 calories for the day."
kind of hit really hard. made us realize that yeah, these poor nousfoni are just doing their job.and every nousfoni exists for the reason of keeping us alive, in one way or another. even if the method is a bit skewed, every one of us exists for the sake of life. and life is love. and i assure you i can point that out for all of us. i can feel it.
so actively showing gentleness and compassion are KEY to these poor nousfoni healing at last. they deserve it just as much as we do, and they need it desperately.
...i think a lot of their hunger is emotional hunger. "touch starvation" and all. emotional neglect. lots of rerouting going on, especially with abuse. again, huge topic. but it's solid and legit. we will type about it more as we work together more.
also. xennie found out that if you turn the lights down low in the kitchen it triggers a fear response and PREVENTS BINGES??? like the darkness is a tangible enough reminder of past trauma that it prevents such careless behavior. so even though it's an unfortunate reality it still prevents further trauma so we'll have to make sure we do that after we prep dinner from now on.


for some reason, while i was cleaning up in the kitchen, xenophon was skittering around the kitchen doing the "hououin kyouma" laugh in a labcoat? i think because i was cleaning the spinning dish for the microwave? either way it was funny. (don't worry, laurie makes sure to properly "censor" everything for her when she wants to watch; i insist on it and we do discuss any and everything she has questions or troubles about).
i said "you're not a mad scientist though" and she insisted that no, she wasn't, but neither was okabe really, he was "actually nice and cares a lot for his friends" and she liked what he said about lab coats, specifically the bit about how they are a "sign?" that those wearing them are "dedicating their lives" to their research. that sort of evidenced devotion is important to her as a virtue. i said me too, it's definitely something we need to actively live like more. we've really "slacked off" in virtue since becoming an adult, really post-college. it's not "us."
but... that whole idea, even in bible studies i keep seeing references to "clothing" symbolically, in reference to both positive and negative things. like you "wear" certain aspects of your life and personality, and other people not only notice but also define you by them? like it's the image you truly project-- the way people see you and are influenced to interact with you. just like a lab coat "signifies" knowledge and prestige and people can rely on you for that, and will turn to you for that information and skill. it really makes me think about our physical appearance, especially as opposed to our internal one. like, to the world, what image are we trying to project? towards what end? with what motivation? i know i briefly mentioned this the other day, what with the "anime hair and sunglasses." what am i trying to "say" about myself, and how i want to "be perceived," with that getup?

also that anime in general is giving us so much to think about. obviously need to talk to celebi about it. and it's making me think of all the ancient fears i've had with chaos 0 and i, with "world lines" and "would you recognize me if we met" and canon concerns in general. deeply fond of all the characters and their intertwining stories.
freakin' have to STOP BIKING EVERY FEW MINUTES THOUGH to stare at the screen with my mouth open and yell "WHAT THE SHARK" because we're up to episode 22 as of tonight and there are SO MANY TWISTS MAN, it's devastating but it's such a good show. so yeah, thanks mike for the recommendation. actually very worth it in the long run. we're getting a lot of good out of this. determined to. can't be judging things so quickly, that's an awful bad habit we've picked up. give it time. always give it time, and an open heart, and compassion, and courage. we need to be us, more. not who we've been socially "manipulated" to be in one way or another.

feeling very out of it. sorry for the disjointed entry. still so lost.
every single time i go online, even just a random click on youtube, i feel infected. it screws me up mentally so bad. my emotions bottom out. depression and self-abusive tendencies start up again.
what is it about the "world" that wrecks me so bad?? no wonder i isolated after nc. i think that was part of why that experience WAS so lethal, too-- we never would have been in such a hideously malleable mindset if we hadn't also been in such a worldly atmosphere. all the media, all the talk, all the external focus...

i keep triggering us with that. therapy. wait for therapy.
awful how we legit just start crying whenever we so much as look at environment memories of that time. CONSTANTLY getting triggered "at random" during the day. baffled as to WHY it's still such a raw wound.
nevertheless. not something to think about now. it's not time. (john freeman voice)

all right, it's 1:37am, i'm exhausted, the poor body is getting hungry again since we last ate at 6pm and then biked for 100 solid minutes while watching Stein's Gate so yeah. we need sleep so we can eat breakfast before noon tomorrow. we keep sleeping in so late that we only get two meals a day lately. but we're at least hitting ~1500k which is good. like i said, we've got it down to a science. still, ideal schedule would be 4 smaller meals, to prevent binge triggers and ibs symptoms. we'll work on it. heck, maybe we'll even try to tomorrow? no big gaps between meals. if we wake up at 10, and eat around 11:30... hm. 3pm and 6pm? we'll try. don't want to eat too late because then we can't sleep. which is why splitting them up will help. sorry, planning in the journal, haha. but this is good, it shows i'm in the zone, thoughts are translating directly into typing without having to force a translation. so mentally anchored that physical input is basically set aside.
this is very good because this is the mindset required for xanga sessions. and as julie keeps reminding me, we need one of those asap.

okay. last topic.
i keep looping this song as i type and drive both, because it... the sound and title both make me think of chaos 0. and in light of stein's gate, i keep using it as background music for imagining scenarios of us actually meeting in this world, or at least... him getting here somehow, and trying to find me, and vice versa, and neither of us knowing if the other WOULD know us. the same fear we shared in that halfdream last week. the reason why that alina baraz song is our favorite one to listen to in the early hours of the morning.
but... today, xenophon asked me why i haven't been talking to chaos 0? "why aren't you spending more time with dad," she asked. and... that struck me. because yeah, i've been thinking about him so much, either in imagination or in looking for frontiers thoughts about him from others online... but i haven't been with him in a few days. just like okabe and mayuri, right now, in that anime. he's trying so bloody hard to protect her that he's hyperfocusing on that and not her, not her as she is now. he's so upset over the threat of the future that he's not able to live in the present, where she still is. and... i kind of feel like that, now. i mean, with some obvious differences, but... still. i'm so caught up in worried dreaming, in fears of "what if you wouldn't recognize me" that i forget that he does recognize me, right now, and i don't have to be afraid. do i? i don't want to be. but the world...the world outside doesn't know. doesn't care. doesn't see. and... that is wrecking me lately, what with the new games, and the new focus on him. feeling like it's a whole new timeline. looking for him everywhere. so scared that there's no place for me, here-- like i don't exist in that world, at all. and ironically i don't. i'm not in the canon. and there's nothing i can realistically do about that. i feel really stupid about that, but... i can't deny that it's where i'm at.
...xenophon said that i spend more time thinking about him then talking to him when i'm scared. when i'm ashamed of myself.
...she's right. i'm so ashamed of the fact that i DO care this much, and of how stupid i am, and how "ugly" i am, and undeserving, and laughable and unworthy of anything but contempt and derision. and why?
because i'm in love, for heaven's sakes, i'm in love with a video game character and i have been for nineteen years and every time i bring that up who am i trying to convince? who am i trying to justify myself to? the whole world? myself? i can't turn this off. i can't run away or hide it or deny it. yeah, i used to. but i don't want to do that anymore.
...i do want to spend time with him. how achingly i want to spend time with him. i miss him and i miss us even though it's literally only been a few days, still he's so close to my heart that the sudden contrasting absence of that active closeness literally hurts.
...but i'm so ashamed of myself. look at me, look at what a wretch i am. i'm so imperfect. yes i know we constantly talk about that term, but... i just... i'm nothing special. i'm not attractive or smart or clever or talented. there are so many sonic-series fans online who are incredible authors and artists and musicians, and they're sane and healthy and productive, and then there's me, this miserable wretch with a mental illness who just got out of the hospital again and who looks a mess and feels a mess and yet i have the f*cking nerve to be in love.
i'm not worth it. i'm not.
but i can't deny this.
so what do i do? what in the world, in any world, do i do?
it's why i keep imagining these scenarios, of him coming here, to where i physically exist with all my flaws and troubles and infirmities, and still caring about me. of... of him still being in love with me, too. despite what an ugly idiot i am. despite what an absolute insane fool it might make me to be in love with him in the first place.
...
i don't know. it absolutely shatters my heart.
and then my religion gets into it, and makes things so much worse, because "you shouldn't care about loving ANYONE but jesus" and "you're choosing worldly loves over God, of course you should be ashamed of yourself, you fool, you're a human so get with a human" no don't you dare talk to me like the tar did, don't you dare act like love is blasphemy, that's an absolute lie, not when this relationship has taught me more about honest love AND about God than any of your dogmatic condemnations. leave me alone all you lying voices. go away.

i'm exhausted. i don't think i can type any more about today.
i'm going to go and actually talk to chaos 0. just throw all this anxiety out the window and go lie down with him beneath those red cinnamon blankets with the winter chill all around us. forget about all these worries and just feel what i feel and what he feels and forget about doubt. this is too real. it's been almost twenty years for heaven's sake, he won't leave, and thank God for that, because i won't either.

today was a good day. yes i ache right now but it's for a good reason. i wouldn't care this much if i didn't love this much.

...aaaaand spotify just shuffled to play our oldest song. "link" by l`arc~en~ciel.
well if that's not a direct nudge in the ribs from God i don't know what is.

see you tomorrow kids. have a good night.


Profile

prismaticbleed: (Default)
prismaticbleed

June 2025

S M T W T F S
1234567
89101112 1314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930     

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 24th, 2025 09:31 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios