#are his wings a sign that he’s destined for heaven?

[iwozlegit]

|| 🍍• Is the reason why Husk is a cat because he lived his living life as if he had 9 lives?

Constantly flitting here, there, and everywhere, taking risks until he literally had nothing left?

And he, in struggle and despair, became the coward crumbling scaredy cat identical to what we see when Alastor comes to rock his shit?

(I don’t know, but if Angel has a connection with his demon form to his past life (web of crime as he’s now a spider), Husk has to have one, too).

[film-in-my-soul]

thankfully, not dead yet | 1,002 | andthentheybow / @andthentheybow

Summary: Maverick has decided that he absolutely hates bird strikes- this is the first one he’s been caught in, out doing a routine training exercise with Iceman, and now he’s pretty sure he’s going to die.

Put Me Down! | 1,266 | coriosnow

Summary: Goose picks up Maverick because he remembers he can. He also kinda started a trend for everyone to pick up Mav whenever they have a chance.

A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You | 1,376 | boobooblue / @letsboo-boo

Summary: "Isn't that a little tight on you?" Pete manages to choke out when Tom is close enough to hear him. Tom shrugs, a smirk on his face. "It was getting chilly. Figured you didn't need it with baby Goose plastered to you."

Nosedive | 1,503 | Charlotte_Lancer / @charlotte-lancer

Summary: A simple hike takes a turn for the worst.

i'd be home with you | 1,529 | davidbyrne / @katiesharms

Summary: “Promise me something,” Tom rasps after a few minutes, getting Pete’s attention. He looks up and signs, “what?” in response, trying to make sure Tom doesn’t use any of his energy on something like talking to him. Tom raises his hands and starts signing. “Promise me that you won’t try to follow me.”

Mom Said It's My Turn with the Maverick | 1,568 | aelibia / @topgunreacts

Summary: Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world…

Please see below for more recommendations!

The Window | 1,591 | aelibia / @topgunreacts

Summary: The rain fell. Ice and Maverick slept.

who cannot go | 1,621 | susiecarter / @susiecarter

Summary: Maverick felt fine. Completely fine.

there's something 'bout the way (the street looks when it's just rained) | 1,708 | hangsters (alittlebitoftheuniverse) / @hangsters

Summary: Neither of them are ever really sure how this became a thing for them.

What's the Problem? | 1,986 | thecarlysutra / @icemankazansky

Summary: “Please, don’t leave.”

that hunted so to see (the heart that wanted me) | 2,205 | susiecarter / @susiecarter

Summary: Ice used to think he had a pretty good handle on Maverick.

Miles to Go | 2,294 | dalearden / @dale-arden

Summary: Maverick has never had to act on being Ice’s emergency contact before. Not even with Ice spending most of his time in danger as he works, traveling the world and serving his country. Somehow, every time he goes away Ice always makes it home. Like it’s a promise Ice made and is determined to keep. It’s Maverick who is always in trouble, getting into ridiculous accidents and having things go crazy because he’s a hopeless adrenalin junkie who doesn’t know when or how to quit.

i would love you 'til it hurt | 3,012 | stardustsunflower

Summary: Ice looks at Maverick like something he can’t have. He knows Maverick won’t ever look at him back. Or at least, so he thinks.

steal me all the way from myself | 3,094 | StoriesofmyLife

Summary: His whole life, all he’d wanted to do was fly. His dad used to say that being up in the sky was closest thing they had to Heaven and the plane was closest thing to wings that he’d ever have. Maverick had never been afraid of flying. Until today.

doppio espresso (over ice) | 3,224 | seventeensteps

Summary: The bell jingles, and in walks the most gorgeous man Pete’s ever seen in his entire life. “What can I get for you today, sir?” Pete says cheerily, putting on his best customer service smile, offering everything and more. “Double espresso-” “On it,” says Pete’s unfiltered mouth, his hands already moving, before it belatedly occurs to him that he’s just cut a customer off. “Sorry, you were saying?” The man’s stony expression doesn’t change but Pete feels like he’s being scolded anyway. “Double espresso over ice,” he says. And boy, doesn’t that just absolutely obliterate the moment.

Destination Unknown | 3,255 | boasamishipper / @boasamishipper

Summary: He remembers his life twenty-five years ago, when everything was simpler and he and Ice used to fall into bed together, smiling, laughing, the day’s work behind them and the future ahead. How Ice would hold him close, how they’d wake up tangled in each other’s arms, complaining about each other’s snoring, each trying to bait the other into a good morning kiss. And now Maverick’s a captain and Ice is an admiral, and they’re both pushing sixty, and the future they might have had together is out of reach, like a distant star or a long gone dream.

between the lines of fear and blame | 3,606 | boasamishipper / @boasamishipper

Summary: Out of all the things Maverick had expected to eventually kill him — getting caught in someone’s jetwash, being shot out of the sky, his plane’s engine exploding — getting shot by one of his students in a civilian bar didn’t even make the top ten. He never expected Ice to take a bullet for him, either. There's a first time for everything.

let’s talk about sex, baby (let’s talk about you and me) | 3,730 | boasamishipper / @boasamishipper

Summary: I keep coming in to take condoms from the health services desk because I think you’re cute and I’m pretty sure you must think my sex life is wild.

It Was Aliens All Along | 4,031 | Alexis_Tenshi / @tentacletenshi / @slimysuckers

Summary: Maverick had been waiting for Bradley to ask the question for months. He'd rehearsed his answer countless times. That didn't mean it was easy to explain. There was just no good way to say that their enemies had been space aliens all along.

Rhinestone Cowboy | 4,260 | omnidirectional

Summary: Maverick bangs himself up and gets rescued by someone he didn’t expect. A Missing Scene featuring contrived situations, questionable life choices, gratuitous product placement, and shirtlessness.

i am writing graffiti on your body | 4,796 | thecarlysutra / @icemankazansky

Summary: Pete Mitchell tells everyone he doesn’t like how bureaucratic and impersonal this soulmark business is, how there’s no surprise or spontaneity to it, but he’s lying. He likes knowing there’s someone out there who will love him no matter what, and he loves Iceman Kazansky a long time before he meets him. A Top Gun soulmate AU.

bring me back to you | 5,094 | qin_ling / @qin-ling

Summary: In which Maverick and Rooster take a little bit longer to find and steal that F-14. Meanwhile, their loved ones cope.

Mutual Admiration Society | 5,128 | omnidirectional

Summary: Maverick’s back at TOPGUN as an instructor, but it’s not the dream job he imagined. He’s in danger of flaming out... unless he can find a reason to stay.

As My Memory Rests | 5,978 | boasamishipper / @boasamishipper

Summary: In which a motorcycle accident has more consequences than just physical.

I check it, I wreck it (I turn it around) | 6,103 | judep

Summary: Ice is Maverick's wingman and he will be Maverick's wingman as long as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is up there. Ice is a fucking firestorm and Maverick just can't seem to fight him because He is a maverick but Ice belong with him. To him.

It's (Not) Okay (But It Will Be) | 6,293 | StreetSweeperShenanigans / @streetsweepershenanigans

Summary: The mission was a success. Everyone was alive. Everyone was safe. Everyone was intact and well. Until it wasn't. The world around Ice and Maverick falls apart and upside down around them after Maverick suffers an unforeseen injury resulting from the mission.

Sailor's Delight | 6,374 | saurora_borealis / @tommyjop

Summary: Out in the desert, there’s nothing but land. Land and sky and that single stretch of road, and Maverick is usually the one who owns it. It’s all jutting, rusty red rocks over sprawling plains, and Maverick loves it a little, the way he feels like he’s flying even though he’s not off the ground. There's also not another soul for miles, which proves problematic when one crashes their motorcycle.

you're trying hard not to show it, but baby, i know it | 7,268 | StoriesofmyLife

Summary: Ice wants to know who Maverick was before he became Maverick. He wants to know Pete Mitchell, too, because they’re two parts of the same whole and Ice wants to love that part, too. Because Pete Mitchell was worth loving just as much Maverick Mitchell was worth loving. And God, does Ice love him.

the house that built me | 7,784 | boasamishipper / @boasamishipper

Summary: Maverick goes home.

Melting Point | 12,293 | b777_36n

Summary: A collection of scenes throughout their relationship in which Maverick touches Iceman and he completely freezes up.

Take the Long Way | 13,781 | kerbyfullyloaded / @kerbyfullyloaded

Summary: Five times Iceman tried to get Maverick to come home and the one time he finally did.

baby, baby, i'd get down on my knees for you | 18,090 | boasamishipper / @boasamishipper & simplecoffee / @academicgangster

Summary: Or, the Wooing of Iceman Kazansky by a Very Smol Mr. Darcy

Make A Wrong One Right | 18,803 | boasamishipper / @boasamishipper

Summary: Terrified, Maverick grabs the newspaper off the doorstop and tears the thread off, tearing it open. There’s a story about the nuclear reactor that exploded in Ukraine in April, and another about the death of Ted Lyons. Ronald Reagan is the president of the United States, the Cubs beat the Dodgers last night 9-4, and Aliens is the number one movie in America. The newspaper is the San Diego Union. The date is July 26, 1986. Maverick clamps a hand over his mouth and barely makes it back in the house in time to fall to his knees and vomit into the toilet.

Master Reclist · Personal Masterlist · Blog Nav.

[slytherinshua]

FALLEN FROM GRACE

genre. angst. angel/demon au. forbidden love kinda(?) warnings. heaven/hell and angel/demon stuff. hyojin losing his angel status and just a lot of angst tbh. pairing. angel!hyojin x demon!reader. wc. 1k. request. no. a/n. got the idea from that one clip of hyojin on a bamamon stage but i don't have the link to it anymore skjksd but yeah he looked so sad and abandoned :( stage presence go off fr!! also tagging @wheeboo

“Don’t be dumb, Hyojin. They lied to you, simple as that. They wanted you gone and they did what they needed to justify banishing you. There’s no going back.”

Your voice echoed in Hyojin’s ears, making goosebumps rise on his porcelain skin. Crystal tears fell from his eyes, another sign that he was slowly losing his abilities. Angels weren’t allowed to show emotion; that was Hyojin’s first mistake.

Your words were as clear as ever, yet Hyojin’s clouded brain still didn’t want to believe them. How could it all be over? Thousands of years serving without a question, gone in an instant? 

“It doesn’t make sense. Why would they trick me? They forbade us from ever deceiving anyone. Not even demons.” Hyojin grasped at an explanation, and while you would never admit that you had any affection for him, the look of pure sadness on his face had your heart aching. You always knew those angels were backstabbers. 

“Even angels can lie, Hyojin. You knew that.” You whispered, biting your lip as you looked away from him. You could feel the fire on your wings burn a bit brighter and hotter as the wind picked up. Maybe it was because you were angry, or maybe it was because you caught Hyojin’s shiver. You were stuck on an old deserted jet runway, the weather conditions gloomy and harsh. 

You had known from the second you saw Hyojin fly down that something was wrong, but you hadn’t expected it to have finally come to an end. The more you thought of it, the more it made sense. Hyojin had always been different from the other heavenly hosts. He always had a more mischievous way of mind and was willing to take more of a risk. You were reminded of all the times Hyojin had lied to you in the past— never harmful lies, never in the way he had been lied to, but it was enough for you to know that he was already destined to be banished.

“Are you sure you’re allowed down here?”

“Of course. Angels don’t need a reason to visit Earth.”

You both knew back then the laws of the heavens, especially ones regarding excursions to Earth. And you both knew that Hyojin was breaking the rules for you. Because he was foolishly fond of you. Because he knew you were different as well.

“Promise me that if things go wrong, you won’t sacrifice yourself for me. You’re perfect, Hyojin. You’re angelic. Don’t abandon all that you have for a demon like me.”

“I promise.”

Even the brainless humans could tell that those 2 words held no truth behind them. 

“What now?” Hyojin whispered the question in both of your minds. 

“You have two options.” You breathed, stepping towards the angel on his knees. “Either you live amongst the humans, immortal as a fallen angel, or you come with me to the underworld. Hell won’t accept you easily, and you’ll have to fight against the ones you used to call friends, but I can assure your safety.” 

“Will I ever get my powers back?” He asked. He sounded hopeless, lost, abandoned, forgotten. Even now, you were the only one who would ever remember his name. It had been erased from all records of angels.

“There is a way…” You thought out loud, your brain sifting through the risks. You looked back down at Hyojin, “It won’t be a replica of your angelic powers, but it will be similar to mine. I can give you a piece of my power and it will be your job to nurse it. You have to make it your own. Learn how to control it, don’t let it overwhelm you… or you will go mad.”

He nodded, understanding the weight of the risk. His tears had now stopped, and where they had fallen, you noticed fine cracks starting to form on his skin. His hands no longer held a white glow, revealing the more human-like skin underneath. His powers were fading away from him. They would be completely gone in minutes. 

You crouched down next to him, your hand tentatively touching his cheek for the first time. You had never dared before. A demon like you touching a member of the heavenlies? You needn’t even imagine what it would do to your powers if he still held all his strength. Hyojin had always been stronger than you. Seeing him so devoid of his former energy was alienating. 

“Your wings will dissipate. We will have to walk.” You whispered, a sad smile on your face as you took in his beautiful wings for the last time. Shimmering a bright white— almost too white. Everything white and pure and holy about him would soon be gone without a trace. 

He glanced up at you, his lip quivering as his strength left him. He had never felt so powerless, but he accepted his fate without a fight. He closed his eyes, clinging to your arm as his wings slowly faded, leaving behind scars on his back. His golden hair faded to black, and the cracks on his face evened out, leaving nothing but a humanlike soft skin behind. It was nothing like his angelic face, but it was still him.

“Let’s go. I’ll introduce you to my friends. Seungjun and Minkyun aren’t half-bad as far as demons go. Just don’t go near Minkyun’s felines. They’ll scratch your angel face, soon as look at you.” You grinned, stroking his cheek before standing up. He kept his head down as you led him to the portal. Down there, he could no longer be known as an angel, but would never be accepted as one of Beezlebub’s cronies, either. 

You would keep him safe— away from the hostile devils and imps. You would wait and watch as he nurtured his new powers and formed a new identity, closer to you than ever before. He was no longer your mischievous angel, but, perhaps, someone more deserving of the title lover.

↳ onf taglist (bolded could not be tagged): @eternalgyu,, @candewlsy,, @weird-bookworm,, @seunghancore,, @haecien,,

@bananabubble

[wistrea]

@fearnigh sent: it's been far too long since his witch last visited him, the day's endless as always seemed to stretch out for infinity due to her absence. therefore when the sound of wings flapping, an orchestra of corvids singing and of a wind howling so strongly filled the air, the nightmare king knew. no, wrong, he already knew before any of the signs claimed the space. he felt her enter the space, ancient blood and magic calling to one another, moving towards one another. jian knew before the universe even ripped itself apart to accommodate the arrival of his witch. therefore when she descended towards the earth the god of shades and shadows lifted arms upwards, to meet her halfway, to take her into his arms and envelop her into towering frame. ❝ witch o' mine. ❞ it is a whisper in the wind, a hymn within the darkness, a prayer upon bloodied tongue. nothing more was needed, he did not wait for her answer, instead crimson tiers already claimed those spend eons exploring. claws digging into hips, body pushing against hers, drinking her in like she was life's nectar: and to this king of fear and night, she most certainly was. / mwah !! to properly celebrate your return ���

how restless the corvid is, to return to the one who holds her heart every time she leaves the domain of her sovereign, always destined to return for she has sworn this to him time and time again. the light that bleeds into the shadow. what reverence should have been reserved for the heavens were instead laid 'pon the altar of her beloved, portraying an allegiance towards his throne when she had toppled kingdoms before. although she would never leave if the decision was left to her, they already tempt fate more than enough as it is by continuously ripping apart the very fabric of the realms in order to be together. she stays longer each time, and perhaps one would think it was inevitable she would not leave one day if he would have her. it was to be blamed on fate's machinations in the very beginning, when once she had been stranded and felt the tug towards a power she did not recognize; the same one she now yearns for, ceaselessly, so ardently. the very reason why she tampers with the strings of reality, which was a challenge worth pursuing in itself, the defiance of order ever alluring.

violet light bleeds into the dusk of the night sky, the caw of corvids filling the once silent air along with the flap of their wings, as they come through the tear splitting the clouds. chaos fills the winds, an all too familiar aura that illuminates the shadsows. a storm of feathers from a murder of crows surround the king like a tempest, a blur of their shadows and greeting the presence that they too adored. in a sudden blink of lavender luminescence, as the ravens fly away, it leaves only the king standing there with the witch in his arms, appearing in a swirl of her magic that blends into her violet robes.

there is a smile that lifts the corners of kira's lips in a crescent as she gazes 'pon jian's visage once again, one that she would never forget no matter how long she spent away from him. her arms are circled around his shoulders as she leans her forehead against his own, a soft laugh escaping her. ❛    king of shadows, love of mine!    ❜  the witch says with joy in every syllable, one hand coming to cup the side of his face, her thumb gently caressing the rise of his cheek. ❛    how i've missed you, jian ...    ❜  in a long awaited collision, she delays no longer and captured his lips with hers, the desire to devour what was hers once more.

[willowwind78]

1 Annabel Chapter 8

˜ Chapter 8  - Quetzlcoatl - Robert Graham™

Quetzalcoatl  is a primal idea of the duality of human nature.

The serpent is the embodiment of Heaven and Earth.

It scares people in many ways.

˜ ™

            Christina could hardly believe the exhilaration she felt as her body left the ground. “I have wings!” she shouted. Instinctively her arms and legs tucked back against the serpentine tail she was not aware she possessed. Her body undulated through the air at lightning speed. Within moments, she had arrived at her destination. Her arms and legs wrapped around Jared both in both excitement to see him and to lift him up.

            While Christina could think her own thoughts, her body persisted on the mission she had be sent: Get Jared to the top of the cliff. Jared only made a few moans and groans, no intelligible sounds. The man whom she had loved didn’t say so much as “Hi! Nice to see you again.” Nor did he seem at all alarmed his body had just been swooped up by an unidentifiable source and was now flying through the air. His arms and legs continued to move as if he were walking oblivious to having no ground or traction. At lest he’s not muttering “brains” Christina thought.

            Christina probably should have been more alarmed to her complacency and acceptance of her current situation. Anger seemed so short-lived and distance as if time was flowing differently. She was embracing the new form her soul was inhabiting and the new role she found herself in. An agreement was made. A deal was signed. On one hand, she signed her soul over to the devil and on the other… there was something more to it. She was experiencing this earth differently. There was more than just humanity there was an odd feeling of… hope?

            “Uuungh!”

            Christina looked around suddenly seeing as the creature she was carrying grunted loudly. She had soared far above the cliff as she was lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, she thought of something new: How do I land? Flying it seemed was second nature but like suddenly thinking about how you ride a bicycle, awkwardness set it in and she started to wobble, and waver.

            Jared started to panic and flail becoming difficult to hold.

            Her wings no longer felt natural, the undulations of her body no longer instinctual. The inexplicable strength she currently experienced without hesitation suddenly vanished.

            Down they went. Hurtling toward the earth.

            Jared slipped from her arms, landing with a loud thwump in a crumpled heap.

            Her wings slowed her decent but she rolled like a spare tire when there was no longer space between her and the ground until there was no longer space between her and a tree. She felt as if her body wrapped around the tree three times. “Ouch.” Christina said.

            “Uugh.” Jared said.

[dfroza]

A sign of the sun & moon

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation:

As I looked, a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman came into view clothed in the radiance of the sun, standing with the moon under her feet, and she was crowned with a wreath of twelve stars on her head. She was painfully pregnant and was crying out in the agony of labor. Then a second sign appeared in heaven, ominous, foreboding: a great red dragon, with seven crowned heads and ten horns. The dragon’s tail brushed one-third of the stars from the sky and hurled them down to the earth. The dragon crouched in front of the laboring woman, waiting to devour her child the moment it was born.

She gave birth to a male child, who is destined to rule the nations with an iron scepter. Before the dragon could bite and devour her son, the child was whisked away and brought to God and His throne. The woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place of refuge and safety where she could find sustenance for 1,260 days.

A battle broke out in heaven. Michael, along with his heavenly messengers, clashed against the dragon. The dragon and his messengers returned the fight, but they did not prevail and were defeated. As a result, there was no place left for them in heaven. So the great dragon, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was cast down to the earth along with his messengers. Then I heard a great voice in heaven.

A Voice: Now the salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God

and the authority of His Anointed One have come.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

who relentlessly accuses them day and night before our God,

has been cast down and silenced.

By the blood of the Lamb

and the word of their witnesses,

they have become victorious over him,

For they did not hold on to their lives, even under threat of death.

Therefore, rejoice, all you heavens;

celebrate, all you who live in them.

But disaster will befall the earth and the sea,

for the devil has come down to your spheres,

And he is incredibly angry

because he knows his time is nearly over.

When the dragon realized he had been cast down to the earth, he pursued the mother of the male infant. In order to escape the serpent, she was given the two wings of the great eagle to fly deeper into the wilderness to her own special place where she would find sustenance for a time, and times, and half a time. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a raging river that chased after the woman, trying to sweep her away in the flood. But the earth came to her rescue. It opened its gaping mouth and swallowed the river that spewed from the dragon’s mouth. As a result, the dragon was enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children—those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the testimony of Jesus.

And [the dragon] stood waiting on the sand of the seashore.

The Book of Revelation, Chapter 12 (The Voice)

A note from The Voice translation:

The sign that appears in the vision is of a celestial woman who gives birth to a son. While it’s possible this could refer to Mary, the mother of Jesus, it is also possible this is a symbol of God’s chosen people. The faithful remnant of Israel is the womb that carried the Lord and delivered Him to the world. While the great red dragon does his best to destroy and devour Him, God has another plan. Since then, the dragon and his minions have done their best to harangue and persecute the woman’s children. But again he does not have the final word.

Today’s paired reading from the First Testament is the 1st chapter of the book of Hosea:

The words in this book are the words of the Eternal One, which were told to Hosea (Beeri’s son) when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah; and when Jeroboam (Joash’s son) was king of Israel.

This is the word the Eternal spoke through Hosea first.

Eternal One (to Hosea): Go and marry a woman who is a prostitute and have children who come from this unfaithfulness. This will represent how the land of Israel has abandoned Me and become a prostitute to other masters!

So Hosea married a woman named Gomer (Diblaim’s daughter). She became pregnant and gave birth to his son.

Eternal One: I want you to name this boy Jezreel because I’m just about to punish Jehu’s dynasty for all the blood Jehu shed at the city of Jezreel. I will bring an end to the monarchy in Israel. Here’s how I’m going to do it: I’ll destroy their army and break their bow when they fight the Assyrians in the valley of Jezreel.

Gomer became pregnant again, and this time she had a girl.

Eternal One: I want you to name her Shown No Mercy, because I’m not going to show any more mercy to the people of Israel. I won’t forgive them anymore. But I will have mercy on the people of Judah. Even though they could never win in battle with their own weapons—bows and swords, horses and cavalry—I’m going to save them personally.

After Gomer finished nursing Shown No Mercy, she became pregnant again and had another boy.

Eternal One: I want you to name him Not My People, because these people aren’t Mine anymore, and I am not their God.

But things won’t always be this way. Someday there’ll be so many people in Israel that they’ll be like the grains of sand at the seashore—too many to count! It shall turn out that in the very place where it was said to them, “You are not My people,” they will be called “Children of the living God.” The people of Judah and the people of Israel will return from exile and gather together as one nation again, and they’ll agree on only one leader for all of them. It will be a great day when they go up from the land and “Jezreel” is a reality.

The Book of Hosea, Chapter 1 (The Voice)

A note from The Voice translation:

This judgment is for the crime of slaughtering Ahab’s family at the city of Jezreel by Jehu when he made himself king, and the punisment includes Jehu’s great-grandson, King Jeroboam.

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Wednesday, december 27 of 2023 with a paired chapter from each Testament (the First & the New) of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about the starting point:

This week we will finish reading the Book of Genesis (סֵפֶר בְּרֵאשִׁית) for the current Jewish year... This essential book begins with an account of the creation of the universe by the LORD and the creation of man in His image and likeness. Genesis not only explains the origin of life itself but also the origin of death that resulted from Adam's transgression, a condition of "spiritual death" that was passed on to Adam and Eve's descendants and that affects the very fabric of creation. The book then reveals the corruption of the first ten generations of humanity that eventually led to divine judgment by means of the worldwide flood (mabbul). From Noah's line, however, would come Abraham who was called by God to become the patriarch through whom the promised Deliverer would come. The remainder of the book focuses on the lives of the three great patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and ends with the story of Joseph, Jacob's firstborn son of Rachel, who eventually brought the entire family of Jacob to Egypt to escape famine. This of course set the stage for the great Exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses...

The book of Genesis ends with Joseph dying and being put into a coffin in Egypt (Gen. 50:26). Note that the word translated "coffin" is the Hebrew word aron (אֲרוֹן), a word used elsewhere in the Torah to refer exclusively to the Ark of the Covenant (the ark that Noah built and the ark that Moses was placed in are both called “teivah”). Throughout their desert wanderings, then, after the Sinai revelation, the Israelites carried two special arks - one holding the bones of Joseph and the other holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments.

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

========

Genesis 1:1 reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/gen1-1-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/gen1-1-lesson.pdf

12.25.23 • Facebook

from yesterday’s email by Israel 365:

Why did Joseph adopt this approach with his brothers? What lesson was he trying to impart through this elaborate charade? Joseph wanted his brothers to confront their past misjudgments and understand that things aren’t always as they seem. They stood facing the viceroy of Egypt, the very man who saved the world from famine, who was exhibiting seemingly irrational behavior. Similarly, they had misinterpreted their younger brother and his dreams, judged him unworthy, and sold him into slavery. Like the guests at the poor groom’s wedding, they were quick to assume, failing to look beyond the surface to discern the truth about their brother.

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

December 27, 2023

Lift Up Your Eyes

“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.” (Isaiah 40:26)

Our text makes three majestic statements about the cosmos, each reflecting true scientific insight as well as the work of each person of the divine Trinity. The omnipresent Father has “brought out” an infinite “host” of organized systems in the cosmos—galaxies, stars, planets, animals, and people. All are capable of description mathematically, “by number,” and thus all bear witness to their great Designer. Chance processes never generate organization or complexity, so special creation by God is the only legitimate explanation for the “numbered” host of heaven.

The Son is the omniscient Word of information, description, and meaning. Every system in the cosmos is not only numbered but named! That is, in the mind of its Creator, it has a function and has been coded to fulfill its purpose. The Second Law states that systems never code themselves but rather always tend to distort the information originally programmed into them. Only an omniscient Creator could thus implement the divine purpose for every created entity.

Finally, the Holy Spirit is the omnipotent Energizer who activates and empowers every system. The Second Law says that energy becomes less available as time goes on, so only the Creator could provide the energy to activate the designed, programmed cosmos in the beginning.

When we finally look up and really “behold who hath created these things,” we must see God the Creator—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. HMM

[lunar-wandering]

monkie kid winged au (flightless birds au) stuff, lets go

MK was born with wings that are a size too small, he can’t fly with them

Wukong’s wings were severely damaged by the mountain, to the point where he can’t fly. (his wings are the one part of him immortality/invulnerability doesn’t heal). he normally keeps them hidden for this reason, and most people who didn’t know him pre-havoc in heaven assume he never even had wings. (he can still use his cloud sail) (MK doesn’t know about Wukong’s wings)

Macaque only has one wing. He usually uses a glamor to make it seem like he has two.

MK originally started looking up to the Monkey King because “oh hey, it’s a hero that doesn’t need wings in order to fly”

Mei has hummingbird wings. she doesn’t really need them because of the whole Dragon and Motorbike and Being Fast thing, but they’re there

...everyone elses wings are up for debate/interpretation because i honestly know jack shit about birds

Wukong’s wings alongside being unusable are in uh. not all that good condition due to how he just. basically ignores them and hides them. (he uses a glamor to keep them hidden, but he doesn’t really....like remembering how damaged his wings are, so he doesn’t take care of them.)

Red Son only finds out that MK can’t fly when he knocks the other off a building and has to save him (....this happens in Bad Weather.)

the Sign Saga

basically theres a giant billboard within the city that people keep smacking into while flying (even Wukong smacked into it while cloud sailing once) and its seemingly indestructible. the sign also happens to have a drawing of Wukong on it with the slogan “the sky is a safe place to fly”

....the reason everyone keeps smacking into the sign is because a while back MK accidentally cursed it when he was upset over not being able to fly (and at the time was in possession of a cursed object).

Red Son finds out about this after he slammed into the sign hard enough he dislocated his wing and had to go to MK for help. (....this would be before the New Years special, so before Red Son’s redemption arc. have fun with that)

Red Son: what do you mean you cursed the sign???? MK: look, it wasn’t my fault, Red Son: YOU LITERALLY JUST SAID THAT YOU CURSED IT

Red Son smacks MK on the head using his uninjured wing because “you’re dumb Noodle Boy, I can’t believe you accidentally started the Sign Curse”

Wukong also hates the sign. for multiple reasons really, including the fact he did not get permission for it to be made (his lawyer has tried suing the company that put it up multiple times) but mostly because the sign having his face on it and saying “the sky is a safe place to fly” when he himself can’t fly with his wings is.....yeah. kinda upsetting.

LBD calls MK a “flightless bird”.....

“Oh poor little flightless bird who’s eyes are blinded by the sun... you were always destined to fall.”

as said earlier, MK doesn’t know about Wukong’s wings, so when Macaque shows Wukong as having wings in Shadow Play....well MK is understandably confused. 

“But Monkey King doesn’t have wings!” “Doesn’t have- ha! Oh, bud, exactly how much has your so called mentor kept hidden from you?”

when LBD starts trying to turn MK to stone in the season 2 finale, she managed to get his wings. they ache and have lost some of their colour for some extent of time after.

on the ship, the others demand Wukong remove his glamors so that they can treat his injuries, and. this is how they find out about Wukong’s wings

said wings currently have some bloodied bandages wrapped around them, because whatever got the rest of him also got his wings. not to mention the fact his wings were already in horrible condition, so-

they lecture him about proper wing care

remember how Macaque only has one wing?

that wasn’t always the case

Wukong, at this point in time, thinks that he’s the one who did it, and is utterly horrified by it. this may or may not be why he won’t use the full extent of his powers

.....he’s not actually the one who did it

theres a reason Macaque knew about LBD

*(casually projects my fear of heights onto Macaque)*

i will not be elaborating on that other than the fact that when he lost his wing the fight did not occur on solid ground

in this AU when LBD possesses someone, their wings become skeletal

this isn’t necessarily canon to this AU, but if she were to possess Macaque, a ghostly see through wing would appear where his missing one is

...on a completely different note though. once everyone is on the ship some of them have to carry Macaque and Wukong around when they need to go someplace that requires flying (since, yknow, Wukong lost his ability to cloud sail)

Wukong resigns himself to it after 5 minutes but Macaque complains and struggles so much (fear of heights kicking in) that the only person who can safely carry him is Sandy

MK got a hoverboard so he doesn’t have to be carried. (Wukong wanted to use the hoverboard too but he Sucked Ass at it and none of them are taking the chance of him falling off)

Red Son and Mei both take MK for flights sometimes. why? because its fun, thats why.

and....thats about all i have for this au thus far. will make more posts when theres more hdkfjflkjslks

[stardustnfreckles]

To celebrate the DeanCas100k on ao3 here's a list of my all-time favourite Destiel fanfictions:

CANON VERSE

A turn of the earth Dean’s your typical half-orphaned, monster-killing 22-year-old until a trenchcoated stranger crashes into his back windshield one September night, claiming he’s an angel that knows him from the future and that he’s on the run.

Early seasons!Dean keeps meeting Cas at the most random moments, till he isn’t anymore... Definetly a must read.

In the shadow of your wings

Set after the S11 finale. Dean kinda breaks Cas’ heart. Because sometimes he can be thick SOB. The Cas finds a new shiny and witty italian boyfriend and Dean’s not happy about it. and now Sam is missing, Mary is back and Dean has a mixed bag of feelings he has to deal with. Probably my favorite canonverse ever.

Like moses and batman and James Dean dean used to turn tricks. over a decade later, he met cas.

A masterpiece in characterization by saltyfeathers. I loved everything, The dialogues, the flashbacks, the way Dean and Cas emotions are portrayed. There’s angst and internalized homophobia but also confort and IT IS JUST SO GOOD OK?

The best bang for your buck It’s not like Castiel knows who this GotImpala67 person is. There’s no personal information listed on their profile. Except that they’re male, thirty-seven, from Kansas and, apparently, they like inserting things inside themselves.

Cas plays dumb even tho he really is not and I love him for it. Dean is the kind of buyer who leaves detailed reviews of the products he buys (which is the best kind if you ask me) I love the writer’s style and their sense of humor. It’s short although I never get tired of re-reading this one. Also Bring up the deep & Till the juice runs from the same author are with mentioning.

Kisses by sunflowers beds by fanforfanatics & Watched by K_K_TiBal

This two fics have a on thing in common: At the end of both you’ll be asking yourself how can less than 5k hurt you so much?

I cried, then I smiled and cried some more. This fics will crush you in the best way possible.

Take me home country roads The most IC Deamon!Dean I’ve ever read. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions.

What’s missing is found (our souls can exhale now) by sobsicles aka queen of post S15 fix-it fics

That black dog ache A simple case turns Dean upside down as he attempts to deal with the effects of a particularly strange love spell.

The perfect gift Castiel has a big problem concerning Dean... thankfully, Sam is always around to help

Really short Crack!Fic about Cas being clueless and adorable.

So says the sword by komodobits

Actually I suggest to go on their ao3 profile and read EVERYTHING.

The profet must die

Dean starts reading Chuck’s book out of curiosity and ends up having a epiphany about his apparently not so much platonic relationship with a certain angel of the lord.

A room of one’s own All Dean wants is a little privacy. Cas doesn't understand.

It mostly smut with a bit of healthy angst and great amount of humor.

My Roots Take Flight After forty years in Hell, Dean’s more than willing to accept the offer: become a guardian angel and earn his freedom. But his new ward seems destined to hunt alongside Sam, and there are secrets in Heaven that the angels don’t want found out. Dean’s going to have to choose between his duty and the people he loves- and to work out just where Castiel fits in.

Reverse!Verse set in season 4. It’s interesting to watch their relationship develop even if the roles are reversed.

The hands that bind me Dean is struggling with adjusting back into the civilized world after a year of fighting for his life in Purgatory. He's going to need some angelic assistance reining in his darker impulses.

If your’re into BDSM/Sub!Dean/Dom!Cas/Hurt/Confort/Dark themes then that’s the fic for you.

What has eight tentacles and isn’t allowed to eat pie? Dean is an octopus 🐙 and it’s weird but also kinda sweet.

Cuckoo and nest For a long time, Castiel thought that every earthly possession other than the immediately necessary was excess to requirement. But Dean – Dean who named his car, who keeps a photograph of his mother in his wallet, some thirty-plus years after her death, who still has the crumpled ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign with a sleeping pelican emblazoned on it from the Microtel outside of Roanoke where he first kissed Castiel, clumsy and unsure, under the unsteady fluorescence of an exhausted bathroom bulb – is sentimental. it puzzles Castiel, where Dean draws the line between what is meaningful and what it is worthless.

Established relationship/ they’re really bad at communication/ fluff / hurt confort

Put up your dukes Dean can't sleep. Cas offers to tire him out.

Along my restless palms Ever since Cas started staying in the bunker, Dean’s been having these crazy dreams—dreams that feature him and Cas in absurd, tawdry scenarios like something out of a filthy paperback. Dean chalks it up to exhaustion, or some monster messing with his head, anything to ignore the real cause: Cas in his personal space, in various states of undress, and, wow, way more muscular than Dean would’ve expected. But if it’s just physical lust that’s the cause, then that’s an easy fix, right? No big deal. There’s definitely nothing else that his subconscious is trying to tell him. Absolutely not.

last but not least Pretty much anything by xylodemon. The atmosphere and the way characters are portrayed are *chef kiss* There are a lor of case fics and they really feels like actual episodes from supernatural just way less omophobic and more fun.

[divineslcyer]

❝  i don’t feel like a whole person without you anymore.  i don’t fucking care if anyone else would say about that.  you’re part of who i am now.  the most important piece of me.  ❞

IT’S  ALL  ABOUT  THE  YEARNING  -- @hefalls

Lucifer was everything, beautiful and proud and radiant, oh so radiant that it hurt her eyes and heart to look upon him. He was the chosen favorite of the heavens, destined to watch over them all and man, perfected by their creator and borne to lead and rule.

She fought hard, aspired to be like him. He was the best of them all. How could she compare? It did not deter her, it strengthened her resolve. Her wish and will to be near him, and give him support. 

He had laughed when they were younger, shoulders not yet wide and strong enough to endure the weight of heaven’s crown. She treasured that sound, held it like a cherished secret as she sought precious moments between lessons. The garden was their favorite place, where they’d speak of their dreams and ambitions.

Time is but a heartbeat, constant and quick, sweeping away each moment until he grew quieter and his gaze more severe. She fought and trained, and she saw less and less of the garden and his smile. Mikha’el gained her name from the whispers of flames and her gift to bend the light, her righteous spirit.

He called her name, and she reached for him until he caught her hands. Tension was high, the rift between man and divine had blurred. Chaos and disorder threatened the domain, and it terrified her. It hurt her. The creator was angry. War was imminent, and new laws were being forged into place. They could not be seen being so close.

❝ We can not be as we were. ❞

It was a warning. A pleading and prayer from her lips. Lucifer’s hold tightened, his gaze dark and foreboding, drawing her closer as his wings blanketed over them both.

❝  i don’t feel like a whole person without you anymore.  i don’t fucking care if anyone else would say about that.  you’re part of who i am now.  the most important piece of me.  ❞

His words were like an arrow through her heart. Fierce and swift, breaking through the wall she’d been building between them, only for him to tear it down. A cold chill shot down her spine, causing her feathers to bristle.❝ You can’t--You can’t choose me. ❞ Oh by the heaven’s and the cosmos, she could feel her eyes brim with tears. ❝ You will be punished for such words! Everything is being torn apart, we need you here to bring order--to restore and guide the lost--❞

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and though she wanted to push him away, her hands clung to his robes. His hands swept through her hair, framing her face as he kissed away her tears. It was like as if he were kissing away her growing sins, baptizing her anew--it only made her heart heavier.

❝ We will be punished-- ❞ The words leave her in a frightful whisper, and he hushes her with a reverent kiss as thunder rumbled overhead and clouds roiled with the beginning signs of roiling rage.

[lightningdamned]

Mentions:

@infernal-general

Ghost mention of @winters-club 's Leviathan and Captain Jack Sparrow

Striker - @strikers-saloon

𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

“ 'Right of Retaliation'; do you have any idea of how fucking stupid you sound?” Raia commented casually, not missing the helpless fury flashing through her descendant's face, almost proving her right, but not yet. The Véghvárys shared stubbornness, the almost inability to yield, even when doing so would have spared them more agony.

“One of us is not a lawless escape artist, gnawing through anyone just to stay alive.” Rozália fired back almost immediately and it didn't offend her distant sister. However, those words coming from someone else's mouth would've been their last.

“Don't tell me you envy my freedom. But I wouldn't be surprised. How long have you been Lucifer's perfect toy soldier, doing your utmost to take all blows meant for your family and still failing?” the lightning demon fluidly, elegantly ducked the anticipated spinning kick

“Do you want to fight again, sister ?” oh that word was spat with a surprising amount of venom; she was indeed the Viper as well along with the Hellfire and the Hussar.

“No.” Raia shrugged nonchalantly “I want you to see. To acknowledge the inevitable.” she knew how the General's heart ached when she gazed into her eyes; the same color she possessed as a human before the infernal red ruination.

“That I can't hold back Heaven forever? I am well aware of that, along with what will happen after.” Rozália replied with a scoff and a borderline eyeroll. She is destined to lose everyone and when she does, her second death will leave a larger impact anyone could predict. Yet her answer only drew a low chuckle and a small shake of head from her sister.

“You are willingly protecting the scum of Earth landed here for the price of your family's lives. Are you even a Véghváry or just a mindless pawn-” unable to finish the train of thought since her top was fisted in a merciless grip of ashen hands with pulsing orange veins as she was yanked down to Rozália's eye level.

“Who said I'm willing? I never wanted this, never signed anything, never asked for this.” alright, the last part stung a little but Raia allowed it for now, eerily calm about the motion. Easier to study her emotions shifting in those serpent eyes, which cannot be concealed by armor

“But you are still being used.” As nasty as it was, Raia pointed out with a sharp grin. The grip tightened.

“And what happens when an upper class demon snatches one of your warriors for fun? Do you run to Lucifer for permission for a rescue mission?” her tone borderline mocking but genuinely curious at the same time

“My graveyard is full of Overlords, demons of every species and class, even a few members of the Ars Goetia itself. My army is untouchable.” the General growled and Raia felt the incredible power pulsing beneath her skin, power rivaling almost anything in this realm, many would kill for it, try and tried to kill her for it; not knowing she was bound by unseen chains.

Well…if not her warriors…

“And what about the imp hybrid? Striker, if I'm correct.” oh she was correct, judging by the brief flash of terror and the incredible strength shoving her away.

“It will be only a matter of time until someone else notices how you look at him.” and the sincerity of Raia's tone halted Rozália's hands in drawing her swords. She took the pause as encouragement and continued to widen the crack in her shield.

“You feel like someone else when you're with him, aren't you? Even if you don't see wings rising from his back,” a brief moment of her own vulnerability before the flow of poisonous truth continued dripping into the opened wound “you feel different. Maybe not someone else, but someone who you were, perhaps.” for once, the General was silent, no remarks but jaw set in stone with vividly glowing crimson eyes staring ahead, refusing to risk a glance at her.

“You love him.” Raia's brutal riposte was flawless

“He is capable, skilled and prepared, I give that to him. But those holy bullets run out fast once your enemies sense how important he is to you.” the lightning demon slowly began to circle around Rozália, her steps careful and calculated

“He's not protected by that silly Right of Retaliation; is he?” a cruelly soft whisper which had the power of a full force blow judging by her silent shudder and breathless cry upon it

“What happens when a nobody Overlord manages to capture him? If they torture him because they know you cannot do anything. If demon royalty places the clues together and sentences him to the most gruesome death? If they dump his mangled, broken body at your feet with a leering face?” Raia has come to a full circle, even though she probably should have been, she was not afraid by the rapidly increasing heat, the clenched, trembling fingers and the crimson bleeding into the General's sclera at the possibility too real to brush off. Raia was right about him being extraordinarily skilled, but he couldn't possibly be at alert in every second nor can she.

“What if you saw his emerald ringed golden eyes flicker up to you one last time before life leaves his body? Do you choose stalling your family's ultimate demise further or burst free from your bounds for the man you love so deeply? What will it be, General?” Raia stood in front of the still silent woman shaking from the unsaid emotions crawling to surface; unbearably close which proved to be rewarding when she saw it.

“ I̵ W̷I̷L̸L̸ ̴TE̸A̸R̷ ̸A̴P̸A̵R̸T A̵N̵Y̸O̴N̸E̵,̶ ̸E̶V̴E̸RY̵O̴NE̵ N̸O̵ MA̸TTE̸R̴ W̷H̵O̶ ̸T̴H̶E̸Y̸ A̵R̴E̸,̷ W̴HAT̸ AR̵E̵ T̷H̴E̵ ̸C̶O̶N̵S̴E̷Q̷U̴E̸NC̵ES̵.̴ I W̴I̵L̵L̷ B̸U̵R̶N̵ ̸T̵H̶I̸S̸ C̷U̷R̸SE̵D̴ P̴L̶A̵C̵E̴ T̸O̴ ̶T̷H̶E̴ ̶G̷R̸O̷U̸N̷D̴ IF̶ A̶N̷Y̶O̴N̷E̷ D̴A̶R̵E̵S̴ T̵O̶ ̷L̵A̶Y̴ A HA̸N̴D̷ O̵N̸ O̸R̴ TA̷K̷E HI̵M̸ ̶A̷W̸A̵Y̴ F̴R̸OM̵ M̷E̵. I̴ D̸O̵N̶'T ̸C̶A̵R̵E̷ WH̷ER̵E̶ T̸HE̸Y̴ R̷U̵N̶,̷ I̴ ̵W̴I̴L̴L̵ B̸E̸ ALR̸E̵A̴D̶Y̶ T̷H̶E̵R̷E̵, ̶E̴V̸E̷N̴ IF̶ L̸UC̸I̷F̴ER̸ H̴IM̶SE̷L̸F̷ ̸T̸R̶I̴ES̵ ̴TO̷ S̵H̸IE̵L̴D̷ T̴HEM̵ F̴R̵O̶M̷ ̷TH̸E̴ R̵EC̵K̵O̵N̴I̶N̷G̵!̶ H̵E̴ W̷I̷L̶L ̵B̵U̵R̷N̶ W̸I̷TH̷ T̶H̶E̷M̸. ”

And the General was undone with that howl that could shatter Heaven, scorch Hell itself. Raw and cracked open like a fresh cut on flesh, the torrent of her agony like spilt blood from an artery. Dissolving skin in places revealed the wild Hellfire underneath, cursed magma tears of fury spilling from unified blood red viper eyes, monstrous fangs bared viciously.

“There is my blood. My legacy. My sister.” Raia smiled, this time without malice or false intentions, her tone surprisingly tender after the destruction she caused. She has gotten the answers she wanted and needed. Her bloodline wasn't dead, only forced to be dormant by unsaid threats and by the duty to protect. But not for long ; she could sense it.

[winchesterxxi]

A Human Wiretap (Poe Dameron x Reader)

GIF BY @captain-flint​

Rating: G (General Audience)

Type: Fluff

Summary: While in Kijimi, Reader is shocked by the revelation of Poe having been a spice runner before becoming a Resistance pilot, unaware that he knows about her own secret

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: None

A/N: let the stream of Poe content commence

MASTERPOST | REQUEST HERE | KO-FI

✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸

Kijimi was the last place you wanted to be right now. You had always known of this place to be infested with pirates and all the lawless beings of the galaxy, the country being practically a crime heaven.

The destination had been appointed as The Thieves' Quarter, the place you were told you could find Babu Frik, and to your unrest, your husband seemed to be able to navigate the streets of the foreign planet pretty well, occasionally stopping against a wall at any given corner, looking around for any threats.

“Are you sure you never came here?” you ask one time while leaning against his side on a cold brick wall, waiting for the safe sign.

“Not really.” He says looking over at the snowy empty street, before turning his head back at you for a split second “Coast’s clear, let’s go”

And just as he took the first step to round the corner, an armoured woman came into view pointing a blaster at Poe’s face.

Not even allowing a second to process another thought, you reach for your own blaster, pulling it from its holster and aiming it perfectly so that it was secured in the direction of the person’s head on both of your steady hands.

“Heard you were spotted at Monk’s Gate. Thought He’s not stupid enough to come back here.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised.” Poe mumbles from his stance.

“Blaster off him. Now.” You warn from your spot, a scowl upon your face, ready to shoot, in case she dared to make another move.

“Zorii!” Poe exclaims in fake enthusiasm, before snapping his head quickly between the two of you. “She won’t ask twice, I would listen to her”

“You pull that trigger, you’re next, honey.” You assure her, readjusting your fingers as to place a stronger grip around the camera.

“She used a pet name, she’s serious.” Poe nods and nervously warns the woman whose weapon was now closer to his forehead, almost pressed against it.

“We’re only here to find Babu Frik, we don’t want no trouble.” You tell her cordially, expecting to explain your presence in the clearly unwelcoming planet and maybe have her help you. You eye the woman up and down, eyes scanning the shining golden armour, before settling on the deep black visor.

“Who are you?”

“Honey,” Poe speaks, being careful not to make any sudden moves that could make the woman pull the trigger “this is Zoriii. Zoriii, this Y/N, my wife.”

You are a little taken aback by the fact that they seem to know each other fairly well, given the assurance that Poe had just given you moments ago, that he’d never step foot on Kijimi.

Her helmet turns to you “Wife?” she scoffs “I guess there really is someone for everyone.”

“You have no idea.” he smirks, a momentary lapse, and you snap a look at him.

“I could pull this trigger right now.” She says, pushing the blaster harder against Poe’s head, and you take a step forward.

“You do that, my blaster is the last thing you’ll see in this life.” Sharp words leave your mouth, both you and Poe knowing damn well that you were badass enough to keep the promise.

“Babu only works with the crew. That’s not you anymore.” Zorii says, still talking to Poe, as if your presence and the one of your weapon aimed at her is non-existent.

“What do you mean crew?” you ask her, and for a moment, her attention is directed to you, before slowly tilting once again in your husband’s direction, whose hands were still up in the air in a surrendering feat.

“Oh your wife doesn’t know?” her voice, goes up an octave, clearly amused by whatever is about to unfold. Your eyes scan between the two of them waiting for some kind of explanation of whatever secret conversation was going on in front of you. “Funny he never mentioned it…”

“What is she talking about?” you question Poe but he gives himself no time to utter a word at you, just quickly waving his hand and facing Zorii.

“Zorii, married people are still allowed secrets- “ he tries but she is too quick to reveal the information you were dying to be delivered.

“Your husband was part of the Spice Runner Gang.”

You can’t stop your jaw from going slack at the revelation, not being able to form any coherent words and instead just moving your mouth like a fish out of water, dwelling on whether you felt hurt, angry or any other emotion of the rush that caught you in that moment.

Poe’s shoulders slump slightly and he bites his bottom lip, eyes closed in frustration. He then turns at you, hands still up, as you were still gripping the blaster, which was now pointed at him as he was walking towards you, cautious steps, one at a time.

“I can explain.”

“You were a smuggler? AND A SPICE RUNNER AT THAT?” You drop your blaster to your side, stepping towards him, your brain having decided on anger as the momentary emotion.

“Y/N-“

“In 2 years of marriage NOT ONCE did it occur to you to mention that!?” you yell the two middle words, incredulous at your husband’s secret, having spent your whole relationship that he had always been a resistance pilot, just like he had assured you.

“Oh, don’t act like I’m the only one with a secret here!” his hands drop to his side, and he is no longer trailing in front of you like a lost puppy looking for forgiveness but instead returns to his conflictual side, a defence mechanism, you’ve come to learn.

“What is that supposed to mean?” you scoff, genuinely clueless as to what he could be referring to. And definitely not expecting him to voice the secret you fought years to keep.

“I know you’re a Sywalker!” he says loudly, and its as if your spirit has left your body, the blood draining from your face, and for a moment you forget that breathing is a necessary bodily function.

“H… How do you…”

“The week before we got married I-…” he takes a deep breathe in, running a hand through his wild curls, now dusted with white snow. “I heard you and Leia.”

Poe was making his way to the X-Wing hangar when he stumbled across an ajar door from where he spotted your figure passing across it and disappearing multiple times.

It wasn’t until he stepped closer and leaned against the wall, that he got the full picture.

You were pacing back and forth in an empty resting room of The Radus, pattering your boots across the white floor as Leia sat by the window, looking at you in this impossible frenzy, fingers pressed against your mouth while the other hand rested on your hip.

Your motion comes to a halt in front of her, turning on your toes to face her.

“Should I tell him?”

“I think you should do what you think to be the right thing.” Leia answers her, reaching forward to grab your nervous hands in hers.

“We’re getting married next week, but I don’t think telling him would be any good…”

That’s when Poe’s heart sank to the bottom of his chest, tightening at the implication of your wedding and a number of awful possibilities running across his mind as to what you could be hiding from him.

“He’ll think…I don’t even know. I’ve spent more than half of my life hiding this and if he finds out… What if he thinks I’m a freak? And…And just leave me?”

Poe, from across the door, inches closer, curiosity getting the best of him and brows furrowing.

“Y/N, honey, Poe has been around plenty of force-sensitive people. I can assure you that my niece being one won’t scare him away.” Leia assures you while giving your hands a firm squeeze, and you let your head fall back, closing your eyes.

Wait, what? Poe was really trying to connect the dots at the amount of information that he had been bombed within this short amount of time.

“Not the daughter of Luke Skywalker.” You sigh.

“You knew?... All this time…” your eyes brim with tears.

Poe turns to Zorii who still stood behind him, the blaster having been lowered.

“Can you…give us a moment?”

“Who the hell do you think you are to be asking favours right now?” she snaps but Poe’s eyes plead at her for a single ounce of sympathy. “I’m staying right here.”

Poe turn around to face you, still very aware of the blaster pointed at the back of his head and he lowers his voice so that only the two of you can share the conversation.

“Honey…”

“You still married me?” you are looking down until you speak, watery and red eyes finding those of Poe who’s demeanour completely changes upon your question. He rushes to your front, gloved hands finding your upper arms, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “You knew I was lying to you and you still… you still…”

“Honey,” his hands slide up from your arms to your cheeks “Look at me. I love you. I know why you did it. I probably would’ve done the same. I’m not mad, never have been, never will be.”

You were fighting the urge to ramble on, but upon looking into your husband’s sincere eyes, you relaxed your whole body and he takes that as a cue to pull you in for a hug. With your face flush against his chest, you mumble an apology, fists tightening around the fabric of his cloak.

“I’m sorry… for snapping at you earlier. It was very hypocritical of me.”

Poe smiles against your forehead, before placing a tender kiss against its warm flesh.

“It’s okay, honey, I swear. At least…at least I think I owe you an explanation.” Poe takes a deep breath in “I… When I was a teen, still living on Yavin 4,… their ship crashed near my hometown and I just… I needed out of there, I wanted to be reckless. So I joined them.”

You pull your head away from his chest, craning it upwards.

“Zorri’s mom was… she was the leader of the Spice Runners and she had this plan of inviting other crime lords here to form alliances, but she really was just planning on killing them. Zorii offered to fight against her with me and take control of the Spice Runners but I was done. Honestly, I wanted a better life.”

“And you got it. Congratulations.” Zorii’s voice makes the two of you snap back at her, Poe’s hand rushing down to your side, grabbing your hand and stepping slightly in front of you. “You know, I’m still digging out of the hole you put me in when you left to join the Resistance.”

Her helmet then turns in your direction and you have no time to manoeuvre the blaster back to pointing at her, afraid that she’d shoot.

“You. You’ll do.” She says referring to you “A Skywalker. A bounty for her might just cover us.” She says and you frown at the word us until you find your peripheral vision starting to get dotted on the sides by equally armoured soldiers who you assumed to be Spice Runners.

“Djak’kankah” she commands.

“Don’t djak’kankah” Poe pleads, knowing the meaning of the word.

Just then, when you perceive that the smugglers are running in on you, you quickly snap up your blaster and take them all one by one with perfect aim, sliding your leg under Zorii’s feet and akeing her fall to the cold ground right in front of you, both of you pointing your blasters at each other.

“We could really use your help. Please.” You huff, trying to calm your beating heart from the adrenaline of the previous moment.

“Not that you care…But I think you’re okay.” She breathes through the helmet.

“I care.” You let a sly smile tint your lips, sliding your blaster back into its holster and offering the woman who just seconds ago was dead set on killing you your hand.

When she is hoisted back to her feet, she walks ahead of the both of you signalling for her to be followed but as she is about to pass Poe she throws him a few words.

“She’s a keeper.”

“Don’t I know that.” He smirks, turning back to see you walking to catch up to him. Before you can say anything, his gloved hand is already pressed against your cheek as he brings his lips down to crash against yours.

“I love you.”

“I love you.” You whisper against his lips “But I still need to-“

“You can tell me all about it tonight. While laying in bed. No rush.” He smiles assuringly at you and you swear if you didn’t have a mission at hands you would melt into his embrace for as long as the galaxy aloud you to.

“Let’s find that droidsmith.” You smile at him, before placing one quick kiss against his jaw and walking towards Zorii, leaving the former Spice Runner, current lovestruck Resistance Pilot, completely enamoured and stunned behind you.

 ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸

TAGLISTS

PERMANENT TAGLIST

@blondekel77​  @pedrobreakmyback​

POE DAMERON TAGLIST

@niall2017​​​

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Finally finished this! Sorry I’m a bit late.

Made this song in pairing with a new Revalink soulmark fic: Paraphrase

Based on a prompt @motherhyrule (Happy Birthday and thanks!)

Read it on AO3 or, here...

Chapter 1: Holes

There were holes in the sky.

While the artificial blue glow of Vah Medoh was a constant reminder of abnormal circumstances of this view—looking out into the east, you could be fooled for a moment to believe in serenity.

The details of the great, inky abyss were blurred by the occasional grey cloud, crawling towards the light of a decaying moon. Its pale, crescent complexion gave a humble glow to the dancing seas of grass and the motionless hills of glistening lake water. Below, wooden huts embraced one another on the edges of an ancient spire. The winds had crafted a fine sculpture, the unique silhouette of Rito Village cast faint shadows on Lake Totori.

There was distant whistling from either the cutting breeze or a bored village guard, perhaps leaning against his spear, dreaming of slumber.

There's a fire, somewhere. A spiral of smoke rises with a delicious aroma fantastic enough to reach the heights of Medoh. Someone making a late-night stew, under the dotted, broken sky.

If you could tear your eyes away from the nature down below, the navy blue canvas would still be there to greet you—a perfect night that cloaked any traces of the sun, as if time was always meant to be this way. Unchanging, and ever an elegant, unrivaled mix of blue, black, and grey.

But of course, unchanging was not everlasting. The perfect canvas was pierced by the frozen heights of Hebra, and flaming stars. Whole armies of them were scattered across the sky, as if the goddess had flicked a handful of embers at the night, burning through the blue and into an unknown.

"I heard that stars are actually holes into the heavens." Link finally said. "Like...They break through the sky, and at night you can look through them and see the great beyond." He leaned back, shifting himself into a more comfortable position on the rocky cliff.

The ghost beside him raised an eyebrow, wings tucked behind his back.

"Oh? And where exactly did you hear that?"

Silence.

The boy looks out to the distant mountains, wreathed in grey clouds with filtered moonlight. When the wind blows his golden hair just the right way, you could catch a glimpse of a familiar expression.

"...I'm not too sure."

Revali nodded, looking back into the night. He stood beside the hero, and let a quiet sigh escape him, the turquoise flames that circled around the Rito seemed to rise and fall with his chest. "Well. I cannot confirm or deny such a thing, but I imagine it's a decent enough fairy tale to entertain the fledglings."

Link scoffs, a smile tugging at his lips. "Really? They don't give you a big ghost book on how all of life works? What's the point of being dead if you don't know the answer to all the fancy questions?"

"I appear to have missed Hylia's educational spirit lecture. Perhaps my schedule was busy at the time. I do apologize."

"Don't apologize to me! You're the one who missed a once-in-a-afterlife-time opportunity."

"..."

"...Too soon?"

"No, it was just a horrible joke."

"Pfft. Well OK, Mr. 'Well I'll be plucked'"

"I don't think I'm going to accept criticism from someone who's sense of humor isn't even a year old."

"Aha...Fair enough."

A chuckle. A nod. A smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

Silence.

The moon crawls further west. Winds start to die with conversation.

The ghost sighs again, but of course, no breath escapes him. Something itches in the back of his mind, and he looks up at Medoh.

Her phantom blue eyes pierce both mortal and incorporeal, yet there's a tenderness in the way her head tilts towards Revali—every so slightly so as not to wake the whole kingdom with the groan of gears. The gesture is wordlessly understood by her pilot, something about speaking the unspoken. He clicks his tongue.

I don't remember flipping a relationship advice switch in your control unit...

Medoh's lights glow brighter and dim, playfully.

The Rito shakes his head.

No, he thinks again. It's better this way.

The Champion looks out towards Hyrule Castle, Medoh's red laser aimed directly into the heart of the swirling malice. From this view, it’s almost beautiful. Like layered petals of a rose...

I cannot wait to burn it to the ground.

"Yeah..." Link replied. "Don't worry, Revali. It'll be different this time. I won't let you down, again."

The Rito blinked. "Ah. Did I...say that outloud?"

Link nodded, tilting his head to the side with a smile. "You always seem in such deep thought when looking at Medoh. Your face gets a lot more s—uh...I don't know... " He trailed off, making the wise decision to not finish the sentence. Afterall, he wanted to hang out for a little bit longer before Revali's glares punted him to the Akkalain Sea.

Nonetheless, Revali grimaced. Looking at him? Acknowledging him? Oh, there was nothing worse in the world than that...

Time really can change anything.

"Hmph. Well," Revali turned his head back towards Medoh, "With Windblight gone, it's nice to actually have conversations...As unconventional as they may be." He makes sure that his smile can only be seen by the sky.

"She's good company."

Link picks at loose pebbles, tossing them off the cliff and letting gravity take them to new destinations. His hands are already coated in a dusty beige dust.

"Well, if Medoh ever becomes a bore. My schedule's always open." He chuckles. "I'm certainly a different sort of company in comparison, so I should be able to spice up your d—!"

"No."

The iciness of his tone runs Link's spine cold. He dares to look up at the Champion.

It takes all of Revali's strength to continue staring at the stars.

"You should really stop coming here, Link. You have a job to do, and so do I. You gain nothing by returning here each night."

He pauses, his beak clenched just a bit too tightly.

"You did well, avenging me, but now...Your job here is done, and there is more work to do. The fact that you keep visiting each night while the world fades away is pathetic, honestly. You banter and quip as if you have all the time in the world, as if everything doesn't depend on your success. Quit acting childish."

Silence. It drowns out the whistling wind.

Revali looks at the holes in the sky.

"It'll be morning in a few, so get lost. I don't need you here."

The Rito can feel the hero's eyes tearing into him.

= = = = = = =

"Careful now! Can't have you return with half a head. Can I?" Revali loosed an arrow just above Link's head, striking true in a Bokoblin's right eye.

Link whips around just in time to see the monster drop dead, just a foot away from where the knight stood. He turns back and gives the Rito a thumbs up in gratitude.

"Eye think that solves that problem." Link groans and rolls his eyes, but Revali smirks at the grin he attempts to hide. "Ah...One of the best things about these occasions is that you're in no position to quip back at me with your hands full like that." Revali shoots him a wink. "Perhaps I'll interpret your silence as overwhelming awe for my verbal abilities."

The Rito bows left and right, playfully. "Thank you, thank you. It takes a great deal of practice, but perhaps you'll grace my level of skill one day."

Link signs as best he can with the Master Sword in his left grip.

"You're an asshole."

"Perhaps. But it's your fault for sticking around!"

"On your left..." He suddenly says.

There's no hesitation as Revali moves his head out of the way, letting Link swing his sword over his shoulder. A brilliant beam of blue light escapes the edge of his sword, the disc of energy making contact with a Bokoblin's neck, slicing it asunder mid-roar.

"Hmm. Now that's just breath taki—"

"Shut UP!" Link says, knocking an elbow into his ribs. He starts to sign again. "Let's keep heading east. We need to close this pincer quickly. I'd like to finish before lunch..."

The Rito scans the snow covered path, littered with monster guts and blood. Deep reds and purple stain the pristine, crisp morning. The sky is a deep green, pine trees covering the day, dressed in coats of white. The breeze blows the smell of rotting corpses and hickory his way.

"Alright. Let's get a move on. Don't need the Princesses yelling at us again."

"A bit late for that, don't you think?"

The boys both look up in time to see a large burst of water erupt from a nearby cliff. It cascades into a shimmering slide, that freezes as it flows. A bright red Zora flips through the air and descends on it, landing delicately in front of the two. She gives a warm smile that could melt the winter.

"Shall I assume you ran into some chuchu troubles, again?"

Revali scoffed. "That was one time!"

"Hehehe...chuchu go 'sluuurrrp...'"

"Plus, that incident was entirely a certain knight's fault. I've been nothing but incredibly efficient and productive, since then."

"And your tail feathers are all the better for it!"

Revali thwacked Link with his bow to shut him up. The knight rubbed the back of his head with an "Ow..." and shot a rude glare, but the Rito continued. "So where is the Princess?"

Mipha gestured uphill to where she had come from, her magical waterfall already beginning to melt away. "We finished cleaning up the other end of the Tabantha path. She's met up with Urbosa and Daruk by one of the bridges."

The Zora smiles as she looks between Revali and Link. "I volunteered to check on you two while the others headed back. Neither of you need help cleaning chuchu slime out of your hair, yes? I do have the pliers, this time."

Revali's rageful squawk was drowned out by Link's laughter.

Before the trio's banter could truly serenade with the sounds of the forest, Mipha was off to regroup with the others, and Link was soaring in the sky.

The sky was open and clear, not a speck of grey clouded the air. The sun was perched comfortably on the heights of Tabantha ridge, painting the horizon with strokes of orange, the distance blushing in the morning's presence.

The wind flipped Link's hair back and forth, so he finished tying the braid behind his neck, woven tightly with a single, Prussian blue feather. Its tip looked like someone had dipped it in the moon's pale glow.

Braid or no, the heights above Lake Totori were quite cold, and Link nuzzled himself further into Revali's soft feathers. If he were any softer, it wouldn't be out of the question to drown in him.

"You're distracting me." Revali craned his neck back, raising an eyebrow at his passenger. "Keep it together, back there."

The hero shrugged his shoulders. "It's cold."

"I told you to drink another elixir before I took off."

"I wasn't cold then! Besides," He flopped back into the Rito's soft down. "This is adequate protection." Link's words were slightly muffled as he spoke.

Revali sighed. "You're insufferable..."

Eying the destination down below, the Rito rolled his shoulders to get Link's attention. "Keep steady. We're almost there." He started to dip forward.

"And try not to go flying, I imagine it won't work out well for you."

Before Link could even process his words, his stomach started to drop. Falling fast, Revali arched nearly perpendicular to the ground, his bright blue scarf flapping behind him. The Hylian on his back could do nothing but grip onto his armour for dear life, clothes flapping wildly. His loose sleeves caught the wind, pushing them back to reveal pale gold letters, etched in the underside of his right forearm.

Leaving so soon?

The wind rushed by Link's ears, and the sky quickly faded from the cerulean glow of morning, to the snow laced air of the Hebra. What was once broad strokes of indistinct colors soon morphed into the intricate faults, flaws, and edges of towering grey mountain peaks. With the heavens stolen from them, and the frozen earth quickly coming to greet them, Revali quickly opened his wings to catch the air, swooping just above the ground and shooting forward towards the Flight Range.

Rows of cool safflina and wildberries whizzed by, the scent of smoked boar drawing closer and closer. Revali could practically feel Link's appetite from aura alone. Although, the fact that his grip on his back was starting to tighten didn't exactly keep it subtle, either.

"I left the stew going before we headed out for the mission. It should be perfect by now..." He tucked his wings into himself with a quick twirl as he shot through a narrow pass.

The cold updrafts of the Flight Range now biting into his face; the Rito let his wings expand with a few more great flaps, before landing gracefully on the railing of the wooden platform.

Link practically soared off Revali's back and bounded straight for the simmering pot.

"'Thank you, Revali, for giving me a ride across all of Tabantha without asking for so much as a rupee in return!' Oh, you're so welcome, my dear hero. It's always a pleasure to aid a flightless Hylian in need." He shook his head as he made his way into the hut.

"'Oh, but really Revali! The speed at which you travel, and the strength required to take on my loathsome person as you fly is truly something to admire. It's a miracle you took me with you at all.' Why, you are much too generous with your compliments, Link. I have half a mind to write this all down for—MmMph?!"

In a brilliant move of both telling Revali to shut the fuck up, while also sharing their meal, Link shoved a ladleful of delicious stew in the Rito's beak.

Warm, savoury stew trickled down his throat, banishing the cold from his body in mere moments. His tastebuds were nestled with flavours of nutmeg, tender meat, and the delicate heat of a perhaps a single, spicy pepper.

Link's expression was equal parts, "Will you shut up now?" and "So how's it taste?"

"Not too bad...The prime meat I procured is obviously the main event. But your seasoning skills are certainly something of note..." Revali made his way to one of the cabinets, as Link rolled his eyes.

The Rito set his bow beside the Master Sword, leaning it against the painted wood. His eyes lingered on it for a bit too long, before he scoffed and continued on his routine.

Quiver on the counter; bomb arrows wrapped properly; armour loosened and set aside; scarf—

The feathers on Revali's neck suddenly floofed up at Link's touch. But he didn't dare turn around and risk losing the sensation.

He carefully unfolded the fabric around Revali's neck, and drew it off his shoulder. He wrapped it around himself, and signed at the Rito, "Mine, now."

The Rito chuckled, before turning back around to look at the hero, now adorned with far too much blue. Blue tunic, blue scarf, and sapphire eyes—it wouldn't be out of the question to mistake him for the sky.

Link stretched out his hand, and traced the edges of Revali's face, eventually falling down his neck, and towards his shoulders. His fingers eventually hovered over some familiar words that wrapped down the left side of his neck and down his shoulder.

You should give yourself more credit.

They both did nothing but smile at each for a moment, leaning closer and succumbing to the moment. Revali could already feel Link's breath, and see the bits of snow still sticking to his (horribly) braided hair.

The Hylian saw something curious in the Rito's expression as he planted a kiss on the tip of his beak. Looking back up at his jade eyes, he couldn't help but smile wide. Revali cocked an eyebrow.

"Something to say?"

Quiet. The fire chuckled in the background.

Link finally leaned in and whispered to him.

"You smell like shit."

Revali scoffed loudly before shoving Link to the carpet, where he burst out laughing, the wind carrying it to the spirits above.

"Gods, you're insufferable. Why do I settle for you..."

Link unsuccessfully attempted to toss a pillow in his face in revenge—Revali catching it with ease.

"Beats me! Now come here, you stinky bird." He patted the space in front of the fire. No doubt he wanted to sit between his wings again

"Stew or no, I need you to keep me toasty."

In no time, Revali had sat down and wrapped himself around Link, resting his beak on his head.

A hole in the ceiling let sunlight trickle on them as they warmed up.

= = = = = = = 

Link finally sighed, the sound falling off into the void below.

"You-I can't-It was never..." He trails off, before chucking another pebble off the cliff, shaking his head.

"...I'm sorry. I know that you...That we're not really...friends or whatever...I don't mean to force you into anything uncomfortable. I owe you that much..." He looked up at the spirit, a determined look on his face.

"But, don't worry. Whatever mess I was before, whatever person you hated 100 years ago. They're gone, now. I promise I'm different. I promise I won't repeat whatever mistakes I made with you."

Revali just wants to die all over again.

"Well. That's good to hear. Perhaps there's hope for you yet, hero..." He walks forward, so he can't see his face, pointing a translucent feather far out east.

"I'd say your next objection should be Rudania. It's the closest. You can backtrack through whatever roads you've already trailed through getting here." The Rito then waved towards some glistening summits just a bit south. "Although, you said you've been to Kakariko and Hateno, yes? You could probably trek to Zora's Domain from there. The Zora will no doubt be a great asset to your further adventures—"

"Who was I closest to?"

Revali knew it was impossible to feel cold at this point, but he felt something shiver nonetheless.

"What do you mean?"

"Like...the pilots I mean. Was I...particularly close with any of them?"

"Well how should I know!" Revali snapped. He immediately regretted it seeing the look in Link's eyes. "I mean...sorry..."

Silence.

"...Mipha would be overjoyed to see you, I'm sure." He pointed again towards the cliffs surrounding Zora's Domain. "She had quite the heart...She'll make better company than I, I'm sure."

"Mhm...Alright." Link nodded to himself.

"But whatever you choose, don't try taking on Naboris, yet. Urbosa was one of the strongest warriors that even I've ever met. So I imagine that what awaits there is...deserving of more preparation."

The moon escaped from the clutches of a grey cloud, and the two of them were bathed in moonlight.

The knight's sword on his back glistens.

"I'll start making preparations tomorrow, and I'll finally be out of your hair." Link scratched the back of his head. "Although...I hope you don't mind if I come back every now and then to get pointers on using your Gale. I really only used it that one time when you gave it to me, and I've been a bit scared ever since, aha..."

Revali nodded. "That would be a more productive use of your time, yes."

Link finally stood, adjusting the strap of his sword around his shoulder.

"S-So...with Mipha. I actually heard from Kass that...uh he's—well you see, I figured you could confirm if she actually—"

"Stop." His response was as sudden as thunder. Link started sputtering again.

"S-Sorry. I know you just s—"

"Stop doing that. Stop trying to learn about the past, there's nothing for you there." Revali poked a feather at Link's head, which surprisingly made physical contact as he flinched away. "You've been given a gift, you understand? You have the luxury of being unburdened by the pains and memories of 100 years ago, while the rest of us have been stuck wallowing in what we once knew for over a century. Things that we can never attain now that we are dead." He glared, eyes sharp enough to stab into Link's flesh.

"It'd be an insult to the rest of us to throw away such a gift. So stop being ungrateful, and move on."

Silence.

Revali sighed, turning back towards Medoh. "Now get los—"

"You have no right to speak to me like that!"

The Rito whipped around. "Excuse me?"

"You don't know what it's like!" Link stomped a foot down. "You don't know what it's like, to have no attachments, no nothing to grasp onto!"

The Hylian shook his head, looking at his hands. "You're dead because of my failures, and for that, I'm truly sorry. I really am. But..." He looked the Rito, dead in the eyes. "But now I have nothing of value. Nothing to tell me what I'm worth, besides being a fighter. Besides defeating the Calamity. I don't know what kind of person I need to be," He waves a hand at Revali, "Or even what person I should try not to be. I can't...I don't want to just be nothing. Nothing but a sword and useless snippets of a dead past.

"So don't try and tell me there's nothing for me in the past. I need to know what I was, what I lost, and what I did wrong. N-Not just for me, but for everyone's sake! I want to truly know what this is all for, even if it hurts me..."

Link looked down, caressing his right wrist. "I want to know...what it was like to be complete...at the very least..."

Revali looked him up and down, something clawing up the inside of his chest, threatening to escape as dangerous words.

"...Let me see your arm."

"What—?"

"Hurry up, and just come."

Link cautiously stepped closer to Revali, extending his right arm towards him, like a handshake. But he roughly tugged him closer and folded the sleeve of his Rito garb away, exposing the skin to the crisp night air.

Pale gold letters adorned Link's inner arm, running from his wrist to his inner elbow.

Why did you think it was impossible?

The Rito nodded to himself. He had noted the first word being different when he had first reunited with Link, but it put him at ease—and completely shattered something—to have his suspicions confirmed.

"Do you know what this is, hero?"

"Yeah, it's a soulmark. This is probably what my soulmate 100 years ago said when they—"

"No." Revali let his arm fall, turning away. "It's a soulmark alright, but your soulmate is very much alive."

"Wh-What?!" Link started to walk up to Revali. "T-That's impossible! I-It's been over a hundred—"

"That's not the soulmark you had when I met you." Revali said simply. "You died. You were revived. You are adorned with a new mark, and are destined for someone new. Or someones. Or, maybe your soulmate is just yourself, it really depends..." He turned his head back.

Link was just staring at his arm. He bore no smile, but Revali could see the new fire in his eyes.

"It's like I said. It'd be an insult to go digging up the past. But I suppose I can't stop you..." Revali continued to make his way to Medoh. "You want something to fight for? Fight for that..."

The moon disappeared behind another cloud, and the glow of Medoh was all that bathed them. Link finally looked up, calling after the ghost in the mist.

"I...Thank you, Revali. But just so you know..." The Rito Champion turned, staring directly at the hero's determined expression.

"This doesn't change what I want. I still intend to know who I was."

There was quiet as they each looked at their ghosts.

Revali sighed, giving a sad nod.

"I know."

He disappeared in glowing blue flames, the embers falling towards the stars.

[es-kay-zee]

This Is How We Fall - Chapter 1

pairing: hyunjin x female reader

genres: angst, smut, maybe occasional fluff, lots of religious overtones, fantasy au, slowburn (or at least an attempt at it)

warnings: none

word count: 2.7k

taglist: @jisungsplatforms ​ @etherealeeknow @qtieskz (if you wanna be added let me know)

proofread: definitely not

a/n: this took me longer to write than i thought it would, but oh well. let me know what you guys think of it :)

____________________

You’re going to die.

That’s all you can think as you plummet through the sky at record speed. The only thought in your head is about your imminent death. And the only thing you can feel is the burning. You don’t have a chance to think about anything else as the pain emanates from your entire body. Your skin feeling as it it’s been ignited with the flames of Hell. The pain is debilitating, it cripples you to the point where you can’t even scream.

Time seems to slow around you, your Fall feeling as if it’s lasting several millennia. You’re just Falling silently as you wait for it all to be over. You wait for your body to go up in flames, for your pain to end. And when flames steadily begin to engulf your wings, you think it’s finally going to be over. The flames dance along your wings, devouring every feather in their path. And you can feel every single one. You can feel every single feather be consumed by the flames. You can feel the way each and every one is turned to dust and scattered in your wake. It’s only a matter of moments before every feather is gone and all that’s left is the charred and blackened remains of your wings.

You expect the flames to engulf the rest of your body, but they don’t. Instead, they die down, slowly shrinking until they disappear completely. The flames are gone, and along with them, the burning. You feel nothing. Hollow. Empty. There’s nothing but an absence of anything as your descent continues. But there’s something about the moment that feels almost calming. As if you no longer have to worry about anything.

Until you hit the ground with a loud crash, and it feels as if every bone in your body breaks upon impact. You wish the impact could have killed you, anything to stop the pain. But that’s not possible. Only a Blade of a Divine can kill an Angel. All the crash provides is a fresh new wave of pain to every nerve ending in your body, but worse than the ache that you can feel everywhere, is the burning of your lungs. The dust from the ground swirls all around you, dancing in the rays of sunlight. It fills the air, fills your lungs, and it burns almost as bad as the flames did.

Your mind screams at you to stand up and figure out where you are, but it’s several minutes before you can even move your fingertips. Slowly, oh so slowly, you manage to sit up, opening your eyes and squinting at your surroundings. The first thing you see is the dust that’s still floating around you, particles coming to a rest upon your skin. The air starts to clear, and you can see trees. An endless sea of trees all around you. A dark, lifeless sea. The trees are dead, dying at best, only a few leaves clinging onto the otherwise bare branches. Those few leaves are dark, sad, not even lit up with the colours of autumn.

You look down, trying to figure out what you landed on, because it sure hurt a lot worse than dirt. Beneath you, you find a cement altar table, upon which rests the cracked indent of your body. Around the edge of the altar table grows flowers, just as dead as the trees. The surround the altar table, acting as a gloomy autumnal-toned barricade between your landing place and the rest of the world around you. And as you gaze down at the colourless flowers, you start to wonder if, perhaps, that is just how all plants grow here. If they’re not actually dead, but they simply appear as if they are. You reach down for a petal, expecting to find it dry, but instead it’s soft, delicate, full of a life that is just not visible.

You slowly rise to your feet, being sure to step over the line of flowers as not to trample them. They’re beautiful, in their own way, and there’s something special, about them being the first thing you’ve touched in this new place, that you will always hold dear to you. Finally standing, it takes everything not to collapse back down to the ground. Your body and mind both feel heavy, as if they’re being weighed down with bricks. Willpower. That’s what you need as you stumble closer to the trees. If you weren’t so determined to figure out more about where you are, then you wouldn’t’ve had the strength to will your legs to carry you. But you are determined, and that’s what carries you as you make your way through the seemingly never-ending forest. It’s not easy, you’re weak and tired, but you push through. You have no idea where you’re going, or what you’re going to find, but whatever it is has to be better than nothing.

It’s about an hour before the exhaustion gets too much, and all you’ve managed to find in that time is a small clearing containing another altar table. It’s strange, you would’ve thought you’d somehow just travelled in a circle if it weren’t for this altar table being smooth. It’s undamaged, free of any blemishes. It’s clear that you didn’t land here. It’s surrounded by another ring of gloomy flowers, and the untarnished surface is the only indication that you’re not exactly where you stared.

You step towards the altar table, again being sure not to tread on any of the flowers before taking refuge on the cement surface. It’s cold, the chill from the cement seeping through your clothing, turning your skin icy as you lay down upon it. It’s only for a moment, you tell yourself. You’re only allowing yourself a moment to rest your weary body before continuing on your journey to find something, anything that lets you know you’re not the only being here. But as your eyelids start to droop, you tell yourself that maybe a little bit longer will be beneficial. That perhaps a short nap will provide you enough strength to travel further.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

The alarm blares obnoxiously through the room, reverberating off each of the walls. It’s been a long time since the siren’s gone off, months since this sound has echoed down these halls. The young man jumps up from his seat, running over towards the map. He sees two markers pinging in the forest, small lights flashing at both points. It’s only a matter of moments before the room is filled with other people too, all surrounding the young man looking at the map. He’s shocked that there’s two pings, never before has that happened. He’s quick to divide the gathered group into two teams, instructing the first to search one site and the other to search the second.

Within minutes of being given instructions, the teams are setting out on their assigned missions. It takes them each several hours to reach their destinations, the places being some of the furthest away from the palace. The first team arrives at the first location, and are shocked to find no one there, just a broken altar table and no signs as to which way the person travelled. The second team yielded better results, finding someone sleeping restfully upon the concrete. They try waking her, with no luck. So instead, they opt to just carry her all the way back. She sleeps the entire way, not stirring even once from her deep slumber.

They make it back to the palace, walking through the quiet halls, carrying her towards one of the sleeping chambers. She’s placed on the bed, showing no signs of life other than her steady breathing. Even though it’s unlikely that she’ll wake up, everyone is quiet as the file back out of the room. She’s exhausted, the Fallen always are when they first show up. The young man enters the room, holding a blanket in his arms. He drapes it over the sleeping person, being sure to cover their entire body. He pauses for a moment, taking in the beauty of her face, before quietly exiting the room, allowing her to sleep until she’s recovered.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

Gold.

It’s the first thing you see when your eyes flutter open. You see hues of golden, shining in the flickering light of the numerous candles lining the walls. Your eyes slowly start to focus, and you realise that it’s golden locks of hair framing the most beautiful face you’ve ever seen. You try to focus on the details of the face, but you’re eyes keep drifting back to the hair, the shades of gold rivalling only those of the solid gold architecture of Heaven’s palace.

It’s the first bit of colour you’ve seen since you were banished, since you were sent away by the very Archangels you served. And you’re enchanted by it. Your desire to know where you are is overpowered by your desire to never look away from such a beautiful colour.

“You’re awake,” speaks the golden-haired person, and the words pull you out of your daze.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I suppose I am.” You’ve only just awoken but you’re already so tired once again.

“Get some more rest. We’ll take you to meet The Boss when you’re fully recovered.”

“Recovered? But I’m fine now.”

“No, you’re not. You can barely keep your eyes open and,” he pauses, pressing the back of his hand against your forehead. It’s soft, his touch, and you desperately want to feel more of it. But he pulls his hand away sooner than you wanted him to. “Yip, you’ve still got a bit of a fever. It’s fine, the Fall really takes it out of ya. Just a few more days of resting and then you’ll be good to go.”

“Wait, few more days? How long have I been sleeping?”

“About four days so far.”

“Four days!?” you want to sit up, but you’re still so exhausted that you can barely move your body.

“Yeah, but that’s normal. We’ll answer any questions you have when you wake up again. We also have a couple questions for you as well, but for now, just go back to sleep,” his voice is calming, and at just the sound of it you can feel yourself drifting back into a dreamless slumber.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

By the time you open your eyes again, the room is no longer lit by burning candles. Instead, sunlight pours through the large windows, bathing the room in a warm light. It’s comforting. Peaceful. The way the light streams through in visible rays is breath-taking, reminding you of the warm summer days in Heaven.

“How are you feeling?” a voice asks from across the room. You slowly sit up, turning to face the direction of where the person spoke. You were hoping the voice belonged to the boy with golden hair, but it doesn’t. It belongs to another boy, this one with dark hair. He’s holding a spare change of clothes in his arms as he walks towards you.

“Uh, fine, I guess,” you reply. “I don’t feel so tired anymore.”

“That’s good. These are for you to wear. What you’re wearing now can be cleaned for you if you want. But in the meantime, you can wear this,” he smiles, placing the folded clothes on the bed next to you. You look down at the clothing currently covering your body, and it’s obvious that the dust from the altar table is caked into the fabric. “I’ll be waiting just outside the door while you change. Just come poke your head out when you’re done and then I’ll take you to meet The Boss.”

He disappears out the door, closing it softly behind him, and you finally have a proper moment to look at the room you’re in. It’s a large room, the ceiling towering high above your head. The bed is large too, and the whole place reminds you of the bedrooms in Heaven’s palace. There’s an extravagant fireplace on the wall opposite the bed, in front of which sits a lavish couch, a deep red in colour. Grand curtains frame the large windows, and it’s in the light of day that you can see the sconces resting upon the walls. It’s beautiful, the architecture and interior design, absolutely stunning.

You pull your attention back to the clothes next to you, not wanting to keep the boy waiting for too long. You stand up, legs slightly wobbly as you do so. A shiver runs down your spine when you pull your dusty clothes from your body. The air is cooler than you thought it would be, the sunlight doing surprisingly little to warm the space. You quickly redress yourself in the new garment, paying little attention to what you’re wearing, just wanting something over you to be warm once again. It’s only when your reflection catches your eye as you walk past the intricately-framed mirror that you notice what you’re actually wearing. It’s a dress, one more beautiful than you’ve ever worn before. It’s plain, but that’s where it harnesses its beauty from; it’s simplicity. You pry your eyes from your reflection, continuing on your way to the door. You pull it open and are greeted with the sight of the smiling boy.

“You ready?” he asks, the smile never leaving his face as you nod in response. “Good, now if you’ll just follow me. And if you can hold all questions until we get there because The Boss can answer them all for you.”

“Can I ask one thing now?” you say, unable to help smiling at the boy’s chirpiness.

“Sure, I’m not usually that good at answering questions, but I’ll do my best.”

“I’m sure you can answer this one with no problem.”

“Really? That’s good. So, what’s the question?”

“What’s your name?” He pauses for a moment, halting in his tracks as he turns to face you.

“Goodness! I never introduced myself! Sorry about that, I’m Jisung. Nice to meet you,” he holds out his hand, and you reach up and shake it. “What about you? What’s your name?”

“Well, Jisung, it’s a pleasure to meet you too. I’m y/n.”

“Y/n. That’s a pretty name.” Your cheeks warm at the compliment, a smile gracing your lips.

You both continued walking forwards, turning various corners and passing numerous doors. But there’s something about the path you’re both taking that feels all too familiar. As if you’ve walked these exact halls before. But you can’t shake the feeling as you continue walking. It plays on your mind, and it’s not until you Jisung stops in front of a pair of large doors, arching high above you both that you realise why it feels so familiar. It’s because you have walked these walls before. Not these exact ones, but the one’s in Heaven’s palace. They’re identical to the hallways of this palace. Your heartrate picks up, your mind thinking back to the last time you were in front of these doors. Back to when your life changed. Your sentencing.

Jisung steps forward, knocking twice on the door, the sound echoing though the otherwise empty hallway. That’s one difference between these doors and the ones in Heaven; these don’t have guards stationed on either side. The heavy doors slowly swing open, and immediately you notice more differences. This room is filled with light, sunlight beaming through many windows and skylights. And there’s less thrones. In Heaven there’s four of them, but here there’s only one. And upon it sits a man. A man who holds all the power here, it’s obvious from the way he holds himself that he’s in charge. His posture impeccable, him radiating an authoritative aura. The same aura as the Archangels in Heaven. But also, different. The man before you seems homier, comfier. Just being in his presence makes you feel safer than the Archangels ever did. This man radiates a level of comfort and security that you’ve never felt anywhere else.

“What’s your name, child?” Even his voice is soothing, making you feel warm.

Y/n,” you reply, freely giving away your name for the second time today.

“Hello, y/n. I’m Lucifer. Welcome to Hell.”

[dragon-fics]

HA: Ch. 16 The Apprentice and Her Master

Chapter summary: Left in the void alone, Heather must confront the mysterious person who is supposedly waiting for her

Prologue, Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3 , Pt. 4, Pt. 5, Pt. 6 , Pt. 7, Pt. 8, Pt. 9, Pt. 10, Pt. 11, Pt. 12, Pt. 13, Pt. 14, Pt. 15

The figures faded away, and Heather stood in silence. Her muscles relaxed; she wasn’t even aware she was so tense. Heather glanced around the dark abyss, trembling slightly as it all hit her. She had passed their test… the test she wasn’t even sure she had even the slightest chance of passing. Heather drew in a long breath and hugged herself.

“Can—,” her voice was small and shaken, “can I talk to Aaravos now?”

The abyss stayed silent and dark; there was no sign of this person. Heather sighed and walked forward, head low and arms close to her stomach. She wished she could wake up already. Tonight had been exciting enough.

Then a whoosh and a bright light came from behind her. Heather turned around, looking at the pale portal in front of her. “Hello?”

Out of the portal came a dark figure, nowhere near as tall as the most talkative member of the council., but still taller than Heather, by about a foot. Long white locks billowed behind them as they walked forward, eyes and chest glowing.

Heather squinted. “Aaravos?”

The glowing portal faded away, allowing her to get a better look at the figure heading towards her.

He smiled. “You did excellent, Heather.”

She grinned. “Heh, it’s all your training, Sparkles.” She drifted towards him. “So… are you the one they were talking about?” She reached for his hand to ensure he was actually there. To her relief, she could hold it.

He gently wrapped his cool fingers around her and, ensuring her further, a small smile slipping onto his face. Aaravos shook his head, his smile fading away. “I don’t think so.”

Heather frowned and looked around at the abyss. Who else could want to see her?

Another orb of light appeared close by and slowly lowered itself to the ‘ground’. Its light faded away to reveal another elf… but this one was very much unlike the others. They didn’t have skin that reminded Heather of the heavens. Instead, their skin was almond brown with patches of grey and stars scattered around their body. They had short, undercut, bob cut silver hair and deer-like antlers on their head. They were lean built with pointed features, looking both but neither masculine nor feminine.

Heather peered at them and unconsciously reached for her facial markings. Theirs were very similar to hers. “Who… are you?”

They chuckled and looked at Aaravos. “Care to tell her, Master?”

Heather looked back at him, still holding his hand. She frowned. In none of his memoirs, had she found any mention of an apprentice.

Aaravos stare silently at the young elf. For the first time, Heather saw him stunned.

They came closer, a smile on their face. “It’s good to see you too, Father.”

Heather’s frown deepened. This was getting more convoluted by the second. This elf was revealing so much so quickly.

Aaravos released her hand and placed his hand on the mystery elf’s cheek, smiling down at them. “I thought I lost you, Elluin.”

They smiled, a tear rolling down their face. “You could never lose me.” Elluin looked at Heather. “not while she’s around.” They wiped away their tears and moved over to stand in front of Heather.

She glanced from them to Aaravos and wiped away his own stray tear. “So… who are you?”

They chuckled. “I am Elluin. And I was you in your past life. I am also the one who deliver you your prophecy.” They rolled their eyes.

Heather barked a laugh. “Exactly.”

Elluin smiled. “Shall we get started? And I’ll explain everything.”

*~*~*~*

Heather sat up groggily, morning sunshine blinding her as it poured into her eyes like burning lava. She groaned, glancing around the sun washed teal room. The night hadn’t seemed real, yet she could remember everything but her prophecy. She sighed, getting off out of the shallow pool of water, her gold and black outfit bone dry. She hummed and stepped out onto the steps, her bare feet warmed by the sun-touched tiles.

She opened the door of the room and walked down the long corridor. For a long moment, she was mesmerized, caught up in a web of her own thoughts. She had been destined to meet Aaravos? Heather found it hard to believe. She wound her way through his vast home, making her way down to the small kitchen and living area of his gigantic house.

He had mentioned that the tiny room was the heart of the house, where Aaravos had some of his greatest moments. At the time, Heather thought he meant achievements, but now she knew it had something to do with Elluin.

Heather entered the small kitchen, looking out at the large glass window that overlooked the Midnight Desert and Lux Aurea in the distance. She hopped up onto the violet stool by the obsidian counter, attempting to grasp what had happened last night. She stared at the black counter top as she thought, not noticing Aaravos walking in after her.

He rested a hand on her shoulder. “Good morning, Heather.”

“Morning,” she mumbled, coming out of her thoughts.

He smirked, tracing his hand over part of her she didn’t quite recognise.

Heather’s heart leapt, and she spun off the stool. Aaravos barely moved out of the way in time, and she spun around. On her back were a set of large wings, with the same ombre of indigo to yellow as her arms. She stretched them out, getting a long look at their glittering beauty. But they weren’t just glittering in the sun… they were twinkling with stars. Heather froze, her silver eyes narrowing. She looked at her hands. Stars were scattered across her skin. She took a quick peek down at her top. A small, white symbol of the star arcanum was embedded in her skin, high on her chest.

A muffled squeal escaped Heather as he spun around to face Aaravos. She chuckled madly and hopped on the spot. She dove into a hug, wrapping her arms around Aaravos. “Thank you,” Heather whispered.

Aaravos looked down at her, a soft smile on his face. He placed the bundle of clothing on the counter. “No, thank you, Heather.” He gently hugged her back. They stood there for a while, in each other’s embrace.

She slowly released him, stepping away with a broad smile. Her gaze drifted over to the bundle of clothing. She stepped forward, eyeing it curiously. “These are the garments you’ve been working on at night.” She observed.

Aaravos frowned. “Yes, they are.” He placed a silvery hand on top of the pile. “They’re for you.”

Heather glanced from him to the garments. “For me?”

He inclined his head. “I made them for when you passed your test, so you’d have clothes that suited you.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Thanks, Sparkles.” She picked up the clothes. “Lets try them on, I guess.” She scuttled away with the bundle, leaving Aaravos standing in the room on his own. He reached for his sewing things, finishing a piece of embroidery.

When Heather returned, a figure-hugging black and purple tunic-length vest hung on her body. A small window was cut out for her star to shine through, and its core held an overlapping pointed design. Her leggings ended at her foot, allowing her feet to touch the ground. She presumed it was for her mimicking.

Heather spun around. “I love it!” she hissed. She then reached for the last piece of clothing. A cloak. It was the same black design as Aaravos’ with a silver accent to match her eyes. On the pointed hood were the symbols of the sun and sky arcana. She threw it on, liking that it ended above the knee for swift movement. She squealed again. “we’ll be a matching master and apprentice duo.” She grinned.

Aaravos chuckled, turning around. “That we can. But I have one more thing for you, Heather.” He drew a rune, something long and silver appearing in his hands. As he turned around, Heather got a better look at the long object. It was a slender pole with a large silver ring at one end. Between the ring and the tip of the pole, a large stone was embedded. In the ring were five other stones. Each one shone a different colour; one yellow, one teal, another deep blue, one emerald green, another pale blue, and the centre one was a shimmering lilac.

“I present to you the Apprentice Archmage’s staff.” He held it out to her. “For my apprentice.”

Heather smiled, taking the staff from him gently, getting used to its feel. “Thank you, Master.”

~The End~

There was supposed to be an epilogue, but it had no real purpose in the story and unfortunately I’m rather stuck for time. Thank you for sticking around and seeing the end of the book. If you would like to see the continuation, its first chapter is up, titled His Home. it won’t revolve very much about any of the canon Dragon Prince characters, it’s just set in the Dragon Prince universe. Thank you all so much for getting me 2,000 reads on this story. I will edit it sometime later this year or mid next year, depending on how life goes for me. Thanks again!

EmmaPRIME

[dfroza]

A divine protection from the lying dragon

(we, as the Body, find this in grace and through faith knowing the inner spirit is safe)

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation:

As I looked, a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman came into view clothed in the radiance of the sun, standing with the moon under her feet, and she was crowned with a wreath of twelve stars on her head. She was painfully pregnant and was crying out in the agony of labor. Then a second sign appeared in heaven, ominous, foreboding: a great red dragon, with seven crowned heads and ten horns. The dragon’s tail brushed one-third of the stars from the sky and hurled them down to the earth. The dragon crouched in front of the laboring woman, waiting to devour her child the moment it was born.

She gave birth to a male child, who is destined to rule the nations with an iron scepter. Before the dragon could bite and devour her son, the child was whisked away and brought to God and His throne. The woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place of refuge and safety where she could find sustenance for 1,260 days.

A battle broke out in heaven. Michael, along with his heavenly messengers, clashed against the dragon. The dragon and his messengers returned the fight, but they did not prevail and were defeated. As a result, there was no place left for them in heaven. So the great dragon, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was cast down to the earth along with his messengers. Then I heard a great voice in heaven.

A Voice: Now the salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God

and the authority of His Anointed One have come.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

who relentlessly accuses them day and night before our God,

has been cast down and silenced.

By the blood of the Lamb

and the word of their witnesses,

they have become victorious over him,

For they did not hold on to their lives, even under threat of death.

Therefore, rejoice, all you heavens;

celebrate, all you who live in them.

But disaster will befall the earth and the sea,

for the devil has come down to your spheres,

And he is incredibly angry

because he knows his time is nearly over.

When the dragon realized he had been cast down to the earth, he pursued the mother of the male infant. In order to escape the serpent, she was given the two wings of the great eagle to fly deeper into the wilderness to her own special place where she would find sustenance for a time, and times, and half a time. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a raging river that chased after the woman, trying to sweep her away in the flood. But the earth came to her rescue. It opened its gaping mouth and swallowed the river that spewed from the dragon’s mouth. As a result, the dragon was enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children—those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the testimony of Jesus.

And [the dragon] stood waiting on the sand of the seashore.

The Book of Revelation, Chapter 12 (The Voice)

A note from The Voice translation:

The sign that appears in the vision is of a celestial woman who gives birth to a son. While it’s possible this could refer to Mary, the mother of Jesus, it is also possible this is a symbol of God’s chosen people. The faithful remnant of Israel is the womb that carried the Lord and delivered Him to the world. While the great red dragon does his best to destroy and devour Him, God has another plan. Since then, the dragon and his minions have done their best to harangue and persecute the woman’s children. But again he does not have the final word.

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 9th chapter of the book of Nehemiah with an act of confession and repentance:

Later, on the 24th day of that same month, the Israelites came back together. Everyone fasted and wore sackcloth to show their repentance. They covered their heads with dust to show their mourning. They also separated themselves from the foreigners who were living among them. Then the Israelites stood up and confessed their sins and the sins of their dead ancestors. For three hours they stood in their designated places and read from the book of the Eternal’s law. Following that they confessed and worshiped the Eternal One, their True God, for another three hours. On the stairs above them stood the Levites: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani. With loud cries they called out to the Eternal, their True God.

The same Levites (Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah) instructed the people.

Levites: Stand up! Worship the Eternal who is your God who exists from everlasting to everlasting.

May Your glorious name be praised—

even lifted up beyond all blessing and praise.

You are the Eternal, the only One.

The skies are Your work alone—

You made the heavens above those skies

and the stars that fill them.

You made the earth and everything upon it,

the seas and all that lives within their depths.

Your creation lives and is sustained by You,

and those who dwell in the heavens

Fall down before You and worship.

You are the Eternal God.

You chose Abram and drew him out from Ur of the Chaldees.

You changed his name to Abraham.

In him You found a true heart,

a heart devoted to You.

With him You made a covenant that

the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites,

The Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Girgashites

would belong to him and to his descendants.

And what You have promised, You have done

because You are righteous.

When our ancestors suffered in Egypt,

You saw their misery.

When they were trapped at the edge of the Red Sea,

You heard their cries for help.

Pharaoh and all who served him

and all his subjects were completely overwhelmed

by the signs and wonders You performed.

In their arrogance, they opposed Your people, our ancestors.

So You opened the sea, and Your people walked through the water on dry ground,

and no one has forgotten the name of the One who did it to this day.

But the Egyptians pursued our ancestors into the sea,

You threw those running after our ancestors into the depths of the sea,

like a heavy rock hurled into water.

During the day, You led them by a cloud shaped like a pillar.

During the night, a pillar of fire lit the way, showing them where to go.

You led them to Mount Sinai;

and when they arrived, You came down from heaven and spoke to them.

You gave them right decrees and good laws,

beneficial statutes and commands revealing Your will for them.

You revealed to Your people Your sacred Sabbath

and how to keep it holy.

Through Your servant Moses You taught them how to live,

giving commands and decrees.

When Your people were hungry,

You gave them food from heaven.

When they were thirsty, You made water flow out of a rock.

You told them to enter the land You promised them.

You told them to enter and take possession of it.

But our ancestors resisted following You.

They were arrogant. They were proud.

They refused to obey Your commands, plugging their ears.

Knowing what You had done for them in the past,

They willfully forgot it in the present. Stubborn. Rebellious.

Instead of following You,

They appointed their own leader

to take them back to the land of their oppression—to Egypt!

But You are not like us, God.

You are filled with love, compassion, and forgiveness.

You endure much with your anger and display Your loyal love;

You did not abandon them,

Even when they molded a cow out of gold for themselves, saying,

“This is the god who rescued us from Egypt.”

They committed horrible atrocities.

In Your incomprehensible compassion,

You did not abandon them in the wilderness.

The pillar of cloud didn’t evaporate;

day by day it guided them.

The pillar of fire was not extinguished;

night by night it led them along the right paths.

In Your generosity, You gave them Your good Spirit to teach them.

Not once did You hold back manna for their mouths

or drink for their thirst.

In 40 years of living in the wilderness,

You provided for every need they had:

Their clothing did not wear out,

nor did their feet swell from endless walking.

You gave them kingdoms and peoples

that they could divide up to the corners of their territory:

The country of Sihon (king of Hesbon)

and the territory of Og (king of Bashan).

The children of Israel multiplied

and rivaled the stars in the sky.

You brought them to the very land

You promised Abraham’s

His descendants would come into and possess.

Into the land they went, and it became theirs.

For our forefathers You made sure even the Canaanites there were powerless.

You subdued everything and everyone to their power—

land, kings, and people—to do with as they pleased.

They overwhelmed strong and secure cities.

They overtook fertile, productive land.

They claimed well-furnished houses, wells that were already dug,

vineyards, olive groves, and orchards filled with fruit.

They ate their fill. They grew fat.

They basked in Your generosity and goodness.

Even so, again they chose to defy You.

They rebelled.

They abandoned Your law.

They killed the prophets who spoke Your word,

who pleaded with them to return to You, God.

And again, atrocities multiplied on top of atrocities.

So You surrendered them to their enemies,

and Your people suffered at their hands.

And in pain, they cried out to You.

From heaven You listened,

And in keeping with Your changeless and compassionate character,

You sent them liberators,

Saviors who rescued them from their cruel adversaries.

As soon as they were at peace, they began to wander and abandoned You

and did evil things, so You abandoned them to their enemies.

Thus, once more, You allowed them to be conquered.

Somehow Your mercy is inexhaustible.

Once more You listened to them when they cried to You in heaven for help.

Over and over and over You intervened and saved Your people.

You also warned them to return to Your ways

and follow the laws You have given.

They arrogantly violated the very commands,

Which if they would obey them

then they would live by them.

Stubborn, they turned away from You,

tensed their necks, and stopped listening.

Year after year, Your patience endured.

Your Spirit animated prophets, and they spoke many warnings to them.

In not listening and turning away from the prophets,

they turned directly into their advancing enemies.

It was because of Your great mercy

that they were not completely annihilated or forsaken.

You are a grace-filled and mercy-laden God;

Our True God—You who are great, majestic, and awesome,

You who always keep Your covenant of loyal love—

do not overlook the trouble we are facing here today.

This trouble confronts us all:

our kings and our princes,

our priests and our prophets, our ancestors and all of Your people—

From the time of the Assyrian kings until today.

You are righteous in all that You have done to us.

You have faithfully upheld Your part of the covenant,

but we have acted with evil.

None of our kings, princes, priests, or ancestors followed Your law.

They actively rejected Your commands and ignored the many warnings You sent.

Even when they had everything—

when they ruled in their own land without worry according to Your great generosity,

When they relaxed into the spacious and fertile land

You set before them—

Even then they refused to serve You

or turn away from their wicked ways.

And we are once again slaves in the bountiful land

You gave to our ancestors for our pleasure and enjoyment—

we are slaves in our own land!

We have sown sin, and the labor we provide on this land feeds the kings You have placed over us.

Our bodies and our beasts do not belong to us,

But to them, and they do with us what they want.

Our distress is great.

In light of it, we are writing a covenantal agreement.

It is sealed with the names of our leaders, our Levites, and our priests.

The Book of Nehemiah, Chapter 9 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Tuesday, April 11 of 2023 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about the “call” of God’s Heart:

The gospel reveals God's passion for us, the call of his heart, his desire to elevate us to the role of the beloved, and we respond by accepting Him as the great Lover of our souls, the "ultimate concern" of our life. Sin threatens to seduce us away from God's love, to interfere with our relationship, which evokes God's "jealousy" to protect love from loss.

It is written that "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18), but perfect love (τελεία ἀγάπη) must be "perfect," that is, reciprocal, complete, consummated, and alive with passion. In Hebrew, perfect love is "shalem" - that is, whole, healed, and unified (אַהֲבָה שְׁלֵמָה). Perfect love is both given and received... It is not "perfect love" to objectively simply accept that God loves you in Jesus. No, you must receive this as an inward passion, you must live within it, must embrace it, take possession of it, and let it fill your heart to abundance. This love, this "perfect love," then will cast away your fear of being unwanted, rejected, and abandoned. But to know this love, you have to open your heart and accept it as your own; you have to accept yourself as the beloved of God:

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

========

Song 7:10 reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/song7-10-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page pdf:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/song7-10-lesson.pdf

4.10.23 • Facebook

from yesterday’s email by Israel365:

One of the most emotionally stirring portions of Song of Songs is found in Chapter 5. Song of Songs was written by King Solomon about the love between a man and a woman, and is an allegory for the love between God and the Children of Israel. In chapter 5, the narrator is found in her bed, her heart alive with emotion, when she hears her beloved knocking at the door. He pleads that she let him in – at long last, her beloved has come to her! But she hesitates:

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

April 11, 2023

Reject Favoritism

“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.” (James 2:1)

Evidently the believers in the early church were much like us in that they tended to honor and favor wealthy individuals in their congregations. James commands them to reject such partiality and gives the reasons why.

The first reason is that God’s perspective is just the opposite. He favors the one of low rank. “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom?” (v. 5).

Next, we see that favoritism never impresses the rich—it always backfires. “Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?” (v. 6). Showing favoritism is not practical.

Then, note that the favored ones are probably least deserving. In fact, often “they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called” (v. 7). In doing so, they dishonor the Lord, in whose name we gather.

Finally, such favoritism is a violation of “the royal law,” that summary statement of God’s plan for our relationships. “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (v. 8). If the law is kept, “ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin....For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (vv. 8-10).

Peter had learned this lesson, first in a vision, and then in his miraculous ministry to the Gentiles. “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34).

As our text reveals, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and showing favoritism on any basis (not only riches, but color, education, ethnic, or national background, etc.) are not compatible. JDM

[moonbeamsung]

CRΣΣKS

Love, a second glance, it is not something that we need.

member: jeno

au: guardian angel in disguise!jeno x gn!reader, guardian angel au

word count: 3.4k

genre: angst

warnings: character death/loss, profanity, no happy ending, mentions of religion, questioning/loss of faith

recommended song: 715 - CRΣΣKS by the nor’easters

author’s note: Please be very careful with volume when listening to the song (above) that inspired this story! But even without reading the lyrics/listening, the fic will still make sense, and happy reading :)

network tags: @kpopscape @neo-constellations @starryktown

The wind is whistling, weaving in and out of the tall river reeds like an invisible needle and thread, stitching itself into each and every crevice of the world’s gift called nature.

Another one of its many gifts is the young boy that’s resting beside a rushing brook, toes dipped into the cool water and face illuminated by the sun as it beats down onto the earth with celestial strength.

Well, a gift from the heavens, that is.

Sent from the endless skies above, Jeno is your guardian angel, assigned with posing as a humble peasant boy in the village, all to keep a watchful eye on you from afar. In his human form, he spends his days wandering the cobblestone roads and narrow alleyways between the quaint buildings, with no family to return home to at dusk. A sunny meadow on the outskirts of town becomes his home, and he takes refuge in the shelter that the overgrown grass provides.

Everything is going smoothly, and he’s doing his job just as he should be. It’s routine now, waking up and rising from his earthen mattress, curtains of copious plant leaves letting in the sun’s rays. He finds you, observes at a comfortable distance, and that’s that. At its core, being a guardian is really an easy job. A predictable one.

A monotonous one.

Until one day you approach him, youthful eagerness in your eyes piercing and nearly painful, even to his invulnerable body. He’s never seen you up close before, only on the near horizon as you’ve gone about your daily chores, tending to the housework just like any obedient child should.

“...Who are you?”

Now, Jeno is faced with a decision more challenging than any that us mortal beings have to make in our entire lives. Engaging with one’s assignment is an extremely dangerous path to take. Unimaginable punishments await, should the guardian make a wrong choice. But Jeno was careless, and he had allowed himself to be discovered by the only human on Earth that the divine forces permit him to be seen by.

He makes the fatal error of answering you, ultimately shattering a future he’ll never get to live out, one that he doesn’t even know he would’ve had. Like a sharp rock being thrown at a church’s stained glass window, the meticulously carved pieces of his worldly existence fall to the ground with a deafening crash, broken beyond repair.

“I’m Jeno,” the strikingly majestic cadence of his words is like that of angel trumpets, the sound ringing in your head and making you dizzy with both fascination and infatuation.

And just like that, in three short syllables, you’re both fated to fall before you can even spread your wings.

From the moment you hear his name tumble from those beautiful lips, you’re hooked, and he knows it. He sees it in the way you look at him, in the way you act, the way you talk. A child experiencing a first and a forbidden love all at once.

It breaks his heart, because he knows it can’t, and shouldn’t last. The churning rapids of the creek nearby weep for him, for they know that in a matter of just a few short years, their waters are destined to mix with the salty tears that will steadily cascade from your trembling chin.

Jeno remembers, although vaguely, the brief amount of time he spent living amongst the clouds, being prepared by the heavenly elders for this expedition of a lifetime, quite literally. He remembers the scriptures, the strictures, and all the times he’s been warned of the severe consequences that come with immorality.

But even the purest of young angels aren’t infallible, still susceptible to compulsions that lead them to sin and defy their creator.

Relishing in the fading daylight, you join him by the water’s edge, listening to his soothing tone as he answers your ceaseless inquiries with harmless little lies as white as heavenly robes and cherub wings.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. The first sin.

It’s interesting, he thinks, that despite looking after you in the endeavors of your youth for quite a while now, he knows next to nothing about who you truly are. Actions may speak louder than words, but how can he know that if he’s never heard your voice to begin with?

As the quiet, languid conversation shifts from his purpose there to yours, Jeno learns that you’re very content with your life, taking pride in helping your family with daily tasks as well as assisting your neighbors in the close-knit village with theirs.

Just then, all the smears of dirt and scattered scratches adorning your face catch his attention, gained after hours of hard work. No amount of water is ever enough to scrub them off of your skin at the end of the day, no matter how hard you try. Sometimes, you feel tears prick your eyes as you try to fall asleep at night, frustrated with your lowly appearance and how it never seems to match your relatively optimistic outlook on life.

But Jeno doesn’t care. You’re breathtaking even in his eyes, the eyes that belong to an actual angel. If that fact alone isn’t enough to boost your confidence, he doesn’t know what else possibly could.

Like a fool, he lets himself drown in your sublimity for a moment, marveling at the ethereal glow of the sun on your smooth, ageless face. The faint noise of wisps of air blowing gently through the meadow and rustling the flora makes him drowsy, but the sight of a pure white heron landing gracefully on the opposite side of the riverbank brings him back to full consciousness in an instant.

The bird, an omen of sorts, had been sent down from Heaven, conjured up from a fleeting idea and into a physical reality, by the holy beings looking down upon the earth, indicating that they’re well aware of the threat he poses and just how close he is to making an irreversible mistake in regards to you, his assignment and assignment only.

The heron abruptly unfurls its delicately feathered wings, as if frightened, before taking off and floating away on the breeze, both of your gazes inexplicably drawn to it as it flies until it’s out of sight altogether.

It warns him of just what he’s messing with, exactly.

This is not a part of the creator’s plan for you, for him. Falling in love with the one an angel is supposed to guard is an appalling crime to commit in the eyes of the elders that inhabit the sky, in the eyes of God. Though it doesn’t explicitly go against a commandment or biblical law, it’s just an understood rule. It’s wrong.

Jeno tells himself this, and continues to do so over the many years that he looks after you, never acting on his emotions, only acknowledging them before sending the less-than-acceptable thoughts into the depths of his conscious mind. He only wishes he had a key to lock them up and forget he even felt them in the first place.

Even as an angel, he ages just like anyone else, the both of you going from kids to teenagers and then nearing the young-adult stage of life, with you remaining blissfully unaware of Jeno’s true identity all the while. It’s a miracle he’s managed to keep his secret for this long, honestly, but like grains of sand in an hourglass, your time together is running out, whether you like it or not.

Not even a year before your entire world, your entire reality comes undone before your very eyes, Jeno feels as if his has already done just that. Because you’ve found someone. And that someone isn’t him.

He hates the feeling of jealousy, despises it with every fiber of his heavenly being. But he can’t shake it, can’t bear the way it clings to him like an unwelcome visitor. An unrecognizable emotion, one so foreign that he can’t even put a name to it, is stirred up at the sight of you in their arms, so pure and so unworthy of this person. Boy, if he didn’t know any better, Jeno would swear that you were the angel.

With each day that passes, he begins to feel the final shreds of both his dignity and his self-control slipping away, lost to the familiar breeze that whips through the village, stronger than ever these days. He can no longer contain it within himself. He wants you.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods. The second sin.

How ironic that a Sunday, of all days, is when everything falls apart.

The sun is hanging low in the sky, just barely grazing the horizon with its bright beams of warmth as it steadily rises, bathing the world in a soft yellow glow. You can also see the moon leftover from the night that ended not so long ago, fading fast but visible nonetheless. Two complete opposites, so close but prevented by the laws of nature for coexisting in the same space, at the same time.

Maybe, just maybe, if you knew just how much you had in common with the celestial objects above, you would have clutched the hand of Jeno a bit tighter yesterday, intertwined your fingers a little more closely with those of someone who had become the closest thing to a best friend that you had ever known. You admit that you wish he could be something more, but you know better than to push your limits.

You got tired of waiting to see if he felt the same way, choosing to fill the void with someone else that you liked, yes, but who just wasn’t the same as the boy who had always been there, waiting in the meadow every morning without fail. Still, your emotions are ever-alert and always searching for any sign of reciprocation within Jeno.

He’s nowhere to be found when you reach the water’s edge, the edge of the creek where you wasted away endless summer days and frosty winter nights, colorful spring afternoons and brisk autumn evenings.

This morning would seem no different than the rest if not for his absence. The knot in your heart loosens, but not by much, when you spot him at the forest’s edge, looking weary.

Jeno notices you and calls out your name with a smile, but something about it isn’t genuine. It’s pained, desperate, like he wants to hold onto this moment forever, unwilling to carry out the plan he’s already regretting. It’s too late now, he thinks to himself, but he’s wrong.

It’s been too late for years.

“Jeno?”

“This way!” He chokes out. It’s somewhere between a sob and a plea, but there’s no time to figure out which is the more appropriate term. He disappears between the trees and amidst their mossy branches, blending in with the shadows cast by the thick canopy of leaves, and you break into a sprint, afraid of losing him to the merciless wilderness and what lies within.

Thankfully, he’s not too far gone. A small clearing greets you less than a dozen strides in, and in the very center of it stands a glass gazebo, run-down and covered in so many twisting vines to the point where the small structure is almost fully consumed by the nature surrounding it.

The scene is beautiful, so much so that it makes you uneasy. What’s going on? Why did he bring you here? Why does he seem so sad? Jeno is never sad, maybe he could be described as brooding or solemn on the rarest of occasions, but never this melancholy, never so utterly hopeless in his expressions and his aura.

None of these questions are answered, even as he takes your hands in his own and leads you inside of the gazebo, its see-through panels catching the light with elegance and ease.

“I need to tell you something.” Just like it did the first time you heard it, his voice still shocks you like a bolt of electricity, your blood pressure and heart rate skyrocketing. All of this is heightened, though, by grim tone he’s speaking to you with.

“What is it, Jen?” There it is. The nickname you made up for him that, although simple, makes him feel like he’s on top of the world. Actually, scratch that: it makes him feel like he’s floating in the sky, up past the clouds and even further away from this cruel planet than the heavens are from Hell.

You’re only making this harder for him. He might as well just spit it out, because all this waiting is agonizing for the both of you.

“We... we can’t be together.”

The sentence that leaves his lips is two declarations wrapped up in one singular statement, the first being that he wants to be with you in the same way you want to be with him. It’s much too hopeful, misleading your emotions down a path of elation instead of dread. The second is unpleasant, a bitter taste lingering on his tongue once he says the words.

“...Yes, yes we can, Jen, because I don’t really love them and all this time it’s been you—”

“You don’t understand,” he tries to stop the confession spilling out from your heart before it overflows, drowns you. “I’m not who you think I am.”

Stunned to silence, he gives you a moment to drink in the implications of his words. “...I’ve known you for over half of my entire life, and you’re trying to tell me I have no idea who you really are? Not a chance,” you laugh softly, shaking your head and glancing down at the wooden gazebo floor, old white paint peeling under your feet.

“But haven’t you ever wondered why I’m always there by the creek every morning? How I turn up throughout your day at the perfect time? How I’m suddenly right by your side when you need me the most?”

You have wondered. Many times, in fact. But the possibility of him being anything other than human was not at the top of your very rational list.

“...Don’t you see? I’m your guardian angel.”

He sees you blink, realization dawning on your face like the sun and stretching your features. “There are laws—” He begins, but your reaction is not the one he anticipated you would have to that information.

Too overwhelmed, you can’t respond with anything other than physical actions, no matter how unreasonable, and you press your dry lips to his soft ones, sealing your fate. Standing there, with beams of golden light infiltrating the space and illuminating your unsteady figures, Jeno is petrified not by your kiss, but by the fact that he doesn’t push you away, and his hands hold onto yours even tighter than before. Nothing has ever felt so right in his entire life. Not when he was in Heaven, and not in all the years he’s spent on Earth, either.

You’re his Heaven, this moment is his eternity. Jeno has endured enough temptation, the undeniable thrill that a deliberate sin promises has become too much for him. If he pulls away now, everything would still be okay, you could both go back to normal and pretend this never happened. But alas, he was doomed to kiss you back from the beginning, and so he does, and you have no idea what the universe has in store when you feel his lips finally respond to yours in the most unholy way possible. For the first and last time, you indulge in each other’s touch and taste, and it does not please the ones watching from above.

The third and final sin, one sin too many for him to remain in this world without consequence.

Several things happen all at once. A clap of thunder sounds overhead, though there are no clouds in sight. Jeno is painfully ripped from your grasp and thrown out of the gazebo by some invisible force of nature, into the grass and dirt on the forest floor.

And inside of you, a piece of your soul is torn from your being, bile rising up in your throat as you comprehend the excruciating sensation that racks your body with pained whimpers.

Stumbling to his feet, Jeno heaves, hunched over and close to tears. Suppressing the agony you still feel, you hurry over to him only for the boy to charge away, heading back towards the open meadow. With a broken shout of his name, you follow.

You didn’t notice before, but now the blinding light reveals the condition he’s in. He looks almost normal, but the edges of his form are becoming fainter by the minute, blurring with the rest of the world around him. He’s fading away before your eyes, and it’s all your fault.

It’s a torturous experience, watching him slowly meld with the emptiness of the air. Making him disappear into thin air in an instant would have been an act of mercy, a mercy that’s apparently beyond the capabilities of the spectators in the sky.

Struggling to maintain your composure, you force a question out. “What’s happening?” You ask, though you know he doesn’t have an answer himself.

He’s obviously panicked, though he tries not to show it. “I... I don’t know, I knew that it was forbidden for us to fall in love but I didn’t think I’d be robbed of my existence like this...”

“What?! No, Jeno, please don’t go...” You beg the gods and angels above, if any exist. You don’t know anymore.

If there is a God, how can he be good if he’s taking Jeno away from you like this, depriving you of the one constant source of joy and comfort in your life?

It’s far too cruel to bestow such a kind and generous heart upon someone who isn’t allowed to love in the first place.

Even Jeno’s touch is faint, making you feel like he’s not there at all. You just barely detect the pads of his fingers smoothing over your cheeks, trying to stop the water spilling from your eyes. He smiles sadly, “Don’t cry for me. I’m not worth the tears.”

“You’re everything to me, Jeno. You’re worth every drop.”

“Remember me like this, okay? By the creek,” he gestures to the turbulent waters a short distance away. Walking slowly, he begins to take steps in its direction, but as he speeds up you’re no longer able to match his pace. “Jeno, turn around...”

Glancing back at you for the final time, he whispers a goodbye that the breeze carries away with it, the sound something only the two of you would hear, one that could never be replicated.

“Goddamnit, Jeno, don’t you dare leave me!” But you know you can’t hold on, you’re not strong enough. A greater force wants you two apart, unable to be overpowered by one human, a relatively insignificant being in the grand scheme of the universe. He vanishes completely.

You fall to your knees, the pain from the pebbles digging into your legs and feet underneath the surface of the creek numbed by your sorrow. The water drenches your clothes, splashing up onto your skin and becoming one with your relentless tears. You’re left all alone, with only the cattails to keep you company. You wish the waves would just swallow you whole so you don’t have to feel this suffocating isolation.

In an unnecessarily harsh trick of the light combined with the dancing shadows generated by the water, you swear that you see Jeno again for a second, sitting on the riverbank like always. You sob louder.

It takes forever for you to find the strength to stand up again, water running over your soaked shoes and threatening to topple you over. You wouldn’t mind if it succeeds.

Inconsolable even to your closest friends and family, you reluctantly return to the village, unwilling to leave behind what you’ve just been through and unable to explain just why you’re crying so hard. Maybe if you stay there forever, spending each day and night waiting among the reeds and the flowers and the grass, he’ll come back someday, but no. He’ll never return, but you simply can’t bring yourself to accept this fact.

You’re never quite the same after that. Part of the curse that haunts you for the rest of your life is this: no matter how hard you try to retain your memories, you’re destined to forget Jeno eventually, leaving vast gaps in your brain when it comes to the years of your youth.

You’re left with only a feeling of inexplicable nostalgia at the sight of the meadow and the creek running through it, the waters still as violent as they were on the day you lost him.