#kneel for your Lord and Saviour

[maxsix]

[kasagia]

Right hand

Pairing: Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x fem!exBeneGesserit! reader Summary: You were his right-hand (wo)man after he saw you in combat during your training on the Bene Gesserit. He freed you from them and turned you from a Bene Gesserit into a faithful soldier who took care of all his dirty business. Getting rid of the bodies of the people he killed, organising opponents for him to fight, poor people on whom he could vent his anger and desire for bloodshed, or even concubines. You were his eyes and ears in the baron's court. You reported everything to him, being more effective than any Bene Gesserit. But he wants more... much more. Warning: 18+; violence; blood; Feyd Rautha; death; fight; brutality; smut; bathing together; dagger play; breeding kink? I guess; a lot things happening; my first time for Feyd so I'm a little nervous😅; enjoy!; Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen's Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~ Main Masterlist ~•♤♤♤•~ PART II ~•♤♤♤•~

It wasn't your choice to undergo Bene Gesserit training. Your mother abandoned you when you were a little baby and took you to these terrible women, leaving you to their mercy.

You hated them. Their entire organisation, which included planned breeding, aimed at creating the Kwisatz Haderach. To you, these women were a sick cult that you were reluctant to be a part of. You trembled with fear, thinking of the day when they would send you to extend the genetic line of a nobel family by lending your womb or to ensure that their plans succeeded.

However, you realised that you had little say in the matter. The Bene Gesserit would find you anywhere if you tried to run and hide. You were doomed to follow the orders of your crazy old reverend mother and wait in fear for the day when you could prove your usefulness.

But one day, you crossed paths with Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. And for a very long time, you considered it a real gift from fate. The first happy turn of events in your tragic life.

He was on a diplomatic mission. He was being shown around by the princess of your planet, and they happened to be attending the training of the Bene Gesserit sisters. You immediately caught his attention. Your movements were smoother, full of the passion of a true warrior. You charmed him so much that, at first, he thought you had put a spell on him. After seeing your potential and your obvious dislike for your sisters, he took you with him to Giedi Prime.

He faked your death so the Bene Gesserit sisters wouldn't come looking for you. He made you his right hand, his most trusted soldier. It was only after years of service under the Na-Baron that you realised that you had entered a much worse hell than any plans the Bene Gesserit had for you.

Feyd Rautha was supposed to be your personal devil. But first, you saw him as your saviour.

An animalistic, bloodthirsty scream resounds throughout the na-baron's private training room as his 'toy' falls dead under the blow she received from the furious man. You enter the room just as Feyd pierces him with his sword, causing drops of blood to land on your face.

You wipe them away, undeterred by the na-baron's brutality. Years of service had accustomed you to all the acts of cruelty he was capable of. At least this time, the dead man's entrails didn't spill around him. You hated calling his harpies to the feast. Despite so many years spent at the side of the baron's favourite nephew, you never got used to his concubines. They made you feel strangely uneasy.

"My lord, na-baron." You say, announcing your presence. Feyd breathes heavily and shifts his mad, furious gaze to you, not noticing your entrance until you speak.

You walk past the body, avoiding the pool of blood, and hand him a towel. He takes it from you without a word, wiping the sweat and blood from his head, chest, and back. You ignore his exposed muscles and kneel next to the man on whom he took out his anger, preparing to carry him out of the room before the next opponent/toy shows up.

"You were right. That old fool entrusted Arrakis to my brother. He will embarrass our family in one day. Ha! Even half is enough for him! This wretch doesn't know how to manage a small province, let alone an entire planet with fremen ready to attack at any corner." He says, rubbing himself furiously. He throws a towel into the corner of the room and walks to the table to pour himself something to drink.

"He gives him a chance to prove himself. When he wastes it, you will get it and prove to the baron and the lords that you are rightfully entitled to the title of baron." You say, securing the body so the guards at the door can carry it out.

"Every fool knows that. It's obvious that I'm a better choice than this scoundrel, who will sell the secrets of our family and swear allegiance to anyone who threatens his life. Baron throws a party in his honor. To the success of his mission. He's just doing it to piss me off. He doesn't give a damn about Rabban or whether he succeeds. This is just another of his tests on me. That's why you're coming with me. I've already sent for a dress for you." You look up at him with your surprised gaze. You're even more shocked when he reaches out his hand to help you up—something you didn't expect from him in his white, burning rage state.

"A dress?" You ask, taking his hand. You hold your breath, keeping yourself from gasping, as he lifts you off the floor with one strong pull. Unprepared, you bump completely onto his chest, not being able to keep your balance.

You freeze at the feeling of his muscled body close to yours. You can feel his heart pounding in his chest from the adrenaline he felt while killing this poor man. You tense up, seeing his icy-blue eyes already staring at yours. He starts giggling darkly as he presses you tighter against him so you can feel every muscle of his.

"Is there a problem? Would you prefer to come naked? I wouldn't mind, but…”

"I'm simply surprised that you want me there officially. I usually sneak there. I watch from the shadows. Well, you know." You interrupt me before he can insinuate anything, and with his silent permission, you move a decent distance away from him, leaving his arms.

You always had to be careful when making moves like this. You saw how he punished for minor offences, just for breathing. And you didn't run away from the Bene Gesserit with him to lose your life because of one of his… impulses. Although he has never put you in any serious danger, which was strangly amazing, since all of the servants who worked for him (and are still alive) have experienced his wrath on their bodies at least once.

"I know. But this time, I need you by my side. Not in hiding. My birthday is coming up—the most important of them all. I want to know what my uncle will come up with. Maybe you can find out something from the Lords. Besides, why wouldn't I want to have such beauty on my arm?"

"You want a woman by your side so you can humiliate your brother before he leaves? Perpetuate in him a sense of belief that you are superior, even if you don't have power over Arrakis right now?"

You see his hands tighten on his blades. You purse your lips, realising you were too quick to question his intentions. Basic mistake. You shouldn't have tested the waters when you knew Feyd was already on the end of his patience.

He takes a step towards you, entering your personal space. You swallow and lift your head to meet his gaze. This wasn't the first time he had intimidated you, tested you, carefully gauged your reaction, and waited until he finally saw the fear in your eyes. But you never gave him that satisfaction. If the Bene Gesserit taught you anything, it was that fear was weakness. A weakness you could tame... at least enough not to show it to anyone else.

So you endure his piercing, burning gaze with indifference. You stay like that even after a small smirk starts to appear on his face. You wonder how many people before you saw that smirk and stared into those night-black eyes on Giedi Prime as they passed from this world.

"That pink little tongue of yours will get you into trouble one day, my little witch." He purrs, his tone low and dangerous. He reaches up to your face with his free hand and gently runs his hand through your hair, caressing your cheek and jaw with the pad of his thumb. "Possible. I'm a na-baron... don't I deserve the best?" He looks defiantly at you, throwing you the proverbial gauntlet. He's waiting for you to stumble. For open defiance of his order.

You don't understand why, but he's been acting like this more and more lately. He made ambiguous comments, carefully watching your reaction. It was something new—a change in his behaviour that you hadn't figured out the reason for yet. But you had too much on your mind to think about it any longer.

"I can prepare you a beautiful concubine perfect for Giedi Prime standards." You suggest at which he shakes his head, laughing hoarsely. He turns his back to you and pours himself another glass of water.

"It's not necessary. I want you. Go and get ready. I'll join you in two hours when I'm done here." He says just as the door opens to reveal the soldiers you called for to take the body away and who have brought him a new drugged opponent. Feyd licks his lips, flips the blade up, and catches it, making a little show before lunging at his toy.

"As you wish, my na-baron." You say before leaving him to get ready for the party. Another warrior's scream echoes off the walls of the chamber as Feyd unleashes his anger on him.

You scan the room carefully, standing with your glass against the wall in a more crowded part of the room. You try your best to blend in with the crowd, but with your hair down, it's not that easy. Even if you try to cover your hair, you can feel people's curious gazes on you. But the worst ones are the burning gazes of the lords on you, some of them too lustful to be able to feel comfortable.

If you could, you would hide in the shadows, as usual, and observe them without being the centre of attention. You felt like a monkey in a circus or an exotic animal at an exhibition. The cold hand on your shoulder reminds you why you can't do this. You turn around to once again meet the na-baron's intense gaze today.

"You look good." He says as his eyes carefully scan the black latex dress with cutouts on the sides that reach down to your hipbones. "But I don't remember having that metal corset disguised as armour and that ridiculous chain veil sent to you along with the dress."

"I almost mistook this rag for a nightgown. I had to wear something on it. They think I'm your whore anyway; we don't have to prove it to them." You respond to his taunt and turn towards him. He is wearing black, formal armour, which is perfect as an official outfit.

"Do you find it scandalous to be my whore, little witch? Maybe even disgusting?" You meet his gaze to roll your eyes at him, at which he chuckles, wrapping his arms around your waist. You don't like this closeness, but there's nothing you can do to push his hand off of you. You are in public. Such a gesture towards him would be equivalent to a death sentence.

"I see nothing... honourable or good in being anyone's whore, my na-baron." You say, gently moving away from him so as not to lean on him as much.

"Have you seen anything noteworthy?" He asks, unfazed by your trying to move away from him. He pulls you up, wrapping his arms around your waist tighter and making your back rest against his chest. His fingertips brush against the exposed skin, caressing your hipbone.

You frown, turning your head to look at him. He's never been so... clingy before. He always respected your personal space and never touched you. You blame it on his desire to tease his brother, who is staring at you intently from across the room, and you shift your gaze to the people present at the party.

"Several lords congratulated your brother. However, there are rumours and beliefs that he will not be up to the task. Some also believe that you will slit his throat before his ship leaves for Arrakis."

"This idea crossed my mind. If you hadn't brought this information to me earlier, you would probably have had to deal with making the public believe in his… tragic and sudden death from natural causes."

"Natural causes; I wish I could see that." You scoff, finishing your drink. You turn around, leaving his arms, and set your glass down on the table. When you turn to him again, he holds out his hand for you to take.

"You'll see if you don't entertain me. I'm bored, and looking at this smug idiot isn't helping my patience or my ability to restrain myself. Dance with me, my little witch."

"You're interrupting my work." You complain, taking his hand. He leads you to the dance floor and spins you around, pulling you tight against his chest. He holds you close to him, perfectly placing his steps and moving to the beat of the music. He is as fluid in dancing as he is in fighting. Flawless as always.

"I'm your work. You are my right hand; you meet all my needs. I don't think I need to remind you of that, do I?" He asks in challenge, taking your chin between his two fingers as he looks at you carefully. You only smile at him in a sweet, artificial way. He laughs, fully aware of how fake this act is, and drops your chin.

Over the years, you discovered that he liked it when you teased him and responded to his taunts with your own. Of course, only when no one could hear it, and not very often. He had a reputation to uphold. He couldn't afford for anyone to see his right-hand (wo)man mocking him. Unbeknownst to you, he found it adorable the way your eyes lit up whenever you did something mischievous.

"Of course not, my na-baron."

"Good." He nods at your words. He takes his eyes off you for a moment and focuses on something behind your shoulder. He leans down, his cheek brushing against yours. You shiver at the sudden closeness, his scent becoming more distinct as you inhale it wholeheartedly. It's captivating. Sweet. Intoxicating. Dangerous. Just like him. "Do you have your daggers?" His hot whisper reaches your ear. He's so close, you can almost feel his full lips brush against your earlobe.

"Yes, why?" You ask, perfectly masking the tremble in your voice. But you doubt whether you can hide from him how your heartbeat speeds up. You blame it on the adrenaline rush. Not fear caused by his proximity.

"It seems to me that you will soon have to prove to these imbeciles once again why I chose you to be my right-hand man." He explains as the song ends.

You feel him reluctantly release you from his embrace and take a step away from you. You turn around and see his brother walking towards you, his right hand following him, giving you a mischievous look and a lecherous, mocking smile when he sees your outfit. You straighten up, lifting your head proudly at the man in a similar position to yours. The difference between you was that you served the stronger Harkonnen. It would give you an inviolably higher position if, like them, you had a penis between your legs.

"Brother. You finally brought your pet to play with us." Rabban says, nodding to his brother. You feel a wave of disgust as his gaze lingers on you longer.

Feyd tenses, furious, as his brother's eyes are all on you. You wouldn't have noticed if his hand hadn't been on your hip bone a moment later, hiding some of your exposed skin from his brother's eyes. You wonder what his problem might be. After all, he chose this dress for you by himself.

"Be careful. She doesn't have a muzzle. I would prefer that no harm come to you before you go to Arrakis. She's got some pretty... sharp teeth." He says it condescendingly, pulling you closer to him. In a perfect world, you'd kick them both in the groin. Unfortunately, you don't have that luxury. You can only imagine putting these two pseudo-alpha males in their place. But how sweet these dreams are...

"What about a small competition? My man against yours? Let's see what this mysterious beauty that you keep hidden can really do." Rabban's right-hand man gives you a cocky, confident look. He plays with the dagger in his hand, making a poor show that was intended to intimidate you. You roll your eyes behind your metal chain veil and shift your gaze to Feyd. You are only subject to his orders. Not some weak, pathetic creatures.

"This party is already dead. Do you want to kill also YOUR pet?" Feyd mocks him, and you almost break your unflappable, emotionless attitude, barely holding back your laughter. Na-baron sees this and smiles to himself, rubbing circles with the pad of his thumb on your hipbone.

"Are you afraid that she won't heat your bed anymore?" Feyd narrows his eyes at him. You feel his fingertips dig painfully into your hip as he tries to keep himself from lunging at his brother with the blade. You know full well that the eyes of the lords, the baron, and most of the people at the party are turned towards you.

"I have no doubt whatsoever about the outcome of this little skirmish. She will just sweat unnecessarily. And I would rather have her in full strength tonight." He says it in a mocking tone, shifting his gaze towards you. He licks his lips and tightens his grip to make his lewd intentions towards you clear to the two men.

Despite his famous reputation, he never touched you. Giedi Prime society might have thought otherwise, but in the years you had served as his right-hand man, he had never once taken you to bed or had you entertain him at night. You appreciated it immensely, which is why you accepted such behaviour from him without batting an eyelid whenever you were in public. It was all a game to maintain the reputation he had built over the years. Or so you thought.

"Feyd, boy, release your pet. Let her entertain us." The baron's words interrupt any skirmish that might have developed between the brothers.

It was not uncommon at Giedi Prime parties for soldiers to fight against each other to entertain the crowd. You just didn't think that you would have to fight someone during your first official arrival at the party. Although you should have anticipated such an unexpected turn of events. The baron and Rabban would not miss the opportunity to find out how much you were really worth and why Feyd, out of all the talented soldiers, chose the Bene Gesserit as his right-hand man.

You send a quick glance at Feyd. He gives you a small nod, so you bow to the baron and prepare to fight. The crowd around you parts to form a circle. You feel people's excitement as you flip the metal chains from your face to your hair, revealing more of your face. You wrap the shawl around your hair, tying it tighter and making sure it won't get in the way of your fight.

You look at your opponent, who is also preparing, trying to spot any of his weak points before the fight even begins. Rabban says something in his ear, which causes the manly smile to grow. Feyd stands in front of you, blocking your view of them. You look into his steel blue eyes as he leans towards you.

"Don't hold back." He whispers in your ear, handing you his blade. "And finish it quickly. We have other things to do."

You nod at him. He walks away from you, sending a mocking smirk at your opponent. He spreads his arms, taking a few steps back, as if inviting him to try his hand at you. You feel the burning gaze of his eyes on your back as you position yourself in front of the man.

"Don't worry, witch. If I win, I won't kill you. It's a shame to waste such a pretty face. I wonder if you're as good as the rumours say. Your pussy must be good to keep the na-baron entertained for so long." He says, waiting for you to activate your shield. But you don't do this. You want to completely humiliate him and give everyone in the room a clear message about your power and that you didn't secure your place just by having a pretty face. The crowd cheers, but you think you can hear Feyd growl furiously amidst the shouts of approval.

"I doubt you'll have the chance to find out." You say, and without waiting for his next words, you attack.

After the first few attacks, you figure out his tactics. He is physically strong, it's true, but that's his only advantage. It attacks you in a learned way, repeating its patterns. You read him quickly and position yourself to use his strength and mass against him. You could have walked up to him a long time ago and slit his throat, but you know it would be much better if you had some fun with him. You will show that you have complete control over the course of this fight.

You dodge the man's punches, and after a few minutes, you quickly get bored when you once again manage to kick him and send him to his knees. You take advantage of the moment he gets up from the floor to glance at your na-baron. Feyd doesn't look happy with your introduction. Of course, you see his interested look and how he appreciates your skills, but he doesn't look at you like he usually does. He doesn't wait with bated breath for your next move, like the crowd around you does. You can tell from his face that he wants you to finish this as soon as possible. You frown, surprised that he of all people doesn't enjoy watching the fight. You wonder what the hell is wrong with him.

Your moment of inattention is, of course, immediately exploited by your opponent. You manage to fend off the man's blade, but not his kick, which sends you landing on your butt on the floor. You feel rage more than pain; you only see red when you hear the cocky laugh of the man you are fighting with. You're so focused on driving the blade into his body that you don't notice Feyd's angry look, the murder in his eyes, and the desire to rip your opponent apart with his own hands as you fall to the floor. And you certainly don't see the trembling of his hand, as he instinctively wanted to grab you and pull you safely behind him.

You strike once, quickly driving the blade into the man's stomach and leaving it there. You push him to his knees, push away the hand that holds the sword, and reach for the dagger hidden in the sleeve of your dress. You strike a second time, piercing his shoulder. You stick the second dagger into his hand and knock the weapon out of his hand, taking it from him. You grab the man's throat in a tight grip and tilt his head back. You lean over him, a mocking smirk on your face as he struggles to breathe.

"I didn't even take off my high heels." You mocked him as you slit his throat.

You smile victoriously as you decapitate him. His head rolls at your feet, blood splattering your dress and face as you breathe heavily. You sigh, feeling your heart pound in your chest, as you bow to the crowd surrounding you as they shout and applaud you. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Rabban's sour, angry expression. You kick the head of his right hand towards him and give him a small smirk. You stand upright as you meet the eyes of your na-baron.

And then you saw it. Hunger in his eyes. Pure lust and desire, as his pupils were wide and solemnly focused on you.

You knew that gaze. He only looked like that at things he really wanted. Only his favourite concubines got THAT look from him or a beautiful, precisely made weapon that fit perfectly in his hands. Usually he had that look in his eyes right after the great battle he won. He would lock himself with his concubines and then spend long hours in his chambers, giving himself completely to his primal instincts.

You shiver as he walks towards you, ignoring anything else in the room. He grabs you tightly by the throat, and, to the delight of the drunken crowd who are screaming madly with excitement after the show you had made, he kisses you.

It is hard, hungry, and passionate. His hand completely removes the metal chains and shawl that were covering your head, and he pulls you to him as close as possible. His grip on your hair and throat is tight as he demands that your mouth be opened for him by biting your lower lip. You moan involuntarily, causing his tongue to slip into your mouth, as he is exploring new territory with a zeal you've never seen from him.

He pulls away from you when you're completely out of breath. Your vision is blurry, your heart is pounding from the adrenaline of the fight, and you can only stare at him stupidly and blankly while trying to understand what just happened.

Your eyes widen as he licks his lips, lust still burning in his eyes as he takes in your panting form and swollen, red lips. A trickle of blood drips from your mouth after he bit into it a few minutes ago. As you taste your blood on your tongue, you realise the terrifying truth.

Feyd Rautha Harkonnen desired you.

Feyd strokes your neck, which is still in his tight grip. His eyes travel from your lips to your neck, to your collarbones, to the valley of your breasts, and to your hips, which were starting to bruise from how tightly he held them in the moments before your fight. Suddenly, everything starts to fall into place for you. His strange, unusual behaviour, the flirtatious comments, the long stares, and his more frequent attempts to hold you close to him and touch your exposed skin are starting to make sense.

You were screwed.

Completely and utterly fucked up.

You've been avoiding him since that night. More than any Reverend Mother or Bene Gesserit. Which was a very difficult task, considering how many things you had to do as his right hand.

But, luckily, you managed to avoid being alone with him. Of course, it couldn't last long. You knew him very well, and you knew that eventually he would try something and come for you. But you tried to deceive yourself by living the lie that his desire would pass and his concubines would effectively take care of him.

If he noticed your attempts to stay away from him, he never mentioned it. Of course, he chased after you when he saw you walking alone down the hall, but you never gave him a chance to catch up with you. He may have grown up here, but you knew the palace like the back of your hand. And all the nooks and crannies you could hide in from him.

So you actually managed not to get close to him for a very long time. Until it was time to train a unit of soldiers directly subordinate to him.

"Y/N!!!" You're sure all of Giedi Prime could have heard his scream. You sigh, calming down as you continue your walk to the arena. You step out into the black sun, carefully watching the men training. You walk up to him and bow to him.

"My lord na-baron." You say it politely, unfazed by the fact that he's practically seething with rage. You were more used to dealing with him like this than when he was horny... or worse, kind. You would turn on your shield if you knew it wouldn't make him fall over the edge and start murdering everyone he could.

"Take your blade. None of these piles of useless muscles know basic defensive moves. Look, you all! You have to learn this by the end of the day, or next time you will enter this arena as my opponent!" He walks over to one of them, probably to either stab him or adjust his position, leaving you to get ready. You tie your hair up so it doesn't bother you during a fight and choose your blade.

You gasp in surprise when you are suddenly pushed. You turn around quickly, trying to keep your balance as you face the na-baron. You move your hand to activate your shield, but his voice stops you:

"Don't. I have to show them how to do it. No shield." You know he's lying, and that's not why he doesn't want you to turn on your shield, but you don't say anything. You just nod and prepare to get into a defensive position.

He attacks you quickly. Very quickly. You've trained with him before, and you have to admit, he's never been this… brutal with you.

You go through different positions with him until you finally stop following the textbook fighting patterns and start fighting seriously. You keep up with his movements for a long time, blocking his blade with yours and dodging attacks that you have no physical ability to block, but he keeps pressing against you, not letting you rest or trying to return the favour with one of your attacks.

You gasp in surprise when he trips you, sending you to the ground. You block his swing at you with your blade and kneel in the sand, trying to get up, but he's pressing too hard against you with his sword for you to move. You use all your strength to push him away from you. Feyd growls, throwing his sword aside, and simply lunges at you. You're too shocked to do anything as he snatches the blade from your hand and sits on top of you.

You fight him, sending both of you rolling in the sand. Eventually, he gets impatient and wraps his hand around your throat. You take a hoarse breath as he blocks your airway. You grab his hand around your neck and try to pull it away. You dig your nails into his palm, but he remains unmoved, pinning you to the sand.

He leans closer to you, and you take the opportunity to wrap your hand around his neck. He laughs, showing you his black teeth as he practically lays on top of you. His erection presses hard against your thigh as he grinds against you, grunting as he too begins to feel the need for air... and something more. You see black spots in front of your eyes, and you feel tears welling up in your eyes as you struggle to breathe.

You let go of his neck completely, your hand falling next to your head, and you desperately try to use the remaining air to try and use your Bene Gesserit voice on him. But before you try to say anything, he loosens his grip so you can breathe, but his fingers are still lightly holding your neck.

Too busy breathing, you don't notice how he tilts his face towards you. Only when you feel his tongue on your neck do you realise how close he is to you. You freeze when he runs his tongue from your neck, from jaw to cheek, to taste your tears. You hear him moan softly. To confirm that your brain, stunned by lack of oxygen, didn't make it all up on its own, he rubs against you, and his hardness in his pants is clearly felt by you.

You just fucking hope he doesn't fuck you in front of those soldiers.

You meet his black eyes with yours. You shiver as he leans in, his bare chest pressed completely against you as he whispers into your ear.

"Damn you, witch... if you taste as sweet as your tears..." He growls. You feel dizzy, and you're not sure if it's because of the heat of the moment, the fact that he cut you off from oxygen for a while, or because you're overwhelmed by his scent and the warmth that radiates from the two of you.

You thank whoever is above you as he finally pulls away from you and stands up. He gives you his hand and helps you stand on your two feet. The soldiers obediently look at the ground, not daring to face the na-baron's gaze. You swallow hard, pulling your hand from his grasp.

Feyd barks orders at them, herding them back to training. You breathe a sigh of relief when he stops paying attention to you. You use your shawl to wipe his saliva and your sweat from your neck. You take your blade and are about to leave the arena to do the rest of your duties. But a tight grip on your wrist stops you. You tense up and turn around to face him again.

"Y/N." He murmurs, watching you carefully. You're sure that bruises are starting to appear on your neck from his tight squeeze. "Come to my chambers tonight." A cold shiver runs through you, but all you can do is nod and watch his retreating figure as he leaves to continue the training.

You hoped he didn't mean what you thought he meant by that... invitation. Otherwise, this could be your last night on Giedi Prime or the last night of your life. You're not sure yet.

For the first time, you feel fear as you walk to his chambers. He had called for you at such times before, but it never occurred to you that he wanted to do with you something else than discuss with you matters that were related to the Giedi Prime Court, the baron's plans, or other political matters and plots.

You shudder, wondering what might be waiting behind that door. You saw the condition in which some of his concubines left him. You didn't want to become one of them; you didn't want to be reduced to being his lover. It was fine as it was. You felt very good as his shadow, ears, and eyes. You liked conspiring together with him, making plans, and that hrill each time you managed to take down the enemies that were standing in your way. He was supposed to be your savior, not your persecutor. Were you that naive from the beginning, or has everything started going to shit recently?

The guards let you through without saying a word. With your heart pounding, you enter his chambers.

He's sitting on the bed. His harpies finish taking off his clothes, and at first you want to back away, but as soon as his gaze meets yours, you freeze. Feyd snaps at one of them. She hands him a glass of his wine while the others look at you furiously.

"Leave." He tells them, never taking his eyes off you. The women look at each other, not wanting to leave him, especially leave him alone with you. You guess that if it weren't for Feyd's presence, they would have attacked you long ago, trying to eat you before their master got a chance to touch you. Disgust arouses in you as you think that you may be soon reduced to their role and turned into one of them. "I said something." He growls at them, shifting his gaze from you to give them an angry glare.

The harpies are going out obediently, but they are not wasting an opportunity to hiss at you as they pass you to get to the exit. You hear one of them scream in pain as Feyd suddenly throws a knife at them right before they close the door behind them.

You were more used to his brutal reflexes than to his tender gestures. You actually preferred him being aggressive more. At least you could have predicted his movement. That's why you didn't even blink when he threw a blade at his pets.

"You wanted to see me." You start when you are alone. If you could impress him with anything other than your fighting skills and the ability to obtain various information by staying in the shadows, it would be that you never showed fear or insecurity. At least not to those who don't know you. Almost no one could read you. Almost.

However, Feyd saw that you were behaving differently. But he was tired of controlling himself around you. He couldn't do it anymore after tasting your lips, tasting your skin mixed with tears, and feeling your curves press against him. He wanted more. Much more than he ever got from you. And he was going to take it, whether you wanted it or not. He won't go crazy with lust for you... or at least not with as much longing for you each night as he used to.

"I did..." He stands up, and you're grateful he's at least wearing underwear as he walks over to his bar and pours a second glass of wine. He hands it to you and taps it with his own. He takes a few sips and looks at you. After a while, he sits down on his bed again and swirls his glass, playing with the remains of the wine. "Baron wants me to find a wife." He announces calmly, staring at you intently as he finishes his wine with one big sip.

You almost choke on your drink. You place your glass on the table and meet the careful gaze of his cold, blue eyes. You feel yourself starting to get hot with nerves.

"I beg you pardon?" You ask, still reeling from the shock of this sudden information.

"He wants me to find a broodmare who will bear my heirs since I am getting close to the appropriate age." He repeats, standing up gracefully. He approaches you, his steps slow and measured, as if he were approaching his prey in an arena. And for a moment, that's exactly how you feel. But you show no fear or any other emotion as he stops a few inches in front of you. You straighten up, your muscles tensing as you think about any answer.

"I… I can make the necessary preparations and check which high families…"

"Strip." He orders you. His tone is hoarse, leaving no room for any objection. He talks just as if he were asking you to pass him the dagger rather than to stand naked in front of him. As if it was an order he carried out every day and something you should be used to following.

"What?" You ask stupidly, unable to process what he said to you in your head.

"Have you gone deaf? Undress. Take your clothes off." He repeats mockingly. He crosses his arms, takes a few steps back, and leans against the wooden post of his bed as he watches you carefully, waiting for you to either obey his order or openly disobey him, giving him the opportunity to punish you... as if he even needed a reason to do so.

"My na-baron, I..."

"Exactly, Y/N. I am your na-baron. So follow my order. Now. I'm not in the mood for our games. You think I haven't noticed you've been playing hide-and-seek lately? I have given much worse punishments for such disobedience and attempts at self-indulgence. Take your clothes off, or I'll rip them from you."

For a moment, there is a deathly silence in his chambers. Only your breathing can be heard as you try to find any way out of this situation. But you can't think of anything. Your mind is empty, your hands are shaking a little, and all you can do is look at him, silently begging him to change his mind. A frown of impatience appears on his forehead, and you know you have to do something before he gets irritated and cuts you with one of his blades.

You sigh softly as you reach for the laces of your shirt. You take your time, slowly untying your bindings. Feyd devours every bit of skin you expose to him, and you swear you hear him hold his breath as your shirt lands on the floor. You get out of your shoes and socks very slowly.

Luckily, he doesn't comment on it and lets you get out of his clothes at your own pace. He knows he will win anyway. Tonight, he will finally stop playing cat and mouse with you and put his hands on what is rightfully his. So he savours every moment, making a plan in his head for what he will do to you tonight for this small act of rebellion.

He licks his lips as you stand in front of him in nothing but black underwear. His eyes take in your every curve, skin lesions, and scars that mark your warrior body. Oh yes. He was going to enjoy this night and finally unwrap his early birthday present.

"Good girl. You know where the bathroom is, right?" Without waiting for your response, he goes there, expecting you to follow him.

You swallow hard. You're glad that at least you managed to stay in your underwear and that you're not completely naked in front of him. You get out of your pile of clothes and leisurely follow him to the bathroom.

As soon as you enter, the door closes itself behind you. You sigh, the sweet smell of bath salts reaching your nostrils. But you don't feel so relaxed when the coolness of the bathroom and the black marble you stand barefoot on make you shiver and your nipples harden.

The na-baron's dark chuckle catches your attention. He's in a large, black bathtub, his hands resting on its edges as he enjoys the warm water, watching you closely, a spark of amusement shining in his icy blue eyes. He looks like a vulture waiting for the best moment to kill his prey.

"It had been a long day. Join me." He says, lifting his hand for you to take and step into the tub.

Having no choice, you obediently reach for his hand and release it as quickly as you can, sitting on the other side of the bathtub with your legs tucked under you so as not to accidentally touch him. He laughs, shaking his head in amusement.

"Not so far, my little mouse. Closer. I won't bite… well, not yet."

"I'm not a mouse." You snap at him. If you're going to die, at least die with dignity. Blinded by your anger at him, you sit on his lap before you can think it through. It's only his hardness pressing against your ass that makes you realize what a mistake you've made. You don't show your discomfort, though; you even lean against his chest, letting your head rest on his shoulder.

He laughs softly, wrapping his arms around you just as the skin of your back meets his chest. You feel like you're in a cage, even though he's trying to calm you down by lazily drawing patterns on the skin of your arms. Your underwear soaks up the water and sticks to you, making you feel even more uncomfortable.

"Hand me my dagger."

You much prefer receiving such orders from him. You get up from the bathtub to get away from him for a moment, but he stops you by grabbing your hips tightly. He shakes his head and nods towards the dagger, which is literally at his fingertips. You bite your lip, keeping yourself from talking back at him, and reach for the weapon, handing it to him. You do this carefully, not wanting to cut the skin of your fingertips with the very sharp blade.

He cuts through the fabric of your bra with surgical grace. You gasp in outrage but don't move, knowing full well that you are only millimetres away from him taking your blood. You don't have to turn around to know he's smiling cockily as he traces the tip of his dagger across your skin to your panties.

"You know I can take it off by myself?" You ask as he traces patterns with the tip of his dagger on your stomach, around your navel. You hold your breath as he rests his chin on your shoulder and pulls you closer to him, rubbing against your still-clothed ass. You learn the hard way that the rumours about his... greatness were true.

"You had your chance at the beginning, now it's my turn. You're lucky that I'm not taking it off of you with my teeth anyway." He growls in your ear. You shiver as he presses a wet kiss on your shoulder, peppering kisses on your skin, down to your neck, and down to your jawbone before he rests his chin on your shoulder again.

"Sorry for interrupting your fun, my na-baron." You growl as he hooks the tip of his dagger against the fabric of your panties.

"No worries; you will compensate me in another way." He says, cutting your panties. He throws them behind him and lazily presses the dagger against your jawbone, forcing you to turn your head to look at him.

You meet his blue eyes with yours. His irises are practically non-existent, giving way entirely to his dilated, black pupils. He stares at you hungrily, licking his lips. He looks lost and indecisive, as if he didn't know what to do first.

His other hand, the one not holding the dagger pressed against your neck and jaw, explores your body, caressing your skin as if it were some kind of precious silk. You sigh as he cups your breast, which, of course, fits perfectly in his hand. You want to punch him in the face, but the dagger at your throat reminds you that one wrong move could cost you dearly. So you take his hand in yours instead, stopping him from over-exploring.

"You know... I tried to stay away from you. From the first moment I saw you... fighting with those daggers of yours... you're not as graceful in dancing as you are with them in your hands, taking down all your enemies. But you are Bene Gesserit. I know you're dangerous. So damn dangerous... if I were anyone else, you'd use your voice on me and tell me to castrate myself. Or you could make me magically disappear by throwing myself off some tall tower just because I thwarted your plans or looked at you wrong. Surprised? You may live in the shadows, my little witch, but I won't miss anything you do. You know I have trouble controlling myself... so how can I do that when you're so damn irresistible? The fact that I've endured all these years and not gotten close to you the way I wanted—the way I dreamed so many times at night—is quite a success, don't you think?"

He massages your breast, playing with it. You bite your lip, holding back a moan as he pinches your nipple. He leans closer to you, pressing his nose against your neck and inhaling your scent deeply. He removes his hand from your breast and moves your connected body along your body. You gasp, tightening your grip on his as he brushes your clit gently with his fingertip.

"I… I should go." You mumble, squirming in his grip, which is, of course, pointless and only makes him groan in pleasure as your ass rubs against his hard, leaking member.

"Stay. You won't oppose your na-baron, will you?" The bastard knows well that you won't openly oppose him, and he uses it as best he can. He moves your joined hands to his length, forcing you to wrap your hand around him. He hisses, pressing the blade closer to your throat and tightening his grip on your hand as he guides yours along his length the way he wants. "Your skin is so soft… and that beautiful hair that you needlessly hide… you don't know how many times I imagined pulling you by it." He mumbles into your neck. The hand with the dagger now presses against your chest, only causing your heart to beat much faster. A wave of heat washes over you, your traitorous pussy clenching desperately as you hear his moans in your ear.

"Feyd..." You moan as his hand releases yours and works at your desperate pussy. He growls, feeling the warmth of your walls around his fingers and the wetness he caused. You remove your hand from his member and tighten your grip on his hand, trying to push him away from your private parts in a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation.

"Don't fight. Just give yourself to me, Y/N. Let me show you how much you've lost while trying to hide yourself from me in your shadows…" He growls, pressing the tip of the dagger to your nipple. You freeze, moaning as he becomes stiffened by the sheer movement of his blade.

He bites into your neck, making you moan loudly and throwing your head back. He licks and sucks your neck, rubbing his painfully hard cock against your pussy. The water splashes around you, some of it spilling out of the tub due to his sudden movements. A few inches deeper, and he would have slammed into you, bisecting you with his huge cock, which stood ready for you from the moment he saw you in your underwear.

"Can you feel it? Can you feel what you're doing to me? How hard I am because of you? It's like this every time you hand me my blade, perfectly balanced and sharpened, every time you meet all my needs without even communicating with me, you just know what I want by looking at me, my little witch. So tell me, who is a better partner for me than my right hand? Who can I trust more than you? Who should I fuck, full of my heirs, if not you?"

You don't respond; you can't find any words as your brain desperately tries to shout out the pleasure he's giving you and force you to resist him. Unsuccessfully. The warmth of the water, his body, his scent, and his precise, deliberate movements cut off your thoughts. Feyd is practically salivating at the sight of you so lost in lust and desire as he witnesses you lose control for the first time.

He throws away the dagger, which falls with a crash onto the marble floor. Neither of you care as he grabs your hips and, in one smooth, quick movement, turns you around so you can face him.

You only have time to draw in a quick breath before he demands your mouth. You moan into his lips as he kisses you with the same passion and intensity as he did a few weeks ago at the party after you won the fight. You try to pull away from him, but he holds you tightly, placing his hands on your back as he presses you against him. You don't stand a chance against his strength. You can resist him, but you know it won't be long before you collapse from exhaustion. You bite his lip until you draw blood, which only causes him to groan and have him grind against you, the tip of his cock teasing your entrance.

You gasp as he leaves your lips for a while and pulls your hair, exposing your throat to him so he can mark it even more. He sucks on your skin, littering it with hickeys as you feel him slowly move, positioning himself beneath you so that his member presses against the entrance of your pussy.

And just as he's about to join your bodies, to make you two one, to feel your hot, wet, tight walls around him, there's a knock on the bathroom door.

This time, he's the one who freezes, tightening his hold on you. You feel like he's making sure he hasn't misheard or imagined it in this heated moment between you, but when the knocking sounds a second time, he realises it's real.

You pray with gratitude for the soul of the fool who dared to interrupt him, because you know that even if it were something important, he would not live to see the morning.

"What?!" He growls furiously, not letting you go, not letting you move an inch from him, still believing that he can quickly get rid of the intruder and go back to ravaging you, maybe even fucking you while he talks to whoever is standing in front of that damned door. Though Feyd preferred to be fully focused on you when he took you for the first time. However, he was convinced that if he didn't feel you around him soon, he would go crazy. He is so close... all he had to do was push a little more...

"My lord na-baron. The Baron wants to see you. It's very important."

You see pure rage bubbling in his eyes. He growls, shifting you from his lap as he stands up. You look down as you see all of him very clearly, especially what you were exposed to a few moments ago. He throws a towel at you, and you automatically catch it. He wraps one around his waist before he comes back to you again and grabs your throat. He gives you a crazy, passionate kiss, stroking your neck and appreciating the marks he made before pulling away from you.

"We'll come back to it, little witch." He leaves you with that promise, closing the door behind him with a bang.

You hear him shouting something at his harpies, and you shudder at the thought of having to walk past them to get out of here. You lean back against the tub, still sitting in the now-cold water, as you slowly process everything that happened.

You succeeded this time, but you know you won't be so lucky next time. You could either accept... your new responsibilities and his expectations of you, or you could try to break free from him, risking your life.

It was a decision to be made in the privacy of your own chambers. For now, you let yourself lie in the cool water, fully aware that if you weren't interrupted now, he would fuck you silly, likely planting his seed inside you.

You ran away from the Bene Gesserit with him because you didn't want to be a whore, a vessel for their crazy breeding plan. Apparently, you just changed the owner of your womb. You had to do something if you didn't want to end up as originally intended—as the mother of the future Kwisatz Haderach.

[fanaticsnail]

Mistress snail I had a dream and I fear I can’t let it go

In theory, a devil fruit could do anything, right? The dream was that maybe Katakuri (or King) accidentally got affected by a devil fruit that could shrink things- and I think you know where I’m going with this

Like obviously at first he’s annoyed and confused- he’s gone from over 15+ ft to let’s say 8/9 but then it dawn on him that he can finally feel his darling in the most intimate way without stressing about killing them. I imagine he’d RUN home and just would not be able to leave them alone until the effects wore off

OKAY BUT THIS IS AN AWESOME CONCEPT!! I have been thinking about someone with either the ability to shrink others or grow themselves. Could you imagine if you had a devil fruit that could enlarge yourself to a gargantuan size, and Big Mom clocks it immediately.

Size

Masterlist Here

Word count: mini-fic

"Finally! A worthy partner for my children! Time to set a trap, bring them home, and have them produce all of the heirs for each of them. An army. Finally, an army." And you are forced to run while you're being tracked by Big Mom and her legion of hunters.

But what if Katakuri is sent after you to bring you in, and you're running from him as fast as you can? He can see the future, he knows where you're going and what you're doing. He knows you can take him in a fight, and he'll likely be rendered defeated in any circumstances...

...So he runs to you to help you get away.

He wants you to have a free life. He doesn't want this life for you, the life of rearing offspring of monsters with him or others as your mate and spouse. He would rather help you escape than bring you home to meet his mother.

And when he does catch up, all you're met with is calming sweetness. Laying down arms, kneeling beneath you, lowering his head and exposing his neck to you, for you to do as you will. You're taken aback and test his submission by placing a blade to the back of his neck. He's not worried, he's seen the future, he knows it's just a test of his humility.

"Let me help you run from beyond where my sister's sight can reach," he'd say with all honesty and submission, "You deserve a life worth living away from Cake Island. Let me help you."

And you accept, and he does.

But what if he gets injured protecting you? Are you going to stay and care for the man who you owe your freedom to, or are you going to take this opportunity to run?

Of course not. You'll stay and help your saviour in leather armor. You'll patch him up, soothe his skin, cleanse him of all ailments. And when your eyes meet with his ruby orbs, your breath hitches as his shroud is partially exposing his teeth.

A monster, large teeth in a mouth split up his cheeks. A monster with the heart of an angel, the skills of a knight, and those beastly eyes that will haunt your dreams with the expression of gratitude and, almost, love? Love in those ruby orbs, reflecting your own expression of love within.

You finally make it to the mirrors' edge. Brulee can't see you here, and Big Mom is livid about it. Katakuri will take any punishment from his mother, so long as you're happy and free to live a life that belongs to you. As he presents his arm out to you, gesturing for you to flee on a ship to the east, you shake your head at him.

Lowering your gaze and bowing your head, you placed your hand over your heart and grew yourself to a humble twenty feet tall, far taller than Katakuri. Looking up at you, his lips part in surprise and cheeks dusted with the glow of a pink flush. Stepping sheepishly closer, you take his extended hand and lace your fingers with his own.

"Thank you, Lord Charlotte," would exit your lips, looming over him with your great height, "I will not forget your kindness."

"Nor I will forget you. -I-I mean, the kindness of your own," he would stumble, truly at a loss for words by feeling dwarfed by you.

Leaning down, you'd press a sweet kiss to the top of his head. A kiss that is sweeter than any dessert he'd ever consumed. A kiss that would haunt him on his journey back to Cake Island alone. A kiss that he so wished to reciprocate before you fled from his grasp and hid yourself beyond Brulee's reach.

But you were gone. You were finally free to live a life that was truly yours. A life free from his mother, and belonging to you completely. He was thankful for that, and should you truly desire to see him again, he would welcome it fully.

The only place he would ever see you is when you visit him in his dreams, replaying that final moment in his mind's eye each night he slumbered.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

[salty-croissants]

hi yes have you considered the reader finding a very wet, tired Ramon during a rainstorm on the streets and taking them to their place as our lord and saviour yet?

Thank you for the request ! 

Honestly this is such a good prompt , I can’t tell you how much I loved writing it ! 

Ramon has suffered so much , this man really does deserve to be taken care of :,I ❤️

Hope this turned out okay ! 

Details : use of gender neutral reader ; 

strangers to lovers ; 

presence of mild swearing

< Man … today of all days I had to leave my umbrella home … > 

You sighed , looking up at the raindrops falling from the sky while huddling in your jacket’s hoodie to find some warmth in the cold .

It had been a fairly average day , and you were ready to finally return home without anything unusual happening …

… until your eyes wandered off in a nearby alleyway .

< What the … ? > 

Maybe it was just the fact that you were a bit tired after work , or maybe it was just your imagination … but you were pretty sure that you spotted the silhouette of someone laying down on the ground , hidden in the darkness .

You looked around , unsure of what to do … 

The people passing by didn’t seem to be caring much about it , clearly all too involved in their own business , so eventually your curiosity got the best of you and you ended up walking in the alleyway , knowing full well that it wasn’t the most safe thing to do … 

But then again , you had a history of wanting to be there for someone when they where in trouble , no matter who they were .

It only took a few steps in to realize that there was indeed someone there …

And your expression immediately turned into worry when you realized in what poor conditions he was : 

he was shaking , his coat unable to give him enough shelter from the rain , and by the looks of it he was at least trying to get some sleep despite the less than welcoming surroundings . 

… wait , on second thought didn’t that face seem familiar ? 

Yeah , that was Rayman , the guy who hosted the majority of Eden’s shows !

He surely looked a lot … different than usual … and why would he be in such a place right now ? 

You kneeled before him , wondering if anyone would’ve come looking for him … he was well known by the whole city after all , it would’ve made sense . 

But at the same time you couldn’t leave him there like that …

< *sigh* … okay , carefully now … > 

After wrapping him with your jacket , you slowly picked him up from the ground , hearing him groan slightly as you walked away , following a not very crowded road to your house . 

It was definitely not quite an average day anymore at least . 

*some time later* 

< Hnn … wh … what … where … ? > 

As Ramon opened his eyes , he noticed that he was in some unknown apartment … with two or three warm blankets covering him up . 

Who would be so kind to him now that he was a criminal … ? This had to be some sort of trick … what if one of Eden’s buddies had caught him ? 

Paranoia started to overwhelm him , but before he could do anything a door to his left opened , and he wearily watched you walk in the room with two cups of tea in your hand .

Your expression became relieved when you noticed that your guest was up .

< Ah , you’re awake - that’s great ! 

Sorry , I don’t really have much tea left , I only had the lemon flavored one , I hope that’s okay … > 

Ramon looked at the warm cup you had placed in front of him , then back at you , completely baffled by your hospitality … 

It was definitely not what he was expecting , and you really didn’t seem like the type of person that would turn around and try to kill him out of the blue … but still , he remained suspicious . 

< Now … may I ask what you were doing out here , Mister Rayman ? > 

He growled at the mention of his old name , giving you an irritated glare …

< … that’s not my name . Not anymore . 

I’m Ramon now . > 

, he simply replied , one of his floating hands carefully grabbing the cup of tea , almost like he was afraid of it . 

< And what I was doing isn’t really your problem now , is it ? > 

You tilted your head , not understanding what he was talking about or the reason behind his hostility … 

A long silence followed his words , before Ramon eventually let out a sigh , the feeling of your eyes staring at him in confusion starting to make him feel … pretty bad for lashing out like that . 

< … I just … why would you even bother to bring me here ?

I don’t know who you are or what your deal is … for all I know , you could be working with Eden’s assholes to capture me or something … > 

His gaze met yours , but he couldn’t find a single trace of malice in it … 

< Well … you can trust me when I say that I’m probably the least dangerous person you could run into , so if you’re afraid that I might hurt you I can assure you that’s not gonna happen . > 

, you quietly replied , pausing to drink some tea before continuing the conversation . 

< I just couldn’t bare the thought to leave you there alone in the rain , so I thought I’d at least bring you to a place that could give you some shelter . 

That’s … heh , all there is to it , really . 

I understand why you’d be weary of me , like you said , you don’t really know me … but it just felt right , y’know ? 

I’m sorry if this is a bit too uncomfortable though … I didn’t mean to make it that way , Ray - sorry … Ramon . > 

Maybe it was just because he had gone through so much lately , but the relaxing atmosphere of your home mixed with your soothing voice managed to ease some of Ramon’s tension , and after a moment of hesitation he took a deep breath and took a sip out of the cup of tea he had been holding that whole time .

< You’re good … 

To answer what you asked me before , about why I was around here , let’s just say that I’m … currently not on good terms with Eden . > 

Anger flashed in his black eyes , as his mind traveled back to the past few hours …

< Turns out those bastards have been using me my whole goddamn life , and I was having none of that shit , so … >

You could see his hands visibly shaking while trying to regain composure .

< … I … the Board of Directors … they’re dead . All of ‘em . They won’t ever put any other innocent Hybrid’s life at stake . >

Your eyes widened , slowly processing that big load of information that he had given you .

 < You … killed them ? >

Ramon nodded , without a single word .

< Huh … well , that explains why Eden is looking for you . 

Are … you okay ? > 

He couldn’t help but look up at you , shocked by how concerned you were about him despite him being a total stranger …

< Wh … I just … > 

He chuckled , one of his floating hands covering his eyes as his chuckle turned into laughter .

Ramon had almost forgotten what that felt like … to be cared about .

 < Haha … I can’t believe this … how the hell can you just be so - so nice to me , even after I told you I murdered someone ??

God , I don’t get it … I don’t get it … > 

Seeing him somewhat happy for the first time since you begun talking brought a strange , warm feeling to your heart that you couldn’t quite explain …

It was … nice .

< Heh , that’s just how I am . > 

You slowly got up from your seat , walking towards Ramon to give him a little pat on his shoulder .

< Look , I understand that you’ve been through a lot … 

If by any chance you need a place to stay , I … well , I know my apartment is pretty small , but you can stay here for as long as you need . > 

Normally Ramon would’ve flinched in front of such a sudden move from anyone else , but with you it was different … he didn’t feel like he needed to fear you , he didn’t know why … 

He just stared back into your eyes , nodding in response with a little smile on his face …

< Hm … that sounds like a good plan . 

Thank you , uh … > 

< You’re welcome … 

And you can call me y/n . > 

[stupidocupido]

hotd recs

It is time for another rec post. As I am still in my HOTD phase, it means i’ve read enough fics to make a list. Mostly Lucemond & Rhaegon, more fics to be added in the future! 

LUCEMOND

Tides Viserys doesn’t die after the infamous family dinner. Winds blow, tides rise, things change. Or the one in which Lucerys doesn’t lack cockiness, Aemond is trying to keep himself sane, and they keep meeting on the edges of the raging world.

right before all the song and dance (wasn't brave enough to tell you). “Do you think he would have loved me?” Luke asks, his voice wavering, no more than a whisper. His eyes are unfocused, trained on the sky, as if he’s searching for something. Searching for him. “My love,” Aemond chokes out, his face contorted in pain, his heart bursting, finally, “I would, I do.” Or, the one with the time loop.

naked in that garden Aemond only saw his half-sister’s second natural-born child for the briefest moment before the babe was sent away from the capital.

The Black Prince Lucerys Velaryon is a saved prince returned home with no memories and no dragon. Something on Dragonmont keeps calling to him. Aemond Targaryen is a prince riddled with guilt and grief who refuses to be a puppet on a string any longer.

In all the lives I lived before this one Lucerys isn't so much spirited away to fairyland, as much as he goes of his own accord.

full fathom five (Aemond’s nephew is almost always a shadow at the edge of his gaze, a silent thing that he somehow glimpses at a distance, around the corners of the halls or across the room).

but that was then It is the night of Aegon's wedding, and Aemond wants.

cut off my wings (and lock me up) Aemond considers him for a moment longer, gaze flicking up and down with the pleased glint of a smug cat. Then he turns toward their host. “Lord Borros, be my witness: by the ancient customs of our House, by the ancient rite to wed fire and blood, I declare a marriage hunt on Lucerys Velaryon.”

Wiping the Dirt From His Hands Or, Luke survives his alteration with Aemond and is taken by Larys to Harrenhal.

Trapped After Lucerys' family died in the fire, Aemond takes him under his wings. The younger man's memories all shatter apart. He needs Aemond to lean on, but Lucerys is still trapped in his past.

RHAEGON (some + daemon)

there is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin i.e. Aegon hears something after the Dinner from Hell™ and decides to go after it. He does not want to be king, so he claims allegiance to the future queen... and her consort. Might be the best thing he has ever done, and will save everyone.

of pain and pleasure "I don't have to tell Alicent," she paused and placed a hand on his leg. "But you must do something for me first, sweet brother." Aegon shivered under her touch, and she didn't have to look down know that he was still hard in his breeches. "What do you want?" he asked nervously, quiet as a mouse. With her other hand, Rhaenyra twirled her dagger in her hand, relishing the weight and the power it gave her. "Kneel."

valonqar who does aegon seek in the brothels of king's landing? otto's spies tell him the truth, but not the whole truth.

happiness In which Aegon comes of age and slowly pines for his older, wiser half-sister.

Who Am I, If Not Yours? Or: Aegon manages to escape being crowned, flying to Dragonstone with a proposal of marriage and submission.

you will always be my favorite ghost “Marry me Rhaenyra and end all of this.” Aegon mutters, clasping his hands, an almost prayer. He stands there in all his eerie beauty and Rhaenyra cannot help but think that of all the broken things he is the most dazzling one.

OTHER

Delusions of a Saviour Aegon remembers dying - very painfully and with little dignity. When he awakes to the day his children are born, he is determined to stop the war for the throne and prevent his family from dying (and himself. He is very much invested in not dying again). To do this, he realises he needs to: 1. Stop Lucerys from being a twat and actually show Aemond he is sorry for taking his eye. 2. Stop Aemond from, also, being a twat and actually stop his brother from killing his nephew (and also Aegon himself). Somewhere along the line he becomes a matchmaker, with a little help and guidance from his sister-wife.

'tis the damn season ex-childhood friends and almost-lovers Rhaenyra and Alicent have to reunite for Christmas at the Targaryen’s Dragonstone Manor. it goes about as well as one would think (very, in the end).

[the-modern-typewriter]

With two weeks to go until my LGBTQ superpower fantasy novel The God Key (13.10.2022 baby!) comes out, I decided to be self-indulgent and share my The God Key playlist for the vibes!

(AKA. The music I wrote the book to.)

So.

This is Gospel - Panic! At The Disco

Someone Like You - Adele

Electrified - Beth Crowley

Dreams - Fleetwood Mac

Poison - Rita Ora

Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert

Saviour - Beth Crowley

Meet Me On The Battlefield - SVRCINA

Dreams - The Cranberries

War of Hearts - Ruelle

Can't Help Falling in Love - Boyce Avenue

Liability - Lorde

Gravity - Sara Bareilles

Liability - Tape Machines

Carry You - Ruelle

Level Up - Vienna Teng

And my personal ultimate The God Key song...

17. Into My Arms - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

I don’t believe in an interventionist God // But I know, darling, that you do // But if I did I would kneel down and ask Him // Not to intervene when it came to you // Not to touch a hair on your head // To leave you as you are // And if He felt He had to direct you // Then direct you into my arms

(There will be a whole bunch more links of different places where you can buy the ebook or the paperback come the 13.10.2022 - but this is the Amazon pre-order and the Kobo ebook pre-order and the Barnes & Noble pre-order)

You have the power to make everyone in the world a good person. All it costs is the love of your life. Which do you choose?

At university they were best friends and boyfriends - Gabriel, a charming telepath obsessed with saving the world; Isaac, a lonely magnifier who quadruples the superpowers of anyone he touches.

It's happily ever after until Isaac fakes his death.

Five years later, a villain is bringing everyone's worst nightmares to life and Gabriel learns that Isaac is still alive. Isaac, who he never stopped loving. Isaac, with his secrets and strange connection with their dreamweaver enemy. Isaac, who might yet be the key to everything that Gabriel ever wanted...

Whether he wants to be or not.

THE GOD KEY is a standalone LGBTQ fantasy novel - perfect for anyone who wants their superpowers with a dash of darkness and a side-serving of mutual pining.

[orthodoxadventure]

An Orthodox child receives communion from infancy. Once he is old enough to know the difference between right and wrong and to understand what sin is -- probably when he is six or seven -- he will be taken to receive another sacrament: Repentance, Penitence, Or Confession (in Greek, metanoia or exomologisis). Through this sacrament sins committed after Baptism are forgiven and the sinner is reconciled to the Church: hence it is often called a 'Second Baptism.' The sacrament acts at the same time as a cure for the healing of the soul, since the priest gives not only absolution but spiritual advice.

In Orthodoxy confessions are heard, not in a closed confessional with a grille separating confessor and penitent, but in any convenient part of the Church, usually in the open immediately in front of the iconostasis; sometimes priest and penitent stand behind a screen, or there may be a special room in the church set apart from confessions. Whereas in the west the priest sits and the penitent kneels, in the Orthodox Church they both stand (or sometimes they both sit). The penitent faces a desk on which are placed the Cross and an icon of the Saviour or the Book of Gospels; the priest stands slightly to one side. This outward arrangement emphasizes, more clearly than does the western system, that in confession it is not the priest but God who is the judge, while the priest is only a witness and God's minister. This point is also stressed in words which the priest says immediately before the confession proper:

Behold, my child, Christ stands here invisibly and receives your confession. Therefore be not ashamed nor afraid; conceal nothing from me, but tell me without hesitation everything that you have done, and so you shall have pardon from Our Lord Jesus Christ. See, His holy icon is before us: and I am but a witness, bearing testimony before Him of all the things which you have to say to me. But if you conceal anything from me, you shall have the greater sin. Take heed, therefore, lest having come to a physician you depart unhealed.

-- Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church

[thedepthsoffandomminds]

What happens in the dark.

Tw - SA, Kidnapping.

Dream x reader

Female y/n

Protective Dream

You tried not to sleep, would stay awake until exhaustion took over. Memories of your life couldn’t be held back in your dreams. The demons of your past and present would stand above you, berate and beat you, just as they had done in your waking life.

Kidnapped as a teen, you had been sold to highest bidder then handed between men for their pleasure. It did not matter if their pleasure was sexual or physical, you were forced to endure it all.

Your current "master" refused to allow your strange act of not sleeping; keeping you filled with a drug that forced it upon you. What he did to your unconscious body you had no idea, for you everything was pain and fear.

The dream that consumed you had you lying on a dark, cold floor. Shadows towered above you and pain touched every part of you.

A set of eyes looked in at you from above.

"Your majesty, what is wrong?" Lucianne asked. Morpheus turned away from your dream to look at his librarian.

"This women's nightmare it has been consistent for five days. Find me her story please." He paused for a moment, "I shall ease her." Before Lucianne could question him the lord of dreams had entered the broken cabin. With waves of his hand he swept away the shadows, kneeling beside you.

The lord of dreams stroked your hair away from your face looking into your eyes. The colour was so unique, if he let himself he could have lost his mind looking into them. Defeated you lie still waiting for this new being to hurt you as all others did. His soft touch made you stiffen.

"Shhh, I'm am here you are safe." He he whispered, pulling you up into the warmth of his arms. You couldn’t say why, something in you trusted this man without question. His grip on you was tight yet gentle. You buried your face into his chest taking in his scent. The two of you sat in silence, for some time; until, against the hopes of you both your body faded away. You had awoken.

Lucianne handed Dream the book of your life.

"Sir, she is not fully human."

***********

As you lie on your stomach, the weight of 'his' body above you, pushing into you the thoughts of your dream saviour kept you from fallung apart. The lack of emotion or movement from you frustrated your capture, disgruntled he left you alone in the locked room.

This time you took the sleeping pill gladly. Your mind fell back into the dreaming realm. Once more you were in the cabin though it no longer looked scary to you. Light shone through the windows. The man you hoped to see sat at a table waiting for you.

"Who are you?" You ask.

"I am Morpheus, the lord of Dreams, this is my realm." He stood, but did not approach you. Instead he briefly bowed his head.

"I am y/n." You amswer.

"I know. Forgive me for not finding you earlier. Your blood keeps you hidden from me."

"My blood?" You ask.

"You are the product of a love potion, it means that you are not entirely human, part of you is pure magic." He paused letting you take it in. "It keeps you protected from other not human entities."

"Why did you save me?" You step closer to him, wanting feel the safety of his arms.

"The pain is what drew me here, I have never made a nightmare so terrible. I could not allow you to go on feeling it."

"It's not a nightmare, it's what my body is feeling in reallife."

Realisation swept over him.

"You need to show me the true face of the one hurting you, its the only way I can find you. Concentrate on their face, their name." He had approached you, so close you could have pressed your head to his chest.

"I don't know his name."

"Close your eyes, think of his face."

You did it, beside you the man appeared snearing down at you. Your breath, held in your chest as he began to shout at you. His hand rose above himself ready to swipe at you. Morpheus grabbed at you both, pulling you against him with one arm and hilding his habd with the other.

A silent conversation happened between them before he was gone. Your hand fisted at the black shirt worn by Dream.

"Listen to me, y/n, I am going to find you, and I'm going to save you."

Let me know if you want a part 2.

Part 2

[masquenoire]

@gnarledbite​ found you HERE...

Well, tonight had been a real shitshow. What was supposed to have been a quick clean-out turned out to be more than Roman had bargained for, the group of thugs encroaching on his turf backed up with some real killer artillery. Definitely not some run-of-the-mill gang looking to pick up some parking meter change; it had been a trap and Roman charged in with all guns blazing only to end up against a firing squad himself. Kind of impressive actually, the simplicity of the scheme in which to draw Roman Sionis onto the street for an easy kill. Targeting his dealers and disrupting the flow of narcotics had been one thing but the joy of making an example out of the culprits, now they knew he'd find that irresistable. Roman would have smiled had he still had the strength. Scarface knew him better than he knew himself, the vicious little wooden bastard. However, Roman could only swallow, feeling oddly thirsty despite the strong taste of blood upon his tongue. He’s bleeding out fast and knows it, unable to repress a shudder at his impending demise. Then again it might have been his body beginning to convulse - already he could feel the cold, dark fingers of death reaching out for him like so many others had been claimed tonight. Speaking of Death, the bastard was already hovering over his corpse. It wasn't Scarface, much to his surprise. The odd, scratching voice that reached his dimming ears didn't carry the gloating words he'd been expecting, of luring him out onto his own turf that would now belong to him. Similarly the dark frame kneeling above his corpse wasn't chubby like the Ventriloquist Scarface had dubbed his puppet - this newcomer was thin and lanky, their silhouette so tall that overhead lights were blotted out, fanning behind the top of their head like some sort of nightmarish halo. He'd never put much stock into religion but in that moment, it looked like an awful lot like the Angel of Death had come for him. Or so he'd thought. Death didn't ask how badly you wanted to live, saying that your luck hadn't run out just yet. Roman swallowed again, coughing wetly as he struggled to get a better look at his saviour's face. It wasn't Batman or any of the other morons stupid enough to try saving the crime lord's life and with a bullet lodged in his lung, even the Bat wouldn't have been able to perform any miracles at this point. Well, fuck. What else did he have to lose? Roman figured the other person wasn't asking out of the goodness of their little heart, that payment would be involved one way or the other but right now he didn't have the time or energy to lay out the terms of any contracts, the fires of his hot blood now growing cold and dim. "... F-fuck it. Do what you c-can, n' I'll m-make it w-w-worth your w-while..." Roman spits, his words trailing off as a violent hacking fit overcomes him. The crime lord sighs as his strength gives out, jaw going slack as he fights bitterly to maintain eye contact until his last breath. He wasn't ready to leave this life yet, especially not by the hand of some two-bit chump he didn't even know the name of.

[maxsix]

[vincent-sinclair-deserved-better]

Until I See My Saviour, Face To Face

Selena is stuck in old thought patterns. She doesn't need the convent to know things are wrong and everyone must be lying to her.

Characters: Selena, Manon

Words: 1233

Content warnings: Christianity, negative view of self due to religious indoctrination (?), she thinks she's inherently bad and justifies the nuns' wanting to kill her

dividers by silkholland and firefly-graphics

After helping me clean up the... eyeball-related mess, Blinky had brought me to the living room and told me I could sit down if I wanted. Even though they didn’t phrase it as a command or order, they didn’t tell me anything else either. Not even where to sit. Was this a trick? Giving me a task with only vague instructions like I am supposed to just know what to do, and then punish me if I do the wrong thing or ask for clarification? Sure, they’d said they wouldn’t hurt me and that they understood, had been like me, but people lied all the time. 

My family did. The Sisters at the convent did. Even preachers, even though I wasn’t supposed to think that. 

Plus, Blinky had only said that they wouldn’t hurt me – that didn’t mean that nobody else would. The man, Otis, seemed more than capable and willing to do so. I had seen how easily he and two other tall men had incapacitated the Sisters. And at some point, between then and now they had killed them. 

The Sisters that had made me kneel in front of the altar, gazing up at Christ on the cross, praying for forgiveness, my back towards the door. And them. Kneeling and waiting, like a lamb ready for slaughter. But they surely wouldn’t have desecrated a house of God like that? Or would it have been just if it was done to banish evil? 

“Are you gonna sit down or just stand there?” The voice of Blinky ripped me from my thoughts. I kept my eyes to the floor and apologising, before sitting down on the next closest chair, hoping it was the right thing to do. 

They stared at me for a moment before turning and walking away. I stared after them, confused and scared. No one had told me to pray, or that I couldn’t do it, but the people here didn’t seem too fond of it either. However, I didn’t know what else to do. It’s all I’d ever done. 

I could hear some talking from somewhere upstairs but I couldn’t tell whether it was casual or if people were fighting. Maybe they were talking about me? Surely, they must have realised that they made a mistake by now. It was no good keeping me around. The Lord had obviously intended for me not to make it through this day, and they were interfering. Nothing good could come from this. They would be punished and it would be my fault. 

“Hey” A gentle voice said from the door, distracting me from my silent prayers. “We have a spare room for you. I got you a change of clothes, and a towel. There’s spare ones in the bathroom, you can use whatever’s there. And you can eat all you want. Not the orange juice, though.” 

My gaze was locked onto my hands as I tried to make sense of the situation. Nothing made sense. No one had ever talked to me like this. So... calm, and gentle. Sure, I had heard it before, when mother had calmed down my siblings. But never directed at me. 

I didn’t even notice the woman coming to me, so I flinched when they spoke again. “My name’s Manon, but some call me Doe Eyes. What’s your name?” 

She was looking at me. She was close to me. But seemingly with no intention to inflict pain. She wasn’t... scared? I took a deep breath before shakily responding: “Selena.” 

Again, I was anxious, hoping she wouldn’t take offense to me not addressing her correctly. I didn’t know what would have been correct. She didn’t seem to be part of a convent, but I had never been allowed to use someone’s name. Most of the time they’d do their best to withhold names since names held power and they didn’t want to risk me abusing this. 

“That’s wonderful.” Manon said, with a strange intonation. I dared to glance up and saw that she was smiling, though I didn’t understand why. “You wanna come up so I can show you the room?” 

There seemed to be a lot I didn’t understand. 

We entered a room, a different one than I had been in before. Everything here was confusing. 

“If there’s anything you need, I’m in that room with Otis,” She said, pointing at a door down the hall. “Baby and Blinky are in there. The bathroom is the second door on the left.” 

She pointed out two other doors. Then she turned back to me and smiled again. “Sleep well. We won’t wake you so you can sleep in.” 

With that, she went to leave, but stopped after a few steps. Maybe this was it, she had realised how reckless this was, or it had all been a prank after all- but she merely went to the bedside table and turned on a lamp. She nodded at me and left for good. 

I waited for a moment, body tense and expecting her or someone to come back and do... something. But no one did. I was alone. 

There were some clothes on the bed, along with a fluffy towel and wash cloth – not the threadbare and rough fabric we’d had in the convent. The clothes were like nothing I’d ever worn, much more revealing, though by far not as much as Baby had been wearing. I could not wear that. They couldn’t mean for me to wear that. It wasn’t proper. But then again, neither was this family. And it was important to be grateful for people’s hospitality, right? 

I tried to remember what Manon had said. I could eat what I want and use whatever was in the bathroom? I must have been misremembering. With a sigh, I turned to grab the clothes – then remembered my teachings and proper behaviour. Again, I knelt down to pray. My regular nightly prayers, asking for forgiveness and salvation, and for the Sisters’ souls to be pass on safely. If they had been planning to kill me, they must’ve had a reason. A just reason. They would not have acted against the will of the Lord. 

When I was done, my knees and neck hurt, but not more than usually. Overall, the day had been physically relaxing for me, and I eyed the bed with suspicion. It was bigger than anything I had ever had, the mattress soft, big pillows and a blanket like I had only ever seen in my parents’ room. It didn’t seem right for me to sleep in, yet I hadn’t been told not to. 

I considered changing into the clothes – mine were dirty with soil from outside, and partly torn, yet my body felt sticky and scratched up too. I couldn’t dirty fresh clothes like this. 

Everything felt too much, too confusing, too different, and there was no one to tell me what to do. For the first time in years, I felt the urge to cry. Instead of changing my clothes or getting into the bed, I retreated to a corner of the room and curled up on the floor. For a split-second I considered to at least grab the blanket or a pillow, but I didn’t want to soil them. And I had slept in worse conditions. 

Despite the unfamiliar surroundings and my anxiety, I fell asleep quickly, Reverend Lael’s words running through my mind. 

@immortal-velociraptor @myers-meadow

[zeuse-in-atlantis]

Saintober 7 - Gala

The changing starts with a humming sung by young men, then followed by the mermaids’ sweet, penetrating voices. The ceremony has begun.

The silence extended among the crowd. All eyes look at the coliseum center, where the seven Marina Generals kneel. 

The Hiereiai(1) approaches the altar. Her hair blows with silver and pink reflections; the peplos waves softly around her. Once she has reached the stage, she raises her arms. The chanting stops. “Hear, Poseidon, ruler of the sea, tamer of horses, and saviour of ships! Thee I invoke you so that you can accept this last vow!” Between her hands, a colorful wind starts taking shape. “Isaak, below the Seven Seas and before every Atlantean, I call you.”

The young man stands and walks to her. Unlike the rest of the Generals donning their Scales, he is naked from head to toe. Isaak kneels once more, this time in front of the woman.

“Isaak, thee who was brought by the just Kraken, summoned by Kyanochaites, will you don the Kraken Scales to fight for our god?” The Aquarius receives the phiale(2) brought by a girl and pours the wine on the floor, then drinks what is left. “I will,” he bows.

“Atlantis accepts you,” she puts on his head the crown she has created with coral. “From now on, you’ll be known as Kraken Isaak on Earth, Sea, and Underworld; let it be the name you’ll carry until your death.”

The Kraken Scales cover Isaak’s body, and the rest of the Generals stand up. All of them are wearing coral crowns and red chlamys(3) made of the finest fabric and held by a golden fibula(4). The youngest General lays his helmet next to the others on the altar. After the girl has put a chlamys on his shoulders, he rejoins his comrades.

The celebration should start now, but seven young mermaids and mermen approach and offer each General a golden cup. Kanon looks confused at the Hiereiai. This is not part of the ritual.

“O Enosigaios, be kindly in heart and offer your protection to those who don your Scales! Confirm their vows, and bless them with fair-haired health!” She gestures with her hands to indicate to them to drink from the cups. 

Krishna looks at Sorento, who looks at Kanon. Baian, Caça, and Io exchange a baffled look. The cups don’t contain wine but water. This is unusual in a ritual as such, almost an affront; they know it very well, but the woman gesticulates at them once more. The Seven Marina Generals raise their cups and drink. 

No one dares to talk. One could even say the crowd didn’t dare to breathe. When Kanon lowers his empty cup, he can see six more faces as confused as his. The mermaids take the cups back, raise them above their heads, and flip them to show the crowd they are empty. 

What follows next is rapture. The warriors don’t understand the gasps, the shock among the civilians. Some mermaids and mermen are muttering, even those who fight. 

Mermaids, Cetus, Eretai, and civilians, all bow to the Generals. Not even the trierarch seems to understand what’s going on. This should be the oath ceremony for Kraken; they shouldn’t have drunk too.

Finally, the Hiereiai raises her hands once more. “Hail, Poseidon, Holder of the Earth, dark-haired lord! O blessed one, protect until their last days those who fight for you!”

Screams of joy break the spell; mermaids resume their chants. The celebration starts and continues for days. Because now the army is complete, Poseidon’s purification plans will finally begin.

* * * 

A priestess.

Libation bowl.

Cloak used by the army. 

A brooch to hold clothing.

I used some Homeric Hymns to Poseidon for this~

What they drank was salt water. None of them understood the shock as it tasted just like water for them, which confirmed they received Poseidon’s protection; they would never die by water. 

Who was wearing gala garments, Isaak or the rest? You decide ;D 

PS. Credits to my partner who allowed me to shamelessly steal this headcanon from him.

[fr-martin-gospel-reflections]

25th December - ‘A Saviour has been born to you’, Reflection on today’s gospel reading (Lk 2:1-14)

Christmas Mass

I am always struck by how well children act out the Christmas story. They love to play the various characters in the Christmas pageant, especially the plum parts of Mary and Joseph. They love to dress up as angels or shepherds or the three kings. Sometimes, one of them plays the role of the guiding star. I also love how children respond to the crib. When they visit it, their eye travels around all the various characters, including the animals. They immediately recognize that the central character in the crib is the child Jesus. Children can help us to wonder at the deeper mystery of Christmas, which can easily get lost amid all the comings and goings of this time of year. At the heart of this feast is the emergence of new life, the birth of a child to a young couple who lived in a small village in Galilee.

There is something wonderful about the birth of every child. Every new born child evokes in us a sense of wonder and delight. We feel very protective of this frail bundle of life; we sense its vulnerability, its need for care and protection. In one sense, the birth of a son to Mary and Joseph was no different to the birth of any other child at that time. The birth of this child happened in circumstances that was far from the clinical environment that would be considered desirable for giving birth today. Mary and Joseph found refuge in a place associated with animals because the local hostelry was full up. Mary placed her child in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. It could be said that the situation left a lot to be desired. Yet, this new born child was more wonderful than any other new born child before or since. This was the message given by the angel to the shepherds as they watched over their flocks at night in the hills outside Bethlehem, ‘A saviour has been born to you; he is Christ, the Lord’. This new born child was God’s special messenger whose coming the prophets of Israel had foretold and for whom people had been waiting for centuries.

I have always been struck by that phrase ‘to you’ in the angel’s message to the shepherds. At one level, it means ‘to you shepherds, watching your flocks’. At a deeper level, it means ‘to you, whoever you are, wherever you are, however you are’. The child of Mary and Joseph was born to each one of us. This child is God’s gift to each of us. Tonight we celebrate the good news that God so loved the world – so loved each one of us – that he sent his only Son to us. The birth of any child touches the lives of so many people, not just at the moment of birth but for many years well into the future. The birth of Mary and Joseph’s child has touched all of our lives, ‘the whole human race’ in the words of Saint Paul. That is why there is a place for all of us at the crib; we all belong there. The writer, C. K. Chesterton, expressed it well in his poem, ‘The House of Christmas’, ‘Only where He was homeless, Are you and I at home’. We are all invited to kneel in the straw, alongside the shepherds and, later, the wise men. God is calling out to us through this child, inviting us to come close to this child, because in doing so we are coming close to God. We are to approach God as we would a new born child, with a sense of wonder and delight. The principal name of this child is ‘Jesus’, but one of his other names in the gospels is ‘Emmanuel’, a name which means, ‘God-with-us’. Through this child, God was entering our world, our own personal lives, becoming flesh, in a way that had never happened before, calling us home. There is a wonderful tradition of people coming home for Christmas. Perhaps the desire for home we experience at this time of the year reflects in some way our appreciation that Christmas celebrates God making a home among us through the child of Mary and Joseph, so that we can be at home with God.

The child who was born for you, for me, became the adult who lived for you, who died for you, who rose from the dead for you and who poured forth the gift of the Holy Spirit for you. The birth of Jesus reveals God to be God for us, and as Saint Paul says in his letter to the Romans, ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ We all have a sense of how much is against us, perhaps more so this Christmas than other Christmases. The War in Ukraine has not only brutalized a whole nation, but has borne down upon all of us. The rise in inflation, in fuel prices, in the general rising cost of living, is driving many people to the edge. The number of people who are homeless remains disturbingly high. There is much darkness in our world. Yet, this Christmas we celebrate the good news that the light that shone on the shepherds in the darkness of their night-watch continues to shine on each one of us, whoever we are, wherever we are, however we are. It is the light of God’s unconditional love, and if we open our lives to that light we ourselves, each one of us, can become God’s light in our sometimes dark work.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

7th June >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II))

First Reading Hosea 11:1,3-4,8-9 I will not give rein to my fierce anger, for I am God, not man.

Listen to the word of the Lord:

When Israel was a child I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. I myself taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in my arms; yet they have not understood that I was the one looking after them. I led them with reins of kindness, with leading-strings of love. I was like someone who lifts an infant close against his cheek; stooping down to him I gave him his food.

Ephraim, how could I part with you? Israel, how could I give you up? How could I treat you like Admah, or deal with you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils from it, my whole being trembles at the thought. I will not give rein to my fierce anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again, for I am God, not man: I am the Holy One in your midst and have no wish to destroy.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Isaiah 12 The rejoicing of a redeemed people.

R/ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Truly, God is my salvation, I trust, I shall not fear. For the Lord is my strength, my song, he became my saviour. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

R/ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name! Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples! Declare the greatness of his name.

R/ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Sing a psalm to the Lord for he has done glorious deeds; make them known to all the earth! People of Zion, sing and shout for joy, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

R/ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Second Reading Ephesians 3:8-12,14-19 The love of Christ is beyond all knowledge.

I, Paul, who am less than the least of all the saints have been entrusted with this special grace, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ but also of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed. Through all the ages, this has been kept hidden in God, the creator of everything. Why? So that the Sovereignties and Powers should learn only now, through the Church, how comprehensive God’s wisdom really is, exactly according to the plan which he had had from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is why we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him. This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name: Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation 1 John 4:10

Alleluia, alleluia! This is the love I mean: God’s love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away. Alleluia!

Or: Matthew 11:29

Alleluia, alleluia! Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. Alleluia!

Gospel John 19:31-37 Out of his pierced side there came out blood and water.

It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it – trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth – and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture:

Not one bone of his will be broken;

and again, in another place scripture says:

They will look on the one whom they have pierced.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[dstrachan]

'Views From The Edge' - w/c 6th May 2024

Estelle ‘American Boy’

Alston / Kirk Overdrive ‘American Stranger’

The Choir Of Westminster Abbey & The Choir of His Majesty's Chapel Royal, St James's Palace & Choristers from Truro Cathedral Choir & Choristers from Chapel Choir of Methodist College Belfast & Octet from the Monteverdi Choir & Andrew Nethsingha ‘Byrd: Prevent Us, O Lord, T 207’

London Symphony Orchestra & Barry Wordsworth

‘Beethoven 9th: Ode an Die Freude (Ode to Joy)’

Ebony Buckle, Bobby Eccles, John Steele, Philip Granell & Cormac Byrne ‘Silver Dagger’

American Gypsy ‘Birth Control & Beer’

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band ‘Boston Tea Party’

MC Chippy feat. Mc Cruzy T & Fat B ‘Bradford Boy’

Chain Ripper ‘Bayonet’

Faust ‘Knife’

Colin MacDuff ‘For All We Know’

Elis MacFadyen ‘Dark Side Of Town’

Anita Abram ‘Gravity Running’

Aoede ‘Gravity’

Pixie Lott ‘Gravity’

Suddyn ‘Gravity’

David Bowie ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’

Jill Scott ‘Hate On Me’

Hilary Duff ‘Haters’

Jennette McCurdy ‘Don’t You Just Hate Those People?’

Taylor Swift ‘Mean’

L7 feat. Joan Jett ‘Fake Friends’

Toby Keith ‘How Do You Like Me Now?’

Not Now Norman ‘Why Don’t Ya Like Me!’

Hatcham Social ‘Shut Your Mouth’

Lou Reed ‘Caroline Says 1’

Tanita Tikaram ‘Twist In My Sobriety’

Belle 'Fluorescent Light'

Groove Armada feat. Saint Saviour ‘I Won’t Kneel (Beaumont remix)’

Kala Chng ‘Lights Out’

[pastortomsteers]

The Bible Study,

God’s Grace & Forgiveness in Christ Alone –

Our readings for Wednesday, April 17 are Exodus 34:29 – 35:21 & Luke 7:36-50.

Moses’ face becomes radiant after meeting with the Lord.

Regulations for Sabbath worship are given at the same time as instructions for provision of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.

It is in the Tabernacle that the Ark of the Covenant will be kept. It will hold the tablets of the Ten Commandments.

On the Day of Atonement, the blood of a sacrifice would be sprinkled on the cover of the Ark. This cover, God called the ‘Mercy Seat.’

The blood of the sacrifice covered the housing of the Commandments.

The blood of Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, covers our transgressions.

Jesus kept the Commandments perfectly in our place. His sacrifice alone paid for the sins of the world.

We receive this precious gift of forgiveness through faith worked within us by the Holy Spirit using the means of grace: God’s Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Faith and salvation are God’s work, not our own.

In our Gospel passage, a Pharisee invites Jesus to a meal at his house.

The self-righteousness of the Pharisee is revealed when a prostitute kneels before Jesus, weeping and anointing His feet with oil.

She is seeking forgiveness.

Knowing the Pharisee’s thoughts that condemn both Him and the woman, Jesus gives this ‘teacher’ of the Law a lesson in God’s forgiveness.

The woman has heard of Jesus, perhaps been present when He spoke.

She’s repented of her sins, and receives Christ’s grace and forgiveness.

The Pharisee responds with judgment and hardness of heart.

Our Lord tells the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

We are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ alone.

Pastor Tom Steers

Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto