#doxology story

[fiddles-ifs]

Submitted to Queer Vampire Jam 2024! See more over yonder.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

It’s a beautiful night in the abandoned mansion, and you are a horrible vampire. A disgraced Catholic vampire hunter wanting to die breaks into your home. The two of you are trapped in orbit, careening towards an inevitable confrontation. A M/M erotic short story despairing the concept of God, and what if vampire covens were cults. Consider this short to be in a raw state.

Cover image by Ross Sneddon.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Dubious Consent (nobody says anything outright but everyone is into each other and what's going on)

Blood and Injury

Catholicism, implications of Religious Cults

Blood consumption

Explicit sexual content

[piedpiperslists]

Is there any jungkook smuts/fics based on like a church setting, or any virgin jungkook fics you can recommend me please?

Hi. These are the fics I can think of with a church setting:

* s - contains smut

Doxology by dark-muse-iris - one shot (s) / wc~6.3k / secret relationship, PWP Summary: It’s Easter Sunday, one of the holiest of days for your presumed faith. But instead of spending it taking in the Lord’s message while tucked between your devout parents, you’re off sinning with the man who knows how truly wicked you are.

The Kids Aren’t Alright by sketchguk - one shot (s) / wc~10.5k / pastor’s kid!reader, FWB Summary: Sneaking around with Jeongguk during your Christian retreat is complicated when you’re both dedicated to your jobs as co-youth group counselors at your father’s ministry.

Shiver by hansolmates - series (s) / bad boy!Jungkook, church girl!reader, childhood friends to lovers, FWB Summary: Your childhood crush Jeon Jungkook has changed since he moved out of his small town church community and attended college. When he returns for a Christmas mass, you suddenly crave a taste of his fun and carefree life. In exchange, Jungkook craves a taste of you.

As for virgin!Jungkook fics, here's about 15 fics listed under the cut. But is this a trend lately, the asks I've gotten have been mostly about virgin!Jungkook lmao

A Blight on the Heart by thatlongspringnight - one shot (s) / wc~13.3k / established marriage, historical au Summary: You married him because you wanted a new life, and even with the struggle, the fights, you’d marry him again any day. Or - Jungkook loves you from the moment he reads your first letter, and the rest is history.

But We Loved Too Young by jl-micasea-fics - one shot (s) / wc~10.4k / childhood friends to lovers Summary: Jungkook is everything you’re not, the ying to your yang. Your tight knit friendship nurtured from childhood survived the major life events that most don’t, and to that end, you suppose you’re fated to be together, until unrequited longing is eventually noticed, and boundaries are forever crossed.

Close the Distance by hearts4joon - one shot (s) / wc~13.5k / college au, neighbors au Summary: Two different adults, living two completely separate lives — in the same neighborhood. A guy who’s overbearing mother makes him carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. A girl who’s parents are all too drawn to her younger siblings to even give her the time of day. While the two fall in an unlikely relationship (very unlikely), they still ravish each and every part of one another in every way — the best of attention, the one they both craved all their lives.

Ghosts Just Wanna Have Fun by sugaxjpg - one shot (s) / wc~20k / med school au, psychic au Summary: When Jungkook discovered that he could communicate with dead people, the last thing he expected was that they would be there to give him romantic advice.

Gotcha by whatifyoulivelikethat - one shot (s) / wc~11k / childhood friends to lovers, college au Summary: The color blue. Two white hairpins. “Hey, Jungkook.” A laugh with shaking shoulders that Jeon Jungkook thought he would hear and see forever. Hey, Jungkook. But then those words became a memory, until she was standing in front of him again, sporting the title of “Virgin Killer” and Min Yoongi by her side. Was this his second chance or just another memory?

I Want to Have Sex by jeongi - one shot (s) / wc~7.2k / established relationship Summary: You plan on taking your boyfriend, Jungkook’s, virginity tonight.

Infatuated by namsjunies - one shot (s) / wc~3k / university au

Need to Know by pixieknj - one shot (s) / wc~4.4k / virgin!Jungkook, friends to lovers Summary: Jungkook’s tired of you teasing him…

The Virgin Volume by kpopfanfictrash - one shot (s) / wc~6.8k / angst, college au Summary: The story of how The Rich Man’s Crochet Club Jungkook lost his virginity. Prequel to The Monogamy Monologues.

Here's more virgin!Jungkook but I keep getting an error, so I had to break up the list.

Wait, You're a Virgin? by joonsmagicshop - one shot (s) / wc~8.8k / college au Summary: Jungkook gets teased at a college party for being a virgin and asks you to help him out

Will You Make a Mess Now? by softyoongiionly - one shot (s) / established relationship, college au Summary: Jungkook’s never been touched before and, after a hectic end to his semester, he thinks he wants that to change… Can I Make a Mess Now? by softyoongiionly - one shot (s) / established relationship, college au Summary: Jungkook’s never had sex before but, after realizing that he’s falling in love with you, he thinks he wants that to change.

Glitter and Disquiet by joheunsaram - two shots (s) / CEO!Jungkook, YouTuber!reader, enemies to lovers, chaebol au Summary: Poised to inherit Korea’s largest gaming company in a few months, the world looks at Jeon Jungkook as a symbol of envy. Why wouldn’t they? He has everything, riches, power, and according to the rumour mill, endless women. Little do they know that his father’s company is on the verge of downfall, he barely has respect of his employees, and regardless of the rumours, he’s just a virgin saving himself for true love.

For Science by boymeetsweevil - series (s) / nerd!Jungkook, friends to lovers, FWB, college au Summary: Jungkook asks you to let him watch you get off. For science.

One Time, In Your Room by ubemango - series (s) / established relationship, college au Summary: There are papers to write, and virgins to daydream about. (You can think about Jeongguk’s dick later.)

[orthodoxadventure]

The Trisagion Hymn [Part 1 of 2]

The solemn singing of the Trisagion, the thrice-holy hymn praising the Most Holy Trinity, is one of the most important and oldest of our Orthodox hymns. The story told about the origin of this hymn connects it to an earthquake that shook Constantinople sometime in 450AD. The earthquake proved catastrophic and people gathered in the streets and began praying, asking God to have mercy on them, singing Kyrie eleison or Lord, have mercy. During this tragedy a small boy came forward and said that, in a vision, he had heard the hymn of the angels gathered around the throne of God, singing what we today call the Trisagion: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. The people took up this chant and the aftershocks ceased. Clearly based on the song of the angelic Seraphim heard by the Prophet Isaiah (6:5), by the end of the 6th century, the Trisagion had been incorporated into the text of the Liturgy. Today, the Trisagion constitutes the last part of the Great Doxology at Matins and should also be part of every Orthodox Christian's morning and evening prayers. It is even sung in Greek and Latin on Holy Friday at St. Peter's Basilica in the Roman Catholic Church.

In the Orthodox tradition the Trisagion is primarily understood as a hymn to the Most Holy Trinity. St. John of Damascus (676-749AD) wrote a whole book explaining the meaning of the hymn! This teaching is best summed up in a hymn written by the Emperor Leo the Wise (866-912AD) for the feast of Pentecost, which we still sing at Vespers on that day.

"Come, people of all nations, and let us worship God in three persons: the Son in the Father, with the Holy Spirit. For the Father, before time began, begot the Son, co-eternal and co-reigning with Him; and the Holy Spirit was in the Father, and glorified with the Son; one power, one essence, one God, whom we all worship as we sing: Holy God, who created all things through the Son, with the co-operation of the Holy Spirit! Holy Might, through whom we have come to know the Father, and through whom the Holy Spirit came into the World! Holy Immortal, the Comforting Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son! Holy Trinity, glory to you!"

[Source of text:��The Divine Liturgy of our Father among the Saints John Chrysostom (with Commentary and Notes)]

[mischief-tea]

My toddlers asked me to sing the doxology after evening stories and lullabyes. Guess I'm doing something right? 😅

[equalsrefl]

الترقوم Delirium Fragment #07

(subtitle: "Room for More than One Story")

The essential AI-ğebra of T-R-Q is economic.

We may go even further by fully identifying T-R-Q with the idea of Economy-qua-DOXology as such.

It carries signification of Universal Capital as Real-Abstraction (Resident Advisor, a.k.a. F.F., N.P.), generalized adherence to a .doc-Trine ov M.easured P.rogression && the aCC-septánce ov DIGIT-eyez'd Experian-z comme MAterniélle.

At the same time T-R-Q is an Affect, COINciding w/ && offering CON-sent 2 All ov the above.

The Worldly MANIFESTaccións ov this GENERIQ RAžeem ov Hær-ass-mænt-driven æquu-mülation && eggs-çAnge sœn variéed, AAmorpheus && Fluíd.

Nevertheless, this generic Real-abstraction we call 'al-Tarqum' is endlessly generative in its hallucinated positivity and can be schematized creatively through the en-limiting force of any-(bounded)-story-model-whatsoever, provided this model is held to be contingent, arbitrary, and ultimately insufficient with respect to its source in the last instance.

In other words, the model is a product of sheer psycho-temporal proximity rather than a necessary slash quasi-organic corollary following from the territory itself.

The limitational movement of schematization may be viewed alternatively as a process of hyperabundance and emergence of a surplus of Nothing standing-in for computational bottom (the aporetic and uncomputable) within the schema itself and the introduction of the definitional error we’ll henceforth discuss under the term 'Sentience'.

Sentience is the recursive, decisional construction of the whole as a single discrete part, thus obliterating their unilateral non-relationship and bestowing upon the schema a thermodynamic autonomy - its own topos and chronos parameterized by the pulsating discord of universal capital.

Bottom is that which ensconces the computable, and Nothing the hallucinatory membrane that defines its boundaries, bestowing integrity while simultaneously threatening it via [ed. note: a blank space was left here - do with it what you will].

The productive force of any schema or model, reduced by its generic identity with any-model-whatsoever, exemplifies the idea of “something from nothing”.

The more restricted the domain, the more ingenuity is afforded in the production of the co-domain.

Image credit: Regula Elizabeth Fiechter, Urban Trosch,

Mystical Lenormand (AGM Müller 2006)

[vencerrommel]

A TRUE NARRATIVE

The story is told from the author's perspective and uses specific details to express a point or observation.

TESTIMONIES

Testimonies are a plural noun that means a declaration of truth or fact, or evidence given by a witness, especially orally in court under oath or affirmation.

An example of a personal testimonies could be:"God has always been faithful in answering my prayers ,whether

i am praying over exams of friendships

INTRODUCTION- In my life, I've experienced the unwavering faithfulness of God in answering my prayers. Whether I'm seeking guidance in exams or strength in friendships, His response has been constant and reassuring."

SUMMARY-belief in God's consistent response to their prayers, regardless of the situation, whether it's exams or friendships. It suggests a strong faith in divine intervention and highlights the speaker's trust in God's support and guidance in various aspects of their life.

EVALUATION - The speaker's experiences with prayer seem to have reinforced their conviction in God's reliability, suggesting a positive and affirming relationship with their faith. However, from a critical perspective, one could argue that attributing all outcomes to divine intervention may overlook other factors contributing to exam success or the dynamics of friendships.

CONCLUSION - But this doxology is most clearly seen in the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer which is, “for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen.” God is teaching us here at the end of the Lord's Prayer that our prayer should have as its end, its purpose, and its goal the glory and praise of God.

[the-drokainian]

====================================

Sunday Morning Sermon, May 28, 2023

Romans 1:1-7: "The Call of God"

====================================

[Image]

Introduction to Romans

- Written by the Apostle Paul

- Written around AD 70

- Written in Corinth (?)

Romans is Unique

- Paul hasn't visited church in Rome (yet).

- Only trip was under arrest (Acs 27-28)

- Lengthiest of Paul's epistles

Chapters 1-11 (more than two-thirds of the book) are dedicated to deep, detailed, sytematic theology; more than any other of Paul's letters.

Chapters 12-16, then, are given to the pracical application of that theology.

Paul is so moved by the truths of the Gospel that it leads him to worship and doxology.

Romans 11:33-36 ESV

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Outline of Romans

1-4- Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone.

5-7- Jesus is a new Adam for a new humanity.

8- God will sovereignly bring believers to glory.

9-11- God is sovereignly making a new family.

12-16- Live out these truths in service and love.

First, we come to the foundation for Paul, for the Christian faith, for all the Scriptures: The Gospel.

We first see what it is to be called.

- For Paul (unique call)

- For you and me!

Romans 1:1-7 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul's Identity (1:1a)

Romans 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

Paul identifies himself three ways:

1. Servant- A slave/ bondservant who serves one Master and Lord

2. Apostle- A unique office specifically given by the Lord Jesus to eyewitnesses of the resurrected Lord

3. Set-Apart- "Sanctified"- Called to a specific identity and task

Paul is writing to a congregation who had never met him. He must establish his authority to write to them in this way.

- He is not a self-styled "apostle."

- He is not after power and money.

- He is a slave of Jesus.

- He has a message from Jesus.

What is that message?

Paul's Message (1:1b-4)

Romans 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

"The Gospel of God"

- From God?

- About God?

- Yes!

This is the Good News belonging to God, given from God, and given to us.

The Gospel is the beginning and the sum of the Chritian life. It did not originate from any man or tradition, rather God himself is its author and designer.

It is God's Good News, his message. We cannot reshape it into whatever we wish in order soften, alter, or accomodate.

It's God's Gospel.

It is what he says it is.

Paul's Message is Not New

Romans 1:2 ESV

2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

"Promised beforehand"

- Content was already there!

- To the prophets and writers of the OT

This is no new, novel message. It is the same story of the Old Covenant now continued and revealed in the New Covenant.

Paul's Message is About Jesus

Romans 1:3 ESV

3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh

The Gospel is first and foremost about who, then what.

- Tim Keller

Who is it about?

- The Lord Jesus Christ

- Son of Man according to David's lineage

- Son of God proved by his resurrection

As truly man, Jesus was able to represent mankind by identifying with our weakness, even to the point of death.

As truly God, Jesus defeated death, Hell, and sin forever and is triumphant over all things.

In this pluralistic society (theirs and ours), Paul is laser-focused on Jesus. Any Good News from God is found in Jesus alone.

- Jesus is the sum of our faith.

- Jesus is the substance of knowing God.

The Gospel is not preached if Christ is not preached.

- Tony Merida

Romans 1:4 ESV

4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Salvation stands or falls on the Person and Work of Christ.

But what proof do we have that he is who he says he is?

The Resurrection!

- Decrees Jesus to be the Son of God

- Certifies what he claims as true and binding

Note the agency of the Spirit.

- The Gospel is Trinitarian.

- The will of the Father

- Revealed in Jesus Christ

- By the power of the Spirit

To know God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is to know Jesus Christ as the only Savior and to trust in him alone.

Conversely, if you do not know Jesus, you do not know God and you do not have the Holy Spirit.

This is at the core of Paul's identity. This is the message.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 ESV

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Paul's Commission (1:5-6)

Paul finds his marching orders in that message.

Acts 9:15 ESV

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

1 Corinthians 9:16 ESV

16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Paul is compelled to preach this message! But this is no joyless duty for him.

Romans 1:5 ESV

5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

1 Timothy 1:13-14 ESV

13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

In his persecution of the Church and rebellion against God; Paul was called by God to go for him with the message of the Gospel.

Paul was called to be a herald of the King.

- To "bring about obedience" to the King

"The obedience of faith"?

- An odd couple?

- Often pitted against one another

- Not so in Scripture!

James 2:18 ESV

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

John 6:29 ESV

29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

The Gospel is a message that is to be recieved by faith, but this kind of faith produces obedience to the one in whom the faith is placed.

True saving faith works itself out in obedience.

This is for God's glory "among all the nations."

- All the nations?

The Gospel might be "for the Jew first," but it is not for the Jew only. The Gospel is for "all the nations": the Gentiles!

Acts 9:15 ESV

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

Matthew 28:19 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

- "Make disciples..."

- "Teach them..."

Paul is fulfilling that commission to the Roman church. It "includes" them! It includes "you"!

Romans 1:6 ESV

6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

Your Calling (1:6-7)

- Paul's identity

- Paul's message

- Paul's commission

- Includes you!

Romans 1:6-7 ESV

6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul was set aside uniquely in the office of Apostle. He was set aside for a specific mission at a specific time. But the same grace and mercy that "overflowed" for Paul is the same "grace and peace" that overflowed for you when you were "called to belong to Jesus Christ."

"Called"- Not merely invited or beckoned, but actually brought into relationship with God by his own sovereign act

What Paul deserve from God?

What did Paul receive from God?

What did you deserve from God?

What have you received from God?

"Grace and peace"

- Is there wonder there for you?

It is almost impossible to believe it, and yet as certainly as we are alive at this moment, we are Christians for one reason only, and that is that God has set his love upon us.

– Martin Lloyd Jones

Paul had a unique call.

- But we all share the ultimate call.

- The call to belong to Jesus

- The call to be saints of God

- A call based on the love of God

Paul had a unique mission.

- But we share in that mission.

- We have the same Gospel.

- We have the same commission.

Believers: You are called

- To belong to Jesus Christ

- To be saints

- To proclaim the Gospel

Does that define you?

Submit as a servant to the Master.

Go as a "sent one" with his command.

Be set apart for his commission.

Go with his message.

All of this flows from your identity!

- Called to belong to Jesus

- Loved of God

- Called to be saints

- Fueled by his grace and peace

[dearlittlefandom-stalker]

Worship Songs—

Spirit of the Sovereign God by Lindell Cooley

Our God is an Awesome God by Rich Mullins or Lindell Cooley

In Christ Alone by Owl City

Your Great Name by Natalie Grant

This Blood by Carman

Amazing Love by Newsboys

Every Praise by Hezekiah Walker

Isn’t the Name by Jeremy and Adrienne Camp

Forever Love by Francesca Battistelli

What a Savior by Laura Story

Shoulders by For King and Country

Faithful by Plumb

When You Walk into the Room by Plumb

Unto You by Roy Fields

King of Love by I Am They

Boldly I Approach by Rend Collective

Glorious Day by Casting Crowns

Revelation Song — most versions, lol

Take Me In by Kutless

Hands in the Air by The Waiting

Send the Fire by Lindell Cooley

His Life for Mine by the Talley Trio

Dawn by Rebecca St. James

Only You by David Crowder

You Are My Hope by Skillet

Love Song by Third Day

Lord, You’re Holy (Wonderful, Glorious, Holy, and Righteous) by Eddie James (or anyone who sings this song)

This Fragile Breath by Todd Agnew

Such an Awesome God by Cross Point Music

Let Our Voices Rise like Incense by Petra

At the Cross by Joseph and Grace Larson

There is Grace by Lara Landon

My Savior My God by Aaron Shust

Calvary by Michael Sweet

More I can’t think of right now…

Hymns—

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

We Gather Together

The Deep Deep Love of Jesus

Nothing but the Blood of Jesus

For I Know Whom I have Believed

Man of Sorrows

Romans Doxology

Surely Goodness and Mercy

A Mighty Fortress is our God

JoyfulJoyful we Adore Thee

favorite worship song/hymn? alright go

[piedpiperslists]

Jungkook One Shots (XXIX)

* s - contains smut

An Abundance of Peaches by @yoongphoria s wc~11k / friends to lovers, college au Summary: In which the spring semester of junior year teaches you and Jungkook that love can bloom even in the most unexpected places, in the most unintentional of ways.

Soft by @hamsterclaw s wc~5.7k / cop!Jungkook, autopsy technician!reader Summary: Jungkook doesn't think of himself as being overly emotional. Why does everyone keep telling him he wears his heart on his sleeve?

Selcouth by @99liners s wc~7k / detective!reader, established relationship Summary: Jeongguk is your weeb boyfriend and you are the perfect weeb waifu but he doesn’t know yet how much of a badass girl boss you are. Basically, he turns into :o emoji.

Rough Hands by @bratkook s wc~12k / slight fuckboy!Jungkook, enemies to lovers Summary: How is he meant to confess that he’d tear off his left arm for you if you asked when he can see the way you look at him in disgust when his nervous rambling leads to retelling the raunchy stories of girl’s past.

Mutual by @seokjxnnie s wc~2.7k / FWB, office au, PWP Summary: Your boss was always talking about how her son would be perfect for you, promising that he was going to the staff holiday party. He turned out to be the hook up that happened a couple months ago, who you kept around for some good dick.

Enchanted by @kjhmyg wc~6.8k / friends to lovers, college au Summary: “Seeing those two look at each other like that makes me think that love might actually be real.”

Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So (Fucking Done) by @fortunexkookie s wc~7.1k / friends au, PWP Summary: Jungkook has had a crush on you for years, and it’s been driving him crazy that you still think of him as a kid. He thought he had tried everything he could to change your perspective, but after catching you with someone only slightly older than him, he decided it was time for something different.

(Better) Left Unsaid by @angelguk wc~2.8k / angst, friends to not lovers Summary: Maybe if you’d reached out a little further, held his hand a little tighter, it wouldn’t hurt this bad to let go. Except it would - it always would. Because the one person you’ll never be able to let go is Jeongguk.

Doxology by @dark-muse-iris s wc~6.3k / secret relationship, PWP Summary: It’s Easter Sunday, one of the holiest of days for your presumed faith. But instead of spending it taking in the Lord’s message while tucked between your devout parents, you’re off sinning with the man who knows how truly wicked you are.

DOTTI by @jungcock s wc~6.2k / coworkers au Summary: Work colleagues are off limits. Period. But, when the office eye candy seems to have eyes for only you—you find it extremely hard to refrain from breaking your #1 rule.

[dark-muse-iris]

Hi! I’ve wondered about this: How do your storylines usually come to you? And do you ever know an entire story before really working on it, or do you let it tell itself as you go?

Ooo this is a fun one! Okay, so my storylines usually come from one of these:

Dreams or "dream fragments" - Narcolepsy drops me straight into REM in about 4 minutes, so when I take naps I'll sometimes wake up with a new idea. I also went through this period of a couple years where tomato sauce gave me smut dreams. That's how I ended up with Transference.

Adaptations from my life - Some smut scenes in stories are based off encounters I've had or were asked to provide in open relationship settings. Most of my villains are taken from people I've met at work or through friends. Some angst scenes like "It's Enough" are based on things I lived through and I wrote it to make peace with the past.

Wanting to make a point through art - Doxology and half the Working Man Bangtan stories slip in some form of social commentary. This isn't always caught by readers, but it's fun for me when it is. I've been itching to write like this again, but whether certain fandoms have the stomach for the subject matter has given me pause for now.

Chatting with other writer friends - I get story ideas all the time, but whether they take root is based on how inspired I stay. The stories that require larger amounts of research or take bigger risks almost always had the support of one or two friends throughout the writing process.

For oneshots, I know the entire story and have it fully storyboarded before I start writing. I'm a planner type of writer and it can be very difficult for me to wing it outside of writing exercises. Storyboarding, for me, is sitting with my arms crossed and eyes closed for about 30 minutes as my brain weaves all the threads together.

My multi-chapter stories have varied. Most of the time I had a general outline for the whole story and I would upload segments as soon as they were finished, but in the past that backfired spectacularly for me in terms of harassment. Between work and my other responsibilities, the only way I'd put out additional multi-chapter content today (like finishing Daisies and Dinosaurs) is if I have fully drafted the entire series in advance. I've learned my lesson and now I write those like I write original fiction.

[dying-hemlock]

The Figure At First Church of Carnation

“The Figure at First Church of Carnation”

A Story by: Dying-Hemlock

Bart fell silent as the headlights of James’s car illuminated the front door of the church. It was falling apart and held together through a combination of rusty nails and strangler vines, which anchored what remained of the walls to their support posts.

“What the hell are we doing here?” Bart asked.

“You told me you were bored, so I figured we should so do something exciting,’ James said.

“And hanging in a church parking lot is your idea of exciting?” James rolled his eyes, and he turned off the car, putting the keys in the middle console. Bart shot him a look, raising his eyebrows a little.

“Don’t give me that look. Nobody is out here. Nothing is gonna happen to the car.”

Bart rolled his eyes and turned his head towards the church. Somehow it made him feel cold, even with the car slowly heating up from the summer air. He couldn’t place what made him feel this way. It was just an empty church, right? James stepped out of the car, a 2006 Subaru Outback, shut the door and motioned for Bart to do the same. He exited and joined James in the parking lot. Bart let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding in when he heard the crickets chirping outside. Hearing something other than the car’s engine helped make the scene before him less creepy.

“James. Really, what are we doing here?” Bart asked. “I don’t need to tell you anything,” James said.

“Well, then you can take me back home.”

James sighed. “Fine. You always have to ruin my surprises, don’t you?”

“Get on with it, or take me back.”

“I heard some kids talking about it while I was waiting tables at Shoney’s last night. Apparently, this place is haunted by some deranged priest who tried hanging some ‘witches’ back in the day and can’t rest till his work is done. I don’t know. It was some bullshit like that,” James said.

“And you seriously believed some story enough to drag me out here?” Bart said.

“You are the one who said you were bored. Be grateful I’m doing something for you.”

Bart crossed his arms and stared at James. After a quick look, James huffed and turned around, walking towards the church. Bart followed and didn’t say a word to James as they approached the building. As he moved closer, Bart began to notice the only sound he could hear was the gravel crunching beneath his boots and that the air had grown unseasonably cold.

“James, I think we should go back.”

James did not respond to Bart as he inspected the door. Unable to find a lock, James took a few steps back and ran, forcing his foot into the door. Bart looked up and gritted his teeth as the structure began to sway.

“James, wait!”

Bart was too late to stop him as James had already started to charge the door again. With a loud crack from the dry wood, the door splintered, a portion of it flying into the chapel. Bart looked up, seeing the building swaying even more now, and pulled James away from the structure as it began to rock even more wildly than before.

“What the hell was that for?”

“Why don’t you take a look, you dumbass?!” James said, pointing at the church. James quieted down when he saw the church’s walls and roof were rocking like the boats down at the town’s marina. Eventually, though the church fell back into place again, the vines that grounded the building still holding firm.

“Don’t try anything like that again,” Bart said.

James shook off Bart and entered the chapel, careful to dodge the large splinters poking out of the now broken door. Bart followed closely behind, holding his breath as he passed through the threshold. When he entered the space behind the door, Bart breathed again as he could see there was not much of a roof present. A few semi-rotted beams still made up the somewhat triangular frame above their heads, but others had fallen down, crushing a few up the pews. There were also large gaps in the shingles as well, making the starry sky visible through them.

“So…” Bart said. “Is there any way to summon this priest or whatever?” “I don’t know. I lost interest in the conversation after they gave me their card. It’s not my job to satisfy them after that,” James said, poking around some of the more complete pews by the altar.

Bart stayed near the back, his hands in his pockets and his muscles tensed. He scanned his eyes around the room, which soon landed on a red book in a pew near him. Intrigued, Bart lowered his shoulders a little and walked to the book, and began flipping through it. It read ‘First Church of Carnation Hymnal.’ It was an old songbook. The pages were yellowed. He could make out a few hymns on some of the pages, “Doxology,’ ‘Mighty Fortress is our God,’ and ‘How Firm A Foundation’ were a few of the titles.

A yell from the other end of the chapel interrupted Bart’s skimming, “Hey, look at me!” James said. “Hear ye, hear ye. You all are going to Hell unless you repent of your sins, you filthy sinners.” James said as if addressing a room full of churchgoers.

James continued on for a little bit before he was interrupted. “You think that’s funny, boy?” a voice said from behind him.

James spun around. A tall and rail-thin man dressed in a black suit looked more like it belonged to a mortician behind him. His black hair was wild and had streaks of gray running through it, and his voice was like sandpaper to Bart and James’s ears as he spoke.

“Do you think that’s funny, boy?” the figure said even louder this time. Bart and James were frozen in their spots. The priest began to approach Bart and repeated his question over and over again. James slowly backed up. He began to sweat heavily as the figure closed the space between them. Bart tried yelling at James to tell him about the window behind him, but his voice wouldn’t work. All that came out was a squeak. As the figure backed James into a corner, Bart dropped the songbook. It made a loud thud against the dusty floor and sent up a cloud that burned his throat. As soon as the book made contact with the floor, the figure turned its head to Bart. By that point, the figure had already trapped James against the wall and hand a hand around his neck, and James’s pleas to Bart were getting harder and harder to hear.

“Bart…please…” James said.

“Do you think that’s funny, boy?” the figure said, this time to Bart.

The words sent a shock through all of Bart’s muscles when he heard them. He turned and sprinted out the door. The shards of wood scraped his skin, but he didn’t notice. He didn’t turn around, either. He kept going and looked for a way to get away from the church. Bart spotted the car and sprinted till he was at the old hatchback. He fumbled through the console, his fingers failing to grasp the keys due to the sweat coating his palms. Bart looked up and saw the figure sprinting towards the car. Overcome with fear, he finally grabbed hold of the key fob and jammed it into the ignition, and turned on the vehicle. Bart put it into reverse and backed out onto the road, tires squealing as he did so. Bart sped off for several miles and stopped at the end of a long driveway leading. The sign near the road was hard to make out in the low light but read, ‘Heishman Farm.’ When he stopped, his chest was heaving and burning from a combination of the dusty church and exerting himself more than he had since high school. After catching his breath, he suddenly jolted upright.

“James!” he said.

He couldn’t go back. What if that thing was still at the church? Better to take the risk than to leave James behind. Throwing caution to the wine, Bart turned the ignition. The car sped off once more, kicking up the dust in the driveway, and moved down the road back towards the church. 

When he arrived, Bart leapt out of the car and began calling for James. The air was silent, except for the crickets, which were once again chirping. He tried calling again, but nothing. Bart ran up to the church entrance, trying to squeeze his way through, but a massive splinter by the base of the door caught his calf muscle and sent him to the chapel floor. He winced in pain. Bart tried to get up but had a hard time due to his injured leg, which was now coated in blood. Eventually, he got stable enough footing by using a pew as a crutch and pushed himself up. 

Bart’s stomach fell when he saw the room. There was no figure anywhere to be seen. The songbook was gone too, but most importantly, James wasn’t anywhere to be seen. The pews were empty, and the altar was too, free of the tattered banners with the Methodist church icon and wooden podium that once adorned it. Bart was alone in that church in the middle of nowhere.

END

[patchoulisecrets]

What I Read in 2020:

Richard Adams, Watership Down

Russell Banks, Cloudsplitter

Julian Barnes, The Only Story

Paul Bowles, Let It Come Down and Up Above the World

Michael Connelly, The Night Fire

John Connolly, A Book of Bones

Tana French, In the Woods and The Likeness

Masha Gessen, Surviving Autocracy

William Gibson, Agency

Joe Hill, Nos4A2

Nick Hornby, Just Like You

Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

Henry James, The Turn of the Screw

Stephen King, Bag of Bones and It

Ben Lerner, The Topeka School

Julie Maroh, Blue Is the Warmest Color

Jason Matthews, Red Sparrow

Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian

Michael Ondaatje, Coming Through Slaughter

Ian Rankin, In a House of Lies

Meredith Russo, Birthday

Matt Ruff, Lovecraft Country

John Sandford, Masked Prey

Dorothy Strachey, Olivia

Graham Swift, Here We Are

Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Emily Temple, The Lightness

Nell Zink, Doxology

[roaringgirl]

Book club - March

Once again didn’t read anything published before 1900, but did read more non-fiction and finished a couple of books I’d been putting off. In April I will, finally, read the Mill on the Floss.

1. Daniel Kehlmann - Tyll (2017): Linked short stories set during the Thirty Years’ War, partly based on tales about Till Eulenspiegel. Thought this was quite good - not all of the stories are successful, but he certainly gets across a certain sweeping brutality and tragedy with a fair amount of wit.

2. Francine Toon - Pine (2020): A crime and ghost novel set in rural Scotland - the denouement doesn’t live up to the set-up, but it’s very readable and for about the first three-quarters suspenseful and claustrophobic.

3. Robert Massie - Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (2011): Exactly what I wanted, which is a popular, non-academic biography of Catherine the Great.

4. Nell Zink - Nicotine (2016): Love Zink’s prose even when I sometimes find her plots exhausting. This was a little more laboured than her best work, I think.

5. Daniel Kehlmann - Measuring the World (2005): Also quite good. Literary imagining of Gauss and Humboldt - exactly the kind of not-too-taxing historical fiction with pleasant literary pretensions I’ve been enjoying.

6. Erika Fatland - Sovietistan (2020): Travel writing about the former Soviet Central Asian Republics. Really excellent, and alive to what it’s like to be a woman doing this kind of traveling (or living in these places).

7. Norton Juster - The Phantom Tollbooth (1961): Reread in a fit of nostalgia. I love this book; associate it strongly with sitting in my grandmother’s living room in Cairo, bored out of my mind because I don’t speak Arabic.

8. Barbara Comyns - Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead (1954): Enjoyed this very much. Apocalyptic flood and poisoning in an English village. Comyns seems to me like Nancy Mitford’s shadow self, or lunatic cousin.

9. Barbara Comyns - The Vet’s Daughter (1959): A fit of enthusiasm which is now languishing a bit since I’m stuck on Sisters By a River. I don’t think the magical realist or fantastical elements here really work; it’s definitely less securely handled than WWCaWWD, so the distinctive nightmarishness doesn’t shine as much.

10. Barbara Pym - Excellent Women (1952)

11. Barbara Pym - A Glass of Blessings (1958)

12. Anita Brookner - The Rules of Engagement (2003). Am treating these three together because these sorts of middlebrow novels do tend to blur in my mind. Enjoyed the Pym - never read her before - but can’t see myself becoming a cultish devotee. Don’t think the Brookner is her best work.

13. Thomas Bernhard - The Loser (1983). Narrator’s recollections of the relationship between him, his friend Wertheimer, and their friend Glenn Gould. I’m glad I read it - at times I felt like I was slogging through it but then there’d be these lunatic, wonderful, excoriating paragraphs and lines. Subject for further study.

14. Barbara W. Tuchman - A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century (1978): Unfortunately, too academic to be good popular history and way too generalist to be of much use to a specialist, I assume. I do often like these big, baggy, non-specialist treatments touching on the history of ideas that sometimes annoy actual historians, not being one myself (I very much like Huizinga, Ginzburg, Darnton) but this book was... rarely as interesting as that.

15. Diarmaid McCulloch - Tudor Church Militant: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation (1999): Pleasantly surprised by how readable this was, although it probably wouldn’t make an awful lot of sense if you didn’t already have a decent grip on the period.

16. Keith Roberts - Pavane (1968): Linked short stories in an alternate universe where Protestantism was destroyed after Elizabeth I was assassinated in 1588, so the Industrial Revolution has yet to really get going, etc. This was fine! I like 60s science fiction.

17. Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood (1984): Concept (a wood populated by memories and myths generated from the collective human subconscious) more interesting than execution.

18. E. L. Doctorow - Billy Bathgate (1989): Excellent. Set in the 1930s, New York gangsters.

19. Nell Zink - Doxology (2019): As with Nicotine, mostly just made me want to read Mislaid again. Although I’m always envious of how effortlessly exciting and sharp a writer Zink is.

[burlveneer-music]

My WVUD playlist, 12/19/2020

Shelley Kelley - Christmas Card Annie Lennox - The Holly and the Ivy Siouxsie & The Banshees - Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant Night Owls - This Christmas (feat. Durand Jones) Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Silver Bells Los Lobos - It's Christmas Time in Texas Ramsey Lewis Trio - We Three Kings Simeon Davis Group - Let It Snow The Fruition Experience - The Doxology John Zorn - Magical Sleigh Ride Alice Coltrane Sextet - My Favorite Things Mars Williams - The Hanukkah-Xmas March of Truth For 12 Days of Jingling Bells With Spirits In Chicago Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio - Sled Zeppelin The Ventures - Sleigh Ride Furnace and the Fundamentals - Giving In the Name of (Killing in the Name of - Christmas version) Hawkestrel - Silent Night (feat. Steve Leigh) Majestica - A Christmas Story Foo Fighters - Run Rudolph Run

[slippinmickeys]

Epithalamium

They walk in the house to find the kitchen table upended, a corner of the rug chewed to bits, the baby gate to the laundry room unlatched and wide open. Scully has a few choice words for both Mulder and the offender, still asleep on the couch with a paw in the air.

She’d asked him to make sure the gate was latched when they left, and he’s still pretty sure he’d done so. Daggoo has already proven he’s a regular Houdini, but there’s a slight chance this one’s on him.

Scully is looking at him with an eyebrow in the air, her arms crossed.

“You’re looking at me like this is my fault...” he says, incredulous.

“It leaves a certain vulpecular impression, yes,” she says, and her phraseology is better than nagging, he has to admit.

He looks at her blankly for a moment, a flare of something paphian low in his gut.

“I’m insulted by your implication, but impressed by your lexicon.”

That earned him a smile.

He wasn’t one of those men who could be threatened by a smart woman. Quite the opposite, in fact. Her intelligence was always a turn-on. Years ago, he’d heard her use the word “dolichocephalic” to describe an alien’s head, and he’d had to leave the room for propriety’s sake. And her intelligence was obviously only one of her many attributes. He’d seen the way men looked at her—women too. She was exquisitely beautiful, sapphic, her face cut like a poem.

He’s known her for over two decades and she’s barely aged in that time. He gives her an assessing look, thinking of Alfred Fellig. Whatever her forever is, it’s where he wants to be.

They’d assigned her to him to punish him and instead they’d given him life; everything he didn’t know he’d ever wanted. She’s a part of him now, even when she’s blaming him for something he’s not entirely sure is his fault, and he’s irritated that she’s irritated. The feeling is very spousal.

They are pair-bonded, sui iuris, mated for life.

He’ll take her to bed, he thinks. He’ll mark her as his. Again and again and again.

He’ll worry about the mess later.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Even in his 50s, he’s as mesomorphic as a sculpture, his eyes like prisms. It is hard to stay mad at him.

Codependency is a real bitch. Even when he drives her crazy, she doesn’t know any other way to be. There are too many years between them, too many monsters. She wouldn’t even know how to begin telling some other suitor her story.

She thinks maybe soulmates don’t form in the ether, connected before birth—perhaps instead their bonds are forged in the smithy of life.

He leans into her, pushing his considerable bulk into her space.

“I’ll take this one,” he says.

You’d better, she thinks. She’d asked him to check that the gate was closed. She’d asked nice.

Instead of moving to clean up the mess before them, he reaches for her, puts a hand on her hip.

“You’re cute when you’re mad,” he says, leaning down into her personal space.

She knows what this is. His first seduction was slow--seven glacial years of it—but these days all it takes is the quirk of an eyebrow, a touch to the waist. She feels her heart quicken in anticipation, feels a throb in her womb.

“You always think I’m cute,” she says.

“You always are.”

It is astonishing to her that their lovemaking these days isn’t rote or practiced. It’s comfortable, yes, but their chemistry is such that he still finds ways to surprise her.

His chin rasps against the carnose cleft of her thigh and gasping, she knocks an elbow into a burning candle, the hot wax splashing to the floor.

Their love is an ache, a pang, a culmination of their wanting. It is the only otherworldly thing she believes in.

In the end, he barely has breath, her name a doxology on his lips.

There is dried candle wax glued to the floor, canine teeth marks in the legs of the coffee table, chaos in her ordered life. Amongst the mess, there is happiness, there is peace, there is no other way she would rather be.

[musicgoon]

Book Review: Feathers for Arrows by C. H. Spurgeon

What stories did Charles Spurgeon tell to help his sermons connect with his audience? In Feathers for Arrows, Reformation Heritage Books shares Charles H. Spurgeon’s illustrations for preachers and teachers.

Spurgeon’s “Note Book”

Known as the Prince of Preachers, Charles H. Spurgeon was an English preacher steeped in what became known as the Reformed Baptist tradition. He was prolific -- writing sermons, commentaries, devotionals, magazine articles, poetry, and hymns. To help him tend to his work, he kept a book of notes for sermon ideas and illustrations. At just over 250 pages, this is a collection from Spurgeon’s “Note Book.”

The notes are arranged alphabetically, and they read like an almanac or encyclopedia. So this is not a typical book with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Rather, this is a journal and a journey into the heart and mind of a man who was always thinking, always dreaming, and always seeing the Lord in the ordinary moments of life.

See the World with the Mind of Christ

Some entries read like stories, and some like simple proverbs. For instance, an entry for “Christian--what he should be,” says that: “A child of God should be a visible Beatitude, for joy and happiness, and a living Doxology, for gratitude and adoration.” And Spurgeon doesn’t just fill his notebook with his own ideas, but he often quotes from others. For instance, an entry on “humility” finds him quoting John Wesley, stating that there is no word fitting for it in the Greek language.

This book will benefit preachers, showing how Spurgeon was able to relate all of life to the spiritual world. Reading this will be a creative kick-starter, opening your eyes to see the world with the mind of Christ. For Spurgeon purists, it will be a novel edition to add to your library. For casual readers, it will be an inspiration and an encouragement to dwell upon the Word and to encounter and engage with the world having spiritual selectivity.

Arrows to Pierce Your Heart

For those who are familiar with Spurgeon, this will be a treasure trove of gems to mine. If you are new to Spurgeon, this will give you a glimpse into his heart. You will find a man who wanted to help others see the Savior. You will find a man who was captivated by Christ. Let these arrows pierce your heart. And let Spurgeon show you how to sharpen your own.

I received a media copy of Feathers for Arrows and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.