CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <link rel="profile" href="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11"> <title>Beyond Elysium</title> <meta name='robots' content='max-image-preview:large' />  <script id="wpcom_remote_login_js"> var wpcom_remote_login_extra_auth = ''; function wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( element_id ) { var dom_node = document.getElementById( element_id ); if ( dom_node ) { dom_node.parentNode.removeChild( dom_node ); } } function wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_classes( class_name ) { var dom_nodes = document.querySelectorAll( '.' + class_name ); for ( var i = 0; i < dom_nodes.length; i++ ) { dom_nodes[ i ].parentNode.removeChild( dom_nodes[ i ] ); } } function wpcom_remote_login_final_cleanup() { wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_classes( "wpcom_remote_login_msg" ); wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_key" ); wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_validate" ); wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_js" ); wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_request_access_iframe" ); wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_request_access_styles" ); } // Watch for messages back from the remote login window.addEventListener( "message", function( e ) { if ( e.origin === "https://r-login.wordpress.com" ) { var data = {}; try { data = JSON.parse( e.data ); } catch( e ) { wpcom_remote_login_final_cleanup(); return; } if ( data.msg === 'LOGIN' ) { // Clean up the login check iframe wpcom_remote_login_remove_dom_node_id( "wpcom_remote_login_key" ); var id_regex = new RegExp( /^[0-9]+$/ ); var token_regex = new RegExp( /^.*|.*|.*$/ ); if ( token_regex.test( data.token ) && id_regex.test( data.wpcomid ) ) { // We have everything we need to ask for a login var script = document.createElement( "script" ); script.setAttribute( "id", "wpcom_remote_login_validate" ); script.src = '/remote-login.php?wpcom_remote_login=validate' + '&wpcomid=' + data.wpcomid + '&token=' + encodeURIComponent( data.token ) + '&host=' + window.location.protocol + '//' + window.location.hostname + '&postid=1081' + '&is_singular='; document.body.appendChild( script ); } return; } // Safari ITP, not logged in, so redirect if ( data.msg === 'LOGIN-REDIRECT' ) { window.location = 'https://wordpress.com/log-in?redirect_to=' + window.location.href; return; } // Safari ITP, storage access failed, remove the request if ( data.msg === 'LOGIN-REMOVE' ) { var css_zap = 'html { -webkit-transition: margin-top 1s; transition: margin-top 1s; } /* 9001 */ html { margin-top: 0 !important; } * html body { margin-top: 0 !important; } @media screen and ( max-width: 782px ) { html { margin-top: 0 !important; } * html body { margin-top: 0 !important; } }'; var style_zap = document.createElement( 'style' ); style_zap.type = 'text/css'; style_zap.appendChild( document.createTextNode( css_zap ) ); document.body.appendChild( style_zap ); var e = document.getElementById( 'wpcom_request_access_iframe' ); e.parentNode.removeChild( e ); document.cookie = 'wordpress_com_login_access=denied; path=/; max-age=31536000'; return; } // Safari ITP if ( data.msg === 'REQUEST_ACCESS' ) { console.log( 'request access: safari' ); // Check ITP iframe enable/disable knob if ( wpcom_remote_login_extra_auth !== 'safari_itp_iframe' ) { return; } // If we are in a "private window" there is no ITP. var private_window = false; try { var opendb = window.openDatabase( null, null, null, null ); } catch( e ) { private_window = true; } if ( private_window ) { console.log( 'private window' ); return; } var iframe = document.createElement( 'iframe' ); iframe.id = 'wpcom_request_access_iframe'; iframe.setAttribute( 'scrolling', 'no' ); iframe.setAttribute( 'sandbox', 'allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation' ); iframe.src = 'https://r-login.wordpress.com/remote-login.php?wpcom_remote_login=request_access&origin=' + encodeURIComponent( data.origin ) + '&wpcomid=' + encodeURIComponent( data.wpcomid ); var css = 'html { -webkit-transition: margin-top 1s; transition: margin-top 1s; } /* 9001 */ html { margin-top: 46px !important; } * html body { margin-top: 46px !important; } @media screen and ( max-width: 660px ) { html { margin-top: 71px !important; } * html body { margin-top: 71px !important; } #wpcom_request_access_iframe { display: block; height: 71px !important; } } #wpcom_request_access_iframe { border: 0px; height: 46px; position: fixed; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; min-width: 100%; z-index: 99999; background: #23282d; } '; var style = document.createElement( 'style' ); style.type = 'text/css'; style.id = 'wpcom_request_access_styles'; style.appendChild( document.createTextNode( css ) ); document.body.appendChild( style ); document.body.appendChild( iframe ); } if ( data.msg === 'DONE' ) { wpcom_remote_login_final_cleanup(); } } }, false ); // Inject the remote login iframe after the page has had a chance to load // more critical resources window.addEventListener( "DOMContentLoaded", function( e ) { var iframe = document.createElement( "iframe" ); iframe.style.display = "none"; iframe.setAttribute( "scrolling", "no" ); iframe.setAttribute( "id", "wpcom_remote_login_key" ); iframe.src = "https://r-login.wordpress.com/remote-login.php" + "?wpcom_remote_login=key" + "&origin=aHR0cHM6Ly9iZXlvbmRlbHlzaXVtLmNh" + "&wpcomid=159328818" + "&time=1733176582"; document.body.appendChild( iframe ); }, false ); </script> <link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s1.wp.com' /> <link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s2.wp.com' /> <link rel='dns-prefetch' href='//s0.wp.com' /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Beyond Elysium » Feed" href="https://beyondelysium.ca/feed/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Beyond Elysium » Comments Feed" href="https://beyondelysium.ca/comments/feed/" /> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ function addLoadEvent(func) { var oldonload = window.onload; if (typeof window.onload != 'function') { window.onload = func; } else { window.onload = function () { oldonload(); func(); } } } /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/wpcom-smileys\/twemoji\/2\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/wpcom-smileys\/twemoji\/2\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?m=1719498190i&ver=6.8-alpha-59438"}}; /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(i,n){var o,s,e;function c(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(o,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function p(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data),r=(e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0),new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data));return t.every(function(e,t){return e===r[t]})}function u(e,t,n){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf3","\ud83c\uddfa\u200b\ud83c\uddf3")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!n(e,"\ud83d\udc26\u200d\u2b1b","\ud83d\udc26\u200b\u2b1b")}return!1}function f(e,t,n){var r="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):i.createElement("canvas"),a=r.getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(a.textBaseline="top",a.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(function(e){o[e]=t(a,e,n)}),o}function t(e){var t=i.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,i.head.appendChild(t)}"undefined"!=typeof Promise&&(o="wpEmojiSettingsSupports",s=["flag","emoji"],n.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},e=new Promise(function(e){i.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e,{once:!0})}),new Promise(function(t){var n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(o));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(s),u.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"}),a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=function(e){c(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}c(n=f(s,u,p))}t(n)}).then(function(e){for(var t in e)n.supports[t]=e[t],n.supports.everything=n.supports.everything&&n.supports[t],"flag"!==t&&(n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&n.supports[t]);n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!n.supports.flag,n.DOMReady=!1,n.readyCallback=function(){n.DOMReady=!0}}).then(function(){return e}).then(function(){var e;n.supports.everything||(n.readyCallback(),(e=n.source||{}).concatemoji?t(e.concatemoji):e.wpemoji&&e.twemoji&&(t(e.twemoji),t(e.wpemoji)))}))}((window,document),window._wpemojiSettings); /* ]]> */ </script> <link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-0-1' href='https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/jetpack-plugin/moon/modules/infinite-scroll/infinity.css?m=1685131895i&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='wp-emoji-styles-inline-css'> img.wp-smiley, img.emoji { display: inline !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; height: 1em !important; width: 1em !important; margin: 0 0.07em !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; background: none !important; padding: 0 !important; } </style> <link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-2-1' href='https://s1.wp.com/_static/??-eJyljssOwiAQRX/IMrY+0IXxW4BOkEqBzAwa/t7qxsRVE5c3J+fkwrN0LifBJFBi9SEx+LpMi+QXQgiP/qy02oKtIY5gY3b3LgZLhhqwtIjKMW/gv5DccF4T+lgME0oxb920XKXzFMbVX34SZCQkz1/9Ol96vRsOen86DtMLiD1qaA==&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='wp-block-library-inline-css'> .has-text-align-justify { text-align:justify; } .has-text-align-justify{text-align:justify;} </style> <link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-4-1' href='https://s2.wp.com/_static/??-eJzTLy/QzcxLzilNSS3WzyrWz01NyUxMzUnNTc0rQeEU5CRWphbp5qSmJyZX6uVm5uklFxfr6OPTDpRD5sM02efaGpoZmFkYGRuZGmQBAHPvL0Y=&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='jetpack-sharing-buttons-style-inline-css'> .jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list{display:flex;flex-direction:row;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:0;list-style-type:none;margin:5px;padding:0}.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-small-icon-size{font-size:12px}.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-normal-icon-size{font-size:16px}.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-large-icon-size{font-size:24px}.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-huge-icon-size{font-size:36px}@media print{.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list{display:none!important}}.editor-styles-wrapper .wp-block-jetpack-sharing-buttons{gap:0;padding-inline-start:0}ul.jetpack-sharing-buttons__services-list.has-background{padding:1.25em 2.375em} </style> <link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-6-1' href='https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/plugins/coblocks/2.18.1-simple-rev.4/dist/coblocks-style.css?m=1681832297i&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='classic-theme-styles-inline-css'> /*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} </style> <link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-8-1' href='https://s2.wp.com/_static/??-eJx9jcEKg0AMRH+oaVhorR7Eb9E16IpZg8min2889FZ6GYbhPQYPgbhlo2zIBWQtU8qKcdvJd5be0AmmMfW0Ejv2jKoP/K0daZzIXNdvB6PzvyJ+A8MgO6mCJ6fCYLN/6e113IZXU9WfUL/DcgHSTkDo&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='global-styles-inline-css'> :root{--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--square: 1;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--4-3: 4/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-4: 3/4;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-2: 3/2;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--2-3: 2/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--16-9: 16/9;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--9-16: 9/16;--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #fff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--color--medium-blue: #0087be;--wp--preset--color--bright-blue: #00aadc;--wp--preset--color--dark-gray: #4d4d4b;--wp--preset--color--light-gray: #b3b3b1;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small: 13px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 36px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 42px;--wp--preset--font-family--albert-sans: 'Albert Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--alegreya: Alegreya, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--arvo: Arvo, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--bodoni-moda: 'Bodoni Moda', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--bricolage-grotesque: 'Bricolage Grotesque', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--cabin: Cabin, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--chivo: Chivo, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--commissioner: Commissioner, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--cormorant: Cormorant, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--courier-prime: 'Courier Prime', monospace;--wp--preset--font-family--crimson-pro: 'Crimson Pro', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--dm-mono: 'DM Mono', monospace;--wp--preset--font-family--dm-sans: 'DM Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--dm-serif-display: 'DM Serif Display', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--domine: Domine, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--eb-garamond: 'EB Garamond', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--epilogue: Epilogue, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--fahkwang: Fahkwang, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--figtree: Figtree, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--fira-sans: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--fjalla-one: 'Fjalla One', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--fraunces: Fraunces, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--gabarito: Gabarito, system-ui;--wp--preset--font-family--ibm-plex-mono: 'IBM Plex Mono', monospace;--wp--preset--font-family--ibm-plex-sans: 'IBM Plex Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--ibarra-real-nova: 'Ibarra Real Nova', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--instrument-serif: 'Instrument Serif', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--inter: Inter, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--josefin-sans: 'Josefin Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--jost: Jost, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--libre-baskerville: 'Libre Baskerville', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--libre-franklin: 'Libre Franklin', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--literata: Literata, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--lora: Lora, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--merriweather: Merriweather, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--montserrat: Montserrat, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--newsreader: Newsreader, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--noto-sans-mono: 'Noto Sans Mono', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--nunito: Nunito, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--open-sans: 'Open Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--overpass: Overpass, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--pt-serif: 'PT Serif', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--petrona: Petrona, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--piazzolla: Piazzolla, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--playfair-display: 'Playfair Display', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--plus-jakarta-sans: 'Plus Jakarta Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--poppins: Poppins, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--raleway: Raleway, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--roboto: Roboto, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--roboto-slab: 'Roboto Slab', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--rubik: Rubik, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--rufina: Rufina, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--sora: Sora, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--source-sans-3: 'Source Sans 3', sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--source-serif-4: 'Source Serif 4', serif;--wp--preset--font-family--space-mono: 'Space Mono', monospace;--wp--preset--font-family--syne: Syne, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--texturina: Texturina, serif;--wp--preset--font-family--urbanist: Urbanist, sans-serif;--wp--preset--font-family--work-sans: 'Work Sans', sans-serif;--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}.is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}.is-layout-flex > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}.is-layout-grid > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;}.has-albert-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--albert-sans) !important;}.has-alegreya-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--alegreya) !important;}.has-arvo-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--arvo) !important;}.has-bodoni-moda-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--bodoni-moda) !important;}.has-bricolage-grotesque-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--bricolage-grotesque) !important;}.has-cabin-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--cabin) !important;}.has-chivo-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--chivo) !important;}.has-commissioner-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--commissioner) !important;}.has-cormorant-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--cormorant) !important;}.has-courier-prime-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--courier-prime) !important;}.has-crimson-pro-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--crimson-pro) !important;}.has-dm-mono-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--dm-mono) !important;}.has-dm-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--dm-sans) !important;}.has-dm-serif-display-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--dm-serif-display) !important;}.has-domine-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--domine) !important;}.has-eb-garamond-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--eb-garamond) !important;}.has-epilogue-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--epilogue) !important;}.has-fahkwang-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--fahkwang) !important;}.has-figtree-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--figtree) !important;}.has-fira-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--fira-sans) !important;}.has-fjalla-one-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--fjalla-one) !important;}.has-fraunces-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--fraunces) !important;}.has-gabarito-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--gabarito) !important;}.has-ibm-plex-mono-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--ibm-plex-mono) !important;}.has-ibm-plex-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--ibm-plex-sans) !important;}.has-ibarra-real-nova-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--ibarra-real-nova) !important;}.has-instrument-serif-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--instrument-serif) !important;}.has-inter-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--inter) !important;}.has-josefin-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--josefin-sans) !important;}.has-jost-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--jost) !important;}.has-libre-baskerville-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--libre-baskerville) !important;}.has-libre-franklin-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--libre-franklin) !important;}.has-literata-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--literata) !important;}.has-lora-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--lora) !important;}.has-merriweather-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--merriweather) !important;}.has-montserrat-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--montserrat) !important;}.has-newsreader-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--newsreader) !important;}.has-noto-sans-mono-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--noto-sans-mono) !important;}.has-nunito-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--nunito) !important;}.has-open-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--open-sans) !important;}.has-overpass-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--overpass) !important;}.has-pt-serif-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--pt-serif) !important;}.has-petrona-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--petrona) !important;}.has-piazzolla-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--piazzolla) !important;}.has-playfair-display-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--playfair-display) !important;}.has-plus-jakarta-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--plus-jakarta-sans) !important;}.has-poppins-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--poppins) !important;}.has-raleway-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--raleway) !important;}.has-roboto-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--roboto) !important;}.has-roboto-slab-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--roboto-slab) !important;}.has-rubik-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--rubik) !important;}.has-rufina-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--rufina) !important;}.has-sora-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--sora) !important;}.has-source-sans-3-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--source-sans-3) !important;}.has-source-serif-4-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--source-serif-4) !important;}.has-space-mono-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--space-mono) !important;}.has-syne-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--syne) !important;}.has-texturina-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--texturina) !important;}.has-urbanist-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--urbanist) !important;}.has-work-sans-font-family{font-family: var(--wp--preset--font-family--work-sans) !important;} :where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;} :root :where(.wp-block-pullquote){font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;} :where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;} </style> <link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-10-1' href='https://s0.wp.com/_static/??-eJydkNEKwjAMRX/IGqyOPYmfIluNXbc2LU3H2N+bDcGB4sNewr0P594kMCVlIhWkAmFUyY/WEUOPJTVmeHsIMRLcHRmwSJidEPxbHg3zATahpcOADGlswdEDE8qgosR7xx1mpYHL7HEPKAi0PpphV+1yzlqtpmRi+IrYvCOj1FiRdu382H+QxahkuaY4ed7WqKdvXF7QW7iean2pz1pXVf8CvQKUXQ==&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='print-css-11-1' href='https://s1.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/global-print/global-print.css?m=1465851035i&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='print' /> <style id='jetpack-global-styles-frontend-style-inline-css'> :root { --font-headings: unset; --font-base: unset; --font-headings-default: -apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Helvetica Neue",sans-serif; --font-base-default: -apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,Oxygen-Sans,Ubuntu,Cantarell,"Helvetica Neue",sans-serif;} </style> <link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-14-1' href='https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/themes/h4/global.css?m=1420737423i&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' /> <script type="text/javascript" id="wpcom-actionbar-placeholder-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var actionbardata = {"siteID":"159328818","postID":"0","siteURL":"https:\/\/beyondelysium.ca","xhrURL":"https:\/\/beyondelysium.ca\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","nonce":"ec778c0ce2","isLoggedIn":"","statusMessage":"","subsEmailDefault":"instantly","proxyScriptUrl":"https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/js\/wpcom-proxy-request.js?ver=20211021","i18n":{"followedText":"New posts from this site will now appear in your <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.com\/read\">Reader<\/a>","foldBar":"Collapse this bar","unfoldBar":"Expand this bar"}}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" id="jetpack-mu-wpcom-settings-js-before"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var JETPACK_MU_WPCOM_SETTINGS = {"assetsUrl":"https:\/\/s1.wp.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/jetpack-mu-wpcom-plugin\/moon\/vendor\/automattic\/jetpack-mu-wpcom\/src\/build\/"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script crossorigin='anonymous' type='text/javascript' src='https://s1.wp.com/wp-content/js/rlt-proxy.js?m=1720530689i'></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="rlt-proxy-js-after"> /* <![CDATA[ */ rltInitialize( {"token":null,"iframeOrigins":["https:\/\/widgets.wp.com"]} ); /* ]]> */ </script> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://beyondelysiumhome.wordpress.com/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> <meta name="generator" content="WordPress.com" /> <link rel='shortlink' href='https://wp.me/aMwHE' />  <meta property="og:type" content="website" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Beyond Elysium" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://beyondelysium.ca/" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Beyond Elysium" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=200" /> <meta property="og:image:width" content="200" /> <meta property="og:image:height" content="200" /> <meta property="og:image:alt" content="" /> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" />  <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://beyondelysium.ca/osd.xml" title="Beyond Elysium" /> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="https://s1.wp.com/opensearch.xml" title="WordPress.com" /> <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000" /> <meta name="application-name" content="Beyond Elysium" /><meta name="msapplication-window" content="width=device-width;height=device-height" /> <style id="independent-publisher-2-custom-header-css" type="text/css"> .site-title, .site-description, #hero-header #hero-social-navigation { clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px); position: absolute; } </style> <style type="text/css" id="custom-background-css"> body.custom-background { background-color: #000000; } </style> <style type="text/css" id="custom-colors-css"> .has-header-image .site-title a, .has-header-image .site-title a:visited { color: #fff; } @media screen and ( max-width: 32.374em ) { .main-navigation ul ul { background: transparent !important; } .main-navigation ul ul a { color: inherit !important; } } .widget_recent_comments a, .widget_recent_entries a, body, input, select, textarea, .menu-toggle { color: #7C7C7C;} #infinite-footer .blog-info a:hover, #infinite-footer .blog-credits a:hover { color: #7C7C7C;} .posts-navigation .nav-links a, .main-navigation ul ul a, .main-navigation > div > ul > li.current-menu-item > ul > li a, .main-navigation > div > ul > li.current_page_item > ul > li a { color: #686868;} input[type="button"], input[type="button"]:hover, input[type="reset"], input[type="reset"]:hover, input[type="submit"], input[type="submit"]:hover, button, .button, .button:hover, #content #infinite-handle span button, #content #infinite-handle span button:hover, .more-link, .more-link:hover, .more-link:visited { color: #686868;} .site-main > .hentry:nth-child(n+2), .site .infinite-wrap > .hentry:nth-child(n+2), .entry-author-wrapper, .post-navigation, .comment, .page-links a:hover, .main-navigation li { border-color: #dddddd;} .site-main > .hentry:nth-child(n+2), .site .infinite-wrap > .hentry:nth-child(n+2), .entry-author-wrapper, .post-navigation, .comment, .page-links a:hover, .main-navigation li { border-color: rgba( 221, 221, 221, 0.25 );} #infinite-footer .blog-info a, #infinite-footer .blog-credits, #infinite-footer .blog-credits a { color: #DDDDDD;} .post-details, .post-details a, .post-details a:visited, .post-edit-link a, .post-edit-link a:visited { color: #92928F;} .post-tags li:first-child, .jetpack-social-navigation li a:hover, .widget_wpcom_social_media_icons_widget li a:hover, .jetpack-social-navigation li a:focus, .widget_wpcom_social_media_icons_widget li a:focus, .jetpack-social-navigation li a:active, .widget_wpcom_social_media_icons_widget li a:active { color: #7C7C7C;} .jetpack-social-navigation li a, .widget_wpcom_social_media_icons_widget li a { color: #A4A4A4;} .post-navigation .nav-links a:hover, .post-navigation .nav-links a:focus, .post-navigation .nav-links a:active, .entry-author .author-bio, .site-posted-on time, .site-description { color: #929292;} .comment .comment-meta, .comment-form label, .light-text, .light-text a, .light-text a:visited, .widget_rss .rss-date, .widget_rss li > cite { color: #B3B3B1;} .light-text a:hover { color: #7E7E7B;} body { background-color: #000000;} #infinite-footer .container { background-color: #000000;} #infinite-footer .container { background-color: rgba( 0, 0, 0, 0.7 );} .post-edit-link a { background-color: #000000;} .entry-author .author-title, .entry-title, .entry-title a, .entry-title a:visited, .site-posted-on strong, .site-title, .site-title a, .site-title a:visited, .entry-title a:hover, .site-title a:hover, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, .page-header:not(.page-header-light) h1, .comment .comment-meta .comment-author .fn { color: #7C7C7C;} .comment-form input[type="email"]:active, .comment-form input[type="email"]:focus, .comment-form input[type="password"]:active, .comment-form input[type="password"]:focus, .comment-form input[type="search"]:active, .comment-form input[type="search"]:focus, .comment-form input[type="text"]:active, .comment-form input[type="text"]:focus, .comment-form input[type="url"]:active, .comment-form input[type="url"]:focus, .comment-form textarea:active, .comment-form textarea:focus, blockquote, input[type="email"]:focus, input[type="password"]:focus, input[type="search"]:focus, input[type="text"]:focus, input[type="url"]:focus, textarea:focus { border-color: #f5f5f3;} .comment .comment-meta .comment-metadata a:hover, .comment-form span.required, .pingback:before, .post-details a:hover, .post-edit-link a:active, .post-edit-link a:focus, .post-edit-link a:hover, .site-info a:hover, .trackback:before, a, a:visited { color: #F5F5F3;} .main-navigation > div > ul > li.current-menu-item > a, .main-navigation > div > ul > li.current_page_item > a, a:active, a:focus, a:hover, .page-links a:hover { color: #F5F5F3;} .posts-navigation .nav-links a, .main-navigation ul ul { background-color: #f5f5f3;} button, input[type="button"], input[type="reset"], input[type="submit"], .button, #content #infinite-handle span button, .more-link { background-color: #f5f5f3;} button:not(".components-button"):hover, input[type="button"]:hover, input[type="reset"]:hover, input[type="submit"]:hover, .button:hover, #content #infinite-handle span button:hover, .more-link:hover { background-color: #DEDED8;} </style> <link rel="icon" href="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=32" sizes="32x32" /> <link rel="icon" href="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=192" sizes="192x192" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=180" /> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=270" /> <link rel="stylesheet" id="custom-css-css" type="text/css" href="https://s2.wp.com/?custom-css=1&csblog=aMwHE&cscache=6&csrev=3" /> </head> <body class="home blog custom-background wp-custom-logo wp-embed-responsive customizer-styles-applied has-sidebar jetpack-reblog-enabled custom-colors"> <div id="page" class="hfeed site"> <a class="skip-link screen-reader-text" href="#content">Skip to content</a> <div id="hero-header" class="site-hero-section"> <header id="masthead" class="site-header" role="banner"> <div class="inner"> <div class="site-branding"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/" class="custom-logo-link" rel="home" aria-current="page"><img width="1100" height="220" src="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png" class="custom-logo" alt="Beyond Elysium" decoding="async" srcset="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png?w=1100&h=220 1100w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png?w=150&h=30 150w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png?w=300&h=60 300w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png?w=768&h=154 768w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png?w=1024&h=205 1024w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" data-attachment-id="15" data-permalink="https://beyondelysium.ca/logo/" data-orig-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png" data-orig-size="1500,300" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Logo" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png?w=300" data-large-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/logo.png?w=1024" /></a> <h1 class="site-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/" rel="home">Beyond Elysium</a></h1> </div> </div> </header> </div> <div id="content-wrapper" class="content-wrapper"> <div id="content" class="site-content"> <div id="primary" class="content-area"> <main id="main" class="site-main" role="main"> <article id="post-1081" class="post-1081 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-jessy-button tag-angela tag-jessy tag-marie tag-tan"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/08/12/session-19-love-and-inhumanity/" rel="bookmark">Session 19 – Love and Inhumanity</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>This is a session recap for a Kult: Divinity Lost roleplaying campaign. Jessy Button is played by my wife, <a href="https://beyondelysium.home.blog/2019/05/22/check-out-my-artists-website/">who also does the art</a>, and I am the game master.</em></p> <table style="border:none"><tbody><tr><td style="border:none"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/07/19/session-18-mancipia/">Previous</a></td><td style="text-align:right;border:none">Next</td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Marie Ericson-Buckle, Jessy Button’s mother, is a shadow of her former self. She is on her knees, back twisted out of shape and legs bent in ways legs should not bed. The clothes she was buried in are rags, slashed and stained garments. Marie has cuts all over her body, infected wounds with dried blood and pus filling them. Long strips of skin and flesh have been cut from her arms, she’s bruised in blue and yellow, and exposed reddish bone sticks out of the wounds on her hand. Jessy’s eyes fill with tears as she runs through the filthy basement, overwhelmed by the sight of her mother. She was dead, never to be seen again. Jessy lost the only person she could trust when her mother died, leaving her life confusing and directionless. The left side of Marie’s head is caved in, exposed bone and hair tangled up with blood and brain. In Marie’s remaining right eye, Jessy still recognizes her mother’s green luster. It really is her. Jessy reaches down to hug her mother, whose outstretched arms wrap gingerly around her daughter despite the obvious agony. Why is Jessy there? Her mother speaks in fragmented, confused sentences, shuddering from pain but refusing to let go even as her ribs shift under Jessy’s embrace. Their conversation is slow, interrupted by long periods of wordless sobbing. Jessy was brought there by her grandmother, she admits, and Marie fills with dread. So she has gotten to Jessy too. They both know Angela well, better than either would like to. Jessy cannot explain half of what has happened to her, but in mentioning the ring Marie stops her with babbled interruptions. Why use the ring? Her disappointment and outright fear makes Jessy’s stomach sink. She thought her mother wanted her to have it. Marie swears, cursing out her own mother with a twitching kick to the ground that ends with a sad, wet thud. Jessy should have remembered what Honey told her after he had stolen the ring. Her mom didn’t put it in the will. She never wanted this. The realization is nauseating. Her mother hates the ring. Through broken teeth Marie spits out a rant about how it makes people bad, it ruins them and turns them into something so much worse than they were. Jessy’s grandmother wasn’t always how she is. Marie’s voice cracks. The cruel voice in her head is what the ring made of Angela, and it will do the same to Jessy.</p> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/08/12/session-19-love-and-inhumanity/#more-1081" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Session 19 – Love and Inhumanity”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/jessy-button/" rel="category tag">Jessy Button</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/08/12/session-19-love-and-inhumanity/#comments">2 Comments</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/08/12/session-19-love-and-inhumanity/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-08-12T14:21:19-04:00">12 August, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-11-19T10:17:53-05:00">19 November, 2024</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">19 Minutes</span> </div> </footer> </article> <article id="post-1064" class="post-1064 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-jessy-button tag-angela tag-jessy tag-sol tag-tan"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/07/19/session-18-mancipia/" rel="bookmark">Session 18 – Mancipia</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>This is a session recap for a Kult: Divinity Lost roleplaying campaign. Jessy Button is played by my wife, <a href="https://beyondelysium.home.blog/2019/05/22/check-out-my-artists-website/">who also does the art</a>, and I am the game master.</em></p> <p><em>This post contains <strong>visual nudity.</strong></em></p> <table style="border:none"><tbody><tr><td style="border:none"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/06/16/session-17-inferno/">Previous</a></td><td style="text-align:right;border:none"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/08/12/session-19-love-and-inhumanity/">Next</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>All morning, Jessy feels blood trickling from her neck onto her clothes. Nothing there. She hurriedly packs all her most expensive things into two duffel bags and dumps the blood-stained tarps from upstairs in the garbage bins out front. It’s a dark day out, thick gray clouds covering the sky and making noon seem like twilight. The Mississauga and Toronto city centers are barely visible, just muddy shapes in the distance. Jessy calls an Uber to get to Tan’s place, watching empty stretches of highway and sad apartment buildings where people stand by their windows, staring out at the streets with empty eyes. Jessy has never seen Toronto quite like this, so broken and dismal. Color has drained from the prominent graffiti and senseless advertisements, marketing products she’s never heard of. It is a surreal experience, made worse by the only exception to this dullness. Each police car they pass gleams in proud white and black, a vivid display in the otherwise washed out surroundings. They’re not after her right now, she knows that, but their everpresence still discomforts her. At least Tan’s condo welcomes her with warmth and bright decor. She takes a brief moment to soak in it, but with some dismay realizes she has much to do still. Online, she builds her contact network and starts laying out some backup plans. What happens if she needs to flee? Where can she stay? The ritual is in two days. She has so much to do. Jessy spends most of her time agonizing over what is to come. When should she place Sol’s golden coins? What will she do about the last one? How should she attack Sol?</p> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/07/19/session-18-mancipia/#more-1064" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Session 18 – Mancipia”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/jessy-button/" rel="category tag">Jessy Button</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/07/19/session-18-mancipia/#respond">Leave a comment</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/07/19/session-18-mancipia/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-07-19T09:04:28-04:00">19 July, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-08-12T14:22:40-04:00">12 August, 2024</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">25 Minutes</span> </div> </footer> </article> <article id="post-832" class="post-832 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-jessy-button tag-artyom tag-jessy tag-tan"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/06/16/session-17-inferno/" rel="bookmark">Session 17 – Inferno</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>This is a session recap for a Kult: Divinity Lost roleplaying campaign. Jessy Button is played by my wife, <a href="https://beyondelysium.home.blog/2019/05/22/check-out-my-artists-website/">who also does the art</a>, and I am the game master.</em></p> <p><em>This post contains <strong>sexual violence</strong> and <strong>torture</strong>.</em></p> <table style="border:none"><tbody><tr><td style="border:none"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/26/session-16-loose-ends//">Previous</a></td><td style="text-align:right;border:none"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/07/19/session-18-mancipia/">Next</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>By the time Jessy and Tan return to the condo Carolina and Daisy are waiting, having a quiet conversation in the massive first floor lounge. Jessy spots a hint of worry in Daisy’s eyes. Is she getting nervous? Tan instructs Jessy and Daisy to go to separate rooms and remain there until he and Carolina have the rite fully prepared for them. Jessy lounges in her bedroom, comfortable and honestly eager for the ceremonial warfare she’s been promised. She doesn’t fear her opponent, some dumb teenager who couldn’t possibly understand what she’s gotten herself into. She spends her time going back over the research notes, puzzling together how the ceremony will change without James and amusing herself with personal details from Daisy’s home life. When Tan finally enters and tells her that they are to begin, Jessy easily slips out of her lounging clothes as instructed and fastens the goat mask of black stone to her face. She is effectively blinded and the leather strap digs in unpleasantly close to her still healing wound. The pain eggs her on, and Tan guides her through the apartment and up the stairs. On the second floor, Daisy is given the same treatment by Carolina. It is a quiet atmosphere, just simple instructions to alert the blind combatants of what comes next. In the third floor ceremony room, Jessy steps into the center where linen sheets have been laid out to cover the floor. They expect some bloodshed. </p> <p>The girls are told that they stand in front of one other, and to reach out and make sure of this. Jessy’s hand first goes to Daisy’s mask before finding a shoulder, while Daisy fumbles against Jessy’s chest and down to her waist. They each take two steps back, and wait for the word. Somewhere beside them, Carolina begins to sing a wordless hymn, a somber hum while Tan speaks. He begins with praise to the Twins, assuring that this ceremony of blood and love is in their honor, and that the participants’ conflict will now bloom and live in full. Dehu and Mil are introduced to the issue at hand with Daisy’s desire to bring the same fate to Jessy as was brought on James. Tan speaks at some length of James, reminding everyone in the room and beyond it of his love for the flock and his sharp mind, diligent work ethic, and full-hearted worship. Sweet words which ring hollow to Jessy. Not hours earlier Tan had asked her to kill the same man. Daisy’s grievance with her, from bringing that man down to his knees and breaking his mind and soul, is pointless now that James is dead. Jessy shifts her weight from one foot to the other, ready to show Daisy just how bad an idea it was for her to agree to this. As the sermon finishes, both Tan and Carolina come forward to give Daisy and Jessy one embrace each. A knife is placed in Jessy’s hand, and presumably also Daisy’s. Judging by the weight, it’s a rather large weapon. May Dehu and Mil guide their blades, though the will to come out victorious lies in each of them. With Daisy right in front of her, somewhere she can’t see, Jessy steels herself and focuses on the only thing that matters – defeating her opponent.</p> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/06/16/session-17-inferno/#more-832" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Session 17 – Inferno”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/jessy-button/" rel="category tag">Jessy Button</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/06/16/session-17-inferno/#respond">Leave a comment</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/06/16/session-17-inferno/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-06-16T09:02:26-04:00">16 June, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-07-19T09:05:34-04:00">19 July, 2024</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">20 Minutes</span> </div> </footer> </article> <article id="post-758" class="post-758 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-jessy-button tag-jessy tag-tan"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/26/session-16-loose-ends/" rel="bookmark">Session 16 – Loose Ends</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>This is a session recap for a Kult: Divinity Lost roleplaying campaign. Jessy Button is played by my wife, <a href="https://beyondelysium.home.blog/2019/05/22/check-out-my-artists-website/">who also does the art</a>, and I am the game master.</em></p> <p><em>This post contains <strong>visual nudity</strong><strong>.</strong></em></p> <table style="border:none"><tbody><tr><td style="border:none"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/05/session-15-life-and-death-unraveled/">Previous</a></td><td style="text-align:right;border:none"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/06/16/session-17-inferno/">Next</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Waking up in a daze, Jessy reaches for her phone to check her messages only to be reminded of what happened last night. Instead of letting herself spiral into another panic, she leaves her emails and DMs unread and uncared for, instead focusing on what’s important: the ritual. She’s staying at Tan’s place for now. She studies intently, and harasses Daisy whenever she spots the girl. It’s easy to make her angry, and Daisy already holds a grudge against Jessy for what happened with James. After lunch, she makes a call to Simon, her friendly and willing torture victim. There’s no doubt he saw Jessy’s episode on Instagram, and the fallout of it, but she believes that he if anyone wouldn’t judge her for it. Simon doesn’t pick up immediately, but calls back an hour later after hearing the message Jessy left. He voices some concern for her, asks if she’s okay and tells her Andi is really worried. There’s no way for Jessy to approach their common acquaintance again, to explain to her what’s really going on. Simon agrees – she wouldn’t ever be able to get it. Simon tells her with a small chuckle that everyone goes a little crazy sometimes, and that he understands Jessy’s actions, at least the parts that matter.</p> <p>Simon thanks her, again, for what she did to him the first time they met. He is still healing, but what Jessy gave in return… She hears his shaky breathing. He knows much now. Speaking of which, Jessy tells him that she needs him. Artyom will be there too. Simon pauses, and the silence from the other end of the line speaks volumes – he is afraid it may be too much for his still wounded body. Jessy asks if she should find someone else, and Simon caves and tells her that he will do it. He wants to, of course. The reward is worth any risk. He wants to see her again so badly, speak with her. They are the same, he claims, and Simon has so many questions for Jessy. What has she seen? What does she know? Their paths cross, and his heart beats to explore that intersection. Jessy tells him sweetly that they’ll have time for all of that. She gives Simon the address of her Brampton home, and tells him to come there in three days time, at five in the evening. Bring something to eat.</p> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/26/session-16-loose-ends/#more-758" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Session 16 – Loose Ends”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/jessy-button/" rel="category tag">Jessy Button</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/26/session-16-loose-ends/#respond">Leave a comment</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/26/session-16-loose-ends/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-05-26T09:08:26-04:00">26 May, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-06-23T18:26:14-04:00">23 June, 2024</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">12 Minutes</span> </div> </footer> </article> <article id="post-749" class="post-749 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-jessy-button tag-angela tag-jessy tag-tan"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/05/session-15-life-and-death-unraveled/" rel="bookmark">Session 15 – Life and death unraveled</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p><em>This is a session recap for a Kult: Divinity Lost roleplaying campaign. Jessy Button is played by my wife, <a href="https://beyondelysium.home.blog/2019/05/22/check-out-my-artists-website/">who also does the art</a>, and I am the game master.</em></p> <table style="border:none"><tbody><tr><td style="border:none"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2020/06/12/session-14-sol/">Previous</a></td><td style="text-align:right;border:none"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/26/session-16-loose-ends/">Next</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="font-size:19px;border:0"> <tbody><tr style="border:0"> <td style="width:80%;border:0;border-right:1px solid #CACACA;padding:0;padding-right:20px"> The ring burns like fire when Jessy places it on her finger and a burning sensation spreads through her entire body. She cannot hope to control the power flowing from the ring, and the raw sensation of it incapacitates her in an instant. Jessy collapses onto the floor beside the bleeding, dying old hag possessed by her grandmother. Angela watches from her eyes, delighted as Jessy is forced to recognize a suffering unlike anything she’s felt before, or even imagined. Through the ring, her mind is invaded by another, something once a woman but now barely human.<sup>1</sup> In a few fleeting moments, Jessy relives a lifetime of hurt. Nothing could have prepared her for it. Lashes, burns, restraints and darkness, punishments so surreal that her own soul feels torn to bits, each piece wound and bound like silver thread then tortured again. Vomit rises in her throat and chokes her, a half century of unrelenting agony taking over every thought and emotion. That suffering lives in the ring, but Jessy can sense that <i>the woman</i> who knew it is still out there somewhere, alive. The pain has eroded <i>her</i> thoughts, <i>her</i> name, <i>her</i> entire soul, yet somehow <i>she</i> lives on. </td> <td style="font-size:14px;vertical-align:top;padding-left:10px;border:0"> <sup> 1 </sup> <strong>Keep It Together</strong><br /> Failure<br /> <ul> <li>-2 Stability</li> </ul> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/05/session-15-life-and-death-unraveled/#more-749" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Session 15 – Life and death unraveled”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/jessy-button/" rel="category tag">Jessy Button</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/05/session-15-life-and-death-unraveled/#respond">Leave a comment</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/05/05/session-15-life-and-death-unraveled/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-05-05T09:01:18-04:00">5 May, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-05-26T09:09:25-04:00">26 May, 2024</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">14 Minutes</span> </div> </footer> </article> <article id="post-1174" class="post-1174 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-jessy-button tag-artyom tag-ellis tag-jessy tag-sol tag-tan"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/04/28/jessys-story-recap-of-arc-2/" rel="bookmark">Jessy’s Story – Recap of Arc 2</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p>Hello again, Kultists. Over the past several years, I’ve shared Jessy’s Story with the internet, and after a long (long) hiatus the time has come to finish this. Whether you’re a returning reader or someone just joining, I want to offer a quick summary of the story so far and some of its principal characters. One week from now, <strong>May 5th 2024</strong>, Session 15 will go live, and each session will thereafter be posted in three week intervals until the story concludes in August. I hope you will enjoy the ride. All hell is about to break loose.</p> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/04/28/jessys-story-recap-of-arc-2/#more-1174" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“Jessy’s Story – Recap of Arc 2”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/jessy-button/" rel="category tag">Jessy Button</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/04/28/jessys-story-recap-of-arc-2/#respond">Leave a comment</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/04/28/jessys-story-recap-of-arc-2/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-04-28T10:52:37-04:00">28 April, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-04-28T13:00:06-04:00">28 April, 2024</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">6 Minutes</span> </div> </footer> </article> <article id="post-1166" class="post-1166 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-jessy-button"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/04/25/jessy-returns/" rel="bookmark">Jessy returns</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p>It’s been a while, hasn’t it? The Illusion swaddles us all, pulls us away from the beckoning of Truth and fills our minds with idle nonsense and pacifying pastimes. It makes us forget.</p> <p>But I have not forgotten! Not yet. There are six more session recaps of Jessy’s Story, and they are nearly ready for release. They will all be made available before the end of the year, but before we get there, I would like to provide a short summary of the story so far, to refresh the minds of those who haven’t read Jessy’s Story in a while… which might be everyone. Look forward to that, links will be posted on the <a href="https://discord.gg/fGg7S43f5d">KULT – Elysium Discord</a> as always.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img data-attachment-id="1167" data-permalink="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/04/25/jessy-returns/f0nk-unsigned-commission/" data-orig-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/f0nk-unsigned-commission.png" data-orig-size="2009,2661" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="f0nk-unsigned-commission" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/f0nk-unsigned-commission.png?w=226" data-large-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/f0nk-unsigned-commission.png?w=773" width="773" height="1023" src="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/f0nk-unsigned-commission.png?w=773" alt="" class="wp-image-1167" srcset="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/f0nk-unsigned-commission.png?w=773 773w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/f0nk-unsigned-commission.png?w=1546 1546w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/f0nk-unsigned-commission.png?w=113 113w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/f0nk-unsigned-commission.png?w=226 226w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/f0nk-unsigned-commission.png?w=768 768w" sizes="(max-width: 773px) 100vw, 773px" /></figure> <p><em><a href="https://planetberri.tumblr.com/">Art by f0nk</a></em></p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/jessy-button/" rel="category tag">Jessy Button</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/04/25/jessy-returns/#respond">Leave a comment</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2024/04/25/jessy-returns/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-04-25T09:55:53-04:00">25 April, 2024</time><time class="updated" datetime="2024-04-25T10:08:44-04:00">25 April, 2024</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">1 Minute</span> </div> </footer> </article> <article id="post-1108" class="post-1108 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-misc tag-magic tag-rant"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2022/04/04/on-magic-rules/" rel="bookmark">On Magic Rules</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p>There is plenty discussion on KULT groups I frequent about magic. How does it work? How to interpret divinity? Where are the other magician archetypes (the death magician was a stretch goal to begin with, live with it)? Lots of people hoping to find more mechanical support for using magic in the game.</p> <p>I have opinions on this. Hi, Kultists. I was going to write this as a chat on the <a href="https://discord.gg/HgEwZnqMZ5">KULT – Elysium</a> Discord server, but it would be too long, so here it goes.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"> <figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img data-attachment-id="1118" data-permalink="https://beyondelysium.ca/eyes1/" data-orig-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/eyes1.png" data-orig-size="827,1417" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="eyes1" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/eyes1.png?w=175" data-large-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/eyes1.png?w=598" src="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/eyes1.png?w=598" alt="" class="wp-image-1118" width="188" srcset="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/eyes1.png?w=598 598w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/eyes1.png?w=88 88w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/eyes1.png?w=175 175w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/eyes1.png?w=768 768w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/eyes1.png 827w" sizes="(max-width: 598px) 100vw, 598px" /></figure></div> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2022/04/04/on-magic-rules/#more-1108" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“On Magic Rules”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/misc/" rel="category tag">Misc</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2022/04/04/on-magic-rules/#comments">3 Comments</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2022/04/04/on-magic-rules/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2022-04-04T17:33:01-04:00">4 April, 2022</time><time class="updated" datetime="2022-04-05T08:24:32-04:00">5 April, 2022</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">6 Minutes</span> </div> </footer> </article> <article id="post-1024" class="post-1024 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-lore tag-achlys tag-cosmology tag-elysium tag-gaia tag-inferno tag-limbo tag-metropolis tag-underworld tag-vortex"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2021/11/19/a-primer-to-kults-cosmology/" rel="bookmark">A Primer to Kult’s Cosmology</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <p class="has-text-align-justify">Hello, Kultists and curious fans of morbid arcana. As someone who invests deeply in Kult: Divinity Lost and its world, I end up in a lot of conversations about the game. Some are philosophical, some are educational, some are frustrated arguments with grognards, but a good portion of them at some point end up being about the game’s world. Kult is a horror roleplaying game with a vast and unique Cosmology that draws people to it, but it is also the source of much confusion and hesitance. How does one “see” through the Illusion? What is Inferno, really? Where is Limbo, and how do I awaken in Metropolis? So many questions, in sore need of answers! Let this be an introduction to Kult’s Cosmology, the world in which a thousand horrible stories have been told and thousands more are yet to come.</p> <p class="has-text-align-justify">But before that, a few words on mystique and secrecy. A major component of Kult’s Cosmology is the idea that Reality is a Lie, and that the characters of the stories told in the game (not to mention the sleeping masses) do not know what or who lurks beyond the veil. Within the context of roleplaying, this means that the players create troubled characters with archetypes like the Detective, the Fixer, and the Artist, and through those slowly unravel the mysteries and terrors of the world they inhabit, hopefully coming away from it all with some insight into themselves and their situation.</p> <p class="has-text-align-justify">Why do I bring this up? Because game masters around the world sometimes take this to mean that the game’s central idea and the crux of the Kult Cosmology should or must be concealed from their players. This is… unhelpful, when speaking about the game. In truth, I hate this entire mentality. I will not go into details about why here (ask me some time!), but understand that I do intend to divulge most of the core concepts of Kult’s world in this post. If you are reading this as a player and your GM thus far has been tight-lipped about the workings of the Illusion and the cosmos beyond it, consider asking permission before continuing. Have a conversation with them about how effective storytelling is done, perhaps.</p> <p>Now, we begin…</p> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2021/11/19/a-primer-to-kults-cosmology/#more-1024" class="more-link">Continue reading <span class="screen-reader-text">“A Primer to Kult’s Cosmology”</span> <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/lore/" rel="category tag">lore</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2021/11/19/a-primer-to-kults-cosmology/#respond">Leave a comment</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2021/11/19/a-primer-to-kults-cosmology/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2021-11-19T15:28:55-05:00">19 November, 2021</time><time class="updated" datetime="2021-11-19T15:31:31-05:00">19 November, 2021</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">25 Minutes</span> </div> </footer> </article> <article id="post-1011" class="post-1011 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-shorts tag-dusty tag-instinct"> <header class="entry-header"> <h1 class="entry-title"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2021/08/21/instinct/" rel="bookmark">Instinct – A Kult short story</a></h1> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img data-attachment-id="1015" data-permalink="https://beyondelysium.ca/instinctcover/" data-orig-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/instinctcover.jpg" data-orig-size="2400,3000" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="instinctcover" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/instinctcover.jpg?w=240" data-large-file="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/instinctcover.jpg?w=819" width="819" height="1023" src="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/instinctcover.jpg?w=819" alt="" class="wp-image-1015" srcset="https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/instinctcover.jpg?w=819 819w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/instinctcover.jpg?w=1638 1638w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/instinctcover.jpg?w=120 120w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/instinctcover.jpg?w=240 240w, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/instinctcover.jpg?w=768 768w" sizes="(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px" /></figure> <p class="has-text-align-justify"><em>On the 17th of January, 2020, me and my wife Larissa Darrah sat down to make a character for Kult: Divinity Lost. We used the game’s own tarot deck to concoct Dusty Williams and what would become his story. As game master, I spent one week writing some preliminary ideas I had for running a short scenario featuring Dusty. The gameplay took place over two sessions of about three to four hours each. We both enjoyed ourselves a lot. That scenario is what Instinct is based on.</em></p> <p class="has-text-align-left"><em>Writing stories from role playing games is very fun, and sometimes difficult. The improvisational nature of it and the open-ended, player-first approach I prefer does not always lend itself to clean and engaging stories outside the personal experience. However, I was especially pleased with the end result of Instinct, originally just called Dusty’s Story, and once we were done playing I knew that I wanted to write about it in detail. I hope that as you read it, you can have some of the same fun that me and my wife felt in the winter of 2020.</em></p> <p><em>Thanks to Auburney, Caphriel, Gabe, and other people who help me make things happen.</em></p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jIv7VxtM9Y9L1yzvktEa88qNxwMeB0CU/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read Instinct here</a></h4> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R0ll8G3bmJD1v7rOqRo_4nNwbc4WpuCO/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read Instinct with dice roll footnotes here</a></h4> <p>Instinct is a horror story.</p> <p>Additional thanks once more to Gabe, who created the PDFs. They look so damn good.</p> </div> <footer class="entry-footer"> <div class="entry-meta"> <span class="byline"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/author/kraetyz/" title="Posts by kraetyz" rel="author">kraetyz</a> </span> <span class="cat-links"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/shorts/" rel="category tag">Shorts</a> </span> <span class="comments-link"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2021/08/21/instinct/#respond">Leave a comment</a></span> <span class="published-on"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/2021/08/21/instinct/" rel="bookmark"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2021-08-21T07:02:30-04:00">21 August, 2021</time><time class="updated" datetime="2021-08-21T07:06:01-04:00">21 August, 2021</time></a> </span> <span class="word-count">1 Minute</span> </div> </footer> </article> <nav class="navigation posts-navigation" aria-label="Posts"> <h2 class="screen-reader-text">Posts navigation</h2> <div class="nav-links"><div class="nav-previous"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/page/2/" >Older posts</a></div></div> </nav> </main> </div> <div id="secondary" class="widget-area" role="complementary"> <aside id="text-1" class="widget widget_text"><h1 class="widget-title">About Beyond Elysium</h1> <div class="textwidget"><p>This blog is dedicated primarily to the roleplaying game Kult: Divinity Lost, but may additionally contain musings on horror in other media.</p> </div> </aside><aside id="categories-3" class="widget widget_categories"><h1 class="widget-title">Categories</h1> <ul> <li class="cat-item cat-item-673687495"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/jessy-button/">Jessy Button</a> (26) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-178384"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/lore/">lore</a> (6) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-277"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/misc/">Misc</a> (10) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-245"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/reflections/">Reflections</a> (2) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-1745"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/review/">review</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-1115"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/shorts/">Shorts</a> (8) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-10031"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/tarot/">Tarot</a> (5) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-676752921"><a href="https://beyondelysium.ca/category/the-kult-take/">The Kult Take</a> (6) </li> </ul> </aside></div> </div> <footer id="colophon" class="site-footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="site-info"> <a href="https://wordpress.com/?ref=footer_blog" rel="nofollow">Blog at WordPress.com.</a> </div> </footer> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> var infiniteScroll = {"settings":{"id":"main","ajaxurl":"https:\/\/beyondelysium.ca\/?infinity=scrolling","type":"scroll","wrapper":true,"wrapper_class":"infinite-wrap","footer":"page","click_handle":"1","text":"Older posts","totop":"Scroll back to top","currentday":"21.08.21","order":"DESC","scripts":[],"styles":[],"google_analytics":false,"offset":1,"history":{"host":"beyondelysium.ca","path":"\/page\/%d\/","use_trailing_slashes":true,"parameters":""},"query_args":{"error":"","m":"","p":0,"post_parent":"","subpost":"","subpost_id":"","attachment":"","attachment_id":0,"name":"","pagename":"","page_id":0,"second":"","minute":"","hour":"","day":0,"monthnum":0,"year":0,"w":0,"category_name":"","tag":"","cat":"","tag_id":"","author":"","author_name":"","feed":"","tb":"","paged":0,"meta_key":"","meta_value":"","preview":"","s":"","sentence":"","title":"","fields":"","menu_order":"","embed":"","category__in":[],"category__not_in":[],"category__and":[],"post__in":[],"post__not_in":[],"post_name__in":[],"tag__in":[],"tag__not_in":[],"tag__and":[],"tag_slug__in":[],"tag_slug__and":[],"post_parent__in":[],"post_parent__not_in":[],"author__in":[],"author__not_in":[],"search_columns":[],"lazy_load_term_meta":false,"posts_per_page":10,"ignore_sticky_posts":false,"suppress_filters":false,"cache_results":true,"update_post_term_cache":true,"update_menu_item_cache":false,"update_post_meta_cache":true,"post_type":"","nopaging":false,"comments_per_page":"50","no_found_rows":false,"order":"DESC"},"query_before":"2024-12-02 16:56:22","last_post_date":"2021-08-21 07:02:30","body_class":"infinite-scroll neverending","loading_text":"Loading new page","stats":"blog=159328818&v=wpcom&tz=-5&user_id=0&subd=beyondelysiumhome&x_pagetype=infinite"}}; </script>  <script type="text/javascript" src="//0.gravatar.com/js/hovercards/hovercards.min.js?ver=202449b213a1cbb4e3271ca470eb7790af362ac2e18ce468f8945952c7bd3456d2132e" id="grofiles-cards-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="wpgroho-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var WPGroHo = {"my_hash":""}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script crossorigin='anonymous' type='text/javascript' src='https://s2.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/gravatar-hovercards/wpgroho.js?m=1610363240i'></script> <script> // Initialize and attach hovercards to all gravatars ( function() { function init() { if ( typeof Gravatar === 'undefined' ) { return; } if ( typeof Gravatar.init !== 'function' ) { return; } Gravatar.profile_cb = function ( hash, id ) { WPGroHo.syncProfileData( hash, id ); }; Gravatar.my_hash = WPGroHo.my_hash; Gravatar.init( 'body', '#wp-admin-bar-my-account', { i18n: { 'Edit your profile →': 'Edit your profile →', 'View profile →': 'View profile →', 'Contact': 'Contact', 'Send money': 'Send money', 'Sorry, we are unable to load this Gravatar profile.': 'Sorry, we are unable to load this Gravatar profile.', 'Profile not found.': 'Profile not found.', 'Too Many Requests.': 'Too Many Requests.', 'Internal Server Error.': 'Internal Server Error.', }, } ); } if ( document.readyState !== 'loading' ) { init(); } else { document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', init ); } } )(); </script> <div style="display:none"> </div> <div id="infinite-footer"> <div class="container"> <div class="blog-info"> <a id="infinity-blog-title" href="https://beyondelysium.ca/" rel="home"> Beyond Elysium </a> </div> <div class="blog-credits"> <a href="https://wordpress.com/?ref=footer_blog" rel="nofollow">Blog at WordPress.com.</a> </div> </div> </div> <div id="actionbar" style="display: none;" class="actnbr-pub-independent-publisher-2 actnbr-has-follow"> <ul> <li class="actnbr-btn actnbr-hidden"> <a class="actnbr-action actnbr-actn-follow " href=""> <svg class="gridicon" height="20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="m4 4.5h12v6.5h1.5v-6.5-1.5h-1.5-12-1.5v1.5 10.5c0 1.1046.89543 2 2 2h7v-1.5h-7c-.27614 0-.5-.2239-.5-.5zm10.5 2h-9v1.5h9zm-5 3h-4v1.5h4zm3.5 1.5h-1v1h1zm-1-1.5h-1.5v1.5 1 1.5h1.5 1 1.5v-1.5-1-1.5h-1.5zm-2.5 2.5h-4v1.5h4zm6.5 1.25h1.5v2.25h2.25v1.5h-2.25v2.25h-1.5v-2.25h-2.25v-1.5h2.25z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg> <span>Subscribe</span> </a> <a class="actnbr-action actnbr-actn-following no-display" href=""> <svg class="gridicon" height="20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20"><path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M16 4.5H4V15C4 15.2761 4.22386 15.5 4.5 15.5H11.5V17H4.5C3.39543 17 2.5 16.1046 2.5 15V4.5V3H4H16H17.5V4.5V12.5H16V4.5ZM5.5 6.5H14.5V8H5.5V6.5ZM5.5 9.5H9.5V11H5.5V9.5ZM12 11H13V12H12V11ZM10.5 9.5H12H13H14.5V11V12V13.5H13H12H10.5V12V11V9.5ZM5.5 12H9.5V13.5H5.5V12Z" fill="#008A20"></path><path class="following-icon-tick" d="M13.5 16L15.5 18L19 14.5" stroke="#008A20" stroke-width="1.5"></path></svg> <span>Subscribed</span> </a> <div class="actnbr-popover tip tip-top-left actnbr-notice" id="follow-bubble"> <div class="tip-arrow"></div> <div class="tip-inner actnbr-follow-bubble"> <ul> <li class="actnbr-sitename"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca"> <img loading='lazy' alt='' src='https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=50' srcset='https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=50 1x, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=75 1.5x, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=100 2x, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=150 3x, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=200 4x' class='avatar avatar-50' height='50' width='50' /> Beyond Elysium </a> </li> <div class="actnbr-message no-display"></div> <form method="post" action="https://subscribe.wordpress.com" accept-charset="utf-8" style="display: none;"> <div class="actnbr-follow-count">Join 31 other subscribers</div> <div> <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Enter your email address" class="actnbr-email-field" aria-label="Enter your email address" /> </div> <input type="hidden" name="action" value="subscribe" /> <input type="hidden" name="blog_id" value="159328818" /> <input type="hidden" name="source" value="https://beyondelysium.ca/" /> <input type="hidden" name="sub-type" value="actionbar-follow" /> <input type="hidden" id="_wpnonce" name="_wpnonce" value="b95ac59fe1" /> <div class="actnbr-button-wrap"> <button type="submit" value="Sign me up"> Sign me up </button> </div> </form> <li class="actnbr-login-nudge"> <div> Already have a WordPress.com account? <a href="https://wordpress.com/log-in?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fr-login.wordpress.com%2Fremote-login.php%3Faction%3Dlink%26back%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fbeyondelysium.ca%252F2024%252F08%252F12%252Fsession-19-love-and-inhumanity%252F">Log in now.</a> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> <li class="actnbr-ellipsis actnbr-hidden"> <svg class="gridicon gridicons-ellipsis" height="24" width="24" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><g><path d="M7 12c0 1.104-.896 2-2 2s-2-.896-2-2 .896-2 2-2 2 .896 2 2zm12-2c-1.104 0-2 .896-2 2s.896 2 2 2 2-.896 2-2-.896-2-2-2zm-7 0c-1.104 0-2 .896-2 2s.896 2 2 2 2-.896 2-2-.896-2-2-2z"/></g></svg> <div class="actnbr-popover tip tip-top-left actnbr-more"> <div class="tip-arrow"></div> <div class="tip-inner"> <ul> <li class="actnbr-sitename"> <a href="https://beyondelysium.ca"> <img loading='lazy' alt='' src='https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=50' srcset='https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=50 1x, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=75 1.5x, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=100 2x, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=150 3x, https://beyondelysium.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-logosimple.png?w=200 4x' class='avatar avatar-50' height='50' width='50' /> Beyond Elysium </a> </li> <li class="actnbr-folded-customize"> <a href="https://beyondelysiumhome.wordpress.com/wp-admin/customize.php?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbeyondelysiumhome.wordpress.com%2F"> <svg class="gridicon gridicons-customize" height="20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><g><path d="M2 6c0-1.505.78-3.08 2-4 0 .845.69 2 2 2 1.657 0 3 1.343 3 3 0 .386-.08.752-.212 1.09.74.594 1.476 1.19 2.19 1.81L8.9 11.98c-.62-.716-1.214-1.454-1.807-2.192C6.753 9.92 6.387 10 6 10c-2.21 0-4-1.79-4-4zm12.152 6.848l1.34-1.34c.607.304 1.283.492 2.008.492 2.485 0 4.5-2.015 4.5-4.5 0-.725-.188-1.4-.493-2.007L18 9l-2-2 3.507-3.507C18.9 3.188 18.225 3 17.5 3 15.015 3 13 5.015 13 7.5c0 .725.188 1.4.493 2.007L3 20l2 2 6.848-6.848c1.885 1.928 3.874 3.753 5.977 5.45l1.425 1.148 1.5-1.5-1.15-1.425c-1.695-2.103-3.52-4.092-5.448-5.977z"/></g></svg> <span>Customize</span> </a> </li> <li class="actnbr-folded-follow"> <a class="actnbr-action actnbr-actn-follow " href=""> <svg class="gridicon" height="20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="m4 4.5h12v6.5h1.5v-6.5-1.5h-1.5-12-1.5v1.5 10.5c0 1.1046.89543 2 2 2h7v-1.5h-7c-.27614 0-.5-.2239-.5-.5zm10.5 2h-9v1.5h9zm-5 3h-4v1.5h4zm3.5 1.5h-1v1h1zm-1-1.5h-1.5v1.5 1 1.5h1.5 1 1.5v-1.5-1-1.5h-1.5zm-2.5 2.5h-4v1.5h4zm6.5 1.25h1.5v2.25h2.25v1.5h-2.25v2.25h-1.5v-2.25h-2.25v-1.5h2.25z" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg> <span>Subscribe</span> </a> <a class="actnbr-action actnbr-actn-following no-display" href=""> <svg class="gridicon" height="20" width="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 20 20"><path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M16 4.5H4V15C4 15.2761 4.22386 15.5 4.5 15.5H11.5V17H4.5C3.39543 17 2.5 16.1046 2.5 15V4.5V3H4H16H17.5V4.5V12.5H16V4.5ZM5.5 6.5H14.5V8H5.5V6.5ZM5.5 9.5H9.5V11H5.5V9.5ZM12 11H13V12H12V11ZM10.5 9.5H12H13H14.5V11V12V13.5H13H12H10.5V12V11V9.5ZM5.5 12H9.5V13.5H5.5V12Z" fill="#008A20"></path><path class="following-icon-tick" d="M13.5 16L15.5 18L19 14.5" stroke="#008A20" stroke-width="1.5"></path></svg> <span>Subscribed</span> </a> </li> <li class="actnbr-signup"><a href="https://wordpress.com/start/">Sign up</a></li> <li class="actnbr-login"><a href="https://wordpress.com/log-in?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fr-login.wordpress.com%2Fremote-login.php%3Faction%3Dlink%26back%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fbeyondelysium.ca%252F2024%252F08%252F12%252Fsession-19-love-and-inhumanity%252F">Log in</a></li> <li class="flb-report"> <a href="https://wordpress.com/abuse/?report_url=https://beyondelysium.ca" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Report this content </a> </li> <li class="actnbr-reader"> <a href="https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/104730713"> View site in Reader </a> </li> <li class="actnbr-subs"> <a href="https://subscribe.wordpress.com/">Manage subscriptions</a> </li> <li class="actnbr-fold"><a href="">Collapse this bar</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <script> window.addEventListener( "load", function( event ) { var link = document.createElement( "link" ); link.href = "https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/actionbar/actionbar.css?v=20241015"; link.type = "text/css"; link.rel = "stylesheet"; document.head.appendChild( link ); var script = document.createElement( "script" ); script.src = "https://s0.wp.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/actionbar/actionbar.js?v=20231122"; script.defer = true; document.body.appendChild( script ); } ); </script> <div id="jp-carousel-loading-overlay"> <div id="jp-carousel-loading-wrapper"> <span id="jp-carousel-library-loading"> </span> </div> </div> <div class="jp-carousel-overlay" style="display: none;"> <div class="jp-carousel-container">  <div class="jp-carousel-wrap swiper-container jp-carousel-swiper-container jp-carousel-transitions" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageGallery"> <div class="jp-carousel swiper-wrapper"></div> <div class="jp-swiper-button-prev swiper-button-prev"> <svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <mask id="maskPrev" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="8" y="6" width="9" height="12"> <path d="M16.2072 16.59L11.6496 12L16.2072 7.41L14.8041 6L8.8335 12L14.8041 18L16.2072 16.59Z" fill="white"/> </mask> <g mask="url(#maskPrev)"> <rect x="0.579102" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/> </g> </svg> </div> <div class="jp-swiper-button-next swiper-button-next"> <svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <mask id="maskNext" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="8" y="6" width="8" height="12"> <path d="M8.59814 16.59L13.1557 12L8.59814 7.41L10.0012 6L15.9718 12L10.0012 18L8.59814 16.59Z" fill="white"/> </mask> <g mask="url(#maskNext)"> <rect x="0.34375" width="23.8822" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/> </g> </svg> </div> </div>  <div class="jp-carousel-close-hint"> <svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <mask id="maskClose" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="5" y="5" width="15" height="14"> <path d="M19.3166 6.41L17.9135 5L12.3509 10.59L6.78834 5L5.38525 6.41L10.9478 12L5.38525 17.59L6.78834 19L12.3509 13.41L17.9135 19L19.3166 17.59L13.754 12L19.3166 6.41Z" fill="white"/> </mask> <g mask="url(#maskClose)"> <rect x="0.409668" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/> </g> </svg> </div>  <div class="jp-carousel-info"> <div class="jp-carousel-info-footer"> <div class="jp-carousel-pagination-container"> <div class="jp-swiper-pagination swiper-pagination"></div> <div class="jp-carousel-pagination"></div> </div> <div class="jp-carousel-photo-title-container"> <h2 class="jp-carousel-photo-caption"></h2> </div> <div class="jp-carousel-photo-icons-container"> <a href="#" class="jp-carousel-icon-btn jp-carousel-icon-info" aria-label="Toggle photo metadata visibility"> <span class="jp-carousel-icon"> <svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <mask id="maskInfo" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="2" y="2" width="21" height="20"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M12.7537 2C7.26076 2 2.80273 6.48 2.80273 12C2.80273 17.52 7.26076 22 12.7537 22C18.2466 22 22.7046 17.52 22.7046 12C22.7046 6.48 18.2466 2 12.7537 2ZM11.7586 7V9H13.7488V7H11.7586ZM11.7586 11V17H13.7488V11H11.7586ZM4.79292 12C4.79292 16.41 8.36531 20 12.7537 20C17.142 20 20.7144 16.41 20.7144 12C20.7144 7.59 17.142 4 12.7537 4C8.36531 4 4.79292 7.59 4.79292 12Z" fill="white"/> </mask> <g mask="url(#maskInfo)"> <rect x="0.8125" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/> </g> </svg> </span> </a> <a href="#" class="jp-carousel-icon-btn jp-carousel-icon-comments" aria-label="Toggle photo comments visibility"> <span class="jp-carousel-icon"> <svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <mask id="maskComments" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="2" y="2" width="21" height="20"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M4.3271 2H20.2486C21.3432 2 22.2388 2.9 22.2388 4V16C22.2388 17.1 21.3432 18 20.2486 18H6.31729L2.33691 22V4C2.33691 2.9 3.2325 2 4.3271 2ZM6.31729 16H20.2486V4H4.3271V18L6.31729 16Z" fill="white"/> </mask> <g mask="url(#maskComments)"> <rect x="0.34668" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/> </g> </svg> <span class="jp-carousel-has-comments-indicator" aria-label="This image has comments."></span> </span> </a> </div> </div> <div class="jp-carousel-info-extra"> <div class="jp-carousel-info-content-wrapper"> <div class="jp-carousel-photo-title-container"> <h2 class="jp-carousel-photo-title"></h2> </div> <div class="jp-carousel-comments-wrapper"> <div id="jp-carousel-comments-loading"> <span>Loading Comments...</span> </div> <div class="jp-carousel-comments"></div> <div id="jp-carousel-comment-form-container"> <span id="jp-carousel-comment-form-spinner"> </span> <div id="jp-carousel-comment-post-results"></div> <form id="jp-carousel-comment-form"> <label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-comment-field" class="screen-reader-text">Write a Comment...</label> <textarea name="comment" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-textarea" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-comment-field" placeholder="Write a Comment..." ></textarea> <div id="jp-carousel-comment-form-submit-and-info-wrapper"> <div id="jp-carousel-comment-form-commenting-as"> <fieldset> <label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-email-field">Email (Required)</label> <input type="text" name="email" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-text-field" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-email-field" /> </fieldset> <fieldset> <label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-author-field">Name (Required)</label> <input type="text" name="author" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-text-field" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-author-field" /> </fieldset> <fieldset> <label for="jp-carousel-comment-form-url-field">Website</label> <input type="text" name="url" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-field jp-carousel-comment-form-text-field" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-url-field" /> </fieldset> </div> <input type="submit" name="submit" class="jp-carousel-comment-form-button" id="jp-carousel-comment-form-button-submit" value="Post Comment" /> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="jp-carousel-image-meta"> <div class="jp-carousel-title-and-caption"> <div class="jp-carousel-photo-info"> <h3 class="jp-carousel-caption" itemprop="caption description"></h3> </div> <div class="jp-carousel-photo-description"></div> </div> <ul class="jp-carousel-image-exif" style="display: none;"></ul> <a class="jp-carousel-image-download" href="#" target="_blank" style="display: none;"> <svg width="25" height="24" viewBox="0 0 25 24" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> <mask id="mask0" mask-type="alpha" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" x="3" y="3" width="19" height="18"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd" d="M5.84615 5V19H19.7775V12H21.7677V19C21.7677 20.1 20.8721 21 19.7775 21H5.84615C4.74159 21 3.85596 20.1 3.85596 19V5C3.85596 3.9 4.74159 3 5.84615 3H12.8118V5H5.84615ZM14.802 5V3H21.7677V10H19.7775V6.41L9.99569 16.24L8.59261 14.83L18.3744 5H14.802Z" fill="white"/> </mask> <g mask="url(#mask0)"> <rect x="0.870605" width="23.8823" height="24" fill="#FFFFFF"/> </g> </svg> <span class="jp-carousel-download-text"></span> </a> <div class="jp-carousel-image-map" style="display: none;"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <link crossorigin='anonymous' rel='stylesheet' id='all-css-0-2' href='https://s2.wp.com/_static/??-eJyljUsKhDAQRC80mXZGDLiQOUsmaSTa+ZBOI95eBN260E3BK4pXsGRlU6wYKwRRmWT0kWHCmo2dD4aQ0h5OCBmsKUkYCXjxGYv6S3SEb8v8gge2c3QWd4XVEzo1GiIs6xXtB78wfHT/7Zu203raAHg3ZXE=&cssminify=yes' type='text/css' media='all' /> <script type="text/javascript" id="coblocks-loader-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var wpcom_coblocks_js = {"coblocks_masonry_js":"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/coblocks\/2.18.1-simple-rev.4\/dist\/js\/coblocks-masonry.min.js","coblocks_lightbox_js":"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/coblocks\/2.18.1-simple-rev.4\/dist\/js\/coblocks-lightbox.min.js","jquery_core_js":"\/wp-includes\/js\/jquery\/jquery.min.js","jquery_migrate_js":"\/wp-includes\/js\/jquery\/jquery-migrate.min.js","masonry_js":"\/wp-includes\/js\/masonry.min.js","imagesloaded_js":"\/wp-includes\/js\/imagesloaded.min.js"}; var coblocksLigthboxData = {"closeLabel":"Close Gallery","leftLabel":"Previous","rightLabel":"Next"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" id="jetpack-carousel-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var jetpackSwiperLibraryPath = {"url":"https:\/\/s2.wp.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/jetpack-plugin\/moon\/_inc\/build\/carousel\/swiper-bundle.min.js"}; var jetpackCarouselStrings = {"widths":[370,700,1000,1200,1400,2000],"is_logged_in":"","lang":"en","ajaxurl":"https:\/\/beyondelysium.ca\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php","nonce":"39f5c79f14","display_exif":"1","display_comments":"1","single_image_gallery":"1","single_image_gallery_media_file":"","background_color":"black","comment":"Comment","post_comment":"Post Comment","write_comment":"Write a Comment...","loading_comments":"Loading Comments...","image_label":"Open image in full-screen.","download_original":"View full size <span class=\"photo-size\">{0}<span class=\"photo-size-times\">\u00d7<\/span>{1}<\/span>","no_comment_text":"Please be sure to submit some text with your comment.","no_comment_email":"Please provide an email address to comment.","no_comment_author":"Please provide your name to comment.","comment_post_error":"Sorry, but there was an error posting your comment. Please try again later.","comment_approved":"Your comment was approved.","comment_unapproved":"Your comment is in moderation.","camera":"Camera","aperture":"Aperture","shutter_speed":"Shutter Speed","focal_length":"Focal Length","copyright":"Copyright","comment_registration":"0","require_name_email":"1","login_url":"https:\/\/beyondelysiumhome.wordpress.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fbeyondelysium.ca%2F2024%2F04%2F25%2Fjessy-returns%2F","blog_id":"159328818","meta_data":["camera","aperture","shutter_speed","focal_length","copyright"],"stats_query_args":"blog=159328818&v=wpcom&tz=-5&user_id=0&subd=beyondelysiumhome","is_public":"1"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script crossorigin='anonymous' type='text/javascript' src='https://s1.wp.com/_static/??-eJydUtFOwzAM/CHcrBvS2APiU1Caup1bJ47iZGN/TwYUoWkC1JdIZ/nO53PMOYKTkDFkM6nx0hEjFMVkx1oDCoM0kz6YH32+QOQyUlAzYY7WzV+40iWYVwrOdIW4N5VNgTKCuiTMC740nsKt6iLppGNxs5pt0z41LSj5WC0lPDWPpif98Lk0AYvtMd3Ty0f0qCaWro7tMWJ96kIVM+kRE2yvQsGeaLSZZCVfZ4rAFGYYxBWFgd5WCF0TqxFRzHCOTvz6xJ1NUq/H331L4V5E/5fN9Vf0MFpmTJff0B9jFjefa97Aynvxz+1+t2m3m8P+ML0Dlnf5lw=='></script> <script type="text/javascript"> (function () { var wpcom_reblog = { source: 'toolbar', toggle_reblog_box_flair: function (obj_id, post_id) { // Go to site selector. This will redirect to their blog if they only have one. const postEndpoint = `https://wordpress.com/post`; // Ideally we would use the permalink here, but fortunately this will be replaced with the // post permalink in the editor. const originalURL = `${ document.location.href }?page_id=${ post_id }`; const url = postEndpoint + '?url=' + encodeURIComponent( originalURL ) + '&is_post_share=true' + '&v=5'; const redirect = function () { if ( ! window.open( url, '_blank' ) ) { location.href = url; } }; if ( /Firefox/.test( navigator.userAgent ) ) { setTimeout( redirect, 0 ); } else { redirect(); } }, }; window.wpcom_reblog = wpcom_reblog; })(); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> // <![CDATA[ (function() { try{ if ( window.external &&'msIsSiteMode' in window.external) { if (window.external.msIsSiteMode()) { var jl = document.createElement('script'); jl.type='text/javascript'; jl.async=true; jl.src='/wp-content/plugins/ie-sitemode/custom-jumplist.php'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(jl, s); } } }catch(e){} })(); // ]]> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> (function() { var extend = function(out) { out = out || {}; for (var i = 1; i < arguments.length; i++) { if (!arguments[i]) continue; for (var key in arguments[i]) { if (arguments[i].hasOwnProperty(key)) out[key] = arguments[i][key]; } } return out; }; extend( window.infiniteScroll.settings.scripts, ["jetpack-mu-wpcom-settings","rlt-proxy","wpcom-actionbar-placeholder","grofiles-cards","wpgroho","mobile-useragent-info","the-neverending-homepage","coblocks-loader","independent-publisher-2-navigation","independent-publisher-2-skip-link-focus-fix","independent-publisher-2-wpcom-functions","jetpack-carousel","tiled-gallery","carousel-wpcom"] ); extend( window.infiniteScroll.settings.styles, ["the-neverending-homepage","wp-block-library","wp-block-library-theme","jetpack-layout-grid","jetpack-ratings","mediaelement","wp-mediaelement","coblocks-frontend","wpcom-core-compat-playlist-styles","wpcom-text-widget-styles","wpcom-bbpress2-staff-css","genericons","independent-publisher-2-style","independent-publisher-2-block-style","independent-publisher-2-wpcom-style","reblogging","geo-location-flair","a8c-global-print","h4-global","wp-emoji-styles","videopress-video-style","jetpack-sharing-buttons-style","classic-theme-styles","global-styles","jetpack-global-styles-frontend-style","jetpack-carousel-swiper-css","jetpack-carousel","tiled-gallery","core-block-supports-duotone"] ); })(); </script> <span id="infinite-aria" aria-live="polite"></span> <script src="//stats.wp.com/w.js?67" defer></script> <script type="text/javascript"> _tkq = window._tkq || []; _stq = window._stq || []; _tkq.push(['storeContext', {'blog_id':'159328818','blog_tz':'-5','user_lang':'en','blog_lang':'en','user_id':'0'}]); _stq.push(['view', {'blog':'159328818','v':'wpcom','tz':'-5','user_id':'0','subd':'beyondelysiumhome'}]); _stq.push(['extra', {'crypt':'UE40eW5QN0p8M2Y/RE1mNzc2NTVTamdsd0xoLz9RQkM2K298TXY9bERQMXc2MjhEaVZfb2wwakRoSj0mUkp1THptM1NdbkV1WjZIcU9mVWQmPUIvMlN6Jk8wW3NYVEJ3dWZOWExuWD9CbmxqLENKeHZKRG9sOWtMPXxsPzZaPWE9UDdDckNaeEFMRTd6X01ITlUsWnlbaT9+ZDF4Y1MzK3VMNVJEdHppaXVrfjhBRFRpW3pRTER1YT1MWkFpVW5pbCxFRENqbi1EcFdfLUt2M1Y3Qy9dbHRMeDBOSmxBVUclYmNuQVNTLk1HYSw5R0ZLdk5SRyVDTHJDY182RS94fixmPW1YUkc0a2k/PTRjSHgwM3J8dDdIYT1VZU5NdStkM0NtNmcyUFBzaG1iVjNkW1ZXLFE='}]); _stq.push([ 'clickTrackerInit', '159328818', '0' ]); </script> <noscript><img src="https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" style="height:1px;width:1px;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;bottom:1px;" alt="" /></noscript> <script defer id="bilmur" data-customproperties="{"logged_in":"0","wptheme":"pub\/independent-publisher-2","wptheme_is_block":"0"}" data-provider="wordpress.com" data-service="simple" src="/wp-content/js/bilmur.min.js?i=12&m=202449"></script><script defer id="bilmur" data-customproperties="{"logged_in":"0","wptheme":"pub\/independent-publisher-2","wptheme_is_block":"0"}" data-provider="wordpress.com" data-service="simple" src="/wp-content/js/bilmur-4.min.js?i=12&m=202449"></script><script> ( function() { function getMobileUserAgentInfo() { if ( typeof wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info === 'object' ) { wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.init(); var mobileStatsQueryString = ''; if ( wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedPlatformName !== false ) { mobileStatsQueryString += '&x_' + 'mobile_platforms' + '=' + wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedPlatformName; } if ( wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedUserAgentName !== false ) { mobileStatsQueryString += '&x_' + 'mobile_devices' + '=' + wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.matchedUserAgentName; } if ( wpcom_mobile_user_agent_info.isIPad() ) { mobileStatsQueryString += '&x_' + 'ipad_views' + '=' + 'views'; } if ( mobileStatsQueryString != '' ) { new Image().src = document.location.protocol + '//pixel.wp.com/g.gif?v=wpcom-no-pv' + mobileStatsQueryString + '&baba=' + Math.random(); } } } document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', getMobileUserAgentInfo ); } )(); </script> </body> </html>