#this is just me physicalizing one last prayer for the housing gods

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[desublimitate]

« As long as you come home at the end of the day »

➻ synopsis: Geto has been struggling with his mental health, being a curse eater is slowly breaking him as is his loss of hope in the sorcerers society. The only comfort he can find is in the arms of his roommate

➻ word count: 2000 words

➻ tags: Geto X Reader(gender neutral), hurt/comfort, fluff, sleeping together, dorm

➻ warnings: safe for minors, mentions of mental distress, eating disorders and self harm

A house is like a heart: it has rooms and hallways.

And a house can rot and fall apart, just like hearts can break and shatter.

You could breathe the decay and the despair everytime you stepped into your academy room.

It took weeks to convince old Yaga to let you and Suguru share dorms, for you just couldn’t bare the idea of him locked away with his thoughts. He wasn’t the same since the last mission, everyone could tell.

The Suguru Geto that agreed on protecting that girl for the noble Tengen wasn’t the same that came back. It seemed like he kept seeing her dying before his eyes over and over on loop.

You could hear him scream at night, when he got woken by the recurring nightmare that was haunting him: he kept hearing the gunshot, the smile freezing on that girl face before going blank.

Her body falling like a rag at his feet. He couldn’t save her, he was there with his hand stretched to grab hers and yet he saw the young life and all the future hopes leaving her eyes when the lights went out. He came back to the academy dragging shadows and curses like chains around his ankles.

For a moment he believed that he lost Gojo as well, but Satoru always rose back up, and that seemed to be what broke him.

Gojo was invincible, you could slash his body and he would still rise stronger than before, that young girl didn’t even have a chance, she couldn’t even fight for her life.

She didn’t even notice her life ending, while Gojo Satoru wasted his privilege with his pride.

There was nothing to be proud of, Geto thought, it was easy for Gojo to chant his own glorious gests when he wasn’t there when an innocent, lonely and defenceless girl’s brain matter got splattered on his uniform.

Gojo wasn’t there.

Geto was, and when they came back, there was a spark in his hazel eyes that it wasn’t there before.

A spark of resentment.

The door slammed and you thanked all the gods that would listen to your prayers for that sound of cracking wood, for each crack meant that Suguru came back home. One day more, that was all you begged for, just one day more everyday, one crack more on the door.

‘Just come back home to me’.

-Suguru?-

He didn’t reply, his feet were dragging on the floor.

Your eyelids were as heavy as ever and dark circles were forming under your eyes for all the nights you spent awake waiting for him to return from a daily mission or just for staying at his side during those nightmares.

Screams, sweat and chills, you wished there was a way for all of it to stop, but the best you could do was being there, being his safe haven at the end of the day, when Suguru embraced your waist you knew that your physical contact was the only anchor he had to remain sane.

You heard the shower opening, warm steam coming out of the bathroom so you decided to step out of bed, your guts just knew that that night something was different. Suguru’s black wide trousers and his jacket were abandoned on the floor, his shoes upside down.

That night must have gone worse than before.

-Suguru...-

The scene displayed before your eyes was heart-wrenching.

Suguru Geto, one of the strongest sorcerers ever existed, was kneeling on the floor, his arms up on the wall while scorching hot water rained on him. His skin was reddening, burning.

You could count his ribs and see his spine, he had lost so much weight in the last weeks it started worrying the headmaster.

He was trying to let himself die, Geto was starving himself and burning his skin hoping at some point his body would give up, and so it would all come to an end.

You rushed towards him, closing the shower, crying his name –Suguru!- As you lift him from his underarms, it doesn’t matter how tall he is compared to you he lost all his towering appeal.

There is nothing more heart-breaking than seeing a god lose faith in himself.

When someone infinite and might like Suguru Geto collapsed, you swore you felt the Earth stopping its rotation.

He grabbed your arms, his long delicate fingers wrapping them whole, he held on to you as you kneeled in front of him, you just couldn’t care less about getting your night clothes wet. He didn’t make a sound, his beautiful eyes were wide open who knows where. Who knows what they saw, you wished you could see through his eyes, so that he could share his sorrows and didn’t have to carry all the weight of his world on his shoulders. You wished you could take all that pain through Geto’s touch.

-I’m here, you are safe. Suguru, you are safe-

Your forehead touched his and some raven strings of hair fell on his face, only for you to tuck back behind his ear

–You are safe- You kept repeating –Nothing can hurt you now, it’s all over. I’m so proud of you, you have been amazing, Suguru-

What world were you living in, if it allowed Geto’s beauty to fade? Roses died in winter but with the new Sun they would open their buds again, you weren’t sure whether your Geto’s beauty would reflorish.

Your mind travelled to Satoru’s room, was he also in the shower? Was he perhaps singing himself songs while savouring another victory? Was he already in dream land safe from nightmares? Did he even notice Suguru’s breaking next to him? No, Gojo could never know what it felt like, what it tasted like. Gojo could never know what it felt like living with curses flowing in your system, mixing with your stomach juices, their aftertaste forever printed in your saliva. Breathing the taste of curses as you woke in the morning.

No, the perfect son of the Gojo clan, the Six Eyes child only knew light, darkness was left for those lesser of him.

-Tell me what can I do, please. Just say something, I beg you- Suguru’s brown eyes blinked for the first time

–Stay- His voice hoarse, venom eating his throat.

-I’m here, Suguru. I am not going anywhere. We can stay here all night long if you need it, but I’m not letting you burn yourself-

Geto coughed –I feel them on my skin, I want to burn them, they are on me walking all over me like roaches- His pupils stretched like needles.

You caressed his back, his soft skin, flawless and pale. You traced galaxies with his beauty spots and his scars

–I promise you there is nothing on you, I would never let them touch you, your skin is untouched. You will catch a cold if you stay wet for too long, here, let me help you- Slowly you stood up, following the pace of Geto’s long legs.

He hunched and almost crushed you with his weight when let out a loud cry, one of those cries that hurt your chest.

Geto screamed with his head on your shoulder, the power of his cry made your skin shiver, like vibrations on water. As Geto finally lets go of all his pain, you took the chance of damping his silky black hair with a soft towel.

It smelled of clean, of talcum, warm from the washing machine just for his return.

-It’s so soft, isn’t it?- You comforted him, caressing his head, making sure no spot of his huge body remained wet.

For a moment, you believed you sensed him nod.

-I got your favourite pajamas too, do you want to try laying down?- This time you clearly felt his forhead nod on your shoulder.

You held Geto’s hands walking him back to the bedroom, like a child afraid of monsters under his bed. Only that Geto had monsters in his insides.

-Lift your arms- He didn’t reply, just obeyed as he let you dress him for the night. Once he would have filled that white t-shirt, but as you passed his arms through it, you realized that it’s now bigger of at least three sizes. Geto was disappearing in his clothes.

-If there is anything, literally anything, that you feel comfortable eating, I would fly to the other side of the world to grab it for you, okay?-

Suguru sat on the bed, let himself fall on the back. -You don’t have to do all of this, it’s only a burden- Said Suguru, ashamed to look at your face.

-Look, if it was a burden, I would have stopped long ago-

-Why are you even doing all of this? You are barely sleeping-

-Why do you think I’m doing it?- He knew the answer, because that’s the same answer he would give.

-I am having very dark thoughts, you know?-

-And you know that you can share all of them with me, I won’t run away-

-I’m afraid that if I told you, or Satoru, bad things would happen- You cuddled up, crossing your legs with his and hugging his side

–I don’t know Satoru as good as you do, he is an arrogant prick but I don’t believe he is stupid, he just needs his six eyes opened sometimes. I am sure he would understand. I would understand. There is absolutely nothing in the world that you could say that would make me run away from you, Suguru Geto-

He smiled and kissed your nose –Never ever?-

You rubbed your nose against his, straight and perfect –Never ever. I love you, Suguru. In good and bad times-

-Now that sounds like a wedding vow- Geto smirked.

-Well at least it brightened you up!-

-I’m sorry I’m putting this on you, I promise it will stop-

Your fingers were playing with his hair –I don’t need any apologise, as long as you come home to me at the end of the day, in whatever shape you do, I will be welcoming you with open arms, warm towels and soft blankets-

Geto nudged his head on your chest, his favourite sleep position, his arms as always around your waist –Don't you ever think that there could be a way to stop all of this? The curses, everything-

You kissed his head, didn’t reply.

-I wonder if it will be ever enough, what we do? If what we are doing isn’t actually useless and we are just wasting time and powers? Sorcerers are dying but spirits and curses keep growing in number. I don’t think I like this world, my love-

-I don’t like this world either. I don’t like a world that swallows his strongest sons. I don’t like a world that forces you to eat its curses. Of course I think of a way to put all of this to an end. I think about it everytime you leave, not knowing if you will return to me, and everytime I see you crying and scratching your throat at night. If I could end this for you, I would have done it long ago-

Geto raised his head, on his face there is a surprised expression –If I found a way, it would make the sorcerers society collapse, we would lose this-

-Remember these words: I love you, Suguru Geto, and I would follow you to the end of the world, I would sacrifice this wretched world if I was sure that I could stay like this, with you in my arms. I love you, even the darkness you carry. You are not alone, you are never alone. Come back to me, Suguru Geto. Your smiles, your wittiness. I miss all of this, if this world stole you from me I would come and find you in the pits of hell. Come back to me, Suguru-

By the time you finished talking, Geto’s breathe was heavier and regular, on your chest. He was breathing on you, almost giving you life through his own cursed oxygen. His forehead was relaxed so you kissed it one last time. -I love you, Geto-

[cdyssey]

Agatha All Along (1.04) Reactions:

“I didn’t think I had it in you.” [Cue Agatha winking at Teen.] Ooough, does she suspect him of killing Mrs. Hart????

“RIP, Mrs. Hart.” She’s so fucking unserious djsjdjjd

Also, I don’t think I’ve said this yet, but I love her hair being long and wild when she’s on the Road. It’s so witchy.

Agatha holding up a single finger when asked how many witches survived the Road the last time she walked it is sooooo good.

“May she be smart and not annoying. And also, not super political.” ALWKKDCJWJSK

“May she be pleasant looking.” THIS WHOLE COVEN IS FULL OF GAY WITCHES. <333

FUCKING JUMPSCARE GOD.

“This was very clearly a group effort.” AKQOKSDJSJSK. (Also, obsessed with the fact that Agatha instinctively threw her hands out to protect her coven.)

RIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

“SURPRISE. M’LADY.” GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY!!

“So, the dangerous but charismatic lady is back. Do you wanna talk about it?” AKWOWKWD, Teen saw them fight-flirting all across Agatha’s house.

ALICE WANTING RIO’S NUMBER TOO. GAY WITCHES

Ooough, this is Alice’s trial.

HELLO, THESE FUCKING FITS!!!!!!!!!!! GODDDDD, HOT HOT HOT

Rio, trying to play with Agatha: “Boo.” / Agatha, looking more than discomfited: “No.” Fuck, I can’t wait to see what horror divides them.

Lilia tearing up at the portraits of women/witches being brutally murdered… her backstory is going to be horrific, isn’t it?

Lorna’s fans being her coven ooooughhhhhh, that’s good.

Lilia not remembering the half-premonitions she blurts out is so interesting. Can’t wait to see where they all go, especially the tarot card shouts.

Agatha covering up her chest when Rio is around. She doesn’t want to feel naked around her just yet, doesn’t want to be vulnerable. The super fun part about "you're vulnerable" / "only physically" is that it's an absolute fucking lie!!

“I’m feeling impatient. I’m feeling like I want to cause some damage.” YEAH BABY FREAK 4 FREAK TOXIC YURI

“Just one more big adventure. You and me.” / “like old times?” / “Work and play. It could be nice, right?” MY GOD????????????????? I'VE DREAMED FOR THESE KINDS OF DAYS

but also, I think it’s incredibly interesting that the scene starts with Agatha visibly uncomfortable, but then she leans into the flirting —like she did in their first encounter, bc she knows power and seduction are what Rio responds to

KILLING OTHER WITCHES AS FOREPLAY. “You get your power, and I get my bodies.” THEY’VE BEEN A TEAM

lmfao, Agatha purposefully pressing the mic. I love a drama queen

“She’s a psycho.” [Cue Rio nodding enthusiastically.] LAOQOSFJDK

Alice breaking down about the curse. Fucking hell. I love her

JAM SESSION JAM SESSION JAM SESSION!!

“To save her daughter.” 😭😭😭

LORNA’S BALLAD IS A PROTECTION SPELL. SOBBIN G. LIKE ALSO THE FACT THAT SO MUCH OF AAA IS ABOUT MOTHERHOOD. Protecting children, losing children, grieving them, perhaps finding a surrogate son.

LET PATTI LUPONE SING

AGNES TELLING THEM TO KEEP PLAYING EVEN THOUGH SHE’S IN PAIN

THIS NEW COVER FUCKING SLAPS. HOLY FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK. It’s very Fleetwood Mac omfgggggggg

I love that they have Patti lupone on the fucking triangle AKAKDJISWO

"BLOOD AND TEARS AND BONE / TOGTHER AND ALONE." FUCK YEAH

PATTI ON MARACAS NOW LMAO

Alice is slaying these final notes holy shittttt.

TEEN'S HURT, OH FUCK. Oh my god, Agatha being so CONCERNED about him. Look at her, cradling his fucking head

THE WAY HER VOICE CRACKS WHEN SHE SAYS THERE’S SO MUCH BLOOD

THE VULNERABLE WAY SHE SAYS "DON’T" TO RIO. FUCK ME. AUOWJSHHSH IT’s A FUCKING PLEA, A PRAYER EVEN, BECAUSE RIO IS CLEARLY DEATH UAHDGHSUIHUIHUI!!!!!!

CRYING IN DA CLUB

(ALSO, THE FACT THAT AGATHARIO'S DYNAMIC WAS CLEARLY, I'M DEATH AND YOU'RE THE STUNNING MONSTER WHO KEEPS BRINGING ME BODIES IS ABSOLUTELY ENTHRALLING.)

“Jennifer. Look what you did.” SOBBINGGGFFFFDFHHH FUCK OFF. Jennifer is growing confident in her abilities again

AGATHA KEEPING WATCH ON TEEN. I'M SO WEAK

The way all of the witches are grieving something or someone—their lost magic, lost mothers, lost family, a lost child, a lost lover. THIS SHOW IS ABOUT GRIEFFRDDF

If I lose any of these witches, I will DIE

“You don’t have extra nipples? I’m covered in nipples.” lmao, she’s so unserious

Agatha teasing Teen but also being super gentle with himmmmmm. Fuck offf!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agatha’s face darkening at the mention of her son and just completely shutting down. Ugahhhhhhhhh

SITTING NEXT TO RIO.

Agatha LOOKING AT RIO WHEN SHOWING HER SCAR AND BOTH OF THEM LAUGHING BECAUSE THEY'RE REMINISCING. THEY KNOW EACH OTHER SO DEEPLY.

Agatha looking so uncomfortable when the witches laugh at her joke. She hasn't had friends in a very long while, and she doesn't know what to do with those warm, tender feelings

“I’ve got a scar.” / “No, you don’t.” OF COURSE YOU WOULD KNOW AGATHA

“A long time ago, I loved someone. And I had to do something that I did not wanna do, even though it was my job. And it hurt them. She is my scar.” YOU’RE FUCKING KIDDING ME. OH GOD SHE REAPED NICHOLAS DIDN'T SHEEEEEEEE

AGATHA MOANING WHEN SHE TOUCHES HER HAIR SHUT UP SHUT UO SHUT UP

TENDERLY AND AGONIZINGLY CUPPING HER FACE, EMBRACING HER BODY

GOING IN FOR THE FUCKING KISS

RIO TELLING HER SO GENTLY MY FUCKING GOD. LIKE. SHE KNOWS IT'LL HURT AGATHA, BUT SHE KNOWS THAT SUCH A TRUTH IS NECESSARY. IT'S IMPORTANT.

THE LITTLE DEVASTATED NOD. THE FAKE, PLASTERED ON SMILE

SHOW OF ALL FUCKIGN TIME GODDAMN!!!!!

[wolint]

THE PALM TREE PHENOMENON!

THE PALM TREE PHENOMENON

Psalm 92:12-14

 

Palm trees exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat. They are hardly affected by any weather conditions, making them one of the few trees that flourish and bloom in any place and season. A palm tree normally lives from seven to ten decades, producing a mind-blowing diversity of fruits (such as coconuts, dates, and palm wine) and has many uses.

Palm branches were used in John 12:12-15 to line the streets in celebration of Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem, symbolizing His victory over sin and death. This event, known as Palm Sunday, fulfils the prophecies of the Old Testament and ushers in a new era of salvation for humanity. The palm tree is therefore a symbol of victory and triumph.

The first mention of the palm tree is found in Exodus 15:27, in Elim, which is now called Wady-Ghurandel, the most extensive watercourse in the western desert. This oasis is adorned with a great variety of trees, among which is the palm tree. Weary travellers must have been delighted to encamp under its shade and enjoy its abundant supply of sweet water.

The palm is referred to as “the tree of the desert,” as it flourishes in the desert, and its presence is a sign of water. It’s amazing that the Bible likens us to a palm tree! The believer is meant to grow vigorously, with longevity, fragrance, and beauty. Like these palm trees, we are set for the life, character, and destiny of the flourishing righteous.

The faithful flourish like the palm tree, the long-lived and stately palm. The believer flourishes in the courts of God, abiding in God’s presence according to Psalm 23:6, as opposed to the temporary “flourishing” of the evildoers who are doomed to destruction.

Everything in life needs an additive to improve or preserve it. Just as plants need fertilizers to grow and flourish, so do believers need God to grow and flourish. Those planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of God.

As these trees flourish in their respective soils and climates, so shall the righteous in the ordinances of God. But only those who trust in and dwell in the Lord, according to Jeremiah 17:7-8, are planted by water, are called blessed, and filled with God-defined benefits. It is those whose trust is in the Lord. Palm trees in the Bible also represent beauty, prosperity, and fertility and a sign of prosperity and fertility, as well as been seen as a sign of God’s covenant with his people.

Only trust in God motivates confident obedience in times of crisis. When you see palm trees in heavy wind and storm, you’ll understand the strength and tenacity of the trees. Every other tree may be uprooted by the wind or broken, but not the palm tree. Though the wind may force it to bend almost to the breaking point, it rises back and flourishes with no visible sign of the trauma it’s been through because God made them to bend but not break, Just as He made us.

Life may bend us, the enemy may bend us, challenges and circumstances may bend us, but none can break us. If everything in life is pushing you to a breaking point, remember you’re built to last, overcome, triumph, conquer, and not break. If life pushes you to your knees, and Christ remains the centre of your life, be confident that you can withstand those pushes because your resilience is of God and not of man, like the palm tree.

As believers, we continue to grow in grace, and be fruitful to the end of life, continuously flourishing, and bearing fruit in old age because we can learn spiritual lessons from the palm tree phenomenon, to stand in faith, deeply rooted in the truth of God’s word while His presence nourishes us to bearing good fruit.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to learn and lean on your word to give my root dept that would keep me grounded even through the storms of life in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom,

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT PRAYER MIN.

[meetthetruthblogger]

VOTE ON NOVEMBER 5TH, 2024

September 10, 2024

Hello! I hope this note finds you and your family in good health, physically well and spiritually a disciple of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Eight weeks from today is voting day 2024 when we elect a President, a third of the United States Senators, all 435 U. S. Representatives, a new Governor, and many State-wide and local elections.

To register to vote In the State of Missouri you need to be at least 17 ½ years old, be a United States citizen and a Missouri resident. The deadline to register to vote in the November 2024 General Election is October 9th, 2024. Other states’ requirements and deadlines will differ; contact your Secretary of (your) State for assistance.

It is a privilege and an honor to be able to vote. I will go so far as to say it is your duty to vote. You are responsible to inform yourself about the candidates and the issues and vote as your conscience dictates. At a minimum, you should expect honesty, high moral character and a desire to serve from your candidate. Also, I want my candidates to be Christian.

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

A word to the Christians reading this: For some reason, that is not Biblical, Christians have a reputation as being non-voters – shame on you if this is you! You have a mandate directly from Jesus to be salt and light, to be an example to other Christians and non-Christians alike! There are plenty of issues requiring your attention; if you do not vote you are giving the abortionists, the LGBT community, the sex-traffickers, the illegal aliens and others a free ride to cause further damage and destruction to our beloved country.

 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

 How do you know who to vote for? I am here to help you! You will need a Bible opened to Exodus, Chapter 20, Verses 1-17: Now just go through God’s Commandments and align the people on your ballot with His Law. For example, the 6th Commandment says, ‘You shall not murder,’ so you should pick a candidate who believes in life; this would eliminate any candidates who advocate abortion. The next Commandment is that ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ so you would want to pick a potential legislator who believes in marriage and sexual relations between one man and one woman. Apply this logic to each candidate, using each Commandment and you will know exactly who to vote for. You might want to get a sample ballot and do this research in advance.

My message in that last paragraph will, undoubtedly hold me up to ridicule and criticism; using the Bible as a guide to voting? Crazy! Or is it? I can assure you that our Founding Fathers would not even have raised an eyebrow at the thought of using the Bible as a voting aid. Most of our Founders were very well versed in Scripture and being self-educated, for the most part, expected  United States citizens to use the Bible as a guide in their lives. It is only in the last 60 years, since the godless United States Supreme Court ruled in the 1962 Engel v. Vitale decision that God and His Bible have experienced a loss of popularity.

 Please be sure to register and vote, our County is in deep trouble and needs your help!

Next week will be an introduction to God’s Law and Prophecy; it is my intention that these two topics will help you to decide to give your life to Jesus Christ. See you then.

Tom Maloney

THE END

[minniefights]

Update 18: Mom is doing great post-operation

Dec 21, 2023

Reflecting on today’s Gospel, I can’t help but be grateful to all of you who, like Mary, went out of her way to visit and gift Elizabeth with her service and her presence. These past months have been very difficult but you helped us carry through this time. For all of your prayers, your concern and care, you financial support and fundraising efforts, your presence, friendship, every act of service and every help that you have extended to me and my Mom, we are deeply grateful. We see Jesus in all of you! And His presence is evident in you.

As for my Mom, it’s been quite a while since I last updated. Mom had a surgery early December to address her Fistula In Ano. It could’ve been easily addressed if not for her immune-compromised state but given that, a surgical intervention has to be performed or it’s going to get worse. The first miracle was that she allowed to be brought back to the hospital again, even if she expressed prior her stern resistance on the idea of ever being admitted. She was also in good spirits during her entire stay at the hospital.

We had some hiccups, of course, just like the night before the operation, our helper who stays the night with us suddenly experienced hyperventilation and had to be brought to the ER! It was such a high intensity situation for us. Suddenly I (Aiana) had 2 patients! But help was near and after some medical intervention, she was also discharged.

The surgery

The surgeon mentioned that is the worst case of Fistula she’s ever handled. She also cautioned that the healing won’t be quick for her. But we are blessed that with the help of our daytime caregiver (Darwin) and our helper at night (Anne), Mom is able to receive her regular wound care routine. As of this moment, the wound is healing very slowly but surely.

There’s still an IV attached to her because every now and then IV meds are being ordered by the home care doctor. Otherwise, she is able to take her oral medications, albeit so many. She’s also still Oxygen dependent but the saturation is slowly being tapered down so that she doesn’t become dependent to it.

Perhaps, this is our Christmas miracle. I can say that my Mom has significantly improved since her ICU admission. She’s still bed bound but her regular physical therapy has helped her sustain sitting positions, and hopefully soon she will be able to sit on a wheelchair. She’s still has her urinary catheter too which is being replaced every 2 weeks. I could say we’re at yellow alert right now (yellow, orange, red alerts help me classify the gravity of our situation). We’re still alert for some emergencies but we’re able to pace ourselves and breathe a little bit more now.

God’s provision going before us

We also experienced God’s provision in the hospital. A few weeks before the operation, a cousin who works at the congress said she could try to look for a medical grant for Mom. She was able to find one worth Php 50,000 but she said it might take 2-4 weeks to process. We were also going to figure out how to allocate it since at that time since Mom does not want to be admitted to the hospital again. But God truly goes before us. He saw that Mom would need an operation and the medical grant was released just in time for us to use (and be deducted from the bill) upon discharge! Talk about the God of order and provision!

What to do in the land of exile

I felt like giving a bit of an update about me also because many of you are concerned. I would take off from one of the most famous bible passage Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

If we really look at the context of this passage, Jeremiah was prophesying to those exiled in Babylon that the state of captivity will still last 70 years!! But what does he tell them? He instructs in Jeremiah 29:4 and onwards “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce…” in other words, in the land of exile, life still continues! Live it!

This definitely is not my “normal”. I’ve gotten used to living outside of Iligan and I’m often traveling or going out. But even here, at my current predicament, my life still continues. The way I do that, is by living out my spirituality, thru prayer and the sacraments and the online engagement I have with my community. I also exercise; swimming three times a week in the morning. I also have a small business, a Catholic art and gift shop called Everything Heartwork, and production happens in Iligan. So while I’m here, I try to create new products and really carving time to pursue this calling! I also continue doing my part time missionary work (with Kairos Asia), which still works for my setup because of my administrative position and the Asia-wide scope of our work allows me to serve remotely.

At some point, to be honest, I also had to grieve the gone years of the lifestyle I knew. The late twenties are my prime years, I said. But my life changed at my Mom’s diagnosis. Radical acceptance did wonders to my heart, and it’s only through grace. But I also pondered upon how mothers, would give up their “prime” for their family. In a heartbeat, my Mom would give me the prime cuts of meat over our meal times or would choose to put other family members’ needs first, without a question. What a beautiful privilege to be giving up my prime for her who has given up her prime, and not just that, but her whole life and self for me! If this is the price I pay for time I could spend with my Mom, then gladly I will take it, grateful for everyday.

Thank you so much for journeying with us! We love you and we’re grateful for you.

[lovenojudgement]

October 15, 2023 7:36AM (Manila Time)

Last full day.

Today feels like it’s going to be my last day here on Earth. My last full day to be able to fix everything. My last full day with family. My last full day in our house in Manila. And my last full day with the love of my life.

I woke up just a few minutes ago before writing this. Yesterday was so tiring but we just really had to make the best out of every single hour that we have with each other physically. John and I attended a wedding. We had to be up by five in the morning then we had to drive up to Tagaytay. Then crazy traffic welcomed us on our way back home because of an event then we had to freshen up because we planned dinner with our families. It is the first time that our moms met. Everything went great but with all honesty, I could not embrace the moment.

I did not know which to feel first. Should I eat because we ate at one of my favorite steakhouses, should I rest for a little bit because we had a whole day of activities, should I savor the moment of our moms meeting but it was mostly the sadness in my heart that gave the most weight last night. Even on our way home while I was driving. John and my mom were talking about things and I was thinking. If he just came in a little bit earlier, maybe I really had to think things over and over and over before I decided if I really wanted to work in the States.

Everytime we go to a church either for a mass or we just had to drop by and pray, I always thank God for granting my prayers. I remembered before, after my biggest and heaviest heartbreak, I told God that I pray and ask for someone who would fit my heart best. To be honest, John was not a good fit right away. But through time he is learning and I also realized that the most important thing is that his love is real and that would never be questionnable.

Ever since we were together, I always pray that one day, I hope our dreams for the future aligns. I know that it would never be easy to leave things behind especially those that you have worked hard for. The fruits that you just have been recently reaping because of the seeds that you planted for years. I know it might sound unfair but I hope one day he’ll be willing to risk things just to be with me. To try and see what life might be with me. How life would be when we start it new. I would not lie either.

In times like this, my heart knows the difference when I am home. But I also know, that life would not be called a life without sacrifices in it. Life would not make it comfortable on its own.

In time, when all the stars align for the two of us, I hope and pray that we will be one of the strongest universe that God has ever created.

I love you so much.

DGPS

[fortoffort]

FOF 131: THE LORD’S PRAYER 3: HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME

This week we look at the second line of the Lord’s Prayer; Hallowed be your name. Last week we thought about the opening line and how it establishes who we are talking to and our relationship with him. This week’s line further delves into our relationship with the one true God of the universe. When I was younger I understood this line to be saying “your name is holy” but hallow is a verb, it could mean to make holy and we know that we’re unable to do that. The primary definition of hallow is to honour as holy and as we shall see I think this matches a biblical understanding. God is holy, he expects to be recognised as such because to deny it would be a lie and to fail to honour him as holy would be to miss out on the only dependable source of life and goodness. Let’s explore what it means to recognise the holiness of God’s name.

When we look back in Genesis we don’t see an incident of God introducing himself and saying what name he would like to be called by. Yet many people even from the earliest humans call on the name of the Lord. This implies that they know what the name of the Lord is. The word is יְהוָֽה in the hebrew which we would pronounce Yahweh. You might have heard that name being used in some modern worship songs and not known the meaning behind it. It’s not until Exodus 3 that we get the explanation behind this name. God introduces himself to Moses by saying “‘I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I am has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14b) The name of God points to his eternal existence. He has no beginning and no end, he always has been and he always will be. God’s personal name was considered so holy that scribes through the centuries substituted it with the word adonai which means Lord. We see from this act of reverence the extreme honour that God’s chosen people have held his name in.

When we think about honouring the name of the Lord we might instantly jump to one of the ten commandments which refers to this directly. “‘You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (Exodus 20:7) The NIV uses the word misuse but you might have also heard the word translated as ‘take’. For years I was under the impression that this meant we should not swear using the Lord’s name. This is a part of it but I think the richness of this verse has been lost in translation. The Hebrew word is tissa and it can mean lift, carry or take. We might also think of a word like bear to get across the meaning of this idea. On that mountain God is claiming the Israelites as his people, he was even linking himself with them by being known as the God of Israel. God chooses them to bear his name, just like we might write our name on something we own, God is claiming ownership of the people of Israel. The NIV has conflated the Hebrew words tissa to carry and lassaw which means evil into one word ‘misuse’. In doing so I think you miss the nuance of this idea. God wants us to bear his name but if he wants us to do so by honouring him and avoiding evil.

I think there is further evidence for this reading of the command in how God’s name is used throughout scripture. We are told that the temple will be a house for his name and that he will place it there forever (1 Kings 21:7) or it is called by his name (1 Kings 8:29). The people are called by his name too in 2 Chronicles 7:14. God claims ownership of the people and the very land they live on. In Revelation 3:12 where Jesus is speaking to the churches he cements this idea by promising to write his name upon us. Just as when we look at an item with a label bearing someone’s name, people will look at us and they may not be able to see a physical label but they will recognise that we belong to God by the way we live. We could tell people that we are Christians and children of God, thereby verbally linking ourselves to him, but if we then go about living lives that dishonour what God represents then he may not want to be associated with us anymore.

This brings us to thinking about God’s holy nature. He wants us to bear his name, as we saw in the first week of our series he is our Father. I work in a primary school and I’m always struck by how children look like their parents but also reflect the way their parents have raised them, this is both nature and nurture I feel. Genetically your personality might be a combination of both parents but also the values of your home environment have a big impact on how you behave in society. This should hold true with us and God, he has transformed us by sending the Holy Spirit to live within us. The Holy Spirit is someone we receive, he is the one who changes our fundamental nature when we invite him in. He is the one who inclines us towards honouring God yet we have a choice on whether we are then further instilled with God's values. If we choose to spend time with our heavenly father and amongst our brothers and sisters who are also filled with his Holy Spirit, then we will become more holy.

There does appear to be a sliding scale of holiness. We see this in the design of the temple, the very centre of which is the Most holy place, the surrounding area is a holy place then there was an inner court and an outer court. Only the High priest was able to enter the most holy place or the holy of holies, and he could only do it once a year after a lot of purification rituals. We know that these rituals did not make him holy as holiness is not something we can earn through our actions, it is something we can ask to receive more of. The temple system has now been superseded by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul writes that we are now the temples housing God’s holy presence. It is up to us to decide how holy our hearts and minds are. Yet if we can’t increase in holiness through our actions how do we become more holy and thus better represent God’s holiness to the world?

First off before we look at how we become holy we might need a reminder of what holiness is, it describes the unique nature of God. He is the only one in the universe who is purely good and because he is eternal he eternally establishes what is good and what is evil. He is perfect in his goodness, he never puts a foot wrong. Everything we know to be good, ideals like love, justice, grace, faithfulness and more are all supremely exhibited in him. When we realise just how good God is we realise what a tall order it is for us to emulate him. Peter helps us in how we go about it in his first letter(1 Peter 1:12-16). He tells us that holiness starts off with the way we think. This calls for us to be aware of what values and ideals we currently hold, are our own concepts of the world more important to us than God’s? If we discover that we have been holding on to misconceptions then Peter reminds us that there is grace, God will forgive us and will help us to think differently. We have to be willing to obey him though, even if it is a sacrifice or goes against popular ideals. In a world of consumers it is hard to not live a self-focused existence. Yet we can have our minds renewed and think and behave in a more holy manner.

As with each line of the Lord’s prayer there is a lot packed into this one. We know that God’s name is Holy, he is worthy of honour because he is the only one who is unceasingly good and defines what it means to be good. He honours us by calling us by his name and allowing us to represent him to a world that doesn’t know him. In Jesus’ time on earth he identified himself as one with the Father by using God’s holy name to introduce himself to people. The religious leaders were scandalised because they thought he was profaning the name of God by attaching himself to it but Jesus was correctly identifying himself as God’s son, a human man conceived by the Holy Spirit and overflowing with the Holy Spirit’s presence. Jesus prayed for us that as we go about bearing his name we would be protected by its power. He then prayed that we would be brought into the same level of unity that he and the Father share, he is so close to the Father that the only way to describe them is as being one; distinct but completely unified. The Lord’s prayer reminds us who our Father is and how we can show that we are his children. We pray that we will hallow his name by becoming more holy; we the walking, talking temples of God that house his presence. We pray that we will be drawn into greater unity with the triune God and greater unity with his holy people.

[god-whispers]

may 17

the days of our life

"why should i fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?" psa 49:5

we are living in the days of evil.  it is only living our witness and God's grace that will get any of us through what is appointed to us.  "and He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings." acts 17:26

often we look at our brethren and think they either have it easier than we do, and some perhaps harder.  is it possible that God has equipped each of us for our unique struggle, knowing ahead of time all things as He does?

i know i often look upon our brethren in foreign countries and pray for their endurance.  i see the persecution, the beheadings, the having to worship in secret, all the terrors surrounding them, and i pray again for their strength.  in the spirit i can see them praying for us in america as well.

awhile back i mentioned about someone who had escaped from persecution in their country and had been living in america for awhile.  it wasn't too long before they decided to return to that place of persecution.  why seek to go back to such a place.  they were not equipped for our surroundings.  they saw themselves slipping away from the faith in the laxness of american life.  unfortunately, i see that happening to much of the church here as well.  could it be possible that the trial of our faith is more difficult to us than to them.  the enemy is perfectly happy to use ease instead of persecution if it will waiver our faith.

who can say what is bearable to one and not another?  although i believe more actual physical persecution will be coming soon here also, right now it is a battle of a different kind we are in.  the other day i heard someone give a witness about his daughter who had recently tried to commit suicide.

she was 17 she was being housed at a children's hospital.  upon visiting his daughter he discovered that the hospital had children as young as eight years old who had tried to commit suicide as well.  our adults, but especially our children are now having to endure things unheard of in my generation.  his advice was to get your kids away from social media as much as you could - especially tik tok and snap chat.  also to get then away from public schooling if you possibly could.

our children are being influenced and indoctrinated in ways we never were before.  between school time and time spent on their devices, parental time and influence is minuscule.  is it no wonder they are even confused about whether they are a boy or a girl?  is it any wonder we are raising a generation of children disobedient to parents; more so than ever before.

Jesus warned we would have tribulation in this life.  paul gives us a terrifying description of how things will be in the last days and anyone who still believes we are not living in the last days had their head buried in the sand.  that will not make it go away or protect one from experiencing it.  it will just leave one unprotected; without the weapons of their warfare.

am i a watchman - called to warn others?  i honestly do not know.  i know i am doing what i think God wants me to do; to share and encourage, to warn and equip.  whether it is enough or not i guess i will learn when the rewards are passed out.

i do know that Christ Jesus has made us kings and priests unto God and the scripture says: "let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, 'spare Your people, o Lord, and do not give Your heritage to reproach.'" joel 2:17  i also knows the tears i have shed; the prayers i have made.  i want to encourage and entice you.  i want to warn and weapon you.  now is the time if we're going to serve Him!  time shortens every day.

[princeofgod-2021]

LIGHT OF LIFE 342

John 1:4

TOO LATE 5 – BUT WHY? 2

Eze 14:19-20 “Or SUPPOSE I WERE TO SEND A PLAGUE INTO THAT LAND, AND POUR OUT MY RAGE ON IT WITH BLOODSHED, killing both people and animals. EVEN IF NOAH, DANIEL, AND JOB WERE IN IT, AS SURELY AS I LIVE, DECLARES THE SOVEREIGN LORD, THEY COULD NOT SAVE THEIR OWN SON OR DAUGHTER; THEY WOULD SAVE ONLY THEIR OWN LIVES BY THEIR RIGHTEOUSNESS. NET

We have started to look into why God can get “stiff”, unforgiving, and [ultimately] shut the “door of Mercy” against men.

We now continue with more points, which we commenced from last lesson.

3. DESPISED WINDOWS OF MERCY – God could have given space and time for many to change their ways but they insisted on going the wrong way, and so, Mercy runs out for them.

Rev 2:20-21 But I have this against you, that you let the woman Jezebel say she is a prophet and give false teaching, making my servants go after the desires of the flesh and take food offered to false gods. AND I GAVE HER TIME FOR A CHANGE OF HEART, BUT SHE HAS NO MIND TO GIVE UP HER UNCLEAN WAYS. BBE

As terrible as the sin (fornication & Idolatry) is – things for which God should wipe men out without 2nd thought – God still gave “room” for repentance.

Can you imagine how disrespectful such rebuff from men could be?

God even makes threats just to cause fear that leads to repentance but no!

Rev 2:22 I am going to strike down Jezebel. Everyone who does these immoral things with her will also be punished, IF THEY DON'T STOP. CEV

You can’t deny the authenticity of the LOVE of a God who takes the pain to warn you often, though He can destroy you with ease.

This brings us to the next point:

4. STUBBORN SOULS – there are persons who are commonly bent on going the wrong way.

Pro 29:1 If you get MORE STUBBORN every time you are corrected, ONE DAY YOU WILL BE CRUSHED AND NEVER RECOVER. GNB

Samson was like that too, because he had passion for women and wasn’t ready to cease from it.

Jdg 14:3 His father and his mother answered, "But surely there is a woman from the Israelites you can marry. Do you have to marry a woman from the Philistines? Their men are not even circumcised." But Samson said, "GET THAT WOMAN FOR ME! SHE IS THE ONE I WANT!" ERV

Once Samson lost the EYES he couldn’t take away from lusting after women, no prayer could bring it back.

His “Mission” had to be fulfilled without those eyes, which was now clearly hated by God.

But what about addictions; could a man be condemned where it is obvious that he is not in [full] control of himself?

Good question, but with perfect answer from the holy Book.

Luk 1:73-75 HE HAS RESCUED US FROM THE POWER OF OUR ENEMIES! This fulfills the sacred oath he made with our father Abraham. NOW WE CAN BOLDLY WORSHIP GOD WITH HOLY LIVES, LIVING IN PURITY AS PRIESTS IN HIS PRESENCE EVERY DAY! TPT

Please take note: addiction to anything can never be an excuse to exonerate anyone before God because the very first thing you get as you come to Christ, is Deliverance from all physical and spiritual hindrances that are poised to prevent you from serving God.

It is a definite divine rule.

Oba 1:17 But UPON MOUNT ZION SHALL BE DELIVERANCE, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. KJV

How do you actualize your Deliverance?

First, “upon Mount Zion” means you engage Salvation experiences where there are true believers and sincere Ministers; it must be a bible-believing, and profound Gospel preaching Church.

Second, after deliverance, don’t go back to the “slums” or engage with former sin-friendly folks.

2Pe 2:22 What happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: "A dog goes back to what it has vomited" and "A PIG THAT HAS BEEN WASHED GOES BACK TO ROLL IN THE MUD." GNB

Thirdly, “the just shall live by faith”; you must claim your victory practically by confession and by a renewed mindset.

Rom 6:9-12 We know that Christ, who was brought back to life, will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once and for all to sin's power. But now he lives, and he lives for God. SO CONSIDER YOURSELVES DEAD TO SIN'S POWER BUT LIVING FOR GOD IN THE POWER CHRIST JESUS GIVES YOU. THEREFORE, NEVER LET SIN RULE YOUR PHYSICAL BODY SO THAT YOU OBEY ITS DESIRES. GW

Fourthly, you must fight against any urges that attempt to return; never YIELD to them again.

Rom 6:13-14 So then, REFUSE TO ANSWER ITS CALL TO SURRENDER YOUR BODY AS A TOOL FOR WICKEDNESS. Instead, passionately answer God’s call to keep yielding your body to him as one who has now experienced resurrection life! You live now for his pleasure, ready to be used for his noble purpose. Remember this: sin will not conquer you, for God already has! You are not governed by law but governed by the reign of the grace of God. TPT

If you’ve done all these, you’d be free in Jesus name.

But if you continue in sin, one day, the door of mercy closes and can’t be opened anymore.

If it is not death, one can [forever] lose the ability to refer to God as father again; he becomes apostate and won’t relate with the spiritual, ever again.

Jer 44:26-27 Therefore hear the Word of Jehovah, all Judah that lives in the land of Egypt. BEHOLD, I HAVE SWORN BY MY GREAT NAME, SAYS JEHOVAH, THAT MY NAME WILL NO MORE BE NAMED IN THE MOUTH OF ANY MAN OF JUDAH IN ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT, SAYING, THE LORD JEHOVAH LIVES. Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good. And all the men of Judah in the land of Egypt shall be destroyed by the sword and by the famine, until there is an end of them. MKJV

May God not reject any of us, in Jesus name.

Join us on Friday as we progress with this intriguing Subtopic.

Keep Shinning!

Brother Prince

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

08055125517; 08023904307

[lesfeldickbiblestudy]

  Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 2 * PART 1 * BOOK 70 ADULTEROUS ISRAEL TO BE RESTORED – PART 1 Hosea 2:14 – 4:14 Okay, it is good to see everybody in this afternoon. I’ll have to share with our television audience that we’ve got folks here -- I hope I can remember them all -- from Minnesota, Mississippi, Iowa, Oklahoma, of course, and Michigan. Now, did I hit everybody?  Hopefully.  Anyway, we’re glad to have folks stop in when they’re -- and there’s Texas --but you haven’t been here that long. Anyway, for all of you out in television, we’re glad that you’ve invited us into your home or wherever you are. Again, we always have to thank every one of you for your prayer support and for all that goes with it.  Again, we love your letters.  Sometimes they’re a little too short.  Sometimes they’re a little too long, but we love them anyway. Okay, we’re going to pick right up where we left off in our last program, which was over a month ago, I guess.  We’re in Hosea.  We’re going to be looking at chapter 2 verse 14.  Now again, for just a little bit of recap, you want to remember that these are the minor prophets. They’re not called minor because they’re of lesser importance, but simply because they’re shorter in content. They’re not nearly as long as Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel.   A lot of it is repetition, so bear with me.  A lot of the things that we brought out in the Book of Isaiah are popping up again in all these minor prophets, because you see, the whole scope of the Old Testament, from Genesis chapter 12 on, is the Lord preparing the Nation of Israel for the coming of their Messiah, Redeemer, King, and a Kingdom.  In the time that elapsed, of course, Israel is going to go so deep into unbelief that they will actually become an idolatrous nation. That’s what we’re dealing with primarily in these minor prophets - their idolatry. As we pointed out in the first chapter of Hosea, if you just read it casually, you’d think that God is actually talking in terms of the prostitution and the houses of ill repute. But when He tells Hosea to go and marry a harlot, He’s not talking about physical sexuality as we’re thinking of it.  It’s all in the realm of the Spirit.  So, it’s this constant reference that all of this idolatry and all of this chasing after idols are like a man chasing after the women of the street.  Always keep in mind that we’re talking about Israel and idolatry.  That was God’s number one controversy with the people of Israel.  It is unbelievable that here you have the covenant people brought out of Egypt miraculously through the Red Sea, brought down to Sinai, given the Law and the Temple and the Priesthood, and then miraculously brought into the Promised Land, and then within a few hundred years they are just as steeped in idolatry as the other nations around them. Of course, that’s why to the casual reader God seemed so harsh way up there in Moses’ time -- when God says to Israel to have nothing to do with those people. Don’t intermarry with them.  Then later on when He told them to cleanse the land, He even said to kill all the men, women, and children.  Well, it wasn’t because God was so heartless. God knew that if He didn’t take idolatrous people away from contact with His people, it never goes the good way.  It always goes the bad way. This is what I tell young people when they start dating – “Don’t ever start dating someone, boy or girl, with the idea that you’re going to win them to the Lord and you’re going to make them better.”  Usually it doesn’t work.  It goes the other way.  The same thing with Israel after all of their warnings, here we find them now, at the time of Hosea, which is only about 300 years after King David.  We’re talking about 700 BC and David was 1000 BC, Moses – 1500 BC.  But in that relatively short period of time, the Nation of Israel has gone totally into idolatry, with just a scattered, few true believers; and they were hated by the majority. I mean just like today, you folks are finding out.

  You take the truth of these things into a liberal church Sunday school and they just about ride you out on a rail.  That’s the way it’s always been.  Okay, let’s jump in here now, Hosea chapter 2 verse 14. Hosea 2:14 “Therefore, behold, (This is God speaking to the Nation through the prophet.  God said,) I will allure her, (In other words, just like a suitor.) I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.”  Now, I think this is a reflection on their wilderness experience after they came out of Egypt, and how God providentially watched over them and cared for them and supplied their every need.  He’s going to try and do it again to bring them back to Himself.   All right, now verse 15 is a promise of blessing, not of discipline, but blessing. Hosea 2:15a “And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope:…”  Now that’s a play on words. Because the first time you heard about Achor -- who knows what it was associated with?  Achan -- it was the first city after Jericho, after they came into the Promised Land.  They were told to go up and destroy the city of Ai, which evidently was a materially well-to-do city. God told them to destroy all the material goods.  He warned them – don’t even take a nickel’s worth of anything. But you see, Achan, a good Jew, thought he could get away with it.  You remember what he did.  He took some of the spoil, buried it, and thought that at some future day he could come back and capitalize on it.  But, you see, God wouldn’t let it go. The whole nation was chastised for that one sinful event.  So, Achor was a place of curse, not blessing.  But now, when it comes to the time of God’s blessing, He uses the valley of Achor as a place of hope.  All right, now reading on in verse 15: Hosea 2:15b “…and she shall sing there, (Now then, we’re talking about the Nation of Israel.) as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.”  You see where the correlation is?  He’s comparing their present time now, which is, let’s see, my goodness, we’re talking about 800-900 years after the fact, that God is still using the coming out of Egypt and going through the wilderness as an illustration of His protective blessing. Hosea 2:16 “And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, (I’ve got to emphasize this is God speaking through the prophet.) that thou shalt call me Ishi;…” Which translated means “my husband.”  In other words, God would be a husband to Israel as His wife.  There again, here’s where you come to that constant correlation in Scripture.  In the marriage relationship as a husband is to wife, so God is to His people.  Now, in this case, of course, it’s the ancient Nation of Israel. But, jump with me all the way up to Ephesians. We have that same analogy between Christ and you and me as members of the Body of Christ in Ephesians chapter 5.  I do this just to show that all of Scripture has that same kind of a thread from beginning to end.  Israel was to be like a wife with God as her husband.  All right, now look how Paul puts it for us as believers today.  Ephesians chapter 5 and we’ll jump in at verse 21.  You see, the analogy is the same whether it’s for us in the Body or what was for Israel in a national relationship under the Old Testament economy. Ephesians 5:21 “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”  I always have to repeat, Paul always talks or writes to one class of people.  Who is it?  The believer.  Never the unbeliever.  All right, so to the believers there at Ephesus, or to you and I today as believers, the instruction is to “submit yourselves one to another in the fear (or the reverence) of God.”  Now, here comes the relationship. Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, (But how?) as unto the Lord.” Here comes the spiritual connection even to a physical relationship -- verse 23. Ephesians 5:23a “For the husband is the head of the wife, (But

again what’s the connection?) even as Christ is the head of the church:…(or the Body)”  That’s the comparison -- that a husband should have the love and concern and protection for his wife that Christ has for the Church.  And it’s such a practical lesson.   All right, read it again. Ephesians 5:23a “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church:…”  My, what a beautiful illustration.  A husband should have so much love for his wife (now just watch my wife smile!) that he’d be willing to do what for her?  Die for her! That’s where Abraham failed.  Way back in the very beginning of the Nation, Abraham failed miserably.  Because, you see, when he came into enemy territory, he must have had a very beautiful wife; and he was scared to death that they would kill him in order to have his wife.  So, what does he do?  He says to tell them that you’re my sister.  Well, in reality, she was a half-sister.  But see, he didn’t have that concept that he was willing to die for his wife.  But see, that’s where we’re to be, simply because Christ loved the church and did what?  He died for us!  That’s our whole plan of redemption.  Okay, read on. Ephesians 5:23b-24 “…even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. (He is the reason that we’re members with him as husband and wife) 24.  Therefore as the church (or the Body of Christ) is subject unto Christ, (He’s always above us.  We are always submissive to Him.) so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” But see, here’s where we have to be careful.  If you’re going to keep the analogy intact, in which way will the husband put his wife in subjection?  Well, the same way Christ has us in subjection.  And is it ever for our disadvantage?  Never!  To be in subjection to Christ is always for our own good.  It’s the only place to be.  Well, that’s the way a wife should feel about her husband -- that she couldn’t find herself under any better circumstances because of her respect and love for the one who is over her.  Not as a doormat.  Not as a “go-for,” but in a relationship that is as Christ loved the church.  Now, verse 25: Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, even (again) as Christ also loved the church, and (Did what?) gave himself for it;”  All right, now that is the constant analogy of Scripture.  All right, let’s go back to Hosea. This is exactly the relationship that God is yearning to restore again with the covenant people, the Nation of Israel.   All right, back to verse 16 of Hosea 2. Hosea 2:16 “And is shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; (or husband) and shalt call me no more Baali.”  Or in other words, just another god.  Now then verse 17.   If Israel would respond and turn away from chasing after all the idols of the Gentiles around them, then He says: Hosea 2:17 “For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.”   In other words, He would remove even the memory of all these pagan gods and goddesses. Hosea 2:18 “And in that day (when Israel responds) will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, (Now, we’re getting right down where the rubber meets the road!  Even the wild beasts are going to be influenced by God’s relationship with His beloved Israel.) and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.” All right, let’s go back real quickly to Isaiah chapter 11 and get a glimpse of what the Lord is talking about -- this glorious Kingdom Age when Christ would rule and reign over His covenant people as well as the rest of the world. These are some of the reactions or results of it.  You’ve all seen these verses before.  Isaiah chapter 11 and we’ll start at verse 5.  This is what’s coming.  We can’t imagine it today. But, Beloved, it’s coming! I’m always making that statement

– if prophecy says it, it’s going to happen!  Now, it may be a few years, but we’re getting close.  My, when you see the world tonight, today, in all of its perplexity and all of its unsolvable problems-- You know, I was reading an editorial in our Daily Oklahoman the other day, and it was so good I read it to Iris, the whole editorial.  It was by a well known -- I think it was a Washington Post writer -- Charles Krauthammer.  I think most of you have probably seen him on talk shows and so forth.  Well, he was laying out the two alternatives that the world is facing. Of course, the one that is Number One and has to face it first is our own President.  Well, the one alternative was to go in and stop Iran in her tracks; and that, of course, would bring about a horrendous war of some kind.  It would be a complete disruption of all the oil supply.  It would probably send the whole world into a horrible economic crash.  But that’s what would have to happen if you’re going to stop Iran. The other alternative is to do nothing and let them go ahead and build their nuclear force, and then they in turn will either blackmail the world or start blowing us to smithereens.  Those are the two alternatives.  And he says, “Our President has got twelve months to make up his mind.”  How’d you like to be in his shoes?  Either one is disaster.  Well, that’s the world we’re living in.  That’s what Jesus meant when He said it will be filled with perplexity.  Now, you know what perplexity is.  Just as I’ve explained – how are you going to make a choice between two horrible alternatives?  It’s perplexing. But, you see, everything is getting the world ready for the glorious kingdom that’s coming. Everything on this planet is going to be destroyed. We know that.  But out of it is going to come what the Lord is telling Israel even back in Hosea, but we get a better picture of it now in Isaiah. Isaiah 11:5-6a “And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, (That is of the ruling king, which will be Christ Himself.) and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.  6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,…”  Remember what Hosea said?  The wild animals and everything that’s wild, the fowl, the birds of prey. Isaiah 11:6b “…and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; (or the baby goat) and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; (all in perfect harmony, now) and a little child shall lead them.” In other words, even children can play amongst these that are, today, carnivorous wild animals -- Verse 7. Isaiah 11:7 “And the cow and the bear shall feed; (In other words, they’ll graze in the same area.)  their young ones shall lie down together: (Whether it’s a baby sheep, a lamb, or whether it’s a kid of the goats, or it’s the cub of the lions, they’ll all be interacting peacefully.)  and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” In other words, it won’t be a meat eater.  It will be vegetarian.  It’ll eat things that grow naturally.  And then verse 8: Isaiah 11:8-9 “A nursing child shall play on the hole of an asp, (a poisonous snake in the Middle East.) and the weaned child (a little toddler) shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. 9.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all of my holy mountain: (Why?) for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” This isn’t some pie in the sky.  This is coming on the planet.  That’s the analogy.  It’s going to be perfect harmony throughout all the planet’s existence, whether it’s humanity or the birds and the fowl and so forth.  All right, the other point is that the bow will be broken.  Come back to Hosea, back to chapter 2, where the bow and the sword will be totally removed. You all know those verses, where they will turn their swords into plowshares.  It is going to be a total economy of peace and prosperity and tremendous production beyond what you and I can ever imagine.  All right, now verse 19. Hosea 2:19 “And I will betroth (Or, like we would say, bring into a place of engagement.

) thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness and in mercies.”  Oh, now that brings up another verse.  Go back to II Samuel, because this was all in prophecy all the way back.  How God would deal with His covenant people Israel.  Here God is now dealing with King David, but He’s speaking through the prophet Nathan. Look what He tells Nathan concerning, not just David, but the whole Nation of Israel.  II Samuel 7:14 & 15 -- now, He’s talking about the Nation, II Samuel 7:14 “I will be his father, (Now, in this case, it’s a father and son relationship.  In Hosea we’re talking about husband and wife.) and he shall be my son.  If (God knew it was coming.) he commit iniquity, (Which at the time of Hosea was primarily what?  The idolatry.  And the idolatry led to every other sin and wickedness you could think of.  All right, so here it is.) If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, (Invading armies.  And they’re coming.) and with the stripes of the children of men:” In another place in Isaiah it says, “and you’ll be hearing strange languages.”  Well, what did that imply?  Occupying troops of the enemy.  That was Israel’s constant warning.  All right, now look at verse 15, what’s the first word?  “But…”  The flipside!  Even though God will permit nations to come in and invade them and down trod them, steal their grain and enslave their children-- II Samuel 7:15-16 “But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. (Now, we’re coming back to the relationship of David and Saul, but the big picture is God and Israel!) 16. And thine house (the house of David) and thy kingdom (that’s still coming) shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” All right, now when we talk about mercy up there in verse 15-- I can’t help it, I always have to come back-- I hope it is Deuteronomy chapter 33.  I’ve got 32, hopefully it’s 33.  No, it isn’t. But anyway, He says, I’m going to give mercy to whom I will give mercy.  Exodus 33:19, I thought it was Deuteronomy, but it’s the wrong book. Exodus 33:19 “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.”  That’s what He told Moses – I will be merciful to whom I will be merciful.  Well, what does that imply?  His Sovereignty!  His Sovereignty and we sometimes think how can God do that?  Because He’s Sovereign. Now, I mentioned the Holocaust in one of my classes the other night.  We know the Holocaust was probably one of the worst times in all of Israel’s history.  Why did God let it happen?  Well, He had to.  It had to happen.  Here’s the point.  Had Israel not gone into that horror of the Holocaust, do you think the Nation of Israel would be where it is today?  It would have never happened. It took the horrors and the pressures of the Holocaust to get the Jew to go back to their homeland.  And they had to go back to their homeland. Because we’re going to see later this afternoon that was all part of God’s program – that He would scatter them and He would bring them back.  All right, back for just a couple of minutes to Hosea chapter 2 and verse 20, again. Hosea 2:20-22 “I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: (They’re no longer going to run after idols and pagan gods.) and thou shalt know the LORD.  21. And it shall come to pass in that day, (When Israel is back into complete fellowship with her Jehovah God.) I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear the heavens, and they (the heavens) shall hear the earth; 22.  And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.” Well, what does that mean?  When Israel comes into the place of blessing, everything they plant will grow and produce like you and I cannot imagine!  You know, Amos, I think I’ve got time.

  Let’s go quickly over to Amos.  Just go ahead a little ways to Amos, I think it’s the last chapter.  This agrees completely with the time when Israel finally comes into this Kingdom Age and Jehovah is ruling and reigning from Jerusalem.  Amos chapter 9, drop all the way down to verse 13, and tie this in with what we just read; that the earth will respond to being sowed, and it’s going to produce. Amos 9:13-15a “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman (The one who’s tilling and preparing the soil.) shall overtake the reaper, (The guy who’s harvesting the previous crop. It’s going to be such continuous production.) and the treader of grapes will over take him that soweth the seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14.  And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.  (And again, the same analogy) 15. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up…”

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

first ever steve x reader fic - spoilers for st4 ahead so it’s all under a cut. drop me a prompt so i can keep having fun with these 🥰

You anxiously pull Robin and Eddie into tight hugs after Dustin and Lucas pull them off the mattress. They’re back, two out of the four, and the knot of terror in your stomach loosens. Eddie shakes a little in your embrace and you squeeze him tighter. It’s not easy being confronted with the horrors of the Upside Down.

“Thank god you guys are okay,” you say, voice shaking. It’s been terrifying knowing that your friends have all been in the Upside Down for hours, facing god knows what.

“Can’t say that I ever want to do that again,” Eddie replies, wide-eyed.

The sheet rope shakes and twitches and you all turn, ready ti help Nancy up off the mattress, but nothing happens.

Looking up at the gate - so trippy - there are Steve and Nancy, upside down and shaded in red. They’re just standing there.

“What the shit are they doing?” Dustin exclaims, yanking on the sheet rope. “Steve! Nancy! Come on!”

Max and Lucas join in, shouting for Steve and Nancy. Something is clearly wrong. You squint up at them and with a sinking feeling in your gut, realize that Steve is shaking Nancy’s shoulders. “Steve!” You shriek his name, hoping he can hear you a little more clearly.

He looks up sharply, fear in his eyes. “She’s not waking up!” he shouts, voice cracking a bit. “What the hell am I supposed to do? I can’t move her.” He keeps shaking her as he shouts and you can all see how Nancy’s eyes are clouded over. It’s terrifying.

“Music!” Robin yelps, bouncing from foot to foot. “Music, Steve!”

“What’s her favorite song?” Max shouts, freckles standing out in sharp relief against her pale face. You reach out and squeeze her forearm, just so she knows she’s not alone.

Steve panics. “I don’t know! I don’t know her favorite song! How did we not discuss this at any point in the last few days?” His eyes are wide and he’s still shaking Nancy, looking like he’s one second away from trying to slap her out of the Vecna’s trance.

Everyone in Eddie’s trailer starts to panic, shouting out suggestions and trying to pull on the sheet rope. You’re getting dizzy from looking at the ceiling and seeing into the Upside Down. “Does it have to be her favorite?” you ask, digging our hands into your hair where it’s still matted against your head from the seven mile bike ride from the Wheelers’ house. It’s the only solution you can think of, knowing that Steve’s got no chance of moving Nancy through the gate by force.

Your suggestion gets everyone to pause. Lucas, Dustin, and Max look at each other, communicating silently. “I don’t —“ Lucas starts.

“Are there rules for it?” Max asks.

“Are there rules for any of this?” Dustin chimes in. He throws his hands in the air. “We’ve already destroyed the rules of physics.”

“Just sing something!” Steve’s voice comes through the gate, faint and echoey and impatient. “Anything!”

You look around at the group, Max’s favorite Kate Bush song ringing in your ears from the repetition of it, but something feels wrong about using Max’s song to save Nancy. “I only know heavy metal!” Eddie supplies anxiously, ripping his hands through his dirty and tangled hair.

It’s Robin who starts singing, a little bit off-key and at a volume that’s more typically described as screaming than singing.

“How will I know if he really loves me,” she shouts the chorus to the newest Whitney Houston song. It’s been out on the radio for a month or so and it’s definitely a catchy ear-worm of a tune.

You chime in, “I say a prayer with every heart beat.” It’s a lyric that speaks the truth. Your heart is beating right out of your chest with Steve still stuck in the Upside Down. Max and Dustin are the next to join, with Lucas adding his voice to the harmony. Eddie looks at you all like you’re crazy, but after a moment, sucks his teeth and starts singing, causing Dustin to grin impishly while singing too. It would be hard for Eddie not to know the lyrics, the song plays so much.

You can hear Steve singing in the Upside Down, until, on your second round of the song, he stops and looks up at you all. “I think it’s working!” He practically jumps high enough to send himself through the gate and then joins you all for the chorus again and again until Nancy’s whole body shudders and she nearly collapses to the ground, Steve’s quick reflexes the only thing keeping her upright.

“Oh thank god,” Steve mutters, barely audible as the kids scream around you. Nancy looks dazed and haunted, but there’s barely any time for her to react before Steve is pushing her to the sheet rope and encouraging her to climb up.

Dustin and Lucas scream “come on, come on, come on” as Nancy climbs the rope, eventually flipping over and landing on the mattress with a sharp exhale. You all scramble to pull her away and Max and Dustin wrap her up in a tight hug, just as Steve comes flying out of the gate, landing hard on his stomach. You drop to your knees on the mattress next to him, your hand hovering over his shoulder. You’re almost afraid to touch him, but you need to know that he’s real.

Steve groans and turns his head so his cheek is smashed into the mattress and he’s looking at you.

Butterflies erupt in your stomach, your massive crush on Steve making it almost impossible for you to talk, so all you can mange is a strangled smile, brushing your damp hair off of your face. “Hey,” you say quietly, your fingertips touching lightly on his bare, filthy shoulder. He’s solid under your touch.

“Hey,” he grins as best he can with his face smushed, “just thought I’d drop in.”

“Oh my god!” you laugh, some of the terror loosening it’s grip on your heart. “You’re so cheesy, Harrington.”

“Make google eyes at each other later!” Dustin’s voice, loud and exasperated, breaks through the moment and you startle back, cheeks burning. Steve groans and rolls onto his side, letting out a pained shout.

“Tone, Henderson!” he snaps, holding his arms protectively around his stomach.

Eddie leans over and mutters to Dustin, “told you, buddy.” He reaches down to give his hand to Steve to help pull him to his feet. You step up against Steve’s other side and make sure he’s steady in his feet before anyone moves. Dustin flips Eddie off and the trailer is silent for a little bit, the entire group just appreciating that they’re all on the right plane of existence.

Steve lists on his feet, swaying in your direction and you quickly reach for him to steady him. He’s strangely cold and clammy all over, but you don’t really mind. You’ve been crushing on Steve since freshman year of high school and while you’d never imagined that you’d be fighting supernatural monsters with him just four years later, you’ll take any opportunity to be bear him.

“Sorry I’m covered in Upside Down goo,” Steve looks down at you and apologizes. He looks pale under the dirt and god knows what else on his face.

“Better this than demogorgon food,” you quip, smiling slightly.

Out of the corner of your eye, you catch Robin rolling her eyes at you. “You two are not nearly as cute as Max and Lucas,” she says, as the said fourteen year olds blush furiously. Steve scowls at Robin and you’re acutely aware of the fact that you still have your arm around Steve’s waist and he has his arm draped over your shoulders.

Nancy finally pipes up, “Victor Creel’s son, he’s the Vecna, I think. Or he was linked to it somehow.” She looks shaken, but determined. “I’m not really sure how it’s all connected.”

You look around the group, half of them dirty from their trip to the Upside Down and the other half just kids. It’s been a long few days, but no one is backing down now.

“Looks like we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Robin says.

“Yeah, but we can’t go back to the Wheelers’,” Erica sighs, “I committed a misdemeanor and the police are for sure after us.”

“What?!” Steve yelps.

“I’ll explain everything,” you reply, finding it hard to imagine that just a few hours ago you were all watching Steve jump into Lovers Lake. So much has happened since then.

“I’m the worst babysitter ever,” Steve groans.

[nedlittle]

as someone who only just finished gideon the ninth last sunday & finally understands the hype & hasn't finished the other books, PLEASE release the 11 pages of notes

your wish is my command, here are my notes verbatim typed from my tiny notebook (typos notwithstanding. i fixed those so i don't look stupid)

ACT I

P. 29 - before the duel, Harrow presents herself “emptied like a quiver” prefiguring the necromancer/cavalier dynamic and the fact that they will grow to need each other. The king & lionheart of it all…

P. 54 - Gideon tells Harrow: “Your heart is a party for ten thousand nails.” and I SCREAMED 

P. 73: [paragraph describing Ianthe and Coronabeth in luxurious detail] “The boy just looked like a bit of a dick.” lesbianism

P. 76 - “He didn’t look healthy; he looked like a collection of lemons in a sack.” Why is this so evocative

SO funny that Harrow is like Griddle. You hog you need to do this correctly. Wear the damn face paint. And then it’s just a weird Ninth House thing. I love space Catholicism these bitches so deranged

Cannot read the “I pray the tomb stays locked forever. I pray the rock is never rolled away” prayer without it being to the tune of ‘No Children’

ACT II

P. 110 - “Coronabeth Tridentarius, Princess of Ida, took her hand and roguishly kissed the backs of Gideon’s knuckles.” I know there’s a whole essay on chivalry and gender on Tor but I guess I just want to say that there’s a really interesting subversion of the medieval lady/champion dynamic going on. Coronabeth kisses Gideon’s knuckles. Dulcinea has Gideon physically show off but Gideon, bound by her promise to Harrow, cannot talk and thus any typical structures for wooing are inverted. By her silence she is rendered as cool and unbreachable as a maiden in a tower

Something something Gideon’s physical body and her personhood always being someone else’s property.

All of Jeannemary’s dialogue with Magnus being parenthesized and in a smaller type is such a fun little touch

P. 125-6 - “[...] but she had fed her entire life into the meat grinder of hope.” Fuck me!

P. 128 - “She had never seen Harrowhark Nonagesimus’s naked face.” Harrow having to perform being Reverend Daughter not only her role but the entire house in the shape of a girl

[Angela Carter voice] a girl who is both death and the maiden

 P. 151 - “You could have died today.” "you could finish me right now, if you liked. You might even win."......hot.

Every single one of Gideon’s silly nicknames for Harrow is perfect.

P. 152 - “She smiled again–slower than before, just as terrible, just as strange.” Okay Galadriel

P. 161 has the first time Gideon calls Harrow by her first name. By the end of the act it will be three times. Harrow has yet to say hers.

“P. 163 - “You can control my body. You can read my thoughts.” I believe this is what the kids call foreshadowing for book 2

Also on that page: “But first, Griddle, I’m afraid I have to pass out.” I love her.

Verbatim annotation from p. 167: ‘SHE’S NEVER HAD A DESERT :(‘ 

I know that they’re not friends but [John Darnielle voice]: people say friends don’t destroy each other what do they know about friends

Ianthe’s “I don’t live alternative histories” god I am so excited for her to be awful

The dynamic kind of reminds me of Sweet Smell of Success (1957) which features a similarly nasty yet reliant dynamic but it ends Far Worse. Very much we need each other to be a cohesive whole but that doesn’t mean we have to be nice

IT WAS THEIR ANNIVERSARY!!! NO

ACT III

I will be surprised if Dulcinea survives and also does not end up being marginally evil.

Not to sound like it’s 2014 and I just discovered all-female casts but I’m really into both the 2nd and 9th being the only ones with both necro + cav being women. I know it’s a basic thing and that there isn’t

a ton about the Second House yet but having the representatives of “The Emperor’s Strength” both be girls…nice

Naberius die challenge!

P. 200 - “He wouldn’t have let anything happen to Abigail [...] She hated heights. She never would have risked falling.” I am howling like a shot wolf.

First of all, Gideon being affected by Magnus’s death because he was nice to her without any ulterior motives: OUCH. Second, “we are all the sons and daughters that the House of the Ninth possess.” The Twelfth Night of it all…the performance of it all. (“I am all the daughters of my father’s house and all the brothers too.” 2.4)

The Harrow who lives in my head has a mullet

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL I EVER DESIRE YOUR JUICE

The First time Harrow calls Gideon by her name is p. 228

The choice of ‘spawned’ to refer to Harrow’s birth feels deliberate and I’m sure I’ll find out why later. Also the Scandalous Nudity being her face rather than her body when they’re both bare…it’s about living around and under the foot of someone your whole life but never being allowed to know them

P. 234 - Gideon can’t even say Harrow’s name aloud to anyone else…I wish to die! Swiftly!

P. 246 - Gideon has a hot bath for the first time (yay!) and wonders “whether water could get inside of you and make you sick.” God the Ninth House really is living in Vampire Times. Aristotle, you there?

The way all the different houses approach necromancy and the necro/cav dynamic is SO interesting! Cam’s line on p. 235 about the Eight “breed[ing] batteries” absolutely chilled me. Also the juxtaposition between the Eighth using cavaliers as an energy source vs Ianthe, absolute freak, taking a chunk out of Babs. The physical body vs the energy which propels it. Then contrasting that with pairs like Magnus & Abigail (rip) and Cam & Pal who mentally and emotionally rely on each other instead. It isn’t parasitic. KING AND LIONHEART! GO CRAZY AAH! GO STUPID AAH!

I am using all of my meager brain cells to formulate a thought about Camilla and Marta’s fight that isn’t just. wrow. women. OK. The description is short and brutal like the fight itself. The line about Cam fighting like a grease fire works so well my blood was in my EARS! When she dislocated Marta’s arm my own arm jerked back in shock. Fully almost yeeted the book

Yay for Pal also getting a hot moment. One man <3

“Harrow “rose to the occasion like an evening star”....DEATH FIRST TO VULTURES AND SCAVENGERS…I love her something awful. 

My highlighter ran out on p. 275 because I highlighted basically the whole page. The girls HUG!! Gideon lifts Harrow off the ground! Unsure if I should tag myself as ‘midnight hagette’ or Harrow’s utter lesbian brain death. At “It feels like forever” I genuinely screamed into my hands. God they’re it. THEY’RE IT.

P. 284 - “Gideon wanted her longsword and she wanted Harrow.” yeah me too

P. 285 - Jeannemary: “I hated [Isaac] when we were little, he wasn’t at all what I wanted.” ough the parallels

I know that naming a character ‘Isaac’ in your space opera about traumatized Catholics is sort of like naming a character ‘sacrifice’ and yet it’s still so gut wrenching! I love and I hate when characters fall victim to the prophecies within their names

Speaking of Biblical etymology, I see you Judith Deuteros. Please decapitate a dude

I knew about the Sex Pal joke and still guffawed

CHAPTERS 26-34

The description of Isaac’s body as a “broken sieve” really upset me and also harkens back to Harrow being empty as a quiver. The necromancer’s body as something which exists to be filled by energy and power, but also something so vulnerable as to demand the physical protection and occasional energy of its cavalier

P. 292 - “When [Dulcinea] breathed it sounded like custard sloshing around an air conditioner.” Absolutely Fucking Wretched!!!

P. 294 - “Mostly cancer and just a little bit of women.” each House really is fucked up in new and exciting ways

Gideon’s nightmare of finding Jeannemary’s severed limbs in her bed really kneecaps you. It’s giving Bluebeard. It’s giving Robber Bridegroom. It’s giving cavaliers as expendable physical forms, and that kind of body horror hasn’t quite been present aside from the avulsion room which wasn’t so bad

P. 331 - “What would you do if you discovered Camilla was a murderer?” "Help her bury the body." G O D

This entire page kills me. For some reason the one year difference and the choice to say “I’ve known her as long as she’s lived” like Harrow’s life is contingent on Gideon’s. One flesh one end B I T C H ! !

Also on that page: “She nearly killed me half a dozen times growing up, but I always knew why.” ok cool!

WAS NOT READY FOR THIS REVELATION???

I have run out of insightful commentary but Harrow wanting “prey, rival, and audience all wrapped up in one.” vs Gideon being “hungry for the Reverend Daughter’s preoccupation”. Don’t you think they’re the same thing? Love and attention? They’re both watching and being watched. Portrait of a Lady on Fire shit

I think Harrow and Cam should hold hands if only because they’d both hate it

Tamsyn loves a prophetic name. I thought she’d subverted it with Protisilaus but nope. Dead all along. First to die

Ianthe’s head pun…what is wrong with her

P. 352 - genuinely don’t have anything of substance to say about the pool scene but “I am exactly two hundred sons and daughters of my House, Griddle–I am the whole generation of the Ninth.” All this PLUS Harrow piloting her parents to keep the Ninth functioning. Christ.

P. 355 - “I am tired of being two hundred corpses.” ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch

Incredibly normal that Harrow’s parents were like hello our ten-year-old war crime daughter time for our group suicide! Here, I’ll tie your noose :) normal family!

I haven’t quite the familiarity with Antigone to say there’s an Antigone parallel somewhere but hmm

Cannot talk about the rest of this scene. I can barely look at it. YOU ARE MY ONLY FRIEND! I AM UNDONE WITHOUT YOU!! 

Oh to have your only friend Gideon Nav kiss you on the forehead

I love you 4’11” teenage saint war crime necrophiliac 

Gideon choosing to sleep in the cavalier bed. It’s about devotion as both a contract and an active choice. ‘I Will Follow You Into the Dark’ shit. I’m sick

P. 371 - “Dead as space, though accurately, that’s been true for a very, very long time.” I know this refers to Teacher but also stars themselves transmit light for millennia after they burn out. The cosmos itself as a haunted house

Why does the Emperor have a cohort anyway? What enemies are there that an army is necessary to grind children through? I need to know more about this

Cannot articulate this but Ianthe having to be a true necromancer and eating Babs to become a lyctor IS feminist not just because it’s such an overcome male power trip moment but also because it seems that In Media we can only have female villains if they’re tormented and redeemed by the end, they aren’t allowed to be deranged little freaks like this. She’s the damn joker!

REST IN PISS BABS. Again, genuinely progressive that Ianthe eats him and absorbs his perfect cavalier training; then, when she cannot keep it up she turns into a SKIN SHIELD?? [John Darnielle voice] come unhinged! Get revenge!

You’re really eased into the body horror and then Act IV is like hey kid you’re going to experience body horrors beyond your comprehension.

CHAPTERS 35-END 

Thinking about 8-year-old Palamedes writing to 15-year-old Dulcinea about how he’s determined to cure her. Also interesting to think that something so mundane as cancer still exists in this world where people are regularly getting bodied by skeletons

Oh, re: Pal, I forgot to highlight this but there’s a line a few (?) chapters back where he surveys his work and sees that it’s good which is directly from god creating the universe

P. 400 - “[Gideon’s] brain was full of sweet fuck all.” yeah girl me too

Every single man in this book has died. Feminism but also Palamedes my friend :(

“Tell Camilla–oh never mind, she knows what to do.” Doctor Who vibes (sorry) “If you see Rose, tell her…tell her…oh, she knows.”

P. 406 - “Camilla Hect off the leash was like light moving across water. She punched her knives into the Lyctor’s guard over and over and over. Cytherea met them ably, but such was Camilla’s speed and perfect hate that she could only hope to block the thunderstorm of blows; she could not even begin to push back against them.” The wording here feels so deliberately Homeric! It’s her aristeia!

It doesn’t mention this in the after matter, but I am choosing to believe Cam was named after Camilla in the Aeneid. She HAS to be!!

I understand why people scream at Marvel movies now but the more apt comparison for Gideon & her two-hander is the re-forging of Anduril. I can hear the score

P. 412 - “I need to be inside you.” NOW IS NOT THE TIME HARROW!!

P. 414 - “Did you behold me, Griddle?” she got yeeted by a vertebrae string because she was too busy beholding you, Harrow!

Rosary-whip made of knuckles. What a great time to be ex-Catholic. This is so hot of her

Camilla Hect aroace icon. Send tweet.

A climactic boss fight where all 5 characters are women…wrow

FUCK YEAH DISMEMBERMENT!!

P. 429 - “All you have to do is live.” Harrow begging Gideon to do the one thing she thought was impossible as a child

Oh these bitches in LOVE

I love “undeserved” forgiveness

[holds Harrowhark Nonagesimus] you do not have to be good you do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves

I’m sorry I have zero thoughts I’m just saying ROMANCE ROMANCE ROMANCE ROMANCE ROMANCE ROMANCE over and over and over again in my head

“First flower of my House” is the most romantic shit I’ve ever heard get it OUT of my face. That is not something you come up with on the spot…

The cruelest thing anyone has ever done to Harrow in her life is willingly die for her…

P. 436 - “They were cheek to cheek: Gideon’s arm and Harrow’s arm entwined, holding the sword aloft, letting the steel catch the light.” No THIS is the most romantic shit

Harrow/Pal lavender marriage of the century lmao

Gideon & Harrow 🤝 Gimli & Legolas

Quoting the verses of the Book of Ruth that’s commonly used at weddings

Hey at least I successfully guessed that Dulcinea would be evil & dead by the end. I love being right

IN SUMMARY: DEATH DYING SUFFERING ROMANCE PAIN

[wolint]

THE PALM TREE PHENOMENON!

THE PALM TREE PHENOMENON

Psalm 92:12-14

 

Palm trees exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics and inhabit nearly every type of habitat. They are hardly affected by any weather conditions, making them one of the few trees that flourish and bloom in any place and season. A palm tree normally lives from seven to ten decades, producing a mind-blowing diversity of fruits (such as coconuts, dates, and palm wine) and has many uses.

Palm branches were used in John 12:12-15 to line the streets in celebration of Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem, symbolizing His victory over sin and death. This event, known as Palm Sunday, fulfils the prophecies of the Old Testament and ushers in a new era of salvation for humanity. The palm tree is therefore a symbol of victory and triumph.

The first mention of the palm tree is found in Exodus 15:27, in Elim, which is now called Wady-Ghurandel, the most extensive watercourse in the western desert. This oasis is adorned with a great variety of trees, among which is the palm tree. Weary travellers must have been delighted to encamp under its shade and enjoy its abundant supply of sweet water.

The palm is referred to as “the tree of the desert,” as it flourishes in the desert, and its presence is a sign of water. It’s amazing that the Bible likens us to a palm tree! The believer is meant to grow vigorously, with longevity, fragrance, and beauty. Like these palm trees, we are set for the life, character, and destiny of the flourishing righteous.

The faithful flourish like the palm tree, the long-lived and stately palm. The believer flourishes in the courts of God, abiding in God’s presence according to Psalm 23:6, as opposed to the temporary “flourishing” of the evildoers who are doomed to destruction.

Everything in life needs an additive to improve or preserve it. Just as plants need fertilizers to grow and flourish, so do believers need God to grow and flourish. Those planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of God.

As these trees flourish in their respective soils and climates, so shall the righteous in the ordinances of God. But only those who trust in and dwell in the Lord, according to Jeremiah 17:7-8, are planted by water, are called blessed, and filled with God-defined benefits. It is those whose trust is in the Lord. Palm trees in the Bible also represent beauty, prosperity, and fertility and a sign of prosperity and fertility, as well as been seen as a sign of God’s covenant with his people.

Only trust in God motivates confident obedience in times of crisis. When you see palm trees in heavy wind and storm, you’ll understand the strength and tenacity of the trees. Every other tree may be uprooted by the wind or broken, but not the palm tree. Though the wind may force it to bend almost to the breaking point, it rises back and flourishes with no visible sign of the trauma it’s been through because God made them to bend but not break, Just as He made us.

Life may bend us, the enemy may bend us, challenges and circumstances may bend us, but none can break us. If everything in life is pushing you to a breaking point, remember you’re built to last, overcome, triumph, conquer, and not break. If life pushes you to your knees, and Christ remains the centre of your life, be confident that you can withstand those pushes because your resilience is of God and not of man, like the palm tree.

As believers, we continue to grow in grace, and be fruitful to the end of life, continuously flourishing, and bearing fruit in old age because we can learn spiritual lessons from the palm tree phenomenon, to stand in faith, deeply rooted in the truth of God’s word while His presence nourishes us to bearing good fruit.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to learn and lean on your word to give my root dept that would keep me grounded even through the storms of life in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom,

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT PRAYER MIN.

[zodiakuroo]

Love Thy Brother

Pairing: Dabi x Fem!Reader

Content: 18+ dubcon/noncon, dabi’s canononical dick piercings  manhandling, rough sex, corruption, degradation, humiliation, manipulation, blackmail, spit, stepcest, loss of virginity, dacryphilia, mentioned breeding, blasphemy and sacrilege : 3

Word count: 4.1k

Notes: secured my spot in hell with this one for sure anyways touya-nii go brrrrr

part 2 here!

But he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not whither he goes, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. – 1 John 2:11

Gaining 4 new siblings as a young adult is not something anyone expects, you think, but you’re grateful to have been accepted into Enji Todoroki’s family nonetheless.

Fuyumi was the big sister you always wanted, kind and nurturing, always happy to let you borrow her clothes and give you advice. You and Natsuo the closest in age.  He was warm and friendly and while he teased you a lot it was never mean spirited, just the kind that was typical between siblings. Shoto was quiet in nature and though it took him more time than the rest to warm up to you, eventually you two became friends as well.

And there was Touya…..

Well, Dabi as he prefers to be called.

When you first met him, you were terrified, the shock of seeing him made you hide behind your mother instinctively.  The Todoroki clan looked every bit the perfect suburban family except for Dabi. He had his hair dyed jet black, with seemingly more tattoos than clean skin. He had several cartilage piercings in his ears as well as three small studs in his nostril and a barbell through his eyebrow.  He scoffed at your scared reaction, sticking out his tongue to show you the silver ball on its surface and sending a wink your way.

Admittedly, felt guilty for judging Dabi based on his appearance, but you would soon come to find that sometimes it’s better to trust your judgement.

At first, Dabi ignored you, acted as if you didn’t exist. And the times when he was forced to acknowledge your presence in his family he acted as though you were nothing more than a nuisance. You thought that you might have offended him somehow but Fuyumi assured you that Dabi was just like that and that you shouldn’t take it personally. “He just needs to get to know you.” She said.

She was wrong though. Dabi couldn’t stand you.

Everything about you infuriates him. Prancing around in those frumpy sweaters and modest skirts like anyone would bother to lewd you anyways. Lest they attempt, you wear that gold cross necklace everywhere you like a big old “PROPERTY OF JESUS” tag. Your insistence to say a prayer every time the family dog so much as farts. The way his entire family seems to be enamored by your church girl act. Perhaps what he hates most is the way you look at him, poor delinquent Dabi, like you’re so much better than him. Sanctimonious bitch.

Then he noticed how you were with Natsuo. How you would pout and whine when he teased you and sometimes, to everyone’s shock and amusement, banter back and forth with him. Let’s be clear here, he didn’t care about you. He cared about attention. You were giving too much of your attention to his younger brother and that just wouldn’t do.

Pretty soon, Touya was in on the teasing. He started out by making fun of you for being so conservative. Low-hanging fruit. You’ve heard it all before so it didn’t wrench much of a reaction for you but that just made him more determined. Sometimes it got downright mean, earning him a scolding from Fuyumi. Not that he would listen anyways

Then it got physical. It started innocently enough, Dabi would tug on your hair, snatch food out of your hands, kick you underneath the dinner table. Albeit childish, it was incredibly annoying. You would shriek and yell for him to cut it out and after finally getting the desired reaction from you, he became hungry for more.

So he started taking more risks. When you were in the kitchen alone Dabi would brush his hand under your skirt making you squeal. That progressed to him flicking up your skirt to catch a glimpse of your panties which progressed to him spanking you so hard, you’d think of him every time you sat down for the rest of the day.

On the days when he was in a good mood (read: stoned out of his mind), he would pull you into his lap and hold you there, blowing smoke in your face that made you cough so that he could laugh. Sometimes he would let his hands wander, over your chest and between your thighs while you squirm in his hold. He’d say “Anyone ever touch you like this? I hope not, I’m sure it would piss off Jesus”

As if the touching wasn’t invasive enough, Dabi felt he was entitled to your room and personal artifacts. Often you’d come back from campus or church to find the contents of your underwear drawer spilled on the floor. You would notice a pair or two missing when you packed them back.

One time he vandalised your bible with drawings of penises on every single page.

“D’ya like my artwork princess?” he said when you confronted him. In a fit of rage, threw the book at his head. You missed (unfortunately) making him like laugh. “Surely there’s something condemning violence in that book of yours.”

You tried locking him out of your room but all that did was make him angrier. He threated to break your door clean off its hinges if you did it again.

Which brings you to your current predicament.

It had been a long day. You woke up late landing you in trouble with your manager. Your coworker fell ill and you had to cover a double shift, with no shortage of asshole customers on this particular day it seems. On top of all that, you just got stood up for date. You come home to a quiet house and you’re so grateful for this small blessing on a day like this. After a long, scalding hot shower, you lie on your bed wrapped in a fluffy, white towel, contemplating your next move.

You were home alone and with a family this big that hardly ever happens. You do what any person would do after having the day you had.

You smile to yourself, undoing the knot on your towel and falling back onto your pillows, hands already caressing your breasts.

You’re a Christian not a robot. Of course you masturbate. Sure you feel ashamed. You can hear your mother’s voice chide about how sinful it is but that all melts away when your little fingers slide between your wet folds. Shame can wait.

Being the menace in your life that he is, the eldest Todoroki chose that exact moment to barge into your room unannounced.

You scramble for your covers trying your best to preserve some modesty but it’s too late, you’ve been caught. You shriek in terror.

“Oh my god!” Dabi practically cackles.

“Dabi! It’s not what it looks like I swear.”

“Oh really?” He stalks over to your bed with the predatory grin on his face. “Because to me it looks like my innocent, holier than though baby sister is a nasty, little, closet pervert.” He’s now straddling you over your covers, you want to fight him off but that would mean letting go over your duvet and you know once you do that, it’s over. Dabi has the upper hand though. Soon he’s got both of your wrists in one of his hands, pinned above your head. His other hand, almost immediately, is pulling the down the covers, revealing your naked torso to him. “Huh.’ He muses as he palms one of your breasts. “Seems like it’s exactly what it looks like.”

“Dabi! Get off me!” You squirm under him but he’s too heavy so it’s no use.

“Nice tits Sis.” Dabi ignores your protests. “I don’t get why you keep them hidden.”

“I’m not your sister you creep!” you say with as much venom as you can muster.

“Aw princess,” he pouts and moves his hand up to cup your jaw, squeezing your cheeks harshly “it hurts your Nii-san’s feelings when you talk to him like that. I wonder what our parents would think. Should I tell them how filthy their sweet, little daughter really is?”

He revels in the fear in your eyes. You shake your head frantically. “No Dabi please! Please don’t tell them.” You whimper, words garbled.

“Don’t tell them what little sister? What were you doing?” He smirks. His hand goes back to your breast, this time to tweak your nipple.

The sadistic freak. Was he really going to make you say it? He answers your silent question with a sharp smack to your breast.

“I-I was masturbating.” You mumble, squeezing your eyes shut, cheeks burning from embarrassment.

“No, you weren’t”  he says as a matter of fact before pinching your already stiff nipple making your eyes shoot open and you yelp in pain. “You were playing with your little virgin cunt. Now say it.”

There is no way you could say those words. Has he not humiliated you enough? You try once again to break free but he’s got an iron grip on your wrists and he’s sitting on top of your thighs. There’s no way you’re getting out of this.

He pinches you again but harder this time, twisting your nipple and keeping it there.

“I was ah­ I was playing with my v-v-irgin c- Dabi! Cunt! There I said it! Let go!”

He snickers at your pain but let’s go of you entirely, shifting his weight off of you. You’re grateful for the reprieve, immediately pulling up the covers to cover up your body again. You will yourself not to cry until Dabi has left the room or else you’ll never hear the end of it. But he’s not finished with you yet.

“Show me.” He sits down on your desk chair facing you, his legs spread wide.

“What?” Surely you misheard him.

“Show your Nii-san how you play with that ‘little virgin cunt’” He smiles using air quotations.

“Dabi, this is wrong-“ you whimper

“Touya-nii.” You furrow your brows in confusion and he says again. “Call me Touya-nii. I’m not leaving this room until I see what I want.”

Say what you want about Dabi but he’s a man of his word. You know he means what he says. The last thing you want is for anyone in your family to come home and find you naked in your room with your step-brother. It’s just better to do what he asks demands.

You slowly peel the covers off you, exposing your naked body to your step brother. He’s eyeing you intently, palming the growing bulge under his jeans. His sister was hiding such a hot little body, right under his roof and he had no idea. You can’t bear to look at him. You clamp your thighs shut to hide your pussy from him, a weak attempt to save what’s left of your dignity. You wriggle your hand in between your legs and you try to move it as best you can without showing him more of you.

Wait.

You’re wet?

You’re wet.

Well screw dignity I guess.

“Oh none of that.” Touya scoffs. “Spread your legs.”

You obey him and he rewards you with a low whistle. “What a cute little pussy.” He murmurs so low you’re not even sure he’s talking to you. You flinch, wanting to close your legs on instinct but a firm “Don’t” from Dabi stops you in your tracks. “Show me how my little sister likes to play.”

His words make your pussy throb but you’re still reeling, both physically and mentally at, the shock from your current position so when your fingers try to rub circles on your clit, they’re shaky and sloppy.

“That’s pathetic. Is this how you do it? No wonder you’re so uptight, you probably never cum huh? Put your fingers inside, I wanna see you stretch your little hole.”

“Dabi I-“

“I won’t ask you to address me properly again. Next time, you’re getting your ass beat.”

“T-Touya-nii. I’ve never… put them inside.” You mumble.

“Never?” He can’t hide the amusement in his voice.

You simply shake your head, unable to meet his gaze.

Fucking jackpot. He thinks.  This is why he loves virgins.

“Oh no. Does the poor baby want her Nii-san to show her how it’s done?” voice dripping with condescension.

You’re horribly ashamed. Disgusted by the whole situation. And yet you find yourself nodding.

Dabi crawls on to your bed, discarding his shirt in the process. Next thing he has you flipped over, ass in the air, lying across his lap.

He spanks you, hard. Like he always does, loud smack echoing through the room. You cry out like you always do but it’s different this time. It’s different because this time you’re naked, on top of him. It’s different because you can feel his hard-on poking into your stomach. It’s different because everything about the situation is making you clench.

He grips the sore, reddened flesh and pulls apart your cheeks to look right at your fluttering hole. His thumb finds your clit and he starts to rub slow circles into it. “I meant what said you know. This is the prettiest fucking cunt I’ve ever seen.” You let out a whine as you feel his warm, wet spit land right on your opening, before Touya slides a long, slender middle finger into your tight pussy. He uses his other hand to hit you again. “You’re a good girl right? What do good girl’s say when they get compliments?”

Your head is spinning from his ministrations, so much so that a verbal response escapes you. You’re too busy bucking your hips against his hand. Dabi snaps you out of your trance with another spank, even harder, so your feel the sting spread across your glute. “Hnnghh… thank you Touya-nii.” He rewards you with his ring finger finding its way inside you as well. “Shit.” You say through gritted teeth. You clench around him trying to adjust to the foreign sensation.

Whack. This time on the other cheek, both burning red by now, you’re sure. “Where’d you learn to talk like that, naughty girl?” The way he’s moving his fingers inside you feels like he’s looking for something, you have no idea what. It’s not unpleasant but uncomfortable. You turn your head back to look at his face. It’s the same face he makes when he’s rolling a joint or playing video games with his friends. He’s concentrating. “Fuck, relax for me princess.” You’re trying. You’re really trying. You take a deep breath, trying to think about anything other than the way you’re being stretched.

Then it hits you. An overwhelming ecstasy, spreading from your groin, all the way down to your toes. You figure out that’s what he’s been looking for.

You find yourself grinding down onto his bulge in an attempt to escape the onslaught of his fingers, but it’s no use, not with the way his thumb is circling your throbbing clit.

“Can’t even take two fingers in this tiny pussy huh? How are you gonna take my cock?” Dabi gives you a third finger and the stretch is officially unbearable.

You can’t do anything but pant in his lap while he holds you down, making sure that you keep still. Suddenly, you realise the gravity of the circumstances you find yourself in. Your step brother is going to fuck you and there’s nothing you can do about it.

“God, please slow down!” You cry out. He keeps hitting that spot over and over. It’s too much. You look back at him with tears in your eyes, pleading for reprieve. The satisfied smile on his face lets you know that he couldn’t care less. You feel an orgasm building, stronger than any that you’ve given yourself.

“No God here, doll. Just the Almighty Dabi. And guess what? He wants you to come for him.”

Even before he finishes his sentence, you’re already convulsing on top of him. For a moment you forget how debauched the situation is. Being debased by a man who you not only despise but are related to. All feelings of shame are replaced by pure, hot bliss that sets your nerves on fire. Dabi does not relent. Not until the please you feel is eclipsed by the pain of oversensitivity and you’re writhing in futile attempt to escape.

Dabi pulls his fingers out of you and wraps his other hand around your neck, dragging you up to face him. He holds his fingers, covered in your cream, right in front of your face. “Messy slut. Clean them.”

Before you can respond the fingers press against your lips. You have no choice but to take them inside your mouth. He grips the back of your head while you lave your tongue over his fingers, sucking off your release. He’s keeps a tension on your strands that makes your scalp sting. It’s a silent warning to keep your eyes on him. You’ve caught on by now that he wants this to be as humiliating as possible for you. As if coming on your step-brother’s fingers weren’t humiliating enough. He shoves his fingers deeper, making you gag around them drool seeping from the corner of your mouth.

“Good girl.” He growls as he wipes his saliva covered fingers dry on your face. Again, you fight back the tears of embarrassment. You won’t give him the satisfaction.

Dabi prompts you with cruel tug on your hair. “Gah! Th-thank you Touya-nii.” You whimper.

“Hmm.” His hands move to your hips and he rolls his hips to grind his hard cock into your core. “You want Nii-san to fuck you now?”

Your bottom lip quivers. Is he giving you an out? You pray to God that Dabi is giving you a way out of this. You doubt God cares about what you want right now but still, you hope he can grant you this one mercy, you’ll make it up to him somehow. You shake your head no. You probably look so pitiful right now, naked on top of Touya while he bucks up against you, your own spit streaked across your face, barely stopping the tears in your eyes from spilling.

“Liar.” He sneers. “You want your big brother to split that virgin hole right open.”

You’re stupid for thinking he would give you a way out. You realise that now. No point in trying not to cry. Nothing is gonna stop him from getting what he wants anyway. You can’t hold back the choked sobs anymore

“Such pretty tears, baby.” Dabi coos at you. “Don’t worry. Nii-san is gonna give you exactly what you want.”

He picks you up off of him and positions you exactly how he wants, on all fours, swollen cunt exposed for him. He kneels behind you and you hear the sounds of him undoing his jeans. You turn your head back, curiosity getting the better of you. Your eyes find Dabi just in time to see him free himself from his boxers, which join his jeans bunched at is knees. The sight makes your eyes go wide. It’s your first time seeing one in real life. Were they supposed to be that big? And… pierced?

He quirks a brow at you, smug look plastered on his face. He strokes himself in front of you, spreading his pre-cum along his shaft. He’s tilts it upwards to make sure you get a good look at the vertical barbell that goes through his tip and three horizontal, parallel bars along the underside. “You look scared. Don’t worry princess, Big brother Dabi’s gonna make it fit.” You feel his tip press against your opening and brace yourself.

You’ve heard stories from your friends. You know the first time hurts but God nothing could have prepared you for this .Touya makes good on his word, sliding his entirely until your pressed right against his pelvis. The scream you let out is ear shattering but you can’t help it, the stretch is excruciating. The way his piercings catch on your walls only, intensifies the burn. You crawl toward your headboard instinctively, it’s too much. Way too much.

He’s not having any of it. Dabi pulls you up to him with a hand wrapped around your throat until your back meets his front. “Shh shh shh. Don’t run baby. You’re gonna take all of it.” He groans right against your ear. Without giving you time to adjust, he begins to thrust into you at a relentless pace. You have no choice but to let him use you.

“Who’s fucking you huh? Who’s making you feel good?”

“My nii-san. Touya-nii is fucking me so good.”

“Yeah fuck. Love this holy pussy” He delivers a harsh smack directly on to your clit, making you quiver in his hold. He laughs at your reaction. “Gonna say a prayer for me babe? I wanna hear it.”

“Huh?” You’re barely lucid, there’s no way you heard him correctly.

“Well you’re a little sinner slut now. You should probably ask for forgiveness. Pray.”

You’re sure you’re beyond salvation now but you submit nonetheless. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion.” You gasp as he tightens his hand around your throat. “Against You, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight. Oh fuck Touya-nii!”

“Bad girl.” Dabi gives you another strike right on your aching clit. “Don’t think God is gonna be very happy with you.” Dabi is though. Dabi’s very happy with you. Your tight, gummy pussy sucks him back in every time he pulls back. It just makes him fuck you harder, he wants to make you scream louder for him.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Ngggghh Shit. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.” You’re sobbing outright, gasping to get air into your constricted throat.

“You gonna cum? My bad girl gonna come for her big brother?” Dabi grunts into your ear.

“Yeah close Touya-nii.”

“Hmm me too.”

“NOT INSIDE TOUYA-NII” You begin to thrash in his arms.

“S’matter princess? Don’t wanna have your big brother’s babies? That’s hurtful.” He snickers. He releases your throat in favour of pressing you into the mattress, large hand resting between your shoulder blades. “Better cum before I do then.”

The ridges of his piercings rub up against that same sweet spot, over and over again. You’re dizzy from the lack of air and absolutely drunk with pleasure on his cock. Pretty much the only thing tethering you to this existence is the unforgiving grip he has on your ass, digging his nails into your flesh. He reaches his hand around to rub your sore, puffy clit. It pushes you over the edge a second time. You feel every muscle contract and relax as the waves of your orgasm wash over you, making you cry out in bliss.

As soon as you come down from your high, Dabi has you flipped on to your back and is straddling your torso. “Keep praying.” He mutters. He furrows his brows, huffing as he jerks off on top of you, eyes focused intently on your gold necklace.

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Then will I teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You. Amen”

“Yeah, fuck that’s it take it baby.” Dabi sprays his come over your chest, aiming his load right on your cross, a symbol of your devotion to Christ, defiled. He looks absolutely euphoric watching the ropes of his hot cum slowly run down onto your nipples and down the valley of your breasts

“Don’t you fucking move.” He pants, catching his breath. He picks up his phone and you hear his camera click. He looks at the picture and smiles. You look absolutely fucked out. Hair disheveled, face red and bloated from crying and completely covered in his load. Yeah a real good, Christian girl. He thinks.

“Dabi! No!” You lunge forward, trying to grab his phone from his hand. Almost effortlessly, Touya shoves you back onto the bed.

“Relax. No one’s gonna see it. Not unless you snitch to mommy and daddy.”

“You promise?” You grab the tissues from your nightstand and wipe yourself clean. The smell lingers though, along with the grimy feeling, seemingly embedded in your skin. You look up at him, sniffling, tears still rolling down your cheeks. If he were better person, he’d take pity on you for being so fucking stupid.

“Promise, little sis.” He shoots you a wink as he tucks himself back into his jeans.

Before he’s left your room he’s already sent the picture to his friend, Shigaraki.

[slitherbop]

.......Any papastuck hcs?

THANK YOU for giving me an excuse to publicly ramble about PAPA G AND CHUCK beware of Spoilers within ALSO HERE’S A PIC happy valentines day

When they met and Chuck was still Stuck in the floor, like Post-Chicken-Feed-Missing-Scene, Chuck would be RUDE as HELL to Papa G. But Papa G took it as realizing he’s just A Guy and was like AH MAYBE I SHOULDA BEEN GIVIN HIM REAL FOOD and then he does that, but Chuck is still a bastard to him. Not to The Kid’s knowledge tho, he only found out that Papa G knew about Chuck’s existence in the second episode like we saw.

Papa G literally just looked at Chuck and how Evil he was being at the beginning and was like OH YES WE CAN BE FRIENDS I LIKE THIS GUY cuz he DID save him and want him to be redeemed and have the last ring to be on the team... Papa G’s Immediate Trust.. like if u agree

I like to imagine that Papa G actually did have da iced tea with Chuck to get to know him :] this was Post-Chuck-getting-Cut-in-Half. Papa G is Very Curious about Chuck but Chuck’s still a rude little man at this point and Papa G laughs off his behaviour. Papa G might be f*cked up enough that he does enjoy his company, bad vibes and all

Chuck has NO idea what to make of Papa G here because no one else has ever shown him kindness or wasn’t annoyed at him. It doesn’t stop him from being a force of negativity though cuz at this point he still Believes he’s going to conquer the earth.

This ended up being like a timeline of their relationship and not relationship headcanon UUHH OOPS!!!!!

OK, Chuck actually likes that he calls him Charles it’s the special name :]

I’m prepared to be proven wrong but it would be epic if Chuck started calling Papa G “George” because he was there to hear that that is his first name and Papa G like with Tuna Sandwich doesn’t mind being called it, it’s just his name. Also George is my real name and I’d love to hear Chuck say. Also Also George and Charles are gay old man names

Uh oh I’m talking more about timeline stuff but some time after the events of the big showdown and they’re dealing with the fact that Chuck is deciding to stay here on earth, Papa G and The Kid make him his own living space there in the junkyard with them. Not sure where or what it’d look like but it means a lot to Chuck (makes this face -> 🥺) I’d imagine since his species aren’t given their own names / have individuality he wasn’t given a space of his own to do whatever he wanted with

Since they no longer have the rings, Chuck helps Papa G as an extra hand doing work in the yard (Papa G had to get used to doing stuff without being his own company :[ ) and Chuck ACTUALLY LOVES HELPING imagine that one scene where Papa G and Chuck are working together to build the ice cream megaphone truck, they’re both really skilled at building stuff and enjoy it so it’s like that pretty often!

I swear to god Papa G needs to get Chuck a wheelchair / make him one, I want to believe that he does have one and we just didn’t see it at the end of the time skip -_- :prayer: but they totally deck it the hell out (you KNOW Papa G is capable of making deadly death machines and you KNOW Chuck would absolutely love that sh*t!!!!)

Anyway back to the time skip relationship development thing: PAPA G SHOWS CHUCK AROUND HIS HOUSE I wish we knew what inside the house looked like besides the kitchen sink lol but Papa G figured if he’s gonna be around here more often he might as well show him where HE lives! Papa G is SUPER excitedly showing him all the weird stuff he’s accumulated over his lifetime. Chuck doesn’t Get the specialness of physical possessions and calls it Junk but Papa G doesn’t mind! He shows things and Chuck is confused about certain things (being an Alien) and Papa G is happy to explain everything to him.

Papa G shares Chuck his art and is showing him painting ;_; once again Chuck is a bastard and doesn’t totally get it. Papa G would definitely call HIM an artist, pointing out that all the building that Chuck does is artwork, those comics that he spent all that time reading was him appreciating the art, and that changes the way he views it. Chuck makes his own dam comics, I’d imagine the way he’d draw is very unique and the text is written in his language, and then it’s Papa G who doesn’t totally get it but is ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT IT!!!

Also Papa G totally takes Chuck out to the middle of nowhere to go look for junk, this is probably Chuck’s Least Favourite Activity LOL but they do spend a lot of time talking about anything, I’m really curious about what the kind of things they’d even say when they’re not faced with any threat and are only with each other *looks up at the sky in thought..*

Chuck please go off about your previous life away from earth I feel like as soon as he came here he kinda just accepted himself being Stuck Chuck and therefore had no attachment to being a nameless body in an alien army. Also Papa G please open up about your messed up secret history that warranted the government keeping tabs on you and made you live almost completely isolated.

See^ I think whatever they got going on on a DEEP LEVEL could be wild and would have so much to unravel, Chuck’s life before this was probably just 90% seeing various people DIE and was simply made to Kill people for his leader. And. you KNOW Papa G has something Messed Up about him + Is Traumatized / got “bad flashbacks” + the whole seeing himself die and being numb to it. And now that they are people who are trying to save lives on their team they could Relate to each other as the two older guys with UNKNOWN HISTORY!!!!

UUUUH OK SO SHIP HEADCANONS RIGHT. RIGHT. They hold hands :] they rarely kiss it’s mostly Papa G who kisses Chuck on the face but Chuck is forbidden from kissing unless Papa G wants to go to sleep. Also Chuck likes to be held by Papa G, they hug a lot :D Papa G takes Chuck out to the diner and gets him everything he wants <3 they go to the house and watch movies and Kid joins them too as a family ;_; Papa G goes to sleep in his god forsaken hammock with Chuck, and Chuck is like So This Is Your Weird-Ass Cocoon Huh and Papa G is like HAHA YUP and its sweet.

I’m gonna end this here thank you for reading, this is the kinda stuff I ramble on and on like this in private but I hope u enjoy some of my thoughts about this I think it’s a genius ship with so much potential and is my favourite thing right now THANKS