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slasherkisss · 4 years

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Best Friends Are For [Carrie White/Reader]

[A commission for @space-and-sea, featuring a platonic relationship between Carrie White and the reader! This was such a fun, cathartic one to write for me since I relate so much to Carrie ;w; If you’re interested in a commission please DM me!]

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To say that Carrie White had a hard life was a little bit of an understatement, that was certain.

Carrie would have preferred the concept that her life was a little bit of a Hell, had her momma not beaten her for even considering such foul language in her home. Life wasn’t Hell, she would scold her through the door of her closet as she clawed at the wood of the overly-confining space, and she should pray that it never would be! She should repent those words so that God might not take her up on that statement and truly send her to hell in order to make her regret every sinning in such a manner. So, Carrie often did not refer to her life as Hell. Rather she decided it was… hard. As little justice as that word did for her emotions at any given moment, it was enough to satiate the general pain of loneliness and annoyance that bubbled up under the base of her skin like salt on a slug. It was a sort of sting that she had grown used to though.

How sad was it, she couldn’t help but think, that she had grown used to it?

She thought on her life for only a few moments before the echo of her teacher’s word finally reached her ears. They once sounded drowned out, hidden behind a wall of water like she was inside of a fish tank, distorted and cold against the sun that shimmered through the classroom from the windows. Now she could hear it more clear, though, and behind the long locks of mousy hair, Carrie could only feel a sense of dread at the words that were spoken forward with mock sincerity towards the group of students before her.

“Alright class! For this next project, I’ll be assigning you to work in pairs! So please choose your partner quick as you can and then we’ll go over the details of the assignment.”

That was all it took. That was the whirlwind starting noise that pushed all of the bustling bodies forward. Carrie winced and cringed in her seat at the force of the students around her as they scrambled to find their friends, fingertips linked with laughs as girls located their best friend. Huffing tones of jocks arguing over the nerd of the class as they tried to be his partner for an easy A. The nerd looking semi-irritated but mostly uncomfortable as he was pushed around like a rag doll between basketball and football players the entire length of the choosing process, only to be bid like a horse to the captain of the lacrosse team who offered ten bucks and not to let him get beat up every day after lunch. She simply observed each movement with curious eyes, never making her own move to get up. To find someone new or old to pair up with.

Why would she? She knew what they thought of her. Sitting and staying quiet was bette than risking the humiliation of their laughs and ‘hell nos’ in front of other classmates.

Well, that was what she thought anyways.

Carrie blinked in surprise at the form that obfuscated her desk from the front and looked upwards at the face of the body. E/C eyes watched her with curiosity, a tilt of their head brushing hair along the back of their neck as they smiled politely, the curve of their mouth neat against their face. Carrie blushed at their closeness, her back hitting the very edge of her chair as she leaned away in surprise, eyes wide with shock.

You had seen her sitting alone, as she always seemed to do for most of her classes, and your heart was curious. Though a new student, having just transferred from a city miles away with no real important name, you weren’t unaware of the bias that seemed to surround the poor girl. The way people laughed and teased at her with mocking eyes and annoyed furrows of brows made your heart fill with rage as they all but bullied her into some form of quiet submission. That wouldn’t do, you decided as the group project was announced and you spent your time watching her carefully as students ran around and over her as though she were invisible, and you wanted to see if you could change that.

Not out of pity, of course, who wanted a friendship built out of pity? No, yours was curiosity. Yours was genuine interest.

Yours was determination.

“Hi,” You greeted with your best smile as you moved back slightly, aware of her shift in discomfort as she watched you with doe-like eyes, “I’m Y/N. New student here… You’re… ?”

“Oh… Carrie White.” She managed out, her voice so soft you had to strain your ears against the loud mocking noises of the students around the two of you. Still, she offered you her name. That was progress if you had ever seen it, you decided, and your smile grew more genuine as you reached out your hand with polite intent.

“Well, Carrie White,” You hummed in general greeting, “I need a partner for this assignment. You want to be mine?”

The phrase came out a little strange, more like a confession than an actual request for a simple school project partnership. It wasn’t lost on Carrie as her face, pale behind that long hair of hers, turned red at her cheeks as she watched your fingertips with baffled confusion. You wanted to be her partner? Willingly? She wondered if the teacher had put you up to this for a moment. She could imagine him giving a pleading look and begging you gently in the back of his lips with a whisper to just take pity on her and pair up with her, so that she wouldn’t feel bad about having to work alone or be pushed out of a group, even if it was just two people. It was enough to bring a sense of annoyance to her stomach. Of anger as she let her brows furrow at your hand before looking back up at your face.

Her gaze softened when she saw your genuine smile hold itself with patience against your lips as you waited for her answer, never pressuring her to give it right away as you stood there with that same soft look on your face.

Were you really being serious?

Taking a breath, Carrie reached out and took your hand in hers with a weak willed shake of it. And, for a brief moment, she dared to smile.

“Um, yes, I’d like that a lot.”

That was all the two of you needed to seal your friendship, the pact made in the work of a class rather than blood or tears like any other pact might be made.

Carrie was a sweet girl, her interests limited but bright as she talked about them with you between studious notes written in the sides of books as the two of you researched for your projects. The discussions in the libraries often led to fits of giggles that would make the librarian snap at the two of you with a fierce ‘shush’, which in turn only made you stifle more giggles together as you tried (and usually failed) to focus back on work. It was the most well you had ever worked with someone, you realized in awe as the assignment both of you handed in garnered a beautiful ‘A’ circled on the researched front page.

Both you and Carrie could only look at one another with a mixture of awe and pride as you gazed up at your teacher, whose smile only indicated that he was pleased at how well the both of you had got on together during your work. The pride in your heart matched with the pride you had over your new friend. Over the effort she had put into the research and into knowing you so that the both of you would operate with perfect unison alongside one another. So neither of you would be left in the dust because, well, that simply wasn’t what friends did to one another. As you gazed at Carrie, who stared all but adoringly back at you, you couldn’t help but continue the smile that warmed your lips.

“We make a great team.”

A team you did make with her. One that lasted the entirety of the school year as the both of you spent time alongside one another. Her bullies were pushed away as you slid to her side, taking whatever crap they gave you and flinging it back at their own faces when they threatened to sneer at her. When one snarked at you, you would simply return the comment with a haughty tone and a biting look that threatened, no, DARED them to try something with you. The one who really did try in the middle of the year regretted it and, though you were sent to a week of detention after class, the slight bruise to your cheek and the bloody nose you got for defending Carrie was all but worth it despite her constant protests.

“You don’t have to stick up for me like that,” Carrie would whimper as she touched your sore face, “I can’t stand to see you hurt… Because of me, Y/N.”

To it, of course, you only smiled at her and pulled her into a hug.

“And miss a chance to tell those assholes what for? Trust me, I enjoy it.” So when you saw her running out of the lockers one day, her body shaking and refusing to look you in the eyes as she was escorted by one of the teachers amongst a chaos of laughter and yells, you knew something horrible had likely happened. Heads popped out after her to watch her form scurry away, their smiles fading only when they noticed you before them. Your fists were clenched and your teeth pulled themselves together in a grimace of anger, a look so terrifying that, if they could kill, the girls before you would be dead ten times over.

You felt rage bubble up in your stomach as you hissed the words of anger through your bared teeth:

“What did you DO TO HER?”

No one answered. Of course they didn’t. Taking a breath, you turned on your heels and sprinted down the hallway, ignoring warning calls about running in the halls in favor of finding Carrie. That was all that mattered now, not those sneering cheerleaders who would rather make fun of your best friend and do their makeup then dare to listen to reason. You felt your breath fall in shaky, nervous gasps as you caught up with your PE teacher and your best friend, your hands flinging themselves forward to touch Carrie, who flinched for a moment at your advance.

“Y/N,” Miss Collins voice was sharp but understanding as she knew it was you, “It’s not the time. You’ll be able to see her soon, just please go back to class.”

“But I-!” You tried to protest but were shooed away, forcing yourself to a stop as the two disappeared down the hall.

You heard whispers behind you. Sharp murmurs that echoed with burning heat in the back of your ears, causing you to turn your head around so fast that you almost gave yourself whiplash. Your brows narrowed, sharp and full of succinct anger at the students who talked around you with so little regard to the situation that it was downright disgusting. Your gaze must have reflected your opinion. One by one the group was stunned into silence as they met your heated glare, slowly dissipating and averting their eyes so that they didn’t have to stare into the fierce flame you had acquired. Clenching and unclenching your hands as tight as you could, you tried to find your breaths to make them more even. In and out, you tried to repeat, in and out.

Carrie would need you to be calm, after all. You had to do it for her.

Sure enough she was released from the principal's office a little over half an hour later. Your discovery of her location had led you to wait patiently outside of the door with growing anxiety biting at the tips of your toes as they tapped relentlessly against the linoleum of the school hallway. Your fingers fiddled with one another, nails punching into skin and teeth sinking into lips as you tried not to count every second that passed that you were without your best friend. Yet they still echoed in your mind like clockwork, a tick of each one making your foot beat faster on the floor as you pushed the thoughts away. One two… Three four five… Six, seven! Eight nine and-

“Y… Y/N?”

Carrie’s voice snapped you out of your reverie as your head shot upwards, staring at the girl to your side who watched you with those beautifully wide, doe-like eyes she always seemed to have on her. Her fingertips clung to the books covering the front of her body like it was a life line, desperate to hide herself from the world. To hide herself from even you. The thought made your hurt burn, but you understood the reasoning behind it. After all, the experience had been traumatic.

Your pain must have registered on your face because Carrie averted her eyes, biting her lip as she tried to push her hair further in front of her face. To hide from your gaze as you finally pulled yourself from it, reaching out and touching her shoulder with light fingers, more asking permission than initiating a touch fully. You felt her flinch, but she didn’t pull away or give another indication that it was refused. You let your hand hold her steady then, bringing yourself closer to her as you bit your lip with worry.

“How are you doing?” You couldn’t help but ask with worry lacing your tone, “What did they say in there?”

She didn’t answer for a long time, but you waited patiently for her to find the words. You knew that, sometimes, words came hard to her through her mind of frustrated phrases and bible verses her mother pushed upon her. When she did, at last, there was a slight twist to her smile that you recognized as her slightly sarcastic, annoyed look. The gaze that was saved only for you and her when she was sure no one was looking. When she was sure she could get away with such a face as she muttered low into your ear.

“He kept calling me Cassie.”

To this you couldn’t help but snort, covering your mouth as a small fit of giggles left you. Carrie smiled, your laughter infectious as you rolled your eyes and let your hand find her free one instead, taking it and lacing your fingers together with a sigh and another quick snort.

“Cassie! What a fucking joke of an ass,” You couldn’t help but cackle as you gazed at her softly, “Hey, did they still say you have to go to class?”

She shook her head.

“I can go home early…”

“Cool… Do you want to spend some time at the park before you head home?”

“O-Oh,” Carrie’s eyes widened in surprise, “But your classes-.”

You shrugged in response with a light chuff, “One day of hooky won’t kill me. Besides, you’re more important to me than some book or teacher’s lecture. I’d skip a thousand classes for you!”

“I wouldn’t want that!” Carrie laughed, squeezing your hand in hers and accepting your offer, the both of you sliding out of the door to the school fully and into the sunlight of the mid afternoon in Maine.

The walk to the nearby park was quiet, your only comments on the weather as the two of you enjoyed the fresh air. At your side, Carrie clung to you with the desperation of a lost child, hiding her form behind your own as she watched others pass by. As her eyes followed them with worry to their intentions before relaxing as they walked away. She hadn’t skipped school like this before, nor did she ever not go home straight to her Momma. The entirety of the experience was new and moderately terrifying, yet your hand in her own made her all the more confident as the two of you found a shady bench beneath a massive acorn tree, sliding into it with a sigh as your aching knees enjoyed a momentary reprieve.

Carrie sat at your side, her books placed gingerly on the bench next to her as the two of you watched the ongoings of the park with quiet interest. Old couples walking dogs and chatting with one another filled your peripheral. Families of children who were not yet old enough to go to school decorated themselves amongst picnic tables and frisbee games, screaming and shrieking their enjoyment as the weather warmed their skins and hearts.

Your gaze turned to Carrie again, a frown painted on your lips for a moment as you watched her space out. Her gaze focused languidly on the floor before her, her fingertips fiddling with one another as she seemed to try and remember how to breathe. Taking a breath yourself, you reached out and cupped her hands with your own, giving your friend a gentle squeeze to startle her momentarily out of her reverie. You mustered up the best serious look you could manage before her as she gazed at you with curiosity against her otherwise exhausted looking appearance.

“Whatever those fuckers did,” You began with a sharp annoyance to your tone as you referred to her classmates, “Was stupid and cruel. No matter what they said or what anyone tells you, Care-Bear, you didn’t fucking deserve any of it. If I was allowed to I’d give every last one of them a piece of my mind-! The shit they pulled… You don’t deserve it and don’t EVER think that you do, okay? I promise that if they ever try shit again-” You gave a lopsided smile at her, “-I’ll be there to chase them out of the room myself, okay? So… Please, don’t let it get you down so bad, alright? You got me in the end, I promise.”

Your words hit something within Carrie that seemed to break her. Her gaze held yours, searching hard through it for any sign that you might be lying… Any reasoning as to why, just why, you would say all of those kind things to her. Why you would spend so much time with her and why, oh God why, you would even consider being this close to her after all that had happened. Her stomach churned with something between delight, care, and excitement as she watched your genuine expression with shock. You meant every word you said, she had realized with awe to the slight slack of her jaw, and you wouldn’t take it back. When you said something, she had learned, you meant it. Each word spoken from your lips in the months she had known you had meaning. Had purpose behind each syllable and that alone was enough to amaze her.

Amaze her that you were you… That you were her friend.

All at once tears fell from Carrie’s eyes as she leaned forward, engulfing you in the most delicate of hugs that had you gasping as the wet of her tears lit up your shoulder. You suppress a smile of amusement as you hugged her back, sighing as you were encompassed in the warmth and scent of your best friend. She seemed to cling to you more as you accepted her movement. The two of you must have been quite a sight, you mused, with her sobbing into your shoulder and you clinging to her as though she might turn to mist and disappear.

It felt warm, though. It felt right.

“I-I appreciate you, Y/N,” Carrie whimpered into your ear as she pulled away, wiping her face as it grew splotchy and red with her tears, “I… I never thought i’d have such a good friend in my life. I really am blessed to have you in it and I-I… I don’t ever want to have another one. Just you.”

You laughed, leaning closer to her and sighing as you touched your shoulders together with a smile.

“More friends are okay, Carrie, we’ll just have to find people who can hang with us both! I… appreciate you too, though, yeah? You’re amazing and beautiful and creative and… Well, I think we make a pretty good team, don’t you?”

You used the same words you had done when you first met. When you first completed something together and shared that same feeling of accomplishment with one another. This seemed to mimic that same feeling for the both of you, the touch of your shoulders and glint in your eyes nostalgic as she smiled at you, her tears steadying into nothing as she gave only a swift nod of confirmation and squeezed your hand tight to hers. Tilting your head for a moment, another idea seemed to instinctively come into your mind, your heart beating as you smiled and sat up straighter than you usually did, the eagerness of your question causing it to nearly stumble off of your tongue as you bounced in your seat.

“Say, Carrie,” You whispered in excitement, “How about we go to the Prom? Togther?”

It seemed to take her a minute to process just what you had said to her, the words in one ear and out the other, only to boomerang perfectly back into her as she startled, her face red with blush now as she stuttered something you couldn’t quite catch and brushed her hair behind her ear as she bit her lip. Realizing your words may have been misconstrued, you found yourself back tracking as you held both of your hands up with wide eyes of your own, a nervous laugh bubbling in your throat as you stuttered out your explanation with extreme honesty:

“N-No-wait- fuck shit- I didn’t mean-! As friends, right? I mean, if you find a date for yourself and want to go with him then, for sure, you should go with him! Whoever goes with you is a lucky guy, after all but… If you just wanted to go with no pressure or anything, sometimes going with friends can be just as fun! We could both wear really nice outfits, I’ll help you pick out your makeup if you want to try and wear some! Oh and we could do it together before we come in and when we’re here we can drink punch and dance and-!”

“I’d love to!”

She blurted her answer out as fast as possible in the middle of your words, making you both stumble over them and erupt into a fit of friendly giggles as she reclaimed her status in the situation with a nod.

“I’d love to go with you, Y/N… I think that sounds like the most fun thing ever, a-actually! Yeah, let’s do it! Let’s go to the prom together!”

You cheered, all but tackling her into a hug as the two of you giggled with excitement, drawing gazes curiously over to you as older folks hummed in amusement, murmuring something about ‘the good ol days’ as they continued to walk their dogs. You couldn’t care, though. You didn’t want to. All you wanted to focus on was the fact that you had made Carrie White, your best friend in the entire world, the happiest girl on earth in that very moment.

“That’s the spirit! Carrie and Y/N, on an adventure in high school! It’ll be AWESOME.”

You laughed as she clung to you, smiling through her beautiful hair and giving a confirming nod, biting her lip before she spoke out, eager in her tone:

“I can’t wait!”

Carrie White supposed that, yes, her life was truly hard. The hardest it had ever been at her age… but… She had you now, didn’t she? Perfect, loud, amazing you at her side for as long as she stayed your friend.

That alone? It was enough to make her life ten times brighter than if it existed without you. And that enough was to make her the most grateful person on earth.

#carrie white #carrie white x reader #carrie white imagine #carrie #carrie 1976 #commission work #writing commission

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tournesolia · 5 years

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Chaos Lineage Yuma Chapter 3 Translation

Several days passed after I began

spending time in Yuma-kun's room.

I don't know if it was sadness or fear,

but I stopped talking to Yuma-kun

about his real memories.

There were some times where I would

be the prey of Yuma-kun's fangs even

if I kept quiet.

At those times, I clenched my teeth as

my heart suffered more than my body.

But the situation didn't change

even if I endured it.

As time went by, there was a greater

possibility that everyone will fight.

And one day, when such enthusiasm

raised, I was called by Reiji-san--

Place : Scarlet mansion – Living room and Dining room

Yui : (Every members are gathered. I'm the only one sitting on a chair... I feel uncomfortable when they look down at me)

(What is about to start from now on ?)

Reiji : Eve. As you may know, we are fighting for the supreme ruler throne

And it is said that you are the key to become the supreme ruler

Yui : Y-Yes...

Reiji : It's been a while since you woke up. Have you remembered anything ?

Yui : I'm sorry, I don't--

*Reiji whips her

Yui : Ugh... !

(A-A whip... !? Since when did he...!?)

Reiji : Will you keep acting ignorant no matter what ?

Yui : B-But I really...

*Reiji whips her

Yui : Hya... !

Kino : Isn't it better for you to talk ? Because there's no doubt that you know something

Yui : W-Why !?

Kino : Eve is the key to become the supreme ruler. If the person themselves doesn't hold the information, where else can we find it ?

Yui : I'm asking you why are you doing this !?

Kino : If you just woke up and don't recover your memories, a shock therapy is necessary, right ?

Shu : … You're also the one who thought of that bothersome thing

Yui : (K-Kino-san suggested it...? But I really don't know anything !)

Yuma : It's something like hurting her so she can remember ?

Reiji : It's better than doing nothing. If I can make you remember with little discipline, I will spare no effort

Yui : That's... ! I really don't know !

Reiji : … Then, let's change the question. Do you remember anything from before you woke up in the church ?

Yui : Before I... woke up... ?

(In that case, I can tell them... But will they believe me--?)

Reiji : It seems you remembered something. Tell us everything

Yui : B-But...

Kino : We won't get angry no matter the story. So come on, spill it

Yui : …

I was in a place called Kaminashi Town... I went to school

Kino : Heeh, and then ?

Yui : I met Yuma-kun there...

Reiji : … Yuma ?

Yuma : She's saying bullshit again...

Yui : Not just Yuma-kun. I also met Reiji-san, Shu-san, Ruki-kun... everyone

Reiji : My my... Is this some kind of fairy tale reference ?

Yui : It's the truth ! But none of you remembers... So I'm confused as well !

Your brotherhood relalionship, your memories, everything has been altered...

Something bad must have happened ! Please, believe me !

Kino : Hmm... Everything has been altered, huh

Reiji : This is not worth considering. Do you have anything else to say ?

Yui : It can't be...

(I knew they wouldn't believe me...)

(But it becomes painful when they actually deny it...)

Yuma : Hey, sow. Repent for your falsehood before you drive us nuts

Kino : What's that nickname ? It's not logical...

Yuma : What are you saying ? It fits her perfectly

Yui : (Yuma-kun...)

(If at least Yuma-kun could remember...)

Shu : – Quiet

Yui : (…!)

Yuma : Ah ? What's up ?

Shu : There's someone outside

Reiji : What ?

Yuma : Shit ! We're spied on !?

Kou : Oops ! Let's run !

Azusa : Y... Yeah...

*Kou and Azusa leave

Yui : (Kou-kun ! Azusa-kun !)

Reiji : They're from the Violets... So they started making moves. Kino, Yuma !

Yuma : Leave it to me ! I won't let them escape !

*Yuma leave with Kino

Yui : Ah, wait !

*someone grabs her

Shu : Hey, you don't leave

Yui : But Kou-kun and Azusa-kun will... !

(… get caught by Yuma-kun and Kino-san)

(Yuma-kun... It's not the same happy feeling from when his brothers messed with him at home. It's different from when they quarreled)

(These glistening eyes... are not like Yuma-kun...)

Scene change : Scarlet mansion – Exterior

Yuma : For spies, you really suck

*Yuma draws his sword

Azusa : … Ugh...

Kou : Aah-ahh... Looks like we weren't suited for that

Azusa : Sorry, I got us caught... If I wasn't here, you could have escaped

Kou : Don't apologize. It's not your fault

Yuma : Stop making excuses. You wanna get killed ? Aah ?

*Yuma attacks Kou

Kou : Guh... !

Yui : … ! Yuma-kun !!

Scene change : Scarlet mansion – Living room and Dining room

Yui : (I didn't want to see such a situation...)

(They're really against each other now... But this isn't right...)

Reiji : These two will be sent to jail. We will interrogate them there

Yui : (… ! At this rate, Kou-kun and Azusa-kun will...!)

(I may not be able to do anything. But still--)

Please, let me go with you !

Reiji : Why is that ?

Yui : Eh... ? W-Well...

(I must think ! Think of a convincing reason...!)

… I have the feeling I'll remember about the supreme ruler

So please, bring me with you to the dungeon

Reiji : …

Yui : (Please... say yes, Reiji-san !)

Reiji : … I see. Alright, then. You come with us

Yui : (Ah, he believed me... ? No, he must be doubtful)

(But it doesn't matter now. I must meet Kou-kun and Azusa-kun. So I can listen to what they say--)

Scene change : Dungeon

Reiji : Now... Let's have you confess. Did Carla instruct you to come here ?

Kou : No. We came here on our own

Reiji : I see. So in other words, Carla doesn't know you're being held captive right now ?

Kou : I wondeeer. Which one do you think it is ?

Reiji : Is Carla thinking of something ? What kind of trick does he intend to use ? What is his plan ? Tell me

Azusa : … We can't tell you

Kou : We're enemies, duh

Reiji : … I see. Fools like you will need discipline

Yui : P-Please, wait ! Stop using violence !

Reiji : Did I give you the right to speak ? Unless you remembered something ?

Yui : W-Well, that's...

Reiji : This is not worth considering

Yui : (I can't help Kou-kun and Azusa-kun in this situation after all ?)

Kino : Hey, big brother Reiji. Let me do it. Because I do that job well

Yui : (Eh ? Kino-san ?)

Shu : It’s rare that you ask that. What's the point ?

Kino : Nothing particular. But it seems making them confess will take time so I just wanted to help

Reiji : … Alright. I will leave this to you, Kino. Shu, Yuma, we're going back

Shu : Sigh... It was useless to just accompany you

*Reiji and Shu leave

Yuma : Hey, you're coming too

Yui : B-But...

Kino : Now, let's make you two confess... Yaah !

*Kino hits Kou

Kou : Uwaaah... !

Kino : Oh, you won't talk. Then how about this ?

*Kino hits Azusa

Azusa : … Ugh... !

Kino : Quit just moaning... I'm asking you to spit information !

*Kino continues to hit them

Yui : (How horrible... ! And they can't fight back because they're chained !)

Choice 1 : Stop Kino (White roses)

Yui : Kino-san, stop already !

Kino : Shut up, don't get in my way. Or you want to get hurt as well ?

Yui : I-I don't want to, but...

Kino : Then stay silent. You're annoying when you scream. Right, Yuma ?

Choice 2 : Ask Yuma (Black roses)

Yui : Yuma-kun, stop Kino-san ! At this rate, these two will... !

… ? Yuma-kun... ?

– End of choices

Yuma : …

Yui : (He's staring at them and doesn't move an inch...?)

What's wrong... ? Hey, Yuma-kun ?

Yuma : Those two...

Yui : Eh ?

Kino : You're deprived of freedom. Come on now, say something. While you keep your sanity

Azusa : … Don't... hit Kou

Kino : Ha ?

Azusa : Hit... only me...

Kou : Azusa-kun...

Kino : Ha... What's that ? Brother's love ? That kind of complicity irritates me

Alright, I'll squish you as you wish !

Yui : Ah, stop !!

*Yuma grabs Kino

Yui : (Eh...?)

Azusa : Ah...

Kino : … Yuma, what are you doing ?

Yuma : … Ah... No, that's...

Yui : (Yuma-kun stopped Kino-san...?)

Kino : They're enemies, you know ? Don't tell me you became attached to them

Yuma : … Those guys really don't know anything. You're wasting your time

Kino : Hmm... Well, whatever. I'm losing interest so I'll leave it to you

I'm going ahead. So be careful about the key to the cell. Okay ?

*Kino leaves

Yui : (Thank godness... They're saved)

Yuma-kun, thank you--

Yuma : Uh... Guh...

Yui : Yuma-kun !?

(He's crouching...!?)

*Yui gets close to Yuma

Yui : Is there something wrong ? You look pale... !

Yuma : … I can see it, now

Yui : You can see it ? What can you see ?

Yuma : I dunno... But some guys told me it'll be troublesome if we have nothing to eat...

So I was taught how to grow vegetables. That's why I began farming as a hobby--

Ugh... Shit... !

Yui : (Are these perhaps his memories with the Mukami family... ? No, rather before that ?)

Did you remember Kou-kun and Azusa-kun... !?

Yuma : … Guh... I dunno. What the bloody hell is that... !?

Yui : (It seems not... But he recovered a little part of his memories)

(His original memories haven't disappeared... They're still sleeping inside him...!!)

(He may remember. If there's a chance, then surely--)

Yuma : Haa... Haa... It finally cools down...

Yui : Yuma-kun, it would be best to lie down today... Okay ?

Yuma : Y-Yeah...

Yui : (Kou-kun, Azusa-kun... I would like to save them immediately, but even if they escape now, they'll surelly get caught again)

Azusa : Eve... Go. You have to make... Yuma-san rest

Yui : Azusa-kun... Okay... Thank you

(Even with his memories rewritten, Azusa-kun's kind...)

(I will definitely save them. And Yuma-kun, of course--)

Scene change : Scarlet mansion – Living room and Dining room

Reiji : So no one was able to get any information from these two, in the end

Kino : They're unexpectedly tenacious. Right, Yuma ?

Yuma : Y-Yeah...

Yui : (Yuma-kun still doesn't feel well. I would like him to take a rest quick...)

(I wonder if Reiji-san will give up on getting Kou-kun and Azusa-kun to talk...)

Reiji : I see... This isn't much helpful

Kino : Say, we don't need those guys anymore, right ?

Yui : Eh... !?

Reiji : Indeed. Shu, please kill them both

Yuma : … !

Shu : Me ? Too lazy...

Yui : P-Please, wait ! Reiji-san, why... !?

Reiji : We can't leave those who are a treat to our family alone no matter what. If we do, we will be at risk

If we can't get any informations from them, there's no need to keep them alive

Yuma : Wait !

Yui : (Yuma-kun...!)

Yuma : There's no reason to kill them. They're stuck in jail so there should be no danger !

Reiji : It's better to completely uproot sprouts that can become disturbing elements. Am I wrong ?

Yuma : No, but...

Yui : (If we can't counter them right here, Kou-kun and Azusa-kun will... I-If they can be useful for anything--)

… Hostages

We should use them as hostages. We can also use them as shields to fight Carla-san

Yuma : You...

Yui : We should take time to ascertain whether they're necessary or not

If we really don't need them... Then at that time, we should discard them

Kino : Heeh...

Yui : (That's right, any method is fine. If they live, I'll surely have a chance to save them !)

(There must be something that will shaken Yuma-kun's memories. I won't give up)

(I will absolutely restore Yuma-kun's... No, everyone's memories)

Reiji : Hostages... I see

You have a valid point. It wouldn't be bad to check the situation a little more and think about their use

Yuma : Then... !

Reiji : We'll keep them alive for a moment. Let's think about how we use them and determine an appropriate time

Yui : … !

(Thank godness...!)

Reiji : Well then, our policies have been decided. Let us dissolve for tonight. Please take a good rest

Kino : Okay okay, I'll take a rest

Shu : …

*Shu and Kino leave

Yuma : Phew...

Reiji : … Yuma

Yuma : What ?

Reiji : You must be glad to have a good excuse this time. However... There won't be a second time

Yuma : … !

*Reiji leaves

Yuma : Tch... That Reiji guy... He knows and gave me a warning

Shit... Why... ? Why I'm defending these two... ?

Yui : Yuma-kun... It would be best to rest now. Let's go to your room ?

Yuma : Shaddup ! Don't talk to me now !

Yui : … ! Yes...

Yuma : No... Sorry... It's a mess in my head and I shouted

… You're smart. I didn't think about that hostage stuff

But I dunno if that will save those guys... Why am I helping them... ?

Yui : Well...

… For now, you should go to sleep all night without thinking about it, so you'll feel better

Yuma : Yeah... You're right

*Yuma leaves

Yui : (Even if I say they’re his brothers, it surely won't reach Yuma-kun)

(But there must be something. I'll absolutely find a way to restore his memories--)

Chapter 3 : End

#Diabolik Lovers #diabolik lovers translations #diabolik lovers chaos lineage #mukami yuma #Komori Yui #sakamaki reiji #sakamaki shu #kino #mukami kou #mukami azusa #chapter 3

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coffeeman777 · 4 years

Note

Could you pray for me? I was saved a few months ago, I thought, but lately I've been doubting that I'm saved at all. It feels like I keep trying to love God and hate sin and follow God for the right reasons rather than a fear of hell, I keep praying to love Him, but it feels like I've LOST progress (partly due to symptoms of my depression/anxiety/PTSD). I feel hopeless and depressed and I'm scared I'll never be saved. I want to be changed but I dont see anything happening.

I will absolutely pray for you!

Remember to be patient. Change is rarely instantaneous. It always seems slow or even nonexistent as we go through it, but after a few years pass, you'll be able to look back and see how much is actually different. I was saved 10 years ago, and at this point I'm an entirely different person.

The change happens as we surrender to the Lord, as we draw near to Him with our habits and lifestyle, and as we fellowship with His people. Go to a good, Bible-based church, spend more time with other Christians, study the Bible and apply what you learn to your life as best you're able, and spend regular time alone with God in private prayer and worship. Remove yourself from your old ways as much as possible. When you mess up, confess it to God and repent quickly, then do what you can to avoid those circumstances in the future. You're not going to be perfect. You will screw up. You will feed your flesh. We all do. What matters is how you respond to it; if you disregard your sins and do nothing, that's very bad. But if you acknowledge your sins before God and ask for His forgiveness and His help, and then you apply yourself to obeying God as you go, you have nothing to worry about. God loves you, and His grace attends your every moment.

And by the way, welcome to the family!

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yanderemommabean · 5 years

Text

Only she can save me

Dabi confesses some sins, if religious mentions bother you please DONT READ TINY BEAN

“Forgive me father, for I have sinned” Dabi says while clasping his hands together, leaning over halfway as he waits for the high and mighty priest to answer back. “And what sin have you committed my son?” The man asks, with just the slightest hint of judgement. Just enough to make you feel like maybe he had the fuse to his tampon lit.

Dabi smiles at that, and clears his throat. “I did many, father. Shall I go into detail? You must be so bored listening to other people’s problems, surely you wouldn’t mind a few anecdotes to go with the Hail Marys you’ll make me recite?”. He straightens his posture and waits for any answer, negative or positive, he’ll go into detail anyway. He really wants to ride this mans nerves for as long as he can.

“Sure, my son, if it’ll help your soul heal and repent for whatever it is you’re confessing to”. Ah, that sounded like he was in a better mood! Maybe he isn’t such a bastard after all? He adjusts in the cramped closet like space, and huffs out a breath. “Where to begin? I suppose I should admit that I’ve been wanting the sin of a woman for months now. I want to caress and kiss, touch and listen to every noise-“.

The priest cuts him off with a harsh tone “no smut in the house of god, my child. Please, keep it clean and simple, do not shame yourself even more”. Well, he’s no fun. Dabi rolls his eyes and continues, trying to filter out anything else that could offend the holy man. “Usually I want any woman who will throw herself at me. But lately it’s just been this one. She’s a walking, talking sin and she makes my heart feel like it’s on OxyContin. What’s crazy? We hardly talk, let alone touch hands or kiss”.

“Having these thoughts is not sinful, acting on them with many partners while unwed is. The sin of unwed sex is sadly a common one, but you can repent” the man assured, sounding a bit off put. Dabi just gave a hum of acknowledgement, not really caring for what hell had in store for him.

“Thank you father, but I’m not done. This woman, has caused me to do many bad things just for a chance to get her attention. I know stealing is a sin. I know lying is one as well. But what about killing? The Bible says eye for an eye. Is it so wrong for me to listen to the word of god?”. He activated his fire and waited for the priest to respond, sensing a shift in tone.

“Do not kill my son, please tell me you haven’t killed” he asks in a shaken voice, pleading almost as if he felt in danger. How rude, and Dabi thought he was supposed to be a good listener and answer his questions! “Well father you shouldn’t focus on that part. I asked a question. An eye for an eye. Would killing be so bad If it’s in the Bible? I couldn’t do the turn the other cheek factor, I guess I have too much pride to protect what’s mine”.

He burned away the section separating the two, watching the holy mans eyes widen in fear. “Am I going to hell because I saved the love of my life from being with a few people I knew were making her miserable? C’mon! Be honest now! God sure does hate liars”.

Dabi stated this in an amused and playful manner, loving the fear that enveloped the man on the ember and ash covered ground. “Or am I a sinner for drugging her? Taking her home and making sweet unmarried love? Am I a sinner for not honoring my mother and father because I’m a villain? Tell me, is there any saving me? I do have a conscience you know.”

He sighs as he turns away and lets the rest of the confessional burn. “No answer? Just like the others. I guess the only way I’m being saved is with my angel at home, who’s all I need to kneel to at night to wash away all the filth I’ve done in her honor”. He casts a glance over his shoulder and chuckles “I wonder if she’ll forgive me for what I’ll have to do to you too”.

#yandere dabi #dabi x reader #heretic #i am #yandere scenarios #religious mention #sacreligious #yandere bnha #league of villains #yandere #bnha #confessionals

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almightygodismydependence-blog · 5 years

Text

Meeting the Lord Again

Jianding, USA

I was born into a Catholic family, and from an early age my mother taught me to read the Bible. At the time, the Chinese Communist Party was re-building the nation after the civil war, and as the CCP was suppressing all religions, I was 20 years old before I finally got the chance to go to church and listen to sermons. The priest often said to us: “We Catholics must properly confess our sins and repent. We must do good, not evil, and always go to Mass. During the last days, the Lord is going to come and judge everyone and send people to heaven or to hell according to how they have acted and behaved on earth. The biggest sinners will be punished in hell eternally, whereas those who commit minor sins can still go to heaven as long as they confess their sins to the Lord and repent. Anyone who doesn’t believe in the Lord will never get to heaven, no matter how good they are.” Whenever I heard this, I always congratulated myself for having the good fortune to be a member of the Catholic congregation from birth. I’d always tell myself to pursue hard, attend Mass more, and confess sins and repent to the Lord more, and that way I’d go to heaven and not suffer in hell.

So that’s when I developed the determination to go to church and participate in Mass regularly. At that time, the priest also told us that in 2000 the Lord would return, and this news made us all very excited. So we all began to pursue earnestly, waiting for the Lord’s return. But the year 2000 came and went and we didn’t see any sign of the Lord’s return. Many in our congregation lost their faith, and fewer and fewer people attended church for Mass. I also felt a sense of loss, but I still felt that my faith in the Lord wouldn’t be shaken, no matter what others did. That was mainly because there had been many times when I’d been in danger and the Lord had protected me and made the danger disappear. Without the Lord’s protection I’d have died long ago, so I wasn’t going to be so ungrateful as to lose faith in the Lord.

In the following years I heard from people around me that the USA was “heaven on earth,” and so a strong desire to come here grew in me. In December 2014 my whole family and I immigrated to the U.S., but the reality of life here was nothing like the beautiful picture I’d painted in my mind. At first, everything in the U.S. seemed unfamiliar and we didn’t know anyone. The environment and climate were very different from what I was used to in China, and my body soon began to complain. I often felt weak and listless, but the doctors in the hospital couldn’t find anything wrong with me. I was at my wit’s end, so I started praying even more sincerely to the Lord, hoping that the Lord would protect me. I prayed more and began looking for a church where I could do Mass and eventually found a church for Chinese Christians. But after going to the church a few times I discovered that it wasn’t much different from what was going on in everyday society: Members of the congregation were superficially friendly but their interactions were governed by power and money. Faced with this kind of situation in the church, I became very disappointed. I thought to myself: “Oh Lord, when will You return? When You return, good people will be separated from wicked people and the world will be cleansed.” Although I still kept on going to Mass I was never able to feel God’s presence in the church, and this made me disappointed and depressed and affected my faith in the Lord. But then one day in July 2015, when I was working out of state, I got a phone call from my wife. She said to me excitedly: “The Lord has returned. He is expressing words and doing the work of judgment of the last days! Hurry back so that we can accept God’s new work together.” On hearing this, I couldn’t help but be a bit suspicious: The Lord has returned? How is that possible? When the Lord returns to judge the world the good people will be separated from the bad people. But right now the good and the bad are still mixed together, so why is my wife saying that the Lord has returned? Has my wife joined another denomination? We’ve been Catholics for most of our lives, there’s no way we’re going to deviate now! So I hurriedly finished off the job I was doing and returned home.

When I got home I asked my wife: “How do you know that the Lord has returned? You haven’t deviated from our Catholic beliefs, have you? You’re saying that the Lord has returned to do the work of judgment, but right now the good people and the bad people are still mixed together so how can the Lord have already returned? We can look forward to the Lord’s return, but we can’t be disloyal to Him!” My wife listened to me and then patiently replied: “Don’t get so agitated. I only just found out myself about the Lord’s return. At present, The Church of Almighty God is bearing witness to the Lord’s return and Almighty God is expressing truths to do the work of judgment that has begun in God’s house. I’m not clear about the specifics of what’s happening, but I’ve been reading online a lot of the words that Almighty God has expressed and I’m sure that they are all the voice of God. The Lord once said: ‘My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me’ (Jhn 10:27). We can find out whether Almighty God is the returned Lord by going to The Church of Almighty God to investigate, right?” What my wife said sounded reasonable, and the Lord’s return to do the work of judgment is something that is predicted in the Bible, so there was no harm in me going along with her to the church to take a look and then I could make up my mind.

To this end, my wife and I arranged to visit the home of one of the members of The Church of Almighty God, a man known as Brother Zhang. Brother Wang and Sister Li, and some other fellow Catholics also came. Seeing that I had plenty of company greatly put my mind at ease. After a little polite chit-chat we all sat down and I asked the brothers and sisters this: “Regarding the return of the Lord my understanding is this: When the Lord returns to do the work of judgment, the good people will be separated from the wicked people. Then the good people will be accepted into heaven by the Lord and will meet Him, while the wicked will be sent to hell and punished. You say that the Lord has returned and He is doing the work of judgment, so how come we haven’t seen any of these things happening?” Brother Wang replied: “Brother, my viewpoint used to be the same as yours in that I also believed the Lord’s return meant that good people would be separated from wicked people, that good people would live in heaven eternally and the wicked would be punished, and that if we didn’t see this happen then that proved that the Lord hadn’t returned. But after reading Almighty God’s words I realized that is only our notions and imaginings and isn’t the actual way that God works. How God undertakes the work of judgment in the last days is something that God alone plans and organizes. God’s wisdom is higher than the heavens, and in God’s eyes humans are as small as a speck of dust, so how can we fathom God’s work? In the Bible it says: ‘Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor, and hath taught him? With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding? Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance: behold the islands are as a little dust’ (Isa 40:13-15). Every one of us uses our brains to think, so we can speculate about God’s work as we like but God never does His work according to our imaginings. If we use our imaginings to set parameters for God’s work then aren’t we behaving extremely arrogantly? So, how does God do His work of judgment? How does He separate the good from the wicked? Let’s read several passages of Almighty God’s words to help us understand. Almighty God said: ‘The work of judgment is God’s own work, so it should naturally be done by God Himself; it cannot be done by man in His stead. Because judgment is the conquering of the human race through the truth…. That is to say, in the last days, Christ shall use the truth to teach men around the earth and make all truths known to them. This is God’s work of judgment’ (‘Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘The last days have already arrived. All things in creation will be classed according to their kind, and divided into different categories based on their nature. This is the moment when God reveals humanity’s outcome and their destination. If people do not undergo chastisement and judgment, then there will be no way of exposing their disobedience and unrighteousness. Only through chastisement and judgment can the outcome of all creation be revealed. Man only shows his true colors when he is chastised and judged. Evil shall be put with evil, good with good, and all humanity shall be classified according to their kind. Through chastisement and judgment, the outcome of all creation will be revealed, so that the evil may be punished and the good rewarded, and all people become subject to the dominion of God. All this work must be achieved through righteous chastisement and judgment. Because man’s corruption has reached its peak and his disobedience become exceedingly severe, only God’s righteous disposition, one that is principally compounded of chastisement and judgment and is revealed during the last days, can fully transform and complete man. Only this disposition can expose evil and thus severely punish all the unrighteous’ (‘The Vision of God’s Work (3)’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). ‘My purpose in doing the work of conquest is not solely to conquer for the sake of conquest, but to conquer so as to reveal righteousness and unrighteousness, to obtain proof for the punishment of man, to condemn the wicked, and even more, to conquer for the sake of perfecting those who willingly obey. In the end, all will be separated according to kind, and all the ones who are perfected have their thoughts and ideas filled with obedience. This is the work to be completed in the end. But those who are filled with rebellious ways will be punished, sent to burn in the fires and become the object of eternal curse’ (‘Those Who Obey God With a True Heart Shall Surely Be Gained by God’ in The Word Appears in the Flesh). We have the idea that God’s work of judgment is directly to separate the wheat from the tares, the goats from the sheep, the good servants from the wicked servants, in other words, separating the good people from the wicked and putting each with its own kind. But if we think about it, there are at present over 2 billion Christians around the world—and they all say they have true faith in God and love God—so how are we to distinguish good from bad, righteous from evil? If God determines that you are good and that I’m evil, I definitely won’t go along with it because I’ll feel that I’m also a good person. If God determines that I’m good and that someone else is evil, they definitely won’t go along with it. So how on earth are we supposed to know who is good and who is evil? We can’t, because we humans don’t have the principles or standards to gauge this. If God were to gauge us like this we certainly wouldn’t submit and would have notions about it, such as thinking that God was unfair and unjust. So how could the work of putting each with its own kind thus proceed? The Lord that returns during the last days is Christ of the last days—Almighty God—who uses truths to do the work of judgment. For all Christians, revealing who are the wheat, who are the tares, who are the goats, who are the sheep, who are the good servants, who are the wicked servants, who are the wise virgins, who are the foolish virgins, is all done by using truths. God’s words reveal everyone, and the wise virgins are those who truly believe in God and love the truth. When they hear that someone is testifying to God’s coming they go out to welcome it and actively investigate God’s words and God’s work. They recognize God’s voice and accept God’s work of the last days, and in the end they gain purification and salvation through God’s judgment. During great catastrophes they have God’s protection and are able to survive, and finally are taken into God’s kingdom. By contrast, because the foolish virgins do not love the truth, because they insist on holding onto their own notions and imaginings or believing in rumors, because they don’t seek or investigate God’s work of the last days—and some of them even follow religious leaders in resisting and condemning God and refusing God’s salvation of the last days—they will be revealed as evildoers by God’s work of the last days and will be eliminated. Their fate will be to suffer punishments during the great catastrophes. From this, we can see that God’s work of putting each with its own kind during the last days is not done according to our notions and imaginings. Instead, God uses the method of judgment to do the work of revealing people, and the final result is that everyone is thoroughly revealed and put with their own kind according to whether they accept the truth or resist the truth. Isn’t this exactly God’s wisdom, God’s fairness, God’s righteousness?”

After listening to Almighty God’s words and Brother Wang’s fellowship, I recalled what the priest in our church had said about “When the Lord comes good people will be separated from the bad people” and realized that this notion is just too vague, too impractical, and doesn’t match the reality of God’s work at all. We all live in sin, we continuously commit sins and repent without being able to escape from this cycle, so who are the truly good people? When the Lord returns, if we haven’t been cleansed of our sins, will we be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven? Thinking of this was like turning on a light in my heart, and I thanked the Lord for His leadership. My visit hadn’t been in vain, because now I understood that God distinguishes good from evil according to how people treat the truth. In other words, people are good or evil depending on whether or not they accept and obey the judgment and chastisement of God’s words, and this is God’s righteousness being wholly manifested. God employs words and work to separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats, the wise virgins from the foolish virgins, the true believers from the fake believers, and the lovers of the truth from the haters of the truth. God is so incredibly wise! However, I also recalled the priest saying that when the Lord returns to judge people He does it one by one, and each individual’s sins are also listed and judged one by one, before He decides if the individual will go to heaven or to hell. But now Almighty God is saying that God’s work of judgment of the last days is being done through His words, so just how are these words being used to judge people?

So I raised this question with the group and Brother Zhang answered it by reading two passages of Almighty God’s words to me: “Some believe that God may sometime come to earth and appear to man, whereupon He shall personally judge the whole of mankind, testing them one by one without anyone being omitted. Those who think in this way do not know this stage of work of incarnation. God does not judge man one by one, and does not test man one by one; to do thus would not be the work of judgment. Is not the corruption of all mankind the same? Is not the substance of man all the same? What is judged is mankind’s corrupt substance, man’s substance corrupted by Satan, and all the sins of man. God does not judge the trifling and insignificant faults of man. … but judges the unrighteousness of the whole of mankind—man’s opposition to God, for example, or man’s irreverence against Him, or disturbance of the work of God, and so on. What is judged is mankind’s substance of opposition to God, and this work is the work of conquest of the last days” (“Corrupt Mankind Is More in Need of the Salvation of God Become Flesh” in The Word Appears in the Flesh). “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes it over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only methods of this kind are deemed judgment” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Brother Zhang then fellowshiped this with me: “We have the notion that during God’s work of judgment of the last days He will call each and every person to come before His white throne and then will judge them. Every person will have to kneel on the ground and then confess to every single one of their sins committed throughout their lifetime. Then God will decide whether each person will go to heaven or to hell depending upon the severity of their sins. We think that God judges people according to sins such as physically or verbally abusing people, not being filial to parents, stealing and robbing, etc. But in fact God’s work of judgment of the last days is not concerned with these external behaviors or character flaws that we have but instead is aimed at judging mankind’s satanic nature of resisting God and each of the corrupt dispositions. These include our arrogance and self-conceit, our crookedness and craftiness, our selfishness and baseness, our greed and evil, etc. We also have many viewpoints that are not compatible with God, many outdated religious notions and feudal thinking. These things are all sources of our resistance to God. They are problems that are common to all of corrupt mankind, and so are the things that God’s work of judgment aims to purify and transform. So, the words that God expresses reveal mankind’s nature and essence and every corrupt person on earth is a part of this, without exception. Or to put it another way, God’s words are directed at the whole of mankind and so there is no need to judge people individually. By reading the words of Almighty God and accepting the judgment and chastisement of God’s words we can understand many truths and clearly see our nature, substance, and real situation of our being corrupted by Satan. Doing this will also allow us to recognize God’s righteous disposition and develop hearts that revere God and despise ourselves so that we’ll be willing to betray our flesh and practice truths. In this way, our corrupt satanic disposition will gradually be purified and our viewpoints and outlook on life will also change. When we start to live by God’s words, when we cease to oppose and resist God and instead really obey and revere God and shun evil, then we will gain God’s salvation and become people who are compatible with God’s intentions. This is the actual situation with, and purpose of, God expressing truths to do the work of judgment during the last days.”

After listening to Brother Zhang’s fellowship, I came to feel that God’s work of judgment is just so practical and based in reality! I was able to accept what he said, and it resonated with me deep in my heart. Yes, people are arrogant, they seek fame and fortune and status, and they live in their various corrupt dispositions. God uses the judgment of His words to rid us of all of the filth and corruption inside of us. Our nature of resisting God is thus resolved and our corrupt disposition is transformed, and we become truly good people. Looking at it this way, I could see that this idea that the priest talked about of people being judged individually and sins being judged one by one when the Lord returns to judge mankind is just human notions and imaginings and has nothing to do with the way God actually does His work. Almighty God’s words really do contain truths; they really are the voice of God! What I heard on that day made me decide to thoroughly examine the work of Almighty God.

During my investigations, I watched a number of gospel movies produced by The Church of Almighty God, including The Days of Noah Have Come, The Mystery of Godliness, and Caught the Last Train, as well as some hymn videos of God’s word such as How Important God’s Love for Man Is. I also read a lot of Almighty God’s words and listened to the brothers and sisters fellowshiping about all aspects of the truth. This helped me to verify that Almighty God is indeed the returned Lord Jesus! Almighty God is the one true God and is the returned Lord that we have been waiting for! I was so happy to accept Almighty God’s work of the last days.

Since believing in Almighty God I’ve often been getting together with the brothers and sisters or listening to sermons with them, and now every day I feel happy and feel that I’m gaining spiritual sustenance. I’m enjoying the comfort that comes from the work of the Holy Spirit, and I’m starting to understand more and more truths. In The Church of Almighty God, the brothers and sisters are all familiar and honest with each other, and nobody tries to deceive anyone else or keeps their guard up. Everybody is simple, open and sincere, and even when they reveal their corrupt dispositions they are each able to know themselves through God’s words and seek truths to resolve their corrupt dispositions. To me, they are true Christian brothers and sisters. What especially impresses me are the hymn videos, music videos, dance and song videos, gospel movies, etc. produced by The Church of Almighty God, which all hold the truth in the highest esteem and bear witness to God and God’s work of the last days. The purpose of all these productions is to help people to submit to God, worship God, and the church really does feel like a place where God does His work! What I’ve seen, heard, and experienced is proof for my heart that The Church of Almighty God is a true church where God personally nurtures and shepherds His flock. The fact that I’ve been able to enter God’s house and live a life face-to-face with God means that I’ve been exceptionally exalted by God. I really am so fortunate! Thank You, Almighty God!

#The Church of Almighty God #gospel movies #Lord Jesus #God's judgment #the Holy Spirit #work of God #faith in God

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writeoncowgirl-blog · 5 years

Text

Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Dipper Pines was standing in one of the many pews on cue of the rest of the congressional inside a spacious and elaborately decorated church. The multitudes of voices resounded around the walls of the holy building, filling the room with spiritual reverence through somber recitation of the Nicene Creed. The teenager’s mouth moved automatically, having committed the Creed to memory long ago, but his mind was focused on a different type of devotion. One specifically dedicated to the beautiful blond haired man currently leading the mass in the profession of faith.

Had Dipper felt guilty about engaging in lustful fantasies about the good Father? Absolutely, especially in the Lord’s house. But he couldn’t help it. Every time the boy had turned away from the temptation, the imagery kept coming back in more intense forms. And right now Dipper desperately envisioned the priest’s disrobed figure pressing flush against his own body; he wanted to feel those holy hands roam all over his sinful body; he wanted to have the man grind roughly against his crotch and whisper filthy things into his ear with a voice that came from the heavens.

His face never gave way to his daydreams however (he made sure of that), he simply stared blankly towards the lavishly adorned altar while his mind indulged in the tempting thought of initiating one of the carnal sins with a man who obeyed the word of God, and the word of God alone.

Dipper brushed his fingers against the edge of his pew, running his nails over stray scratches in the wood. He felt like such an awful person for deliberately wanting to lead a priest away from the path of righteousness. Surely, only a demon would continuously think about such a thing. Dipper prayed for strength, he’s prayed for chastity, he’s prayed for guidance away from these wicked thoughts - to no avail. All his endurance would wither away at the sight of those beautiful golden eyes locking with his. Even when his elder didn’t look at him, the way the clergyman’s stride alone could command a room made the teen wish he could comply to very different commandments given by the priest.

With a wave of the hand, Father Cipher spoke. “All rise.”

Dipper followed with the rest of the mass, suddenly feeling a wave of excitement rush through him at the priest’s words. One of his favorite parts was coming and it was enough to drive the teen out of his lurid fantasies if for just a moment.

The clergyman gestured out to his audience with open arms behind the altar, facing everyone with that handsome russet-brown face of his. “Pray, my brothers and sisters, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” His ringing voice conveyed a strong sense of importance and kinship, it made Dipper almost feel close to the unattainable holy man.

With this, the teenager replied confidently with the rest of the congressional. “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands... for the praise and glory of his name.... for our good, and the good of all this Church.” The response always made Dipper think that more life was suddenly given to the paintings of stages of the crucifixion that hung to the walls. They reminded everyone of the guilt that was held above them all, and whenever they begged the Lord for, well, anything, it felt like they should be ashamed of themselves.

The Father then began to sing the prayer over the offerings of the metaphorical Body and Blood of Christ, an event that made Dipper shiver with joy. The melody came from the priest’s voice alone, and the lone sound of Father Cipher’s singing brought an inexplicable happiness to the teenager’s being. There was something about the devotional tone of the man’s vocals that always had Dipper reeling throughout the rest of the mass. He did, however, feel slight traces of sadness emerge as he thought about the reverend’s lovely voice, releasing a gentle, inaudible, sigh. He wished that the priest could be directing that beautiful song of his to him and only him, but Dipper knew that could never happen. Not for him, not for anyone but the Lord, God, alone. He selfishly wished that he could cage that angelic voice and keep it all for himself. His precious angel among angels.

When the time for communion came and the choir began to sing their hymns, Dipper fought down the usual warmth that crept up his cheeks as his turn came up in the line next to the pews. Their church typically gave communion on the tongue instead of putting in your hands, and it really didn’t help his ever-growing attraction to the man with having to be given communion this way. He gave the ceremonial bow of the head to the person in front as they received their rite, then bravely stepped forward to the priest that haunted his thoughts every hour of the day and night. He looked up to see the dear Father smiling down at him very charmingly, practically taking Dipper’s breath away. The reverend always was very friendly towards Dipper, apparently taking a liking to his poor damned soul. Instead of returning Father Cipher’s gaze, the teen tried to low-key focus on the priest’s graceful hands picking a wafer from their container and holding it out in front of his face. Dipper blinked awkwardly. He couldn’t let him know. He can’t ruin everything just because of some stupid schoolboy crush he had.

The reverend hummed happily, “The body of Christ.”

Dipper closed his eyes for his own good and shyly opened his mouth in response. Despite refusing to look at his idol, the feeling of clergyman’s fingers barely entering his mouth still set him off in the worst way possible. The light pressure of fingers to his tongue separated only by a thin wafer of bread made him seriously regret his decision to close his eyes in the first place. The teenager curled his tongue in quickly, tightly bringing his lips together and staring at his shoes in an instant before he made his way back to the pews. Don’t think about sucking his dick, don’t think about sucking his dick, for the love of Mary, Jesus, and Joseph, Dipper Pines do NOT think about sucking that man’s- oh Christ have mercy on me.

As soon as mass was over, Dipper didn’t stick around to shake the Reverend’s hand at the door like all the others. He had to shake a different thing out of his system and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to the safe confines of his home to do it.

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

Bill Cipher chuckled to himself as he read over the speech he’d presented at today’s mass in the priest’s room. The speech he gave on the temptation of mortal sins was the least he could do to repay Pinetree for his loud thoughts giving him such delicious visuals every single mass he’d attended. The demon’s fingers dug behind his black and white roman collar, loosening the absurd confinement around his neck so he can breathe a little more freely. Warmth ran through his body as he thought about reading that awful kid’s mind every single time he held a mass. He had to do something about it, and no screams for mercy could stop this demon from giving that kid exactly what he deserved.

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

He had to repent, there was no getting out of confession now. He had to admit what he’s done and beg for forgiveness, otherwise he’d be on a one-way-trip to hell and never be coming back - or at least that’s what the religion says. Really, it wasn’t as much the fear of hell-fire that scared him into confession, as much as it was the shame of reducing a human being’s visage down to just a mere stimulant for his sex drive. Serves him right for lusting after a holy priest and then jerking off to the many fantasies that ran through his head about an individual so sacred.

He’s literally masturbated to a priest. A priest, for God’s sake. Was that even heard of before? He didn’t bother to google that one up before stepping inside the empty, dimly lit, church. He creeped gingerly down the main aisle, careful not to let his presence be known quite yet. Dipper called the preacher the day before, asking if he could do confession with him the next time he was granting the sacrament. The teen was thinking Father Cipher would schedule him in for sometime in the future - like the Saturday of next week, when confession was actually held - but he was frighteningly disappointed when the preacher was happy to pen Dipper in for a private appointment with him the very next day after their phone call.

“Oh, God help me.” Dipper whispered to himself before sitting himself down carefully in one of the old creaky pews. Dipper’s hands nervously fiddled with the handcuffs of his long sleeved shirt. He didn’t want to do this, but he supposed the Reverend had the right to know if one of his loyal followers was thinking up lewd visuals of him and soiling his holy image with their thoughts.

The teenager had to fight off some nervous shakes that threatened to paralyze his body before he even entered the building, but they came back with a vengeance as he mentally recited what he wanted to say to the man.

What could he say?

Hey Father, so I was hoping you could absolve me of my sins. Y’see, I’ve been getting myself off at night to the thought of you forcing me against a wall and fucking my little gay ass without mercy. I need you to give me penance if you can, thanks so much.

Dipper groaned and silently banged his head on the wooden railing. This wasn’t going to go well.

But he can’t chicken out now, he’s only got one shot at this. Besides, it can’t be that bad! It’s a priest’s job to offer advice after a person confesses, surely Father Cipher can do something to help Dipper with his obsession... even if it is about the clergyman in question. The teen slouched forward in the narrow pew and put his head in his hands. An annoying ache started buzzing right in the middle of Dipper’s forehead as he continuously went back and forth about how to do this.

That was it, he just had to wing it. He had a split second of determination now, and he wasn’t going to waste it. It’s now or never. He looked over his crisp white dress shirt and black slacks to make sure he looked proper for Confession. Finally taking a deep breath and creeping out of the pew, his footsteps slowly made their way to the velvet curtains that lead to the confessional booth. No going back.

Overwhelming fear took hold of his body once he was face to face with a wooden chair that sat next to wiry lattice. Father knew that it was him, so the anonymity would be useless - however, he absolutely didn’t want to look him in the face and admit what he did, despite that being the right thing to do. He felt like no matter what he did it was going to be a wrong move. His legs turned into blocks of stone, happy to leave him standing there like an idiot at the end of the threshold.

Suddenly a familiar silvery voice chuckled. “Don’t be scared, my little lamb. You’re safe here.”

Dipper's lungs collapsed and his heart dropped dead. He swallowed harshly, frozen in place. The Reverend must’ve heard him walk in. He had to respond now. What was he going to do?

Bouts of incoherent stuttering fell out of his mouth while he tried to command the courage to simply speak straight, but Father (thankfully) interrupted his awkward babbling with some sharp laughter from behind the screen. Dipper didn’t know whether to be thankful or even more embarrassed. He heard the slight shuffling of clothes, then all of a sudden the handsome priest himself popped out from around the lattice with a very amused expression, and sauntered towards Dipper. The man was dressed as if he’d just served mass, wearing the traditional cassock with a black fascia around his waist. The buttons below the fascia were unbuttoned in an informal fashion. A regal violet sash was hung around the preacher’s neck - a gold cross embellished on both strips of the material, where gold fringe dangled at the ends.

The reverend put a hand on Dipper’s shoulder, chuckling, “Man, you’ve really got to unwind kid. This lil confessional’s not gonna help you ease out of an asthma attack.”

“I-I’m not having an asthma attack.”

“Oh, at the pace you’re working yourself into, you’ll get there soon enough.” Father Cipher winked, gently patting Dipper’s back. The teen’s body arched up like a scared little cat, not being able to handle the slightest amount of physical contact without warmth crawling up his face. The reverence noticed his apparent discomfort, eyeing the brunette from behind his shoulder. “Come here, Pinetree. It’ll be okay.” The priest gestured for Dipper to follow him back to his chair behind the screen, and the teen reluctantly followed. They sat in their respective seats across from one another in the tightly enclosed space, familiarity on one end and hostility on the other.

Father Cipher waited for Dipper’s shaky sign of the cross before going on to pray, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Dipper replied, “Amen,” then took a moment to carefully assess his words as his brow furrowed. He still wasn’t sure how to go about this. “ Bless me father for I have sinned. I’ve been... thinking impure thoughts.”

The priest nodded. “About?”

“Ah, um...You.”

There was a pause. Father Cipher cocked a brow at that. “M’mm, so that’s what all the fuss is about?” A shiver rolled down Dipper’s spine from the Reverend’s hum. He kept his head down, unwilling to let his see just how red his face got. The preacher folded his hands over his knee and leaned over in a casual manner, not seeming nearly as aghast as Dipper thought he would look. “Care to elaborate on those thoughts, Pinetree?”

The teen squeezed his eyes closed, unable to look at the pastor. “I-I just...” Dipper took in a deep breathe to quell the shaking in his chest. “I have been... having... fantasies... about you...and I don’t want to stop them.”

“Sexual fantasies, then.”

Dipper grimaced, his eyes shut impossibly tight - almost as tight as his fists were curled up on his pant legs. “Yes,” he confirmed in a meek voice. He didn’t know how the priest could just say it so casually.

Father Cipher’s gaze didn’t waver from Dipper’s shy face. His body posture fully engaged now, he questioned the teen further.

“What do you want me to do to you?”

The teen swallowed hard at that and looked up with a cautious expression. “W-what?”

The clergyman chuckled at his stammer. “I asked what you would like me to do to you, from your thoughts.” He kept his eyes locked with his confessor’s. “You’re going to describe your fantasies to me so I can absolve you of your sins, Pinetree. ”

Dipper tried to ignore the arousal that swelled in his stomach from Reverend Cipher’s dominant tone of voice. He cleared his throat, trying desperately to assume a casual demeanor in all of this. “Fa-Father Cipher, I’m not sure if I can do that. They’re really-”

“Just tell me what we did.”

The teen rose a hand to restlessly ruffle up his bangs, partially revealing his birthmark in the process. Dipper felt impossibly awkward as he continued, focusing on the wall to his left instead of the preacher. “Right. Ah... We, um, we-we kissed in the fantasies. A lot.” “Um - I, ah, would imagine you pinning me up against a wall, g-grinding against m-me.” “You would run your hands over me, and- Listen, this-this is really bad. I’m so sorry, I can’t-”

“Alright,” Bill interrupted, getting up. “If you can’t tell me, then we’re going to have to do the next best thing.”

Dipper turned his head to give a confused look at the reverend when all of a sudden he was met with his priest getting into his lap and straddling him with his knees. The teen squeaked and quickly slapped a hand over his own mouth. He looked up at the priest looming over him. “Father Cipher?”

The blonde haired man gazed down at the nervous pentinent below him with an unreadable expression. His hands grappled the edges of the chair, locking the teenager in his hold. “Do you like it when I do this?" He hummed.

“I-I don’t under-”

“Tell me, yes or no.”

Dipper swallowed again, lowering his eyes. “Y-yes, I like it.”

“M’mm, good boy.” the priest purred. He let a hand travel up the teen’s arm to rest on his confessor’s shoulder. The reverend rubbed his tense muscle, and leaned in, coaxing Dipper with a hushed voice. “Relax, let it flow through you. Let your feelings take over so I can forgive you of your sins.”

“I-I don’t understand,” The boy breathed, trying not to whimper. “This-this would be worse wouldn’t it?”

The priest kissed down Dipper’s neck, relishing in the tiny gasps along the way. "I’m empowered by the Holy Lord when I receive your confessions,” He murmured, nipping at the skin. “I'm a worker of God, standing in His place.” Bill let his hand reach up to cup the boy’s cheek, and bore into Dipper’s eyes. “This act is sanctioned by the Lord, for I deem it fit. This will serve for the cleansing of sins.”

“I-I-I don’t want you to do this if you feel like you-you have to.” Dipper gasped.

“Oh,” Father Cipher growled against his skin, clutching the boy’s side and pressing their bodies together. ”I want to.”

Dipper let out a shaky whine,

------

Bill waited for him by the first row of pews. “C’mon Pinetree, let’s take this to a more comfortable place. Something tells me taking a walk would be good for you, anyways.”

Dipper shoved his tense hands in his trouser pockets, reluctantly following the Reverend down the aisle. “If y-you don’t mind me asking Father, w-where-” Dipper cleared his throat abruptly. ”Where are we going?”

Bill tossed a lopsided smile to his follower before turning to the double-doors that led out of the chapel. “Oh, you’ll see.” He was about to push one of the doors open when he gave a good look-over at Dipper’s crouched over, standoffish posture - Dipper tried to act like he was too busy staring at the floor to notice, which he wished was the case. The only reason the priest was being nice and considerate to him in the first place was because he didn’t know what his confession was about. As soon as the priest knew, all that familiarity would be gone. Dipper was sure of it. He wanted to just get this thing over with and forget it ever happened. All of a sudden a strong arm wrapped around his waist, plunging him out of his thoughts and back into reality. He was pressed firmly against the preacher’s side while an undignified squeak squeezed out of Dipper throat.

“F-Father Cipher!”

“Don’t be so uptight, kid,” He coaxed, rubbing lazy circles into the teen’s side, making Dipper lean into him. “Seriously, you look like a trainwreck. You’re getting me worried, here - and I don’t get worried.” The priest tried to play it off with a smile, but Dipper could tell he genuinely was concerned.

Dipper turned his face away from the Father so that he would see the brunette’s red tinted cheeks. “I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean to...” Dipper wanted to push away from him, but that would’ve been disrespectful. He really wanted to lean into the soothing touch, but that would be incredibly inappropriate, considering what he had to tell the man.

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

“It’s okay my dearest disciple,” Dipper mentally cursed that ridiculously attractive grin the priest gave him. “Whatever it is you’ve come to confess, we can work out your repentance together. ”

“Y-yes, Father.” Oh, he was so screwed.

“It’s alright, little lamb. Take it easy.” ... “I’m curious, Pinetree. What is it that you’ve come to confess?”

“I... I’ve been thinking... impure thoughts.”

“Okay... About?”

“...You.”

“I-I just...” “I may have been... having... fantasies... about you...and me...”

“Sexual fantasies, then?”

Dipper grimaced, his eyes shut impossibly tight - almost as tight as his fists were curled up on his pant legs. He didn’t know how the priest could just say it so casually. He forced a strangled, “Yes,” out from his chest.

A heavy silence filled the air, and Dipper felt like it was crushing him from the inside out.

“...

The priest started mumbling something that Dipper couldn’t quite make out.

“What?”

“I could strengthen you with my mouth... And the solace of my lips could lessen your pain.”

“...I, I don’t- Are you? I- What?”

kiss

“...And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

“Pinetree, you really need to be more specific. I can’t absolve you of your sins, if you don’t spit out what’s making you such a mess. Please, tell me about these... fantasies.”

“I... I don’t know if I can do that Father.”

“You’re going to have to.”

Dipper swallowed. “They’re of a sexual nature, Father. I really don’t want to-”

“You’re going to describe your fantasies to me, Dipper. Now.”

Dipper cleared his throat again so he wouldn’t let loose any degrading sounds. “Yes, Father.” He licked his lips quickly. “I, where do I start? I... I guess, my one of them was, um- It-it was... about you, pin-pinning me against a pillar and... I-” He forced himself to look up. “Are you sure you really want to hear this, Father?”

The priest stood up then, walking over to the boy. Dipper didn’t know what was happening. Suddenly the clergyman sat down in Dipper’s lap, folding his arms. “Tell me more.”

Dipper bit back a moan that wanted to rise out of him. This turned from really shameful to embarrassing with a side of getting really turned on. He cleared his throat for the third time, desperately wanting to be saved from his personal hell. “Yes, right, I... You s-shoved me against one of the church pillars- in my fantasy I-I mean,” Bill’s weight and warmth distracted Dipper. He felt the Reverend chuckle. Dipper closed his eyes and pretended not to be there, that would help. “You-you disrobed, and you were, um- You were ripping my clothes off... We were kissing, a lot. We were open mouthed kissing.” He tried to pretend that he was back in his fantasy again. “You were tugging my hair, and started kissing my neck up to my jaw. You would growl and start sucking my skin and biting me, leaving marks all around my neck. You were dominant and controlling, and you were grinding me into the pillar.”

Dipper shot a glance toward the Reverend to see if he should keep going, and he saw the priest with an indecipherable expression on his face. He didn’t say anything, so Dipper decided to close his eyes and keep going. “I um- I liked it a lot. I liked it too much. Then you decided to turn me around and- I... You... um...”

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

The shadow leaned back in his chair. “That’s quite alright, Pinetree. Take it easy.”

Dipper felt like his lungs collapsed and his heart dropped dead.

“I-isn’t the point of this thing to keep your identity a secret...”

“A good shepherd keeps a close eye on his flock, little lamb.” ... “Now then, I’m curious. What is it that you’ve come to confess?”

“...Something bad.”

“HAH! Never would’ve guessed.”

“N-no I’m serious, Father! It’s disgusting and horrible and I’m not sure I even should be forgiven for it.”

“Tell me what it is, Pinetree.”

“I...” ... “I’ve been thinking... impure thoughts.”

“About?”

“You.”

“Mmm, elaborate.”

A shiver rolled down his spine from the Reverend’s hum. “I-I.. may have been... having, uh, fantasies about you... Father.”

“Pinetree, you really need to be more specific. I can’t absolve you of your sins, if you don’t spit out what’s making you such a mess. Perhaps you can come over here and tell me about these... fantasies.”

“I... I don’t know if I can do that Father.”

“Either you come over here, or I come over there. Your choice.”

Dipper felt heat roll down his body at the priest’s commanding tone. “Yes-yes, Father.”

He awkwardly dragged himself out of his seat and walked around the lattice with his head lowered, slumping into the chair across from the priest. Oh it was Father Cipher, alright.

“You’re a good boy, Pinetree.” don’t say that “Now

---

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from-words-to-stories · 6 years

Text

“Sylvia!” Sylvia heard her name distantly. Every thing she had ever done came rushing back to her with a blistering sharpness. Everything was unnaturally clear. Vincent, with a grim expression, pulling her out of training in the London Institution to softly tell her that their parents were dead. By werewolves. She had been only eleven, then. Vincent had been sixteen. He told her that they were moving to their parents’ manor back in Idris. To have a better, safer chance. Sylvia met Seraphina and Ivella shortly after the move. A pair, the two of them. Two beautiful girls. They were always together, as if neither could bare to be so much as three feet apart. Refusing to look frail-she had been a rather sickly child- Sylvia drew up her courage and confidence and approached them, despite the inexplicable butterflies in her stomach. Ivella noticed her first. “You’re the new girl, right? What’s your name?” “Sylvia Blackletter,” Sylvia answered, raising her chin a bit. She was proud of her name. She had always been told that her family was prominent among Shadowhunters. But Seraphina and Ivella both paled. “Blackletter?” Seraphina said, nearly a squeak. That was fear, in her voice. Sylvia frowned, confused at the sudden change in mood. “That is what I said, yes.” She paused, and was glad that her voice did not crack on what she said next. “My parents were recently murdered by lycanthropes. My brother and I moved here, back into my parents’ manor. Is that a roblem?” Seraphina and Ivy glanced at each other. It was Ivy who said, “No. I’m Ivella Younghallow. But you can call me Ivy.” “Seraphina Dovemark.” Younghallow. Sylvia remembered her parents’ mentioning that name. They were wine brewers. And very wealthy. And they had an ongoing rivalry with the Blackletters. Sylvia had never understood why. Especially now, looking at Ivy. “—All over the place,” her mother had said to her father one night in the library. Sylvia had her ear pressed to the door. “They act like they run the whole d amn Clave. And their family-it’s an embarrassment!” That was all Sylvia recalled. She was snapped out of her revery by Seraphina, who was talking about the Academy. It would not be for another year that hatred began to darken Sylvia’s heart. By that time, they had reached the age that boys began to become a common subject. Who was the cutest? Who would they kiss, if given the chance? Who would they absolutely not go near? Sylvia always enjoyed this subject. But her mind always got snagged on something-someone-else as well. She would always find herself glancing sideways at Ivy. She didn’t think much of it, at first, but soon she figured out what it was that she felt. Sylvia brought up the possibility of women to Vincent once. And only once. He had been sitting in the study. She stood in the doorway, played with a loose string on her dress. Even after twelve years, she was still reminiscent of a bird. “Vincent?” she called into the room. Books were stacked everywhere. He lifted his head to look at her. “What is it, Sylvia?” He was eighteen, now. “I was wondering...if...well, I saw a girl at the Academy, and she kissed another girl. Is that right? Girls can do that?” It was a lie, but it would get her question answered without implicating herself. And she was glad for it, because Vincent’s expression became dark. Almost threatenig. “No, Sylvia. It is wrong and immoral and disgusting. Women that have any respect for themselves know that. If you picked up that notion by hanging around the Younghallow—“ Sylvia cut him off, “I haven’t.” She didn’t understand what Vincent had meant by that, but she did not bring it up again. But she did listen more closely to what people said. The next time the matter of crushes was brought up at the Academy, Sylvia payed closer attention. She did not talk as much, but rather observed. And what she observed hurt, though it should not have. Seraphina was talking about Cyril Ashchild. A handsome boy with dark green eyes. And Ivella was enraptured. Not by her talk of Cyril, as Sylvia had previously believed. But by Seraphina herself. Sylvia had thought that she liked Cyril, because every time Seraphina talked about him, Ivy gave her utmost attention. But it was not Cyril she had fallen in love with. And that realization made Sylvia want to cry. Before, she had been certain that she had not had a chance regardless of how she herself felt. Now that she knew she had and still could not act upon it, she felt like curling in on herself. But Sylvia clamped her mouth shut. When Seraphina turned to Ivy, Ivy smiled. The smile radiated absolute love. “Who do you like?” Seraphina asked with all the innocence of a girl enamored by her first crush. “No one,” Ivy replied. It was smooth, easy. “There must be *someone*!” Seraphina pressed. And then Sylvia saw it. Ivy was playing with the folds of her dress. What she had mistaken for simple absent-mindedness was actually a nervous gesture. Something she had always done when asked that question. And always, her reply was “no one.” Sylvia watched Ivy. She could almost see it in her forest green eyes, devating whether to tell Seraphina or not. But Sylvia was sitting here as well. And Sylvia knew she wouldn’t. Not ever. Not when Seraphina held rigidly to the values the Clave held. “Oliver,” Ivella said. This time, her voice was not as confident. It carried an undercurrent of anxiousness. But Seraphina did not see through the lie. She simply grinned, teasing Ivy lightly, while the latter looked nearly sick. It was from then on Sylvia began to turn cruel. For Ivella’s cowardice. For her own. For Seraphina’s obstinate obliviousness. Every cruel thing came rushing back to her. Sylvia thought she might be crying. But then good things flashed by. Ivella’s baby-though she knew the truth, she had truly been happy for her. One of her greatest regrets was outing her in front of the Clave on impulse-, slowly accepting herself and her own attraction, Luca, finding out she was pregnant, her apology and confession to Ivella, her own baby-a beautiful little boy-, and working to be a better woman overall. And a new child. She had wanted to surprise Luca. One month along. The bad she had done outweighed the good. Sylvia knew that. But now it seemed more important. Somehow- She was ripped out of the visions. Someone was screaming. They had gone to track down a rogue werewolf. In the streets of London. She had wanted to kill it. Luca had talked her out of it. Over the years, she had become more tolerant. For him. But her prejudice against lycanthropes still remained. And she knew it always would. They had gone to sedate it. To bring it to a pack. She knew Vincent had followed. But she payed him no mind. This was her job. But the werewolve had bitten her. She had gotten close enough to try and calm it. To sedate it. And it had struck in fear and caught her by the hand, sinking its teeth into her flesh. Sylvia did not have time to scream, beause when she looked down, a silver tipped arrow was protruding through her chest. Through her heart. With the last of her strength, Sylvia turned and gave Vincent the darkest look she could manage. And fell to the the ground. She was standing beside her body, now. She recognized the voice as Luca’s. Sylvia turned towards him, about to call out, but a hand on her arm stopped her. “Don’t. He can’t hear you. Or see you.” Sylvia looked down. A small figure with cold gray eyes and dark brown hair stood at herelbow. And-Sylvia sucked in a breath. “You’re an angel. I’m-I’m dead.” “The arrow through your heart didn’t tell you that?” The angel turned her gaze up to Sylvia, raising an eyebrow. “But-I am-I was pregnant!” “Death doesn’t care, Sylvia Blackletter.” “How do you know my name?” Sylvia demanded. “I am a collector of souls. I bring souls to the afterlife. Shadowhunters are the most prominent on my list.” “The afterlife?” The angel nodded. “It is your choice on whether you wish to remain here or not.” Sylvia hesitated. “And if I chose to go with you, where would I go?” “You are worried about going to Hell.” It was not a question. The angel turned her face to the scene in front of them. Luca was holding her body, threatening Vincent that he would be dead too, if he got any closer. “I see your life, Sylvia Blackletter. I see you and your choices. You were a cruel woman. But you attempted to amend those choices, however futile. That alone shows me you are willing to repent.” Sylvia looked at her. Regret filled her. She was openly crying, now. “Please.” The angel turned towards Sylvia. “I will make a deal with you, Sylvia. I will place you in Purgatory. You can come with me to Heaven, if you choose. But you must help another soul. Two, actually. Neither are dead yet. But if you can help them come to terms with their lives and the things that keep them grounded here, I will consider you repented. Until you are repented, you stay within the grounds of the hotel. Under my watch. Do you understand?” Sylvia did not understand the hotel part, but she nodded nonetheless. “Good. I will tell you their names when they get there.” “What about my baby?” Sylvia asked, her voice quiet. She had been so excited. The angel frowned a bit. “I cannot answer that. It is not under my jurisdiction. Come on.” The angel offered her hand. “My name is Anoniel.” Purgatory. She would not be at peace until she repented. Sylvia did not hesitate in taking the small angel’s hand. “I will repent,” she whispered to herself. She would repent not only for herself, but for all those she had hurt in her life.

#alex’s stories #Sylvia #Ivy #Seraphina #Anoniel

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blackchristiannewswire · 6 years

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LISTEN: Whyte House Family Devotions: A Prayer for the Family, the Church, the Nation and the World #345 (Tuesday, May 1, 2018): “God, the Peacekeeper,” by Billy Graham

https://soundcloud.com/danielwhyteiii/whyte-house-family-devotions-prayer-for-the-family-church-nation-world-345-5118

[caption id="attachment_40916" align="alignleft" width="156"] Daniel Whyte III[/caption] My family and I have had morning devotions, or family altar as some people call it, every day ever since my wife, Meriqua, and I were married 30 years ago. We have prayed and read the Bible together as well as other devotional books as a family, and it is the only reason why this family has stayed together, and the only reason why God has blessed our family and used our family in ministry all of these years. We read Ephesians 5 and 6 every morning as it relates to the role of each member of the family and how that we need to put on the whole armor of God to fight against the devil who is seeking to destroy our family and all Christian families, churches, and Christians. So, now after 30 years of doing this in our home, we are opening this up to others who don't have a family to pray with, who don't have a spouse, or who are single by choice, and to encourage all families who are still intact to go back to the family altar and have devotions together every morning. In these devotions, you may hear me deal with a temptation I'm facing in my life, you may hear me rebuke my wife about not doing what she should be doing, or you may hear me get on one of my children's cases about something they're doing. Don't be shocked; this is real life. SING "DOXOLOGY" Praise God from Whom all blessings flow Praise Him, all creatures here below Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost Amen Billy Graham said, “The unbelieving world should see our testimony lived out daily because it just may point them to the Savior.” ------ PRAY "THE NEW COMMON PRAYER" Almighty and most merciful Father; We have sinned, and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no peace and joy in us. But Thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare Thou us, O God, who confess our sins, our faults, and our failures. Restore those of us who confess our sins and repent; According to Thy promises declared unto us in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for His sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life. To the glory of Thy holy Name. In Jesus Christ's Name, Amen. ------ EPHESIANS 6:10-11 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Stephen J. Cole writes in his commentary on this passage: "If Satan doesn't get us through his scheme of going along with our tolerant culture, he pushes us off the other end by making us intolerant of anyone who does not agree with us on every point of doctrine. I know of a man who claims to have 'biblical discernment,' but his entire 'ministry' consists of critiquing godly men over minor differences in doctrine or practice. Standing firm against the schemes of the devil means that we stand firm on the core doctrines of the faith. We cannot budge on the Trinity, the person and work of Christ, biblical salvation, or the inspiration and authority of Scripture. But the Scripture also tells us to show tolerance for one another in love. That verse implies that we will not always agree with one another on every point of doctrine or on every method of how to go about the Lord’s work. To stand firm, grow in understanding of where to do battle, and where to be tolerant of differences. Thus, standing firm against the enemy is the result of putting on God’s full armor. We stand firm against the enemy by growing in biblical understanding." ------- PRAYER ------- DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE: Psalm 136:1-9 1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. 3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. 4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. 5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. 6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. 7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: 8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: 9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever. Regarding this passage, Matthew Henry writes: “Forgetful as we are, things must be often repeated to us. By ‘mercy’ we understand the Lord's disposition to save those whom sin has rendered miserable and vile, and all the provision he has made for the redemption of sinners by Jesus Christ. The counsels of this mercy have been from everlasting, and the effects of it will endure for ever, to all who are interested in it. The Lord continues equally ready to show mercy to all who seek for it, and this is the source of all our hope and comfort.” --------- PRAYER FOR THE ESTATES 1. Clergy (church) 2. Government 3. People (citizens) 4. The press (media) 5. New media/Online journalists PRAYER FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP - For all pastors, church leaders, denominational leaders, Bible teachers, missionaries, and ministry workers. GOVERNMENT LEADERS 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." President Donald Trump and his administration Vice President Mike Pence First Lady Melania Trump Second Lady Karen Pence All White House staff including: Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro All leaders of federal agencies including: Congressional Budget Office Director Keith Hall All state governors including: Vermont Governor Phil Scott All city mayors including: Cocoa Beach, FL, Mayor Dave Netterstrom All members of Congress including: Florida Representative Stephanie Murphy All law enforcement officials including: Cocoa Beach, FL, Police Chief Scott Rosenfeld All military leaders including: Defense Secretary James Mattis / National Guard Bureau Chief General Joseph L. Lengyel Leaders of nations around the world including: Namibia’s President Hage Geingob and Prime Minister Saara Kuu-gon-gel-wa For the peace of Jerusalem PRAYER FOR THE PEOPLE / CITIZENS PRAYER FOR THE MEDIA PRAYER FOR CURRENT EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD - For the comfort and salvation of the families of 26 people killed in bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan. - For the resolution of the Rohingya migrant crisis where hundreds of thousands have fled Bangladesh to escape military-led violence. - For the comfort, protection, and provision for thousands of impoverished migrants who are seeking better living conditions in Venezuela, Brazil, Central America, and Mexico PRAYER REQUESTS Eric please heal his daughter and provide him with the money he needs to pay bills and buy medicine and Bibles Jim Please bless him with a good job, and help him to go to college Daniel Help their government to make the right decisions for the people of Myanmar Vicki Please end the drought in Israel; for the peace of Jerusalem THOSE WHO HAVE ACCEPTED CHRIST AS SAVIOR Matwetwe Yohana Onyoni THOSE WHO HAVE RECOMMITTED THEIR LIVES TO CHRIST Megan Christine Fredrick DEVOTIONAL READING: “God, the Peacekeeper,” by Billy Graham Isaiah 26:3 says, “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord!” “You have an ego -- a consciousness of being an individual. Of course, you do. But that doesn’t mean that you are to worship yourself, to think constantly of yourself, and to live entirely for yourself. Common sense tells you that your life would be miserable if you followed that course. God is infinitely more concerned about your happiness than you could possibly be. He says, ‘Deny yourself, and follow me.’ There is many a person in the insane asylum today who thought excessively about himself, to the exclusion of God and others. Hypochondriacs who have a fanciful anxiety about their health will never be well, regardless of their physical condition.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell. First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God's law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death…" Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Now that is bad news, but here's the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will. Romans 10:9 & 13 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen. If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! I want to congratulate you on doing the most important thing in life and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read "What To Do After You Enter Through the Door". Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." Until next time, May the Lord Bless You!

Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books including the Essence Magazine, Dallas Morning News, and Amazon.com national bestseller, Letters to Young Black Men. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University's Rawlings School of Divinity (formerly Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary). He is currently a candidate for the Doctor of Ministry degree. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica since 1987. God has blessed their union with seven children.

#christian #devotions #family #pray #prayer

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