#Hardened Hearts

[chrisengel]

"The real weapons of mass destruction are the hardened hearts of humanity." Leonard Cohen

[beautyqueenproblems]

Enjoy this aesthetically pleasing photo of me in a random alleyway in Kentucky

[bookkats]

Prayer for when we legislate things..

This is a prayer for those who needLegislate posting the ten commandmentsand the denominations that need to expel womendefine “marriage”in ways the devalue personhood This is a prayer becauseGod melt the heartsof those who only have one hardenedunderstanding of scriptureGodhumanity God I pray that you melt their hearts God I pray that you sing poetry to themin their dreams And show them…

[lordgodjehovahsway]

Joshua 11: God Defeats The Northern Kings For Israel

1 When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Akshaph, 

2 and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west; 

3 to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. 

4 They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 

5 All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

6 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”

7 So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, 

8 and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. 

9 Joshua did to them as the Lord had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

10 At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword. (Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms.) 

11 Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed, and he burned Hazor itself.

12 Joshua took all these royal cities and their kings and put them to the sword. He totally destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 

13 Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds—except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 

14 The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed. 

15 As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.

16 So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country, all the Negev, the whole region of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel with their foothills, 

17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and put them to death. 

18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 

19 Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. 

20 For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. 

22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive.

23 So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.

[arcanegifs]

ARCANE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: 2x01 - “Heavy is the Crown” ↳ "I know you doubt your merit of your birthright, Caitlyn. There's wisdom in that. But remember: You're a Kiramman."

[sotc]

as fun as it is to talk about the sillay crow family dynamics, i'm soo interested in what this means for the crow familia going forward in a darker lens.

im mostly speaking from the perspective of a rook de riva who romanced lucanis btw <3

illario brought the axe down on his own head after failing to take first talon. he's imprisoned except to play house whenever caterina wants to see him around for family dinners before tensions inevitably shove him back into the cage he's been left to like some house pet lmfao. it's actually kinda fucked up and as a certified sicko i love it. especially considering the casualness in which lucanis describes all of this. crows gotta be a little unhinged<3

But!!! while lucanis was right that illario's reputation is ruined forever as a traitor crow beaten to his knees before every house that doesn't exactly free house dellamorte either. Talon houses will want their pound of flesh of illario for nearly trying to put antiva under venatori control. and yet lucanis refused. house dellamorte showed mercy. they are breaking the rules, making exceptions. this is not how the crows operate and there should--WILL be retaliations for it. illario left this house bleeding in his attempt to claim first talon and their blood is in the water now with house dellamorte having a sole heir who blatantly exposed a weakness and seemingly has no lineage to take after him.

and nevermind that we know murmurs amongst the crows will linger about a first talon being an abomination. i know lucanis kind of handwaves it off as at the coffee date like 'there could be worst first talons' but baby boy, you have avoidance and denial issues this WILL become worse of a problem the longer it goes on. <3

more under the cut bc i didn't realize this was getting so long lol

but in comes fifth talon viago de riva. a bastard to the king of antiva who wants to strengthen the crown. a man who has been ruthlessly exacting and meticulous to get where he is now. and the scariest part is that he has ambition, always has, and knows he has more power than the king himself to make plays if he needs to. this makes for a dangerous (and sexy) combination. in comes his protege rook. casting silly family dynamics aside, viago knows this union between house dellamorte and de riva is extremely beneficial for both houses but also very dangerous. even he knows his ties to teia show a weakness in him that other crows may seek to exploit. and while i do think he may be sincere about wanting rook to find their happiness with lucanis as he has with teia - i truly think he will not shy from showing the importance of a 'political alliance/union' especially with first talon house dellamorte struggling from the blow after all is said and done.

and of course, by extension to de riva, house cantori and the beautiful lovely miss teia, will be extending her support to strengthen their houses but also herself from any opposition. as much as i love that she's kind of the heart that brings this fucked up lil familia together, i know she is just as cunning and clever to recognize what this alliance does for her too.

and caterina.. well, without going into a whole thought piece on her, she has built her (and her grandson's reputation) entirely to instill fear in others, even command enough respect to know she's the one running things while lucanis is just a stand-in as first talon. but what happens when caterina is gone? another dellamorte dead just like all the others. all lucanis has left is himself and his traitor brother. how does he handle illario? how does he fair being a leader to the crows when he didn't want any of this in the first place and no longer has caterina to guide him? how does he wish to pursue carrying the dellamorte legacy (if at all)? does he seek a protege of his own to take on after him? i can't remember who says it (viago or lucanis) but there's a line about how saving thedas will make their houses immortal (hot and very sexy) but also how far can that reputation protect house dellamorte, really?

i don't really have a point to all of this, this is all just stuff im simply chewing on and letting out into the ether because the ripple effect of repercussions with what illario did and what lucanis now has to deal with fascinates me SO MUCH.

[orphiclovers]

han sooyoung, on being the villain

[comatosebunny09]

Imagine being longtime friends with Zayne and harboring deep feelings for him, but having no idea how he feels about you because he keeps you at what feels like arm’s length.

Sometimes, you feel like a nuisance.

An annoying sister-figure Zayne deals with because he has to. Because he’s known you since you were children, and now he’s your doctor, so he’s obligated to be nice.

But sometimes, he confuses you because did he just compliment you unprovoked? Go out of his way to meet you for dinner? Give you his coat when the cold whisper of the breeze touches your spine? Stay in your living room late into the night talking with you, knowing he has to be up early tomorrow for work?

Whatever’s going on, it’s confusing as all hell. His signals are jumbled like spilled jigsaw pieces, and the accidental touches and the fleeting glances and the way he murmurs unguarded things to you in the dead of night makes your head fill with static, and—

You don’t think your heart can take much more of this push-and-pull, this game of hot and cold.

Besides, who would Zayne be to give someone as plain as you a shot in hell at him? He’s all big-time cardiac surgeon. All modelesque and incredibly smart and made of money, and you’re just a humble, nameless Hunter.

Enter Sylus.

Damn, he’s an asshole at first.

Sure, his beauty is otherworldly, and his voice makes your knees all wobbly. And he’s tall and masculine in every sense of the word, and fuck, he smells good.

But you typically wouldn’t give someone like him the time of day. He’s a criminal. Damn near mafia-affiliated. Talks too much shit, and your morals warn you against falling for him.

But, well…

You kinda…

Do.

With time you notice, hey, this guy isn’t too bad. He’s still the leader of Onychinus. Still a murderer and a thief and you’re still low-key traumatized from your first encounter with him.

But he’s not all jagged around the edges like he initially let on. Doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to what he wants. Wears his heart on his cuffed, designer sleeves when it comes to you.

There’s no riddle to his words. No mistaking how his hand sits possessively at the small of your back when he takes you with him to conduct business. No missing how he blatantly flirts and has even come close to kissing you once or twice.

He likes you, goddamit, if the PDA and the unguarded smiles and overprotectiveness are anything to go by.

And when you’re tucked away all safe in your bedroom, tuckered out from killing Wanderers and battling with your own emotions…

When you’re clad in your soft PJs and hugging your pillow to your bosom with your brain all fizzy as the sun seeks refuge beneath the horizon…

When, in your peripheral, your phone glows on your nightstand. And you worry your bottom with your teeth, scrutinizing the picture flooding your screen—sea-green eyes, kohl black hair, a name flanked in big red hearts.

He’s calling you. Again. Texting you, filling your watch with notifications, filling up the idle space of your home with the insistent hum of your phone, and it’s uncharacteristic of him to be so active.

As your phone forwards him to voicemail and he becomes another missed call in your notifications, you realize.

Sigh.

You fitfully realize that Sylus is everything you want.

Everything you want from Zayne.

You fall back into the serenity of your bedsheets with a wail, muffling such a pitiful sound behind your pillow.

Maybe, just maybe Sylus is your punishment for being too pussy to confront Zayne.

[cookiescr]

Baby girl thinking about that chocolate while reporting to you about stopping a resistance

[novelconcepts]

Something about Dani and Jamie, Bill and Frank, love stories cultivated in the heart of horror. Something about finding queer love, gay love, human and fallible and worth cupping hands around and protecting even in the darkest of times. Something about stumbling into your person when you least expect them, when your mind is fixed firmly on pain and survival, and letting their light open you up. Something about choosing to wake up every day and cherish this person, even when it’s hard, even when they’re being broken down right before your eyes. Something about saying “I am marrying you, not in the eyes of others, but in our hearts where it matters—legality be damned”.

Something about gay love being worth all the strawberries, all the moonflowers, all the persistence and the endings chosen on your own terms. Something about that hits me where it counts.

[narniadynasty]

six of crows | leigh bardugo

[softchouli]

[kugamoogle]

Happy belated Collections Day! Hoping more new fans means more people will end up going just as insane over these two as I have

Mostly off topic ramble about AAI and Badd in the tags!

[beccawise7]

Truly...

Protect how you care for people. How you love the world. Stay kind. Stay warm.

Most of all, remember that while looks will fade, the beauty & legacy of a kind heart & the way you care for those around you will remain long after you've gone.

Keep that beautiful heart of yours.

~beccawise7💜🖤

[esmes]

i know you fancy him, but men ain't like women. they ain't like what you can trust. as i've lived and learned!

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

🫠😭