#what is the gospel of the kingdom?

[thinkingonscripture]

What Must I Believe to Be Saved?

The Terms of Salvation God requires that certain information be believed before He saves someone. This means saving faith requires content. Though faith alone is the only requirement by God, the content of faith has changed throughout the ages, depending on what God revealed at a particular time. What God revealed to Adam and Eve was different than what He revealed to Abraham, and what He…

[chrisshields18]

Well Versed Congressional Staff & Intern Bible Studies

[bible-prophecy-in-action]

Glad Tidings - Christian Writer, Christian Books -Nadesan K.

This site contain very reliable information about God's highest love for mankind. Also, this site would serve as your best guide in case you want to purchase excellent christian literature like magazines, books, etc..

[samantabrzozowska]

“I do all for the glory of my Lord!”

[gureumz]

kingdom come

rating: explicit

member: sunghoon

notes: fem-bodied reader, dom!sunghoon, friends to lovers, pwp, BLASPHEMY, religious references (specifically catholic allusions), slapping, dirty talk, unprotected sex, creampie, reader and sunghoon are students in a catholic college institution

a/n: finally, my blasphemous sunghoon piece that was supposed to coincide with holy week lol i struggled with this a bit but i did my best </3 enjoy!

"holy fuck, wasn't it just sunday yesterday?"

you giggle as you trudge along the halls of your school, sunghoon's voice carrying over to your other classmates' ears. a few of them snicker along while others glance ahead nervously at the professor leading your class to the chapel.

you look up at him, your duly declared best friend, who also happens to always be conveniently right next to you when your class lines up to go anywhere.

"you do know, with you being the tallest out of all of us, your voice is most likely the first to be heard, right?" you ask, grinning mischievously up at sunghoon.

sunghoon flashes you the middle finger. you let out a sound akin to an incredulous gasp.

"i'm telling on you," you tease, punching sunghoon on the arm.

"what are you, five?" sunghoon bites back, pulling lightly at your ponytail.

"oh, wait—," sunghoon hurriedly continues. "you are five. five feet tall, that is."

before you can counter with your own insult, the professor whips his head around and gives both you and sunghoon a pointed look. your head immediately lowers in embarrassment.

sunghoon chuckles one last time beside you, shoving you lightly. you return with another punch, this time to his chest. sunghoon lets out a strangled noise of pain.

eventually, your class arrives at the chapel, your two lines filing into the quiet space. your professor seats you on the pews alternately, one girl, then one boy, then another girl, and so on. presumably, this is done to avoid any gossiping or roughhousing between the female and male students, respectively, but as you seat yourself beside sunghoon, you know that your professors will always forget that you and sunghoon have been inseparable since the day you stepped foot on campus.

"hi," sunghoon whispers, tilting his head down towards you.

"fuck off," you whisper back, but you're already smiling.

sunghoon smiles back, eyes glancing down momentarily. you follow his line of sight, rolling your eyes as you realize the buttons on your blouse are barely holding it together.

"you're such a creep," you mutter, shaking your head.

"you need new blouses," sunghoon says matter-of-factly. "and maybe a bra that isn't a push-up one."

you reach over to pinch sunghoon's thigh. he curses a little too loudly, other students' heads whipping around in your direction.

"is your love language physical harm?" sunghoon complains, rubbing at the spot where your fingernails dug themselves into his thigh.

"wouldn't you wanna know?" you reply sarcastically.

you observe the way his forearm flexes as he continues to absentmindedly soothe the skin underneath the fabric of his pants. your attention is then brought to the stretch in his gray uniform slacks, large thighs practically bursting from the hours sunghoon spends in the college workout room.

your mind had just started to wonder about the veins in sunghoon's hand when the commentator's mic screeches on.

the first half of the mass goes by uneventfully, with you going through the motions of it, standing and seating and responding whenever needed.

you plop down on your seat as the homily begins, most of your mind already tuned out from whatever lesson in conjunction with the gospel the priest is about to rattle on about.

your eyes wander around the chapel at this time, thoughts floating to whatever catches your attention. one minute, it's the gaudy gold trimmings of the altar decorations, the next, it's the sleepy gazes of the mass servers.

and the next minute still, it's the clenching of sunghoon's jaw. you gulp, unaware of just how hard you're staring.

you're not sure when it started, where the playful remarks between you two turned into borderline dirty jokes and the casual playfighting became excuses for you both to let your touches linger on each other for more than what was deemed appropriate for friends.

you're not one to assume, but none of your other guy friends had the audacity to comment so openly on your boobs.

sunghoon catches your eye and his expression shifts to a playful smirk.

he lays a hand on your bare knee, squeezing lightly. you remain nonchalant, ignoring the sneaky side eye you get from jungwon, the guy seated directly to your right who also happens to be the class president.

sunghoon leans ever so slightly toward you, whispering lowly, "are you bored? cause i'm bored."

"shut up, i don't feel like getting in trouble for talking during mass," comes your curt reply.

sunghoon hums in acknowledgment. "i can do the talking. you can just listen."

sunghoon is drawing patterns on your knee and part of your exposed thigh, fingertips swirling over your skin. goosebumps erupt all over your body and you know sunghoon can feel it.

"shut up," you say through gritted teeth, sunghoon's fingers stopping right as they've slipped beneath the hem of your skirt.

sunghoon straightens up, hand unmoving on your thigh.

there it remains for the rest of the homily.

---

"i'm honestly so exhausted," sunghoon grumbles, the two of you walking amongst the throng of students pouring out the chapel doors.

sunghoon has an arm thrown lazily around your shoulders, his perfume coming off strong as he pulls you closer to him.

"i'm so tired of being woken up at ass o'clock in the morning for mass," sunghoon continues.

"same," you agree, trying to conceal the quiver in your voice when you feel sunghoon absentmindedly toying with the patch sewn onto your blouse, the embroidered school's logo conveniently placed right at the upward slope of your breast.

"we can go back to the dorms," you suggest, gently nudging sunghoon's hand off the vicinity of your chest. "take a nap until lunchtime."

sunghoon grins at you, winking. "my place or yours?"

"honestly, you need to stop with the innuendos," you complain, rolling your eyes. "it's getting a little weird."

sunghoon laughs, tightening his arm around you as he maneuvers you toward the direction of the dorm.

sunghoon leans in close to your ear.

"oh, please. i know you like it."

---

normally, girls aren't allowed in the boys' dorm and vice versa, but the security sitting leisurely by his desk outside the squat two-story building of the boys' dorm doesn't care nearly as much as the one standing watch outside the girls' building.

you step into the small common area where there are a handful of students lounging about. they barely spare you and sunghoon a glance as the two of you make your way up the stairs.

you arrive at sunghoon's room at the very end of the hallway, with him opening the door and motioning for you to get in first.

already well-acquainted with your best friend's room, you head straight for sunghoon's bed, sprawling yourself over the comfy sheets.

"move," sunghoon says with a laugh, coaxing you closer to the wall where the bed is pushed up against. you comply, curling into yourself as you press your back against the cool concrete.

sunghoon settles beside you, stretching languidly, his polo riding up his body and revealing part of his toned stomach.

you pretend not to notice.

sunghoon turns to his side, facing you.

"you're incredibly pretty today," sunghoon says right out of the blue.

you giggle, despite the blush you feel creeping down your neck. "i know."

"ooh, confidence. i like that," sunghoon comments, reaching over to toy at the ends of your hair.

"you've been awfully touchy lately," you reply, a shiver running up your spine as sunghoon slowly undoes your ponytail.

"and they're observant, too," sunghoon points out, pulling your hair tie onto his wrist.

"another point for you," sunghoon adds, raising his eyebrows at you.

you bite down on your lip, your heart hammering against your ribcage.

"just tell me whatever it is you want to tell me," you urge.

sunghoon moves closer, your knees knocking against his. he slips a leg between yours, tangling your limbs together.

"i have no idea what you're on about," sunghoon says with a smile and a shrug.

you roll your eyes, giving sunghoon a look.

a few seconds pass by and neither of you has spoken a word. finally, sunghoon takes in a breath.

"as you already know, despite being enrolled in this obviously catholic institute, i was never one for religious worship," sunghoon begins, tracing a finger down from your shoulder to your wrist.

"but when you look the way you do today, sitting so clueless under the chapel lights and in front of the son of God himself, i might just start believing in the divine."

you're bewildered at what you just heard. you're so dumbstruck, you start to laugh.

"you're so full of shit," you say, shoving at sunghoon's shoulder.

sunghoon's expression turns into surprise for a moment before shifting to amusement.

"i thought girls liked romance," sunghoon points out. "i just said 'you're pretty' in the most poetic way i can."

you laugh even louder this time.

"didn't know you were one for poetry," you reply, reaching a hand out toward sunghoon's face. hesitantly, you start to run your fingers through his dark hair.

sunghoon makes a sound of satisfaction as you tug a little near the nape of his neck.

"when you listen to scripture enough times, it starts to sound a little like poetry," sunghoon explains, eyes blinking lazily as he takes in your appearance.

the two of you had moved closer to each other without even noticing.

"that's kind of naughty, don't you think?" you tease, running your nails against sunghoon's scalp. "using the word of God to practice picking up girls?"

sunghoon looks stunned for a second but his laughter soon follows.

"what if i meant to get a little naughty?" sunghoon says with a raise of his brow, pulling your hand away from his head before placing featherlight kisses on your knuckles.

your heart leaps in your chest and your whole body suddenly feels warm, despite the air conditioning in sunghoon's room on full blast. you swallow, trying to find the words to say.

before either of you can get another word out, the bell from the main building on campus tolls noon, signaling the start of lunch.

you bolt upright, palms sweaty as you scoot away from sunghoon.

"we should go eat," you say through unsteady breaths. "the cafeteria will be full, for sure."

sunghoon wordlessly nods, eyes following the curve of your body as he watches you straighten yourself in his mirror.

---

you and sunghoon make your way across campus, at a much slower pace than one would expect from people who are supposedly in a hurry to get lunch.

you walk ahead of sunghoon, replaying in your mind the scene that played out in his room. you can feel his eyes burning through the back of your head but you continue along.

you enter the main building, nearing the chapel once more. you maintain your distance from sunghoon, determined to get to the cafeteria on the second floor. just as you were about to pass by the heavy wooden doors of the chapel towards the stairs, you feel a hand circle around your wrist, pulling you back.

you look up to see sunghoon walking backward toward the chapel, a mischievous glint in his eye. with his overwhelming strength, you can't help but move along with him.

"what are you doing?" you say, eyes wide as sunghoon momentarily turns away to open the chapel door. he slips into the room, pulling you along with him.

sunghoon closes the door behind you as carefully as he can, letting out a breath as he hears the mechanism click in place. he reaches over to lock it.

you're about to protest once more when you feel him press up against you, forcing you against the firm wood.

"i like you," sunghoon blurts out, resting a large hand against your hip.

you stare at him for a moment, expressionless.

"i know," you finally respond, smiling up at him.

sunghoon lets out a chuckle, wrapping his arms around your midsection, pulling you flush against him.

you feel him press his lips against yours and your hands automatically reach up to hold his face steady.

sunghoon kisses you deeper, leaving no space between you as he practically flattens you into the chapel doors. sunghoon's movements are frantic, rushing against the possibility that anyone can find the chapel suspiciously locked at this moment. it wasn't that hard either to request for the key.

you gasp as you feel sunghoon kiss his way down your neck, sucking at a spot just above your collar.

"i know you—fuck—don't really subscribe to the whole religion thing, but in here? are you sure?" you question, growing more breathless by the second.

sunghoon returns to your lips, his hand slipping under your skirt and giving your ass a harsh squeeze. you moan loudly into the kiss.

"you said it yourself. i don't subscribe to the whole religion thing," sunghoon points out as he pulls away, hooking his fingers through the waistband of your underwear.

"in here is perfect."

you have to stop yourself from whimpering at his words, your panties slipping off easily and gliding down your legs as they fall to your ankles. you lift a leg up to quickly grab the lace garment, shoving it deep into sunghoon's pocket.

"that's my girl," sunghoon praises, grinning down at you.

sunghoon pulls you towards the nearest pew, seating himself right in the middle. you climb onto his lap, letting your bare ass press down perfectly with his straining bulge.

"you're gonna stain my pants, baby," sunghoon points out, reaching under your skirt to prod at your core. you gasp when you feel him graze your clit.

"i mean, you're already soaked," sunghoon adds, running his fingers up and down between your pussy lips, gathering more of your arousal.

"hurry up, then," you challenge, glancing briefly at the door.

"so mouthy as always," sunghoon says, grabbing at your chin. you moan, surprisingly pleased at his sudden display of control. his eyes flit toward something behind you.

"and in front of Jesus, no less," sunghoon reminds with a laugh, tightening his grip on your jaw.

you try to get your next words out as best as you can through sunghoon's hold on your face.

"you're the one who brought me here."

sunghoon's eyes darken. he lets go of you, both of his hands grabbing harshly at your boobs instead. he's nowhere near gentle, nails digging through your blouse.

you cry out in surprise, a jolt of pleasure running through you. your hips start to grind against sunghoon but you stop short when you feel him land a slap against your cheek.

"weren't you taught to be quiet in the house of the Lord?" sunghoon asks, brows furrowed as he looks at your bewildered expression.

the skin of your cheek seems to be screaming, red hot with the blood rushing to it.

"i-i'm sorry," you mumble, cradling the side of your face.

sunghoon's expression softens. he leans in, pulling your hand away to kiss the warm flesh of where he had just smacked you.

"good girl," sunghoon says. you shiver as you feel his breath tickle your face.

sunghoon pulls away, tucking your hair behind your ear.

"you okay?" sunghoon asks, his eyes running over your features in concern, and suddenly, he's back to being your playful, pain-in-the-ass best friend.

"i'm fine," you assure him. "but, i swear if we don't hurry up..."

you trail off, grinding your hips down again. you see sunghoon visibly tense, his bottom lip slipping between his teeth.

"go on then," sunghoon says, expression stony once again. "take it out."

he motions to the tent in his pants and you hurriedly oblige, pulling his zipper down. you reach beneath his underwear, tugging it down enough to let his cock free.

your mouth involuntarily waters at the sight, sunghoon's tip an angry red as it oozes precum. the rest is pale, even paler than all of his body, with veins all over.

"i thought you were in a hurry?" sunghoon's voice cuts through your thoughts. "don't keep me waiting, angel."

you move closer, angling his cock right at your aching entrance. sunghoon holds onto your waist as you guide him through your hole.

both of you sigh when you feel him enter you. you lower yourself until all of him is inside you, so impossibly deep you can practically feel it in your belly.

"come on, baby," sunghoon encourages, lifting you off his cock and bringing you back down. you clamp a hand over your mouth, the stretch and feel of him inside you overwhelming your entire body.

you start to move on your own, moving your hips up and down. your knees strain against the wooden seat but you anchor yourself against sunghoon, trying to find the perfect pace.

"that's it," sunghoon says lowly, watching as you ride him, your skirt hiking up higher and higher on your body, leaving you looking totally debauched with your uniform in disarray.

"fuck, _______. just like that, angel."

sunghoon throws his head back, exposing his smooth neck to you. you quicken your movements, whining when you feel the pleasure double. you lean forward, suckling near sunghoon's adam's apple.

"oh God," sunghoon groans, threading his fingers through your hair. he pulls you away from his neck abruptly, looking over your head and right at the altar.

"you see this, God? all that talk about finding your kingdom, but it's right here in—shit—in their warm, sopping wet pussy."

you whine at his words, cheeks burning at how absolutely filthy they are, but the thrill of doing this, of saying all this, right in the very heart of this whole school's foundation, sends you reeling and wanting more.

"up," sunghoon commands, pushing you off him.

confused, you do as he says, standing shakily. you let out a yelp when you feel him turn you around, pressing you against the pew in front of you. you brace yourself against the backrest as sunghoon slips back inside you easily, leaning down so his chest is right against your back.

your eyes roll into the back of your head as you feel sunghoon set up a relentless pace, taking you from behind as you both gaze upon the religious relics in front of you.

"so dirty," sunghoon comments. the sound of his skin slapping against yours bounces off the walls of the chapel.

"such a slut for letting me fuck them in a chapel."

you cry out, collapsing against the pew as you feel your orgasm quickly approaching. sunghoon grunts when he feels you clench around him, tightening his hold on your hips, fucking into you even rougher than he already was.

"gonna cum, baby?" sunghoon asks. "say a little prayer when you do, 'kay angel?"

"oh my God," you whimper as you reach down to rub your clit, urging yourself closer and closer to your release.

you hear sunghoon laugh breathlessly behind you but you barely take note of it because the floodgates in your abdomen open and the rush of your orgasm quickly takes over you.

a string of curses, sunghoon's name, and some variations of 'oh my God' spill out of your mouth. you deem this close enough to prayer as you can get.

sunghoon groans in your ear as you clamp down tightly around his cock. he gives a couple more thrusts before he shudders, spilling himself inside you.

you lay limp under sunghoon, catching your breath as your bleary eyes stop to observe the crucified Jesus in front of you. you shiver as you realize what you've just done.

"hoon," you let out weakly. "hoon, we need to get out of here."

sunghoon pulls out of you, quick to shove two fingers in you to keep his cum from leaking out. you gasp at the feeling, shooting sunghoon a death glare.

sunghoon laughs, leaning in to kiss you.

"oh my sweet, sweet angel," sunghoon singsongs, kissing you all over your face.

"you're nasty," you say with a scowl, pushing sunghoon away. he takes his fingers out, reaching into his pocket to hand you your underwear back.

"here, wouldn't want the whole school to know i just filled you with my cum," sunghoon offers with a wink.

you grimace, landing a soft punch to sunghoon's stomach.

"so nasty."

[10yrsyart]

(alternative music only video)

i've been inspired by this song "Knight on the Moon- John Lordwood" recently. there's just something very melancholy about it, but in a mysterious way that builds into these intense moments of battle or rescue or something (the beginning leading up to 2:50 and also 6:27 onward).

this is the story of the Gospel, but i hope it's in a way that makes you see it with fresh eyes. the God of the universe, the vast cosmos, saw our sin and our suffering, and loved us enough to come down Himself. He was born as a human and experienced the joys and sorrows that we experienced. the devil is the temporary ruler on Earth and everyone is born under his rule, whether they know it or not. but Jesus paid the ransom for us, to move us into His own Kingdom. He gave His life so that we could be freed from those chains forever.

every pain you've experienced, every sadness that feels like it will finally swallow you whole; Jesus experienced that personally. He doesn't watch sympathetically from afar, He stands and cries with you, knowing just what you're feeling. He loved you enough to give His very life to give you hope. strength can be found in Him, and freedom, and joy. He is the ONLY way to be saved, not only from the consequences of your sins, but from the doom of living in a fallen world. the fallen world won't last forever though, He will soon remake it new. decide for yourself what kingdom you want to be part of.

"Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' For sin is the thing that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

[kingdoms-and-empires]

The King's Hound Review

I recently had to go travel and read a few works that I never got around to reading but was interested in.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS REVIEW IS DONE BY ME AS A READER AND IS MY OWN OPINION.

This means I will review in accordance to my own tastes, how the game caters to me, and what I feel. Do not take my word as gospel, what I may not be interested in or dislike, may be what YOU are interested and love!!!

@the-kingshound

Synopsis:

You are the King’s spouse, his right and left hand, the unstoppable executor of his will. Your name is whispered by enemies and allies with fear and respect alike, some says it’s your arm that bears the weight of the entire kingdom.

They call you the King’s hound. It started as a way to taunt you but it’s not that far away from the truth. Your loyalty is blind, your devotion absolute. The King’s vision is your vision.

Your name will forever mark history alongside theirs.

But for now, you are being shipped to your betrothed, alone and powerless on your way to Camelot.

As the seventh child of the Venegard House, you’ve always had little to look forward to other than an arranged marriage to achieve a political alliance.

That’s exactly why, after your parents lost the rebellion against King Arthur, you were the one sent to him as a sign of newfound peace.

You don’t know what awaits you now, but after you Camelot will never be the same.

Review:

The Good: The project is 18+, and the writing is very well done. It just feels quality. Plus the UI and and dark background are classy. The game is Twine, so you get the save functions of Twine and all that jazz. Anyways, descriptions are well done, the worldbuilding is grounded and helps form the politics in-game. It's thought-out and noticeable. The player customization goes hard and you even get the option to play mute! In The King's Hound, you also find a game that provides the LGBTQ+ demographic and FemMC playing community a welcoming and acknowledging home. The descriptions of the fight scenes and battles (like action set pieces) are good and don't leave you scratching your head. The transitions between paragraphs and pages happen naturally and without breaking pace, which shows the talent of a writer that considers their audience. Also, in regards to the King Arthur mythos and worldbuilding done by the author, i just really appreciate the fact that Camelot is Welsh.

It just gives me an idea of how much the author researched or cares about the mythos to give that respect of origin for the story. I had problems with how King Arthur was being super nice at first, but the author recently stated in a post that Arthur was acting in such a manner because he is deliberately trying to be the opposite of King Uther!

And that in the future, the work will offer more text to reveal that to us, the player.

The Bad: I wouldve liked being able to marry a cousin, niece, sister, or even daughter of King Arthur (or genderbender him) but that is literally my only complaint as a straight dude tryna self insert. The author tells you explicitly that you are marrying the king. If the author decides not to, as is their right and vision, I have no problem whatsoever. I still think the work is well written, and has many elements that i personally fuck with (low fantasy, grounded narrative, adult themes) The fact that i wish the author could change this, is only because i like the work so much. Instead, in this playthrough King Arthur will find that the MC practices

The Ugly: The MAP. But that's only because my history buff mind thinks of the British Isle when hearing these names and when i saw the map it physically gave me whiplash. But youre making your own version of the story, so bully!

The Aftermath: I know this game isnt catered towards me as a straight dude. It is a proud queer game with quality writing, that'd also do really well for the FemMC readers. I would recommend this game to anyone who wants a low fantasy medieval setting, with good writing, and grounded narratives that isn't a straight dude's traditional power fantasy.

Next playthrough, ima be a mute straight girl thatll hoe around King Arthur's court out of sheer spite

^Marci from Dota: Dragon Blood

[whencyclopedia]

Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7) became a foundational element of the religion of Christianity. The sermon is based on the traditions of Judaism and the Law of Moses, but with added interpretations of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Matthew placed it at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, and its themes continued throughout the gospel.

Sermon on the Mount

Carl Bloch (Public Domain)

Background & Setting for Matthew

Like the other gospels, there are no internal dates in Matthew. The 2nd-century Church Fathers placed Matthew as the first gospel in the New Testament, but we know that Mark was the earliest, c. 70 CE or beyond. Matthew (c. 85 CE) and Luke (c. 95 CE) contained almost verbatim stories from Mark, so the consensus is that they had a written copy of Mark. The sermon is not in the Gospel of Mark. Scholars have concluded that Matthew and Luke had additional sources for Jesus beyond Mark, known as the "Q" source. It has not survived independently but was named "Q" for the German Quelle ("source") because German Bible scholars were the first to categorize these additional teachings. Luke had a similar version, in his Sermon on the Plain.

The provenance for Matthew is understood to be Galilee. This is derived from several factors, one of which is that the gospel ends with the resurrected Jesus telling the disciples to go to Galilee and meet him there. He then appeared and commissioned them "to make disciples of all nations", the Gentiles (Matthew 28:19).

When the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple complex in 70 CE, some Jews, which may have included some Pharisees, survived by escaping the city and establishing formalized schools for the study of their scriptures now that the sacrifices in the Temple cult were no longer possible. Some of these schools were located in Galilee and centered in the synagogues. This became the beginning of what is known as Rabbinic Judaism over the next centuries.

Throughout Matthew's gospel, the vitriol against the Jews increased. His Jesus consistently taught against doing things the way the Jews do it in their synagogues. We have an image that Christians may have literally moved out of the synagogues and established their own version, which became the early churches.

Christians claimed that Jesus was the messiah predicted by the prophets in the final days. God would then establish his kingdom on earth. But as the decades passed, the kingdom was not manifest. Early Christianity rationalized this with the concept of parousia, or second appearance. Resurrected and exalted to heaven, at a future time, Jesus would return and fulfill everything the prophets had predicted. The overall purpose of the sermon was twofold:

to state that Christians have the correct understanding of the Laws of Moses as opposed to the Jews

to teach believers how to live in the interim while awaiting the return of Jesus.

Continue reading...

[ranbowkng]

His Kingdom, His Power, My Glory

Gary thinks it'll be a good idea to infiltrate the church. A tired priest, with an adorable face, reminds him why that's a bad idea.

Gary smirked as he pulled the hood of his jacket tighter. This plan was genius. Why keep sending cultists to sneak into the church in the dead of night to make a mess of things when he could just spark turmoil in the middle of the day. The best part, they wouldn't kick him out, and they wouldn't know he was doing it. Perfect.

"Morning Father," he nodded, walking right past the priest standing at the door, greeting church-goers.

"Good morning! I- oh hold on!" The priest grabbed Gary by the sleeve, pulling him back slightly, "You're new here aren't you?"

"Ah, was it that obvious?" Gary smiled, fearing that his genius may have betrayed him already.

"Just a bit," The priest chuckled. Gary got a good look at him, he had dark brown hair, and royal blue eyes that seemed to glow. Gary could have gotten lost in that expression for hours, but he had a mission to attend to, he had far more important manners than pretty boys to worry about, "We actually have a rule, no hats or hoods in the congregation."

"Oh? My apologies," Gary said, pulling his hood down, "My old church was a bit less strict."

"No sunglasses either unfortunately," the priest smiled, but his grip on Gary's sleeve tightened.

"Afraid I can't do that," Gary said, "Got a bad eye disease. Don't wanna scare the kids away."

"Hmm," the priest's look was brimming with disappointment, but he resigned, "Alright then, we will keep you in our prayers, but please consider how you're affecting other members of the church."

"Yes, sorry Father," Gary chuckled, wanting to sigh in relief. He would not have been able to explain the peculiar case of his eyes to the priest.

Once he took a seat, he grinned ear to ear. What a fool the priest must have been to believe such a stupid lie. Regardless, the sermon was starting soon. From here Gary would be able to learn just what happens at a church service, and just how he can tear it apart.

As it turns out, there was too much sitting and standing. Too much listening and not nearly enough talking. Too much and not enough of everything, it was mind numbingly dull. Not even the Order would stoop so low as to make it's devoted followers sit for an hour doing nothing with no freedom to move.

But Gary-begrudgingly-endured it. He was certain that eventually something would happen that would be worth it. Then again, if he had to endure one more of those godforsaken psalms! They weren't quite songs, because a song required being good.

Eventually he found something, a payoff. The priest who had greeted him at the door had finished reading the gospel, and he spoke directly to the audience.

"God loves us all," he began, speaking slowly. You could hear the sound of his careful thought between each word he spoke, "The other day a woman had come to me asking how I knew."

This was perfect! If he wasn't reading off of the text then that only meant one thing, an open discussion. And when people spoke without reading off of their source, they were prone to making mistakes. And one slip up would be enough to pick him apart piece by piece.

"So I was open with her," he said, "I have suffered loss, divorce, and failures over and over again."

"Sounds like God hates you!" Gary shouted. As soon as he spoke everyone turned to him. A smirk was plastered on his face. He'd win over the crowd in twelve seconds flat.

The priest just gave him a tired glare before he continued speaking, "Despite my grievances, I still have the privilege of waking up every day. I have a new chance to prove myself every day. And the Lord tells me that I am his child and he will continue walking with me."

"I thought Jesus was the only son of God!" Gary yelled. He did his homework. Well, he read just enough to know where the hypocrisies stood out.

"We are all children of God under Abraham," the priest spoke through grit teeth, "We will be going over that next week."

"Sounds like God needs to close his legs!" Gary's smirk was growing into a grin.

"Alright," the priest took a deep breath, "Let's start over, since you clearly seem confused. I was trying to explain to a woman that God loves her and is with her through her every struggle. And to do so, I used my own life as an example."

"How did you manage to prove it?" Gary said, "Hey! Father! How do you know it's actually God talking!? Are you-"

"Some of us clearly need to start working on our relationship with the Lord!" The priest said, his chest rising and falling quickly as he tried to calm himself, "Some far, far more than others, but regardless. God is patient and will wait for us until the end of time."

"If God's so patient why are you getting so upset?" Gary argued.

"God is a patient man, I am not," John said calmly, "And that's okay! Because God gives us strength. Strength to overcome any challenge like frustration, or an inability to respect your church leaders."

"I fail to see how-"

"God gives us strength!" The priest spoke over him, "I believe we all have it in us to become better people through the Lord. Amen!"

Gary wanted to speak up, but the congregation seems to have accepted it was time to shut up. Unbelievable. How does a man who looks so pathetic manage to control the situation so well? Oh well, at least he can still figure out the weak points in the sermon simply by listening.

Meanwhile, said priest was glaring at him. A far older priest had taken over, but he still was looking straight through Gary with furrowed brows. Gary stared back, not that the priest could see past his sunglasses.

When the sermon was over, Gary was about ready to collapse. How does an hour of doing absolutely nothing become so exhausting? He would never blame his acolytes for their boredom during a meeting ever again.

He stood, prepared to leave, only to be stopped.

"Excuse me sir," it was the priest. He had gripped Gary by the sleeve, a soft smile on his face, "May I speak with you for a minute?"

Gary tried not to let his confident smirk falter, "Of course! What can I do for you?"

The priest chuckled slightly, "Oh no, I meant at the front. I have a couple things I'd like to discuss with you."

"Ah," Gary said. Had he been anywhere else, there was no doubt in his mind he'd be able to strike down the priest with a single glance, but this was a church. He was already weakened here, but this is where the priest would thrive. And yet, he was cocky, "Well, I don't see why not."

"Good," the priest said, "Follow me."

The priest waited for the entire congregation to leave. He stared up at the stained glass window as he waited to be alone with Gary. Gary kept a hand in his pocket, rubbing over his claw-like nails.

"I can explain," Gary said, "It's actually my first time in a catholic church, I didn't know the proper proceedings for the gospel."

"No no, I have to thank you," John said, "When one questions the bible, it means they simply wish to apply it to their life. I'm glad you gave me the opportunity to expand on what I had to say."

"Wait, really?" Gary said.

"Of course," the priest said, his nails digging into his palms, "Although, I would like to make a request." He turned towards Gary.

"Oh?" Gary raised an eyebrow, "What can I do for you?"

"Take off your sunglasses," John said, "I'd like to look you in the eyes when we speak."

"But my eyes-"

"I am not a child," the priest said calmly, "I will not panic at the sight."

"But-"

"Is that a no?" The priest asked. Gary felt that he didn't have a choice.

"Yes, of course," Gary said, reaching for his glasses, slowly taking them off. He and the priest's eyes never stopped looking on to each other.

"Mmm," the priest looked at his eyes, black with glowing red irises, "You're a demon."

"Nonsense!" I'm a normal human being just like you!" Gary argued.

"I'm no fool," the priest said, "I knew you were a demon from the moment I saw your face. Your eyes are a simple confirmation."

"I apologize," Gary said, "I simply needed information about the church."

"I'm afraid that this isn't your territory," the priest said, "Now I have to request you leave before I exorcise you."

Gary chuckled, despite the priest's clear advantage, "I'm afraid I won't be doing that." He used a clawed finger to tuck a piece of the priest's hair behind his ear, "For you see, I have a new interest to pursue, and I have no reason to leave just yet."

"Then allow me to give you one," the priest said. Before Gary could even process what was being said to him, the priest gripped him by the wrists and pushed him backwards, slamming his back against the altar, "Leave this church. If you come back I will give you a fate far worse than an exorcism."

"Heh, I suppose you reciprocate my interests," Gary smirked, only for the priest to increase the pressure he was using to hold him down.

The priest glared at him before speaking again, "You will not come back, but I will keep my eye on you. When I find your lair then we can...discuss things as adults. But for now, I expect you out of my sight, understood?"

Gary's breath hitched slightly. It's been so long since someone's given him a command without solicitation, "Yes sir~"

"Ah-ah," the priest said, "Use my proper title."

Gary rolled his eyes before smirking, aiming to piss the priest off, "Sure thing, daddy."

The priest's eyes remained unamused. He slid his right hand away from Gary's wrist and down to his throat, "I said..." his grip tightened. Not enough to constrict, but enough to cause pressure, "My proper title."

Gary did not want to admit out loud the things that those words did to him, "Of course...Father."

"Good," The priest's voice was quiet, mumbled only so he could hear. God he'd kill to have that done to him with a mattress beneath them, "Now go on, get out and don't show your face. I expect to be meeting with you very shortly."

"Of course Father," Gary said, turning to leave before the priest could get any ideas about exorcising him.

After all this, perhaps information wasn't the only thing he could get out of the church. This would be far less boring as well.

[cuppajj]

Is there anything that could, hypothetically or potentially, cause distrust among the neo beasts towards one another? Something that may cause them to turn on each other is what I'm trying to say.

Also, would it be alright to ask a rough estimate of how many years the entire story spans across?

Oh definitely, the neobeasts are already trying to maintain their whole alliance themselves. Unlike when they were ancients, their relationships have been fraying. Not that it’d be necessary easy to turn them against one another, but there are factors already present:

Save Lily, everyone already doesn’t like Saint Vanilla. They are fully aware that when the threat of the original five beasts are dealt with, when he gets his soul jam half, or if he—makers forbid—actually succeeds in his fruitless ascendancy quest, he’ll kill them all. Cacao, Dragonberry and Cheese have found orchids in their kingdoms already (the former more than the latter), and Cacao is *staunchly* against him to the point he will grow hostile if Saint steps foot in his kingdom.

Versely, Saint still wants to purify all of them, seeing them in the same vein as the rest of life: suffering in sin, desperate for salvation. There’s no changing what he wants to do to them, only ways that will stall him from doing it.

Berry and Cheese are already at odds with each other, frenemies by definition. They constantly bicker over lands both of them are interested in taking, and they gave each other inferiority complexes to varying degrees (Berry more than Cheese). They can be friendly one second, but a powder keg will be enough to sever that connection.

It wouldn’t be hard for Lily to cut ties with all of the beasts (except for Saint) in general. She doesn’t need their help, and she doesn’t need to ask for their approval.

Cacao is really the easiest and hardest one because of his extreme isolation and natural avoidance of the others

As for the second question, right now I’m thinking BAAU takes place over 7 to 10 years? No idea what Crepe’s canon age is, but if they started at 6-7 years old then they’re 16-17 by BAAU’s conclusion, for reference.

However, I also need to figure out how long it’s been with the Neobeasts around, because I want the world to have already been in the process of accepting them as the new normal (enough time for Saint to have his cult, Cacao to have tamed the licorice sea, Berry and Cheese to have conquered and the latter to have rebuilt her kingdom, etc)… so that alone might be three years at least, making BAAU from Lily’s corruption to the finale upwards of 10-13 years. BUT don’t take this as gospel because this has to do with my very incomplete and very jumbled timeline, this is just a rough idea of what I have lol. You can still enjoy the au without making this info canon. Bottom line, it’s a long time

[katakaluptastrophy]

Instantiating the Trinity and the Second Resurrection.

I have spent way too long wondering what on earth was going on here:

G— on his way with the nuke. The ships on the launchpad, twenty hours to go now, less. So much waiting around. Me in my bedroom with a nun and a migraine, her thinking that if she pushed me enough we’d instantiate the Trinity and we’d all be saved. Everyone else drinking.

What on earth does "instantiate the Trinity" mean? What did the nun think she was doing? What did she think John was?

This happens in John 1:20. What is John 1:20 in the Bible?

And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

It's where John the Baptist is asked if he is the messiah and says that he is not.

But what other role does John the Baptist play in the Bible? As his name might suggest, he baptises. He baptises lots of people, but specifically, he baptises Jesus.

But before he does that, he's out in the wilderness prophesying the end of the world: he warns people of "the wrath to come" and criticises the corrupt authorities and those hoarding wealth and resources. He gets into some trouble with the authorities. All themes that either have or are about to become very pressing in John 1:20...

And then Jesus comes along to be baptised:

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:9-11)

After all his prophesying and calling people to repentence, John the Baptist does something very specific. And suddenly God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all seen together. The gospel passages describing Jesus' baptism by John are some of the key texts that underpin the Christian theology of the Trinity.

The nun has watched John warn people of the doom to come, criticise those who ignore those warnings and value wealth and power. She has watched him perform miracles. And as the clock ticks closer, she is waiting for his moment.

Just as John the Baptist proclaimed the beginning of Jesus' ministry, his actions tearing the heavens open and revealing the truth of God, does the nun expect some climactic action from John to reveal God at the end of days? The book of Revelation too describes heaven as standing open and the figures of the Trinity in action as the end of the world begins.

The nun thought John was a prophet whose decisive action would herald this opening of heaven, the revelation of God, and the end of the world.

When John says she thought "we'd all be saved", that doesn't mean global warming would be fixed, everything would go back to normal, and John and the gang would get tenure and posters of their faces. It means they would all be Saved. The world would end and they, followers of the prophet of the apocalypse, would be amongst "the blessed and holy who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years." (Rev 20:6)

This might be starting to sound familiar. Abigail Pent talks about the horrors of a second death. John describes how he picked a worthy few to resurrect and be his followers...

John, of course, was not a prophet. He did not crack open heaven and instantiate the Trinity. He did not usher in the Kingdom of God. He did fundamentally fuck up the boundaries of metaphysics, declare himself god, and then proceed to badly plagiarise the Book of Revelation.

Because what happens next in the Bible may again sound familiar... After that thousand year reign, the Devil is released from prison. There's a final battle. And then, there's the second resurrection:

The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. (Rev 20:13)

Waiting in death, in the sea or in the underworld until a second resurrection and judgement - where have we heard that before?

Magnus coughed in a genteel Fifth House way, and said, “Who wait for our Lord’s touch on the day of a second Resurrection.”

Although Abigail Pent suspects the metaphysical reality is rather different, this is the eschatology of the Houses: the world ended and the righteous dead were raised by god and they and their descendants live in his myriadic reign. And when that reign ends, he will raise the ancient dead who were not included in that first resurrection and those who wait in the River in a second Resurrection.

What happens after that? In the Bible, the world is destroyed and remade:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. (Rev 20:11)

We don't know what the Houses believe will happen at the second Resurrection. We don't know for sure what John is planning. But in light of Revelation, I do wonder about the poem at the start of NTN:

Let’s put this first-draft dream of mine to bed.

In the appointed hour

I’ll pull up your sheets. I’ll kill the light,

Lie down beside you; die; and sleep the night.

This time will be the time we get it right:

Forgiveness not so hard, nor anger long;

Our graves will be less deep, our lies less true.

You held aloft the sword. I still love y-

[bloop-bl00p]

Rewriting Hellaverse Heaven

Welcome to Heaven

We all know that Vivienne's worldbuilding skills are terrible, I’ve been pointing out a few issues so it’s not a new concept. I don’t want her to butcher Heaven in the second season, I know she will so I did something myself.

Anyway, I’ll start with the lowest in the hierarchy and gradually start climbing higher, it’s not 100% accurate to the angelic hierarchy we all know but where’s the fun in taking the accurate text without making any changes?

I. Humans:

Different ranks

Humans, while mostly there to rest after their death, can access more important ranks that are essential for Heavens to keep working. It’s based on how they lived on Earth.

Venerable: Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized as having lived a virtuous life, they sinned but it wasn't that bad and their good doing overcame their bad deeds. They are very common.

Blessed: To be beatified and recognized as Blessed, you must die because you accomplished a virtuous act based on the 7 Capital Virtues. A Blessed has the opportunity to assist a Saint in their daily routine and help welcome new souls in Heaven, making them visit different places and integrate them into the communities.

Saint: Sainthood requires a heroically virtuous and borderline sinless life, which means they dedicated their entire life to helping others and the world around them. A soul who accessed sainthood has the opportunity to further participate in the maintenance of Heaven. Saint Peter has the keys to open the Gates and knows which souls can have access to it.

The Choirs

Venerables can be part of a Choir since they have the most free time. The main style is currently Gospel and Acapella but Gospel Rock with Christian Symphonic Metal recently added themselves with new generations.

If I had to rewrite “Welcome to Heaven” it would probably be like “Gospel True” from Hercules.

II. Earthly Messengers

In other terms, those angels interact the most with humans whether it’s on Earth, in Heaven, or in Hell.

“Common” Angels

a. Overall:

That’s what they are called in the scripture and honestly, I was too tired to find another name. They are mostly pacifists avoiding confrontation and only carrying action and the words of God for the Greater Good. “Common” Angels take humans' appearance to blend in to spread good morals and values to inspire others.

They have to protect mortals from demonic influence, AKA identify and either repel the demon or slay it in extreme circumstances. They are my replacements for the Cherub in Helluva Boss and the reason IMP and other needs humans disguise.

b. Guardian Angels:

A guardian angel is assigned to protect and guide a particular person. You can't see them but their advice manifests as your internal monologue. It's up to you if you want to listen to it. They are the reason you think twice before willingly making bad decisions.

Principalities

If the “Common” Angels take care of individuals person, Principalities take care of kingdoms and large communities focusing mainly on the chiefs so they rule fairly over their people.

Unfortunately, most Principalities fell with Lucifer and the Fallen currently use their skills to manipulate rulers for the benefit of Hells.

Powers

a. Overall:

Powers heavily partake in Heaven’s army and it’s not rare to see them roaming around with a sword and armor, I mean, it’s their duty to protect the place. Once a year they descend to Hell in order to kill as many sinners as possible.

While it’s still a hazard as demons in general have varieties of powers that can make a fight difficult they do it nonetheless. During the war against Lucifer, their loyalty was such that no Powers fell which not only boosted their ego but also made them loathe those who turned against the Almighty.

Archangel Michael is the leader of the army but since Lucifer obliviously does not want the guy near Pentagram City Misael, his best soldier and lieutenant, takes the lead once in Hell.

b. Context around Exterminations:

The Examination was set up when Samael stopped torturing sinners and established a semblance of society to gain more power. Misael proposed it, not only to stop the Fallen Angel from harvesting strength but to regulate the number of souls in Hell. Which got accepted.

After each Extermination, soldiers have prayer duties where they need a few days to demand forgiveness after each extermination because of the arms procured.

Sinning gives more power to the Seven Deadly Sins, so each Power chooses their victims wisely specifically targeting sinners classified, in their own terms, as Overlords since they massively perpetuate immoral behaviors in others. They know exactly who targets thanks to Adam and Eve.

The first humans were sent to Hell because they doomed humanity except that not only did they keep their human appearance but they got a pardon from the wrath of Samael. Sealed away from the chaos of Hell, they stay in contact with Heaven and inform them of news deemed as important like the rise in power of a sinner.

III. Heavenly Rulers

While they rarely venture among humans, the actions they take can affect life on Earth.

The Archangels

The Archangels have been given the monumental task of managing life in Heaven for humans and the travel between Heaven and Earth/Hell. Each one of them has a different area of expertise translated by the etymology of their name.

They take care of the “Common” Angels and Power's activities making sure everything goes accordingly. They make sure everyone follows the rules, arresting/killing those that don't, and assigning the proper sentence when ordered to by God or the Dominions. They can be sent to Earth to deliver very important messages and are responsible for miracles, you know, people magically getting their visions back or limbs suddenly growing back, yeah, it’s them.

Dominions

Dominions rule over the Angels under them in the hierarchy, they monitor their activities making sure everything is fine. They solve arguments and grant intelligence with their immense wisdom and, like judges, give verdicts and penalties to criminals often helping God himself when faced with dilemmas, they were the ones who proposed the flood and helped God make his 10 Commandments.

The Ophamins

They are eyed wheels inside eyed wheels that contain fire whiting them, don’t try to visualize that.

Whenever Gods ask for a place to be blessed they will take the fire from them and spread it around making mere earthly houses holy. When that happens Hellborns (imps, succubus, or else) cannot approach these areas, unless they wanna die. You see this fire doesn't just repel sin it cleanses it completely and since Hellborn creatures are physical manifestations of sins they die the second they get close to the fire.

The fire is used to make angelic weapons.

IV. God’s Attendance

They can get physically close to the Almighty and help Him by carrying His orders or even replacing Him in some cases.

The Cherubims

Cherubims are armed with a sword whose warmth rivals the sun, it’s directly made from the fire of the Ophamin. One became the Guardian of Eden after Adam and Eve ate the Defended fruits (A pomegranate in my rewrite) Two also stand beside Saint Peter protecting the gates of Heaven.

Their duty is to protect sacred places, If God sends them to Earth it’s to protect a zone, Noah was asked to build the status of two Cherubim on his arch to ensure its protection, The same goes for Solomon who built temples with sculptures of Cherubim inside.

The Sheraphim

The closest to God physically, Seraphim cover their body with one of their three pairs of wings to not blind people and avoid outshining the Heavenly Father. Their love is so grand they burn, it doesn’t hurt them.

They essentially have endless creativity, not unlimited like God but pretty close, they helped him when creating the universe and its rules.

The Seven Holly Virtues

Uriel, Raphael, Michael, Saraquel, Gabriel, and Remiel.

Also called the Council of Seven, these angels are the most powerful of their type and take charge of Heaven when God is unavailable. Each of them represents a Virtue and they are the ones you’ll see when you’re dead.

Each evaluates your entire life before your eyes and decides whether you go to Hell or not, the process lasts a few seconds from your perspective, hence why you feel like your life flashes before your eyes.

V. More informations

1. Angelic weapons:

Their making always involves the fire of the Ophamins, whether it’s a literal flaming sword or used to melt metals. Ophamins are the only ones able to touch this divine fire, they are literally made from it, Angels above them can be hurted by it but they are allowed to have flaming weapons because of their much more important status and their experiences. Those below are given metallic weapons melted with the fire to give a tier of its properties but it’s less powerful, nonetheless, it is still effective against low-tier demons.

→ A flaming sword kills Angels (fallen or not).

→ A simple blade can only kill the offspring of the Goetia (in my rewrite the 72 Goestia are Fallen Angels that had children in Hell), Hellborns, and sinners.

2. What are they made of?:

Angels were created the second God asked for Light, as they are part of it. They have free will and autonomy but choose to serve their Creator as it seems like the most logical thing to do. They are sinless beings living in another plane of existence. Usually, when angels fall off of grace they shapeshift because they don’t want to be associated with Heaven, only taking a more “holly” appearance to trick humans.

This shapeshifting ability is flawed for both species because their natural eye colors cannot change. You know what they said “Eyes are the window of the soul.”

3. Morality and the importance of ethics:

Angels are moral beings and have free wills, they know ultimately what is really good and what is really wrong and that’s how they base their judgment upon humans.

There’s one flaw in this system, however.

They live in an alien-perfect environment. Everyone knows their place and carries their very specific duties, they don’t question rules because why would a perfect God would create imperfect rules? The last time someone tried to drastically change everything they lost a tier of their friends and witnessing what they are doing now reinforces that feeling that their sense of morality is ultimately right.

Ethics is many things and I still struggle to fully grasp what it is despite the little research I made, what I understand is that it helps in understanding people's behavior and giving fair judgments in court. What is morally wrong can be ethically right, there’s a huge difference between robbing a bank because you want to get rich and being a pickpocket because you have children to feed. Angels don't understand that, they don't understand humans and that’s why so many people end up in Hell without really deserving it.

4. These have nothing to do with the rewrite:

The way I suffered to write this is unreal. I have a bad habit of doing research and writing at the same time! Don’t be like me… because the number of time I had ideas and decided to scrap them because the results of my research made more sense makes me want to cry. I didn't but I was close.

You can also count me not saving my progress and accidentally closing Tumblr so I had to rewrite paragraphs. Anyway, the pain is over and I‘m glad the final result.

[hellbornsworld]

BTS X READER WATTPAD RECOMMENDATIONS(2) ⋆｡ ﾟ ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ ☾ ﾟ ｡⋆

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

✨Hostess | BTS X Reader | Author : blingchick | 47 Parts | Completed

"A whore is someone who sells their body; a hostess is someone who entertains guests to make them feel welcomed and loved. There is a difference."

✨𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐑 | BTS | No Reader | Author : godlycurse | 140 Parts | Completed

In which Kim Taehyung tweets at a Dora the Explorer twt account and gets a creepy dm from them. Soon , he realizes he got himself into some deep sh*t and has to discover who's behind the account before it's to late.

✨Survival | BTS X OC | 1000% | Slow Burn | Author : BangtanArmies | 155 Parts | Completed

A tragic love story filled with pain, betrayals, miseries and deadly plot twists.

✨Buttons | BTS X Reader | Coraline!AU | Author : TaeTae_lyfe | 31 Parts | Completed

"Nothing's changed. You'll go home. You'll be bored. You'll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You're too clever and too beautiful for them to understand. They don't even remember your name."

✨ Mask Parade | BTS X Reader | Author : blingchick | 33 Parts | Ongoing

"Sometimes it's not the people who change, it's the mask that falls off."

✨killjoy | Only BTS | Author : taenology | 50 Parts | Completed

a computer game can't hurt anyone, right?

✨The Keeper's Tale | BTS X Reader | Author : TaeTae_lyfe | 45 Parts | Completed

They witnessed her destruction, They were left to wonder why, She saw nothing but darkness, Though the stars shown in her eyes, But maybe they'd forgotten, When they failed to see the cracks, That a stars light shines brightest, When it starts to collapse.

✨Singularity | BTS x Reader | Author : mociminji | 36 Parts | Ongoing

You were stolen by the devil. He claimed you as his own. Little did he know, you are going to be the death of him.

✨The Seven | BTS X Reader | Author : TaeTae_lyfe | 45 Parts | Completed

"I'm crazy? No, darling. What's crazy is that the world refuses to let me be with you."

✨Black Swan | BTS X Reader | Author : blingchick | 17 Parts | Ongoing

"What are you going to do to me now, Swan?"

✨The 7 Princes | BTS X Reader | Author : FireTiger8 | 82 Parts | Completed

Surprise! Your parents have been keeping a secret from you - you are royal princess and sole heir to the throne. To break the news to you, your parents have sent you to a neighboring kingdom where seven handsome, irresistible princes will teach you all you need to know about becoming the next ruler.

✨The Blue Eyes Series | BTS X Reader | Author : TaeTae_lyfe | 4 Books | Ongoing

# BOOK 1 The Four Kingdoms |

There's a fire in her. If loved correctly, she will warm your entire home. If abused, she will burn it to ash.

# BOOK 2 Pyramids |

She didn't need a crown, because she wasn't a queen.... She was a goddess.

# BOOK 3 Dynasty |

You can say she's crazy, but her eyes see the spirits of the past.... She talks to them.... And they talk back.

# BOOK 4 Mist |

You watch her walk away and it hits you that she is an entire ocean And you were wrong, so very wrong Because you let her go Thinking she was just a girl

✨Gods of the Sea | BTS!Vocal Liner X Reader | Author : FireTiger8 | 87 Parts | Completed

"My name is Captain Jeon Jungkook. I'm here to kidnap you."

✨Badboy | BTS X Reader | OneShots | Author : shooknae | 8 Parts | Completed

7 boys, 7 chapters, 7 different stories

✨Oh My Gospel! | BTS X Reader | Author : mociminji | 88 Parts | Ongoing

In which you are a prude theology student and one day, your sneaky twin brother sent you a link to the livestream of an infamous camboy, Park Jimin.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

Other Posts:

JUNGKOOK FANFIC RECOMMENDATION (1)

JUNGKOOK FANFIC RECOMMENDATION(2)

JUNGKOOK FANFIC RECOMMENDATIONS(3)

JUNGKOOK FANFIC RECOMMENDATION(4)

ALL BTS MEMBERS WATTPAD RECOMMENDATIONS(1)

[rucbarthatbowtiesarecooldw]

Saturday Morning Session

Conducting: President Henry B Eyring

Press Forward Saints

Sustaining Vote

I Will Follow God’s Plan

Elder Niel L Anderson

Faith + Hope + Charity

Sacred and Eternal Hopes

Confident Expectations

Hope brightens the darkened room so we can see the glorious future

Hope is a precious blessing

If you have faith, then you have hope – faith is the substance of hope

Joy comes in Jesus Christ as we triumph over the challenges in this mortal life

Alma 32:21 – or just all of Alma 32

Nothing can darken our hope as we believe and hold tightly to our covenants

Every righteous person can receive every blessing

“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” President Nelson Oct 2016

His Joy is constant

As you trust in the Lord His peace will come

Our Hope is the Savior Jesus Christ, He is our Hope and our Triumph

President Emily Bell Freeman YW General President

In order for an ordinance to manifest the power of God in our lives it must be done with authority from the Son of God

We don’t just make covenant promises, we must keep them

Do you recognize how God’s power works within you? D&C 25

Women can fully access the gift of God’s power through priesthood ordiances

Emma was given revelation about how priesthood ordiances would work in her life

Who she was, and whose she was – her place in His Kingdom

Invited to walk the paths of virtue

You are an essential participant in the Restoration

Set apart to expand scriptures and exhort the church

Daughter in the Kingdom-> elect Lady -> Queen

The restoration and the Lord’s counsel to Emma will guide and bless us

We all get a chance to witness and use God’s power. 😁

Times we get to participate in the ordinances of the Gospel

Sacrament

Passing the threshold of the temple

Power of Godliness is manifest

Elder Karl D Hirst 70

He feels Heavenly Fathers love through the love he feels for his children

It’s wonderful that at times we can feel so fully and personally loved and noticed

If Nephi can call Jesus “His Jesus” we can call Him that too

God’s love is where we all overlap on the circles of the Venn diagram

What circumstances help you to feel God’s love?

We’re all Jesus’s favorite and we should all be our parents’ favorite, each of us.

Broken people, perfect love

However misshapen we might feel His arms are not shortened.

You are not beyond the reach of God’s love – He will never stop loving us

When you can’t feel God’s love, we shouldn’t consider the possibility that it’s because God has stopped loving us until after the mountains and hills have gone.

There are different ways of feeling and receiving divine love.

Looking at the starts

Feeling the rain on your skin, or a breeze

Music

Keeping a journal

Ask people you trust to share how they feel divine connection

If you could choose a place for you and Jesus to meet – He may have already found you there.

If you are waiting for Him to come, He may already be there within reach

Hold onto God’s love as effectively as a sieve full of water. When you share it, this can help you feel joy.

Joy is our purpose not the gift of our circumstances.

How Firm a Foundation

Elder Dale G Renlund

The story of Nobel and nitroglycerin turning it into dynamite

Undiminished explosive power

The Gospel provides powerful and transformative benefits for us

The combination of Christ’s Gospel, and the Church of Jesus Christ

The church is not a location or a building – it’s the people

The church is an instrument

Keeping our covenants provides us access to God and transforms us

The church is special only if it is built on His gospel.

The church enables access to God’s power because it’s authorized by Him to teach His gospel and offer His ordinances

Jesus Christ wants nothing more than for us to repent and come unto Him so He can sanctify us. He is relentless and unwavering.

Immerse yourself more fully in the church and the gospel – this is God’s dynamite and with it He will transform us

Elder David P. Homer 70

We have a loving Father in heaven who will care for us wherever we are no matter the circumstances

The boundaries between right and wrong are not for us to define – they were already established by God

While some things may depend on context, not everything does.

Don’t be surprised if our personal views are not initially in harmony with the teachings of God’s prophets. – in time you will receive more spiritual clarity

If we heed God’s word, we will receive more. If we ignore God’s counsel, we will receive less and less until we have none. This does not mean that God’s will is wrong, just that we have lost the capacity to understand it.  

D&C 6:36

Look unto the Lord before acting; our faith will overcome our concerns.

Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.

Don’t let doubt stop us from seeing God’s divine gifts in our lives.

God loves us wherever we are, whoever we are. In any circumstance you can cry out to Him “oh God, help thou mine unbelief”.

The submission of one’s will, is one of the only uniquely personal things we have to bring to Christ

Our agency is not diminished by staying with Christ it is magnified.

We can be of good cheer as we trust Them more than anyone

Elder Gregorio E Casillas 70

What does our Heavenly Father desire from us?

It is crucial for us to learn to be disciples of Jesus Christ

He uses us to help bring His children to Him

Service shows us charity

Story of the mother who had had chemotherapy the day before and so did not have the energy to take care of her disabled son

Your spiritual abilities are unique and personal

Follow the impressions of the Spirit – God will bless your life, he will bless your family, he will bless his children that you encounter

We have the privilege to watch over people who need a helping hand, and embrace a feeling of comfort, or simply for us to be with them in silence

The Savior always reminds us as oft as we repent and seek forgiveness with real  intent, we will be forgiven.

Get rid of destructive thinking. Keep hope!

Give someone hope enough to try once more ourselves.

Be the reason someone has hope in crappy situations

The Lord Jesus Christ is your savior and knows you personally

The Holy Spirit will revive us

God’s Gracious Love

President Dallin H Oaks

Come Follow Me

Following Christ is not a casual or an occasional practice

Obey what He defines as the great commandment in the Law: Love the Lord thy God with all they Heart, love thy neighbor

If you cut the string off a kite it will not fly. That string is our covenants – keeping them enables us to soar to celestial heights

Keep you connection to your celestial ties.

We covenant each Sabbath during the sacrament to always remember and keep His commandments

Faith, repentance, baptism, enduring, and becoming as a little child (trust the Lord)

Temporary commandments are for the needs of the Lords church to be set aside once the need has come to pass

Pioneers

While still in force these commandments are still to be obeyed

Law of Tithing

Needed re-emphasis

Proclamation to the Family needed re-emphasis recently

Avoid contention

Jesus’s doctrine is not one of contention

Matthew 5:44-45

Show unselfish love for all

Blessed are the peacemakers – true disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers

What are you going to choose? Contention or reconciliation?

Sermon on the Mount

Follow the golden rule

Love and do good to ALL

Does not mean to compromise our principles and priorities, but to STOP ATTACKING PEOPLE FOR THEIRS!!!!

Will you allow His voice to take priority above any other?

Let us seek to be holy like our Savior

While we advocate for our positions let us qualify for the blessings of Jesus Christ as peacemakers

Teach Me to Walk in the Light

[professor-cold-ramen]

Why do you worship your god YHWH as the only one? This is a legitimate question? What good does it do for you? Everything your god has done for you shouldn't have anything to do with his status, or uniqueness. I've seen the power of gods alien to your own, from Hel (the goddess I'm closest to, though I do worship others), I've seen her stop animals from moving, protect the sick and wounded, and cause a blind preacher to see her and flee. And I've felt her love, felt her comfort (I probably wouldn't even identify as agender if it wasn't for her help). But because she is not your god you would call this demonic? And say my soul is bound for damnation? Why not admit the existence of other gods, and keep to your own if you wish. How can your relationship with your god even be safe if you can't leave for another? How can it be called anything but bigotry to deny another god's divinity while you worship one yourself?

If you're looking for real answers, here are some answers in good faith. I can only hope my words do it justice.

"Why do you worship your god YHWH as the only one?"

Yahweh is the only god (small g) that I have seen working in my life and the lives of those around me, just as you have felt Hel work in your life. I have seen Him quickly answer my prayers and the prayers of others, in ways that I never would've expected. I have felt His love, even in the moments when I didn't deserve it. Especially in those moments. Because of what I have experienced, I firmly believe that the Bible is from Him and that every single word of it is infallible. I believe that Yahweh:

Created the universe (every piece of it, from the largest galaxies to the smallest gluons) (Genesis 1:1)

Fought for the Israelites, His chosen people, when they were being attacked (and always won, no matter what He was up against) (The Book of Judges has plenty of great examples)

Freed His people from Egypt and Babylon on separate occasions (two of the strongest world powers in those times) (The Books of Exodus, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel)

Came to Earth as a baby (Luke 2:11)

Healed the sick and raised the dead while He was incarnated on this earth as Jesus Christ (The Gospel of John, Chapters 9 and 11 among many others)

Died on a cross to cleanse us of our sins that we might be with Him (Luke 23:46)

Rose again after three days, ending the powers of sin and death (Hallelujah!) (Luke 24:6)

Still works in the lives of those who seek Him (Acts 17:27)

Has given His Spirit to those with faith to assist us in our daily trials (Acts 1:8)

Will win the final victory once this world passes away (The Book of Revelation)

Will welcome those who believe in Him into His kingdom (Revelation, Chapter 21)

I believe that He is stronger than any other force in this universe, because He created all of them. Because of what the Bible says, I believe that Yahweh is the the Lord God (big G). He has already done so much for me, and will continue to do immeasurably more as I follow Him. I can see no reason to follow anyone else. No other god is worth following.

"But because she is not your god you would call this demonic?"

Not necessarily demonic. I am open to the possibility of there being other supernatural/divine forces beyond Yahweh. I don't claim to understand the supernatural world. Your gods might be demons or some other kind of spirit. I don't think I'll ever find out, but that is something I'd like to ask Yahweh when I meet him. It's always fascinated me.

"And say my soul is bound for damnation?"

All our souls our bound for damnation. My own soul is bound for damnation. When I die, I will have to stand before Yahweh and his judgment. I will never be able to meet His standards on my own. "Foremost among sinners," as the apostle Paul put it (1 Timothy, 1:15). My only hope is the loving grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Because of the redemptive work He did when He died a criminal's death upon a cross, I have been cleansed of my sins. Christ bore the judgment for me so I don't have to. Just like the prodigal son that Jesus spoke of in His parables, Yahweh will welcome me with open arms. The same can happen for you. I promise it isn't too late.

"Why not admit the existence of other gods, and keep to your own if you wish."

Because these other gods don't have the power to save you. They make promises but cannot deliver on any lasting goodness. You can believe whatever you want. I believe Yahweh has given you the free will to do so. However, I am called to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. Keeping to my own isn't an option.

Yahweh truly wants best for you, as do I. And what is best for you is to live in communion with your creator, who loves you and is calling you back to Him. He will leave the rest of the sheep in His flock to come find you (Luke 15:3-7). There is a part of you, no matter how small or how deep it is buried, that yearns to be with Him. Lean into it. Trust me on this, you will not regret it.

"How can your relationship with your god even be safe if you can't leave for another?"

I believe that I have the free will to leave Him. In fact, there have been plenty of times that I haven't been especially close to Yahweh, of my own volition. I screw up. I fall short. I turn away from Him to chase the fleeting pleasures of this world. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. And every time He welcomes Me back. I pray daily that I might keep my eyes on Him and not fall away.

In fact, even King David, who was described as "A man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14) made mistakes. He chose his own ways and desires over Yahweh's, usually to disastrous consequences. However, he always returned to worshiping and praising Yahweh, and Yahweh accepted him back. (2 Samuel, Chapters 11 and 12, most notably 12:20)

This is true love. Yes, He will discipline us and let us deal with the consequences of our mistakes, but He will always forgive us and welcome us back. I truly hope that you have experienced an unconditional love like this. If you haven't, I hope you will experience it at some point from the future. In fact, I hope you will experience Yahweh's endless, undeserved, unconditional, overwhelming love. We were created to experience it. There's nothing else like it.

[totallynotokguys]

Lego Monkie Kid Rewatch: Season 2

Episode 7, The Shadow Play

I know I'm backtracking a bit, but this episode is just so ripe with angst and reveals such interesting things about Macaque and MK's character.

Before we dive in, I kindly ask you to throw away any notion you have that Macaque's words and opinions about other people is gospel truth. The guy is cool. His SSS (snark, sarcasm, smugness) levels are off the charts. His voice and design drips favourite character. But that doesn't make him right all the time, especially about other people. This simian's perspective on others is flawed. Like, VERY, DEEPLY FLAWED!

Now that we have that out of the way-

We open up with a very tired and anxious MK. Thanks to a certain SOMEONE, MK is plagued with dread that he isn't strong enough or good enough to be Monkey Kings successor.

He has also had the pleasure of seeing a hint of the danger to come and does not feel anywhere close to ready to protect his family. So MK has been training non-stop, sacrificing activities and hang outs he usually enjoys to try and be better.

Then in saunters Macaque, steals MK's friends and then proceeds to unload his deepest insecurities in true theater kid fashion.

Performance!!

MK walks out of the theater with Macaque's tale of abandonment ringing in his ears and calls Mei (who of course does not answer) and says "You guys just left me back there."

Just to be clear- MK's friends are gone and what does he think? That they left him! Also remember what happened in Sleepbug when MK walks into the shop and doesn't see his friends. He immediately says, "They've abandoned me."

No joke. That's what he thinks. A rational and well adjusted person would see their friends and family not around and think "Oh, they must be doing something else or had other plans."

But not MK! Our dear boy has self confidence issues (as Monkey King pointed out in s1ep1) and part of this lack of confidence manifests as a fear that the people he loves most could grow bored of him, stop caring about him, not see him as worthy anymore of their time. He fears abandonment.

Macaque doesn't see that, though. He sees MK's inaction to find his friends as MK not caring about them. He legit thinks MK didn't even "realise they were missing."

Why did Macaque think this? Why, when he was obviously spying on the kid (you saw that shadow slip by when he was calling Mei too, right?), did his brain jump to 'kid doesn't care about friends.'

Because Macaque is blinded by his own faulty perspective- in which Wukong is a power hungry peach brain who only cares about himself. And he projects that onto MK because he thinks that MK must be just like Wukong.

(Thus falling into the same trap that nearly everyone else falls into, including MK… That MK is just another Monkey King).

'Wait', you say. 'Faulty perspective? No, Macaque is totally right about Monkey King. He did abandon Macaque in search of more power and was only thinking about himself!'

Ah, I see you failed to throw away your pesky lil notion that Macaque as a cool character and thus must always be right. Here, let me help!

Remember how Macaque describes his story?

"You saw a story about a hero who got handed everything, who didn't have to work for anything? And you thought you were the other guy?"

Did you catch it? The hero got handed everything? Didn't have to work for anything?…

… How many years did Monkey King have to train to learn the 72 transformations and immortality? How many demons and celestials did Monkey King have to fight to gain enough respect for everybody to stop trying to pulverise him and destory his kingdom? How long was the Monkey King stuck inside of a burning cauldron for him to gain his fiery red, golden eyes of truth? How many demons and trials did he have to go through in his journey west to become a better person?

What about Monkey King's entire life does Macaque think was easy?!

Just because Monkey King is overpowered now does not mean he had it (or even still has it) easy.

Macaque is just so, so bitter against Monkey King that he lets that anger and rage literally overshadow how he sees the rest of the world.

So yeah. Moral of this story is MK has some serious insecurities towards feeling of worthiness and belonging (no one who feels they belong thinks they have been abandoned at a drop of a hat, this poor kid) and Macaque projects his own insecurities and bitterness onto the world around him.

The way a lantern projects its shadows across a stage. How poetic.