#but my brother in christ i promise you there are people who think its their fault and i am one of them

[orbiting-star]

god can people please stop taking pictures with wildlife please for the love of god just fucking stop taking pictures with wild animals i am going to scream

all those people (with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions) with "rescues" in the US on tiktok are fucking awful people and they're directly contributing to the exotic pet trade

[mieczyhale]

someone in the comments:: nobody blames you for this

me, in my head:: the fuck nobody does

[r4d0m-13]

This is literally exactly what my feelings for this are

What's so frustrating with so many/most(?) modern adaptations of Greek myth, whether they're doing some original story (like Kaos) or retellings, is the way they go with the gods being villains, killing/deposing Zeus and/or the gods in general, etc and so on

And like

I'm not INTO Greek myth for you to kill the gods in general or Zeus in specific/deposing him (who are you putting in his place and why are we supposing that individual would be any better?), etc and so on.

I'm here for the gods, and them being exactly where/as they are in the internal world of the myths and the story! If all you can come up to do with them is making them villains and removing them, what good are you???

[stellarshifter]

✨ Pst? Y'okay? I saw you have a mental breakdown in the corner (Me too, babe, me too)

Agh...shiftok ruin your vibe? Spreading bullshit? C'mere. I got ya.

✨ BREAKDOWN OF MISINFO

1. "Your script might not all happen, or be in that reality."

Like huh???

Scripting, infallible, or meaningless?

Oh babies... Scripting is infallible. Wanna know why? It's literally a GPS for your awareness to shift to the reality that all of your chaotic (and probably very fun) notes are very real in! Like, c'mon, who would even script if it meant nothing like that???? I wouldn't waste my precious time... I could be looking at vintage shops around town. Like seriously, no.

2. "You need a method to shift"

Bitch please. Do I need to astral project and beat your ass? I'll do it. Don't test me.

Look, methods are fun and all. But that's it! They're fun and can help you become aware! But that's all they are. You don't have to even to work on your subconsious. Know why? That bitch ain't catching a ride with you! You just gotta be aware. Just shift your focus.

3. "You gotta stay hydrated.." bleh bleh I don't even remember the rest.

Bullshit. Sure you should stay healthy and hydrated for you! But that's nothing to do with shifting. This vessel's priorities don't matter in terms of shifting or not!

4. "You can't age up/down that's immoral!"

...I need a minute... I dont wanna commit arson.

Who the fuck thinks they're so intilted to tell others what they can't shift to be?? You need to fucking chill. Aging up or down doesn't matter because you are literally shifting to a reality where you're that age. You will have that mentality unless you script you don't. For fucks sake, stop.

5. "You can't shift to where you're a different ethnicity/gender/sexual orientation, that's disgusting"

Again... who gave you the right? Hm? I'll wait.

Unless you're being a weird fetishist creep. Then you're good, babe. And for all of this, once again. There's infinite realities where you're all different enthcities, genders, and sexual orientations. There's nothing wrong with shifting there either!

6. "Respawning is unethical"

Okay, this started due to people misunderstanding respawning as something it is not! It is not suicide. You people need to chill on TikTok. Swear to god you fear mongers!

Respawning is just cutting ties with this reality. Which lets be honest? In its state? For the love of God, me too, honey. Me too. The only difference between respawning and permashifting is that you'll never remember this reality. There's no harm. Okay?

7. "Permashifting is not okay"

As a permashifter, fuck you. You intilted bitches spewing bullshit because you come from different circumstances.

You have no clue what people are going through, and even if they live perfect lives, you are 1000000% valid permashifting. Go home, babies. You deserve it!

8. "Shifting shouldn't be used for escapism"

Look most of us were day dreamers? Right? Right?

I was a kid with a WILD ASS imagination. I mean wild, and I come from a not so cool environment. I used shifting as escapism when I first started. And y'know what? That's okay! If you are just wanting to leave to get a break! Do it! No one can stop you. There's no shifting police.

Which..gets me to this one.

9. "The shifting police will find you"

Bitch please. Shut up. My brother in christ, what fanfic you reading?

Shifting police do NOT exist (unless you want them to. You do you)

Seriously no one. I mean no one, not even me. Not even the holiest of holiest can stop you. We live in a multiverse that does not run by morals set up by shiftokers. And no if you do something questionable the shifting police will not find you. You're safe. I promise

10. "You can get stuck in your DR!"

If we can shift to our DR we can shift again. Like what? Who let this toddler type? That doesn't even make sense.

Honey, I can assure you, you're not stuck here. You're not stuck there.

11. "You can't script relationships that's against their free will!"

Have you ever heard of infinite realities where every single thing you can ever think of exists? Yeah? Then STOOOOOP

You are shifting to a reality where those relationships exist! Where that relationship is real and mutual. Where they feel so much love for you as you do them. No forcing.

Now, if you're holding them in your basement, tying them to a chair and begging them to love you forcefully like you're in a yandere wattpad fic from 2013? Yeah, you need to rethink some things. But if not! You're good!

Whatever relationships you script are requited

12. "Your DR isn't as real as this one"

Woooo, imma throw hands. Let's go. Someone hold my hoops for me? I'm gonna beat a bitch up.

YOUR DR IS A REALITY!!!!!!

Meaning it is just as real as this one. Just as real, maybe even more real! The people are real. The places are real. The experiences are real!

13. "People shift based on genetics"

Aw yes... my new favorite reason to murder.

Anyone and their mama can shift. You can shift, I can shift, the person you randomly saw on the street can shift, fuck your pet can shift. Anyone can. Okay? We are all one. Pure awareness. That's what we all are.

None of that. We are not shifting based off anything but what we all are.

✨ That's all for today, folks. Take care, and remember, you've got this. Go shift, baby!

[genericpuff]

Webtoons Is Making Moves - So Should You.

We all saw it coming ages ago and now it's finally here. There's no more beating around the bush or doubting if anyone is "reading into it too much", Webtoons' use of AI in its more recent webtoons is not an accident, not an oversight, but by design, it always has been. And I guaran-fucking-tee you that the work that already exists on the platform won't be safe from Webtoons' upcoming AI integration through scraping and data mining. Sure, they can say they're not gonna replace human creators, but that doesn't change the fact that AI tools, in their current form, can't feasibly exist without stealing from pre-existing content.

Plus, as someone who's tested their AI coloring tools specifically... they're a long, LONG way away from actually being useful. Like, good luck using them for any comic style that isn't Korean manwha featuring predominantly white characters with small heads and comically long legs. And if they do manage to get their AI tools to incorporate more art styles and wider ranges of character identities... again, what do you think it's been trained on?

Also, as an added bit that I found very funny:

Um, I'm sorry, what fucking year is it? Because platforms like WT and Tapas have both been saying this for years but we're obviously seeing them backpedal on that now with the implementation of in-house publishing programs like Unscrolled which have reinvented the wheel of taking digital webtoons and going gasp physical! It's almost like the platform has learned that there's no sustainable profit to be had in digital comics alone without the help of supplementary streams of income and is now trying to act like they've invented physical book publishing!

"The future of comic publishing, including manga, will be digital"??? My brother in christ, Shonen Jump has been exclusively digital since 2012! What rock have the WT's staff been living under that they're trying to sell digital comics as the "future" to North Americans as if we haven't already been living in that future for over ten years now?? We've had an entire generation of children raised on that same digital media since then! This isn't the selling point you think it is LMAO If anything, the digital media market here in NA is dying thanks to the enshittification of digital content platorms like Netflix, Disney+, and mainstream social media platforms! That "future" is not only already both the past and present, but is swiftly on its way out! Pack it up and go home, you missed the bus!

Literally so much of WT's IPO pitch is just a deadass grift full of corporate buzzwords and empty promises. They're trying so hard to convince people that their business model is infinitely profitable... but if it were, why do they need the public's money? And where are all those profits for the creators who are being exploited day after day to fill their platform with content? Why are so many creators still struggling to pay their bills if the company has this much potential for profit?

Ultimately even their promised AI tools don't ensure profit, they ensure cutting expenses. The extra money they hope to make isn't gonna come from their content generating income, it's gonna come from normal people forking over their money in the hopes that it'll be turned around, and from Webtoons cheapening the medium even further until it's nothing but conveyer belt gruel. Sure, "making more than you spend" is the base definition of "profit", but can we really call it that when it's through the means of gutting features, retiring support programs, letting go editing staff, and limiting resources for their own hired freelancers who are the only reason they even have content to begin with? That's not sustainable profit or growth, that's fighting the tide which can and will carry them away at any moment.

I'm low key calling it now, a year or two from today we're gonna be seeing massive lawsuits and calls to action from the people who invested their money into WT and subsequently lost it into the black hole that is WT's "business model". This is a company that's been operating in the red for years, what about becoming an IPO is gonna make them "profitable"? Let alone profitable enough to pay back their investors in the spades they're expecting? The platform and its app are already shit and they're about to become even worse, we are literally watching this company circle the drain in the modern day's ever-ongoing race to the bottom, enshittification in motion, but they're trying to convince us all the same that they're "innovating".

Webtoons doesn't want to invest in its creators. We as creators need to stop investing in them.

[shotmrmiller]

cbf!Price?!?!

You mean your older brother's even older friend?

You'd been born in the US to an American mom and a British dad; but his job moved you all back across the pond. New country, new school, new people--it had been hell for you and your brother. But the family next door were so welcoming, especially their only kid, John.

Who always called you 'sunshine', gave you piggyback rides at rugby matches so you didn't get lost in the crowd, and never said "Hello" but, "There's my favorite girl".

The same cbf!Price who was your scary dog privilege when you fell in love with the underground punk scene and wanted to go to the sketchiest concerts.

When he'd enlisted, you'd cried for days, but couldn't bring yourself to tell him why you were so heartbroken, no matter how many times he asked, brows furrowed with concern. "Its only a couple months, luv, then I'll be on post just down the road. We'll still have our weekends."

And he kept that promise, as much as he could, even after you moved out of your parent's home to attend university.

It was forever on the tip of your tongue; the words you so desperately wanted to say, had to bite back, otherwise they'd destroy that precious friendship....

.... I can only imagine the myriad of unfortunate ways he might accidentally hear you whispering his name and those words....

with my brash personality, im fucking him the day he's to leave for basic. js.

no regrets around here.

--

ohmygod! imagine him being captain now, and he brings you to meet the boys.

Johnny whistles low the moment he lays eyes on you. "Steamin' Jesus, Captain. Tha' yer friend? She single?"

John does not answer him.

Kyle is kind, sweet, and courteous. Suspiciously so. It gives John flashbacks of how he acts towards women he wants to bed.

Right.

Simon's just his big, quiet self. He's intimidating, but you're not afraid—after all, you grew up with your bully older brother and John.

John notices his eyes gleam when you talk at him, yes, at, because Simon doesn't respond. But he listens. And he's been listening a little too intently, staring at your dainty hands gesture animatedly.

That's enough, he thinks.

"Time t'go home, love." You pout but wave goodbye at the boys and head towards his vehicle.

Johnny opens his mouth to speak but John quickly intervenes, that unless he wants to start fucking pushing, keep his thoughts to himself.

"I'll see you all at base tomorrow."

On the ride home, you tell him that they were all very nice. John's grip on the steering wheel tightens and says that as nice as they are, they go through women more than they do magazines.

"Oh." Did he imagine the disappointment laced in your voice?

"Do you?" What?

"I don't do it often."

"Oh." He turns his head to look at you, but you're staring out the window.

His heart races and elation thrums through his veins. You definitely sounded upset. John looks straight ahead and speeds up to take you home.

His home.

There's only you for him, and if you won't take the first step, then he will.

--

side note: what if he didn't return those feelings? christ id eat my fucking phone. im running away!!! no one look at me how embarrassing!!! his eyes soften, and he's like, "Oh. I'm so sorry, love. You and I practically grew up together."

That really stings. And then he brings his little girlfriend over to meet you and your brother, and you stiffly shake her hand and go to your room to cry.

Someone softly knocks on your door, and you don't move to open it, just yell at whoever is at the door to fuck off in a warbly voice. John's muffled I'm sorry deepens the crack in your heart.

"'S'alright, John. I'll be okay."

You did this to yourself, anyway.

The marriage invitation comes in the mail and you tear it to pieces.

Since you were young, you dreamt of being Mrs. Price, but now, that's all it'll ever be.

A childish dream.

[pruneunfair]

Ranking all the OI I read. Part 1: the lesser.

It'll be like my tier list except with added stories from the haven't read yet section and of course my opinions.

Since Tumblr only allows 30 images per post and a daily pass based on how many pictures can be posted at all. I'll be posting this list through multiple parts starting with the worst. Get ready because there's gonna be a lot of negativity right now.

Starting with the tier I like to call "Absolute dog shit." Terrible plots, gross content being glamourized and little to no potential at all.

honestly picking the worst of the worst was hard cause there's so many to choose from.. and I think the title of the absolute worst doesn't go to Remarried empress or Today the villainess has fun again..

Its this one: beware of the brothers

I really can't say I was surprised 😭. I mean.. look at the damn title. The FL gets adopted into the family because she looks like the ML's dead sister and it just.. escalates into step-bro love. "But it's not related by blood-" still incest and even if they didn't grow up together, WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO FUCK SOMEONE WHO LOOKS LIKE YOUR DEAD SIBLING!?

The order of slave breeding

Yes this is an actual manhwa.. I genuinely wanna know why the author just looked at themselves in the mirror and said "Yes this is a good idea." As the title suggests.. it's about a slave merchant for a FL and her slaves falling in love with her and as if it couldn't be uncomfortable enough it is one of the few manhwa with a dark skinned ML. I don't care how many times they'll offer excues for the lead I don't fw slavery being used as a romance device in media.

I belong to house Castillo

Technically I didn't read all of it, I just read the spoilers for the rest of the chapters but to be fair, I just got finished cursing myself by reading stepbro fantasies and master/slave ships, I'm not trying to give my FBI agent a reason to search my hard drives. It's a basic and cliché found family where the FL Estelle is sold by her mother to her father and the ML is a 17 year old who basically grooms her..why? Because raising your love interest is the "only" way to make a story stand out amongst the other generic found family tales.

I tamed my ex husband's mad dog.

More cases of grooming except this time it's the FL as the perpetrator. ML looks like he's 8 but he's apparently 16.. so we got a groomer protagonist in the form of Reinhardt who also neglects her first child and favors her second child she had with her victim with the excuse of not wanting to care for her son being that he looks like her toxic ex. Lady what? That boy deserves his own villain arc holy shit.

No more turning a blind eye.

This one really dissapointed me 😔. The cover looked stunning, the artstyle while a little off was still eye catching and the title sounded promising. Nah this is a hunk of junk that had a gentrification plot for some reason.. and you were supposed to sympathize with the guy who wanted to render hundreds of people homeless to make room for art galleries or whatever it was they wanted?

The dragon kings bride

I already knew this one was probably gonna suck judging by the title. First off it treats dark skinned people like barbarians, the ML Hakan meets Lucina when she's a child, Lucina is threatened with death if she doesn't marry him and you can probably guess where it goes. Like I said I don't really have a right to be shocked but it still goes on the list for its weird obsession with Lucina being so tiny that having sex with Hakan could kill her along with a not so hidden pregnancy fetish.

I became the tyrants secretary.

Its just workplace sexual harassment, theres not much to it. Cannot stand the ML who is a basic garbage human and Rosalyn is a block of wood when it comes to personality. She wants to do all these things but she has no spine and no will to actually do them but at the same time shes so good at everything on a whim. I usually don't mind a clueless FL but Jesus christ! She makes Adrien Agreste look smarter!

The villains savior

Gotta say the artstyle is really pretty and the FLs design is so cute. Everything else though is pretty bad. The point is basically the lead Ezlay is trying to essentially "fix" the ML as the title suggest. A lot of people dislike this one because Ezlay is very emotional and cries too much but that's honestly the least of the issues here. Now to be fair, Aseph is a villain so it's expected that he's gonna suck but that doesn't mean Ezlay needs to have the personality of a rock either, it's not that she cries a lot that annoys me, she's literally just a male fantasy personified. All she is absolute patience and acceptance for what Aseph does to point of enabling that toxic behavior.

Now we enter manhwas that are horrificly awful, not much difference except these ones have a bigger grain of potential

Lucia

This one got a lot of hate tiktok so naturally I had to read it and yeah, it was pretty bad. The artstyle though just.. I'm sorry but Lucia's face is literally just 👁 👄 👁 and thats not even mentioning the ML Hugo. It's really crinegy and it tries to fill that void with poorly made smut. The plot is also really and I mean REALLY dead set on 1950s values for women and the relationship between Lucia's and Hugo is downright toxic. In fact I don't even think there's a plot.. it's just porn. The only reason it's not in dogshit tier is that it's so iconic for being awful that it deserves to be higher up.

When the villainess is in love.

Okay all I can give this one is that Libertia has a better character design than Lucia. She's a mary sue but at this point that's a lot of leads nowadays so it's not a total shock but this is definitely a case where the story would be so much better if it was the actual Libertia as the protagonist instead of a carbon copy of the ogfl taking over. The worst part though is the fashion and I normally do not care about how dresses look in OI as long as they at least look good and fit the setting.. and dear God a lot of those dresses are nightmares to look at. Thankfully I had heard the novel was better.

Today the villainess has fun again

not a fan of the protagonist. Reilynn is really insufferable to follow since she's basically just an entitled asshole who thinks that just because she got transmigrated as the wealthiest woman in the land that she must be in the right because she's not like Iris who is a basic pick me girl. Beyond the fact that watching her throw money at people to get past an obstacle without effort she's also heavily written as a pedo because out of her options which had 2 green flags her age, she chooses the slave she bought who acts and looks like a 10 year old boy with attachment issues.

Try begging

what is with Solche and their weird obsession with rapist male leads? It's somehow worse then cry or better yet beg. Basically the FL Sally/Grace is a spy and when the ML Leon finds out.. he basically tortures her and SA's her multiple times and somehow they fall in love. Do with that what you will, the only slack I will kind of give Try begging is that it at least warns you of what your getting into beforehand. I really hate that Solches writing actually has so much potential to be amazing yet they use their talents to make rape fetish content. I want to know why manhwa tiktok likes this so much, they're all about girl code until a rapist looks hot (Leon isn't even hot, hes mad ugly)

Abandoned empress

Ah yes, good ol abandoned empress, the manhwa communities favorite punching bag so it's only right it lands here. For all the writers out there if your making a character you'd want the readers to support as the love interest you typically would give them an interesting personality and to tone down anything you think is too much for a healthy relationship. Abandoned empress decides to do the opposite of that and even after scenes of Ruve abusing his wife Aristia by cheating on her, beating her, SA'ing her, killing her dad, and causing her to miscarry so you would naturally think "okay clearly Ruve is the antagonist." But instead they pulled some bullshit "but he's not doing it anymore because he was poisoned in the last timeline!"... what!? Were there any new writers by any chance because how did we go from a abusive monster to a misunderstood Lil guy? I would say more but I think everyone already agreed a long time ago Abandoned empress is ass.

Revenge on the real one

the protag is essentially those villainesses in regression stories that cause the heroines initial downfall. I was already aware of what would happen before I even read and let me tell you it was accurate. The protagonist Helga is AWFUL. The torture she puts Hillian through is overkill and at this point Hillian deserves her own regression story to stand up to Helga because my girl was not that bad for her sister to ruin her life because of a stupid tragic origin story. The worst part is the Helga fans I see on places like tiktok who just don't want to admit their FL is a bad person. "Oh but Helga past was so sad! It's not her fault she's like this." Don't mean she has to banish her sister from her own nation when Hillian was innocent.

Villain Dukes precious one.

I really dislike the reincarnated as a baby trope and I can only ever tolerate it when it's just for a few little chapters. They always feel like those weird ass Elsagate videos with embarrassing humor to come across as funny and this one is no different. Even after the FL grows up the plot is still bland and cringe inducing. I don't have a lot to say about this one other then it is weird as hell. Apparently it also got a little incest-y so no thanks!

Poisonous Lily

While the characters looked basic in terms of design the title sounded intriguing. Unfortunately the translation is horrible, they can't even get the whole Lily flower theme right on the tapas version by giving her tulips to carry on her wedding. The dialog is..interesting to say the least. I won't lose it too much though on this one though since I'm pretty sure this is a lower level book trying to make it out in a sea of over advertised manhwa

I thought my time was up.

You know those porn/no plot tags on ao3? That's basically ITMTWU in a nutshell. Within only 20 chapters, the male lead Asrahan is already obsessed with Lariette after chapters of her violating his personal space to force a relationship between them. The whole magic plot is pushed to the side, Asrahans curse isn't allowed to be an actual rotting flesh curse like it's described as cause he's still gotta be pretty, and the rest of the plot is basically just soft core porn and fanservice that does little to actually move whatever is left of the plot.

For my derelict favorite.

The. Hypocrisy. How is this book gonna make the entire message about deconstructing main character centered morality and then almost immediately backpeddaling with justifying Hestia for attacking a woman who doesn't know her for rejecting her favorite man and proceeding to just ruin her day whenever she can. Hestia would say "im not like other girls." Hestia would be an avid fan of those trust fund baby GMV. Hestia would put her hair in a messy bun, shit on whatever is popular and act like she's making a statement . Even calling her Hestia feels like straight up disrespectful to the real goddess of the hearth who funnily enough is known as one of the most chill Greek gods.

Marry my husband

now Marry my husband is not insanely problematic wheras it's just cliché, predictable and in general pretty bad. It is a fast food manhwa designed to fulfill the classic top boss takes good care of you fantasy so naturally a lot is put on hold to showcase the sweet relationship between the central characters and almost everyone needs to have a lover. It's so bad it's actually kinda funny because the villains are so cartoonishly evil for office workers. Sumin is out here speaking in 3rd person, dressing in clothes found in the little kid section of Walmart and makes comical comments about her desire to ruin Jiwons life, Minhwan is basically a borderline discord mod who casually killed jiwon in the first timeline and goes "Oh well." and there's this random ugly old man who's name I can't remember who's the only one interested in Sumin till the end because he basically wants em younger without the risk of going to federal prison.

Remarried empress

I don't think i need to explain much at this point, if you know my account then you already know how I feel about remarried empress. Season 1 was pretty good though.

Divorcing my tyrant husband

I think we all know at this point that's whenever a title has the word "divorce" 9/10 of the time there is never going to be divorce and it'll devolve into the FL changing her mind and staying with her trashy ex husband because he now decided that Robelia wasn't like other girls and left his mistress in the dust. The plot kinda started getting out of hand when Robelias love interests expanded to one of her obsessed slaves and a Duke to prove that Alexandros was the better option. The villian Aisha is a joke who gets her ass handed to her over and over because "damsel woman always bad." and the art starts to lose its touch. I usually don't mind when artstyle changes but dear God do some of these characters look a Lil fugly.

Cry or better yet beg.

The final story that is in the awful section, why? Because it has the most lost potential. As terrible as this CoHo equivalent is, it details the very realistic parts of being a mistress to a nobleman. In most other stories, the mistress is an evil wench who could easily back out but in cry or better yet beg, Layla is unable to escape Matthias's abuse because it could risk her uncles job. There's a lot to this manhwa and novel that could've made a tragic story about a girl trapped in an abusive relationship with little help, the art is gorgeous and the characters for the most part were well written. It's a real shame that it turned out to be a rape apologist work instead.

next up are the mediocre manhwas, finally there will a little more positivity.

The villainess is a marionette

its.so.boring! This one was hyped up all over the place on Instagram and tiktok and the art looked stunning so I gave it a shot. This is definitely one of those stories that only got popular because of its art in my opinion because the plot is so confusing. Events are happening left and right, the pacing goes from too fast to too slow, characters personalities and traits keep warping, and while this might just be the result of poor adaptation her brother comes across as incestuous a couple of times. while Cayena isn't the worst FL, she's a mary sue by all definitions. Sorry but it's a bunch of jumbled wires. The reason it earns a spot in "it's okay" is because I heard the novel like usual is better so it might not be the fault of the original author

I was the male leads ex

It wasn't bad just boring but a little less boring then the former I'll give it that. The artstyle looked prettier in the beginning so that was kind of sad to see it change in later chapters. What drew me to keep reading was the chance that the ogfl Julianna may not be evil but even a potential love interest. So I got excited and apparently there's the idea that Julianna is actually her brother in disguise which.. would just ruin it tbh, there goes any chance at a ogfl being a human being and not a plot device. Not a huge fan of Erica or really any of the love interests.

From maid to queen

This is the newest of the lineup I read and it was actually interesting for once to see a new story where the MC was the concubine. First off the maids feel less like women employed to do the chores of the palace and more like the cartel 😭, in early chapters whenever Urania is aiming to be the concubine, being lazy with her job or getting comfortable with a powerful man in general they're already out with sticks ready to ruin her day and they even try to kill her. Lot of people don't like that Urania isn't a girls girl but honestly I can't blame her for wanting more out of life then poverty, where she comes across as stupid is that she's still wanting that role even after it got her killed last time. I think that it could work though since it shows that urania is more human and not a perfect goddess of a woman however that does not make up for the shit world building (like what the hell was that mushroom that could turn into a perfect still corpse of you 💀)

The villainess maker.

Ill admit I'm a little harsh on this one on my tier list. The plot still isn't great but there are so much worse out there so it ended up moving up on the list due to default. The plot is mostly just bland and generic down to all the characters and the tropes. Ayla is a girlboss in the villainesses body, Charlotte is a super "revolutionary" kind girl turned wicked wench and the ML is another "touch her and I'll kill you" type. What i will give the Villainess maker is the distinct artstyle. It's not as stylized and while it does get lazy at the end it still is very recognizable.

Abellas dessert shop.

Its another extremely underrated manhwa that's another isekai about a wronged woman looking to move on from her shitty fiancé and start a dessert shop. Ngl the moments where Abella is forced to put on a kind face despite her cheating fiancé or her ex friend popping in is definitely relatable especially in the workforce. Still a little bland but wholesome.

I didn't mean to seduce the male lead.

Eleanor is the FL hired to convince the ML to accept women into his life with the hopes that he will fall in love with the ogfl Irene. Tbh this one can get very icky with how it tries to force the notion that you must fall in love but the guy just instantly falls in love with Eleanor so.. I guess that's a little better? Regardless though i will not fault this manhwa too much because unfortunately the author died before the story was over so it deserves a little slack since it never got the chance to be more. Rest in peace author.

Who made me a princess.

Ill be straight with this now: it's Mid. Objectively the story isn't too terrible and I do find Athy a good protagonist not to mention my love for Jennete but everything else is pretty "meh." Not a huge fan of Claude from his design to his personality, the ML is another case of a grown as immortal meeting his wife when she's still a child (theres a little credit ill admit for Athy being mentally a grown woman but that doesnt stop me from thinking its uncomfortable to acknowledge) It can be cute sometimes and I'll give it that but I don't think I'll ever reread it, just not for me.

Actually I was the real one

Good god this was such a bastardization of the original novel. With that said I'll admit i was still entertained reading it since you could say that the novel wouldn't be an instant cheat sheet to learn what was gonna happen. Still it could've at least tried to be a loyal adaptation. They give Keira 2 options to choose as a love interest when she had none in the source material, Zeke is pushed to the side and the maids honestly get on my nerves with their one note personalities. They also seem to forget that Cosette is literally being possessed by a demon he'll bent on destroying humanity (which she succeeded in the first time) because what was built up as an amazing antagonist is just a joke now. The only other redeeming factors are that in the Manhwa Cosette is still alive and the whole elemental plot stays constant. Despite my complaints on the adaptation it is still a interesting read but the novel will always beat it no matter what.

I know it sounds like I'm just being a negative Nancy with all of these and I'm sorry for being so negative but the next part will be more positive.

Next time on part 2 will be the decent stories.

[religious-extremist]

I need guidance on something. I find myself committing sin (lying, anger) often - and I want to repent but I feel like it would be a lie to God because I know I will sin again, because I have fallen into these habits. I want to get better and seek God's forgiveness but I absolutely do not want to make false promises to God. I have asked other Christians about this but they all give me similar responses - "Just repent anyway, it's okay if you sin again," or "These sins are so minor, God doesn't care," or other things like this and it feels like being led astray to even consider these possibilities. I am asking you because I feel like an Orthodox Christian sticks more firmly to the Bible and not to modern interpretations of it.

Eagerly awaiting your response, and please pray for me. :)

St. Porphyrios used to say, “Do not fight to expel the darkness from the chamber of your soul. Open a tiny aperture for light to enter, and the darkness will disappear.”

All habitual sins are rooted in the passions: lying and anger are the fruits of pride, which is the seed of corruption. It is necessary to struggle against them and not despair of our salvation. We cannot give up the fight against the desires of the flesh; it is impossible to be a Christian while indulging in the pleasures of sin.

God gives us the weapons we need to fight the passions through the Church; through frequent confession and communion; through prayer and fasting. I recommend you talk to an Orthodox spiritual father, as I am only a layperson, and a terribly sinful and foolish one at that!

The only way to avoid sin is to have perfect prayer, to have perfect stillness of the heart, to hold fast to Christ and keep Him in the center of your thoughts at all times. Have you ever heard of the Jesus prayer and the hesychastic way of life?

St. Macarius of Optina said, “Pray simply. Do not expect to find in your heart any remarkable gift of prayer. Consider yourself unworthy of it. Then you will find peace. Use the empty cold dryness of your prayer as food for your humility.”

I wish to say, his advice can be used to advance in all of the other virtues aside from prayer. Pray for God to keep you from sin, and if you find yourself falling into sin, use the shame of sin as food for your humility.

St. Isaac the Syrian also said, “As salt is needed for all kinds of food, so humility is needed for all kinds of virtues.”

While Elder Ephraim said, “Grass does not sprout in trampled ground; likewise, passions and wickedness do not sprout in a humble soul. As long as we lack humility, God will not stop humbling us through trials until we learn this important and most salvific lesson.”

So you might wonder, how can I gain humility? When you find yourself angry, look inwards and remember your sin against God. Remember the unmerciful servant, the fool who received forgiveness for his debt from the King and then assailed a fellow servant for owing him much less than what he, himself, owed the King. Pray for those who sin against you, and thank God for the persecution you face, because He allows you to face temptations in order to heal your soul of its passions.

“In order to abide in the love of God it is essential for anger and 'hate' to attain their maximum intensity but be directed against the sin that lives in me, against the evil active in me - in me, not in my brother.” St. Silouan exhorted.

Most importantly, no one can attain these virtues unless they are in obedience to a spiritual father. People fall into delusion thinking they can live a spiritual life outside of the Church, but in doing so, they follow the whims of their heart and nourish not their souls but feed the evil passion of pride in their hearts. Disobedience was the first sin committed by man in Paradise, and it is by obedience to a spiritual father that we free ourselves from the harsh judgment of God.

Please forgive me and pray for me, inadequate and late in my answer. You are welcome to send me a message if you wish to speak. It is hard for me to answer these questions adequately without conversation, the answer is so vast and encompasses so many facets of the spiritual life that cannot be explained in a short paragraph by a stupid person like me, so I recall instead what the saints have said.

The spiritual life is mystical, you must participate in the prayers, services, fasts, and sacraments of the Church in order to find answers; it is not something I can give to you with words, but it is an experience of God. “God is the Lord and has revealed Himself to us!” The only way to know God is by divine revelation, not by mere will, and we find God revealed to us through His Church! “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” Indeed, He knocks at your door, only you must answer and meet the Bridegroom yourself.

I am praying for you. May the Panagia be with you! May God have mercy on us, my dear friend,

Prayer for the Granting of all Virtues by Saint Ephraim the Syrian

Grant me, O Son of the Good One, that for which my mind yearns, and join to it that which is pleasing to Thy will.

Grant that I may choose to do good and in no way deviate from Thy will.

Do not permit me to be a wicked and hypocritical disciple who violates Thy commandments.

Protect me from thinking that I can walk along Thy path merely for the sake of appearance and thus by my hypocrisy deceive those who see me, inciting them to proclaim me blessed.

Grant that my heart might please Thy greatness in secret, and that my just life might glorify Thee publicly.

May truth be a mistress to guide Thy worshipper; may it preserve me in chastity both near and far.

Deliver me from the misfortune of knowing Thy law, yet lacking the desire to please Thee.

Vouchsafe me the company of people who are simple, but experienced and wise in the performance of virtues.

My flesh is weak. Fortify it with Thy strength. Help me, break the arrows of the cunning enemy, and number me among the hosts of Thine heirs.

Grant me, O Lord, ever to be among Thy dominion and to do what is pleasing to Thee. And whenever I begin something good, do Thou, O Lord, give me strength to complete it.

I know, O Lord, that I have sinned against Thy will. Clearly do I see that I have transgressed Thy commands. But do Thou, who makest Thy sun to shine on the bad and the good, deign also to shine Thy light in my clouded mind. And sins — those murderers and robbers who have taken up residence inside of me — will be driven out by this Thy light.

The Evil One sees in me no wickedness that did not come from him, for it is because of him that I have become wicked. I am, however, conquered by him through my own free will. The Evil One has entangled me because I myself instructed him to do so.

The slothful and the timid run from Thy yoke; Thy love shames the negligent.

Praise be to Thy goodness, to that mother of all teachers. The blows that they deliver to bring the stubborn to their senses are perhaps quite painful, yet sympathetically do they offer healing to the penitent.

Worthy of veneration are Thy Father and Thy Holy Spirit, Who rejoices at our return!

[sagaapprentice]

A/N I Still don’t have an AO3 account. I guess I’ll get one next week? Again, I don’t know how it works. I grew up with FanFiction.Net and haven’t made another account on another site since I was in…middle school. So it’s been a while. But I want to write again and this has seemed to scratch that itch for now while I still attempt to write original fiction. (I have other ideas with these characters too that are rattling around in my head. I dunno. *Marge Simpson with potato meme* I just think they’re neat) Whenever I DO get an AO3 account I'll post everything there, too. I dunno how many chapters I'll write in the meantime but *shrugs*

Also, for the record, I love Elain. I relate to her a lot and I promise I have ideas for what I want to do with her here. Trust me.

Anyway, no beta, we die like everyone’s mom

The Golden Fawn (working title)

When people think of Private Investigators, often the picture in their heads tends to line up with some old film noir with those long cigarette holders and dames asking the ravishing hero for help escaping some nefarious plot that the police just won’t help with. Azriel found that when he told women he was a PI, they would bat their eyelashes and become suddenly very interested in him for at least one night (which was all he ever really wanted, anyway). But the reality of the job was a lot duller. About 90% of the time, he ended up following someone’s spouse who was definitely cheating and gathering information that would eventually make its way into some divorce proceeding that he occasionally got to witness as the couple battled it out if they were particularly vicious towards each other, but normally his job was done as soon as evidence gathered. In really interesting cases, he would be hired by both spouses independently to find out if the other was cheating (so far the answer was always ‘yes’ to both).

It wasn’t particularly exciting work, but it paid fairly well. It wasn’t where he thought he would end up in life, but it certainly could have been worse.

So when his brother, Rhys, begged him to take on a new client on a case that definitely wasn’t about infidelity, Azriel was, at the very least, intrigued.

“It’s about her sister,” Rhys said. “I guess she hasn’t heard from her in a while.”

”Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to her family?”

“It’s more than that.”

”In my experience it usually isn’t.”

Rhys, sitting across from Azriel’s desk, looked at his brother with a pleading look in his eyes. “Please just help her.”

Azriel wasn’t used to the air of desperation he heard in his brothers voice. He normally liked to come off as cool, calm, and collected. Unflappable. Something was different. “You said this girl was just a friend, huh?”

The “yes” that Rhys quickly answered was not at all convincing but he let it go for now. “Look, Feyre, that’s my friend, she said her sister hasn’t talked to any of them since graduation. There’s been a couple photos on social media but she won’t answer any phone calls or reply to any texts. They’re worried about her and just want to know she hasn’t gotten into anything…dangerous.”

“Like what?”

Rhys hesitated, raking his hand through his hair and looking up, trying to find the right words. “Feyre thinks Elain got tangled up in some kind of cult.”

”You can’t be serious.”

”Look, will you just check up on her?”

Azriel sighed. “Fine. I’ll meet with Feyre and I’ll check to make sure her sister is okay. But she can’t be upset with me if it turns out she just doesn’t want to talk to her family right now-“

”It’s not that.”

”-and I better not be walking into some kind of Jonestown 2.0.”

”Jesus Christ Azriel can you not say things like that when Feyre gets here?”

Azriel rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “Alright, when is she getting here?”

”I texted her and she said she was on her way. She should be here in about five minutes.”

”Is there anything else I should know before I talk to her? Anything you want to tell me?” He stared pointedly at his brother, knowing full well without having met her yet that whatever Rhys felt towards this woman would not be considered wholly “friend-like”, but, for whatever reason, it wasn’t a subject he was willing to open up about yet.

”She’ll tell you everything when she gets here but I promise you, something isn’t right. And you’re the only person I trust to get an actual answer.”

”And she trusts me?”

”She trusts me. But I know you won’t let her down.”

Azriel grunted while setting up his desk, grabbing a notebook and his favorite pen (despite the amount of firewalls and the VPN he had installed on his computer, writing everything down with pen and paper still felt like the most secure way to store most client information) and prepared himself for whatever it was he had agreed to.

At least it wasn’t another infidelity case.

Feyre walked into his office five minutes later. She was clearly distraught, but standing tall with her head held high. When she spotted Rhys there was a subtle ease in her eyes, but she hardened her face quickly as she turned to look right at Azriel. “So, you’re the PI brother?”

”Azriel, yes. And you must be Feyre?”

She didn’t answer, just sat in the chair opposite his desk and stared him down. “Did Rhys tell you what’s going on?”

Azriel waved his hand. “He gave me the basics but I want to hear from you. I know you’re worried about your sister and you want me to check up on her, but I need you to tell me what has you worried and what exactly you might think Elain has gotten herself tangled into.”

Feyre sighed. “I know how it must look.”

”And how’s that?”

”That my sister is a grown adult who just decided to cut off her family. That adults do that all the time and it has nothing to do with nefarious plots and families are often unwilling to admit to themselves that they possibly did something wrong to drive them away.”

Azriel raised his eyebrow. “And that’s not what happened here? You have a loving family who support each other and have never gotten into any big fights and you can’t think of a single reason your sister would want to escape them?”

”Oh god no, our family is awful.”

Well, that was a surprise.

”My father sits around doing absolutely nothing forcing my sisters and I to support ourselves, my grandparents cut all of us off completely because they were embarrassed by my father ruining his division of the family business, and my mother died when I was 8 from a car accident that may or may not have involved alcohol. Growing up in that environment is terrible and the three of us could probably keep the therapy industry afloat for decades if we had the money to actually pay for some therapists.”

”And…you don’t think your sister ran away of her own free will?”

Feyre shook her head. ”Despite everything that’s happened, my sisters and I have always had each other. I admit that the last few years I haven’t really been there for them. I’m the youngest, trying to finish my undergrad and working two jobs. But Nesta, my older sister, her and Elain have always been close. While Elain was in undergrad, they lived together to save money. They talk every day. Or…they used to.” Feyre sighed. “She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology six months ago, and cut off contact with all of us five months ago. None of us have been able to talk to her, either in person, on the phone, or via text message. I would file a missing persons report but she’s been on social media posting photos of these…people. People none of us know or have ever heard Elain talk about. We looked into it a little bit and it turns out its some kind of church, but none of us have ever been religious.”

Azriel wrote everything down, still not completely convinced that maybe Elain left on her own, but maybe there was something here. If nothing else, he could at least assure her sisters that everything would be alright, and that he would be paid well for it (Rhys insisted). Plus it was better than tracking down some asshole CEO who was banging his 20 year old secretary, promising to help her with her career (they never helped, they just liked to dangle it out of reach to keep the power imbalance).

“So what is it you want me to do?” Azriel asked. “Do you just want me to try and contact her? Make sure she’s okay? Investigate the group itself?”

Feyre hesitated, looking over at Rhys for some kind of comfort, before looking back at Azriel. “Actually,” she started, “I was hoping you could…join them.”

”You…want me to join a group that you think is a cult?”

“I just think that would be the best way for you to find out if this group is really dangerous or not.”

”That’s a bit out of my wheelhouse…”

”Rhys said you were top of your class at the Academy!” Feyre blurted and Rhys winced.

Azriel turned sharply towards his brother, “Did he now?”

Being a Private Investigator wasn’t exactly his first career choice. At one point he thought, maybe, he should join the police force. He thought it might help him recover from his childhood if he felt like he was helping people. But the truth was…the other people at the Academy? His classmates? All of them reminded him of his family. They didn’t want to be cops to help people, they wanted to be cops to feel superior to them, control them. He lasted a week after training before he couldn’t stand it any more and left. Occasionally, he would tell his clients that he was a “former cop” (technically true) but never the extent of it and he definitely had never told anyone but his brothers that he was “top of the class” (whatever the hell that had meant).

“Please,” Feyre put both her hands flat on his desk, a pleading look in her eyes. “I just want my sister back, The three of us…we really only have each other. I don’t want to lose her.”

Azriel rubbed his temple, “Alright, I’ll see what I can find out about this group. But first,” he turned the page on a clean sheet of notebook paper, “I need you to tell me everything you already know about this so-called cult your sister is in.”

[jaxthejester]

i’d love some ianthony hurt/comfort fics where one of them gets hurt or injured by someone on set and the other gets all caring and protective!! bonus points for including the other smosh cast members too hehe thanks so much!!

im not a huge ianthony fan, but i tried! sorry its short 😭

Ianthony- A Big, Big Mess on Our Hands Tonight

-

"So, Eat It or Yeet It, Ianthony Edition, ey? Sounds great!" Anthony proclaimed.

"Yeah! I'm so ready to fuck ALL this shit up!" Ian chuckled. Garrett looked at the two men with a glint of nervousness in his eye.

"I, uh, hope you know not all of these dishes are going to be bad, right?" he asked. Both Ian and Anthony's faces fell.

"Well damn."

The cooking went off without a hitch, even with Ian and Anthony fucking around, still overjoyed to have the other back. Garrett took most of the actual cooking, while the other two did the prep.

Soon, it was time to shoot the episode. A chorus of "Eat It or Yeet It!" rang out.

"Hello and welcome to a very special Eat It or Yeet It-" Courtney began, pausing momentarily. "I say that every time, don't I?" they asked aloud.

"Anyway! I have reason to say it on this fine evening- it's the Ianthony episode!" Cheers came from the table as Ian and Anthony both smiled to the Garrett cam. "Here are the rules!" Courtney said for the edit.

"Garrett wouldn't let us torment you guys... that much." Ian commented. Spencer, on of the contestants, rolled his eyes.

"Don't make me threaten to kill myself again." Spencer sighed. Ian chuckled.

"No promises!"

The first few rounds went as well as any Eat It or Yeet It does- Damien got some weird pasta dish that everyone else refused to taste, Tommy got a plain ass tortilla, Angela got a vegemite donut, and Spencer got an overcooked pizza in a "My Favorite Pizza Place" box.

Issues arose when the big bite came out. Anthony had pitched a dish to be served on fire for the big bite, and Garrett helped him prepare a cherries jubilee flambé.

Anthony had worked a deal with Courtney prior, ensuring Anthony could light the dish himself.

"When this dish is presented, make sure nobody is near it! We wouldn't want an accident..." Garrett had warned. Anthony had mumbled an acknowledgement.

The five people sitting around the table made small talk as the last round was being prepped.

"I can't believe I got the big bite AGAIN." Shayne groaned, head resting on his forearm to ensure no cheating.

"My brother in christ, you didn't even try to hit the bell." Spencer retorted.

"I do think hitting the bell is a vital part of the game..." Tommy added.

"I know! I was the one who pitched this show, dammit!" Shayne snapped in false anger.

"Ohhh, I'm Shayne!! I pitched this show because I like the pain I go through!" Angela mocked.

"Holy shit, are there two Shaynes here?!" Damien joked.

"Okay losers, it's time! Open your eyes!" Courtney called out. Everyone did as they asked, but instead of Courtney, Anthony stood in the center, revealing the dish.

"Five...?" The count started. Anthony pulled out a pocket lighter to flambé the dish.

"Four..." With two clicks, the lighter lit, and Anthony put the flame to the dish.

"Three..." It caught instantly, blue flames climbing the dish.

"Two...!" The flames climbed higher than Anthony inticipated, though, and it made contact with his hand.

"FUCK-" Anthony yelled, quickly yanking his hand back.

"Oh my god, cut, someone get a medic!" the director called.

Anthony would blame the adrenaline, but events after that were a blur. The medic showed up and walked him through the proceedures. It was nothing more than a small first degree burn, but it still hurt like a bitch.

As the medic finished up bandaging Anthony's hand, Ian walked into the room. "Anthony, are... are you okay?" he asked.

Anthony looked to the medic. "Yeah, he'll be fine. Just be careful around the area." she smiled. "Take care now." And she left, leaving Anthony and Ian alone.

"That's... good." Ian said, running a hand through his hair.

"Yep. I've had worse, anyway. I was a teenager once, you know." Anthony joked. Ian didn't laugh, and shifted his weight.

"I was worried. About you."

Oh. Anthony felt a pang in his heart. He walked over to Ian, bringing the other into a hug.

"I'm sorry. I'm okay, I promise."

Ian smiled. "I'm glad."

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Music For the Soul by Alexander MacLaren

The Freedom and Blessedness of Christ's Service

"This is the love of God that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous." – 1 John 5:3

Not to do wrong may be the mark of a slave’s timid obedience. Not to wish to do wrong is the charter of a son’s free and blessed service. There is a higher possibility yet, reserved for Heaven - not to be able to do wrong. Freedom does not consist in doing what I like,- that turns out, in the long run, to be the most abject slavery, under the severest tyrants, - but it consists in liking to do what I ought. When my wishes and God’s will are absolutely coincident, then, and only then, am I free. That is no prison, out of which we do not wish to go. Not to be confined against our wills, but voluntarily to elect to move only within the sacred, charmed, sweet circle of the discerned will of God, is the service and liberty of the sons of God.

Alas! there are a great many Christians, so-called, who know very little about such blessedness. To many of us religion is a burden. It consists of a number of prohibitions and restrictions and commandments equally unwelcome. "Do not do this," and all the while I would like to do it. "Do that," and all the while I do not want to do it. "Pray, because it is your duty; go to chapel, because you think it is God’s will; give money that you would much rather keep in your pockets; abstain from certain things that you hunger for; do other things that you do not a bit desire to do, nor find any pleasure in doing." That is the religion of hosts of people. They have need to ask themselves whether their religion is Christ’s religion. Ah, brother! "My yoke is easy and My burden light." Not because the things that He bids and forbids are less or lighter than those which the world’s morality requires of its followers, but because, so to speak, the yoke is padded with the velvet of love, and inclination coincides in the measure of our true religion with the discerned will of God. This is ever so far ahead of the experience of crowds of professing Christians. There are still great numbers of professing Christians, and I doubt not that I speak to some such, on whose hearts only a very few of the syllables of God’s will are written, and these very faintly and blotted. But remember that the fundamental idea of a covenant implies two people, and duties and obligations on the part of each. If God is in covenant with you, you are in covenant with God. If He makes a promise, there is something for you to do in order that that promise may be fulfilled to you.

[weirdcat1213]

volume 9 you say....hmm

i fear for my life to be completely honest

anyway HERE WE GO HERE ARE THE THOUGHTS

chap 1:

-geesus no pls no i dont wanna read anymore

-FLASHBACK TIME :D WIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

-3 days of crying is nothing when youre a trigun fan, am i right people :'D

-no im not fucking suffering cuz while all of that is happening the only thing on his mind is young livio NO IM FINE I SWEAR-

-lmao yeah wolfwood call him out >:D

-"you cant understand how i feel" my brother in christ YOURE SURROUNDED BY ORPHANS

-hmmmmmmmmm i mean im not sure if that applies here but who am i to tell him how he feels, sure buddy. happy for you

-geesus man not the dog, like....WHY THE DOG (i think ik why but still)

-tbh i would also go and ask for an explanation

-nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo :c

-ah shit so we're here now oh fuck oh shit okokok cool

-ah yes, sweet bait actually, makes me cry every time

-"once this ark scare is over we'll be living the high life" yeaaaahhhh....about that.....

-YO LEAVE THE ORPHAN ALONE DAMN

-thanks livio :3

chap 2:

-about his age i think hes on his 20s mentally but he looks like hes on his 30s, so hes still an adult but yknow...younger

-oh his eye :0 i love that tiny window between his glasses and his face where you can see his eyes, makes me sad every time

-the coolest mf

-"worse" you say...i wonder who did that to him...

-fuck off, take those fucking tears somewhere else old man

-OOOOOOHHHHH THAT PANEL!!! SO GOOD SO GOOD

-THANKS AGAIN LIVIO (livio's good actions counter: 2 so far) BUT FUCK THAT OLD MAN

chap 3:

-:c

-HES THERE AND HES COMING I PROMISE

-STFU I SWEAR SHUT UP WOLFWOOD PLS JUST ENJOY YOUR STUPID CIGARRETE

-oh ok yeah here we go

-GEESUS MAN, i hope someone kick you ass later

-aw livio noooooo :c

-NAH NO PLS NO BROTHER FIGHT NO NO

-damn

chap 4:

-no that fucking title while theyre bleeding holy crap no stop it nightow stop it

-leave my man alone plsssssssssssssssss

-OH I FUCKING FELT THAT. WOLFWOOD REACHING FOR ANOTHER MAGAZINE AND LIVIO SHOOTING AT THE SAME MOMENT. I FELT THAT

-oh thats...thats kinda hot actually (i say while wolfwood fights for his little life)

-i love nightow taking his fucking time. yes sir i will enjoy a page of the vial dropping from his mouth without any dialogue, thank you sir

-PAIN :D

-SHUT UP OLD MAN

-"please survive"................................im gonna need a million years

chap 5:

-VASH BABY WHERE ARE YOU I NEED YOU

-demon....while hes killing his bro.....i have a limit thats all im saying

-ITS CALLED LOVE BITCH

-HE GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE HONOR HE JUST WANTED TO PROTECT HIS HOME WTF

-STOP TALKING AND KILL HIM MAN CMONNNN

-oh....he looks so pretty tho. likes he came back to life and is surrounded by his servants....damn that goes hard...

-oh yeah, that arm that had no explanation whatsoever. its ok tho, nightow gets a pass

-ah fuck.....hes here...

-yeap, you could say thats a demon ig

chap 6:

-AH YES SAD FLASHBACK IN MENTAL PALACE MAKES ME GO BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. ONE OF THE BEST THINGS EVER IM TELLING YA :D

-im sorry

-im jumping through the window idc anymore. poor livio man

-"fortitude".........yeah.....

-yeap that is scary as hell RUN WOLFWOOD GET TF OUTTA THERE

-DONT SMILE LIKE THAT YOU FREAK

-NONONONONONON SHUT UP WOLFWOOD SHUT UP

-STOPPPPPPPPPPPP

-STOPL PLEASEEEEEEEEEEE

-DIOS IM NOT STRONG ENOUGH

-orange if you animate this i will punch you but also kiss you in the lips

-i wonder what he means with that bell thats supposed to be tolling. hmmm. maybe its like a "hey come back to reality" kind of alarm thats not sounding

nightow you amazing bastard

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

19th March >> Mass Readings (USA)

Solemnity for Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

(Liturgical Colour: White: B (2))

First Reading 2 Samuel 7:4–5a, 12–14a, 16 The Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father (Luke 1:32).

The LORD spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.’”

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 89:2–3, 4–5, 27, 29

R/ The son of David will live for ever.

The promises of the LORD I will sing forever, through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness, For you have said, “My kindness is established for ever”; in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.

R/ The son of David will live for ever.

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant: Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne for all generations.”

R/ The son of David will live for ever.

“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior!’ Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him, my covenant with him stands firm.”

R/ The son of David will live for ever.

Second Reading Romans 4:13, 16–18, 22 Abraham believed, hoping against hope.

Brothers and sisters: It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith. For this reason, it depends on faith, so that it may be a gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us, as it is written, I have made you father of many nations. He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist. He believed, hoping against hope, that he would become the father of many nations, according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be. That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation Psalm 84:5

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord, they never cease to praise you.

Either:

Gospel Matthew 1:16, 18–21, 24a Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Or:

Gospel Luke 2:41–51a Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[psalmonesermons]

Our identity is in Christ Part 4

The new birth-right

Jesus marvellous victory purchased us our new birth right.

What does the bible say about the birth-right of new believers?

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: [a] The old has gone, the new is here!

Another translation puts it like this 2 Corinthians 5:17 … that person is a new creation.

So many wonderful things happen to us when we are born-again, and we become a new creation. According to my favourite bible teacher (the late Roger Price [3]) there are at least 37 wonderful things that happen at the point of the new birth). Our victories are all in Christ; here are a few examples from the 37.

All Christians have reconciled to God Rom 5:10 Eph 2:14-17

All Christians have been brought near to God Lk 10:20 Eph 2:13+19

The sins of all Christians have been judged in Christ Rom 4:25 Eph 1:7

All Christians have been forgiven their trespasses Eph 1:7 Col 1:14

All Christians have been justified (declared righteous) Rom 3:24 1 Cor 6:11

All Christians have been redeemed Rom 3:24 Col 1:14

All Christians have a new status; citizens of heaven Phil 3:20 seated in heavenly places Eph 2:6 higher rank than angels Eph 1:20-21 Heb 1:14 Rom 16:19-20.

In Christ new birth realities

Ephesians 1:11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

Romans 14:7 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit

Does your day-to-day life reflect the above, living in right standing with God, experiencing heart peace and joy in the Holy Spirit? Are you sleeping well and know that whatever is going on in your life, it is going to be OK, because you are in Christ?

There is an example in scripture of born-again Christians who had forgotten their born-again identities and were acting like spiritual babies.

1 Corinthians 3:1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

God wants us to be mature believers who know who we are in Christ, not babies always squabbling.

To maintain our true identities in Christ we must take control of our thinking…

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed[4] by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

The world wants to squeeze us into its mould and form worldly identities in us. But God has given us new identities and wants us to fully embrace them, and we find them in the bible. Do you think people will notice your new identity in Christ? How are you doing with your identity in Christ today, do you recognize the desired changes?

Amen

Personal prayer

In Part 5 we will find out how to ensure that we leave the old identity and life behind.

https://www.psalmonesermons.com/post/our-identity-is-in-christ-part-5

[lennjamin-o7]

🌯🗡️ anon here! Just woke up and the new chap and jesus christ I feel so fucking bad for Techno!

Like Phil genuinely can't come soon enough, when he next see's Techno I know that mans gonna be FURIOUS. God I don't even know what to start on there's just so much to like go over!

First with the people staring, of course they'd start getting eyefuls the second Phil isn't around to guard his sonboy and make them scatter away; It just sucks that Techno's gonna have to deal with it for now, don't worry Tech you have a very murderous father waiting for you, just wait a couple days and all will be fixed!

And then we move onto Mielle. Fuck Mielle. All my homies hate Mielle. Like I understand to a point that its fae nature to be an asshole since they're such self centred creatures but like, she's an asshole even for a fae. No wonder Phil rejected this little bastard, her vibes are simply too rancid to be allowed near his wonderful perfect wife!

She's gonna handle Phil not wanting her WONDERFULLY I can just tell after her totally reasonable response to the cookies. Also her wanting to yoink Phil's earring??? I already know that would've ended horribly for her, bros probably enchanted that to be a nuclear bomb for anyone else to wear. Nuclear bombza dare I say. I understand to a degree that the others are affected by whatever fae magic she's unconsciously / consciously using but honestly so far the only redeemable one is the queen.

Mielle: "I know you wanna adopt me SO BAD but I wanna stay with this family"

Phil: "Ew?? Who even are you??? Move aside so I can see my real baby"

Techno: 🧍‍♂️

Phil, practically vibrating with joy: "There he is!!! There's the boy!!!!" :D

Mielle: "HIM????"

Like with the cookie scene. "Techno’s grip around the bag loosened for a moment, habitually giving in to Mielle's request" Techno I don't think that's entirely habit. Mielle really wasn't prepared for her personal punching bag to gain a bit of magic resistance against her huh. Like I know Phil absolutely like enchanted the promise because that's technically a deal and since he's more powerful than her, he won that little battle but like bro accidentally threw Tech into like boiling water with that one.

Mielle: No fear

Phil: "I heard you gave Techno a bit of a scratch m8, lets have a little chat"

Mielle: 1 fear

or

Mielle after Techno spills what she did to Phil: "Why do I hear boss music??"

Also the scratch??? Phil was already gonna be mad about the hair but his sonboy being hurt?? In a custody battle they don't even know they're fighting??? If Kristin was already trying to deny him it'd take 1 look at the little skrunkle for him to just steal her Entire Heart away. Instantly.

Kristin: "Phil as much as I'd like to give into you, this is a very big commitment and I don't know if you're ready for it! No matter how wonderful he might be."

Techno: Walks in with a massive scratch on his cheek and his hair shaved off, visibly miserable. Very much looking like a sad wet cat.

Kristin: 🧡👄🧡

Kristin: "Oh. Oh he is a little baby isn't he? A sweet baby boy. A sonboy. Isn't he cute? He's kind?? Talented too, you say??? Our sonboy now. I want full custody and I want it NOW"

On that note though. Felix. Fuck Felix. All my homies hate Felix. Bro pretends to like sympathise with Techno but like very clearly sees himself above him. I wanna think he TRIES to be a good brother but if I'm completely honest I doubt that. Bro was obviously mad that Tech like started making his own way in the world. Watch it come up that the king and queen didn't order the hair thing at all. Purely just him bullying Techno for daring to say no to his spoiled brat of a sister.

He's still a bit of a magic baby anyway due to like Phils original deal so I think he'd have a bit of magic resistance too since the whole magical conception / womb deal. I could absolutely be wrong but like he clearly has some magic to him, meaning he in theory SHOULD be more resistant to Mielle. He probably just decides to give into her so he can feed his ego more.

You're like 21 bullying a 13 year old, get a fucking life Felix. Maybe get a hobby. I heard Getting Ripped Apart by Philza was about to come into season real soon; maybe give that a go! Oh also! I'm gonna cast my little guess for how this is gonna end out here to see how far off I might be when the end gets revealed. I have a feeling that it's gonna end in Mielle and Felix maybe getting punished rather than the queen and king.

Like yeah they're the ones that broke the deal but the kids ARE the deal and they have been fucking with Phil's new baby boy. So maybe the punishment will just be "You wanted kids?? I you had 3 but you refused to give me the 1 you promised so now I'm taking 1 by force and killing the other 2" type deal or more of a "You broke the deal but gimmie the one kid you had outside the deal and I'll call it even".

Oh and back to the hair! I'm not entirely sure how long it really is since Tech refused to look in the mirror so mentally I'm thinking of more of a classic Wilbur Soot type hair rn, does that mean Phils faerie knot got cut out?? If that's his tracker / the way he can get to his sonboy then that's even more angst for Tech. He's really just had an awful day. First he say to say bye to Phil, then Mielle is a bitch, then FELIX is a bitch and finally Phil doesn't come to visit him?? So much more skrunkle for the skrunkle boy!

I know I've like brushed on it a bit twice but like Phil is gonna be SO fucking furious when he see's what they've done. He leaves his baby boy in their custody for like 14 hours TOPS if he doesn't come visit Techno in the manor and they fuck up THAT much??? Like its good since that's gonna push Tech even more into Phil but also Phil wants Tech to be fucking happy for once!

Phil: "He's gonna come in any moment my love, you cant miss him, he's the boy with the long pink hair and adoptable vibes!"

Kristin: "I mean I see a kid with pink hair but his hair is far shorter than you said and and he looks miserable; He's kinda like a sad wet cat, I can see how he's perfect for us!"

Phil: :) "Ikr! He's so wonderfu- WAIT HOW DID THEY FUCK HIM UP THAT BAD SO QUICKLY????" >:O

Phil shaking the king and queen by the shoulders: >:( "WHAT DID YOU DO??? WHY DO YOU KEEP RUINING THINGS????"

I just love the thought of Phil having to like sales pitch Techno to Kristin and her having been on board ages ago or like her getting a single look at Techno and him just YOINKING her heart. Simply doing what Phil spent literal DECADES trying to do in like 2 seconds flat.

Phil: "Hes super good at archery, very kind and so SO skrunkly"

Kristin: :/ "Idk Phil I'm just not sure"

Phil, sighing: "I guess I have to pull out the big guns then"

Kristin "oh?"

Phil: "I saw him eat an entire hand pie in under 30 seconds. He unhinged his jaw like some kind of snake and nearly swallowed it whole. It was awful. I thought he was gonna choke like every bite!"

Kristin: :O

Kristin: "Terrifying. When can I meet him?? He sounds wonderful!" :D

Techno's gonna get so many pies when Phil wins the custody battle I can see it now. They call him the blood god because he's always 'covered in blood' but it's actually all the filling of the pies Phil gives him. He just shoved too many in his mouth at once and it got all over his shirt. He's too embarrassed to correct anyone so he just lets the rumour continue. Phil and Kristin find it HILARIOUS. Whenever Techno's upset in the future, post adoption, they always give him cookies or pie to comfort him. He deserves it.

Techno: 👁️💧🐽💧👁️

Phil: "I'm gonna give this boy so much fucking pie you don't even know"

Phil eventually teaches Techno how to bake, Techno immediately uses it for evil. The Potato Pie Incident will forever be feared in the fae court. That on top of many more disasters he begins through baking; he becomes as infamous as Phil because of it. Phil is so SO proud.

Fae courtier: "You suck! you're just Phil and Kristins pity project!!"

Techno: "Say that again and I PROMISE I'll go into the fucking kitchen and start baking ON TOP of telling mum and dad!"

Fae courtier, shaking in fear: "I'm so sorry young prince, I don't know what came over me! Please don't punish others for my actions!!"

or

Phil: "Hey Tech! How's my little piggy doing? What are you baking??" :D

Techno, in a frilly apron: "Revenge" >:(

Phil, crying: "I'm so proud!" :,)

I think that's enough brainrot for now, I hope you enjoy my novel; As always have a wonderful day and I'm sorry if I've overwhelmed you!

Gosh, I love your asks 💚💚💚💚💚

Techno is having a #time, certainly. Phil is not going to be happy about how Techno ks being treated. Like. At all.

He's a very special boy. Who wouldn't want to stare? But, to be fair, most of the people staring were humans. The fae scattered. They know better. Mostly. Some snuck back to stare once Philza skipped off. How could they not? Gossips, the lot of them.

Mielle is very much not a good person, nope. She is a bad apple, for sure. Kind of hard not to be when you are raised thinking you are perfect. She's selfish. She's vain. She thinks she is the only person and everyone else is just side characters. Techno saying NO???? Literally, hacks. No way. Couldn't happen. That is IMPOSSIBLE???

And yeah, Phil absolutely threw Techno into a very bad situation. Though, I think you might need to be wary of the "accidentally" in that sentence. Granted, I doubt he realized how hot the pot really was when he threw Techno into it.

As you said, he will NOT be happy with tbe scratch. His sonboy? Scratched? SCRATCHED?

I love how you describe Kristin seeing the sad skrunkle of a Techno for the first time. It had me cackling all day.

Yeah, Felix honestly thinks he's helping. He isn't, but he isn't being an ass just for the sake of being an ass. But he absolutely pulled the soup trick, and the exploring around thing to soften Techno to get him to cut his hair. Like, that was an intentional move. It wasn't a coincidence.

And Felix IS less affected by Mielle's magical pull. But, it's also a little sister who he was raised to be incredibly protective of and honestly hold in higher regard than his own country. His devotion is less magical and more that he was raised to view her as the most important person. Like, he was 4 when she was born. Imagine being told over and over again from the age of 4 that you HAVE to protect your sister. That your sister is delicate and special and we are putting everything on the line for her. Like, that's also a factor. He has more of a resistance, magically. But he was still raised to act that way.

I like hearing your predictions. :) Please continue to send them.

Techno's hair is very short. One inch of hair is not very long. My sister cuts hair, and I asked her how short 1 inch of hair is, and she said it was a clipper guard 8.

Which is something like this.

It's very short.

And yeah, the faerie knot got cut out :(

And your impression of Phil trying to convince Kristin is SENDING ME. Sales pitch Philza, convincing Wife about the benefits of new child. He's precious as an apple pie. So cute. Little bit skrunkle but that's a pro, not a con.

PIE FOR THE PIE GOD!!!

I appreciate every second of this! Every. Second. Sorry if I missed anything in my reply. It's a bit hard on mobile. But I have been sitting here, giggling, while reading this. Always feel free to share your thoughts!

[ongolecharles]

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS (DSR) 📚 Group, Fri Jan 24th, 2025 ... Friday of The Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year C/Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Reading 1

-----------

Hebrews 8:6-13

Brothers and sisters:

Now our high priest has obtained so much more excellent a ministry

as he is mediator of a better covenant,

enacted on better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless,

no place would have been sought for a second one.

But he finds fault with them and says:

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,

when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of

Israel and the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers

the day I took them by the hand to lead

them forth from the land of Egypt;

for they did not stand by my covenant

and I ignored them, says the Lord.

But this is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel

after those days, says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their minds

and I will write them upon their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen and kin, saying,

“Know the Lord,”

for all shall know me, from least to greatest.

For I will forgive their evildoing

and remember their sins no more.

When he speaks of a “new” covenant,

he declares the first one obsolete.

And what has become obsolete

and has grown old is close to disappearing.

Responsorial Psalm

---------------

Psalm 85:8, 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. (11a) Kindness and truth shall meet.

Show us, O LORD, your mercy,

and grant us your salvation.

Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,

glory dwelling in our land.

R. Kindness and truth shall meet.

Kindness and truth shall meet;

justice and peace shall kiss.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

and justice shall look down from heaven.

R. Kindness and truth shall meet.

The LORD himself will give his benefits;

our land shall yield its increase.

Justice shall walk before him,

and salvation, along the way of his steps.

R. Kindness and truth shall meet.

Alleluia

--------------

2 Corinthians 5:19-21

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

---------

Mark 3:13-19

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted

and they came to him.

He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles,

that they might be with him

and he might send them forth to preach

and to have authority to drive out demons:

He appointed the Twelve:

Simon, whom he named Peter;

James, son of Zebedee,

and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges,

that is, sons of thunder;

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,

Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus;

Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean,

and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

***

FOCUS AND LITURGY OF THE WORD

I am reminded of a responsorial psalm refrain I once sang, “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.” If today, I had heard God’s voice asking me to leave everything and follow him, would I have listened? I don’t know about everyone else, but I have a lot of things that I care about and that I must take care of. An apartment, animals, a job, my marriage. How could I leave with no warning? And yet, when the Apostles were named, they followed Jesus. As told in Matthew 4:19, Peter and Andrew were actively fishing when Jesus called them. They still went.

On rare occasion, I hear the inspiring stories of people who felt God’s call in such a way that they left their entire lives behind to travel the world spreading the Gospel and helping communities. For myself, I have to think a little smaller. In fact, I would argue that most of us will never hear such a dramatic calling. What will we hear? What about the nudge to include a new coworker or classmate at a social gathering? Do I feel called to donate to a particular cause? Has someone been on my mind a lot lately who may need prayers? What about a conviction to work on myself in some way? I think many “callings” are smaller than we imagine. The bible is full of grand, inspiring stories that may make us feel like our everyday lives cannot compare, but these “small” callings are just as impactful to the Kingdom of God.  Imagine the changes that listening more intently to God’s calls could bring. (I like to call them God’s nudges, because the influence of God is a subtlety I work to discern).

Lastly, I must ask: are we up to the task? I say yes, and to back up my belief, I recommend looking at the kind of people Jesus chose to be his apostles. They were ordinary, flawed people. Matthew was a disliked tax collector. Simon famously denied Jesus three times (who among us has not had our doubts?). And yet, 10 of the 12 apostles are martyred (John is thought to have died of old age and we think Judas Iscariot committed suicide after betraying Christ). Their journeys brought them from who they were, to a place where they were such loyal listeners of Christ that they died for it.

May we have open ears and hearts to receive God’s nudges, and the worldly strength to carry them out.

***

SAINT OF THE DAY

Saint Francis de Sales

(August 21, 1567 – December 28, 1622)

Saint Francis de Sales’ Story

Francis was destined by his father to be a lawyer so that the young man could eventually take his elder’s place as a senator from the province of Savoy in France. For this reason Francis was sent to Padua to study law. After receiving his doctorate, he returned home and, in due time, told his parents he wished to enter the priesthood. His father strongly opposed Francis in this, and only after much patient persuasiveness on the part of the gentle Francis did his father finally consent. Francis was ordained and elected provost of the Diocese of Geneva, then a center for the Calvinists. Francis set out to convert them, especially in the district of Chablais. By preaching and distributing the little pamphlets he wrote to explain true Catholic doctrine, he had remarkable success.

At 35, he became bishop of Geneva. While administering his diocese he continued to preach, hear confessions, and catechize the children. His gentle character was a great asset in winning souls. He practiced his own axiom, “A spoonful of honey attracts more flies than a barrelful of vinegar.”

Besides his two well-known books, the Introduction to the Devout Life and A Treatise on the Love of God, he wrote many pamphlets and carried on a vast correspondence. For his writings, he has been named patron of the Catholic Press. His writings, filled with his characteristic gentle spirit, are addressed to lay people. He wants to make them understand that they too are called to be saints. As he wrote in The Introduction to the Devout Life: “It is an error, or rather a heresy, to say devotion is incompatible with the life of a soldier, a tradesman, a prince, or a married woman…. It has happened that many have lost perfection in the desert who had preserved it in the world.”

In spite of his busy and comparatively short life, he had time to collaborate with another saint, Jane Frances de Chantal, in the work of establishing the Sisters of the Visitation. These women were to practice the virtues exemplified in Mary’s visit to Elizabeth: humility, piety, and mutual charity. They at first engaged to a limited degree in works of mercy for the poor and the sick. Today, while some communities conduct schools, others live a strictly contemplative life.

Reflection

----------

Francis de Sales took seriously the words of Christ, “Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart.” As he said himself, it took him 20 years to conquer his quick temper, but no one ever suspected he had such a problem, so overflowing with good nature and kindness was his usual manner of acting. His perennial meekness and sunny disposition won for him the title of “Gentleman Saint.”

Saint Francis de Sales is the Patron Saint of:

Authors

Deafness

Journalists

Writers

***

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