#and THEN. maybe we can get wonking

[livvyofthelake]

why did my dad have to have his retirement party on a day i could have been going wonking instead. does he hate women or something goddamn

[kalims]

kiss your best friend | diasomnia

kiss your best friend and see how they react!

parts. one , two , three , four , five , six , seven

characters. malleus, lilia, sebek, silver

content. gender neutral reader as usual, mentions of murder by lilia's cooking, someone faints lol

note. finally last part after ten years /j

malleus

goes absolutely silent but his surprise is definitely there -> eyes widen, brows raise on a miniscule scale. you'd think the guy would be all lowkey about his joy but five seconds later and there are comical sparkles surrounding his face.

I mean. you had to formally confirm that you two were friends before, and you had off-handedly linked his name and best friend in the same sentence a few months later (he was bursting for like a week.) and now all that?

thrown away, nu-uh. you two are NOT friends no more, he doesn’t have a single care in the world. he's throwing the friends label off a cliff with his foot and skipping off with joy cause you just got upgraded to the next ruler of briar valley wink wonk.

or perhaps you'd like being referred to as his consort? he can always make the people refer to you as both.

if you're wondering why he's so silent all of a sudden; malleus: already thinking of how he'd decorate the castle when you move in with him. maybe... he can break down the wall to link your two bedrooms together—wait no he'd very much like to share the same room instead..

"child of man, do you prefer violet or green?"

"uh... green...?"

"excellent choice, you have my gratitude."

the thing you should be asking is 'why' because it's either the main color theme of your wedding or the gem he'd engrave on your ring (he's very happy it's green though, since it'd be a constant reminder of him.. oh he knows! he should get his a color of your eyes too—)

someone stop him.

lilia

spiderman kisses spiderman kisses spiderman kisses spiderman kisses

more knowledgeable than malleus about the level up of relationships so he doesn't jump from best friends to newlyweds immediately. actually he doesn't even need a label, if you're going around kissing him he's just gonna act like you two are a married couple without a confirmation on your status'

"darling, could you hand me the sugar?"

"lilia, I hope you know that you're supposed to use salt for the sauce not sugar." <- *passes the right bottle*

ignoring lilia's attempts on lives he acts pretty normal.

ahem, besides the fact that your first kiss on him has made him come to the conclusion that he can now incorporate kisses in your daily routine since you've already done it, so apparently that means he can too.

kiss him once, he kisses you thrice I guess. it's either the occasional jumpscare from the ceiling since he felt like reminding you of his love through a pack or the times you blink and feel a sensation against your lips without seeing anything cause his affection can be silent as it is loud you suppose.

pov student you were speaking to who definitely saw that but you didn't midst your blink: 😨—

"lilia are we dating."

"i suppose it would make us more official like you humans like, so of course~"

he just accepts it without any complaints, just announce you're spouses and he'll accept that too probably.

#chill

silver

if we have spiderman kisses surely we can have the sleeping beauty kiss?

sleeping beauty kisses sleeping beauty kisses sleeping beauty kisses sleeping beauty kisses

I reckon he would be a pretty light sleeper though the quantity of his sleep is more often than not so even though he accidentally passes out a lot he's really easy to wake. trained to be vigilant and all, courtesy of his murderous father (well, murderous through food?)

he knows the weight of certain things. a blanket draped over him, the feeling of something squirming on his shoulder—a squirrel, most likely. something on his head, a bird or some other critter. but this?

a light press on his lips, gone as quickly as it came. that, he isn't sure of. the animals don't tend to linger around his face so the unknown origin of it has curiosity opening his eyes.

and boy, he is trying to find every reason to not believe that you didn't peck him.

perhaps they touched it? he furrows his brows lightly, attempting hard at trying to avoid your gaze because he feels guilty at his first assumption, you're his best friend! you wouldn't do such a thing..

"did you touch my lips?"

"nah, is it fine that I kissed you?"

"..."

"..."

*passes out*

is he dreaming?

sebek

in what scenario will sebek even let you near him? hmmm.. I suppose being 'best friends' (he calls you self proclaimed, and that you guys aren't that close but still rages over someone and hits them with an essay why you're so much better than their insults) makes you more tolerable around to be closer.

totally not the fact that he might have a crush on you, which can't be right cause he can't be capable of having feelings for a *gasp* human!

scandalous. he knows.

raises a brow when you do anything but be discrete with your intentions of shuffling closer but he doesn't really double back, okay. he's getting a little concerned now when you continue getting closer, he takes a step back not because you're near or anything but this behavior is... just strange.

you're in his face already and before he can question (loudly) what in the seven's name you're doing before you just casually peck him on the lips?

WHAT IN TARNATION!

stiffens up immediately, his face looks like it's holding in a yell. maybe that's why it's getting so red? he's just standing there with shoulders so tense he looks like he's trying to seem big.

"..." WHAT JUST HAPPENED. DID THIS HUMAN JUST.. NO, WE ARE MERELY BEST FRIENDS—are we even friends.. NO! THIS IS THE MOST INAPPROPRIATE ACT TO COMMIT. THIS HUMAN NEEDS TO KNOW BOUNDARIES. I mean he enjoyed that and all—I mean what..

"why are you so quiet."

if only you knew.

[starry-pierrot]

Our Kits

Narinder hadn't expected his life to go this way but he can't say that having a pregnant spouse isn't something he's come to enjoy. He just hopes he can handle the responsibility. ------ Tw: Lamb fluff pregnancy, birth (Nothing graphic), mentions of fluids, cute newborns.

Characters: The Lamb(NB), Narinder, Bishops, Rose (my oc), Aym and Baal mention

------------ Woop woop! We got another one! This one is based off @doughyfluff 's super cute pregnant Lamb art. I for one an frothing at the mouth for their art and I couldn't help it! Dms are always open to screech at me Marz wink wonk. Anyway enjoy! EDIT: OOPS-Please keep in mind this is only based off someone's comics, it is not a direct storyline nor 100% canon on how they imaged things. Just for fun!

The sun poured in through the window as the night became morning, lighting up the room of the temple in a soft glow. Chirping birds making a fluffy ear twitch before a body in the shared bed began to shift and move. Lamb cracked open their eyes and as gently as they could they sat up and stretched with a yawn. 

Already they could feel their body being more tired than it usually would without the circumstances, but they needed to go and prepare for a ritual. They couldn’t just ignore their duties despite how large their belly had gotten. Some light toast and maybe a meat bowl sounded good, Heket probably has their special order at least prepared by now for breakfast. 

But before they could slip out of the bed Lamb felt warm arms slip around their middle and gently hold their stomach as a warm body leaned against them. “Good morning, mama,” the sound of Narinder's gravely voice sparking their heart to beat just a little faster and their cheeks to warm.

“Eeep! Narinder!” Lamb chuckled as they looked back at him, that third eye staring up to them with an adoration they weren’t ever sure they’d get used too. 

“You’re up early.” Narinder continued. 

“Well…I do have a ritual to prepare for. You know, being the leader and all.” At this Narinder’s face scrunched up in displeasure, usually he would be just fine with handling any cult business but lately he’s been quite more favorable to just stay in bed. 

“Don’t bother, it's a Holy Day.” Narinder moved with them as they stood up, his arms wrapping ever tighter around them. Kisses on their neck to tempt them to stay in bed. 

“You know I can’t do that.” Lamb tried to pull away to get away before they were trapped, a smile on their lips before another yawn took over. 

Suddenly their cat began to purr. “You are their god,” his hands began to run along their pregnant belly as the purrs only increased in volume, “and as your high priest I request a Holy Day.” His fingers rubbing little circles into their soft wool, “And as your husband I demand more bedtime.”

Lamb tried so hard to ignore him, tried to move away but those bastardly hands were keeping them right where he wanted them. Then a little nibble to their ear finally made them sigh and sag back against the warm body behind them. “Alright alright!” They laughed as they were gently dragged back into the bed, covers pulled over them. “I suppose another hour wouldn’t hurt.” 

Soon the two were back in a tangled web of limbs and pillows, Lamb quickly fell asleep but Narinder seemed to rather be enjoying just holding them. Looking at them as they breathed deeply, safe and warm in their bed. Looking down he could see the bump showing through the blankets and an ever more loving smile came across his face. 

Never had he thought he’d end up like this. The High Priest of his usurpers cult, his own brood on the way and he even had his family here with him. They were all so different from back then. Back when they had all hated each other. And he had the Lamb to thank for that. 

When he had first learned that the Lamb was pregnant he was excited! But also incredibly nervous to the point that he had asked Shamura for every single book they had on raising children. 

“I am to assume Lamb is with child?” Shamura had asked him, despite his injuries he seemed to be quite cognizant at times. 

Narinder of course didn’t expect Shamura to realize it so soon, feeling his cheeks heat under his fur. “....yes.” 

“Oh happy day.” 

Every night he had been reading at least one book before bed, Lamb had thought it was adorable and teased him little about it. 

But as time went on he wasn’t sure if he was ever going to be ready enough for them. He of course did what he could and tried his best, through the morning sickness, crusade mood swings and even that first kick the Lamb felt. That had been one of the best days of his life. 

Though if he was honest with himself he was nervous. Scared. Could he raise his kits? Would he be a good parent? What if he did something wrong? All fears the lamb insisted were unfounded. He had to trust them right?

And as he began to feel his eyes droop he couldn’t help but think that at least Lamb would be with him. He wouldn’t be in this alone like with Aym and Baal.

He was in love. His family was back in his life. 

He wouldn’t be alone.  

—---

The weather was nice and cool as Narinder went to Mess Hall to pick up dinner for himself and the Lamb, they were getting much closer to their due date and he didn’t want them to walk if he could help it. A chuckle passed his lips thinking about how big they’ve gotten, it was a little comical with how small they were, often pouting about not being able to move as well as they used to. Narinder however thought it was adorable and took every chance to pepper that belly with kisses and purrs. 

Walking in he quickly slipped into the back, Heket was working on cleaning up and only gave him a glance in greeting. “Are these the ones?” he asked her. 

Heket gave a little sound of annoyance, “Yep…..how’s…lamb?” She asked while she washed the dishes, she had also been one to guess what was going on early. Considering the lamb had been taking more food , which had displeased her.  

“Annoyed about being in bed all day but doing fine. They have been requesting more meat bowls with those spices you like to save.” The Lamb had begged Narinder to ask Heket for more, though Heket usually liked to keep those special spices to herself. 

A huff as the frog rolled her eyes, “Only….because they’re…gravid.” She agreed, “I’ll make…some for…late night snacks.” Heket was amused at just how demanding the Lamb could be sometimes. Of course they were polite about it but even she could tell if she ever said ‘no’ there would be hell to pay. Not that she’d deprive a pregnant lamb of food. 

“Thank you, sister. You can just leave them here and I’ll pick them up later.” Narinder picked up the bowls and made his way back out the door, his tail giving her a short pat on her back on his way. It didn’t take him long to get to the temple, the large building quiet as he stepped inside. 

Though with his sensitive hearing he could hear what sounded like panting, the ear flicking as his brows scrunched a bit. Quickly moving up the stairs he gently pushed open the door that led to their bedroom, “Lamb, I’m back with the food. Heket said she’ll make you more of those spic-” he stopped. 

Lamb was sitting on the side of the bed, their legs spread and their tunic wet and dripping. They looked at him with a bit of a chuckle, “H-hey, Nari. Um…my-uh-my water broke.” Oh how they had the composure to look shy he would never know. 

“How long ago?” 

“Um-about an hour-ow!” Suddenly a wince had Narinder's fur puff out. Placing the food on the dresser he wasted no time in suddenly scooping the lamb up into their arms. 

“Wh-Narinder!” Lamb squeaked. 

“We’re going to the medbay. Now!” Oh he was not ready for this. Sure he’s read all the books he could find but actually being in this situation was not something he was mentally prepared for. What did the books say? It could take up to a couple of hours to a whole day for labor to actually begin to start but sometimes it could also start sooner than that. Before he knew it he was walking through the medbay tent, “Kallamar!’ 

The squid jumped at the shouting of his name, almost dropping a syringe, “Narinder how many times have I told you not to yell in the-oh dear.” The squid quickly put what he was doing down, telling an assistant of his to continue as he rushed over. “When did their water break?” 

“About an hour ago.” Narinder responded for them, Kallamar took a quick look over before bringing the both of them over to a bed to sit the lamb down on. 

“Any contractions?” Kallamar asked. 

“M-maybe? It uh-just feels like cramps.” Lamb answered. 

Kallamar hummed, “You might be having some Braxton Hicks. If it’s only been an hour it might be too early just yet.” Gently the squid felt around their abdomen, ignoring the slight hiss from Narinder, “Are they constant or coming and going?” 

“Coming and going…I uh-haven’t felt one since Narinder picked me up.” 

Pulling away Kallamar hummed once more, “Alright it seems you’re in the very early stages. You could stay here for now but I recommend getting a good walk in to maybe help it along.” 

“Wait, that's it?” Narinder asked as he looked at Kallamar confused. 

“That’s it for now. There's nothing we can do until they’re in active labor. It could take a couple of hours for their body to prepare. Just come back when you have constant cramps, but maybe don’t stray too far from the medical tent. I’ll alert my nurses to check in on you every once in a while.” Though the squid took one more look over the Lamb, “…maybe we should change them out of that soaked tunic first.” 

After a quick change of clothes Narinder and the Lamb were walking about the cult. With Narinder carrying them out in a soaked tunic earlier it didn’t take too long for word to get around that the Lambs child might be born soon. Though it seems the cult has a good mind to keep their distance for the time being. Leshy however-

“So whatya gonna name it?” the worm asked, “Better be something cool. Only a dork like Narinder would choose something lame.” 

“Leshy.” Narinder growled out, “I think Lamb would appreciate-” 

“He’d pick something like Nemo. Or Orion.”

Lamb couldn’t keep the smile off their face as Narinder just sighed, his hand rubbing their lower back. “We haven’t picked one yet. I want to meet them first.” 

“Going for the personality check then. Sweet. I call dibs on being the first uncle to hold them.” The worm’s leafs shook in excitement, “Gonna teach them all the cool diggin’ holes-” 

“You are not going to teach our child to be a menace like you.” Narinder cut in, ears folded back. Oh how he loved his sibling but if the kid turned out anything like him he was sure he’d be doomed as a parent. 

“You know damn well it would be boring without someone like me around here!” Leshy laughed, “Come on what kind of uncle would I be if I don’t teach them a little something!” 

Soon the two began their usual sibling bickering, not an actual fight but shouting and maybe a shove or two once the Lamb stepped away. Eventually Leshy left the two to go back to his own spouse, letting the two spend their time in peace. 

Several hours later they were back in the medbay, the contractions began to get closer and the Lamb was set up on the bed with Narinder behind them rubbing their lower back. For now they were left in a private room with frequent check-ins by either Kallamar or one of the nurses. 

“You’re doing great.” Narinder quietly said into Lamb’s ear, “You’re doing so good. Going to be the best parent.” 

“Narinder.” 

“You’ve been through worse. I hope they're a lamb. I mean I don’t care either way but I want to see a baby lamb-” 

“Narinder.”

“Just breathe and you’ll be fin-” 

“NARINDER!” Suddenly the crown’s power flares in a show of red magic, the Lamb’s horns growing just a bit more sharp as they look back at him with red eyes. “Sweetheart-”, oh fuck they were using their god voice, “You know I love you but if you keep talking I am going to kick you out and you will wait in the waiting room!”

Narinder stared at them for a moment before nodding, thoroughly quieted by the outburst of their spouse. The crown’s power dissipated and soon the lamb was groaning as they felt another contraction. Well if him talking wasn’t helping then he would do the next best thing. 

Leaning forward Narinder carefully placed his chin on the Lamb’s shoulder and began to purr, the Lamb sighing as they relaxed to the sound. 

Soon however it was obvious the time had come. The obstetrician, an alpaca named Rose, quickly prepared everyone. Originally Kallamar had been the one who wanted to help with the delivery but as soon as Narinder saw him put some gloves on-

“What are you doing?”

“Well I’m delivering the new family member! I couldn’t let just anyon-” 

“You touch them and I will cut off all of your tentacles.” 

Kallamar wanted to argue but seeing that expression on Narinder's face and the threat…well he had given into his cowardice and conceded. However he stuck close by making sure to at least be there in case something went wrong and he actually had to intervene despite Narinder’s threats. 

Leshy and their spouse, Shamura and Heket soon showed up after waiting outside as the contractions became less and less apart. 

Narinder had watched the lamb through all their hardships when they were his vessel, all the deaths, all the choices and how they handled the cult. He knew they could do this even if they were crying and squeezing his hand to the point of possible fracture. He could feel tears in his eyes but blinked them back.

“Push, my Lamb! I can see the head!” Rose encouraged, “Almost there!” 

Lamb cried out as they gave another push though weakened about halfway through it, huffing and puffing. “Fuuck-it hurts-” 

“I know, but you gotta push, you're almost done!” 

With another push Lamb cried out, this time trying with all their might. And then a wet sound and a cheerful cry, “You did it!” Quickly Rose carefully took the baby and gently began to clean it up, focusing on the face and nose until a shrill cry filled the room. She had barely wrapped the baby up before Narinder snatched the baby away from her. Gently of course. Kallamar kept his distance but was obviously excited to see the child by the way his tentacles anxiously fidgeted. 

Lamb couldn’t help but cry even more when they heard their baby, seeing them only made them sob out. Narinder just about cried out himself seeing that he had somehow managed to create life for once. Instead of taking the life of something he created life. “They’re beautiful…oh so beautiful.” Narinder leaned in to kiss their head, though that didn’t seem to deter the little one from making as much noise as they wanted. 

Not that either parent minded. 

“Agh!” Suddenly Lamb was curling up, their face scrunched up in pain as another contraction broke their attention away from their newborn. 

“Lamb?!” Narinder worriedly looked at them before looking at Rose and Kallamar, Rose quickly taking charge with a nervous Kallamar flanking her. 

After a moment her head popped up, “Oh shit-you’re gonna have to push for me again, my Lamb!” She instructed. 

“Again!?” Lamb, Narinder and Kallamar all asked out in surprise. 

“Someone’s getting a sibling!’ She happily told them, “Now push.” Lamb looked at Narinder in surprise before another contraction hit and they pushed, once more crying out. Soon another small body slipped out with a wet plop and just like before Rose was quick to act. 

The room soon was filled with two crying newborns. The second child was handed off to the lamb and Narinder just couldn’t help it anymore. A sob broke out of his throat as the tears he had been holding back finally began to stream down his face. 

“Oh Narinder…” Lamb mumbled as they saw their husband cry like a child because of his own children.

Discreetly Rose and Kallamar slipped out after a quick look to make sure there wasn’t a third, though she had to tug the squid along. 

Narinder hiccuped as he scrubbed at his eyes, but the tears kept coming, “T-twins…we ha-have twins!” It was awfully familiar to him as he once had to raise Aym and Baal on his own, though this time he hopes he does a better job. 

“N-no wonder I got so big…” A chuckle as they thumbed the little ones forehead, the newborn’s cries soon turning to hiccups. And once one began to calm down so did the other. 

“They're beautiful. I…I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful…not even as a god.” Narinder whispered as he carefully slipped into the cot next to Lamb. Using his right arm to wrap around their shoulders as they moved closer. “What should we name them?” 

Lamb took a good look at the two newborns, they both seemed to be a mix of themselves and Narinder. Though one seemed more cat-like and the other more sheep. One even had Narinder’s three eyes. “...you know I like the name Lilith.” 

“Lilith?” Narinder seemed to think about it in his head for a moment, “It is a lovely name. And maybe.. Dantalion for the other one?” He asked just before leaning in and kissing the newborn’s head. 

“I think that would be perfect. Perfect names for the perfect kits. Our kits.” An exhausted smile rested on the Lamb’s lips. 

“Our k-kits.” Another sob from Narinder made Lamb chuckle and lean over to give him a sweet kiss. 

“Our kits.” 

[celabi]

It's your local fungi with a horny thought. We had our sports fest at school today and I played badminton for my section. I went to the bathroom after my match and was all sweaty and shit (Tennis shorts and all that wink wonk.) But also secretly wishing Scara would see me and take me in one of the stalls. That was hours ago, I spent the whole time since, trying to not lose my shit over being sexually frustrated. Expound on this please I will kiss you if you do <3

Gym class with Scummy Scaramouche! ☆彡

Blublublublub hiiii I don’t think they do pe in college but take wtv this is *bites lip seductively* mwa (it’s short$) tbh this is kinda not what you asked but it’s also similar at the same time lol sorry!!

Scaramouche used to absolutely despise P.E class. Because no matter what sport the teacher made them participate in, almost everyone tried to target him some how, y’know, cause he’s a loser and stuff. People using all their strength to peg a dodge ball at him, going out of their way to trip him over him track, being the last one picked in group activities… yeah, it was kinda rough. So naturally, as he got older, he tried to put his past behind him as much as he could— wether that be lying to the professor and saying that he had a bad knee (sometimes he’d make Ei write him a sick note to make it more believable… this is a grown man everybody), or just skipping out on the lesson entirely (by cramming himself in a bathroom stall and playing on his phone). Basically just doing anything to get out of it— but that all stopping when you came in.

Coming in with that tight gym uniform that he thinks hugs your body figure just perfectly— watching as it slightly raises when you bend down to do all those different physical activities. The way the sweat that drips off your face and down your neck made you look almost if not angelic… and if he had a jar, he’d ask to take a little sample from you jfc I’m so sorry. How your tits bounce every time you jump up the catch the ball, you’d have to literally shake him back and forth for his attention to leave them (but even then he’s looking down and watching them jiggle lawl). The small shorts that let your cute little butt peak out from under them … he quickly grabs his bag and places it in his lap to hide his boner.

Um anyways, he scrambles up from the floor and slowly walks over towards you— momentarily stopping you and your friends conversation, which you smile and they groan about. “Hi Scara, need something?” So cute, he thinks, his feet padding across the ground until he’s finally, fully in front of you, while also trying to secretly scoot your friend further away. “Yes, you…’re help with something, can you cu— come with me? Please?” You smell even better then he thought. Scaramouche hums happily when you agree, and reaches out for your hand to pull you along and away from everyone else. Your friend tries to pull you back, but he shoots them a deathly stare over his shoulder and tightens his hold on your hand, a silent head shake in warning, they roll their eyes and let you leave.

Scaramouche thinks gym class is not that bad, as he locks the door to the stall and turns around, where you’re standing there, unaware (or aware, maybe who knows) of the effect you have on him, and looking at him questionably. “You… want me to help you pee, or something?” He blinks, and lets a little, amused chuckle fall from his mouth.

“… no I— i uh. Can you turn around really quick?” A strange request, but you comply nonetheless, and turn around until you’re facing the wall. There’s a quick shuffling sound coming from behind you, as well as Scaramouche letting out a few curses under his breath— before you feel his body pressing up behind you. “Thank you… you don’t know— know what you’re doing to me, do you?” His arms wrap around your torso, hands sneakily slipping under the fabric of your shirt and landing on your bare skin— which he shamelessly prods at. And when you look down, you can just barely see something poking through the gap of your thighs… it’s the tip of his cock, it’s angry red and leaking cum already :( “you look so beautiful wearing this, so— so perfect. I hate that everyone else can see you.”

Humming, you reach down and tease your fingers over the slit of his cock head, making him drop his head into the crook of your neck and whine pathetically— before he slowly starts to rut his hips into you. “So good, so good…” even through your clothing he can feel the way your pussy rubs against his cock.

“The lesson ends soon… we’ll have some fun, yeah?” (A threat not a question) your voice is so heavenly, he squeezes his eyes tight shut, and moans into your skin. “Yes… yes please.” He feels your hand leave his cock, and your arms raise up to pull off your shirt, and he gulps. ‘..finally.’

Err the end bye 🫡

[silverbirching]

SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT HADES 2, RIGHT

At least we had all better be, while I'm waving this broken bottle around.

Look guys I'm a Classical mythology wonk. And I don't mean like, "hey I read the Percy Jackson books, they were neat", I mean when I close my eyes before I sleep I pray to every god who might conceivably be listening that Linear A gets deciphered in my lifetime. I mean I've got a giant metal print of Circe Invidiosa by John Waterhouse in my bedroom. I mean that if you make the mistake of mentioning Hadestown in my presence you have unwittingly activated the trap card of "Sam talks about his string-and-sandwich board conspiracy theory about how Persephone was a terrifying eldritch queen of the dead and the entire greek world was scared shitless of her, so maybe knock it off with all these tender waifs in flower crowns, artists of the last two thousand years for two solid hours."

(The Percy Jackson books are extremely neat, btw)

So cut to 2020, the year of shit, and here comes a game from one of my favorite studios of all time, about one of my favorite subjects of all time, and it's gorgeous and deep and full of stupid gay drama and the art melts my eyeballs and the voice acting (true to Supergiant tradition) is basically indistinguishable from foreplay. So I played it. I played the absolute balls off of it.

AND THEY'RE MAKING A SEQUEL, HOLY SHIT

so the Thing about Chthonic deities is the underworld really creeped the Ancient Greeks out, so there's not a lot of writing about them that has survived to the present day, since if they were worshipped it was usually by mystery cults or more in an avoidant "please please please don't notice me I've been a good boy please" kind of way.

Hence why our favorite bisexual softboi dreamboat Zagreus doesn't really feature much in the mythology, except he was probably an offshoot of Dionysus and usually got synchronized with him, Hades himself, or Mycenaen Poseidon. They make a joke about this in Hades, btw (they make a fucking JOKE SONG about in in Hades).

BUT DID YOU KNOW ZAGREUS HAD A SISTER!?

Her name is Melinoë, and she's also cited from very limited sources, but I want to show y'all the brilliant Apostolos Athansssakis' translation of one of the view sources we have, the Hymn to Melinoë:

I call upon Melinoë, saffron-cloaked nymph of the earth, whom revered Persephone bore by the mouth of the Kokytos river upon the sacred bed of Kronian Zeus. In the guise of Plouton Zeus tricked Persephone and through wiley plots bedded her; a two-bodied specter sprang forth from Persephone's fury. This specter drives mortals to madness with her airy apparitions as she appears in weird shapes and strange forms, now plain to the eye, now shadowy, now shining in the darkness— all this in unnerving attacks in the gloom of night. O goddess, O queen of those below, I beseech you to banish the soul's frenzy to the ends of the earth, show to the initiates a kindly and holy face.

My guess would be is that Supergiant will not have her be the child of Zeus under false pretenses (there's sources that indicate Zagreus is also a child of Zeus) but still. Dope. Rad as hell. Zag's baby sister is a twin-bodied goddess of nightmares and I am excited a normal amount.

Also Apollo is gonna be in this one, you guys.

Look at this magnificent pain-in-the-ass. I can already tell you he's going to be 10,000% annoying, and I am completely here for it.

[kumezyzo]

I’m sorry, but I just got the best thought ever and NEEDED to share it with someone!!!

but like, imagine streamer!reader and Sapnap are in a situationship type thing, like you’ve had the deep talks, have made out whilst watching movies etc but you guys haven’t told anyone (not even their closest friends).

When they were at the dream smp panel or whatever it’s called, every time Sapnap went to answer a question, he glanced over at you, and then started stuttering. Like that one tiktok audio cause reader was just looking at him with admiration but also desire and seduction and Sapnap is just question his whole life.

(there’s 100% edits made of him stuttering whilst looking at reader)

also can I be 🧃anon?

this had been sitting in my inbox for forever and im sorry im responding so late but YESSSS!! I literally love this sm 😭😭

and maybe there are even streams where they're all close or whatever, and reader does like the triangle method or something like that just for shits and giggles. and he gets so flustered or even close to kissing them, and people are over analyzing the SHIT out of it 😭😭

or they just give each other these looks and those people that analyze micro-expressions are like "oh they're vvv attracted to eachother". but tbh, you wouldn't even need some to tell you that cause its palpable.

and i love to imagine that they talk about one of those movie dates and almost let it slip that they were not paying any attention (wink-wonk)

just like:

"oh, didn't we watch that?"

"yeah, i think so..."

"i literally dont remember a single thing about it tho."

"i definitely dont remember the ending."

"we got to the ending?"

"yeah, you were just to busy- nevermind..."

AND THE EDITS ARE INSANEEEE😭😭 they just give the viewers way too much ammo for them. its fucking crazy.

and i already made you my 🧃 anon, thx for asking -nony

[radioactive-metal]

the Fold

ok last post for the day. Tonight’s topic: the Fold.

So we don’t know very much about it beyond:

Color doesn’t work in there

it causes psychosis and hallucinations

it lets you travel much faster than light speed.

so this is cool right? However, that’s all we know. Therefore, my theory is such:

The fold is a higher dimensional space.

due to this, light acts differently, I.E it can go faster, and given our eyes were designed for light to go at a reasonable Mach Jesus, it makes sense that in higher dimensions, given that light presumably goes Mach Jesus 2 electric boogaloo, our eyes don’t work as well.

therefore, the parts of our eyes that see color (called Cones) don’t work with higher dimensional light, because it have wavelengths in 4 dimensions, and so color doesn’t work as we would expect it to. Things still have color, but we can’t Perceive it.

given that the speed of light is different, and things can move in extra dimensions, this also means that electricity would probably do some really ****ed up things. Like giga wonk stuff, because electrons aren’t capped by stuff like “the speed of light” and “three dimensions”

therefore, maybe fold psychosis is induced by 3D neurochemistry having a violent and extreme reaction to electrons not working how they are supposed to.

this screws Everything (capital E everything) up. Synapses fire wrong, and places that require high volume transmission over (relatively) long distances (auditory, visual, and sensory cortexes) get really stuffed up.

this would cause the hallucinations and presumably, eventually psychosis, because ya know, the bits of your brain that connect to your body don’t work very well.

under 25’s aren’t as afflicted because their brains aren’t quite finished developing, and so can somewhat adapt to weird things happening. However it requires exposure, and so aurora trainees (and most school children) are exposed to some level of folding, to give them sea legs, for want of a better word.

but even under 25’s need breaks. My theory is because the brain expends a whole lot more energy just sending signals, because electrons fly off into extra dimensional space or shoot through the third dimension and screw with things, people in the fold basically experience the power draw of being awake at 150% speed, so for every minute of being alive, the body has to spend what would normally be 1.5 minutes of energy. This is why scar is compulsively snacking on the cookies on the Zero. Her body is basically burning 50% more calories than it should be, due to near constant exposure to the fold.

also it’s full of grandparent alien’s old dusty ass glassware. For some reason.

Also a ton of my reasoning here draws from the Three Body Problem series and that one really old story about the dimensions, shape world or shape land or something.

[nitewrighter]

If you could have a reboot of the Teen Titans made who'd you pick out and put into their new roster? And which Robin will be the team's robin?

I mean like, if I was going to reboot the Teen Titans I'd just keep their 03 Roster and add Donna, but if I was going to put together my own team...

ALEEA STRANGE. I WANT ALEEA STRANGE ON THE TEAM. She's kind of been repeatedly crammed into a 'kid' role for the sake of Adam Strange angst, so I'm actually really interested in seeing what would happen if DC actually developed her as a teen and as her own character, and put her on a team. She's even more of a "person of two worlds" than her father, and also it would be cool to have a Teen Scientist Adventurer with a ray gun and a jet pack.

Oh jeez beyond that it's kind of hard to figure it out because DC gets so wacky and nebulous with its generations and ages, so I might be screwing myself right off the bat by insisting on Aleea, but screw it. This may also sound like blasphemy, but I don't think a Teen Titans team necessarily has to have a Robin. I think I've already wonked up the generations by insisting on Aleea, so I guess uhhhh Carrie Kelly. Actually that could be really interesting. Okay, our Robin is Carrie Kelly.

Okay, so we have our Robin--our all-rounder who has to learn to be a leader, we have an agile flying ranged attacker who can also double as a techie. We need a bruiser. I think because we have Aleea on the team, our bruiser should be Thanagarian. We can just make a guy up for that. They just made Raven up specifically for TT, so we can make up a guy. Nite's Broody Thanagarian Goth Jock OC. The team's ~bad boy.~

Team's looking a little angsty so we need someone to lighten things up but is still versatile... Tai Pham from that oneshot? Baby Green Lantern. Earnest! Hopeful!

Okay so we got uhhhh

Carrie Kelly

Aleeah Strange

My Thanagarian Bad Boy Jock Goth OC

Tai Pham

aaaand one more. Uhhhhhhhh... Team's looking very space-y so we should bring it down to earth and also maybe have a more magically inclined character? Oh--OHHHHH Lucius Reynolds! That way we also have a former Doom Patrol member on the team. Yaaaay!

Anyway, hire me, DC, so I can bring my team of Deep-Cuts and a guy I just made up to life with one of your most beloved IP's.

[zhouxiangs]

i saw that you're currently reading my stand-in novel but you're not really spoiling anything. how are you finding it so far if i may ask? is it as angsty as people say it is?

(i waited until the end of the day to answer this because as i thought i've already finished the novel, so much for self-restraint lol also sorry this got a bit long... oops?)

i enjoyed it a lot! and it made me get over my reading slump, so i will even excuse it getting into some tropes i'm not particularly fond of at the end. it got cheesy…er, and not even in a way i like. amazingly, that didn't make me like it any less.

from the synopsis of the series and the tags in novel updates (and i only skimmed those because i didn't want to get spoiled) i had a pretty good idea of what the novel was going to be like, which is why i decided not to really liveblog since, transmigration aside, i'd say it's a pretty straightforward story. i could be persuaded to make a recap if there's interest though, since there's still over three weeks left until the series starts airing and i'm probably going to go over everything again and take notes anyway...

and oh, is it angsty! the whole thing hinges on zhou xiang (joe) being a sweet angel baby and yan mingxiu (ming) being a fucking idiot, and it's pretty much what you can expect from any dogblood/makjang with the scum ml, misunderstandings, heartbreak, regrets, etc. i have to say i'm not usually a fan of the misunderstanding trope bc i tend to find it annoying, but as with most tropes i don't particularly enjoy it's because of the way i often see it done. here it was painful for everyone involved, so i really liked it. also, please keep in mind that i'm a huge fan of big character development and characters redeeming themselves, so. there's that. wink wonk. (i've been reading some reviews and think for some people it may be best to know what kind of story this is before going in, other than because of triggers–which, very important if you need them, at least in the novel–because of the whole. scum ml more than anything lol even though yan mingxiu is not that scummy really!)

i love my stories character-driven, so having them being this well fleshed out and compelling was a joy, and being able to see so clearly what both zhou xiang and yan mingxiu were thinking and feeling, sometimes a lot earlier than they themselves could (please bl gods keep at least some of the internal monologue in the series, i am begging), was soooooo ugh. you're supposed to hate yan mingxiu allegedly but i just couldn't, not even in his scum era, because he was so obvious and so oblivious and so set in his own ideas he kept gaslighting himself into not noticing things. this could have gotten frustrating pretty easily, but again, everything feed into the delicious, delicious suffering. that being said, and because it doesn't seem to be a popular opinion... i think it's important to empathise with both of them, or at least sympathise, for maximum enjoyment of all that angst. you cannot cry over yan mingxiu's pain if you want him to get hit by a bus.

oh and the relationships (not only the cp's, though their progression is really good) are very important in this story, which is something i hope we get to see more of in the series because i ended up missing certain side characters in the later chapters. not tan yin though, i hope that fuck ass didn't make it into the series. how is a character so annoying while being in maybe six scenes total.

i can't say if it's good or not but it was extremely enjoyable, zhou xiang is my sweet darling angel baby, yan mingxiu is okay too (if you see me in the trenches defending him in about a month…), and i can't believe i am now, somehow, even more excited for my stand-in.

[windandwater]

political ramblings from a recovering news junkie (I had to stop following this stuff, it was giving me health problems)

anecdotally it seems like a lot of people are/were sick of trump and don't want him back, and they just needed a new candidate to actually be excited about.

everyone's takeaway from 2016 was that America just hates women too much to elect one over a racist white man but I said from the beginning that the problem was Hilary herself, whom everyone had too many reasons to hate. imo mostly imagined reasons especially compared to the egregiousness of her opponent. but democrats really underestimated how much people in red states still carry a grudge against her, leftover from the 90s.

but due to America's still-real hatred of women,and racism, I've been wondering whether Kamala really can win against this jackass and I keep thinking about something my boss (another politics wonk, NOVA grown and has worked in journalism and interned in the white house) says, which is that America hates losers, and trump has proved himself a loser--and a criminal, in the actual courts, which the right can try to spin as politically motivated but I think to anyone not following every move it just looks bad. same thing as what happened with the emails investigation with Hilary--people just assume that if there's smoke there's fire. and I don't think most people's mouths are wrapped around the fox news hose of information tight enough to be able to justify every bad thing that happens to republicans to themselves. so I think people have been waiting for an energetic challenger to trump for a long time and they're jumping on this moment. all over the country, not just in what we think of liberal outposts. and I think most Americans are capable of seeing a candidate and not a scary person who doesn't look like them, especially since she's so charismatic and genuinely fun.

I also think we need to reckon with the effects of gerrymandering and really do something to combat it if we get any kind of administration and congressional change because the majority of Americans are not represented at all. you see that in the polling but I've also seen it firsthand when leaving my little liberal city and talking to people in supposedly blood red states. we agree with each other on a lot of things and if we went back to the old way of compromising on bills and issues and stopped this crap of one party being up the ass of corporations and the death cult of the evangelical right, we'd see a lot of real progress. but since that's not really an option, steamrollering over them over and over until the party is destroyed and a new one emerges is the only option for the future here, I think. and to do that we gotta have representative districts. because I think it will happen naturally if Americans are represented.

all of the above applies to voting rights as well.

I like Kamala Harris even though she's not the candidate I would pick. but I also don't think necessarily the progressive base of the party should pick the presidential candidate, in this race we clearly need someone who can pull the party together and build coalitions and it looks like that's her. it's been really interesting to see the country agree with me when normally I don't think I'm on the same page as moderates in this country. maybe the center of the country is finally moving left? or maybe the far right radicalism/fascism has finally hit its breaking point?

I feel the way I did in 2016; absolutely terrified of the election. but it's mixed with the way I felt in 2008; that maybe there's light in the world.

[my-catsface]

HEELLLLOO EVERYONE!! I am going to talk about THE MAGNUS PROTOCOL and a Theory (maybe theories?) I have so spoilers for the first two episodes of The Magnus Protocol and major spoilers for the ending of The Magnus Archives!!!

(Someone has very likely said this before so it might be repeat information)

Okay. okay. Okay. okay. You guys know… that one comment Alice made about the voices reading statements, right? How there are three voices you can hear when statements are read aloud? We’ve got Jon and Martin as Chester and Norris, but she also mentioned an Augustus there too. “Auhhh but who’s that?? There was nobody else in the Panopticon-“ WRONG!! It’s our babygirl Jonah Magnus.

First off, during the end of the Magnus Archives we get a little “after” dialogue from the girlies about what’s going on. They mention something happening to Simon and why it’s probably for the best that they didn’t find any bodies. But that’s the thing. They didn’t find ANY bodies. Not Jon or Martin sure, but Elias’s corpse should’ve just been hangin’ around in there. But this seems to indicate that it wasn’t. So where’d to go? Probably the exact same place that Jon and Martin went.

Okay okay SECONDLY!! This image (below)

Is taken from the trailer for the Magnus protocol, and I’m sure a lot of people are familiar with it already. The two things I want to draw attention to here are the J.01 and J.02 lines. J1 and M1 are… you know… Jon and Martin. But the J2 doesn’t really have an answer unless you think that it’s Jonah, whose body was never found when the Panopticon fell. Honestly I don’t know what’s up with the master and slave lines but I’m sure those (and the fact that they failed/are undefined) is important.

What I DO recognize however is the date that’s set for 2023 at the very bottom. Keeping in mind that Alice mentioned all this freaky stuff started happening a year ago, and the series takes place in 2024, this is likely the very event we’re seeing of the computers being all wonked out. Though the question I mostly have here is, did someone (or something) put those three in there intentionally, or did that just happen to be where they went after the end of TMA? Furthermore, why NOW? Why now years later (aside from real-life time happening (because I am 100% sure that Jonny has an answer for this and I want to know it)) in 2023? Is there something special about the specific date? What’s up with the EPA Polution Preventer (and why is it spelled wrong)? The memory test went okay, do the three remember themselves? Do they know where they are?

Okay. OKAY. I’ve rambled on for a while but don’t worry we’re close to the end of my scattered, disjointed thoughts. Because the one question I have now is “Who’s listening?” In TMA it was the Web, right? The web, with tape recorders drawn to the lighter (which I’m pretty sure is what was happening but I might be a lil forgetful). But there’s no lighter here? And we aren’t using tape recorders, we’re using… computers, maybe? A cellphone, possibly? The entities have been shown to not really play nice with technology… but there was ALSO the video of the dude who ate his own computer so I’m honestly not sure what to think. I don’t know if it’s the Web, still. Honestly I don’t even know of Smirke’s Fourteen can be APPLIED here. This might be one of those instances where TMA listeners have to forget some things to make sense of this different world. But if it IS applicable to an entity, the best guess I have would honestly be the Extinction. That might explain the EPA Polution Preventer (seems pretty extinctioncore), it might explain Jon Martin and (possibly!) Jonah here, having just come from an apocalypse/the end of the world/AN EXTINCTION EVENT, but aside from that? I honestly am not sure. Because we don’t know how many of the entities are actually intelligent. Sure they can like and dislike things but it’s kind of been very solidified in how much they aren’t very thinking, aside from the web.

So uh… what’s the deal? I have… no idea. I am frothing at the mouth in anticipation. I love this podcast. I love both of these podcasts… this is amazing… this is fantastic. I’m in love. Please anyone tell me if you have any ideas or counter evidence for any of this because I would LOVE to talk to you about all this!!

[rowanthestrange]

Someone have fun and play brain tennis with me. Brain squash it’s more dangerous and shouty and done in doubles. Stupid name for a solid idea for a sport. Hit things off walls with me until it gives us points. Just want to run things. Stream of consciousness it.

What are we doing with ‘Triad’? What are we doing with three?

First thought: the same thing we did last time with Chibs, this is a god trinity in three parts thing. Back then that was a physical Doctor, child Doctor, and spirit-projection Doctor.

Doctor as God. Fine. Got the Pantheon, haven’t shied away from it. Probably a mirror, we emphasised the Doctor recognising mirrors this time.

Second thought: Triplets? We’re talking about changeling children, does three rather than the usual two get us anything? We’re solving Ruby’s story this finale. Is she one of three? That’s what being a foundling means you have no idea of your family - we focus on parents but what about siblings? You could have whole maybe identical versions of yourself you don’t know, separated off? Maybe bringing them all together is a harbinger of The End, that’s what we did with the Maestro. Changeling girl, she should be magic. The trap was a triangle - the three together could be a trap.

But more importantly what would that hypothetical do with our “The Doctor literally recognised a character as a mirror in-universe pay attention” situation? What would it mean for the Doctor down the road?

First obvious equivalent that comes to mind - the Timeless Child baby Doctor was originally a trigeneration?

First thought - Stupid dogshit basics: The Doctor and the Master being bigenerations seems rational and neat and organic fine. And I mean we do three, we’ve done three before with them, we do the Doctor, Master, and Rani. Generally keep them together. Sure on paper it’s the most fandom history appropriate option sure, but probably literally impossible rights-wise and eh. Just eh. The idea of it is the psychic equivalent of a soggy digestive. Doesn’t feel good it feels too nerdy in a bad way. Not that my feelings matter, but it doesn’t feel like something Russell Tussell Davies would vibe with.

So who else would you have? You’re not going to be able to pull off a new OC idea for something so essential, I don’t think. I can’t think how you would anyway, and you’d really need the fandom to get on board with the idea.

Would Fourteen, Fifteen, but wayyyyy back the Master count? Bigeneration then bigeneration again is kind of three. But it was bi-generation cus they split in two, tri-generation would have to be split in three surely. It wouldn’t feel like three otherwise. And fuck me we can’t get Tennant for long work anyway.

The thing is the Doctor and Master (who’d makes sense, we know he’s coming back) are already so in balance. The Rani is more amoral selfish so manages to sort of fit in a place with them, but even then she’s villain material. Wonks it. What do you do outside that? You’d need a neutral I suppose. Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Evil.

We ball and do Iris lol. Hey the Thoschei’s making it in/selfcesty anyway.

…Could you do normal? Like not a freak? Trigeneration implies by its nature the capacity for future regeneration though. …Or does it actually? We don’t know Fourteen can regenerate. Actually makes life harder if they can.

Wait that could work actually right?

Kid comes through portal. Human/Whatever Vinder and Bel are which seems basically the same/Not-thing that copies a humanoid/Whatever, kid comes through portal. Is altered by ‘the vortex’ (Radiation? Sentience? Who cares) like River was, which gives them the ability to regenerate. They fall hundreds of feet and probably do so immediately.

We know there’s a second boy, but the story never explains why he’s suddenly in it, the Master shows him and the accidental murder, but never explains who the kid is or why he’s there.

The fandom default is the other kid was probably the Master, and experimented on by Tecteun using the Child’s regeneration energy to start creating what we’d eventually know as the Time Lords. Frankenstein.

Perfectly logical that the kid could have been a bigenerate that didn’t have the ability to regenerate, but Tecteun’s experiment gave it to him.

The Doctor and Master being changelings for each other, obvious, again I definitely argue Chibs’s intent was the Division would just swap them over, it makes Martin!Doctor’s handholding-without-blinovitching and the Doctor!Master beating the Master!Doctor thing work nicely. And Rusty has wanted to carry on Chibs’s themes and work. So… what if originally there were three? Maybe one got saved? Save the baby, literally finish Chibs’s theme but in an unexpected way.

What if you said fuck the mirror? Maybe that’s literally just Ruby.

They act like siblings. Didn’t we say that from the start?

alright your serve.

Triad, three, go.

[andrewuttaro]

What the Sacred Heart of Jesus tells us about a relationship with him

Last month I wrote about the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Sacred Yes. Half a love letter to mothers, half an exegesis on how God loves us so much that he gives us nonstop choices in life. I hope the whole thing showed those less acquainted with Catholic devotion to Mary how she ultimately is pointing us to her son Jesus Christ in everything she does. That was in part inspired by May being regarded as Mary’s month among Catholics in alignment with Mother’s Day. The month of June has the popular devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus associated with it.

This devotion is also distinctly Catholic, even more so than Mariology which we Catholics share with Eastern Orthodoxy and the other ancient Churches within Christianity. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotion so rich yet so strongly compacted into such a small package. I always write this, but I actually did not know where to start with this one. The symbolism here unfolds into a crash course guide to a relationship with Jesus.

You might recognize the thumbnail image of the Sacred Heart: often pictured with the crown of thorns, the wound representing Jesus getting lanced in the side on the cross (often even showing a sword or lance going in), a cross on top, and that distinctive fire. It’s a starkly visible way of indicating what Jesus is all about when he loves us. It also teaches us how we might respond.

So let’s dive into the Sacred Heart devotion: not just its history and practice but also what it means to how we might approach our relationship with Jesus nowadays. I would be a bad writer if I didn’t consider where my readers might be coming from. When we talk about this devotion we are talking about something that strikes to the heart of how we Christians, in all our varieties, conceive of being in relationship with God as a lived experience.

No matter what Christian tradition you came from, maybe none at all, its worth pointing out toward the beginning here that the subtly of devotion is always influenced by cultural time and place. Nowadays many Americans might envision a large concert hall as a worship space just as good as an old stone Church. To each his own as long as you understand the cultural influences that might drive you to your preferred worship and devotional practices.

What isn’t a matter of taste in Christian thought is the personal relationship with Jesus itself. While its fair to say Christian traditions of a high-liturgy background, as we Religious Studies wonks say, have often de-emphasized the more personal acceptance driven elements of that core relationships in favor of sacramentality (think Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and the other Eastern Churches when I say high-liturgy); it’s not fair however to say that sense of Sacramental exchange is a substitute for the personal relationship with Christ so heavily emphasized in Protestant circles in our day and age to the forsaking of everything else.

What you’re noticing in that are actually different cultural preferences hardened over centuries and filtered through more modern proclivities. Normally what we notice about each other’s religious practices is what seems different. The differences are often cultural performance, not anything fundamental to the faith itself.

While Protestant circles are often so focused on a culturally palatable personal acceptance that they struggle to nail down a consistent community identity, personal acceptance looks far less culturally palatable in high-liturgy traditions to the point the community identity is a bit too distinctive sometimes. That last sentence might be the most concise summation of the Christian culture in the United States I have ever written.

For example I often feel I can tell you most everything you need to know about a Catholic by how difficult they think it is to commit a mortal sin. Is it easy? Rigorist conservative. Is it hard? Solidarist progressive. Perhaps the Protestant equivalent of that would be music taste. Do they prefer contemporary music? Evangelical conservative. Do they prefer traditional hymns? Mainline liberal.

Either way, when you see other Christians doing things you don’t like you should ask yourself: am I seeing an actual religious difference or simply a cultural preference?

With that disclaimer out of the way let’s take a trip back in time for some context. Actually, one last note before the history: the visions of Jesus experienced by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque are endorsed by the Catholic Church but are not doctrinal or dogmatic beliefs. That is to say you are not obliged by your confession of the faith to believe the story or visions that I am about to share with you. The term we often ascribe to these kinds of originating events for more recent devotions is personal revelation: as in, not binding, universal revelation that informs the basics of the religious beliefs, but personal insights that might help others in their own personal devotion.

The History

The year is 1673. The Protestant Reformation is finally beginning to become a piece of history instead of a day-to-day reality. Religious Wars have torn Europe apart for a century. 25 years earlier the Peace of Westphalia had ended the Thirty Years War, the most destructive such religious war in Europe, which had killed eight million people mostly from starvation and disease. The modern nation state is in its infancy. The world is still dominated by monarchies that claim absolute power if they don’t in fact possess it.

Religion is often written into governing documents and mandates though most leaders are now using it as mere pretext to fight over political and economic interests more than actually fighting over any faith itself. Religion is still central to the lives of most everyone in this time and place, but the highest levels of society have abandoned litigating the Reformation any further for fear of the agony it had caused for so many.

In this world we find a young woman named Margaret Alacoque. Her early life is defined by suffering as her father died from pneumonia when she was eight years old. Alacoque’s uncle now possessed the family’s assets and horded them for himself leaving her family destitute. She herself took ill for four years before making a vow to religious life. Soon thereafter she was healed and, crediting her healing to the Blessed Virgin Mary, added Mary to her baptismal name.

Margaret Mary Alacoque’s family fortunes turned around as well. Her brothers took possession of the household lifting them all out of poverty, and Margaret Mary, now an adult woman, considered abandoning the vow of her childhood as her mother encouraged her to pursue marriage. She went to social events with her brothers in pursuit of a husband but often struggled personally with what she was going to do with her life. Sounds familiar, eh?

It was after such a social event that Margaret Mary felt called back to Christ. Though Jesus was firmly calling her back to her first love, he also expressed so much love and mercy toward Margaret Mary and her struggles to see the right way forward. This would become the pattern of the whole devotion she would take up.

Margaret Mary became a religious sister with Visitation Nuns who attended to the sick and needy. She again struggled to see her way in all this: now she struggled to adapt to the often unnoticed, difficult work of her monastic community. As any helping professional knows intimately: helping others in need does not necessarily lead to gratitude or a more just world. The indifferent suffering of the world which was so evident everywhere around her and in her own life overwhelmed Margaret Mary. Jesus would again help her in her struggles. Beginning December 21st, 1674, Margaret Mary received multiple visions of Jesus presence with his Sacred Heart extended out to her.

Her revelations came at a price Saints often face. Theologians of her time called them delusions. Some of her own fellow religious sisters rebuked her. A doctor said she was losing her mind and needed to eat more. Yes, a person claiming to practice whatever medicine was in the 17th century thought this woman just needed to eat more to cure whatever this was! Her revelations received only some recognition before her death at age 43.

Like with many Saints her devotion had a much bigger impact once she joined the Communion of Saints in Heaven. The Sacred Heart of Jesus image and message spread far and wide in the ensuing decades and centuries to the point Pope Pius IX declared a solemnity for it in 1856 for the Friday after Corpus Christi. By the time Pope Benedict XV canonized her a Saint in 1920, her devotional practice was widespread to the point Churches were being named after her and the Sacred Heart. My own Diocesan Cathedral here in Rochester, New York is named in honor of the Sacred Heart.

The Practice and the Image

The practice that St. Margaret Mary Alacoque would keep up for the rest of her life and grow into one of the most popular devotions in Catholicism, was charmingly simple. Often seen as reparation for the cold, ingratitude of the suffering world, the French mystic had a Holy Hour in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Thursday nights in commemoration of Jesus’ own isolated sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane. This was followed by another Holy Hour on Friday, particularly the First Friday of each month paired with the reception of Holy Communion as well.

This devotion often includes a Novena and, especially for laypeople, the enshrinement of an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a place of honor in your living space. I won’t summarize them beyond a quick list here, but St. Margaret Mary was also given twelve promises by Jesus for those engaging in this devotion. They are so very focused on personal graces that devotees are encouraged to frequently reconsider how the Sacred Heart of Jesus might impact the specific conditions of their own lives.

Jesus gives all graces necessary for your unique state of life.

Jesus gives us peace in our families.

Jesus consoles us in all our troubles.

Jesus is our refuge in life and especially in death.

Jesus will bless all our right efforts.

Jesus’ heart will be an infinite ocean of mercy for sinners.

Jesus will give your fervor where you are tepid.

Jesus will elevate the fervorous toward perfection.

Jesus will bless those places where the image of the Sacred Heart is venerated.

Jesus will give priests the power to touch hardened hearts.

Jesus will reward those who propagate this devotion.

Jesus will preserve devotees from dying in his displeasure (i.e. in mortal sin) and give them a happy death with sufficient access to the sacraments.

One of the things I love about most Catholic devotions is that they benefit from how distinctively pre-modern they are. Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a relatively recently emerging devotion in the grand scope of the history of Catholicism. Nonetheless, this devotion bears the hallmarks of arising in a time before literacy was widespread.

Yes, I love how old timey taverns once had giant wooden beer mugs hanging off the side. I like knowing what I am getting into. Sue me! The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a devotion with a very low barrier to entry. If you know about the essential elements of Jesus’ story you’re already halfway there. Moreover, I think we need visual symbolism to really ground ourselves religiously. I am someone who might be accused of having his head in the clouds so I can appreciate the way an image like this, drawing from scripture, illustrates the relational core of our faith to us in starkly visual terms.

Where to start? The most sublime detail you notice with the Sacred Heart is that it’s meant to look like an anatomical heart. That is, the kind of heart beating in your chest right now, not the kind you draw on a card to a loved one.

Theologically this is a reference to Jesus’ two natures: most Christians believe he was both fully human and fully divine with no conflict therein. The Hypostatic Union as this is called, hits hard in this context when you put yourself in St. Margaret Mary Alacoque’s shoes. She knew suffering intimately as a feature of her own life and of the people in her time and place in history, particularly over religion. It is as if to say to the people of that early post-reformation world that if you all truly love Jesus you ought not be killing each other over him. Jesus had all the power and did not kill anyone, in fact the opposite: he resurrected multiple people!

Jesus’ Sacred Heart being anatomical would have expressed a gritty realism that makes God’s love for us real, not just a neat idea to be periodically set aside like any other possession. It still does have that effect if you ask me: how galling for God to confront you with the visceral truth that God cares so much about what goes on in your physical reality?

How might the realism of Jesus’ Sacred Heart, reminding us he was human too, help us to make our convictions real in messy, sometimes brutally ugly lived experiences?

If you are a sassy soul like me you might next notice the wound on the side of the heart representing Jesus getting lanced in the side on the cross. Yes, this is often considered where the euphemism “bleeding heart” came from. Yes, it’s often deployed as a mockery of the generous and kind… even though that mockery would seem to mock the very Sacred Heart of Jesus himself. Ah, I don’t know, seems like an insult that says more about the one dealing the insult than the one receiving it.

A bleeding heart, a living heart in other words, might also evoke constancy, a steadiness that is worthy of our faith. Not just a steadiness, a real anatomical heart bleeding evokes the real deal: love that is not fickle or passing. The ones who bleed for you love you the most. The ones who suffer for you are authentic friends, if not family already.

Where am I hardening my heart as to avoid the painful, bleeding empathy Jesus demands of his followers?

The Crown of Thorns is also an essential element of the Sacred Heart image. Jesus is laden with the crown after Pontius Pilate declares him convicted and condemns him to crucifixion. No going back now: Jesus accepts the consequences of his mission. The Crown of Thorns shows that Jesus is not doing any of this for praise or adulation even though he is literally God and deserves it more than anyone else in history. If you ask me Jesus is the only person in history who deserves a crown.

The crown also communicates that Jesus’ love is truthful. True love is naturally bonded with integrity. Truth is a prerequisite of love and Jesus’ Sacred Heart is truer than all others. Truth does not change and therefore we might consider the acceptance of this suffering which the crown of thorns represents as proof of the truthfulness of Jesus: He is honest to the point of death therefore we can believe all the other teachings he gave us.

The Crown of Thorns shows us that Jesus is not the Messiah for the proud and self-interested: he did not come to conquer the Roman oppressors for the nation of Israel but to conquer the great oppressor of sin for all humanity. The crown of thorns is no royal crown, it’s a sign of how Jesus uses his divine power: for total self-gift. Practically speaking, Jesus’ Sacred Heart is for the poor, oppressed, marginalized, and mocked because he, Jesus Christ the King of the Universe incarnate among us, is himself among the ranks of the poor and outcast: a crown of such a King could only be made of thorns.

Am I being true to those who depend upon me? Am I being true to the outsider, the ignored people of my time and place in history who are not appealing to see and engage with?

The cross is fixed atop the Sacred Heart in perhaps its most obvious component part. The sacrificial, ultimately generous love of Jesus is everything the Christian is called to if they seriously mean to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. We take up the crosses of our own struggles, even if they seem impossible. We do difficult things because Jesus did the most difficult thing out of the goodness of his Sacred Heart. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque must have felt this intimately when she first gazed upon the Savior’s heart.

Even on the cross Jesus prays to God saying “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Jesus’ sacrificial love is fully committed to welcoming in as many people into his loving mercy, as many people as are willing to welcome it in their own hearts. He was suffering fatal torture and yet prayed for his torturers to be forgiven for that very act they were doing to him. One might easily find themselves pondering all those people Jesus knew in those suffering hours of his passion who he already knew would reject him, there on calvary and far beyond it. Jesus’ Sacred Heart tells us there is nobody Jesus does not want to sacrifice himself for. This is an empathy unparalleled.

What crosses do I need to take up? What crosses do I need to drop?

Finally the fiery visage of the whole Sacred Heart image together might suggest to you something more along the lines of the bleeding: an intense passion. But in this devotion the flames represent the glory of the whole heart. Such a love as emanates from the Sacred Heart of Jesus is truly a glorious love. Moreover, such love redefines what glory means. This glory is not self-aggrandizing, it is powerful by its self-giving.

Love glorious like this warms a cold world hardened by sin. Love glorious like this will light up what sin hopes to drag into the darkness of unaccountability. These flames evoke the flaming tongues of Pentecost in a way that might make the Christian recall their first fervor: that acute, but so fleeting desire to bring the glorious love of Jesus’ Gospel message to all. Love isn’t about feelings but when you feel the drive to love the way your faith calls you to, it’s the most powerful motivation out there. That might be our closest encounter in this life with the glory of God.

Do I take the glory of God seriously or is my faith a private affair I restrict to only where it seems socially acceptable? Do I see the glory of God in all people or just the ones I identify with?

The Sacred Heart’s wisdom for us

You probably noticed those questions I interjected along the way as we went through the symbolism. Just to recap they are again in the order they appeared for your reflection purposes here below:

How might the realism of Jesus’ Sacred Heart, reminding us he was human too, help us to make our convictions real in messy, sometimes brutally ugly lived experiences? Where am I hardening my heart as to avoid the painful, bleeding empathy Jesus demands of his followers? Am I being true to those who depend upon me? Am I being true to the outsider, the ignored people of my time and place in history who are not appealing to see? What crosses do I need to take up? What crosses do I need to drop? Do I take the glory of God seriously or is my faith a private affair I restrict to only where it seems socially acceptable? Do I see the glory of God in all people or just the ones I identify with?

The sad thing to say about this devotion is that in spite of everything it’s often misused. The troubled time it originated in, the devotion’s focus on empathy for those suffering, the insistent merciful love that Jesus communicates through it: all that is often forgotten in its month, June, because devotees like to use it for bigotry.

I cannot tell you how often during June, Pride month for the LGBTQ+ community in most of the world, I will see various litmus tests of one’s Christianity pitting the Sacred Heart of Jesus against the symbols of the LGBTQ+ community. This snide gatekeeping misses the point of the whole devotion. The motivation seems to make those sexual minorities pick between their own advocacy and Jesus.

Jesus was not eager to condemn, quite the opposite actually. The eagerness to condemn with Catholic homophobia is so thinly veiled it’s quite sickening. It drives many in that community off of Catholic social media for the month if not far worse. If you think you need to act this way toward the LGBTQ+ community then you need to take a step back and remember Jesus’ example: even if God’s will is for some kind of repentance for a sexual orientation (which the more you learn about science and the faith the more you realize such a position is unscientific and unchristian) Jesus went and ate with those he identified as sinners. He chose empathy before condemnation and ultimately the outcasts he ate with were the ones he praised for having more faith than the religious authorities. That was all before any of them repented for anything he was commanding them to repent for.

This homophobic deployment of the Sacred Heart also seems to go against the primary witness this devotion is trying to impart. Jesus wanted to show us he loves us so mercifully, so inclusively, and so in spite of anything that may drive us away from him. Why would those claiming to follow him seek to drive anyone away from him?

This behavior is peak wolf in sheep’s clothing.

If you want a contemporary example there is none more on the nose than that one. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was speaking Jesus’ mercy into a time and place where it was needed. Not only that but she herself struggled to see the way forward at almost every turn in her life. She questioned how she could bear her family’s suffering. She questioned if she was actually called to be a religious sister. She struggled with the answers to questions that ultimately drove right down into who she was as a person.

How many people struggle with their identity? How many people doubt their decisions every step of the way after deciding them? How much does this reflect the human condition more generally: we are always struggling with doubt. And to all that how did Jesus respond?

Jesus made St. Mary Margaret Alacoque a profound conduit of grace. Jesus chose to remind humanity of his profound mercy in the face of the great confusion of the French Saint’s time and place in history as well as mercy in the face of the suffering and confusion of the woman herself. It is very rare for Jesus himself to be the one appearing in a vision in the Catholic world. The Blessed Mother comes to communicate mercy with some regularity it would seem, but Jesus?

Jesus coming to show us his Sacred Heart speaks to our Savior looking on confusion, anxiety itself if you will, and saying: first remember I am love and I am mercy. Seek Jesus first before all judgment on yourself or others. Remember we’re hardly a century removed from the most divisive schism in Christian history when Jesus comes to the lowly nun. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque had already had a vision of Jesus inspiring her to become a Nun and she still doubted! Jesus responds with mercy. Mercy comes before anything resembling judgment.

How many scrupulous souls need to hear that message? How many souls stuck in the rebellion of sin need to hear that message? Yes, God is our judge but not before extending mercy unimaginable to us. The bare minimum response to this is extending mercy to others. Then we must possess the humility enough to not think we have all the answers: particularly the answers that allow us to set aside the Sacred Heart of Jesus and become judges ourselves as if we want to be God and replace that merciful heart with a far more vengeful outlook.

Evils big and little begin when we a person sets aside the goodness of love and humility for a personal vendetta or a set of grievances that one specific group must be punished for. Evil often comes when we decide that loving patience must take a back seat to prideful confrontation as if we are all mere vessels of ideas to do battle for supremacy. We are wounded hearts all of us, in need of mercy and love.

Anyone with a basic Christian education knows God is love. This devotion is the further unfolding of that biblical truth: God is love. God is mercy. God is empathy. God is devotion. God is sacrifice. God is glory. God is all powerful. It’s almost a roadmap to religious devotion all its own. In my experience God’s glory and power is normally something you experience further down the road from God’s mercy and empathy. All that in the neat, beautifully visual devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

As I was about to publish this article it was reported that Pope Francis will be authoring an Apostolic Exhortation dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in September! That was some incredible timing! Apostolic Exhortations are best thought of as letters of encouragement to the whole Church. Of all Papal documents they tend to be the most devotional and the most heartfelt. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the vocal point of our encouragement and empathy as Jesus shows us how to be ever greater lovers of himself and of all people!

Thanks for reading! My book “How to catch feelings for Jesus” is available online. Admittedly I don’t discuss the Sacred Heart of Jesus itself in the book, I definitely hit on the themes of the devotion in other facets. Share this article! I am in the swing of writing on a monthly basis now and would love to hear your input. Did you really read more than 4500 words to not have something to say about it?

[riaarivic]

HATE 4: Fire Meets Gasoline(M) I MYG x F!reader

🌙 Pairings YoongixReader

🌙 Genres Mafia!AU, Smut, Angst, Action, Thriller, Enemies to lovers

🌙 Rating 18+ minors DNI

🌙 Summary  You were an INTERPOL Agent assigned to infiltrate the depths of the most powerful Gang in South Korea: The Seven Moons. Your objective: to impersonate the daughter of one of their leaders and destroy the operation from within. That is, if they don't discover you first.

And Traitors won’t have the mercy of a quick death

🌙 Warnings For this chapter: mentions of death, drugs and vioence, foul language, drug use, yoongi is a tease and I'm putting it as a warning.

🌙 Chapter wordcount 5.3k (yikes)

🌙 Series Index

1  2 3 4  5 6 7 8 9 10 11

🌙 HATE 4: Fire meets Gasoline 🌙

"There's two of us, we're certain with desire. The pleasure's pain and fire. Burn me"

“Traitors do not deserve the mercy of a quick death” the voice of the Clan’s Head resounded in the meeting room of The Seven Moons “That is the most important code you should know. Dear Nari”

“You break a promise, you lose a finger” J-Hope continued with a smile looking at you, amused as if he had just made a joke.

“The word of the Leader is the law. If he says jump, you jump. If he says you have to rob a bank you go and rob a bank. If he says that you die, then... you die.” Taehyung followed the thread with a bored expression you realized he only wore when you were in the room. All his looks said what he was thinking. He should be out on the streets doing his job by now, not tutoring some stuck up girl.

“Don't sleep with your brothers' wives... unless they invite you.” Jimin giving you a flirty wonk and earning a disapproving grunt from his brothers, except one...

Suga was amused at how uncomfortable you looked. 

“Anyway” The Clan’s Head spoke again commanding attention “Dear Nari, you will learn more about our codes as time goes by. However, it is important that you begin to know our clan from the inside. So today, you will start with the most basic. I heard you're not afraid of blood or weapons, is that right?”

Before answering the Head, you looked at Namjoon narrowing your eyes for a second.

Snitches get stitches Kim Namjoon

“Eh... it's true, I'm not afraid of blood or weapons”  you answered uneasy feeling all the attention in the room fall on you. 

A few sets of eyes loved to see you biting your lips 

“Marvelous! So this morning you will spend time in the training dojo with Jungkook. It is important that you know how to defend yourself well and I hope that the rest will be there today to accompany you. A bit of exercise will do good for some of you”

You noticed something about Kim DoHan, The Clan’s Head. He always called them by their real name. All But one, the same exact man who INTERPOL couldn’t find any note or trace of his existence. 

Maybe that was the reason they also called him the shadow. You thought

“Father! I can't waste any more time today, Namjoon and I have an investor meeting. Also... “ Jin started a sentence but his father raised his hand and he went instantly quiet. 

“Do I have to repeat myself? I hope not, Seokjin. As the eldest I expect more from you, it is you who sets the example for your brothers and I remind you, you are a member of this clan before anything else. I didn't think it was necessary to remind you at your age, but we can always resort to the usual punishments for contradicting your Leader” Jin swallowed his own words.

“No, father. Forgive me” he replied. The Clan Leader knowing his word was final, rose from his seat to leave and his shadow followed right behind.

Apparently the word all did not include Suga.

🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

Training dojo, Mansion of the Seven Moons, outskirts of Seoul, South Korea.

“Good! I think after stretching we'll all be ready to go. Princess Nari, do you think you can train in those Louboutins? You look beautiful in them, but I don't think they will be very practical” you were no longer surprised by the attitude of the clan’s henchman, Jhope was undoubtedly the personification of the sun's rays.

So much joy overwhelmed you.

“Eh... I didn't bring sportswear in my luggage, I haven't had a chance to buy either” you shrugged your shoulders, looking at your outfit. To be honest, kicking ass in heels and a miniskirt wasn't one of your favorite things.

But you’ve certainly done it before.

The only thing was that you really  didn't want to show them your underwear while doing it.

It also had happened before

“There is a solution for everything, princess. Everything except death. I think Jimin could lend you some clothes. I'm sure they're the same size” Jhope looked at his younger brother next to him

“Hey! Who the hell are you saying is the same size as her?” Jimin stood up in front of his brother puffing his chest.

“You're right Jimin-hyung, Miss Nari is a little taller than you” now all the other brothers joined in laughing at Jungkook’s joke.

Jimin turned to push the youngest of his brothers and they both began to punch each other playfully.

Are these the most feared criminals in Asia? They look like a group of teenagers. You couldn’t help but think

“You can use my clothes... little flower” said a voice from the entrance of the dojo. You didn't have to see his face to know who he was “After all, it would look perfect on you too” The rest of the room stopped laughing to look at the newcomer. Jimin and Jungkook stood up off the floor, with the blonde grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

What is he doing here?

“t's fixed then! Princess Nari, go change. Suga will give you some of his clothes” after a few seconds of awkward silence, Jhope exclaimed, patting his hands happily. Truly, this man's optimism was endless.

“I don't think it's correct…”

“No, no. Namjoon, the princess doesn't have training clothes. Suga-hyung can lend it to her for now. Later you can take her shopping. Not another word, it has been said, case closed” Jhope pushed you towards the changing rooms so you could change her clothes.

When you were done changing, the seven Moons were already in pairs doing combat exercises.

The atmosphere between the brothers had become more serious and you could see each one of them fighting with a very particular style.

Jimin looked like he was dancing instead of fighting, his every move was graceful. You could see how his expressions changed from a scowl to an arrogant smile every time he managed to land a punch on Taehyun and the taller one dodged with difficulty.

Although Jimin was faster, Taehyun was stronger. If the shorter one hit him, he would take a few steps back. It was a very even fight, you could tell that each one knew the other's movements perfectly.

Almost to the point where they could predict the next one.

Jin was facing Jungkook, the older against the younger.

JK was pure physical strength. He fought to win and he always, always did. Dry, accurate and aggressive blows. He reminded you a lot of Emmet, your field partner who had been left behind at Interpol headquarters. They both fought like tigers, straight for the prey.

But the eldest of The Seven Moons was not really a fan of physical. Jin liked to fight dirty, he knew how to play very well with his opponents' minds and he always used that to his advantage.

“What's wrong kookie? You are slowing down. Are you nervous to be in front of a pretty girl today, boy? You are a little softie today” Jin was smiling but you could see through his expression. It was all a front to make JK put down his guard 

"I know Kookie, she’s a beauty, right? Who knows maybe you’ll end up engaged to her." the boys roared at the oldest last comment. 

And you could almost swear Jin winked at you before he punched his brother again. Only to receive a full blow to the face right after

JK’s movements were quick. But you didn't miss the slight blush that spread on the boy's cheeks.

The two kept fighting and you could hear a groan of pain as JK landed another punch to Jin's jaw.

Ouch

But without a doubt, the best fight award was for the one between Suga and Namjoon. The difference in sizes might make you think that the scale would lean towards the tallest one, but they were much more even than everyone else.

Namjoon was a mountain of muscle, strong and hunky that you could see perfectly now that he had removed his designer jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves. Beneath all the expensive fabric lay his tattooed arms with hardly any room for more ink.

The Second in command fought with the techniques of the expensive martial arts academies in Seoul, which he had attended, he looked like a professional athlete. Every blow he managed to land, left Suga a little unfocused.

That, if he could do it.

The black-haired man might be smaller in size. But he was much faster and more aggressive. Suga fought to kill. There were no middle terms or truce.

He fought like someone who had grown up fighting to survive, he fought like the fighters on the streets.

It was a showdown worth seeing and you could tell from miles away that between the right hand and the shadow there was something much more than a sibling rivalry... 

There was resentment.

You could even say

Hate. 

And there was no denying, they were brutal.

Not bad for a bunch of useless gangsters. 

“Ok princess, you will fight me first. I'm going to teach you some tricks. Let's see, hit me as hard as you can” Jhope caught your attention as he took you to the side of the dojo away from the other fights.

Oh, pretty boy. You really don't want me to hit you

“Come on, don't be afraid. You're not going to hurt me”  The young gangster told you, giving you a kind smile. You sighed and raised your right arm, ready to hit him. The man quickly deflected you by grabbing your elbow and knocking you off balance with his knee.

With a strong blow your back made contact with the floor, everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing to see you.

Some laughed a little, others looked at you with pity. It was obvious to them that Jhope would dominate you in combat. Yes, JK was the clan’s combat trainer and a great fighter. But when it really came to hand in hand combat. The brunette could take them all… at once.

Jhope might be the friendliest of all the brothers, but all of that disappeared the moment he started fighting. He was fast, strong and definitely the most complete fighter of them all.

You remembered at that moment reading on his file that he grew up on the streets of Gwangju. Fighting on the illegal rings, sometimes for money, sometimes for drugs but most of the times for fun. 

He was a legend.

But you were annoyed by his mocking look, as if it amused him to see you in such a helpless way.

Watch and learn, you dick.

“Let’s do it from the top. It’s all right” JHope extended his hand and you saw it as the perfect opportunity.

You took his wrist with your hands and locked his arm with your legs. He fell instantly to the floor. In his state of shock, you took the opportunity to throw out the knife that he had hidden in one of his pants pockets.

JHope tried to get on top of you. But the moment he did, he realized that you were holding his gun to the side of his forehead and his other knife pressed against his neck.

With another quick movement you released the magazine from JHope's gun. Wriggling out of his grasp and grabbing the other arm from his ankle before he did.

This time, you aimed at the middle of his eyebrows. He couldn't do much to defend himself in that position. 

But he was sure you wouldn't shoot him.

Right?

You had pinned him completely unable to move. Everything happened so fast any of them could see you coming. Jhope smiled at you and put his hands up. He had lowered his guard and you had taken him by surprise, that made things much more interesting.

“Shit “ You weren’t sure if the voice was Taehyun's  “If She can take Hobi.... “

Fuck I should not have done that...

“She can take all of us... “ Jimin finished his brother's sentence

The eyes of all the moons rested on you “Damn little flower, who would have guessed you were a fighter” Suga spoke, looking into your eyes

“Now Fight me”

I definitely shouldn't have done that...

🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

Going upstairs to give Suga his clothes back sounded like an amazing idea 10 minutes ago…

Before you got lost walking across the dark halls of the Seven Moons Mansion.

All this fucking ganster money and you couldn’t put a couple more lightbulbs?

You kept walking trying not to remember the embarrassment of having to ask Jimin where Suga's bedroom was.

“Pretty noona, Do you Like my brother?” He said with an amused smile when you said you wanted to personally give his clothes back to him “Well don’t tell Namjoon that I told you. It is on the second floor, take those stairs and walk to the end of the hall. His door is always open… unless he is busy”

Now you were infront of his door and Jimin was right it was open.

There was almost nothing on that room. It felt like it belonged to nobody, maybe he didn't spend time there.

Too busy commiting crimes.

He was sitting on an armchair looking through the window. It reminded you of yesterday when you saw him for the first time in the kitchen.

When nobody was looking The Shadow had an expression that couldn't be something else but sadness.

But why? you thought

After a few seconds you knocked on his door “Hey, sorry I came to give back your clothes. I'm going to leave them here, on this table is it ok?”

He turned to see you and gave you a smug smile while he stood up from where he was sitting. He walked slowly across the room to be right in front of you.

"Oh, Little flower" he said in a low voice, he didn't expect to see you but damn the devil, how he wanted to "haven't they told you that it's not appropriate for a lady like you to come knocking on a man's door this late at night"

He had that shit eating grin on his face again.

And at that point you weren't really sure if you wanted to punch him right in the face...

Or kiss him.

”I came to give back your clothes” you said, looking into his eyes “And I did. So I'm leaving, clearly you're busy”

”Oh, I might not be as refined as the rest of my brothers. But I am a gentleman. For you, I have all the time in the world, flower. You still don’t smoke?”

”No, I don't. I told you” He was looking at you with the feline expression of a cat that is playing with its prey ”You did, but I would be using it as an excuse to have a minute of your company “ You were surprised by his words. Why was he so insistent on spending time with you?

Being inches away from that man sent all your nerves to short circuit.

But you were too proud to let it show.

And most importantly…

you were on a mission.

But maybe, this could be a great opportunity to get some information out of him.

Definitely not an excuse to be alone with him

“And spending time with you in your room at this time of night is okay? I mean… for a lady like me” You raised an eyebrow and he laughed.

He raised his hand and gently put his thumb under your chin “Oh flower. I don’t kiss and tell. Do you?”

“I don’t” you answered

Then he got closer to the shell of your ear to whisper in a husky voice “Then tell me why a pretty girl like you is carrying a gun like this” You were so distracted by his touch that you didn’t realize he took your gun from its holster on your thigh. His black eyes that looked so inviting a few seconds ago now looked like the dark waters of the Han river that run below the house.

And you were sure, he was about to drown you in them.

So you had to make a decision...

Fight

Run

or

Kiss him

And all of them sounded completely right at this point.

🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

HanYong Bath House, Itaewon, Seoul South Korea

Standing in front of a pool of red-painted water was the second in command of The Seven Moons.

The bloody corpses of 10 men floated in it

They were from an ally clan.

None of them saw it coming...

Kim DoHan had been their partner for decades and they had watched Namjoon grow up. They always saw him as the next Leader, the successor to his father.

That's why when the young gangster took off his designer clothes to get into the pool, no one really payed attention to what was on his back

The moment those 10 men saw the tattoo...

It was too late.

The ink on the broad back of the Second in command was a death sentence for them.

A death sentence for his clan.

Even for himself.

The young man had an empty expression, as if there was no soul inside his body.

Inside that Bath house in Itaewon 

There were the bloody corpses of 10 men inside of a pool 

And a young gangster 

With his hands stained with blood 

And a tattoo of a dragon with a jade sphere in its mouth.

The symbol of the Chinese triads.

His father's enemy clan.

The same one that he had annihilated during the gang war, 20 years ago.

Or so everyone thought.

They have returned to take revenge.

From the hand of his own son.

You and Kim Namjoon had something in common.

You were both traitors...

And traitors do not deserve the mercy of a quick death.

🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

It's me again!! Hi hello!!

I'm really sorry I haven't been posting as much.

Life has been... intense lately and I had to take a time of to really recover from everything.

Also, I really want to thank all the people who had liked and reblogged all the chapters. I really really appreciate it.

Ps. if you want to be on the next chapter's tag list: comment below or send me an ask!!

Love,

Ria

Tag list: @allamericanuniverse (btw, thank you)

[nuitthegoddess]

Ok, so... Could you do some dating headcanons (and maybe nsfw? If you're comfortable) for baul? Like, the reader is like a guard or Nobel from another country?

Omggg PDJSJDJDJ I can try! Bc WE NEED MORE CONTENT OF THIS MAN IMMA DO BOTH BC PFPFPFP

Guard!Reader: you and Baul worked together to fight against the iron knights and anything that causes danger for the Wildrose Kingdom of Briar.

You would have a day off (once in a few months pfpf) Baul would be against it since it is his duty to protect. But this be the only time he doesn’t mind since you guys went out for a date in the Fae town!

You probably drag him to places with that huge smile on your face or while dragging him and teasing him lightly getting his cute reaction that you love so much! (The Tsun tsun).

You guys are serious when it comes to danger around the kingdom and yourselves because you don’t to fail as loyal guards even when being in a relationship.

Noble!Reader: A noble with a guard?

They had to look at each other every time you came by to discuss things with the princess Mallenore.

Eventually you guys would talk (Mostly royal business good shiet ya know PFPF)

When the you and kingdom really work together maybe you and Baul really do get close with each other if anyone actually notices *wink wonk*

(As for the nsfw, I mainly do that on my nsfw blog and I’ve been posting nsfw content posts about Baul there if anyone wants a link through dms 👀 adults 18+ only. No minors, I will find out.)

[sorbetowl]

Horizon Ask Game

Oioioi, thanks for all the tags, @maybirdie, @meg-noel-art, @nerd-artist and @xxxhellfireravenxxx

1. ride or die ship (your otp): To no ones surprise, it's Ereloy, precisely as it reads on the can. They snatched my heart back in 2017 and haven't released it to this day.

2. most annoying ship: There are no annoying ships. Next question.

3. second favourite ship: Tough call. I'll go with Avad/Ersa, because they 100% had SOMETHING going on. Starcrossed lovers my beloved.

4. favourite platonic relationship: I'm living for the friendship between Alva and Kotallo. And Beta's line about Erend visiting her in the server room and being "loud...but funny". A kingdom for on-screen interactions between the two. Erend can be like "is free little sister". ;;

5. underrated ship: Drakka/Yarra. The raw enemies to lovers potential there...

6. overrated ship: I don't see anything overrated in a genuine outpouring of one's love for two fictional characters.

7. one thing i would change in canon: Now, after two main games and DLC? Oh, a fair bit. Varl's unnecessary death, even admitted to by the writers as being there for shock value. Shock over the drop in narrative quality post-HZD, maybe.

Same as reducing Erend to everyone's punching bag without a single thought behind his eyes. Fantastic how everyone easily picks up reading English while Erend struggles with it when he's canonically the only member (besides Aloy and Alva) who knows how to read at all. He's the one asking Aloy in HZD where she learned to read Glyphs, something unique to the Carja who reinvented written language based on a book, and the Oseram who got taught Carja Glyphs for trade, which eventually developed into their own alphabet (they get differentiated as "Carja Glyphs" and "(Oseram) Glyphs" in datapoints. Erend can read both. Two alphabets. That's more than many bilinguals)

But sure, he's the dumb dumb who can't read, not the companions that start completely illiterate.

8. something canon did right: All of HZD. What a masterful introduction to a new game franchise, and playing through it the first time unraveling all its mysteries is why I'm still here obsessed with the series.

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom: Probably the companion art piece for Love Games by my friend @maybirdie. It was incredible working with her as this beast of a fic came together and the friends that I made during that time are near and dear to my heart.

And of course, being on the artist team for the Horizon visual novel Focus On The Heart!

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): Without a speck of doubt, Gildun. What a bundle of unbridled joy.

11. the character i relate to the most and why: Beta. We both have crippling anxiety, literally never go outside, and are unfortunately Very Smol™

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: The worst I can feel about a character is indifference.

13. something i've learned from the fandom: After having been in a fandom that crashed and burned over a decade ago and coming out with a general aversion to fandom...at the end of the day, people from all trades of life coming together to enjoy and create for the same thing that they love with all their heart is a precious thing and we're all richer embracing each other's uniqueness in this gathering.

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Sensual Fingerblasting (wink-wonk)

15. a song i strongly associate with my otp/favourite character: Break In by Halestorm for Ereloy, and for favorite character (Erend) End Of Me by Ashes Remain

Tagging @emtazer, @imamandajulius, @souls-that-have-senses, @nmallenart, @bs-fangirl, @cranialgames

And everyone who sees this and would like to give a go~