#the beforelife

[aemperatrix]

Franz Wright

[entropysoup]

crowley and aziraphales are my not-a-lads like janet is my not-a-girl

[maklodes]

It would be messed up if immaterial souls existed and had an eternal (or nigh-eternal) beforelife, existing for countless eons before getting incarnated in a body (and undergoing amnesia), but once they did get incarnated, it was a one-way trip: there is no afterlife, and those souls cease existing forever once the body dies.

(I judge this “approximately as likely as the most well-known alternatives involving immaterial souls,” i.e., “unlikely.”)

[grandwretch]

books i read in january 2025

books started: 29 /books finished: 19

We Burn Daylight by Bret A. Johnston -- Romeo and Juliet but make it about a southern cult. super slow burn, super anxiety inducing. i loved every moment, especially as a benvolio stan, although i still say he suffered more than jesus.

Mo Dao Zu Shi Vol. 1 by MXTX -- explains itself, natch

Blood Jade by Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle -- the sequel to a book i read in december, i ended up loving this one way more. although i still hate her love interest, this western take on cultivation novel is AMAZING. can't wait for the third one

The Forgotten Dead & Rattling Bone Jordan L. Hawk -- cute queer stories about ghost hunting youtubers and a parapsychology professor, but ultimately a shallow representation of both the romance and horror genres

One of Us Knows by Alyssa Cole -- interesting take on the horror genre from the perspective of a DID system. a bit covoluted, but ultimately enjoyable.

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross -- sequel to a book i read last year. ended up not liking this one very much; i prefered the magical realism aspects of the first one. this one leaned far too much into fantasy.

The Beforelife of Eliza Valentine by Laura Pearson -- weird and emotional, but ultimately satisfying. the ghosts of a woman's potential children follow her throughout her life.

Dragon Ball Vol 1. by Akira Toriyama -- listen. i am not immune to nostalgia.

15 Summers Later by RaeAnne Thayne -- not at all the cozy read the cover makes it seem! an interesting look at trauma and how it inspires people into their best... and their worst.

Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma Alban -- i enjoyed this WAY more than i expected to. a lesbian regency romance, it's way more realistic about the time than i expected. the dialogue isn't period accurate, but i don't mind because it doesn't pretend to be. the main characters are very cute.

Murder at the Bookstore by Sue Minix -- pretty bog standard mystery novel; poor man's jessica fletcher. the main character being soooo clumsy was annoying and So 2009 mystery novel vis a vis meg cabot.

Lion's Tail Jordon L. Hawk -- the sequel to a book i read last year. an alternate history in 1920s chicago, an action packed mystery. did not like this one as much as the first, mostly because the main characters pissed me off. i'll still give the third one a go.

Cardcaptor Sakura by CLAMP -- I AM NOT IMMUNE TO NOSTALGIA

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix -- i would have preferred less magic, actually. a book about witchcraft practiced by unwed mothers in a home in 1970 florida, this book straddles the line between magical realism and fantasy without ever really picking a side. is it a metaphor? is it a parable? who's to say really. didn't like it. might stop reading this author

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall -- a trans woman tired of hiding herself uses going MIA in war as a perfect opportunity to transition. when she is reintroduced to her grieving best friend, though, emotions ensue. i loved this. more fictional trans women should top their boyfriends. the ending left me a little lacking, though, which is the only thing that kept this from being one of my all-time favorite books.

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware -- what if lord of the flies were about reality tv stars instead of tiny imperialists? not exactly a thinker, i did actually enjoy reading this. sometimes thrillers can be about turning off your brain the same way romances can. this is great for that.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle -- we all know chuck is king. i would have preferred a little more worldbuilding, but that's my style, not king's. it's a great little horror/adventure that ruminates on faith, family, and the importance of agency.

The Reanimator's Heart by Kara Jorgenson -- autistic necromancer accidentally reanimates his murdered wizardcop crush. they fight crime. despite the dark subject material, both the characters are flawless in a way that leaves me feeling cold. oliver's only flaw is that he's autistic. fillipe is absent from his family dynamic, even though his wife has another partner and a child, but it's only because he LOVES his JOB and DUTY so MUCH. the ending was so boring i decided not to read the second book.

[tunchel]

Franz Wright; The Beforelife

💔

[missanthropicprinciple]

2023 Recap

Tagged by @astonishinglysane - thank you!! <3 <3 <3

I didn't get around to a lot of "new to me" things but I'll do my best. I dropped the ball on my #media consumption posts because my year was bonkers from Dec '22 to Dec '23. Tagging: @sharky857 @problemwithtrouble @pokemonandcatsmostly et al.

Top Films:

Tetris - legit obsessed with this heightened reality

Oppenheimer (2023) - I have my beef with it but it was still pretty great

Pacific Rim (2013) - rewatched this film every day of the week of it's 10th anniversary - so much fun!

Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 2022 - ridiculous in the best way

Top TV Series:

Succession 2018 - 2023 - so fucked up

Endeavour - the final season - I was very impressed

Magpie Murders 2022 - new comfort show!

Colditz 1972 - still working my way through season 1

Queen Charlotte has been a lot of fun

Top Books:

I hardly read anything this year. I got home from work and I was a wet rag. I mainly just read some Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories and stopped reading after October. If I read anything all the way through this year other than fanfiction I've forgotten.

A Study in Scarlet 1887

A Sign of Four 1890

A Scandal in Bohemia 1892

The Adventure of the Red-Headed League 1892

A Case of Identity 1892

Favorite Song:

"The Competition" - Kimya Dawson

but also "If You Want Me" ft. Susanne Sundfør - Röyksopp

Favorite Quote:

"I'm a ghost that everyone can see." - Franz Wright, from The Beforelife: Poems; “Empty Stage”

runner up:

“You wanna know what survivors of narcissistic relationships want? They want normal. That’s it. Just normal. You may be thinking ‘oh come on now; what really is normal in a family or even in an intimate close relationship?’. I can tell you what normal is not. It is not normal to grow up hating yourself, or wondering why you aren’t enough. Or for a child to believe that they are responsible for their parents’ feelings. Or that a child that just wants to be seen and heard and loved for who they are is being a needy brat. It is not normal to be in relationship where you walk on eggshells and feel crazy, and feel that the only way to get your needs met is to give in on everything. It is not normal to hold back on saying something for fear of being shouted down or gaslighted. It’s not normal to watch a parent being manipulated and devalued and broken down by your other parent. None of this is normal. Normal, if I were to speculate, is feeling safe, feeling that you are worth at least being listened to. Normal is respect. Normal is empathy. Normal is being able to say what you need and maybe the other person can’t or won’t meet it, but they do not shut you down and tell you that you are selfish or greedy for wanting something basic. Normal is being able to have a normal disagreement where everything is not personalized and you’re attacked for just not getting into line with the other person. Normal is people getting along and collaborating and not just one person holding court. But folks, normal, that’s all survivors of narcissistic relationships want. And it is not grandiose to want normal.”

-Dr. Ramani (her video about what survivors of narcissistic relationships crave)

[salamanderinspace]

It feels plausible to me that there's some sort of beforelife character creation screen because I can see myself investing stats in precisely the way they've rolled out. I would recklessly give myself a pittance in Health in order to max out other areas. Someone over my shoulder could have been like "are you sure you want the Lung Full of Bees trait?" And I'd be like yeah I need the points it drops so I can put 6000 in Seducing Beautiful Young Women

[justwritedreams]

helllooooo maarrriiiiiiii

WTTK!!!!

you've DONE it AGAIN!!!! 😭😭😭😭 how is it so funny so sassy yet serious and full of love 😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ sooooo many great things in this chapter alone 😭😭😭😭😭😭 you should be awarded the best director, the best screenwriter, the best editor, the best everything 😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

her moments with mark omg...was like the last part of broken pieces beforelife all over again...😭😭😭😭😭 we can have everything in this life, can we? 😭😭😭😭😭 poor mark 😭😭😭 i hope he finds his true love too 😭😭😭😭 i can sense that it's with a girl whose name starts with M and ends with an I 🥺😍💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

that maid is so fishy, no?!!! i had already forgotten about her and omg she's back again!!!!! i suspect that she's a spy....🙊🙊🙊🙊🙊

and omg this chapter just feels extra personal omg...from the queen's words to the princess' internal monologue...it's so...real...i hope she can solve this in no time...🥺

lastly what the queen told her about what taeyong said reminds me of this video that i really really like of mark. it was one of my treasured video of him 🥺 especially his last sentence "cuz you're a good person too" 😭😭😭 although he didn't know every single audience watching this video, but he deep down already believed that everyone's a good person in his heart 🥺🥺😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 my boy 🥺🥺😭😭🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

My Mona Lisa 🥹😊🫶🏻

I love how everytime you say like I wrote a masterpiece 😭😭😭 thank you, thank you!!! 💚💚

I wasn't planning on writing their farewell like that but it just flowed at the time 🙈 YES MARK C'MON PICK ME I CAN TREAT YOU BETTER 😌😏

Well, all I can say is the princess won't tolerate her around Jeno again 👀

I wanted to bring a little of this more serious side of the monarchy and governing, after all the princess will need to mature this part even more so I would say it is an important key to her growth as a future queen 🤗

I LOVE THIS VIDEO OF MARK!!! I confess that in many moments of doubt and uncertainty, this is one of my favorites to listen to 🥲🥲 my pretty baby, he's so pure to this world

[lemonkid396]

Ok so like i just saw a post saying "oh my god how long have i not been here?" And like i went down a mini existential spiral because like if there is no afterlife then is there no beforelife? I had this thought since i was 4 about how many souls there must be of people not born yet waiting around infinitely. What if you're never born? Then i scroll down and its about a photo with a bunch of stuffed animals at a tea party

[89rooms]

Light green eyes dusk distant tolling now fading to heartscar which says I was loved, always loved And then they wounded me so usefully.

Franz Wright - 'Slander,' The Beforelife: Poems

[aemperatrix]

Franz Wright

[diamondisunmemeable]

I was thinking today "the concept of an afterlife implies the concept of a beforelife" before remembering that's just the plot of Pixar's Soul

[witchhaunts]

BODIES ARE ONLY USEFUL TO HOUSE A GHOST — A STUDY ON THE SYNDICATE'S GHOST i know i'm like a ghost ; i have nothing but myself

crush , hannah cohen / faces in the crowd , valeria luiselli / ghosts of right now , dillon samuelson / unknown / hannibal , bryan fuller / the beforelife : poems ; empty stage , franz wright / unknown / unknown / ansiktet ( svensk filmindustri ) , ingmar bergman / this way to the sugar , hieu minh nguyen

[blrrblog]

If there’s an afterlife is there a beforelife?

Or are they the same waiting room?

[artofanamateur]

After having my secondary ship AND the “they met in the beforelife” headcanons canonized,, (not thst they were particularly unique or showstopping ideas to come up with) I will be so excited if we learn about crowley’s high beforelife status, closeness with God, and thst the J stands for his Angel name aaaaaaand thst god has been playing with their lives the same way AZ and Crowley did with Nina and Maggie’s

[ooluwole]

What ceaselessly amazes me... Pre-existence!

Pre-existence, preexistence, beforelife, or premortal existence, is the belief that each individual huMan soul existed before mortal conception, and at some point before birth enters or is placed into the body. The first verse of Scripture tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. The question arises as to what God was doing before He brought the universe into existence. This question…