#...to flog yourself to death with i think.

[uncanny-tranny]

Re: not all cis people are bad

The amount of “downs with the cis” and just outright demonization of people just because they happen to be cis and can’t control that fact made me not want to ID as trans AT ALL. And when I realized I myself wasn’t cis I felt so alienated by the things other trans people were saying that I just didn’t exist as trans for so long because I just associated being trans with all the rude things they said about people just for being cis (not being transphobic! JUST being cis) with being trans. And of course a lot of that is on me but like I didn’t see a lot of trans positivity… it was all “trans people are more queer than cis gays/lesbians and we’re better”… etc.

I can see where you're coming from, and I suppose I also see where the people who say that are coming from. Though I think the anger is being concentrated at the wrong thing, if that makes sense. It isn't random cis people who are upholding structural transphobia, it is people in power who uphold it. Random cis people can (and often are) transphobic, but they generally don't uphold the structural transphobia that many of us live under. I think that's where a lot of "all cis are bad" comes from.

Additionally (tangentially related), the whole, "cis people are bound to be transphobic; it's simply in their nature" can really be concerning. If it is that much in a cis person's nature, it's like... what's the point of combating it if it's in their very nature. It's just an excuse for people to not overcome the transphobia that was taught to them, I feel. The existance of non-transphobic cis people and cis people who are working toward overcoming their transphobia has truly framed this for me because transphobia is taught. Nobody is born transphobic. If it is something you can overcome, then I'm hesitant to call it "in your nature".

There are trans communities who push this idea, sure. But I also notice that some people also act as though this is all trans communities (by no means am I saying anon is doing this). I think it's more complicated an issue, and I understand where both sides of trans communities are coming from.

[saints-who-never-existed]

how about nunavut & sundogs for the terror ask game? 🐻‍❄

Yes, how about them indeed! :D

Nunavut - Have you read The Terror novel?

I've read it twice (god help me!). If it's of interest to anyone, I have been sort of live-blogging my second read-through under the tag #Rereading the Terror (although I haven't updated on the subject in a wee while).

It's...it's rough as a badger's arse, I can't lie!

There's the infamous Platypus Pond chapter. There's the rampant, disgusting, needless sexualisation of women and the exoticisation of indigenous women specifically. There are glaring historical inaccuracies (not unforgiveable in and of themselves, imho, if they serve the story but in this case, it smacks of a lack of care and research). And there's the fact that every man below an officer, regardless of his origin, speaks like a plucky wee Dickensian street-urchin.

But, with all that said, I'm more willing than most to commend the novel for the things it does do right.

The descriptions of the hardships suffered by the Expedition are incredible, for example, and incredibly harrowing too - the cold, the darkness, the tearing apart of their bodies and minds by illness and by Tuunbaq alike. And there are several spectacular scenes far wilder than we see them in the show or even too wild to be realised on screen at all. Carnivale, for instance, is even more chilling, as is the flogging of Hickey et al. There's a terrifying instance of Tuunbaq entering the ship and wreaking fiery havoc below decks, and another of the aftermath of it ambushing a party of prominent characters as they scout out a lead in the ice.

Ultimately, I would say it's worth reading, even if only to judge it for yourself and not just go by hearsay.

Sundogs - Talk about a moment in the show that interests you most.

Well, something that I've been thinking about over the last few days is Hartnell's death/Crozier's abduction and more specifically, about the effects that might've had on the other characters present to witness it.

I'm intrigued by wee Charles Best being there in the first place, for one thing. Maybe he was just the first person available when command was looking for back-up to go and scout Golding's fake lead. But it could also be that, for whatever reason, command placed a similar degree of trust in him as they did in Hartnell and that possibility is very interesting to me.

And there's also the fact that, after Dundy, Best is perhaps the most vocal opponent of Little's rescue plan in the following episode. He was the only other person to hear Crozier's 'order' but he and Little have very different responses to it and that's interesting to me also.

Like, we saw Best prominently among the Erebites singing together and mourning Sir John. It's not hard then for me to imagine him as a sensitive soul being profoundly affected by seeing another man die and at such close quarters, perhaps even enough to reconsider what he was willing to do to try and ensure his own survival?

[obislittleone]

What One Was Mine

Chapter 10

Summary: Locked away in a house her entire life, she always dreamed of exploring the nearby kingdom for just a day, believing it could make the rest of her days in solitude bearable. What she was unaware of, was the real reason she’d been hidden away for so long. Changes comes swift like a flying dagger when a thieving bounty hunter seeks solace in the old home.

Din Djarin Royalty!AU / Tangled!AU

Pairing: Din Djarin x Princess Kryze!Reader

A/n: it’s been a hot minute but guys pedro is trending again and I’m legit so happy over it (i had one or two bad experiences with new fans trying to gatekeep or whatever) i’m just so happy he’s getting more recognition tho bc THATS OUR PRECIOUS DAD

Warnings: oh boy kinda a lot… mentions of death, having beatings take place, several scenes with blood… there’s a flogging in the courtyard?? References to sexual themes. Uncomfortable situations fr… imprisonment and degradation. I think that’s it but remind me if i’m wrong.

The way you parted from your new fiancé was bittersweet. Bitter, because it was all too early, but sweet, knowing you would see him again every day after for as long as you should live. You snuck back to your room together, but went separate ways after you entered your doorframe. It hadn’t been for your lack of trying, though.

“Stay with me tonight,” you pleaded with those glazed brown eyes, his stare was always intense, but there was a softness to it when directed upon you. “I know the time when my handmaiden comes, I can wake you before then.”

He pondered it, of course he did. Grogu was in the royal nursery for the time being, and you were standing with your hands against his chest in a dim hallway while asking him to remain by your side through the night. The look in your eyes told him you wanted something more from him, something not so innocent as you were. He couldn’t in good consciousness give you what you desired until you were married. Though he’d never cared before, or even heeded the tradition of waiting for intimacy till marriage, he knew that the terms had now changed. You were a princess, and he was undeserving of you anyways. To steal away your virtue and risk a scandal that could ruin your name in the large and well known kingdom was not likely on his to-do list. He was going to do everything he possibly could to make sure that this was done right, starting now.

“Not tonight, Mesh’la,” he pulled you closer to his chest, kissing the top of your head as a sweet ending to the night. He knew his refusal might make you sad, but his use of an endearment spared your heart and only made it flutter in response. “I will see you tomorrow, as long a you save me a dance.”

“I can’t even think of dancing with someone else.”

He gently brought you away from his chest, using his finger and thumb to raise your chin, eyes meeting once more. You were tired, but your sleepy gaze fell on his and did not want to leave. He understood the feeling, but decided on being the one to bring it to an end. He thought it responsible, though it felt wrong to leave you this way.

“Until then,” he gathered your hand in his, noting the comparable size difference before kissing your knuckles. He never looked away from you, and that was your detriment. His magic would not soon wear off, for even in many years to come, as long as he looked at you like that, like you hung stars, moon, and sun in the sky, you’d always be putty in his hands.

“Goodnight, Din.”

He backed away, fading into the hallway, as you went into your room and shut the door behind you. You slid down the wooden blockade, arms wrapped around yourself and a lovestruck smile adorning your face. You were to be married to the love of your life, and spend an eternity together, going on adventures, doing good in the kingdom, and raising baby Grogu. Already you had a family that you cherished above anything in the worlds, surely nothing could ever go wrong.

Din was elated as well, but keeping light of foot to avoid any attention as he snuck through the halls and back to his assigned suite. It was best to keep all of this quiet until after your coronation ball, because hopefully things would be settled more firmly into stone then, and a consort marriage could be announced.

He was turning the corner to his door when all of a sudden he was ripped away by several pairs of arms. He struggled in their grasp, trying to break free, unsure of why this was happening, but the men who were clearly meant to detain him came prepared, giving a sharp hit to the side of his head, knocking him completely unconscious for them to drag down the hall and out of the palace, heading straight for the dungeons.

-

The morning awoke you with a shivering chill, but you relaxed into it, pulling the comforter closer to you as you waited for the hand maiden to come and bring you out of the big and luxurious bed. You’d never tire of the sleeping accommodations, although you you would admit, if you could give it up to spend another night on the forest floor wrapped in your hunter’s arms, you most definitely would.

You waited several more minutes, unsure of why the girl named Elise did not come on time like she normally did. You were beginning to be concerned, had something happened to her? Was she alright?

You threw off the sheets, throwing your feet over the side of the bed and standing, trying to find the dressing gown you usually wore in the morning while your hair and face were being attended to. It was a long and dull process and often you hated sitting through it, but you would have rather endured it this morning than be running around the room frantically, nerves on high end that someone you know may be hurt or something.

You had just found your dressing gown when suddenly the doors opened and in came the girl that usually helped attend to you. You heaved a deep sigh, greeting her with a smile.

“Elise, you hadn’t come at the normal time, I was worried something happened to you,” you chuckled over your words, shaking your head and realizing you had been ridiculous to jump to such conclusions so quickly.

“My apologies, your highness… the entire staff has been distracted this morning,” she paused, immediately resuming her work of helping you pull on the dressing gown. “There was a flogging in the castle courtyard, a new prisoner.”

You hated hearing about the mistreatment of the men and women in this kingdom. You’d heard much about the so called ‘prisoners’ they kept. Poor and hungry people who may only had stolen a roll of bread to survive, now to be tortured and held against their will for it. This was what you had wanted to change, and so far you were disappointed, because right now you were powerless to do anything. The king was harsh and unforgiving, and you wanted to stay on his good side in order to achieve your goals, but it was taking so long.

“Poor soul,” you mumbled softly, but she heard it, and as she ushered you to the vanity chair that you were used to by now, she explained further.

“Poor indeed. The staff say he was a guest in the castle, you may even know him,” she rambled on, and you shot up to a straight stance only just as you were taking a seat. You turned to her and gave wide eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset you, your highness. I speak too plainly.”

You were upset, but her speaking plainly was not the reason. You began breathing quickly, and tried to have a single coherent thought.

“What did this man look like?” Your expression made her believe you were angry, and partly you were, but also completely mortified and worried for another.

“He was quite tall, had darkish features. I didn’t get a good look at him,” she tried her best to respond to your question, but in all honestly she couldn’t understand why you were so concerned. Even if you knew this man, shouldn’t you know that the castle laws come first? That if a rule is broken against the king that it is punishable?

“No,” you shook your head, racing for the doors. Elise cried out for you to come back, to calm yourself and not get worked into a frenzy because it was bad for your complexion.

You were half dressed, not even, and considered wildly inappropriate to be walking the halls of the castle, much less leaving it and rushing out to the courtyard, where the king and a few advisors stood, accompanied by some guards who had just carried out a horrible act.

It seems they were all ready to leave, and the prisoner had already been taken away. It was very clear, however, there was still his blood that dripped down and covered the cobblestones of the area, leading up to the whipping post. The sight made you sick, but you persisted, lacking all sense of decorum as you stood straight behind the king, tugging on his cape and making him face you.

“What did you do?” Your question was nothing short of venomous as it dripped from your mouth, and king Gideon was genuinely terrified, if only for a moment. He knew that he had the numbers, and the manly bravado to overpower you if needed, but it didn’t stop him from having a second of fear.

“I have found an enemy of the kingdom and brought him to justice. I’m afraid your… companion is a very notorious thief, my dear. Not to worry, I will dispose of him for you. He shall hang at first light tomorrow.”

His smug smile, and the play of his words. You knew he was taunting you. He must have known about yours and Din’s secret relationship, otherwise this behavior was completely out of the blue and unlikely to occur. It was him, after all, who agreed to the presence of said thief in the castle along with Grogu. The child was well liked by everyone, and Gideon could not deny he found the little green fellow charming… but the hunter. The one who’d stolen your heart and bent down on one knee to enact what the king could only view as a proposal. He was no longer welcome in the home of royalty.

“Let him go,” your eyes were turning dark, and your fists were clenched so tight they almost shook from the pressure. What would you do if he should not concede? Your power had nearly fully restored itself to you, though not as strong as before, it certainly still had enough power to drop him where he stood. You hated the thought of killing someone, of taking a life and becoming something you always swore you were not, but if it meant your hunter’s life was spared, then so be it.

“I’m afraid I can’t. Though I only wish to make you happy, my princess, the law still stands, and he has broken it one too many times to be left alive.”

It was hypocrisy, all of it. He made it sound like a righteous deed, to lock away someone who has done many wrongs, but he was the one who pushed so many to commit acts of crime every day, just by keeping them starving in the streets. He bred crime then persecuted it to become a hero. He was a wolf stalking his prey, the innocent people of Mandalore, who never did anything to deserve his reign of tyranny.

“If you don’t do as I ask, I will-“

“You’ll what?” He stopped you mid sentence, only making your anger to grow. He kept that horrid and demeaning smile on his face at all times, never letting it dwindle, for his pride held strong. “You forget who’s kingdom this is, you forget your place.”

What could you even do to respond to that? How could you keep your dignity in challenging him without it ending so poorly that his blood may be spilt onto the courtyard stones? You would never use your powers to hurt anyone, you swore from your childhood that you may never allow yourself to fall that low, and yet, you were so angry, fuming and red in the face as you glared to the man in front of you. He was no king, he did not govern his people his respect and care, he ruled over them as if they were mud under his boots. He made them to fear him, his only attribute as a king was intimidation. He wasn’t a king, he was a prison keeper.

Your silence had dragged on far too long, and for that he assumed he had put you in your place, made you see things from the right perspective.

“That’s what I thought,” he spoke, beginning to walk past you, curving around your body and smirking as you stood firm on your feet, bare to the ground like they had almost always been before. “Mayfeld, see to it that she is readied for tonight, the ball is in her honor, after all.”

You winced at the mere mention of the occasion. Sickness spread through your stomach at only the thought that you could be made to attend such an event, and with a smile on your face, while the love of your life is in pain, and rotting away his last night on this forsaken earth in a prison cell. Your anger was still red hot, and flaming to the touch. Anyone who neared you need beware, but also, they may need to prepare for the oncoming stream of tears that was fast approaching. You forced yourself to hold them in until the king had re-entered the castle. There was no point in giving him the satisfaction.

The king’s advisor, Miggs Mayfeld, had spoken to you on a few occasions. He was a yes-man in anyone’s book, but you saw people differently than they were, and you could tell that there was a certain kindness in his eyes, hidden beneath hardened layers that no one could see straight away unless they were willing to take the time to peel said layers away. Even now, as he came to your side, he seemed conflicted. He stood a few feet away, not wanting to upset you further than you had been already. He seemed, for lack of a better word, afraid. But you had no intention of hurting him, nay anyone else.

“You should come with me,” he said it with his eyes to the ground, his head parallel to his feet. He sounded very empathetic, as if he’d grown used to the way the king had treated people, and was now just a bystander to anyone he dealt to, feeling their pain the same way he had all those year ago.

“No,” you stood firm, and though you understood he was just doing his job, he now seemed like the enemy. Doing the king’s bidding made him an extension of your foe, in spite of the fact that he seemed to dislike the king as much as you do, now. “Take me to the hunter.”

Your demand was left into the air, and Mayfeld nearly choked on his saliva at how boldly you delivered it. You clearly weren’t playing games, but he couldn’t afford to surpass his own orders for ones given by you. Even if you did outrank him, you had not been crowned a member of the royal family as of yet, making your commands null and void.

“I can’t, and I think you know that,” he didn’t beat around this bush anymore. He wasn’t going to waste his pleasantries on you, knowing you understood the maniacal situation at hand. “But I can take you to someone who can help. By no means are you to mention this to anyone. If you do, my head is on the line.”

He was speaking quite literally. A traitor to the king would be instantly dealt with, and would probably not make it till sunrise to see the thief and hunter hung at the gallows. You couldn’t tell why he was doing this, if maybe he’d just had enough of the mistreatment, or maybe he simply wanted someone to stand up to the king, either way, you knew his help would be vital.

You followed him in the direction of the far off east wing of the castle, which had been completely separated by a wall of pillars and turrets. If you remember correctly, this wing was home to a few lords and ladies of the kingdom, and sat right between the gates and the castle gardens. As you walked passed, you remembered the hour of the night before, the moonlit white roses, and sparkling daisies that sprung up from the earth. Beauty turned to anger and suffering since then, and you shook off the nasty feeling you had as you finally entered a doorway of the luxurious homestead.

The walls were ornate like the interior of the castle, though the ceilings were lower, and the decor was not as precise and detailed. It looked like some of the things you saw in the village, the building structures that have probably been standing for ages. This looked like true mandalorian culture, and you wondered if the king had changed the castle to look a certain way from perhaps being like this before he began his rule.

Mayfeld whispered to the guard in the hallway, whom looked at you suspiciously before returning his eyes to the man before him. He seemed like he was trying to make a decision, and waited a second or two before letting out a sigh and a nod. He rounded the corner to another room, and returned with a woman you were quite familiar with. She had been at every afternoon tea you were made to attend. She was the one with fiery red hair, and eyes that almost reminded you of your own, though hers were worn with years of sights she did not wish to see.

“Lady Bo Katan,” Mayfeld bowed shortly before closely approaching her and speaking lowly at a volume you could not hear. You waited patiently, and eventually, they both came forward. “She knows the hunter.”

Bo Katan, as formal as she may be, only took a once over of your attire, deeming it unnecessary to call any attention to the fact that you were only covered by a silk nightgown and a sheer dressing robe. You must have been in a hurry.

“If you wish to see him, you will have to wait till nightfall, after the celebration os over,” she told you, and you were about to protest, opening your mouth to argue before she held her hand up. “I’m not finished. You must also attend the party to seem as though you have forgotten the matter.”

“I can’t put on that dress and walk those floors knowing how he’s being kept. I don’t just want to see him, I want him to be free. I refuse to watch him die tomorrow.”

“I understand your haste, but may I offer you some wisdom?” The tilt of her head and slight narrowing of her eyes gave you a view into her mind for only a second, and you could tell she knew what she was saying. You nodded for her to continue. “The king has eyes and ears everywhere. If you ever want to see the hunter again, it will need to be done with discretion and planning. I have been in this court since King Gideon took over, and I plan to see him taken from his throne, but I cannot do so by rushing through and wreaking havoc. You understand?”

Something didn’t add up, something about her seemed off… in a familiar way.

“Why would you be willing to wait so long for something that may never happen?” Your question gave her a look of sheer confusion. Were you missing something? Had you somehow dozed off in one of the days before when they were explaining anything about everything to you?

“You really don’t know…” her voice seemed to pity you, but only for your lack of information. She turned to Mayfeld, who was partially listening by now, then back to you, still stunned. “I am Bo Katan Kryze. I’m your sister.”

No…

You weren’t eager to quickly accept this fact, as you had certainly forgotten you even had a remaining sister left alive. Satine Kryze, and the younger, Bo Katan Kryze. Your flesh and blood, never known to you until this very moment.

“You…” the words were short from your mouth, as you failed to gather them as you started to speak. You couldn’t gather a single coherent thought, and though it made sense as to why, you tried to reason with your own mind and say something. “You’re the rightful heir.”

“I was once, but I squandered my chances. I was too young to understand the consequences of my actions, and I lost the throne in a foolish match with a stranger to Mandalore. My decisions were my own, and it is because of them that Gideon is King,” she explained it to you, and you began to understand the weight and severity of this rule’s history. It was… won? How can you win the throne? “I cannot challenge him again on terms of a deal I made in my surrender.”

The air in the room was thick as her words came to an end, and she turned to the King’s advisor to make sure he knew his place, and would not spill any of this to the King to earn favor. Of course, the history of the battle was to remain a hushed topic, and everyone new this, but the one person who could oversee any punishment in the rules being broken was not present, so speak of it they would, right in front of you no doubt. You thought about it for a minute. Surely you were powerful enough to defeat Gideon in a battle. Your powers could possibly end him on sight if it was necessary. The only obstacle would be the challenge itself.

“I could challenge the King,” you spoke assuredly of yourself, earning two heads snapped with immediate haste upon hearing something they deemed so halfwitted.

“You are no warrior, believe me, the King is more spry and capable than he looks.”

You should not blame either of them for seeing you as a stupid girl, only an innocent child of which knew nothing she spoke of, and shook off their complete and utter disapproval of your idea at first.

“I am capable as well,” you told them, and with the audacity and nerve that he had, Advisor Mayfeld scoffed at you, shaking his head and placing his hands on his hips. He was not having any of your foolish notions. “I can prove it.”

You rose your hand from your side, eyes finding the perfect subject for your demonstration. There was quite an ugly looking vase that caught your vision when you were walking in. It did not match the rest of the authentic Mandalorian decor surrounding, it looked like something that would probably be kept in the main castle, along with all the other gaudy and dramatic looking objects. You lifted it high into the air, bringing it towards you while their backs were still turned, but they spun around quickly when sensing some sort of energy passing between them from you and something behind.

You didn’t get to see their looks of astonishment when they realized just exactly what you were doing, but the gasps followed by long silence was enough for you to know that they had been captivated by your show of power. You flung your wrist, sending the vase into the opposite wall across the room, the shattering sound of the glass echoed, and Mayfeld jumped slightly on impact.

“I know it’s not going to be a conventional fight, but I believe that-“ the wind was swiftly knocked out of you as you were pushed harshly against the wall by Mayfeld, a dagger to your throat as your stared at him with wide eyes.

“She’s a witch!” Mayfeld was not letting up, and though the powers bestowed upon her little sister were momentarily frightening, Bo Katan saw this act as madness, pulling him from you as fast as she could.

“You will do well to keep your hands off of her,” she demanded, and you realized now that this had been yet your second encounter with someone claiming you were a witch.

“Her powers are like that of the shadow keepers, she doesn’t belong here, in a castle,” he glared back at you, but the effect didn’t travel as far as it should have since you were still gasping for your breath. “She must be from the dark forrest.”

“That’s enough,” Bo was sick of hearing the miscreant speak any further. “You are still under my authority, or do you forget?”

His stern eyeline had finally shifted away from you and onto her, but you still felt the adrenaline of his stare weighing from when it had been firmly on your being.

“You will not speak a word of any of this to the King, or anyone else for that matter. What you have seen stays inside these walls, do you understand?”

He didn’t like the king, hated him even. He never had a problem with going behind his back before, but now? Well, this had gone farther than what he had known. The girl who claimed to be the rightful heir, but does not overtake the king for his throne, shown up after being missing and assumed dead for eighteen years, now suddenly reveals the power she has been hiding all along. It was something out of a fairytale and he could hardly believe it. Surely, the king would praise him, reward him even, for letting him in on the little secret that could pose a threat to him remaining the ruler of this kingdom…. But he didn’t care about the rewards, and he didn’t care about being praised, not by Gideon at least. You were the first real contender to dethrone him in years, and he would not pass up the opportunity to see that two-faced dictator get what he deserved, not even if it meant siding with a witch.

“I do.”

His nod and heave of a long, deep sigh meant he was not only in agreement with her commands, but he was approving of the plan to let you challenge the king.

“It’s settled, then,” Bo turned back to you, looking you up and down once again, now seeing something far different from that of when you entered her home. “Gideon will be challenged at the ball tonight, but we have to make sure nothing is out of place or suspected until then.”

You looked at your apparel, and knew instantly that it was not in your best interest to remain in this dressing gown until tonight’s event.

“I suppose I should start getting ready.”

-

You put on a brave face, though it was hard, and your mind kept traveling back to the plan. The very reason it was being enacted still held against his will in a prison cell amongst the other poor thieves and said ‘criminals’ in the dungeon. He was not innocent, perse, but he was not a bad man, and did not deserve to be killed at morning light like everyone was planning. You wanted so badly to sit with him, to hold him close to you and let him know that you weren’t going to stand for this, that you would save him at any cost. You wanted to take his hands in your own and convey to him all the love you held that would not so easily be diminished by simple threats.

The ball had already begun, and your ladies in waiting were surrounding you, putting the final touches onto your dress and hair, lacing your feet with the most glorious shoes that you’d rather do without. You watched out of the window, looking down at all the people arriving to the grand hall of the castle, seeming like Lords and Ladies and Dukes and Duchesses. Only those of high importance and stature, you could imagine.

“It will be time, soon,” Bo Katan was dressed very elegantly, in the classic Kryze family colors of blue and white. She came around your seat to stand in front of you, hoping to see a face of determination, but instead she found one of worry and nerve. “You won’t back out?”

You couldn’t lie, it scared you to think that in front of all these people, pouring into the ballroom right this minute, you would humiliate the King by offering a duel that could dethrone him. It was a bad move, but he was a coward, and if done in secrecy, he would decline, and have you and your hunter killed. If done in front of a multitude, with many eyes to not only hear of the duel, but to possibly see it with their own eyes? He may have been a coward, but he was far more prideful than he was filled with fear. It was risky, it was practically insane, but you would go through with it.

“I won’t, I swear it. I can’t leave him there,” you had revealed your motivation to her quite early, of course you had… and she understood. She once had a love that she would do anything for, but unfortunately death was an untimely thing, and it happened to like picking and choosing it’s victims. You though? You had the ability to play a hand against death, and you would take the opportunity every single time.

“This hunter of yours, what has he done to be imprisoned?”

“Other than being caught with me?” You spewed that part with annoyance, sure that she understood the weight of responsibility you felt for part of this. “He was the thief who stole the darksaber. I’ve heard some strange stories circulate around since I’ve lived here, but the truth of the matter is that it was in his possession for the entire duration of it being missing, or rather… mine. I would know, that’s how I met him.”

“You were his accomplice?” Her eyebrows furrowed, and she tried to stop from cracking a smile, because the sound of it was utter nonsense. You were a little ray of sunshine, a rainbow in the dark, and a silver moon amongst dark skies. You who giggled like a sweet child in the halls after tea with the king and advisors, and read fantasy books with happy endings that were unreal to life… There was no way you were in on a job with a notorious thief and hunter.

“Not precisely, no. He stumbled into my home after stealing it, and I hid it from him to make a trade. I didn’t know what it was, though it felt oddly familiar.”

“It’s apart of your bloodline, it belongs to you.” She placed a hand on your shoulder, turning you away from the window to look into the mirror. You wouldn’t deny you looked rather beautiful. You fit the role of a princess, and now you could play the part with confidence. The emerald green was adorning you so well, and you doubted there was a spot on you that was out of place. It came together so well, but there was only one person you wished to see you looking like this. Perhaps he would, by the end of the night when this all was over.

“It will be mine again, whatever the cost.”

-

The ball was so elegant, the decorations were stunning and the aura around the halls was nearly perfect, with lit candles near every sconce and nook there was. The beautiful dark green drapes and vines around the scene matched your dress perfectly, and though you hadn’t yet made your first appearance, everyone was having a wonderful time. All except you it would seem.

Your small band of secret alliances was hidden in the upstairs sitting room nearest to the grand staircase, which would have to be ascended any moment.

“Can you see him?” You were sat on a chair, looking to Mayfeld who had been overseeing the actions of the King as he strutted around, greeting his guests and the nobility as they entered the elaborate ballroom.

“He’s still moving, he hasn’t stopped.”

Lady Bo Katan was already in the shuffle, as she was trying to make sure there were no other intercepting forces on the ground that could possibly interfere with the plan. It would be madly simple as long as everything went correctly, and it had thus far.

You were to enter the ball, being welcomed as the Lost Princess of Mandalore. After any greetings with surrounding comers you would be expected to dance with the King as per his request. Once the King felt secure in your actions, then the switch would flip, and you would command the attention of everyone in the hall to your announcement. The challenge to the throne would be set in stone, and there would be too many witnesses for him to deny it. If all went well, the duel would take place at first light, and the hanging of your hunter would be postponed until the battle was over. You would win against the King, of that you were sure. He may have known about your powers, but not to the extent of what they are really capable of. The people who’d hidden you away as a baby were right to fear your power, but not because of the harm it may bring. Instead they should have ben more aware of your will to save whom you love through that power.

“When is he going to call me down?” You wondered, muttering it halfway under your breath as a thought spoken aloud.

“Now,” he said, taking two steps towards you to give you a hand up from your seat. What a contrast to his earlier behavior of slamming you against a wall in accusation. “He’s just signaled for you.”

“Now?”

Though you’d waited almost an hour, it felt too fast all of a sudden. If only you’d been focussing on calming your nerves rather than thinking about the plan, for it had been completely engraved into your mind by now, and there was no chance you would forget it.

“C’mon, your highness,” he guided you to the top of the stairs, and immediately every head was turned and gasps could be heard from below. The whispers were rowdy, yet still discrete, and the soft string music playing gave a small sense of safety when you looked out over the crowd. “Knock em’ dead.”

You pulled your shoulders back, pasting a fake smile to your face that spread across your cheeks and made you look happy to anyone who couldn’t see the pain in your eyes, for having to act this way under the circumstances being what they were. Ascending the steps was the least of your worries, and yet your heart raced over the possibility of falling. R

“The Princess Kryze has returned!” And the moment it was announced, you reached the bottom, bowing nearly to the floor in order to impress the many guests. Given the eruption of applause when you stood, you deemed your performance rather well done.

King Gideon met you in the center of the room, where a circle had formed to surround you both. His smug smile made you want to hurl out whatever contents were left in your stomach. It wouldn’t be much, considering you nearly refused to eat while thinking about the conditions Din was probably having to survive under.

“You are absolutely ravishing, my dear princess.”

“It took a while to achieve, but I’m glad my appearance is to your liking,” though it was said with as much enthusiasm as you could muster, the words held much disdain in your mind. You were truly only a trophy to him, a prize to look upon and enjoy when he means to. Had anything else never occurred, you’d still hate his being more than anything. He held nothing but darkness in his heart, and would never have been a partner worth even settling for. You’d rather spend the rest of your days as a poor town’s maiden with Din, as opposed to living a life full of luxury and riches with Gideon.

“Since you look so angelic in this splendid work of a dress, it would be a shame if the guests were unable to see it move how it was designed to,” a horrid way of asking you to dance, but you supposed you weren’t expecting anything from him at this point. You only smiled wide when he stuck his hand out to you. “Shall we?”

“Of course,” you responded, taking the outstretched appendage and allowing him to pull you closer. The discomfort ran through your veins, it was so thick and made your heart race and stomach turn. The second his hand fell to your mid back, you nearly felt ill, but kept on in knowing who all of this was for.

The music got louder, and other instruments joined in to form the smooth melody of a waltz. A dance you were expected to fail at by many of the King’s friends. He was the one who had told them so, but he knew better, now. He’d seen you dance with your thief, and you were quite the artist of movement. You flowed like a river through a forrest in the spring. Every movement was well done and meticulously thought out. You’d been practicing with Mayfeld earlier under the scrutiny of Bo Katan, and though it was helpful to rehearse some actual steps, it was much more premeditated than your midnight waltz with Din. With him it was so natural, it was so easy.

Your form was impeccable, even the onlookers thought so. You looked heavenly, quite like a dream. All an act, and it was moving along perfectly.

You had expected to finish the dance without another interaction, however, the King Gideon had other plans.

“You seem to be in a far better mood than this morning,” he said in a mocking tone. He must have felt you tense up for a moment, as his grip on you tightened.

“I suppose I was delirious from the early hours,” your lie was told poorly, and though he might have been swayed by your earlier attempts to make him believe you were in fact happy, your tone drove him to think you were only acting a part. “But you mustn’t mind my behavior.”

He chuckled, looking back at you and spinning you around once before continuing his antics.

“If we’re done playing pretend, I have a deal to offer you.”

Your eyes widened momentarily, and you had to compose yourself as to not give anything else away. This wasn’t part of the plan. He wasn’t supposed to offer you anything… but what if this deal is the difference between winning and losing a battle?

“I’m listening,” you encouraged, keeping up with the rhythm of the steady music that droned on still. You looked out to the crowd and caught Bo Katan’s face, staring on in hope that whatever you spoke of would not hinder anything.

“I believe it comes as no surprise to you that I wish to seek your hand in marriage, for both the good of the Kingdom and myself,” he spoke so assuredly. Whatever he had in mind for this so called deal wasn’t looking to be the better option so far. “But knowing what I do about yourself and the thief, I understand you would always resent me and perhaps look for ways to sabotage my rule if I simply took you as my bride.”

“Get to the point,” you spoke with no aggression, nor any emotion, as you couldn’t let it show on your face what you were feeling.

“If you shall agree to be my Queen, and unite all of Mandalore… I shall set free the prisoner Din Djarin and allow him an exile from the kingdom.”

You froze, your entire body refusing to finish the dance as it backed away from him. He in turn did the same, making it look as though the dance was over, and bowing to you. You thought quickly on your feet and did the same. The crowd again erupted into a fit of clapping and cheering, not rambunctiously, but just as the sort who have been entertained well. Unneeded to say they were well on their way to adoring the Princess Kryze, just as they always have while you were missing.

“Think about it. You have until midnight to decide,” he finished, grabbing your hand once more and placing a kiss to your knuckles before disappearing back into the crowd among his invited guests. They had all taken the dance floor by now, and you had to take several deep breaths before emerging from the scene to find your accomplices.

You spotted the lovely mane of firey hair, going straight to her and getting her attention. She turned around and saw your fearsome expression and spoke no words before pulling you by the hand to a crevice that no one could find you.

“What happened?” She rushed out. Looking over you, every limb shaking like a leaf yet nearly sweating profusely, it wasn’t hard to tell something went wrong.

“He offered me a deal.”

“No, whatever it is, you cannot accept,” she cut off any other words you may have about the matter, as apparently the contents of said deal were of no priority. “Anything he has to offer you will soon be yours anyway.”

“He offered Din’s freedom in exchange for my hand,” you told her, and she felt she needed to slow down and assess more of this interaction before making anymore rash decisions on your behalf. “If I challenge him tonight, he still has the authority to kill Din by sunrise. If I take the deal, I can challenge him once I know my hunter is safe.”

It was risky. The plan as it were had no flaws in Bo Katan’s eyes. All she wanted to see was the King Gideon slain and his rule to end… but she knew how love could complicate things. To you, the life of a thief was more important than the details of overthrowing the King. She once knew love like that, and it had been lost. Though bitter in her feelings over the subject, she couldn’t stop you from saving the one you love, because she wishes she could have done the same if she had been given that chance.

“You’re sure you want to do this? You know what it will cost you if anything goes wrong?”

“I want him safe, I don’t care what it costs me,” you assured her. With a heavy sigh, she nodded, understanding your fervor for protecting that which is close to you.

“Alright,” she agreed, but stopped you from turning and leaving just yet. “Do not let the King know of your decision until we’ve made new plans. Find a way to meet me out in the gardens, make sure no one sees you leave.”

“Are you going to tell Mayfeld?”

“I will, but for now, just do as I’ve said.”

And with that she was off, vanishing into the pool of bodies that was the dance floor. She was not one or dancing, or anything romantic like that, but she would admit it often gave a good distraction to those she did not want aware of her schemes.

You had found a way to sneak through a hall, and around to a hidden staircase that was usually only used for staff. There, you made your way to your room, and once you felt you could let your guard down, you finally let go of the deep breath you’d been holding. You wrapped a thick black cloak oar your shoulders, making sure the hood was flipped up before you left the room. There was no one in the upper rooms right now as it were, for the entirety of the castle’s population could be found in the ballroom.

It was much easier to get to the courtyard in the disguise you donned, as the black fabric made you near invisible to the guards watching from the towers. You crossed the rough gravel into the gardens, hidden now by the large trees and voluminous plant life around you. You only waited for about two minutes before Bo Katan and Mayfeld snuck into the shadows along with you. All the under cover activity should have felt exciting to you, as it was new and daring… but there was too much on the line. A life you could not afford to lose hung in the balance.

“What’s the plan?” You whispered to Bo, but she held her hand out. Your eagerness was sometimes your downfall, but it was a lucky thing you didn’t have to depend on yourself in this mess.

“Come with us,” she said in a hushed tone, but still commanding enough for you not to question where you were about to follow them to.

Mayfeld held a set of keys upon his belt that you didn’t recognize from earlier, and since you were still on the subject of accepting Gideon’s proposal, your mind did not put the pieces together as to what your mystery destination might be.

When you entered the cavernous looking establishment, the smell of old moss and water build up were rather strong, and you wondered what kind of place this might be that it could be infested with the things it was scented with.

Mayfeld lit a lantern on the wall once you were far enough inside not to be seen. It was only now that you saw your surroundings. You were in the castle dungeon. The other inmates looked to be fast asleep by now, some lounging on top of one another is a haze of exhaustion. You passed by a cell that held two familiar faces, though they were also unconscious in the corner of the area. Ran and Xi’an, Din’s old partners, the ones who tried to betray him and take you. Serves them right for ending up where they were.

You followed Mayfeld to the end of the row, where a rough wooden blockading door stood closed. Mayfeld took the keys from his belt and unlocked the door, entering first and holding his hand out for you both to wait. You understood who was inside, and you wanted nothing more than to go in, but for the sake of any plans that would be hatched, you remained standing as you were.

Mayfeld emerged from the room with a solemn look on his face, but he nodded to you anyways, and stepped aside.

You wasted no time in trampling over your skirt layers to get through the doorway. You could barely see by the lantern light from the hallway, but you felt around until you collided with a familiar body.

“Din?” You reached out and placed a hand on his chest, feeling the tattered shirt beneath your fingertips. He took you in his arms in a moment, hugging you close to his body and tucking himself around your form like a sheet to a mattress.

“It’s me, mesh’la.”

You nearly cried, just feeling him around you gave you an overwhelming sense of peace that you hadn’t possessed for the entirety of the day until now.

You tried snaking your arms around to his back, but his harsh wince along with a jolt of his body away made you uneasy again. You barely found his face in the dark, seeing those dark brown irises staring you down under the soft orange glow.

“What have they done to you?” Your tear filled eyes were about to overflow. What horrible treatment had he endured while you were embraced with luxuries the whole day through?

“Nothing I can’t handle,” he tried to calm your worries over him, for they were trivial in comparison to his worries over you. The king could break every bone in his body, make him writhe in pain and peel the skin from his bones and he would endure it all with a sly look upon his face… but if anyone dared touch you or the child, he became a danger to all forces opposed.

“I can help,” you pleaded with furrowed brows and teary eyes. You hand’t yet tested this aspect of your powers since the incident, but you’d like to bet the need for his healing would be enough motivation to instantly muster your strength again.

You reached for the bottom of his shirt and pulled it off with his help, feeling the torn edges from when he’d been tossed around and likely beaten senseless. It was the first time you’d seen his bare skin like this before, and given that the light continued to get brighter the longer your eyes adjusted, you could see the expanse of his broad chest and torso in it’s entirety. You blinked twice to refocus and snap back to reality, seeing over his shoulder the red lines of broken skin.

Coming closer to him again, you wrapped your arms around his body gently, placing your palms on his back. His wince was the last bit of incentive you needed to concentrate your energy on healing him. He sunk into your hold, reciprocating it while he felt the warm spread of your powers beginning to take his pain away. This was perhaps the worst wound you had ever healed, and it was going to take a toll on you physically, but you pushed that thought to the back of your mind. You would do whatever it took to bear his pain for him, especially since he carried it because of you in the first place. Your knees grew weak, and he had to catch you before you fell to the ground. He held you steady, whispering his thanks in your ear until you were able to stand on your own.

“I hate to interrupt, but we’re running out of time,” Mayfeld came through the doorway again, a full lit torch in his hand to shine more light on the scene. Once Bo entered the cell, all were now congregated, and the planning could commence. “I suspect the King has already noticed your absence, it won’t be long before he’s unable to find us as well.”

“She’s come to tell you something, hunter,” Bo gestured to you and him, barely broken apart since they both came into the room. She wanted the plan to resume as they originally hoped it would, and she had a feeling it might, if the man they came to see had anything to say about it.

“Come to tell me what?” He looked to you with confusion, surely you hadn’t found him a way out so fast. Tonight was the night of the grand ball, and if your appearance was any indication, you’d been attending until now.

You didn’t want to tell him, because it would be too hard to actually say goodbye. You’d much rather had just accepted the deal and let him go knowing you saved him. Now, he stood before you, looking so deeply into your eyes you could cry. How were you supposed to send him away knowing you’d never get to see those eyes again.

“The king has offered me a deal,” you tried to avoid his stare as you prepared to let him in on the contents. “The terms being that, if I marry him, you go free.”

His expression dropped, and he shook his head rapidly a took another step closer to you.

“No, you can’t do this,” he protested, and you wanted to interject, but he was far from done speaking. He took your face in his hands, ensuring that you were truly listening to every word. “I would rather die tomorrow knowing you had the freedom to leave than live, and always know you’d have signed yourself away for my sake.”

Bo Katan wanted you to listen to him, to understand that he hated the terms and wouldn’t want you to go through with it. She needed you to know there were no other options.

“Din, you’d be safe. I can’t let you die.”

His heart broke when your voice did, the last of your words falling off into a sad whisper that matched the tears in your eyes.

“I love you,” he said, touching his forehead to yours for a moment and then looking to Bo Katan, whom stood behind you in waiting for the interaction to close. “And I can’t let you do this.”

“What do you suggest she does?” Bo hoped that his answer could coincide with the plan, but even if it didn’t, she was happy to know that his reaction to the news had been what she was anticipating.

He took a deep breath in and focused again on your features, the way they were softly lit by the fire light. They had painted your face like they’d been doing for weeks, but with the softer elements and colors to match your aura for the evening, he couldn’t help but admit you were enchanting. His beautiful girl, the one he’d done all of this for in the first place. No doubt about it, you were the cause for the mess… but he’d do it over and again, one hundred times.

“Run.” It was said with a lonesome sadness, but he meant it. “Take the kid, and get far away from here.”

You shook your head, but he wasn’t going to stop. He only wanted you to be free, after all your years of being kept prisoner, you deserved to be uncaged. Marrying the King would only make you his slave.

“We’re out of time,” Mayfeld said, he and Bo Katan trying to usher you away from the cell. You let yourself be pulled away, seeing Din stand still in the middle of the stone floor. He didn’t want you to go, but if the King found out you were gone with his biggest conspirators, you would be in more trouble than he currently was.

Once the door was closed and locked, the three of you began to book it through the long cell block. You dropped your head to hide from them your tears, knowing that they were probably far stronger with hiding their emotions, and might think you to be weak should you expose them.

Din wouldn’t leave you even if they forced him to. There was only one other option that prevented him from being hanged. You froze in your tracks and closed your eyes, feeling the energy around you, making you gain a courage that you wouldn’t have had before. Seeing Din, in the position he was in, under the roof of the castle dungeon and skin split by violence… it angered you, it lit a flame in your spirit, a passion to do right by him whatever means necessary. More than anything, you wanted him to be free, and free by your side. He’d asked you to marry him, and you intended to keep to your word of doing so.

“Are you alright?” Bo asked, upon noticing you fell behind a few steps.

“I’m fine,” you spoke with a newfound tone, one that was straight forward and firm. It was so different from the unsure voice you’d held only moments ago.

You marched on past them and into the staff entrance of the castle. You used a window reflection to remake your appearance, to hide the fact you’d been crying and to fix the disheveled hair that had sat under your cloak, which was the next thing you ride yourself of.

You gathered your skirt, running through the marble halls and finding the ballroom to be completely full of people dancing, laughing, and having a ball. You spotted him in the crowd, King Gideon. He was talking amongst some allies until he caught your gaze from across the floor. He quickly excused himself and made a beeline to where you stood, straight and tall like a firmly planted tree.

“I had wondered where you disappeared to,” he spoke everything with a smile, whether it was genuine or fake, you didn’t care enough to know, but it was spread across his smug face nonetheless.

“I took some time to think about your offer… and I know what I have to do,” you said sincerely. He smirked, feeling as though he had won. His nod of approval meant you had him where you wanted him. “If you’d allow me to, I’d like to make the announcement myself.”

The dark chuckle he responded with sent chills down your spine, and the shiver that glided over your skin was another unwelcome reaction to the man’s devilish grin. He held his hand to the small of your back, seemingly guiding you towards the elevated platform by the stairs.

“I would love nothing more, my queen,” he raised your hand to his lips and did as he had done earlier, pressing a sloppy kiss to your knuckles. It felt dirty, to let him keep doing that.

Now standing where everyone could see, Gideon commanded the attention of the room, allowing them to face you for your announcement of what he presumed to be your engagement to him. The man was too prideful for his own good, which is why this plan would work so perfectly.

“As the princess of Mandalore, I’d like to thank you all for celebrating with me this evening,” a few glasses were raised as if this were to be a toast in someone’s honor. You heaved a breath before continuing. “This Kingdom has known division for too long, and I believe it is up to me to change the way things have been.” Even King Gideon was pleased with your choice of words. He was almost happy to be standing beside you while making this announcement, but he was about to turn a one eighty in only a moment. “The time has come for Mandalore to begin a new chapter, under a new rule.”

The applause was loud, and the King was impressed, but the final words had not yet been spoken…

“I hereby challenge the faux King Gideon to a duel,” and right then, the gasps of the crowd were all around. The audience had been involved. There were too many witnesses for him to refuse, too many to simply kill you behind closed doors. He froze in place beside you, unsure what to do or where to go. “As per tradition of this nation, the battle will be to the death, and the victor will claim the throne of Mandalore once and for all.”

Your speech was spoken at a volume you’d never dared to speak before. This confidence running through your veins was not yet done, and with it you turned to face Gideon, a smirk on your face now, and a fearsome look on his. Oh, how the tables have turned.

“I shall see you at dawn, my king.”

The mockery was lear in your voice, but he had nothing to say in response. As a last stitch effort to make a fool out of him, you bowed low to the ground in his honor. You turned and left up the stairway, and that was the last he’d seen of you for the night.

-

Tags: @i-ameri-cant @littlemisspascal @fanfics-toread @icanbeyourjedi@castleallherown @mysticalgalaxysalad @princess-prettyy @67impalagirl13 @agingerindenial @childrenofthewatch@insomniac-nerd-posts-things @marjoherbo @juletheghoul-main@tiredbuthappy��@themand0lorian @janebby @goldielocks2004@yuiopiklmn ​ @oh-no-who-am-i ​ @appleejuice ​ @luxmundee @belovedadam @seninjakitey ​@harriedandharassed

[friedmagazinebouquet]

I gotta say, the one line in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead that I prefer the movie version over the play version would have to be after Rosencrantz's "do you ever think of yourself as actually dead, lying in a box with a lid on it" monologue

Because in the play, Guildenstern says "you don't have to flog it to death!" Which is all well and good

In the movie, however, he just calmly says "I think I'm going to kill you"

[nelapanela94]

Alright, how about one more request for your 1k event? Let's go one of each list! How about 15 and 34? Thank you!

Of course!!!

15 “What I fear the most is to close my eyes and never see you again.” 34. “Why do you keep pushing people away?”.

TW: Hurt/comfort, a bit angsty.

WC: 1.2k

You clutch at your cloak, shivering, the night chilly breeze swooshes down the spiral staircase, ruffling the unmoored strands of your hair like wild tendrils lashing on your face. Great! Someone must've left a window open. Your breath condensates in little clouds before you.

The nippy air was biting your skin you couldn't sleep. Even under three layers of wool, your bones ached, and you couldn't stop moving around on your creaky bed. The fire in your room was smoldering to a weak crackle, so you venture to the kitchen to retrieve more firewood and kindling.

The torches perched on the walls are quiet and still once you take the last turn — the sneaky wind whistles in the opposite direction — and a sluggish warmth consoles you. The acrid smell of musk peels off the cobblestone and the floor, coated in dew, feels slippery under the soles of your boots. Despite the solitude and the merciless night, your spirits are unaltered. Time served you well to patch up your beaten heart after he wrenched it out and squeezed it in his hand. You misunderstood. That’s what he said, and then, unruffled by the catastrophe he had elicited, he put the empty cup down and walked out. It’s been weeks, and yet you don’t feel ready to face him; whenever his face sneaks in your head, you can’t help but feel a twinge in the chest.

Your hum falters when you reach the communal kitchen. the door is ajar, and a slice of dancing light seeps through the gap.

As you push the door, you notice the cracks and the flaking paint that have been there for years. The door is old and heavy, and the screaming hinges make him turn around. You see the expression on his face change as he realizes that he's not alone anymore.

Your heartbeat quickens at the sight of him. You clear your throat and fiddle with a frayed thread of your cloak, avoiding his fervid gaze. "I didn't know you'd be here," you say, trying to sound casual while your mind races with thoughts of how to escape. You'd rather freeze to death than be in the same room with him, but you can't leave now. You're trapped.

The silence that follows feels like an eternity. You feel the weight of his gaze on you, those gray eyes that seize you under their spell, and you can't help but wonder what he's thinking.

There’s nothing much left between the two but an empty space and the air dense with millions of misunderstandings. Blood rushes about like untied chains flogging in your head. “Good night”, you breathe, but his voice refrains you from turning around.

“Hold on.” He says, tearing from the counter, and your vanquished body is impelled. Your muscles and nerves and every fiber ignore the commands from your brain and plug to your heart. Because no matter how much you’ve told yourself you hate him, nothing can deceive it.

A piercing shrill bursts through the night, and you drag your eyes to the feverish stove, the wall behind mottled with years of soot. Levi reaches out for two pewters. Then swerves around the island and fetches the kettle. The spicy aroma is inviting, filling every corner. The smell impregnated on him. The scalding water hisses against the walls of steel as he pours it, deliberately crafting his art.

You swallow your pride and pad toward him. “Thanks,” your eyes scoot around as you moisten your lips. “I wasn’t planning to stay, though. I need woods for my fire.”

“When will you stop avoiding me?”

“When you stop being a jerk.” You snap, but he only grins, making your blood sizzle with fury.

For a while you remain silent as the nature sounds drown your mesh of thoughts. Bare tree branches scratch the walls like claws on a chalkboard, the windows rattle against the fluting wind. You both rest against the counter; a chasm splits you apart.

“You hurt me, Levi.” You finally parse it. You gaze down to your feet, blushing. “At least you could’ve said something, I don’t know, like you only liked me as a friend or that you didn’t like me at all. You’re right, and my brain threaded the cues in the wrong way, blinded.”

“You didn’t misunderstand.” Levi scrambles in his head while his chest tightens into a knot that snatches his breath. Suddenly the air is heavy and stuffy. His fingertips twitch, so close to yours yet so far. He himself had built the wall between the two, and now, he doesn't know how to knock it down.

“Then why?” Your eyes sting with tears. “Why do you keep pushing people away? What are you so scared of? I’d never hurt you, Levi.” Your lips fumble and tears stream down your cheeks, joining paths at your chin before they splash on your cloak. "I would never."

“You’ll never get it, Y/N.” His voice crackles, but you don’t want to see his face. “You don't know what it's like to lose everything you love the most.” His arms ache to hold you. His lips yearn to feel yours pressed against his. But more than that, Levi wanted to be. Be with you. Be next to you. Feel the peacefulness of your nearness wash over him and settle his soul. But keeping you away is for your own good, and for his too.

“It’s a mechanism of protection. I see.” You mull over his philosophy. How much pain do they have to inflict on you to make you scared of love?

Levi blinks away his tears and closes his eyes. And those scenes he fears the most flash inside his head, so lively the panic of losing you courses through his veins. He swallows the lump in his throat and opens his eyes. His hand rest dangerously close, and little by little it gravitates toward yours.

“What is your biggest fear, Levi?” you delve while your eyes are still riveted to the floor. Your knees feel weak, in the brink of collapsing.

The steam has waned, and you know Levi hates his tea cold.

 “What I fear the most is to close my eyes and never see you again.” He confesses in a shaky whisper, as if his own voice burned his throat and he were ashamed to admit his true feelings.

A spool of sobs and wails break your shell, and your legs give up. But his reflexes are faster. He grabs your hand and pulls you toward him, holding you so tight in an embrace that puts your pieces together. Your heart beating against his. It would be so easy to melt together, sink his lips against yours, and seal the night with a feeling that would make pain disappear. He knew it would disappear. But a little voice inside of him warns him of everything that can go wrong, and he hesitates for a moment, looking down at the ground from the tightrope.

He mutes the voice and goes for it.

Your lips taste like salt.

He was right, you hold the power to make pain go away.

Tag List: @stygianoir @lamees004 @svftackerman @apolloshaiku @luvjiro @roralore @mikakayyyy @noctemys @lovolee3

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[npcdeath]

if you donate to ao3 in the middle of everything happening at the moment im fully honest i think you should if not kill yourself at least flog everything you own and donate the cash to palestinian families and then pick a direction to walk in barefoot until you find yourself in a location with no visible human activity or interference. stay there and wait for your local variety of carnivorous predator to maul you to death and eat your organs

[somnolentdipso]

They Call it An Intro?

You managed to find yourself @somnolentdipso page? Believe me it ain’t much special and it ain’t flashy like others but what it does have is well a Dipso.

Posted Content Includes:

Saké (Too bad 100% Goes to Me🍶)

My tipsy scribes of my whims

Concepts of A Variety of Kinks

Perhaps Chefs Inside View

Art I stare at while waiting for things

Good Vibes

My Likings/Interest(SFW Wise)

(⚠️⚠️If you ask me what I like in dms without reading this I shall present a 🎁. Saying is “Play stupid games and win stupid prizes🫢.” Warning has been dished and presented)

MMA(Mixed Martial Arts)👊🏾🥊

(11 Years total) Known Styles: Muy-Thai, Capoeira & Kickboxing

Cooking/Baking/Mixology💼🍴

Been Doing this for a while like long while maybe 4-5 ish years now

Research/Read/Write/Discuss💻

Most definitely love discussing in-depth topics with people who are invested in the vast world we got for sure. Doesn’t matter how deranged and those with interesting jobs by all means let me know the experience!

Music🎶

My musical taste will definitely be something from everyone’s platters. But then again I would love to make a plate too so drop a song.

Gaming/Anime/Movies/Shows📺

Probably gonna be most chats so let me get this one out the way. Yes I do game but not too often due to work. Just Slide DMs and ask what I am playing lately or even lmk what you maybe wanna run👀. Fortnite or Ow2 would be nice as of lately. Yes We mic’d up too🗣️

Yes I enjoy anime! perhaps pop in and remind me to continue my series or even suggest a new one. I swear I don’t mean to forget but I’ve been stuck on continuing a certain one for years 💀. But I am curious for those who can guess my fav…might be in for something wonderful.

Movies & Shows to me are simple. Big fan of horror movies though! I haven’t seen a lot of anything recently and that includes the classics. Discord watch homies and feedings per chance? Only a suggestion so don’t get salivating so soon.

List of Likings(Nsfw Wise):

Bdsm

Marking & Breeding (Together as it should be)

Shibari bondage

Sadistic acts & humiliating

Degrading & Praising(Either Needed)

Flogging

Temperature play(hot or icy cold)

Knife play

Bruising

Edging/overstimulation

Petplay

Spanking

Electro-stimulation

Mirror play

Worship

Death feederism

Feedism👀(⚠️)

Force feeding

Messy eaters

Gas

⚠️ Potentially shall add more got a lot to think on

[gosmigenergy]

KINKTOBER 2024 / Day Eight

FLOGGING / SWALLOWING / COCK WARMING (@absurdthirst)

Starring: Maxwell Lord x F!Reader

Summary: When the pair of you end up trapped in an online meeting, Maxwell comes up with a perfect way to keep you entertained.

Rating: Mature-ish

Warnings: No use of Y/N, language, P in V (there’s no sex but please use protection in real life, thank you), cock warming

Word Count: 2.3k

Author’s Notes: Ok, so this is a little modern day setting and is more of a representation of if Maxwell was big CEO.

Being called into Maxwell Lord’s office was a regular occurrence. Though you were considered an intern, you did plenty for him. Your job description only included his admin and screening his calls, a minimum of two coffee runs a day.

On your first shift, he told you not to be nervous and that only made you more so. He was patient with you unlike any other of his staff, your colleagues said that maybe he actually liked you. Two weeks in, Maxwell insisted you buy yourself a drink on the company card to accompany his triple shot espresso.

“I dunno what he sees in you,” a colleague said, looking you up and down.

Fortunately, you didn’t see it either.

You noticed how all the other women dressed in the Black Gold offices. Sheer shirts and blouses, skirts that cinched them in at the waist, heels with the highest stilettos possible. You chose to go minimal and comfortable, your smallest shoe a kitten heel.

It wasn’t long until you elevated your wardrobe, adding a touch more makeup to your routine but not too much. You still looked like yourself and Maxwell’s eyes continued to follow you while you worked.

There were many reasons why Maxwell liked you. He secretly thinks he shaped you from the shy, softly spoken girl to the confident woman you had become. You were well mannered, forceful if you needed to be, always got his lunch order right and to put the cherry on top, weren’t vying for his attention.

However, it only made you more desirable.

You had noticed how he took care of you, most of all at the office party. A guy from accounts wouldn’t stop harassing you, you shrugged him off but he wouldn’t let it go. When you went to leave, he followed you until Maxwell caught up with him.

You never saw him again.

Part of you knew he had been fired, that Maxwell wouldn’t have stooped so low as to get his goons to beat him to death, you wished he had though.

“Thank you, Mr Lord.”

“Don’t worry that pretty little head of yours.”

The butterflies in your stomach fluttered and he loved nothing more than to see that proud smile on your lips, your back straightening.

For months after that, the sexual tension seemed to rise between Maxwell and you. You knew it was wrong to have a crush on your boss yet his energy was magnetic.

How his lips curled when you came into his office to place his coffee on his desk, how he nodded happily as you ran off a list of all the names you politely told to fuck off. How you warned him that his wife had magically appeared at reception and how you pulled every trick to make him disappear.

Then there were the other moments, the ones where his eyes darkened when you made a cheeky comment. The ones where he leaned back in his chair and allowed you to willingly berate him, a smug smile plastered on his face knowing he’d been bad. All the times he’d caught your gaze when he ran a broad hand through his dyed golden locks and it’s like he felt your pussy clench.

You’d imagined all the ways you’s let him have his way with you. You always wondered how good you’d look with your tits pressed against the cool glass of his desk when he fucked you from behind.

“I’m just popping out.”

He interrupted your daydreaming.

“No, you’re not.”

“Excuse me?” He retorts, taken aback.

You wouldn’t normally but you had to put your foot down on this occasion.

“Mr Agraste has been wanting this meeting for months and I’ve run out of excuses. He’s sent me an email two times a day for the past three weeks, you are having this meeting whether you like it or not.”

It was clear to him that you were at the end of your tether. Yet he knew how fucking boring this was going to be, it was going to be all about figures and profits and money, money, money. If he was going to do this, he wasn’t going to do it alone.

His look of alarm dropped, his lips curling.

“Then I need you to sit in.”

Your nose scrunched, “What?”

The smug expression grew as his eyebrows raised into his unnaturally blonde hairline.

“I need someone to take notes.”

Take notes?

You questioned whether you needed to show him, yet again, how to hit the little red button on the screen to record it.

“Since when?”

“Since thirty seconds ago.”

He gave you a childish grin.

You hum, “I need to go to the bathroom.”

“You can use mine.”

The phone vibrating in his pocket snapped him out of the trance he was in. Maxwell and you had been in this meeting an hour and already, he was losing the will to live. He switched off his camera to look at the message, eyes glancing to you as you tapped your notepad with a pen.

This could have been an email.

You smiled sweetly.

“Fancy a little pick me up?”

Part of you was hoping he’d offer you his finest liquor to help loosen off your aching muscles but instead, he pulled on a cupboard and out rolled a coffee machine.

“Why do I always go out and get you coffee when you’ve got that in there?”

“The coffee you get is better.”

That and he liked to see you deliver it to him, the way you walk in those kitten heels and the new pencil skirt you bought.

“How much longer do you think this is gonna be?”

He shrugs, “Another half hour.”

“Jesus Christ,” you say, stretching your back before standing up.

“Why, have you got somewhere to be? Someone to meet?”

Maxwell knew he was prying but he didn’t know your situation and he needed to know if chasing you was a bad idea. He had taken too many of those.

“No,” you giggle, “just don’t know how much more I can take.”

He places a cup on his desk, in front of your seat.

“We could make it interesting.”

“How so?”

You’d wandered over to his floor to ceiling window, watching the ant sized people and matchbox cars go about their day. When you glance over your shoulder, he noticed how you fluttered your eyelashes in curiosity.

You were warned by your parents when you applied for this job. Maxwell Lord had a reputation, he had done adverts on yachts with scantily clad women, the he was more than likely to hire you if you were female. Then there was the whole Dreamstone palaver that literally the whole world knew about.

They were right in some parts yet he had plenty of beautiful woman roaming his office halls, why the fuck would he choose you?

“What did you have in mind?”

You couldn’t deny that he’d peaked your interest.

“If my observations are correct, I’d say you like me.”

He watched how your body stiffened but he’d seen how you appeared flustered when he caught you looking. Sometimes he knew you weren’t even focusing on his face, there were other aspects of him that caught your attention.

“Maybe… but I’ve heard what people say about you.”

He smiles, “The one where I’m a ladies man when I’m actually a divorcee who hides from her whenever she turns up at my doors.”

You nod faintly, that was true.

“So why do you only hire women?”

“I haven’t chosen who works here in years and there are men, you know.”

“But you have so many women to choose from.”

“And I’m choosing you,” he tips his head to the side. “If you want me.”

Your stomach does a somersault, everything now depended on you and you tried not to have any second thoughts before giving your response.

“You still didn’t answer my first question.”

“How about a way that we can both sit comfortably.”

It was cryptic but something in you couldn’t say no.

Within minutes, you found yourself downing your drink before taking a seat on Maxwell’s lap. There was no pressure, you would both take it as far as you wanted to, if you didn’t wish to continue, all you had to do was stand up.

The temperature rose between you as you exchanged delicate touches and light kisses. Mr Agraste was no longer talking yet the voice who had taken over was equally as boring.

You almost whined when Maxwell was finally asked a question he had to reply to.

Sniggering, he switched the mic back on and answered swiftly. You scrambled for your notebook, ass still firmly planted in his lap as you scribbled some form of illegible notes.

You’d worry about that tomorrow.

He muted himself, returning his attention to you, chuckling at your agitated expression. It fell as he lifted his hips into you, his semi erected outline pushing gently against your skirt. Hearing him sigh sent shockwaves down to your pussy, your juices spilling into your knickers as he rolled his hips again.

He worked himself until his stiff length strained against it’s confinement.

His cock was all you could think of, the meeting was nothing but white noise under Maxwell’s soft moans of pleasure. You needed to see it, to touch it, to have it sit snuggly in between your heated walls.

You stand up, a momentary flash of disappointment behind his eyes as you turn round.

“Take it out.”

The words shook with your breath but the tone was stern. His eyebrows rose, his mouth parting before he had something to ask.

“Are you sure?”

You’re not even looking at him, already bending down to hike up the hem of your skirt. You lift it over your thighs and over your hips, Maxwell finally seeing what was underneath. The knickers you wore wear simple yet accentuated your figure.

You pulled them down in one swift motion, carefully treading out of them as you face him.

His hands reach for his belt and slowly unbuckle as he soaks you up from your neat triangle of pubic hair to your soft curves. The belt whips from the loops and he tosses it to one side, his fingers tugging at his zip, unbuttoning his trousers and underneath were white briefs. His thumbs tuck under the elastic, pulling down until his weighted cock springs free.

Your mouth salivates.

He lets you admire it before patting his lap, initiating the next step.

You take a single step, twisting on your heels so your ass faces him. Peeking over your shoulder, you watch his eyes flit from your behind to your eyes. You grab your ass cheeks and tilt forward, spreading them to show him how wet he’d made you.

Your arousal coated your lips and inner thighs.

“How would you like me?”

There was a cockiness to your question and he liked it.

“We should really finish this meeting…”

You pout, straightening up, your hand moving to pull your skirt down.

“But, I can think of a way you can keep me warm.”

His hands grabbed your hips and heaved you to him, his face pressed against your lower back. He lets one hand go, squashing between your bodies so he can take his cock in his palm, lining it up with your entrance.

Squeezing your side, you slowly start to sink down, his fat tip nudging at your folds. You mewl as his girth breaches, the stretch met with the slightest twinge before fading into something pleasant. Your walls relax around him as you let out a long exhale, dropping until his cock disappeared from view.

He knew how good you were a magic tricks.

His hand spreads over the curve of your ass, watching how the goosebumps arrive on your skin.

“Is this ok?”

This was more than ok, you can barely get the words out.

“Uh-huh.”

“Lift your feet a little.”

You listen, taking your feet from the floor so he can scoot towards the desk. The air whistles through gritted teeth as your walls clench his cock with the movement.

“Sorry,” the temperature rises in your face.

“Just,” his word is gruff, “don’t do it again.”

He was pretty sure if you did, he’d lose his mind and come there and then. It had been so long since he’d felt anything other than his hand, his trust in women deflated from his money grabbing ex who screwed him out of almost everything he got.

Yet you were sensitive, when he told you not to, you twitched.

He grunts.

“If you behave, I’ll give you a reward.”

The pair of you sat through the rest of the meeting like this, only business matters being discussed between you.

Your lips were becoming sore with your teeth buried deep into them so you didn’t make a noise, your motions were kept to a minimum so not to disturb either of you. Even when you wrote something, words noticeably wobbly, your mind couldn’t stray away from what was between your legs.

He was in a similar position, trying to focus his attention on what was being said on the opposite side of the screen. However all he could feel was your warmth, the steady flutters that held his cock a fraction tighter.

Even though you were doing your best not to look, he could see how your eyelashes batted when your head was at the right angle, how your lips were getting plumper, the heat that climbed up your spine when his palm attempted to soothe you.

Your juices weeped around him and Maxwell just kept smiling, no one outside of the office any the wiser.

[lakesbian]

General thoughts about the reveal on who the Maggie in the Toronto arc was?

Also general thoughts on the arc?

i think its fun that she and blake are both connected (& she's the last tether blake has to anyone knowing he exists) via having both slipped through the cracks due to Whoopsie-Daisies. also say what u will about literally everything else in wb's writing but i like how girls in wildbow novels are more often than not grungy and a little weird. already talked abt the goblin thing some in the last maggiepost but i do really like the goblins. "pure distillations of the dirty abandoned scraps of the world which exist solely to kick you when you're down" is an extremely coherent and fun spin on goblins. the constant "fat = gross" associations are insufferable but the rest is solid. the padraic thing isn't one of the iterations of maggie's prophecy but it does feel fitting for her character that the girl who was initially inducted into being a practitioner via living somewhere that was slipping thru the cracks was fucked over for a Second time via slipping thru the cracks. i hope she is fucked over a Third time by it for rule of three. also i was in fact correct previously when i said this:

i also think she’s probably still in over her head without realizing. she’s manipulated into ordering someone’s murder and then is like “you know i think i can make up for this one AND go on a fun little adventure to add to my scrapbook of knowledge at the same time.” that’s not how reality works! you killed someone! and then tried to semi-earnestly befriend slash mooch from their cousin! she’s only been a practitioner for six months–i think there’s a very fundamental disconnect btwn the maggie that’s lucky enough to still have parents she can be a normal silly teenager with and the maggie that’s making forays into The World Of Backstabbing, Horror, Murder, and Fates Worse Than Death. and i think that disconnect will result in strain for her as the fact that she’s sort of doomed to do some really awful things, have some really awful things happen to her, and/or both sinks in.

except instead of just Strain. that fact had to sink in via her doing, as sandra put it, the magical equivalent of crashing a car 2 learn respect for the road. YA protagonist maggie holt died in the crash now it's just wannabe goblin queen mags scrambling 4 purchase in the wreckage. i believe in her i hope she captures sooo many crass little creatures. i'm glad that buttcheeks stuck around he's fun to watch :)

i don't feel like we actually know johannes yet. the thing about the really successful practitioners is that they're doing less Desperate Violent Scrabbling to maintain their positions and subsequently have more luxury of ostensible niceties and lofty philosophies. they should throw a bucket of mud on him and toss him to the wolves so i can see what he's like when shit gets real. also the entire arc is a really funny demonstration in how severely being a thorburn has fucked blake over. everyone is sooo much nicer to maggie than him he's out there playing on hard mode. this is what i mean when i say that alec would b a diabolist, diabolism is fundamentally abt when you are marked Rotten by the world by virtue of the family you've been born into, defined more by their legacy than by anything about yourself, even moreso than the other brands of practitionerism.

hmm anything else. oh yeah i think we should flog wildbow for crone mara. ok thats all. OH yeah and Not Being Maggie Holt Anymore is a really funny way to skip out on the other iterations of the prophecy. its that fairy bitch's problem now. i have a lot of thoughts on pact faeries but that's a post for one of the "why are pact creatures good" asks just know i'm rotating them in my mind rapidly

[yharnam-is-a-fuck]

What would Bloodborne Weapons do to people in real life?

And, which one is the most brutal.

This is my 100th post. And I've been pondering this topic for a while so here goes. This is mostly just speculation. Also, while I won't be showing any gory images as examples, some of the injuries described could be disturbing. So be warned. First off, the Saw Cleaver/Saw Spear. These are pretty brutal when you think about how they are designed. The Serrated edges would get stuck in whatever you try to slash, dealing even more damage when you get it unstuck. In the trailer for Bloodborne, we actually see a hunter exerting quite a bit of force to pull it out of a Yharnamite they kill. Perhaps the purpose of the serration is to mangle the corpses of beasts, so nobody can recognise them as human?

The Hunter Axe Despite being an Axe, this weapon is described as mostly Blunt damage. When Transformed, this thing is definitely being swung with enough force to crush bones. And it's high rally potential points to huge amounts of blood being spilled.

Threaded Cane Untransformed it isn't much of a weapon, and the most you could do is just beat someone with it. But when you do transform it, the serrated whip is stated to be capable of flogging beasts.

Ludwig's Holy Blade/Kirkhammer/Holy Moonlight Sword. Untransformed, these are all just swords. Pretty basic slashes and stabs. But transformed they would all do a ton of crushing blunt damage. I imagine the Holy Blade would be more of a bone breaking thing, while the Kirkhammer would be straight up turning things into mush. For the Holy Moonlight Sword, I like to imagine the transformed mode actually cuts quite cleanly, leaving some moonlight glow along the wounds.

Blades of Mercy/Rakuyo These two are both 1000 cuts type of weapons, though the Rakuyo does a mix of stabbing and slashing compared to the Blades.

Amygdalan Arm. Untransformed would just be pure crushing force, the attack animation of repeated slams would be enough to turn a beast into mush. The transformed mode gaining that weird slashy appendage would probably make it less damaging to be honest, that thing does not look like it is swinging itself around with much force.

Beast Claw It's a claw. The claw gained by transforming probabably does a lot more ripping and tearing, while the fake claw seems to do a lot of piercing damage. But the fury of Beasthood probably encourages the hunter to keep attacking even after their prey is dead.

Beasthunter Saif Unlike the rest of the Old Hunter weapons, this one is probably less brutal than the modern Saw Cleaver. The sharp edge would sever a limb compared to the ripping serration of the Cleaver. Its quick flurry attacks in the unextended mode could also slice something open pretty easily.

Beast Cutter This one is, in my opinion, the most brutal weapon in all of Bloodborne. If you were to slash at someone with the transformed version, and their arm or leg were to be caught inbetween two segments as the come back together... that's gonna crush anything. And don't forget that it is also serrated in both modes, so the club can crush and rip apart at the same time while the whip can catch on fur or skin and tear it off. Also, the transformed heavy attacks are enough to flatten just about every enemy in the game, so this thing is being swung with insane amounts of force. Bloodletter A pretty sharp and spiky club even before you stab yourself with it. I'm not really sure what the extra Blood would be doing to its victims, but it makes it larger and more weighty.

Boomhammer This one could honestly be tied with the Beast Cutter. Hitting people with a giant hammer is already going to be dealing a lot of damage, but slamming them with an explosion as well is enough to obliterate them. Getting a hit with the explosion while something is up against a wall or the ground would reduce it to nothing.

Burial Blade This one is like the Saif, very clean with it's slashes and cuts. Along with the person who created it wishing to give victims a peaceful death I don't think it would be doing much besides decapitations.

Chikage It's a katana. It gets Blood magic. Probably just makes it slash harder. Not much else to say.

Kos Parasite Considering only the tentacle attacks and not the vomit and arcane explosion, I imagine it would be like getting stung by a jellyfish. If you weren't crushed by the tentacles, you would probably end up with a bunch of space diseases. Logarius' Wheel While all you actually do with it is crush people with the wheel, this weapon is actually based on a medival torture device. Perhaps the Executions strapped defeated Vilebloods to their weapons as they slaughtered the remaining ones. Reiterpallasch/Rifle Spear This one is a pretty elegant rapier. Lots of stabbing and not very brutal. The worst it could inflict is a point blank shot from the attached pistol. The Spear is about the same, but it has a shotgun attached instead and is desgined by crazy Hunters.

Simon's Bowblade The curved sword could cut something up pretty cleanly, similar to the Burial Blade. The bow shots would also inflict a lot less damage than a gunshot. Stake Driver The charged up stake blast could probably punch straight through your chest, but without that all you can really do is slash and poke.

Tonitrus Being beaten with a big metal ball would probably break bones if they swung hard enough. Adding in the electric damage would also hurt quite a lot, and would probably leave behind a lot of charred corpses and crushed skulls. Whirlygig Saw It's a buzzsaw. Being smashed into things while also spinning. This thing can and will tear shit apart. Untransformed its just a club.

I didn't go over any of the guns because... they're guns. But if you really care about the sidearms, the Cannons would blow you up, and the Fist of Gratia is just ye olde brass knuckles.

[cursethrower]

what other option is there than to give your head away or take the one that's given away or give away your stuff to your friends but they don't need it either in the snake pit you are but the snakes you fuck and not the other way around i believe that you touch yourself in the dark and think about nothing it's some way to spend your time if two rivers down a mountain never touch, does it matter to you? what does it mean to you? if you cared the future would look different a thousand pine needles glowing red hot if two trees in the forest never touch, can you still see it? the snakes become your friends and flog you to death for your secret sin on a thousand steel needles glowing red hot

[headingalaxys-spicy]

WOOO HOOO IM ANOTHER YEAR CLOSER TO DEATH AHAHAHAH.

So I’m honor of me being that fun age of ✨27✨

Just spice posts all day.

Starting with the ending storyline for Club 27- Birthday Drabble I started last year.

🌟💀The New Queen of Solar Dead 💀🌟

Enjoy guys thanks for sticking it out with this page. And yeah final warning this is a

🌶️🔥spice🔥🌶️ post

Heavy panting filled the sweltering throne room. The flames that lit the room were burning low just enough light to where you could make out his outlines. His body was built like that of a gold medal olympian. He was currently working out your insides. The muscles that were getting the most defined concentration were his broad arms that held you in place while his hips ceased flogging you from the back.

You were happy that he stopped driving himself into you. Ever since he introduced himself he immediately jumped into raw dogging you. It felt like an eternity already….and Alfred was only just getting started. Your eyes swept over the cobblestone floor hoping and praying that this ruthless dungeon was a reality you wouldn’t have to stay in. You knew this couldn’t be real. It had to be a bad dream. It just has to be!

You jerk your arms like a feral cat trying to flee captivity. To no avail your plan failed as Alfred grip held you down tight. His fingernails dug into your forearms. It caused a few thread-like scratches that drew out some blood.

“AH! STOP!” You shout out.

It was the first time you’d spoken in a while. You quickly found out that no matter how fearsome your pleas were to beg him to stop, he wouldn’t. Why would he, he was the King of Hell. He was going to do with you as he pleased. He lets out an amused chuckle and then proceeds to thrust once more into your backside.

You let out a short squeak.

He rolls his head back and lets his hands grip you tighter. Being able to control you was ecstasy. He felt the thick sexually charged air and his body was doing its best to hold back his fervor. He inhaled deeply and allowed the oxygen to fill his lungs and his chiseled abs. It was all preparation for his final move. Every muscle in his body clenched as if trying to continue to hold onto a plank position for those last few moments before you reached goal. He swiftly pulled himself out from behind and spun you around so your eyes could meet his.

All you could make out from the dim firefly glow was the lining of his lips that showcased his hungry teeth and his brightly lit red eyes that were still famished. Both desired more. So seconds, thirds, and so on would be served until stuffed.

“Hey, babe.” He purrs out to you as if the two of you were nothing more than sweet lovers.

You simply glare at him. You hated him for killing you and bringing you here just for his own amusement. Your breaths were deep and concentrated in your core like scorching magma. You wanted to fight back. You try once more to wriggle free from his tight wedding ring like grasp he had on your forearms.

Aroused and amused that you think you had any chance of breaking free he tries to ease your sorrows by drawing you in with a love drunken kiss. It reeked of longing and pent-up sexual frustration… That seemed to have been spanning a lifetime. Your hands flew for his face and you managed to get his suction cup off but only for a moment.

This angered him.

He snapped his fingers and a heated iron contraption came from the floor. It spread your legs out wide and kept them open. Metal cuffs rubbed against your upper thighs and heated them up causing sweat to glaze over your legs like a freshly buttered bread. More appetizing to the King you now found yourself eternally bound to.

He intertwined his massive calloused hands and encased your smaller ones between his giant roots from a tree settling in. He looks down on you with lustful eyes and all you could do was let out a low whimper. He kissed you on the lips again gently this time. Then whispered to them.

“I’m your King now. And I’m going to have to show you your place, my Queen.”

He hoisted you up to the searing chains that ate away at your soft skin. You let out a loud scream in agony. His desire in his cock stands at attention once more. Desire that thrived off of schadenfreude. He roughly grabbed your waist so he could hold you in place. He rubbed the tip at your entrance to run all of your senses into hundreds of brick walls.

Pleasure and pain are quite a powerful and intoxicating mix.

He began to suck at the skin on your stomach and worked his way up to your soft and supple breasts that were quaking from all of the thrashing movements. He allowed one of his hands to roam up and grope one of your mounds. You tried to yank your leg up to deliver a swift kick but the chains kept you in place. He attached his lips to the other and ran his tongue over your nipple. He pauses for a brief moment and tries not to let his aching dick release just yet. Another deep breath fills his broad chest preparing itself for its next powerful battle tactic. His teeth sink mildly into your breast and you let out a thundering yell that could probably be heard all throughout hell.

Confusion and pain flooded all of your senses, your arms felt like they were melting off and you. Only hints of pleasure popped into your brain in only momentary bursts. The pain was so intense if you could die again just to avoid it you would.

“Please….” you plead in a quivering voice.

His red eyes flicker up to meet yours as he detached himself from your chest. A lightning bolt struck your stomach and made you nervous. A grin spread wide on his face that you didn’t need a lot of light to see because of the amount of mischief that radiated from his lips. The rest of his body was ablaze with lust.

His member jolted against your entrance with a little pre-release. You wanted to slam your legs closed but simply stiffened your muscles in a feeble attempt to stop the incoming blow. The hot rod forced its way in forcing itself into your wet cavern that was writing in pain and pleasure. A disastrous mix that left you breathless.

“Ah….please …. stop ….” You say when you manage to get just enough air into your tired lungs.

Your words fell on deaf ears. He plunged himself into you to your hilt and held you there making you teeter on his cock between opposing sensations that were anxious to consume you.

He kisses your cheek gently and he commands you to shout his name when he resumes his trusting.

“If you can do that my Queen I’ll un-schalke you.” You let out a nod as you finally realized that tears had been streaming down your face.

You whimper out a weak okay.

He brings a hand to your chin and brings you into a French kiss. His tongue wrapped tightly around yours. You feel your arms suddenly fall back down only to collapse on his brawny shoulders. They cling to him for support.

He parts from the kiss he revs himself up and begins to thrust.

“Sing my name y/n! Sing it so loudly the screams of pleasure make it all the way to the ears of heaven!”

A moan at first was all you could manage. But you think of how things could be worse if you didn’t sing for him like a morning bird hyped up on caffeine.

“Ahh…Ahh.. Alfred!” You blurt out in a huff.

“Louder my Queen, that was a little pathetic.”

“ALFRED! AH! AH! !” His pacing began to get faster while his cock got fatter from all the pent up tension building from the passion. Your struggle to say his name appeased Alfred just enough. He was reaching the end of his tread anyways.

“Oh Queen Y/N you’re going to be a great ruler and wife.” He continues to bounce you up and down on his throbbing member that finally burst its seal and milky white spilled everywhere. He threw his head back and moaned out your name he had reached his cloud nine pleasure. It took him a few minutes to ride out his orgasm while you were hardly keeping conscious in his strapping arms that were shimmering with sweat.

He sealed your lips with his as you still struggled with his member. He trails a few kisses on your neck and leading on down your breasts he lingers there for a while causing you to moan but also continue to shake in agony. The chains are still hot against your wrists. Your arms had been disfigured and recreated by the lava like embers. Your once clear skin now had ancient writing that looked like lace but had thick strokes like it was etched in barbarically.

Alfred’s claiming curse.

You suck in another sharp breath as you suddenly feel your arms drop onto a soft silk surface. The rest of your body followed suit. You felt a wave of relief wash over you. You were happy to not be sewn into the wall while your insides were being filled to the brim.

You allowed your eyes to close for you knew that nothing you’d say would convince a Demon King to let you go.

Alfred allows his body to hover over you hauntingly. He lowers his head and allows his lips to linger close to the nape of your neck and give you a hickey. He moves to the other side of your neck and bare his large fangs and digs them in deep into your soft and sweaty flesh.

Your eyes shoot open at the intense intrusion of enamel into your flesh. The flood that had begun to pour out as if holding back an ocean. You could feel hot blood rush down your back. Your face scrunched in pain while you began to notice you felt as light as a feather.

Alfred licked the bite area clean after sucking up as much blood from your neck as he could.

He looked at your half lidded eyes that were unconcentrated. He gives a small chuckle and an award winning smile appears on his face. He grabs right below his curse mark that is on your wrists and whispers softly to you. You could feel the intense heat that radiated off of his toned body.

“Welcome to your new reality Y/N where you’ll always be beneath me. Now, let's go get cleaned.” He picks you up and leads you to his grand bathing room where he’ll clean your wounds and pamper you for the rest of the night. He knows full well that you won’t recover from this encounter for a while.

As he ran the bath into his coal black tub no thoughts really passed through your subconscious. You were unsure of what to do. You simply looked down at your bare feet and concentrated on the Stygian marble floor that had elongated cracks of silver and gold that trailed through the wide room flowing up the walls. You let your mind wander as it couldn’t hear the rushing water fill the room with steam and intoxicating fragrances like fresh lavender, bergamot, and sea salt.

‘Perhaps I’m lucid dreaming right? I have to be. No way in hell any of this is real. Or I have lost my mind. I really have…but why did that feel so real. That sex really did feel real.’

The demon watches you glide your feet back and forth as you swing your legs on the elegant window seat that overlooks one of the volcanoes that America controlled. The scarlet, violet, navy, and dusky sky blended together to make up the sky of the Solar deadzone. The smog that consumed the sky that night and your mind wouldn’t be going away. It would linger in the corner of your mind like an impervious tar.

Alfred walks over to you and hoists you up into his strong arms. It was the first time that you actually got to look at his face. Black hair hung low in his eyes that were now a dark cobalt hue and it had a heavy contrast with his pale skin. He had an ever present from on his face that showed off his K9’s. So of your own blood still on the surface of his pearly whites.

He stepped into the 4 feet deep bathtub that looked like a chasm with a few lights that shined through the darkened water and bubbles that overflowed at the surface. You couldn’t help but be dazzled by the monochrome orbs of soap that distracted you from your grim fate you’d been assigned to.

You descended into the heated water that instantly calmed your overstressed muscles.

A sigh leaves you and a smile spreads on Alfred's face as he allows his long thin tail to wrap around your thighs he grabs a loofah and begins to scrub off the dry blood on your back.

Silence and the sloshing of water continued for the rest of the night in dim candlelight. Once done some servants brought libations and snacks for the King and Queen of the Solar Dead Zone. This is the first full night of Queen (Y/N).

[the-fiction-witch]

The Dungeon Master P3

Media IRL X Fantasy

Character Thomas brodie Sangster 

Couple Thomas X Reader

Rating Smut AF

Concept Dungeon Master Series 

Smut: non consentual / Dungeon / ‘little one’ / ‘master’ / Dom & Sub / Chains / fingering / breast play / eating out / licking / flogging / nipple play / torture 

I woke to a loud banging on the bars so I glanced up holding my blanket tightly to my naked body as I saw him there again "rise and shine little one"

"What do you want?"

"Mouthy this morning. Would think you'd be a little better behaved this morning given last night" he smirked "or do I have to make you do it again?" He smirked

"No, what is it?" I asked holding my blanket tightly going close to the bars

"Breakfast" he smirked pushing through the bars a plate with half a bread slice

"What use is this?" I complained

"That's standard breakfast little one, don't eat it you don't get breakfast tomorrow. Don't eat three days in a row. I get to hold your pretty mouth open and force down whatever I want" he smirked "eat up. That's it till dinner at sundown"

"What do I have to do to get changed from the standard?" I gritted my teeth even asking

"Hummm well, death now gets whatever meal they want."

"No."

"Alright," he smirked moving his hand inside the bars

"Sure what's a good idea" I warned

"You wouldn't hurt me, would you little one?" He cooed stroking my jaw and picking up my chin "good little girls get hash browns and toast"

"And how would I get that?"

"You could open that pretty mouth for me"

"No thank you" I sighed having my half bread slice

"You sure. Freshly cooked. Five prices of toast and four hashbrowns, same as the staff get"

"No. I'll be fine" I said returning to my bed

"Suit yourself. Now I have a busy day today but I'll come back later when it's time to... have your first session" he cooed

"Whatever" I sighed

He left leaving me alone luckily for most of the day even if men came in and out of the door constantly often carting pleading prisoners, until he returned "hello little one"

"Hello Thomas"

"Oi. That's Master to you" he smirked "you ready?"

"I suppose I have no choice, can I at least have some clothes?"

"No point they'll get broken anyway," he says unlocking the door and before I could bolt he wrapped a chain around my neck "come come little one"

"Where?" I demanded

"You get your first session. In the chamber"

"No, No Not! I'm not going in there!" I argued trying to fight away from him

"Awwww little one, you think you have a choice." he smirked "You will walk into that room on your own two feet or I will force you" he warns holding his charge wand in a threatening way I knew I had no choice in the matter he'd make me if I didn't go so I held my breath and stood on my feet

"Fine" I sighed

"You going to be a good little girl?"

"yes" I sighed

"Yes what?" he smirked pulling the chain so I was forced close to him so our noses touched

"Yes master"

"good girl" He smirked "Come on then, I'll go easy on you as it's your first session, I promise"

"How kind of you" I sighed

"Try not to panic little one, most of this equipment we won't use for you" he smirked kicking open the door

The room revealed was enough to make me shudder with utter fear it was a room twice the size of the dungeons without a single window the only source of light a large fireplace at the far end, In Front of the fireplace an empty space, the rest of the room full to the brim with wood, twisted metal, chains, leather, all fashioned into items to inflict nothing but pain. Immediately I tried to resist, tried to run but he just tugged the chain walking me through the lines of equipment until we reached the fireplace where a metal ring sat above it built into the stone he looped my chain around it and left me with a kiss on my head before going to look around the room.

"What are you going to do to me?" panic setting in tears flooding down my face

"I'm going to torture you" he muttered digging around the place

"I didn't do anything!"

"You're a prisoner, I'm the dungeon master. Sort of my job to torture you. Relax little one I said I'd go easy on you" he smirked as he returned with a large item on wheels a wooden X with metal cuffs at each point "well, semi easy on you" he smirked "up now" he demanded

"No!"

"Now. I never ask three times little one"

"I said no!"

"Fine" he smirked grabbing his charge wand the moment he moved it my whole body was thrown against the wooden X as if I was being blown by the strongest wind my she body forcefully being thrown against it he grabbed my wrist and locked it into the cuff pulling the chain away before locking in my other wrist and my ankles leaving me utterly at his mercy he smirked looking at me in this state given I was completely naked "ummmm your beautiful" he smirked stroking his hand across my body at first just around my jaw and my neck before slipping down between my breasts stroking under them seductively then his fingers continued down my stomach before meeting my pussy he stroked me separating the skin there he moved his hand away licking the liquid that had now gathered on his fingers "uuummm... sweet" he Cooes sucking in his fingers "let's see how good you taste right from the source" he smirked

"Don't you dare" I warned but he smirked moving down to kneel before me at first rubbing the tip of his nose against my mound before kissing me intensely, given my legs where so far apart this wasn't hard for him locking his lips around me licking and nibbling at my skin as if he was hungrily making out with me often I could hear his little grunts and groans against my skin I did my best not to react I didn't want to give him the satisfaction until he began to force his tounge inside me immediately

"Ahhhhh! thomas stop please!" I screamed and tried to stop him but he only smirked against my skin feeling me squeezing on his tounge as he moved it back and forth using it to thrust inside me letting the wetness pool around his lips, "please stop master!" I begged and he pulled his tounge out but licked all the way from my pussy to my neck pulling back once he reached there and playfully biting me

"you are delicious." He growled "ummm I could eat that pretty pussy all night. But I am supposed to be torturing you" he sighed moving back "I read your paperwork. I know why they have carted you down here. But... I want the truth. I want a confession of your crimes"

"I haven't done any crimes"

"You're cute." He Cooes going to fiddle with other items on the room "just confess little one it'll be easier for both of us"

"I haven't done any crimes"

"Suit yourself" he shrugs immediately turning back to face me as he did I screamed feeling the harsh hit of a leather many strand flogger against my waist

"Aaaaahhhh!"

"Awww that hurt little one?" He Cooes soothing where he just hit

"Yes!"

"Good" he smirked doing so again on the other side this time hitting my hip

"Ahhhhhhh!! What do you want me to say!'

"Tell me how it came to be that my pretty little girl got captured and brought down here with her master"

"I didn't do anything wrong"

"Yes we've established your opinion. Tell me. Now"

"I was just going for a walk and they kidnapped me"

"Liar" he growled hitting across my stomach "what happened! Tell me the truth right now. Or I leave you chained here all night"

"I started my day as usual"

"Alright" he smirked "doing what?"

"I got up, made breakfast, made my bed"

"Awww what a good little girl" he Cooes stroking across my body slowly

"And I went to the creek for a bath"

"Did you? Uuummm I bet you looked good," he growled starting to fondle my breasts "waist deep in that nice warm water scrubbing and cleaning that body. Bet you had a crowd watching you from the bank"

"No, I was alone"

"You might think you where, trust me little one I saw a body as good as yours bathing in the river I'd make note and come back every week to watch" he Cooes kissing my neck as he gropes and plaid with my breasts "after your bath?"

"I had some visitors"

"Did you? Some pretty boys like me who wanted to touch you?" He asked sounding a little jealous

"What do you think I am!"

"We both know what you are little one" he growled rubbing his thumbs over my now hard nipples playing with them mercilessly "go on"

"They came looking for help, herbs and tonics to help heal them"

"Awww what a kind soul, you have them what they asked for?"

"Of course"

"Good girl" he smirked now twisting and rubbing in my nipples hard causing me to whine my hips moving uncontrollably "continue little one"

"The guards came snooping claimed I was healing them with violet magic. So chained me and brought me here"

"Were you using violet magic?" He asks moving a hand down to stroke my pussy rubbing on my clit and slipping two fingers as deep as they could go "answer me"

"No please!'

"I saw your wand. They brought you in for using it. We're you or were you not using violet magic"

"Please stop! Please!" I begged his fingers becoming merciless fingering me intensely rubbing on my clit and rubbing my nipples far beyond what I had ever had before "please! Please stop!' I begged a tear coming down from my eye which he meerly licked off my cheek

"Answer -" he began but I hit a wall of pleasure squeezing around his fingers and screaming

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Master! Master" I sqeualed my squirt running down my legs he moved his hand to his lips licking the squirt a little before returning to his pace "Uuuuuuuhhh stop please!" I begged

"Were you using violet magic little one?" He asks

"I won't answer" I told him trying not to whine from the pleasure "stop Thomas please!"

"Master!" He demanded

"Master please!"

"Answer me little one."

"Never!"

"Fine" he sighed moving away taking his hands away he grabbed the chain wrapping it back around my neck unlocking my hands and ankles my body meerly falling to the floor, he dragged me forcefully out of the chamber and back into my cell keeping the chain around my neck locking it around the key on the door "have it your way little one. We'll continue our interrogation tomorrow, first light." He smirked "sleep tight little one" he smiled blowing me a kiss before he headed off into the dungeons.

[sunsrefuge]

It might be too much BUT if you feel like it, all the playlist asks for Phoenix? :>

That's not too much at all, it's honestly what I was hoping for!! ^^ These are likely going to include me picking out lyrics as well so this may get long! <3 It got very long, oh gosh, don't worry about reading all of it if it's too much kajshdaus

I had a lot of fun with this though!! thanks so much for the ask!! <3

Backstory: Just Breathe by The Unlikely Candidates

I have no memories, just feelings lingering.

She's amnesiac, so her starting point definitely feels senseless in a way! This song is very calm and mellow imo, and the lines "Just close your eyes, / And have some fun" remind me of her pull to make everything fun so it feels bearable. ^^ Also, near the end of the song;

Can I learn to live again? (I'm staring into the abyss, I can't take my eyes off it.) Still one unanswered question, (I'm staring into the abyss, I can't take my eyes off it.) And I will fall onto the street, Against a wall, the bridge I keep. Just breathe.

It does really well at making just breathe into a mantra to keep yourself calm, and keep yourself going! Also, the abyss mention... stares at the end of EoD

Personality: Hard Times by Paramore (Minor flashing lights warning for the video! Mainly affective in the second half.)

(Hard times,) Gonna make you wonder why you even try. (Hard times,) Gonna take you down and laugh when you cry. (These lives,) And I still don't know how I even survive. (Hard times, hard times,) And I gotta get to rock bottom!

Fun bonus information; Hayley Williams is also Phoenix's voice claim! ^^ But when it comes to her work as the Commander, she's definitely prone to working herself to the bone to make sure everything's done right and to perfection. It also has more of her 'free fall' themes lol

Tell my friends, I'm coming down, We'll kick it, when I hit the ground.

She's gotta have everything under control, and even if things going wrong makes her spiral a bit, she maintains her upbeat persona no matter what! I can't wait to watch it break asdkjSHJ

Angst: Every Second by The Vocal Few

Okay, this is like, the harbinger of her playlist! It's been the first or second song since I started her playlist about four and a half years ago!! <3 It's very integral to her vibe as a Commannder!

I never dreamed this life for me, But I am not afraid. At 35,000 feet, I make my peace with fate. If my work here’s complete, Before we hit the ground; May we sing the truth that sets us free, 'Cause every second counts!

This makes me think heavily about the entrance to Dragonfall! I really like dramatic flight scenes, (thanks Avatar & HTTYD! ^^) so I do like to think that her and Aurene had some flight trouble when coming back out of the Mists with all those falling pieces around them! This is another song that constantly puts AMVs in my head - just a cut from her playing around with her Griffon in the Highlands during the chorus, to free falling out of the Mists and over the ocean in Dragonfall during the bridge that follows... It's so so good I really should learn how to animate aksjdhau

There are just SO many themes in this song that hit so well for her!! There's also a part about a flight attendant;

Oh flight attendant, could you tell me the story of how You gave up trying to control your fate and rescue yourself? So calm and patient, you greet death every day with a smile. If today he takes you, would you say that your life was worthwhile? And just smile?

It's just... the vibes are fuckin' immaculate <3 I feel like it really highlights how she's seen so many people die around her, that she's both accepted that death is her eventual fate, but she also has this complex of continuing to fight against it because the Commander never fails.

Comfort: If I Ever Leave This World Alive by Flogging Molly

I think it's ironic that it's a little morbid, but stuff like this is what would actually comfort Phoenix in her Commander AU's!

If I ever leave this world alive, I'll take on all the sadness that I left behind. If I ever leave this world alive, The madness that you feel will soon subside. So in a word, don't shed a tear, I'll be here when it all gets weird, If I ever leave this world alive.

It's primarily the comfort that she'll still be able to do something when she's gone, if she ever is. The idea of being helpless in death really scares her, to the point that I'm sure even if she does die... she'll be back somehow lmao. -- Also! fun fact that part of why this is on here is because she's got a slight Irish accent! :D Her accent is far more prominent in AU's where she gets to grow up with her family though <3

Love Life: Walking The Wire by Imagine Dragons

I'm so excited about this one!! Okay, so, in my personal AU Phoenix has yet to find love, but!! I asked my bestie if I could mention one of our joint AU's and they said yes!! :D So this is about her and Lochlan (who belongs to @mavelleofdawn) !! <3

Do you feel the same when I'm away from you? Do you know the line that I'd walk for you?

Important context for this; by the time they meet, it's Icebrood Saga! So Phoenix is already a Sylvari, and Lochlan is a Duke of the Court! So 'do you know the line that I'd walk for you?' is very prominent on both sides!! ^^ Also, kinda funny because he lowkey shows up because it'd be such an achievement to turn the Sylvari Champion / Commander from a Dreamer to the Nightmare... he's gonna find out that that won't work though, since she's technically not even connected to the Dream akjshduskjs

Oh, I'll take your hand when thunder roars. And I'll hold you close, I'll stay the course. I promise you from up above, That we'll take what comes, take what comes... Love.

also the bridge of this song is just, so so soft it drives me insane. I just think that they're really fun and really cute and these two fill me with so much joy aksjdhaubkdjs

Fight Scene: All Eyes On You by Smash Into Pieces

Now the whole world's watching every move, Take your shot, don't act a fool. All you've got and all you'll ever need... Is one bullet in the chamber. Breathe easy, take your aim, boy. Ain't nobody gonna save you, So what you gonna do? (All eyes on you.)

This song is on her playlist for the sole reason of fight scenes!! ^^ It got added to her playlist during Icebrood Saga, where I had a stint of canonly swapping her to Deadeye, but it's definitely sticking around because I think I'm just gonna have her multiclass after her (second) experience with death! This song has a lot of urgency, and feels a little chaotic at points, and by god I've imagined so so many AMVs of her to this song... <3 Also. I think that Revenants deserve a gun.

Thirst Trap Fancam?

Okay, I am doing this one more as a joke rather than seriously, but for Phoenix... Probably Die For You by The Weeknd! It's got a good beat and lyrics and there's something about this part that vibes:

I would die for you, I would lie for you, Keep it real with you, I would kill for you, my baby.

Does it vibe mainly because her partner is a Duke of the Nightmare Court?? discuss! /hj

[mrlnsfrt]

Ordination?

Biblical Leadership

Before diving into the topic of ordination, it is important to establish God’s view of leadership and I believe Jesus makes this abundantly clear in the following passage.

17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

21 “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” — Matthew 20:17-28 NKJV (bold mine)

Ordination

This week we ordained three new elders at our church, and I wanted to briefly touch on this topic and how it relates to power and authority. To be clear, the word “ordination” does not appear in the Bible in the sense that there is no Greek or Hebrew word that corresponds to how we use it today. However, there are some translations that use the word ordination. Below is a quote that goes into more detail.

The word for ordination appears in Exod 29:22, 26, 27, 31, 34; Lev 7:37, 8:22, and 28, describing Moses’ appointing of Aaron and his sons as priests, and the sacrifices used in ordination. All of these passages include the same Hebrew term, מִלֻּא (millu', “filling”), which can also refer to the installation of priests (see BDB 571). The KJV, NKJV, Douay-Rheims 1899, and ASV translate the word as “consecration”; LEB uses “ordination” for only the Exod 29 verses, and “consecration” for the three Leviticus passages. While these differences may indicate a legitimate translation issue, they also highlight the difficulty of discussing postbiblical Jewish and Christian practices of ordination, which lack precise biblical antecedents. No biblical Hebrew or Greek term corresponds one-to-one with the contemporary use of “ordination” (Collins, “Ordination,” 339). —Thomas Scott Caulley, “Ordination,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016). (bold mine)

I have met many people who are very passionate about the topic of ordination, and though I will not do a deep dive into in this post I do want to clarify that this topic is not as simple as some appear to believe. Perhaps you are thinking,

But what about the appointment of the 70 elders and the consecration of the Levites?

To which I would reply, great point. Let’s briefly take a look at what happened on those occasions.

The 70 Elders

The appointment of the 70 elders who will help Moses is recorded in Numbers 11:16–25. The Lord tells Moses to gather 70 elders who he knows to be elders of the people and officers over them and bring them to the tabernacle of meeting. God says “I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.” (Numbers 20:17b NKJV) When the spirit comes upon them, they prophesy, but they do not do so again (Num 11:25). Notice that this account does not mention the laying on of hands.

The Levites

In Numbers 8:5–26, God instructs Moses to separate the Levites from the other Israelites for service at the tent of meeting. Moses cleanses them by sprinkling them with water of purification, and then they shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. After Moses sacrifices a young bull and grain offering, the Lord commands Moses to bring the Levites before him at the tent of meeting where the Israelites “lay their hands” (סָמְכ��וּ, somkhu) on the heads of the Levites. Aaron presents the Levites as an “elevation offering” from the Israelites (Num 8:10–11 NRSV). Here, the laying on of hands is used to “elevate” the Levites before the Lord, though not as a sacrifice. Notice that this is not the consecration of an individual, but of the tribe, and the consecration becomes hereditary. (for more see Brisco, “Antecedents,” 167 and Thomas Scott Caulley, “Ordination,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

These instances are helpful in giving us an example of leaders being chosen to serve in specific ways, but you can also see that neither of these examples is identical to the church’s modern practice of ordination. A son of a pastor, elder, or deacon is not automatically ordained to ministry like the Levites. Regarding the 70 elders, they were already elders, they were already leaders, and what changed is that God gave them an extra portion of the same Spirit that was upon Moses. Moses did not ordain them, he gathered them, and God filled them with the Spirit. Feel free to read these passages for yourself in their context and share with me any further insights you discover.

Moses’ Appointment of Joshua

One of the events that has a greater influence on the modern understanding of ordination could perhaps be Moses’ appointment of Joshua as his successor (Num 27:15–23; Deut 31:7–23; Josh 1:1–9). These passages provide us with an important referent for later ordination practices. However, the accounts vary regarding the “laying on of hands” and its significance. In Numbers, God appoints Joshua, “a man in whom is the Spirit,” and instructs Moses to lay his hand upon him (Num 27:18 ESV). In Deuteronomy 31, Moses tells Joshua to “be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land” (Deut 31:7 NRSV), and God Himself commissions Joshua with similar words (Deut 31:14–15, 23). However, this account does not mention laying on of hands. Only later, in Deut 34:9, is Joshua said to be “full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him” (NRSV). The text makes it clear that Moses confers his authority and office on Joshua by laying his hands on him.

Though Moses’ appointment of Joshua may be referenced regarding ordination, in our modern practice we do not have a retiring pastor lay hands on the new pastor who will take his place. So once again, though we can see the practice of the laying on of hands it cannot be compared to our modern practice. Also, Joshua did not appoint his successor in the same manner. In the book of Judges, we have God raising judges according to the needs of Israel. The judges were not ordained, and neither did they ordain judges to follow them.

What about the New Testament?

If we want to trace the idea of “ordination” as a biblical principle then we would be interested in Greek translation of the Old Testament and what words were used with regards to ordination or the laying on of hands. The Greek translation of the Old Testament is called the Septuagint. Below is a paragraph that goes into some detail regarding ordination and the septuagint.

The Septuagint renders the Hebrew word for ordination as τελείωσις (teleiōsis) (Exod 20 LXX; Lev 7:37; 8:22, 28 LXX). This carries the sense of “completion, accomplishment” (Judith 10:9 LXX), “perfection, fulfillment” (LSJ 1770), or “validation” (NETS). Sirach 45:15 records that Moses ordained (ἐπλήρωσεν, eplērōsen…τὰς χεῖρας, tas cheiras) Aaron and anointed him with holy oil. Here, the verb “ordained” literally means “[Moses] filled the hands” of Aaron (or “filled his hands”; NETS), an apparent translation of the Hebrew מלא (ml'). Although Daube stresses the alleged distinctions between סָמַךְ (samakh, “to lean, lay, rest”) and שִׂים (sim, “to put, place”), the Septuagint typically translates both terms with ἐπιτίθημι (epitithēmi, “put upon, place upon”; Daube, Rabbinic Judaism; Ferguson, “Laying on of Hands,” 1; “Jewish and Christian Ordination,” 13). — Thomas Scott Caulley, “Ordination,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

However, as I mentioned earlier, these terms are not used consistently referring to ordination. Ordination as we practice it today is quite different. Once again, this topic is not as simple as some would suggest. Here are some of the challenges regarding the Greek words used regarding “ordination.”

As with the Hebrew, the Greek word ἐπιτίθημι (epitithēmi) is generic—a common term for all kinds of putting or placing as well as the laying on of hands. Likewise, the term “laying on of hands” in Greek has varying applications. For example, in the Genesis Apocryphon from Qumran, laying on of hands is attested in Abraham’s exorcism of an evil spirit from the Egyptian king (1QapGen XX 22, 29). By contrast, Philo says the 70 elders in Numbers did not specifically receive the Spirit of God by Moses’ laying on of hands (Philo, On Giants, 24). Elsewhere, Philo discusses Jacob laying his hands on Ephraim and Manasseh, but does not mention the laying on of hands in Joshua’s ordination (Philo, Allegorical Interpretation, 3.90; On the Virtues, 66; Ehrhardt, “Ordination,” 125). Josephus uses ἐπιτίθημι (epitithēmi) for the laying of hands on a sacrificial animal (Josephus, Antiquities, 9.268), as well as laying hands on the head of an accused criminal (Antiquities 16.365). — Ibid.

The Sanhedrin?

Some bring in the Sanhedrin as a possible example of ordination but I don’t think it’s a strong argument. In the case of the Sanhedrin, ordination meant appointment to the position. The Mishnah gives no indication that the laying on of hands was understood to confer the Spirit. As with later rabbinical tradition, ordination to the Sanhedrin was an appointment to a legal post with no clerical or priestly function. Thus, this type of ordination differed from the later practice of Christian ordination, which authorized the person to duties like administering sacraments (Ehrhardt, “Ordination,” 125–26 see also Thomas Scott Caulley, “Ordination,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

New Testament Church Leadership

This is probably the part that you’re really interested in. But I felt it necessary to point out that there isn’t a clear model that we see used throughout the scriptures. But let’s take a look at what leadership looked like in the New Testament.

The way I see it, there is a fundamental difference between New Testament church leadership roles as functions and later Christian ideas of leadership positions as offices. This creates difficulties in the discussion of ordination in the New Testament. Leadership roles in the New Testament churches may have been related more strongly to giftedness (Eph 4:7–16; Warkentin, Ordination). For example, in the Pastoral Letters, the church leadership roles are defined by functions, not offices. First Timothy 3:1 describes someone aspiring to “supervision” (LEB), where the term (ἐπισκοπή, episkopē) here means “engagement in oversight” (compare 1 Tim 3:1 NIV). In a more technical sense, it can also refer to the office of bishop or overseer and is sometimes translated as “whoever aspires to the office of bishop” (RSV, NRSV; for “overseer,” see ESV and NASB). Paul, Timothy, and Titus (see Titus 1:5; compare 1 Tim 5:22) appointed leaders for various churches, but these appointments are not described as ordination (see Stepp, Leadership). (for more see Thomas Scott Caulley, “Ordination,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

Laying on of hands

The laying on of hands does not seem to be related to ordination or positions of leadership, rather we see it in the context of healing and blessing.

Touching (especially laying on of hands) (ἐπιτίθημι, epitithēmi) was common in healing (Mark 5:23; 6:5; 7:32; 8:23, 25; Culpepper, “Biblical Basis,” 477). On the other hand, while Jesus appoints 12 disciples and later commissions 11 in Matt 28:18–20, the New Testament does not record that He lays hands on them. The early Christians used laying on of hands—often accompanied by prayer—as a symbol of a blessing (see Ferguson, “Jewish and Christian Ordination,” 15). — Thomas Scott Caulley, “Ordination,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016). (bold mine)

The Appointment of the Seven Deacons

In Acts 6:1–6, the Twelve need help serving widows in the community, and they appoint seven deacons. The verb for “appoint” (καθίστημι, kathistēmi) used here is also used elsewhere for official appointments (Acts 7:10, 27, 35; 17:15; Titus 1:5). Some theologians believe the text implies the whole congregation laid hands on them (Culpepper, “Biblical Basis,” 477).

Some claim this account shows that “Luke viewed this ceremony as (based on) the account of Moses’ appointment of Joshua” (Culpepper, “Biblical Basis,” 478). There are parallels with the appointment of a person or persons having the Spirit, who is “set before/stand before” those in charge, and on whom those in authority lay hands (for example Numbers 27:16–23; compare with Acts 6:3–6;). However, the seven deacons are not made equal with and do not replace the apostles; therefore this is “neither a Pharisaic nor a priestly ordination, but a lay ordination” (Culpepper, “Biblical Basis,” 478). In that light, the appointment of the seven deacons may not truly be ordination as practiced in some churches, in the sense of apostolic succession.

My Approach

I see the appointment of the seven deacons (Acts 6:1-7) as a model that use in my local church. I look for those who are of good reputation, full of the holy spirit and wisdom who may be appointed over specific areas of ministry. In this context, those chosen were chosen because they were already showing evidence of having the Holy Spirit. In this case, I see the prayer and the laying on of hands as a special blessing. The seven were chosen by their community to serve their community and they were prayed over and hands were laid on them with the desire to bless them in a special way for the task ahead.

I understand that what we do at the local church is unique and based on our current needs, and even though it is based on biblical practices and principles there is no direct equivalent in the Bible. Each church does it (slightly?) differently, but the idea of order, organization, responsibilities, and special prayers for blessing is biblical. We want to be orderly and organized for mission. People are chosen to help further ministry, to serve, and to aid in advancing the kingdom of God.

The point I want to be clear is that ordination is not about magical powers and status, but rather about responsibility, trust, and blessings for the advancement of the mission.

Jesus gave us the mission

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. — Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV

We should never lose sight of the mission. The organization is necessary and helpful so long as it is aimed at accomplishing the mission. Leaders are appointed locally due to felt needs and a recognition that the leader already possesses the skillset, giftedness, and evidence of the Holy Spirit, to accomplish the task at hand. We pray and lay hands on the appointed leaders because we desire to support them and want them to experience a greater blessing that will further equip them to succeed in ministry.

[dfroza]

A clear exposure:

“Do not be afraid of those who may taunt or persecute you. Everything they do—even if they think they are hiding behind closed doors—will come to light. All their secrets will eventually be made known.”

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 10th chapter of the book of Matthew:

Jesus called His twelve disciples to Him. He endowed them with the authority to heal sickness and disease and to drive demons out of those who were possessed.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: Simon (who is called Peter, which means “the rock”) and his brother Andrew; James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew (the tax collector); James, son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot (who would betray Him).

Jesus sent out these twelve with clear instructions.

Jesus: Don’t go to the outsiders or to the towns inhabited by Samaritans, a people whose Jewish ancestors married Gentiles. Go instead to find and heal the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse those who have leprosy. Drive out demons from the possessed. You received these gifts freely, so you should give them to others freely. Do not take money with you: don’t take gold, silver, or even small, worthless change. Do not pack a bag with clothes. Do not take sandals or a walking stick. Be fed and sheltered by those who show you hospitality. When you enter a town or village, look for someone who is trustworthy and stay at his house as long as you are visiting that town. When you enter this home, greet the household kindly. And if the home is indeed trustworthy, let your blessing of peace rest upon it; if not, keep your blessing to yourself. If someone is inhospitable to you or refuses to listen to your testimony, leave that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. This is the truth: Sodom and Gomorrah, those ancient pits of inhospitality, will fare better on judgment day than towns who ignore you tomorrow or next week.

Listen: I am sending you out to be sheep among wolves. You must be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. You must be careful. You must be discerning. You must be on your guard. There will be men who try to hand you over to their town councils and have you flogged in their synagogues. Because of Me, naysayers and doubters will try to make an example out of you by trying you before rulers and kings. When this happens—when you are arrested, dragged to court—don’t worry about what to say or how to say it. The words you should speak will be given to you. For at that moment, it will not be you speaking; it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Your task will be fraught with betrayal: brother will betray brother, even to the point of death; fathers will betray their children, and children will rebel against their fathers, even to the point of death. When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next town. This is the truth: you will not be able to witness to every town in Israel before the Son of Man comes. Everyone will hate you because of Me. But remember: the one who stays on the narrow path until the end will be saved.

A student is no greater than his teacher, and a servant is never greater than his master. It is sufficient if the student is like his teacher and the servant like his master. If people call the head of a house “Beelzebul,” which means “devil,” just imagine what they’re calling the members of his household.

Do not be afraid of those who may taunt or persecute you. Everything they do—even if they think they are hiding behind closed doors—will come to light. All their secrets will eventually be made known. And you should proclaim in the bright light of day everything that I have whispered to you in the dark. Whatever whispers you hear—shout them from the rooftops of houses.

Don’t fear those who aim to kill just the body but are unable to touch the soul. The One to fear is He who can destroy you, soul and body, in the fires of hell. Look, if you sold a few sparrows, how much money would you get? A copper coin apiece, perhaps? And yet your Father in heaven knows when those small sparrows fall to the ground. You, beloved, are worth so much more than a whole flock of sparrows. God knows everything about you, even the number of hairs on your head. So do not fear.

Whoever knows Me here on earth, I will know him in heaven. And whoever proclaims faith in Me here on earth, I will proclaim faith in him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me here, I will disown before My Father in heaven.

Do not imagine that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I have come to turn men against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. You will find you have enemies even in your own household. If you love your father or mother more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me. If you love your son or daughter more than you love Me, then you are not worthy of Me. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow Me on the narrow road, then you are not worthy of Me. To find your life, you must lose your life—and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Jesus: Anyone who welcomes you welcomes Me, and anyone who welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. Anyone who welcomes a prophet and surrenders to his prophecy will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who welcomes a righteous person and conforms to the righteousness that surrounds him and proceeds from him will receive a righteous man’s reward. And anyone who has given so much as a cup of cold water to one of the little ones, because he is My disciple, I tell you, that person will be well rewarded.

The Book of Matthew, Chapter 10 (The Voice)

A set of notes from The Voice translation:

Up to this point, the disciples have been, mostly, following Jesus around, listening to Him teach, watching Him heal. And so now we call these twelve beloved men not merely “disciples,” or “apprentices,” but “apostles,” which means “those who are sent as representatives, emissaries.” Jesus is preparing to send them into the harvest field to do His Father’s work.

Jesus calls His disciples to a radical commitment. Those who truly follow Jesus must be willing to follow Him to the point of death, just as He will later die for His commitment to God and others. Thus, whether they die literally or figuratively, His followers give up their lives for Him.

Today’s paired reading from the First Testament is the 4th chapter of the book of Amos:

Hear this word, you cows on the fertile pastures of Bashan,

who grow fat and happy on the hillsides of Samaria,

Who oppress the poor and destroy the needy

while you order your husbands to do your own work.

The Eternal Lord has made a vow by His own holiness:

Eternal One: The day will come when your enemy will drag you away

with hooks like sides of beef—will subdue you with fishhooks, each and every one of you.

You’ll be forced to leave through breached walls,

each one of you taken straight out and cast into Harmon, a place of exile.

I dare you: Come to My shrine at Bethel and do wrong;

come, worship Me at Gilgal, and watch your sins multiply.

Go ahead, bring your ritual sacrifices there every morning

and ten percent of your earnings every three days.

Burn a thanksgiving offering of leavened bread,

boast about your freewill offerings, and let everyone know

because these things are what you love to do, people of Israel.

So says the Eternal Lord.

Eternal One: I kept your teeth clean and your stomachs empty

when famine struck all your cities and no food could be found in your towns,

But still you did not come back to Me.

I held back the rain from your fields

when there were still three months left until harvest.

I would send rain on one city

but not on another.

I would send rain on one field

but not on another, so the dry field withered.

So people from two or three towns stumbled to one

that had water to drink, but they were still thirsty.

And still you did not return to Me.

I struck your crops with disease and mildew.

Whatever survived in your gardens and vineyards,

Whatever remained of your fig and olive trees, the locusts devoured;

and still you did not return to Me.

I sent plagues on you like the plagues I unleashed upon Egypt.

I slaughtered your young men in battle,

Stole away your horses, and sent the stench

of those bodies rotting in your camps reeking into your nostrils;

And still you did not return to Me.

I destroyed some of you as I destroyed the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah,

and those who survived were like a smoking branch plucked from the fire;

And still you did not return to Me.

So this is what I am going to do to you, Israel.

Because of what I am planning, prepare to meet your God, people of Israel!

Witness the One who shapes the mountains and fashions the wind,

who reveals His thoughts to human beings,

Who changes dawn to darkness

and treads upon the high places of the earth.

The Eternal God, Commander of heavenly armies, is His name.

The Book of Amos, Chapter 4 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Tuesday, january 16 of 2024 with a paired chapter from each Testament (the First & the New) of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons

Though the Scriptures teach that the realm of the demonic exists, we encounter its presence most usually in thoughts and feelings that entice the soul to act selfishly and to entertain doing evil. That is where the battle begins. *In the mind.* The monster that tempted Eve in the Garden got into her head long before she bit into the fruit from the forbidden tree. And unless we are on guard against the variegated insinuations of godless insanity, we are liable to be under its influence as well...

You might think that demonic oppression is something extraordinary that requires the ministrations of an exorcist, but before such intervention may be necessary, the mind has been captivated by evil and deranged thinking. Such thinking may have its origins with demons named "worry," or "shame," or "unworthiness" or "anger." Or they may come from rationalizations or excuses that attempt to console the ego. But a common strategy of the devil is to supply plausible ideas that are designed to deceive us and lead us astray.

Everyone is a theologian of sorts. The difference, however, is whether you are a good theologian or one who is swamped with muddled thinking about what is real. As C.S. Lewis once said, "Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered. The cool intellect must work not only against cool intellect on the other side, but against the muddy heathen mysticisms which deny intellect altogether. Most of all, perhaps we need intimate knowledge of the past."

The devil doesn't care if it is a "holier-than-thou" theology, or a murky mysticism of "absolute tolerance," or a smarmy disavowal of faith in God altogether --- he is equally pleased with the sensualist as well as the atheist, indeed, he is content with any distortion of the truth, for this enables him to "feed" his deluded ego as the "Prince of Darkness."

In a way, dealing with evil thinking is unremarkable. After all, the airwaves of mass media continually disseminate lies, disinformation, and godless thinking in countless formats and by various diabolical stratagems. Whenever we encounter the demonic affecting us, then, we should not panic or be scandalized, but must instead reaffirm the truth of God and resolutely submit to his will (James 4:7). Sometimes this means contradicting the lie by quoting Scripture, offering praise to the Lord, and asking our Heavenly Father for deliverance. In extreme cases, it may be necessary to command the evil spirits to silence their blasphemies and to cease their intrusions. If we find ourselves going out of control emotionally, we are giving ground to the devil. The best tactic is to stay calm and re-center our focus on the Lord who is always present. There is shalom - that is, healing, wholeness, and soundness of mind - as we regain awareness of the greatness and the beauty and the glory of our God.

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

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Psalm 3:3 reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm3-3-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm3-3-lesson.pdf

1.14.24 • Facebook

from yesterday’s email by Israel 365:

At the end of his prophetic book, the prophet Joel states, “Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem will stand from generation to generation” (Joel 4:20). This powerful declaration transcends time, and is especially relevant in the modern era. The biblical commentators explain this verse as a prophecy heralding a time when the Jewish people, following a period of tribulation and the punishment of their adversaries, will permanently return to their ancestral homeland. This return is not just a physical resettlement but also a spiritual and cultural revival.

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

January 16, 2024

The Everlasting Mercy of God

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalm 136:1)

God’s mercy is a monumental theme in Scripture. The English word appears some 341 times in the Bible. The four Hebrew and three Greek words appear a total of 454 times and are also translated by “kindness,” “lovingkindness,” “goodness,” “favor,” “compassion,” and “pity.” Of the 66 books of the Bible, only 16 do not use one of the words for mercy. Even though “mercy” is an important concept, it is somewhat difficult to prescribe a definition for it, especially since “grace” is occasionally coupled with it.

In the first reference where “mercy” is used, Lot has just been expelled from Sodom by the angels of judgment. In spite of the command by the angels that Lot and his daughters “escape to the mountain,” Lot begs: “Oh, not so, my LORD: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life,...this city is near...Oh, let me escape thither” (Genesis 19:17-20). And later, the New Testament saints are told to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). In these and other such passages, the two terms appear to address similar subjects.

However similar they may appear to be, these words are not synonyms. “Grace” is most often associated with the sovereign dispensation of totally undeserved favor, and it is specifically connected to salvation. “Mercy” is more often connected to the withholding of judgment. “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:13).

Set aside some time today to read and meditate on this psalm. You will find the day less wearisome if you do. HMM III