#if someone recognizes the quote it will make my day fr

[koambu]

We were born empty and thus long not for home

(whoever recognizes that quote i am giving you ONE MILLION in CASH)

#trigun #trigun stampede #millions knives #vash the stampede #vash #trigun nai #if someone recognizes the quote it will make my day fr #the kids going cain and abel again #fratricide but like #the inner child

[h00nerz]

bodybag!

masterlist | 1k celebration

pairing: kang taehyun x gn!reader (slight park sunghoon x gn!reader)

genre: angst, fluff, college au, sort of academic rivals to lovers, tsundere!taehyun, jealous!taehyun

word count: 2.2k

warnings: none afaik, just taehyun being possessive

prompt(s): #33 — “i can’t pretend anymore.”, #34 — “you’re all i can think about”, #35 — “i am so very in love with you”, #36 — “it’s you. it’s always been you.” & #37 — “i cannot stand you, and yet, i cannot fathom being away from you.”

requested: “okok i wanna send in a request bcs this kind of drabble has been living in my brain and idk if anyone wrote smth like it before but anyway!! lines 33 through 37 would lowk be so good for a jealoustsundre!taehyun where he acts like he fr despises you, but he like overhears u talking abt going on a lil date he gets so upset and mad 🤭🤭 i lowk got this idea from that one video i dont remember where but taehyun held a drink and was talking to the camera and said like " got this for you but that doesnt mean i like you or anything" HES SO 🙏🙏” — anon

authors note: omg heyyy my first time writing for tyun i am so excited!! enemies 2 lovers again bc… yeah. anyways enjoy~~

SO FAR, YOUR JUNIOR YEAR OF UNIVERSITY was proving to be the worst year of your life. You were finally starting to take classes more specific to your major, which meant things were starting to become a lot more serious. You didn’t have time to work anymore, and even though you had spent the whole summer leading up to the start of the semester working two jobs to have enough money for tuition, you were still barely managing to scrape by. 

Worst of all, though, was Kang Taehyun. 

Kang Taehyun was the bane of your existence. You had first met as freshmen at your university, in the same philosophy course, and you had immediately despised him--or rather, he despised you, and your hatred was just reactionary. It didn’t really matter, though, all that mattered was that he was a menace that made your life ten times harder than it needed to be. 

After that semester, you thought you’d never have to see him again. But, of course, fate had different plans for you. It turned out, Taehyun was pursuing the same major as you, which put you in multiple of the same classes by the time your junior year rolled around. By that point, it had been nearly two years since your last encounter, so you’d hoped he’d grown just a little bit since then. But, of course, he hadn’t.

Kang Taehyun had a vendetta against you that he wasn’t quite ready to let go of. 

Your last class of the day had finally let out, which meant it was time for you to head to the library. The night before, you had stayed up late pulling an all-nighter, and you really were not looking forward to another afternoon filled with studying, but if you wanted to make this deadline, you had no choice. 

With a sigh, you stood up from your seat, and were overcome with dread when you recognized a head of pink hair approaching you. “Not today, Taehyun. I am not in the mood.” You grumbled as you stuffed your laptop into your backpack, purposefully making sure not to even glance in his direction. 

“Yeah, obviously. You have a late night or something? It looked like you could barely stay awake the whole lecture.” He laughed at you, and now you finally looked over at him with narrowed eyes. “Jesus! You look like you just stepped off the set of The Walking Dead!” He exclaimed. 

Horror overcame you, as you realized just how bad your dark circles probably looked. “Shut up! I don’t look that bad!” You snapped at him, zipping your backpack shut so aggressively the zipper nearly broke off. “Even if I did, though, this is the face of someone who’s about to get an A on our midterm paper. So, ha.” 

Taehyun rolled his eyes, trailing after you as you exited the lecture hall. “Please. When I got Kai to review my paper, he said it, and I quote, ‘brought tears to his eyes’. It was that good. And I don’t look half as shitty as you do.” 

He was right. He didn’t look shitty at all. In fact, that was the most infuriating thing about Kang Taehyun. Even though he had shown time and time again that he had an ugly personality, his physical appearance was the opposite. Everything about Taehyun was perfect. His recently dyed hair, that was so fluffy atop his head it was reminiscent of cotton candy. His dark brown eyes that were simultaneously adorable as well as mysterious and inviting. You knew he worked out, he talked about it all the time, and it really showed. You hated him for being such a repulsive human inside of such an attractive body that must have been crafted by the gods themselves. 

“Probably because staring at his laptop screen and trying to decipher whatever bullshit you were spewing dried out his eyes.” You suggested. As you walked, you felt a yawn bubbling in the back of your throat, and as hard as you tried to suppress it, you were unsuccessful. 

“How late did you stay up last night? Really?” Taehyun asked, raising an eyebrow at you. For a brief second, you thought you saw a flash of something different, a flash of something human in his pretty brown eyes… But, you shook your head, positive that you had been imagining it, and sure enough, it disappeared.

“That’s none of your business.” You were quick to snap, quickening your pace in hopes of getting away from him. Instead, though, you ran straight into someone else, and knocked a couple of textbooks they were carrying onto the ground. 

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” You immediately started apologizing, bending your knees so you could start to pick up the books. When you glanced forward, you felt your cheeks redden as you realized you had bumped into the Park Sunghoon, and the Park Sunghoon was looking at you with wide eyes. 

Park Sunghoon was, like, the star of your campus. He was the captain of the school’s extremely famous ice hockey team, which made him basically a celebrity on your campus. That combined with the fact that he had a face only someone blessed by Aphrodite herself could wield. So, for that perfect face to be just inches from your own right now has your stomach doing somersaults. 

“Oh. Hi, Y/N.” Sunghoon greeted you, and as the two of you finally stood, you blinked at him. 

“You—how—my name?” You stuttered out, staring at him like a deer caught in headlights. 

He furrowed his eyebrows together. “We had a class together last year, remember? You always sat in the row in front of me.” 

You slowly nodded. “Oh. Yeah. I’m surprised you remember that.” 

“How could I forget? You know, I always thought you were really pretty, Y/N.” He smiled at you, revealing his fang-like teeth, and you swore your heart stopped. 

There was loud coughing behind you, and when you glanced over your shoulder you were surprised to see Taehyun was still standing there. He was watching your interaction with Sunghoon with narrowed eyes, like he was contemplating murdering the ice hockey captain. You wondered if they had some kind of rivalry with one another, or maybe he was just irritated by him for the same reason he was irritated by you: just because.

You jerked your head to the side, trying to gesture for him to get out of there, but he stood in his place and looked as though he had no intentions of leaving. 

Deciding to ignore him, you looked back to Sunghoon, and flashed him a shy smile. “Really? You do?” You asked, batting your eyelashes at him. 

He nodded. “Yeah, really. Um, I’ve gotta go, but if you wanna get coffee sometime…” His voice trailed off, as he pulled a marker out of his backpack. You thought your heart was going to literally beat out of your chest when he uncapped the marker and started writing on your wrist. “There’s my number.” He grinned at you, and you watched in awe as he backed up and walked away. 

Once he was out of earshot, you turned around to face Taehyun, a big smirk befalling your lips. “I guess Park Sunghoon is into The Walking Dead!” You announced triumphantly, like you had just beat him in a game of sorts. 

He didn’t react, though, still wearing the same, ticked off expression from earlier. 

“What? What’s your problem?” You furrowed your eyebrows, and suddenly he snatched up the same wrist Sunghoon had just written on. “Hey! What the hell?”

“I need to talk to you.” He said in a low voice. 

“Then let go of me and let’s talk!” You hissed, trying to break free of his grip, but he wouldn’t let go.

He shook his head. “Not here. Follow me.” Unfortunately, he didn’t give you much of a choice, as he started dragging you through the great big hallway of bustling students. Eventually, he found an empty classroom and pulled you inside, shutting the door behind the both of you.

Finally, he let go of you, and you immediately stepped away from him, reaching up to rub your sore wrist. “What the hell was that, Taehyun?!” You demanded, practically spitting in his face. 

“I told you. I need to talk to you.” He repeated himself.

You rolled your eyes. “So then talk! I have places to be, I don’t have time for this!”

“Oh, like coffee with Park Sunghoon?” He spat, his voice laced with venom. 

“Maybe! Doesn’t matter, because who I hang out with is none of your business!” You jabbed a finger, and he once again caught hold of your wrist, holding you in place. 

“Listen to me, Y/N. I’m only going to say this once.” He warned you, and although you wanted so badly to fight him and get out of that stupid classroom, you were also desperate to hear what he had to say. He let out what sounded like a sigh of defeat, and he hung his head loose in front of you. He mumbled something unintelligible, and you raised an eyebrow. 

“What did you say?”

“I said I can’t pretend anymore!” He exclaimed, and the sudden outburst caught you off guard as you took a step back. 

“What do you mean…?” You asked quietly, but there was a small part of you who knew the answer to your own question already. 

He let go of your wrist, reaching up to run a hand through his strawberry colored hair. “You know, Y/N… I can’t stand you. And yet…”

“Yet…?”

“I can’t… I can’t fathom being away from you.” His pretty brown eyes finally gazed up to meet your own, and you realized his face had become almost as pink as his hair. Your own cheeks started to heat up at the sudden confession. “Ever since our first class together, you’re all I can think about. Y/N…”

He took a step closer, and you didn’t know why you didn’t back away. Instead you stood still, allowing him to gently take your hands into his own. “As much as it pains me to admit it… I am so very in love with you.” 

You blinked at him. “Y-You are?” You whispered, and he nodded. Kang Taehyun, the pretty boy who had been tormenting you in your classes, who you swore you hated, was in love with you?! It sounded made up. And yet… It made a lot of things start to make sense. 

“Which is why you can’t go out with some idiot like Park Sunghoon.” He pressed.

You frowned. “He’s not an idiot!” You snapped at him, finally gaining the sense to pull your hands from his. “And--And you can’t just spring this confession onto me! You’re probably just trying to distract me because midterms are happening, and--and you want to be the top of the class!”

He rolled his eyes. “No, Y/N, I don’t--”

“Yeah! And you’re just going to--to pretend you love me, and then get me to realize my own feelings, and then right when I start to fall for you, you’ll rip my heart out of my chest, and--” 

Before you could finish your ramblings, Taehyun was cupping your face and connecting his lips to your own. You let out a soft gasp in surprise, frozen for a moment, because Kang freaking Taehyun was kissing you. This was absolutely not what was supposed to happen! But… Something about it felt so right. It was like your body had a mind of its own as you relaxed under his touch, kissing him back with as much passion as he had offered you. 

He pushed you forward until you stumbled back onto one of the desks set up in the classroom, and you gasped again when his hands slid under your thighs to lift you up onto it. Your fingers laced themselves in his pink hair, which was surprisingly soft for having been recently dyed. He was kissing you hungrily, like you were his first meal in days, and he couldn’t get enough of you. 

He was kissing you like he was in love with you. 

After what felt like an eternity, he was forced to pull away from the kiss to catch his breath, and you found yourself chasing after his lips. He smiled down at you, and you felt his fingers brush against your cheek as he gently tucked a loose strand of your hair away. 

“I’m not lying to you, Y/N. This isn’t some cruel trick to make you fail. It’s you. It’s always been  you.” 

You smiled. “You really mean it?” He nodded. “Hmm… I’m not sure I believe you… I think I’m going to give Sunghoon a call…” You lifted your wrist to look at the numbers, unsurprised to see the ink had smeared after Taehyun dragged you into the room.

The color drained from his face. “What? Are you serious? I confess my love, and--and you’re going to call Sunghoon?!” He stared at you in disbelief. 

You tried your best to keep a poker face, but were unable to fight back the laughter for very long. “I’m joking, idiot! Holy shit, you should have seen your face!” You began to cackle loudly, but Taehyun was quick to shut you up with another kiss. 

Maybe the rest of the year wouldn’t be so bad after all.

permanent tag list: @jakeshands @therealhyunjingf @exohclipse @ttyunz @naveries @mazeinthemoon @luvsoobs @n0-thisispatrick @arizzu @dewyboi @yeonboy

#⊹ ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ 1k celebration #kang taehyun x reader #taehyun x reader #taehyun imagine #kang taehyun imagine #taehyun oneshot #taehyun drabble #kang taehyun oneshot #kang taehyun drabble #kang taehyun #taehyun #txt #tomorrow x together #txt imagine #txt oneshot #txt x reader #txt drabble

[lucakaneshiroswife]

Lemme hold one of them nijisanji matchups 😛😛 (sfw) or (both) BOTH

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Pansexual

Appearance: OMGGG walk with me now. Right now im a little bald headed (jk but i had to cut my shit into a pixie cut bc i kept dying it too damn much 😞✊🏾), i am African American mixed with Somalian, I’m like 5’5 or 5’6 idfk 😭, ive been doing my squats plus i got those natural genetics so my booty is literally so humongous (HOUR GLASS 🗣️🗣️) (tmi?) it literally thunder claps when i walk i be getting scared sometimes 😅😅 (jk jk…), i have four piercings on my 🍒’s , lower back, eyebrow and belly button, i also have a butterfly tattoo behind my ear. ermm im pretty sure that’s it, my eyes are black and doe-like 💁🏾‍♀️

Personality: im just wild fr idek. jk but personally i feel like im a chill person and my friends think im really cool to hang around. my social battery is always up 100 but all you gotta do is put me in a crowd of people with some good food and suddenly im the most quietest person on earth 🤩

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

MBTI Type: ESFJ

Likes: Cats, food, stargazing, psychological horror movies, needle pain (not in a freaky way but like that pain you get from tattoos or piercings ykwim? 😅), dark green, food, reading, taking naps, food.

Dislikes: traveling (my motion sickness is so bad dude), waking up early, loud and obnoxious people, wet dog smell, fireworks (the colors >>> the sound), dark ness, butterflies. (laugh it up but i have such a huge fear of them, like they’re actually horrifying)

Hobbies: read, paint, listen to music, making music (album dropping december 43rd), baking

Quotes: OMGG I LOVE THIS

“it’s because im black huh…” (my friend wouldn’t share her fries), “i bet barack obama wouldn’t treat me like this”, “if we were on the titanic… i would’ve let you get on the door with me”, “my head is getting so fucking huge”, “THE HOES ARE CALLING”, “what if water was fire and fire was water.. like imagine someone saying ‘MY HOUSE IS ON WATER’, “*using tiktok filter* my soulmate initials start with a b?! omg bvox bakuma 🥺”, “idk im in the christmas sprit (as im taking off my Halloween costume)

Secret: I had gotten grounded this one time so when my mom was out running errands I snuck out to a friends house. I was getting a little hungry as usual so I was like “let me borrow your car so I can get us me some food” and she said alright. I went to the mall since i was really craving mall food at the time and right when I was walking out GUESS who’s car I see MY MOMS!!! when i tell you I BOOKED it to my friends car and hopped in the driver seat (thank goodness she didn’t see me in the mall because WHEW) anywho, right when i was about to pull off her ass wanna walk out of the mall and like a total dumbass instead of pulling off, my ass gon duck and slouch in the seat so she couldn’t see me 💀💀. as soon as she got into her car i started up my friends car and the craziest shit happen WE BOTH BACK OUT AT THE SAME TIME (her car was park backwards and mines was forward) I ended up scraping her car up pretty bad and THANK YOUUUU she didn’t recognized the car or see me either 😭. but anyways i pulled tf off 🌚 and zoomed to my friends house, dropped the car off, and literally RAN home. i hid the food under my bed and deadass acted like i was sleep so like 15 minutes later when she came back home she burst into my room like “GUESS WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED” and she started screaming about how a non-driving, blind, stupid bitch scratched her car and the whole time Im just sitting there like 😦 “damn that’s crazyyyy” and until this day she still think a random person scraped her car but uhm…. (which made it even funnier is that she literally came home with mall food for me so i was eating DOUBLE GOOD that day 😋)

Miscellaneous: im such a huge cat person im trying to break the world record (28000) with the most cats owned.

A/N: Okay you are CHAOS and you know who will love that?

VOX AKUMA

Your personality is like a lot, in the good way, and ass? Our demon lord REALLY loves you.

He is a pretty loud and interesting person, but somehow he managed to slip his way into your life like the (not so) little shit he is <3

I feel you being so spontaneous is something he will adore about you, the vibes you give off just keeps attracting him, like a moth to flame and god does he love it.

With your sense of humor, and his combined you both will constantly be at risk of getting cancelled, and you know what? Maybe it's not too bad as long as both of you are laughing.

Despite the 'action-ey' parts of your relationship I believe intimate moments are sacred.

While for Vox, sleep isn't a requirement, he will most definitely come cuddle you while telling you how beautiful you are to him even if you are balding, he wants to make you laugh don't blame him.

On this topic, somno. That's all, that's everything. Those 'innocent' moments don't remain innocent for too long. Soon enough you will find yourself asleep after a long day or just possibly eating really good food, you look so peaceful to him.

Would that stop Vox from sneaking his hands up your shirt in a not-so innocent manner, touching your piercings and whispering about how tempting you are even when you're sleeping.

You'd probably wake up to him rocking his hips against your behind, his hands groping your tits, breathing heavily into your neck. How dare you reduce him to such a state?

#luxiem x reader #luxiem matchup #MATCHUP NOVEMBER

[linawritesocs]

Ooh, Lina is an Aurora kin~? 👀 (Fr tho. Its hard being an IXXP type in a world where people seem to just naturally know how to socialize. What do they even talk about? I had always found small talk pointless and boring.) Ooh, I suppose Aurora does share similarities with Vance in a way! I think its because Vance is the youngest child in his family which is why he wants people to stop treating him like a child, whereas Aurora is the oldest child and wants the kind of love that only children receive. And you're pretty much spot on as to why flowers grow towards Aurora! XD (Probably the same reason why animals are attracted to Silver.) I'm thinking of tying this little thing to a deeper lore reason, but haven't fully fleshed it out yet.

Yes, Xue Mei has likely been underestimated in her childhood. This is a reference to Mulan of course, but I don't want to make Xue Mei's dislike for being underestimated just about gender. Maybe she isn't the most talented, but she's hardworking and goal-oriented, making her frustrated when people think she can't do something? 🤔 I'll think about it.

Adsjjdnfoiscs Lina, Chandani is not as deep as she seems. All of my RSA merfolk are the most normal, untraumatized ocs I have ever created. Chandani's quote is a reference to Alice in Wonderland, and I was thinking she says that after some character development. As the peacemaker middle child of her family, she is usually soft-spoken and lets her siblings take the limelight. But something happened one day that put someone she cared about in danger, and in a fit of desperation to save them, she activated her UM and took care of the threat. Then promptly passed out for a few hours. I haven't got all the details down yet, but I plan to write her backstory one day. 😄

DNDJSKSJDJSJ i do share some similarities with aurora, but i don't think i have the same mischievous and chaotic energy as them! i actually think that if i kinned one of your ocs, it would be violet predictable i know and oh, that part about aurora and vance sounds interesting! :O though i think vance's family members treated him like that not really because he was the youngest, but because of that injury he got when he was a child, so they became too overprotective of him and even strict.

and about xue mei, yeah, it's actually a bit hard to think about backstories when your ocs are based on disney characters, because you want to make them similar, but also.. some backstories are just not it. i definitely felt that with roland and hayden, because roland is based on a cute garden fairy who doesn't really have a backstory and hayden is based on a dude who's not really a good villain and you can learn his backstory only from a novel but his motivation is still kinda meh.. i can't really explain how i came up with roland's backstory, it just made sense to me, but with hayden's backstory i just went "okay, so what if he still has a big family and he's still the youngest, but he's not a royalty or anything like that? i don't really want to make him a country boy like epel though.. hm, how can i make his family have this "creepy vibe" to them? and how can i explain his ability to manipulate and use everyone? OH I KNOW HIS FAMILY IS ACTUALLY A CULT" also i have a non-fandom oc who's a lot like hayden, so i used some parts of his backstory as inspiration. in the end, i don't think roland and hayden (and also some other ocs of mine, like merrill and jay) are not that similar to their disney counterparts, but hey, that's what makes them original! i still have ocs like vance and allen who are pretty much the same as their counterparts, IT'S JUST THAT ALLEN IS A DARK VERSION OF ANNA HSJKASKDJDJ

and really?? i thought that chandani has some DEEP as the sea LORE SHE HAS A DEEP BACKSTORY but she's actually just?? chilling?? I WAS ABOUT TO COME UP WITH THEORIES AND ALL SDHJAJKKSKS and oh.. for some reason i didn't recognize that quote.. ironic because i have an alice-inspired oc HONESTLY HOW PEOPLE EVEN FIND AESTHETIC QUOTES THAT FIT THEIR CHARACTERS MY AESTHETIC QUOTES ARE JUST "haha taylor swift lyrics" but hey, we love to see at least some of your ocs not having a tragic backstory <3

#friends' ocs! #friend: aurora!

[aloera]

The ask prompt is too long to fit into an ask TT_TT but here's the doc for it docs(.)google(.)com/document/d/1yDI7iFRhOJ8ENv_IwZAo3rDSUqj80EiJROS10RzRbj4/edit

the lengths u are going for this,,, much appreciated you're very sweet!!!

prompts + answers under the cut!!

INTRODUCTION

Name: aloera

AO3 account: aloera

Fandoms you write for: bnha

How many stories have you written so far: 19

FANFICTION PROFILE

What's your favorite fandom to write for? hmm,,, used to do pjo and eah (ever after high) and eah was fun as fuck i will say!!! i think bnha is my fav mostly bc i made the most friends in this fandom :D

What's your favorite character/person to write for? bkg and kirishima!! cannot choose do not make me <3

Fic you'd want to improve? probably what we deserve? i rushed the beginning and the confession is a bit stilted imo

Hardest fic you've written? between lion and men -_- bc there is so much canon compliant stuff i've gotta write out before i get to the divergence and its HARD

Easiest fic you've written? come home to me!!! it happened so easily,,, no second guessing no writers block just vibes <33 was lovely i miss it

What would you say is the most "famous" fic you've ever written? also probably come home to me? its got the most interaction

first line of the first fic you've ever written and published. [not including my 2014 ffnet fics] "The bell rings, class starts, and Katsuki and Midoriya are inexplicably absent." from come home to me

Have you ever done a collab with another writer? yes!!!!! on two separate occasions and its so fucking fun i highly recommend trying it out its the best

Do you beta? if asked but honestly im a shit beta lmao

Do you like joining fic fests/exchanges? depends on what i have going on irl but in general yeah!!

FANFICTION PREFERENCES

Fluff or angst? definitely fluff

"OCs" or "Reader" inserts? reader inserts!! have been going ham on them recently

Blurbs or drabbles? blurbs!!

One thing you love about fanfiction i just. i really love slice of life romance?? and most media doesn't give you that bc its dedicated to plot and action and that's valid!! but fanfiction fills in the gap which is really nice

One thing you don't like about fanfiction most of the stuff i don't like is less about actual fanfiction and more about how people behave about it

What is/are your favorite fandom author/authors? IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!!! TURN IT UP!!!

bnha: hiuythn, rae_tnub, Moniix, Ata_Lanta, wrunic, chezka, PurplePersnickety, surveycorpsejean, mahadevi, arxaris, deviance, Oceanbreeze7, MikeWritesThings, bonnia, wonhaebunny, dinosuns

voltron: hiuythn, Oceanbreeze7, DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee, arahir, dinosuns,

and honorable mention to loveclouds im not even in the haikyuu fandom i just love their fics So Much

these are just the ones off the top of my head i have so many favourites idc if i'm only supposed 2 have one!! die mad about it!!!

What is your favorite trope? secret relationship + relationship reveal til the day i die babie <3 <3

Least favorite trope? hm,,, probably just like. angst lmao i cannot stand 90% of it

A fanfiction cliché that you can't help but love? coffeeshop aus,,,, so good

Do you have a type when it comes to pairings? the otp where its like. piece of shit + himbo = love. ex. krbk, catradora, jade/beck

Favorite setting/au? hm,,, truly i cannot pick one KGKSJNHKj but i really like college aus!! and modern aus!! and roommate aus!!

Explain the meaning of your favorite line of dialogue you've written as if someone hasn't read it in context. “He doesn’t know,” Katsuki says, softly. “My timer stopped and nothing happened. He’s not mine.”

the line is from what we deserve!! it's a soulmate au where your timer counts down to the moment that you meet your soulmate!! bakugou's timer ends at USJ when he and kirishima attack kurogiri at the same time (impulsive kings <33) but kirishima's timer doesn't end until kamino because that's when he accepts himself as bakugous soulmate!! unfortunately, when bakugous timer has reached 0, he turned to see that kirishima's was still ticking and therefore believes that kirishima isn't his soulmate.

this line just,, idk. it's really sad. bakugou is such an action-driven character? if something doesn't go his way he Makes it go his way. he's got this insanely volatile quirk and he's got impeccable control of it!! but his love for kirishima isn't something that he can change and he's not going to ruin kirishima's chance of finding his own soulmate because he loves him and wants him to be happy. i really wanted to focus on how resigned he is? and how unusual that is for a character like him.

Favorite trope/genre to write? again, secret relationship with relationship reveals <33 fluff in general is my wheelhouse!!!

A trope/genre you haven't written but think would be a fun challenge? idk if this counts?? have been working on some dead dove concepts!! its super different from what i normally write so its a cool challenge

The one trope/concept you'll never touch and why probably cheating/infidelity?? it just looks,,, super difficult to write well and i don't have enough of an interest in it to try it out

Which do you prefer to write: longer or shorter fics? shorter!! low attention span gang <3

Ideal length to read? 5-10k?

Ideal length to write? 4-8k!!

How long was the longest fic you've ever written? control fraek is around 28k i think?

Have you ever written an AU? yeah!! i've done restaurant au's, soulmate au's, pro hero aus, and fantasy aus (general, not the bnha fantasy ending)

What's your favorite AU trope? hm,, probably when two people in authority are in a secret relationship? ceo's/uni professors/etc etc

Have you ever written smut? yeah!! was. difficult tho

What's your comfort genre? (the one you fall on most in writing/reading) fluff,,, hurt/comfort,,, fix-it fics with happy endings <3

If you were to start writing in other fandoms, which would they be? maybe jjk?? the characters are really cool!!!! fr i might go back to my ever after high roots i love the characters and setting so Much its so fun!!! idec if no ones into it anymore!!!!!

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? i've had people say they saw the mention of buff hagakure and recognized it was me so. probably that skdjhnksjd

WRITING STYLE

How would you describe your style? i tend to use shorter sentences and pretty simple words i think? and i gravitate towards lighthearted concepts that allow for ensemble casts and humour!!

Describe your style in three words romcom but fanfic

Favorite words to use when writing? the word reverent!! fuckin love including it!!

Dialogue tags or no dialogue tags? (she said, he said, they said, etc) dialogue tags!!!

Favorite dialogue tag (other than said, if you use them) again idk if this counts but "they said softly" is unmatched

Long sentences vs short vs a mix short <33

What colors would you use to describe your writing? hm,,, depends on the fic i would say?? control fraek is dark green to me?? kinda like a forest at night yk?? scary but there's still life there. sugar cookies is yellow like early morning sunlight, when it rains is yellowy-orange like a caution sign. not gonna list all of them cause theres a lot its just. do u get it? the colours change based on the vibe of the fic.

What song or music genre would you use to describe your writing? think. i am constantly trying to emulate that moment at the end of wasteland baby when hozier goes "im in love/im in love with you."

What kind of metaphors do you rely on? religious metaphors my beloved <33 they're just so pretty!!! i also love comparing stuff to water for some reason?? like that ocean vuong quote thats like "what are you now?/water." it goes hard!!!

What's something you'd say is experimental in your writing at this time? definitely action!! i have,,, no idea how to write it so anything i do is really just me playing around and seeing what works and what doesn't

Do you prefer to write by hand or to type? i've tried both!! personally i prefer typing because it goes way faster but i will say that writing by hand lets me get words down when i'm going through writer's block

What is your preferred place to write (notebook, laptop, cellphone, etc.)? laptop!!

What app/apps do you use to write (word, notepad, etc.)? google docs skjdnkjh its fine on desktop but mobile is,,,,, disgusting

Do you keep a notebook or file/notes page in your phone/device for notes on your writing? ngl i just have everything organized in my drive?? one folder per fandom and then sub folders for ideas+hcs, unfinished wips, and finished fics. multichaps get sub sub folders so i can organize outlines and drafts

Do you listen to music to help you write? yeah!! playlists organized by fic vibe :D

Where do you usually go to write (bedroom, living room, etc.)? mostly in my bedroom??? but moving around to different stops helps too i think!!

How long does it usually take for you to write? again this depends on what i have going on irl, how attached i am to the idea, my mindset at the time, etc!! i am,, the least consistent person skjnhdkjh.

What's your favorite font to use when writing? times new roman my beloved

Other writing habits? sometimes i'll write in the dark?? bad for my eyes but for some reason it gets the words flowing

CONCEPTUALIZATION

How do you conceptualize your ideas? (See specific moments like they're a movie, writing specific lines in your head, don't know until you put the words on paper, etc.) i tend to get inspiration from movies, books, poems, or other fics!!! sometimes one line just makes me go oh,, i want to write something like that,,, and then it helps me create an idea that makes me feel the same way?? i did this with control fraek!!!! i wanted a scenario where bakugou was cold and calculating and i was like hm. to do that he’d have to be focusing on something important. and from there i was able to flesh out the rest of the idea.

Which comes first: the pairing or the plot? with krbk its always always the pairing,, i'll be sitting there like wow <33 i love them <33 what if one of them had amnesia <33 (which, yes, wip!!) otherwise it's usually the plot!! and i slot in characters that i feel make sense

Have you ever used a prompt? yeah!! used a prompt for wlw week 2020 and it was fun as hell

Do you write around the story around a specific scene you want to get to or do you start from a plot idea definitely the first!!!! i almost always write like,,, a super messy scene thats 90% dialogue, keep it in my head, and then write the entire fic around that one moment

Do you find that you include a projection of some part of yourself in the way you write a character? a lot of the time when i write love confessions or love in general i'll have one of the characters think or say that the other person makes their head quiet? and it's because that's what i feel whenever i'm in love?? a quiet mind. i project on characters yeah but i think most of the projection actually goes to the way that i write love

Do you research some of the things you write deeply, partially and kind of wing the rest, or play entirely by ear (in this case, go with whatever base knowledge of the subject you have)? most of the time if i do research it'll be about the setting (ex. the izakaya in to have and to hold) or if i'm having the characters interact with an object that they like. need to know how to use (me, in control fraek: google. hey google. does someone die if they get shot in the foot??? no???? awesome thank u <3)

Have you ever had an idea for a story and forgot about it? lmaoo yeah all the time i'll find like 500-2k words of concepts in my gdocs like i do. not remember this at all

Is there a trope you think you could be easily recognized by in your writing? probably krbk secret relationship lmao

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out better than expected? yeah!! i fully thought the action in control fraek would be awful but it turned out not bad??? which im happy with

Are there concepts you've tried that turned out worse than you expected? again, what we deserve, i personally think it would have worked out better if i'd paced it slower and drawn out the pining but i. do not feel like going back to fix it so its staying the way that it is. pining is so fucking hard to do AHHHH i get so tired with it!!! im like just date already!!!!

PROCESS

How do you come up with titles? in rare occasions (literally. all my multichaps for some reason) the title comes after writing like .5 words of the first chapter im like YES this is it!!!!! sometimes i write the whole thing and pick out one line that fits (what i did with come home to me) a lot of the time i just. steal from songs or poems that i like

What's your favorite emotion to cause on your readers? i like making people happy!!!! love when people comment saying they're cheered up

What's your favorite emotion to write? lovelovelovelovelovelove

Have you ever cried or felt any emotion while reading something you've written? never cried?? but sometimes i'll rereading my hurt/comfort fics 4. yk. comfort

Do you write in order or whatever comes to you? in order!! unless i have a scene that i Need to write and i'll quickly jot it down so that i don't forget

Usual way you procrastinate while writing? ...doing asks like this, making playlists, discord, watching netflix. what don't i do smh

Do you outline or free write? i am. so shit at outlines. i mostly free write and write lil notes for stuff that i wanna add later

Do you set word goals or scene goals (scenes you want to include)? yes!! like i said i'll write loose notes for scenes that i want to add later!! it gives me something to write towards :D

What do you consider when writing your scenes? what goes into making the atmosphere and mood you want? to set a scene i do two things? the first is like,, the five senses bc that always sets the scene really well and makes it feel Real. i'll visualize stuff in my head like its a movie and write out what i would want to tell the set designer?? if the lights are low, if the space is busy, if it's supposed to exude comfort or not.

for putting forward the character's mood one thing i've found that makes a difference is sentence length!! long sentences are good for making a character seem flustered and nervous or not really in control of their emotions? good for love confessions. short sentences are good for when the character is focused on something or short on time. good for fights!!

What's something you never considered to include in your writing that you can't leave out now? def buff hagakure,,,, once i thought of it i was like. if i don't include this at least once in every single fic how could i look at myself in the mirror!!!!!! how could i face anyone!!!!

How do you start a story? establishing a fact about the character or describing the setting! option a is one single thread of gold, option b is between lion and men

How do you end a story? either by tying it back to the beginning or doing like a funny kind of closing??? option a is sugar cookies, option b is a godless society

How do you get out of writer's block? change something!! move something!! i go from typing to handwriting, moving from my bedroom to my living room, switching wips to work on something else!! i do sprints as well?? give myself like fifteen minutes to write something and sometimes 200 words opens up the way for another 2k. sometimes i'll just delete like 500 words and start fresh

Do you edit? or do you toss your writing out there? i edit!!! i'll go over it myself then send it to one or two betas (bee my beloved <33)

How do you edit? do you use spellcheck, grammar checkers, etc? bee is my grammar checker bc he is So Good with grammar. i use grammarly as well for spellcheck stuff mostly?? sometimes my edit process is just like "am i tired of looking at this!! yes <3" and then i post it

PROGRESS

Do you usually like what you write? yeah!!! i post stuff that makes me happy and that i'm fine with rereading!!! i write stuff for self-indulgence reasons first and foremost and i think my writing reflects that sjhnksj

Have you ever written something you didn't like but posted anyways? nope!! even what we deserve i LIKED even if i see a lot of room 4 improvement!! if i don't like smth it's not getting posted

Do you find yourself rereading your writing often? yeah!! the reason i wrote so much krbk secret relationship is because i loved it but i'd read all that there was so i just,, wrote more,, ngl its kinda nice being in a place where i actually like my writing bc i can write stuff that i want to see and really enjoy it!!

Can you tell us anything about your current WIP? sure!! i'm currently working on when it rains which is a fic where bakugou gets hit by a crying quirk!! i'm gonna be using it to explore So Much of all might's character and his relationships with bakugou and aizawa (and i think some people from his past!!)

Can you give us a sneak peek on your current WIP? “You did something. What the hell did you do?” Kirishima sounds pissed off. It would amuse Katsuki if he wasn’t fighting just to stay standing.

“Nothing he didn’t ask for,” Shinsou replies.

“K’ri… shima,” Katsuki croaks out. “‘S fine. Not him.”

His chest collapses back into the familiar dry heaving after that but Kirishima shuts up. He doesn’t apologize to Shinsou.

Kirishima’s a good friend, stubborn and loyal. He stands by Katsuki’s side like an attack dog, blocking him from the view of anyone ogling at his tears.

The last line you've written Ochako knows more than she'd realized. She knows enough to keep her guard up.

It’s not enough.

Open a wip. what’s the first line?

Katsuki wakes up feeling like absolute fucking shit.

INSIGHT

What's your favorite thing about writing? touched on this before but it's mainly just being able to write the things that i want to see and actually enjoy them!!! actually reread them!!!! i thought "wouldn't it be cool if bkg and kirishima owned a restaurant together" and then i wrote it and i like it enough to reread it!!!! being able to create content for myself makes me. so happy

How do you keep yourself inspired? this is gonna sound narcissistic maybe but honestly i'm just really excited about my ideas and where i'm gonna take them and the idea of "i'm gonna get to That scene" keeps me going through the entire thing. also my friends!!!! i'll talk to them about fics and their reactions keep me hyped up enough to finish!!!!

What is your favorite thing to write? just,, slice of life romance,,, stuff thats silly and makes people laugh!!

What do you think your strengths are in writing? i'm good with dialogue!! i do lil voice acting sessions with myself to make sure everything sounds natural and like it's coming from that character skhjnskj

i'm comfortable with my portrayal of love as well??? i spend a lot of time thinking about what it is exactly that i'm trying to get across and i think it turns out well!!

What are things you wish you could practice more? on one hand i wanna get better at writing angst on the other hand i dislike writing angst. do you see my issue

One way you've improved your writing since you began? characterization!! i think i've gotten better at writing characters that are all Different and bring different things to the table!!! i used to project a lot more and it would compromise the characterization because the character was like 70% me and 30% them? not to say that projection is bad but if you do it too much it just,, doesn't read like the character and from a reader's standpoint the narrative can become less compelling

One aspect of writing you're still working on? writing action!!! i. literally hate writing it but i write for a fandom about superheroes so. Unfortunately i gotta learn.

A piece of writing advice you've learned while writing saw this on another tumblr post but they said sometimes if you're struggling with a scene, the problem is five lines back. i've found that to be true!!!! sometimes u gotta delete a chunk and start a little ways back!! i did this with too busy being yours because i was stuck for Weeks and i deleted like 25% of what i had but it helped me actually finish it :D

A bit of writing advice you can't stand when people shit on show don't tell for being overrated lmao bc when u read their writing you can Tell

Something you wish you knew when you first started writing? ,,,,honestly i kind of wish i could know some of the stuff that i used to when i first started writing?? technically i'm better now but creatively i was must better when i wasn't stressing about whether anyone would like what i was writing. so i guess i wish i knew that i should keep that confidence? i kinda wish that i wasn't as insecure about other people's writing styles because i never used to be!!

Something you've learned in life that you apply in writing there's no point in feeling inferior?? writing one genre isn't better than the other. being in one fandom isn't better than being in another. the kind of language you use or the length of your paragraphs- none of that stuff like. matters. what matters is that you're having fun and happy with what you're creating!!!! enjoy other peoples writing but don't let it make you feel worse about yours :D

#AHH ive wanted to answer these for so long...... bro fr i was so happy when u sent these!!! like wow!! finally got sent one!!! #sorry for how long the responses are idk how to be concise #asks #anon #a(lore)a

[jerepars]

Throwing Copper Extended Chapter Notes

1 / 5 Reinventing Your Exit

Hyperlinks appear in blue (underlined on mobile). The story is posted here.

Teresa could see the stress James carried in his jaw and the dark circles under his eyes. She recognized it because she’d seen it in herself before, the restlessness and slight delirium, when she wasn’t sleeping.

The first sentence is an ode to the opening lyrics of Remo Drive’s “I’m My Own Doctor”: I’ve been self-diagnosing all of my problems, carrying all my stress in my jaw.

David Lee Autry was one of many aliases James had over the last few years but one he maintained with close attention because the so-called Autry had a credit card in his name. James hadn’t exactly had time to pack a bag when he broke out of a CIA facility to warn Teresa about impending doom. He showed up in New Orleans in a stolen car, the clothes on his back, contents of his pockets, and a bullet lodged in his chest.

David Lee Autry is the name written on James’ fake passport in 2x03 (around 20:54 in the episode); Pete from the militia group reads it.

James felt a lump in this throat. Whether it was because there was something very domestic about letting someone else do his laundry or because he worried the warning he’d come with wasn’t enough to protect Teresa every time she walked out the door, he wasn’t sure. But he swallowed his feelings down and didn’t put up an argument to her laundry suggestion. He appreciated the clothing George had lent him, but oversized tracksuits and brightly patterned button-down shirts were far from James’ aesthetic. And he absolutely refused to put on King George-branded attire, aerodynamic or not, so he’d been going commando while waiting for David Lee Autry’s online order to show up at Teresa’s PO Box.

When Teresa and James meet King George for the first time in 2x01, we get the lovely scene where he yells for someone to get Teresa a King George bikini (1:12) and later points to the speedo he’s wearing, saying “aerodynamic as shit, will make you feel alive, I trust” (1:18). And, like, who am I to not bring up aerodynamic speedos and going commando?

The doctor had come back and after patching him up, again, prescribed bed rest for the patient who seemed to be doing everything to keep aggravating his body rather than help it get better. Teresa had been furious, asking if he had a death wish after all, so he’d spent the last two days bored out of his mind in bed from inactivity, barely sleeping and reading Faulkner. Or maybe he’d barely slept because he was reading Faulkner. Either way, James knew it best to tread lightly where Teresa was concerned.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t sit in a chair at a desk though. Anything would be an improvement over laying on his back and waiting for his thoughts to float up to the ceiling.

So, listen, since they’re in Louisiana, and given their close proximity to matters of death and dying, if James is going to be reading anything at all, it just feels fitting that he’d be reading Southern literature, specifically William Faulkner. As I Lay Dying is an obvious choice, but personally I think he’d be reading The Sound and the Fury. Not that it matters.

The last sentence in the second paragraph is a reference to “Dreamspace” by Glacier Veins, and the line that goes I’m on my back so I float up to the ceiling to feel different.

Teresa had cried herself to sleep that night thinking about everything that could have gone wrong, if he hadn’t made it in time, or if he had but if it had been too late for him. It wasn’t just anyone—it was James, and he would’ve spent his last dying breath to tell her to chase safety if that was what it took.

Never did I think I’d manage to make a nod to and with my one last gasping breath I’d apologize for bleeding on your shirt from “You’re So Last Summer” by Taking Back Sunday. To be here, in 2020, as an adult, and finding a way to make that reference is...strange yet somehow satisfying at the same time. Also, the chapter title is in reference to a song off the Underoath album They’re Only Chasing Safety, and it looks like I found a way to work that in as well. I don’t know why my musical inspiration for this version of Jeresa seems to come from music that peaked in the early 2000s?

There was a time when James had been her mentor to the underworld, always keeping her from sinking to the bottom, even when he’d been the one who had to make the tough calls and take the brutal actions. She didn’t think he’d ever be able to rid himself of that balancing act, of showing her the ropes but strongly advising her to untether herself from the line completely, to walk away. Teresa could still hear his voice in the back of her mind, from the night after the party at the Birdman’s when he told her in a matter-of-fact fashion why he’d sent her in: your job was to learn. Since then, and especially in his absence, it seemed there’d been only tough lessons to learn and bitter pills to swallow.

I have so much appreciation for the early dynamic between James and Teresa. The car scene in 1x05 outside the warehouse is a highlight because when Teresa gets out, all indignant, she thinks she has the last word (0:15), and James comes right back at her (0:21) to tell her how it is. He’s kind of smug about it. I love it.

And I know that there’s trouble all the time. But it’s interesting that when they get away from this dynamic (especially in S4 where it doesn’t exist, because James isn’t there), it seems that’s where the real trouble comes in.

The balance that they create is delicate.

They were so far removed from the time he’d said I’ve got a plan for a future and it doesn’t include getting killed by crossfire meant for you. But he’d chosen crossfire—sought it out, really—that was what his future devolved into. And like he’d said back then, she was trouble. More and more, Teresa had begun to wonder if there was anything the James she’d first met in Dallas wasn’t right about.

I know this scene in 1x04 is often reblogged and quoted. After watching it several times, my only question is if it’s just the lighting of the scene or did they forget to apply James’ tattoos on set that day? I can’t watch it or see gifs of it now without that bothering me.

It only took Teresa a day to get the cat to venture inside and it only took George a few minutes to declare its name: Peach. God damn, we got ourselves a grumpy cat on our hands, George had exclaimed as she sunk her claws into his flesh before escaping from his embrace like a magic trick, she’s got the same personality as Giant Peach over here. She’s little Peach.

So I guess I rolled with that bts picture of Peter from Alice’s story and wrote the cat into the story. I bet this cat makes zero appearance in S5 and at no point do any of them ever have a pet but I did it anyway. The first thought when I saw it was “Peach and Giant Peach”. Would James be a cat guy? I think he would.

George suspected there was much more to the exchange than the parting words voiced out loud, noticing there was a sense of thanks in her eyes, too. The looks Teresa and James gave each other exuded the tension between them and always made it feel at least ten degrees hotter than it actually was in any room. They had their own way of communicating that only made sense to them, that no one else was privy to. There were better odds throwing copper down a wishing well than trying to decode their language of silence.

The story title comes from “Throwing Copper” by Touché Amoré. Like throwing copper in a well. You’ll never know if wishes work only time can tell.

This is not really the part that made me decide to name the story after the song, but I was still happy to find a place for it in the narration.

“Think you might need to reinvent your exit strategy, Giant Peach,” George said with a frown, nearly in disbelief with himself over what he was about to reveal to James.

“Reinvent?”

“Reinvent. Rethink. As in don’t make one. Methinks the last thing Little Principessa needs right now is more people leaving.” George spoke without his usual puns, so James didn’t have to question if he was being serious.

As mentioned earlier, the chapter title is from a song off of They’re Only Chasing Safety, “Reinventing Your Exit”. I think this might be the biggest Underoath song there ever was? Just listening to this makes me feel 14 again. This was such a gateway to other music that I ended up loving.

Teresa’s evolving thirst for vengeance, to even the score, was foreign to James. It was part of Teresa that scared James a bit. Before he left Phoenix, he’d seen tiny red flashes of her anger, questionable decisions so far removed from when she’d stood within shooting distance on a train car and said we can do a different way, where none of us has to die. Her vision had seemed clear then; she wanted to move product without the same bloodshed as Camila. When James worked for Teresa, he’d never wanted her to lose herself in the business, and never thought she should stay in the business—those were things she’d said she never wanted, too. But being at the top in the business, like she was, it changed people. It was inevitable. It pulled them down into the fire until there was nothing left but scorched earth.

I get the sense that we are never ever getting this kind of James in canon, who is not totally cool with the part of Teresa that she shuts off in order to be queen. I think we probably get another yes man. And for canon, for the sake of Teresa being the queen, I get it. That’s fine. But, in any fic, I always find myself trying to humanize characters and not just leave them as archetypes. The reason this story got so long, the reason there was no way I was going to get through it in 2500 words or less (lol, who am I kidding, I can’t write anything of that length), is because I realized this is the James I want to explore. I want to see him push back at Teresa and not just let go, not just get shut down. Because Teresa is far from perfect and she doesn’t always make the right decisions (tbh, I think she makes a lot of dumb decisions). It’s a delicate balance between the two of them that gives the best outcome.

James’ thoughts in this first chapter are the setup for the exploration of the Jeresa dynamic in the next two chapters.

James used to see a blinding light when he looked right into Teresa’s eyes, a moral compass of sorts, always willing him to choose the humanity he’d buried so deep. But now it was light mixed with dark, integrated too well to be separated. Now looking into her eyes was like staring at a flickering light, not sure if it was going to illuminate the cave or burn out.

Here is the part of “Throwing Copper” that resonated with me for this whole thing: Like staring at a flickering light, you don't know when It'll burn out, or how much time you have left to let it light up your life.

So relevant.

I don’t want to lose you. Maybe that had been a proclamation of love in her own way, and maybe that was the last honest thing Teresa had ever said to James, after she’d realized she’d been wrong to doubt him. Those words had gripped him and followed him. He’d found solace and comfort in them even after he left, because he’d wanted nothing more than to stay, but he left to protect her because of what Devon had hanging over his head.

One of the lines in Tegan and Sara’s “This is Everything” is baby, this is the last honest look I’ll ever give. But by the end of the song it turns into baby, this is the last honest love I’ll ever give.

Teresa and James so obviously love each other but they never say that out loud, right? I feel like that moment in 3x12 when she says “I don’t want to lose you” (around 23:05 of the episode) is the closest we’ve gotten thus far. There’s a silent moment before she says it, and a silent moment after, before James answers and I swear all of it is so telling. The silence. The way they look at each other. The body language. Everything. They know.

#je repars notes

[legaylity]

I finished the Angst fic!! BEHOLD!!

Two Strangers in the Night

Finally it was over, after all these months of panic and fear the threat of "Carnage" was finally over. Watching the last tendrils of the Grendel symbiote burn away from Kasady's body Eddie finally felt like he could breathe. With Grendel gone so was the threat of Knull's awakening. Now things could return to normal. Before that could happen, however, he needed to retrieve Dylan.

"Spiderman!" He shouted. The hero finished webbing together the remaining peices of Grendel that had been controlling people and jogged over. "Everything okay over here Eddie?"

"Yes it's burned completely now. I'm sure the Avengers will contain the ashes just to be sure though. Where did Dylan go?"

"Oh I think he went with Normie to try and find that weird cat from earlier. He seemed kinda upset that it was gone."

Of course he would be out looking for Sleeper. Sleeper had saved him and Normie from the other symbiotes and to repay him Eddie had locked him out of the bunker. It was just too risky, he told himself, he had seen Knull take control of symbiotes and if that had happened with Sleeper inside the bunker, it was just too horrible to imagine. He was probably fine he was resourceful, even if he was being hosted by a stray cat. Obviously the condition of his host was unimportant.

Turning away from the furnace Eddie began to make his way out of the bunker. Dylan couldn't be far and Captain America wouldn't let two children wander very far alone. Looking around outside he was about to ask Cap where they were when he heard someone call out "Banner!!" Quickly turning to look he saw Dr. Banner picking his way over the rubble and heading towards where the Avengers had gathered. There was no sign of the Hulk or of the symbiote. They had left Eddie just before the final confrontation with Grendel. They had said something about "Needing to fix their mess" and that Eddie "Couldn't do what needed to be done". He never expected them to attach to Banner much less awaken the Hulk. He still felt a sliver of fear leftover from the first sight of the beast that combination had made. The remaining Avengers had joined Banner at the edge of the debris pile and were firing questions at him. "Are you alright?" One asked. "Where did you go?" Went another. Eddie hurried over and Banner looked up from where he had taken a seat on a section of wall. He waved off the concern of the others "I'm fine all things considered. I'm assuming Carnage is finished?"

"We were able to trap him in the furnace and burn him away." Cap answered. "We were worried after the symbiote bonded to you. Where is it?" He asked.

"I suppose I should explain" Banner said taking off his glasses to wipe the lenses. "After they bonded to me we all agreed to let them stay. Joe, Hulk and myself thought they could help and they did. I know you all probably saw us tossing around Carnage until they got distracted. I think something was calling to them. Next thing I know the Maker is there holding a weird cat and trying to tear it's spine out. So we tore off his head." It made sense that the symbiote would want to kill The Maker seeing as he wanted to destroy all of thier spawn and was then threatening Sleeper to their face.

The Avengers grimaced at this and Eddie remembered how it felt to crush a skull between those dagger-like teeth. A brain the size of the Maker's would keep the symbiote fed for months. Banner shrugged and continued his tale. "I think they talked to the one in the cat but they didn't let me hear. When I came around again the cat was on our shoulder and we had a capsule with the other symbiotes in it. They sensed that you all had defeated Carnage and they said to thank you all for them."

"Is it still with you?" Eddie interrupted.

"I was getting to that. They thanked me for allowing them to stay but said it was too cramped in my head for that to be any more than temporary. They separated from Hulk and followed the cat to the old cathedral. I think I heard them say something about a ship being there." Then he looked Eddie dead in the eyes "Also Brock, they wanted me to tell you goodbye. Sounded almost like they were asking me to deliver divorce papers. The kids were looking for that cat too so they're probably at the church."

This confused Eddie but now he knew where he needed to go. Thanking Banner he started towards the nearest church.

As he neared the building he recognized it as Our Lady of Saints, the place all this had started so long ago. With all the mixed emotions stirring in his chest he started calling for the boys and the symbiotes. Distantly he heard Dylan's voice call out "Eddie! Over here!" He followed the sound to a hole where the doors had once been that was most likely caused by the crazed symbiotes trying to reach former hosts. Inside he could see Dylan and Normie coming towards him and close to the altar was a small alien ship. That must have been what Sleeper used to return to Earth he thought.

"Eddie they're leaving!" Dylan panted as he reached his side "you've gotta talk them out of it!"

"Leaving? What do you mean?" he asked.

"We came here looking for Sleeper and he was already here with his parent. They were talking and Sleeper was telling them they need to go to space with him and they said they would and that since they got all the other babies back they would take them along even if Mania decided to stay and go back to Andi. But they're leaving with all of their spawn because you're an asshole." Dylan let out in a rush.

"He's quoting the symbiote." Normie said "my mom doesn't like it when I swear so I'm covering for you."

Eddie looked back towards the ship now filled with worry and confusion about the turn this day had taken.

Now that his eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness he could make out shapes moving around the ship. Sleeper was carrying containment tubes that appeared to hold five of his siblings, where Scream had come from Eddie had no idea, into the ship. Then he spotted them. His symbiote with it's ever present spider emblem was tracing patterns on a bell that had fallen into the sanctuary when the wall was destroyed. Slowly making his way down the church aisle towards them he tried to think of what to say. So much had come between them in the past few months he wasn't sure where to start. Pausing a few feet away from them, unsure of how they would react he simply asked "What are you doing?" It came out in more of a whisper but he was glad it didnt sound like an accusation.

"It's so strange to see these while they are quiet. They're actually quite beautiful when they arent hurting me." They said without turning to face Eddie.

"You haven't talked like that in a long time."

"Being in Banner's mind helped to repair most of the damage done by Price. Banner was kind to me. Understood what I was trying to do."

"What was that?"

They sighed more to express their feelings than any need for oxygen. "Eddie, I started this. My carelessness is what caused Carnage. I realize that it was Grendel controlling Cletus but Knull would never have chosen him if I hadn't abandoned my first child. I had to make that right. On top of that most of the people that got hurt in this were targeted for being my hosts I couldnt let anyone else die because of me."

"You stopped fighting Carnage to go after The Maker. That's when people died." Now it was an accusation. All this talk that reeked of nobility and sacrifice was pissing Eddie off. What had they risked when they abandoned him and Dylan just to go after some evil scientist Hybrid. Finally they turned to face Eddie and he was surprised. They appeared to be hostless but were holding a humanoid shape, it reminded him of Carnage a bit with how emaciated and bony they looked.

"The Avengers were awake by then and my child needed me. The Maker had suppressed the others and was going to kill them all starting with Sleeper." They took a step towards Eddie and looked him in the eyes. Quietly they said "Do you know what it is like to hear your child scream out for you? Not knowing if you can reach them in time?" They took another step. "You would if you hadn't locked him out of the bunker."

Eddie took a step back "I had to, Carnage was too close to getting in. I had to protect Dylan."

"I know. Dylan is your son but you seem to have forgotten that Sleeper is as well."

Eddie wanted to change the subject uncomfortable with what they were implying.

"Dylan said you were leaving. You can't do that."

They snorted and raised what would've been an eyebrow on a human. "Why not? Are you going to stop me?"

Eddie had to think quickly. "I need you here. I didnt know what to do without you when I thought you were dead. I can't lose you again."

"You dont need me Eddie. You don't even want me why else would you believe I would do those terrible things to you?"

For quite a while Eddie had believed that the symbiote was manipulating his memories along with worse offenses. Inventing a sister and an uncle, erasing a memory of accidentally killing his neighbor and even assaulting Anne and creating Dylan were just some of the things he had thought. Now with his codex cleared of Knull's influence Eddie knew it had all been false. He did have a sister and uncle, he had been the child hit by a drunk driver and Dylan was not the product of a violation of Anne. Just an inadvisable night of emotion and old memories while the only thing the symbiote violated was a bucket of chocolate ice cream hidden in the back of Anne's freezer.

"I know that wasn't real now." He said taking a step back towards them feeling a desperation set in. He felt so weak on his own and there was no way to know just what other horrors were lurking to take advantage of that weakness. "We've come back from worse. I sold you remember? I..I tried to kill you but you forgave me."

The symbiote looked away towards where a broken stained glass window made a colorful pattern on the floor.

"You are right. We did come back from that." They seemed to be searching for the right words. "I forgave you because I loved you Eddie. I've found that I'm able to forgive almost any horrible thing that happens to me. That's how I am but Eddie this is so so much worse than all of that."

"How? What's changed?"

Now their anger was starting to show through. "I have never once lied to you!" They hissed then seemed to rein in their emotions. "You thought I made up lies to keep you from leaving me. You used my mindless body as an attack dog. You thought I raped your wife." They said softly as they reached out and took Eddie's much larger hand in their own.

"I thought it couldnt get much worse than that but then it did. You left our child in danger. You abandoned him when he needed you most. I know I don't have the best record for protecting my children but you," It sounded like they choked back a sob "you were supposed to be better. You promised him you would be."

Eddie remembered making that promise. Holding the newborn symbiote against his chest swearing to it with all the love in his heart that he was going to be better, better than Carl.

The symbiote continued "He nearly died while begging for his father to come save him and that is the one thing I cannot forgive. That is why I am leaving you Eddie." They let go of his hand and started to turn away before he caught their arm.

"Darling I'm sorry..it's just..I haven't been thinking right. I was so scared with Knull coming and Carnage after me and Dylan I didn't know what else to do. I'm not myself."

He felt desperate now knowing how serious it was. They had left before but this time...this time had an air of finality to it.

Gently shaking off his hand they looked at him again.

"Now who's making things up? You know you did this Eddie. Not Knull, not Carnage, you Eddie Brock." For a moment he thought he saw what may have been a semblance of tears in their eyes. "I don't know who you are anymore Eddie. I can't recognize this man you've become. All I know is you aren't the man I married and you certainly aren't the man I loved. It's over."

Now he was sure those were symbiotic tears trickling down their face. They mirrored the wetness running into his own beard. He felt hollowed out hearing those same words that Anne had used when she had left him. Why did he keep changing in ways that hurt those he loved, he wondered. The symbiote stretched their maw into a sad smile and reached up to kiss him one last time. He wanted to grab them, promise he would be better and never let them go, but he couldn't. They wouldn't believe him and his promises meant nothing.

As they pulled away he could feel tiny cuts on his lips from their teeth, any time before those cuts would've been healed instantly but no more. He felt unmoored as the symbiote patted his chest gently and walked towards the ship. Stopping to pick up a final containment chamber that held a small red symbiote they glanced back at him. "Goodbye Eddie Brock. Have a nice life." They said and then walked up the ramp and into the ship.

Eddie took a shaky breath. This couldn't be real it had to be a lingering trick of Knull's. Desperately looking for anything that might help him he saw Sleeper making his way towards the ship. He must have left the church to reclaim Tel-Kar while Eddie was talking to his parent as he was humanoid once again and had a normal cat on his shoulders. Eddie ran to catch up to him before he entered the ship.

"Sleeper wait!" He said grabbing his arm. Sleeper stopped moving and stood as if he were frozen. Eddie stammered for something to say but Sleeper beat him to it.

"Get away from me." He said with a coldness that nearly stopped Eddie's heart.

"Sleeper I understand you're upset but I'm sorry. You have to understand none of us could take the chance of letting you in. If Knull got control of you in that bunker we all would've died."

"Oh I understand perfectly." He said with the same coldness but now there was a hint of something else in his voice. It sounded like something between rage and heart broken grief.

"Then why are you both leaving? Please explain it to me Sleeper. Your parent and I can work things out and you're my son I lo..." he was cut off as Sleeper whipped his head around to stare down at him.

"Do not lie to me." He spat and jerked away from Eddie. Taking a few steps away he spoke again. "You are not my father! My father was not a coward like you he would have sooner been locked out of that bunker himself than leave me to die." The careful control Sleeper had on his emotions cracked and the grief became obvious as he continued.

"My father would have come for me. He would have saved me no matter the danger to himself. He would have heard me screaming for him! He would not have slammed that door in my face...unless he did not care." Sleeper's shoulders shook and the cat jumped down to scurry into the ship where his parent was watching. "I know how much my father loved me so for him to not be there for me he must be dead." He finished quietly and looked down at the floor.

Eddie walked slowly in front of Sleeper to see his face. He was surprised by the sight of human tears rolling down the young symbiote's face and into the holes in his cheeks. "I'm so sorry Sleeper." He whispered. "I'm so sorry but I'm here now. I'm not dead."

Sleeper looked up at his words "You are to me."

Eddie staggered back as if he'd been hit. "Sleeper!" He gasped.

Now it was the rage that took over "I am not your son isn't that what you want to hear! You made it apparent that's what you think of me! I was only good enough when you didn't know you had a human son, a "real" son!!" Sleeper pointed angrily towards where Dylan and Normie were still watching. "There he is, the one you love the most!! The one that looks like you, and talks like you and isn't half malicious parasite!!" He shouted.

Turning away from Eddie he stormed up the ramp of the ship. He paused at the top and seemed to deflate as his anger dissipated as quickly as it had come only to be replaced by the ache of sadness again. "I would rather have a dead father than a father that stopped loving me for things I can't control."

He looked back at where Eddie stood frozen in place. "Go then. Be a good father to him I know you are capable of it. He is a good child he deserves to be loved. I hope our paths never cross again." He stepped inside and started to close the hatch. Just before it sealed Eddie heard Sleeper's faint final words to him

"Goodbye...Father."

As the ship's engines powered up Dylan ran over and hugged Eddie, possibly feeling as though what had happened was his fault. Eddie could vaguely make out Sleeper and his parent through the main viewport and knew that this was likely the last he would ever see of them both. The ship lifted off and rose into the atmosphere and as Eddie's heart broke he felt like he couldn't breathe.

---

It didn't take long for Earth to practically vanish behind them. The symbiote couldn't believe they had finally done it, they had left Eddie for good. They were currently in the small bunk area of the ship trying to distract themself from the hollowness they felt by checking on their children. Lasher, Riot, Phage and Agony were all in one containment tube huddled together. They were still frightened by the entire ordeal but their parent hoped they would calm down soon and relax.

Scream was in her own tube next to her siblings, it had been so long since she had seen them along with her first host having killed all of theirs that Sleeper had thought it best to contain her alone for now. She was sleeping now which they thought was good so they left her alone.

Then they came to the one that most worried them. The final tube contained all that was left of Red in the world. From what they had been able to peice together a small part of her had been revived when Grendel infected Norman Osborn. She had survived when her parent killed Osborn and Sleeper had recovered her from the corpse. She was so small and afraid, they could hear her quietly calling out for Cletus and it broke her parents heart. They would tell her what happened, one day after she had recovered and grown strong again. They just hoped she could forgive them.

Leaving Sleeper's new cat to curl around the tubes they walked to the cockpit to check on their youngest. "Sleeper?" They said as they entered.

He didn't turn to face them "Yes parent?"

"Are you alright?" They asked taking a seat next to him.

He was silent for a minute as he engaged the auto pilot, where they were headed the symbiote did not know nor did they care.

"No. I am not." He said and he started to cry. The sound of it only added to the ache they felt in their core and they pulled him close. He rested his head on their shoulder and cried, not even caring that he sounded exactly his age. Their own form of tears joined his as they let the pain of the past few months truly settle in their mind.

After a while Sleeper choked out "Some birthday. Instead of getting a gift I lose my father and nearly die." The symbiote remembered now, that very day marked exactly a year since Sleeper's birth. The stark differences between then and now only made their grief worsen.

"I am so sorry Sleeper." They tried to think of anything that would comfort their heartbroken child but it was a struggle. Finally they settled on what they had done before he was even born.

They started to hum an all too familiar tune that had once done the trick even if now it was bittersweet. Eventually they sense Sleeper giving in to rest and finished their song but with a small change to the final lines.

Looking sorrowfully at the tiny speck that was Earth they sang "Now it's all we are...two strangers in the night."

#venom #venom comics #the venom symbiote #eddie brock #Sleeper #Dylan Brock #venom fanfic #im so sorry #but i had to #ill make it up to you all if you are sad #feel free to tell me how you feel #just please dont be mean because i am also sad

[pocket-luv101]

Dramatic Blond || Part 2

Fandom: Servamp Ships: LawLicht (main), KuroMahi (side) Characters: Hyde, Licht, Kuro, Mahiru, Lily

Summary: Hyde enrolls in Juilliard to win back his ex. But then he meets Licht who helps him discover a new dream. He will become a famous actor and show his ex that he’s someone serious. (Legally Blonde AU)

Part 1 || (Part 2)  || Part 3 || Part 4

“I thought you were going to help me practise my improv, Angel Cakes. You’re paying more attention to Dr. Jekyll. He’s cute and all but I asked you to come over to help me with my improv class. You can pet him and read lines from a hat at the same time.” Hyde waved the upside-down hat in front of Licht. When he didn’t respond, he tapped the hat against his nose.

Licht swiped the hat from him and used it to lightly hit him as retaliation. Slips of papers flew into the air between them and Hyde waved them away. He picked one of the papers from blond hair and unfolded it. “Scenario: You are a demon who patrols the underworld. One day, you see an angel on the other side of the gate. What is the first thing you say to this angel?”

“I don’t remember writing that as a prompt.” Hyde took the paper from him and found that it said something different. He chuckled and said: “Of course, you would make something up with angels and demons, Lichtan. Can’t you take this seriously and read the lines like I asked you to?”

“You asked me to help you with improv and that’s what I’m doing. These prompts are from your textbook so you already thought of lines in response while you wrote them down. This is the best way to help you create a scene on the spot.” Licht told him. His reasoning made sense to Hyde so he nodded. “The angel tells you that he intends to break down the gate. How do you respond, Demon?”

“With a declaration of peace and love.” He cupped his hands around Licht’s. “Sweet angel, there’s no need to be so violent. Give us a chance before you decide we’re all evil demons. I will open the gate for you and show you the Demon Realm. We’ll go wherever your heart desires. Maybe you’ll discover that we’re not so different and decide to stay with us.”

“Demons took the love of my life. I cannot forgive them for their crimes against angels.” Licht said to change the direction of the improv skit. Even if he was merely practising his acting, he felt flustered by his light flirting. Hyde was attractive and he could easily picture him on a large stage. More than his looks, he was talented. His eyes appeared sincere and his smooth voice was almost able to trick him.

“Your angel left you for a demon? Then there’s only one thing we can do, Angel Cakes. Let’s date and make your ex jealous! So, what do you say?” He asked but Licht’s response was to hit him with a pillow. Hyde managed to catch the pillow and tossed it back to him. He chuckled and gathered the loose papers. “I guess I went too far. Let’s pick another scenario.”

“Give me a second to think of one you can’t turn into a cheesy rom-com. Do you have any suggestions, Jekyll? Squeak, squeak.” He spoke with the hedgehog as if it could understand him. Their interaction made him chuckle. He could almost believe that the two were having a conversation. He was certain that there wasn’t anyone else like Licht though.

His hedgehog hopped off his lap and scurried into an opened closet. Licht stood and followed the small animal. He guessed that it wanted to explore its new home and it was drawn to dark places. He pulled a cardboard box out of the closet so he could find Jekyll. As he set the box aside, he noticed a colourful scrapbook inside. He didn’t think Hyde would own something so childish.

Hyde noticed him staring at the scrapbook and he took it out of the box. He sat next to Licht and opened it on his lap. “I made this when I was a kid. My baby brother must’ve put it in here when we were packing. Lily is pretty sentimental. It’s a scrapbook of my dreams. My drawings haven’t improved since I made this so it would be impossible for me to get into Juilliard on my art skills.”

“Your drawings aren’t the best but these dreams are interesting. Is this a farm of hedgehogs?” Licht found Dr. Jekyll and petted him fondly.

“A petting zoo, actually. I planned to only have hedgehogs in my zoo. They’re the cutest animal in the world so you don’t need anything else.” He told him but he was a little embarrassed of his six year old self. Licht didn’t laugh at his silly dream though. He pointed to the next picture and Hyde told him, “That’s me building a fortress on the moon. I also want to find a talking whale and befriend him.”

They continued to go through the scrapbook together. He flipped to the next page where there was a stage drawn in crayon. “I forgot about this one. I wanted to star in a production of Hamlet with my friend, Ophelia. We planned to rewrite the play and have Ophelia actually team up with Hamlet. They would pull an elaborate prank on the Uncle. The ghost dad helps them too.”

“You read a Shakespearean tragedy like Hamlet when you were a kid? I can barely understand those plays at this age.” Licht didn’t know if he should be impressed or question how a child discovered the play. “You know a lot of quotes from Shakespeare’s plays. Did you practice them with Ophelia like what we’re doing right now?”

“She joined the drama club in high school and I would help practice her lines. Ayato didn’t like me hanging out with her though. I tried to tell him that Ophelia and I were just friends but he was pretty possessive. Ophelia and I eventually stopped talking and we drifted apart.” He shrugged but Hyde now regretted losing that friendship.

“Isn’t that a big, red flag?” Licht understood that it was difficult for the person in the relationship to see those flags in the moment. His mother dated demons because she thought they were fallen angels. She was a hopeless romantic and believed she could fix them. They broke her heart more often than not. It taught him that demons won’t change until they want to improve themselves.

Hyde closed the book. “My new dream is for Ayato to see me on that stage and regret dumping me.”

“Why is your new dream still centered around your ex when you have this scrapbook of better goals?” Licht leafed through the pages. He thought that it was a shame he gave up on himself long ago. He didn’t know if he could say anything to dissuade him. “Greedy isn’t the worst thing to be, as long as you’re honest and work hard to get what you truly want.”

Hyde’s phone buzzed and he checked the email. “They just posted the audition dates and requirements. It looks like we have to cancel our study session next week. I have to pick a monologue and memorize the short scene they sent me. This is going to take up my weekend and I probably won’t get a big part.”

“Only if you act half heartedly. Print out that script and I’ll read through it with you.”

Mahiru hummed softly as he polished a trumpet. He considered himself lucky to have a music shop close to Juilliard but it kept him very busy. At least he managed to find free time that day. He was expecting a visit from Hyde and Licht since they agreed to have lunch together. He loved both cooking and music. Mahiru offered to cook for them and they were out buying groceries.

The door chime rang, signalling that someone had entered his store and he looked up. It wasn’t Hyde or Licht though. Mahiru didn’t recognize the man. Due to his blue hair, he assumed he was also attending Juilliard. He put on a professional smile and greeted the man. “Welcome. Is there anything you’re looking for? I would be happy to help you.”

“Are you Mahiru?” The question made him pause but he nodded. Mahiru didn’t know how the man knew his name before he gave it. Then, he said: “Hyde told me about you. I wanted to talk to you about him.”

“You must be Ayato.” His brown eyes narrowed. Hyde had only told him about one other man in his life that went to Juilliard. He had to admit that he looked different than he imagined. The man was handsome but much older than Hyde. He appeared to be only a few years older than Mahiru. When he started to speak, Mahiru raised his hand.

“Let me stop you right now. Hyde told me about you, Ayato. It was wrong for you to string him along and I won’t let you do that again. Hyde is my friend. Whatever you want from me, my answer is no. So, please leave my store right now.” Mahiru gestured to the door but then he noticed Hyde’s car in the store window.

Mahiru tried to think of what to do as Hyde parked his car. He was worried that Hyde would cause a scene once he sees his ex-boyfriend again. Before he could, Hyde spotted them as well and waved happily to them. He walked inside and yelled: “Hi, Nii-san! You came earlier than I thought he would.”

“Nii-san?” Mahiru repeated in shock. He looked between the two and Kuro nodded. He couldn’t find a family resemblance between them. Yet, it was clear that the two were siblings by the way they interacted with each other. Hyde poked Kuro and then hugged him briefly. After he talked with Kuro, he faced Mahiru to introduce his brother.  

“It looks like you already met my brother, Kuro. Is it okay if he joins us for lunch? I accidentally agreed to hang out with him today without realizing it’s the same day we were supposed to have lunch. Kuro doesn’t drive down to New York often.” Hyde explained. Mahiru felt guilty for his earlier assumption and readily nodded. “It looks like Licht needs help with the bags. You two talk while I help him.”

“Just put the bags on the counter. I’ll start cooking in a minute.” Mahiru waited for Licht and Hyde to leave until he apologized to Kuro. “I am so sorry I mistook you for Ayato. Hyde didn’t tell me he had a brother but it was still wrong of me to make assumptions. I was planning to cook ramen. Is there anything special you want in your bowl? It’ll be my way of apologizing.”

“Don’t worry. I know the family resemblance is hard to see.” He was glad to see that Kuro was understanding. “I’m happy that Hyde has a friend who would defend him. Honestly, I was concerned about him enrolling in Juilliard. It would be troublesome if he started dating Ayato again. He’s an adult but I still worry about him. Actually, I wanted to ask about him and Licht.”

“They’re close friends despite their differences.” It was clear to Mahiru that he cared for his family. He smiled up at Kuro and placed the trumpet in a case. “But they do need supervision or else they’ll find something to fight over. Go join them upstairs while I flip the open sign. You and your brother must have a lot of catching up to do.”

“I’m pretty sure Hyde has a lot more to tell me than the reverse. I don’t get the chance to meet interesting people often. Well, today might be an exception.” He said before he walked away. Mahiru could feel himself blushing as he watched Kuro leave. He didn’t know if he was flirting with him but his subtle smile was rather charming.

Hyde stayed behind while his brother walked up the stairs. He looked between the two and a knowing smile spread across his face. After Mahiru locked the shop door and flipped the open sign, he approached him. In a teasing voice, Hyde said: “What do you think of my brother? He seems to like you. It’s rare that he’s taken with someone so quickly. You should have another lunch with just him.”

“Kuro seems like a good guy but I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship.” He told him. “Anyways, I’m busy with my music shop. I don’t know if I have a lot to offer him in a relationship.”

“Don’t say that, Mahiru.” Hyde clapped his hand on his back. While he and Licht were neighbours, he doubted they would’ve become so close without Mahiru’s advice. He thought he could repay the favour. “We’ve known each other for a few months now but I rarely see you go out. Close the shop on a Sunday and go on a date with Kuro.”

“I doubt he’ll ask me out.” Mahiru shook his head.

“Let me show you a trick! It’s called the ‘bend and snap’. When you want to catch a guy’s attention, pretend to drop something. You bend down, wait a few seconds and then stand up like so. It shows off your ass and he won’t be able to take his eyes off you. Now, follow me.” He dropped a pen on the ground. Hyde bent down but then he heard a loud clatter behind him.  

He looked back and saw that Licht was struggling with a drum set. He must’ve accidentally walked into the instrument. Hyde went to help him and straightened the drums. He laughed and asked him, “Are you okay, Lichtan? You’re not the clumsy type who walks into things.”

“It was nothing!” He insisted with a blush. He hoped Hyde wouldn’t be able to see how flustered he was. Licht didn’t know how Hyde would react if he told him that he distracted him and made him walk into the drum set. He couldn’t meet his red eyes so he turned to Mahiru. He changed the subject and said, “I came down to ask if you want any help cutting the vegetables.”

“That would be great.” Mahiru smiled at his friend. “I’ll have lunch ready in twenty minutes.”

“I’ve never been to a musical before. It was more fun than I thought it would be but it’s a little too flashy for my tastes.” Licht told him as they walked out of a small, local theater. The sunlight made him wince after sitting in the dark for an hour. A shadow fell over him when Hyde held a textbook over his head. He grinned down at him and lightly tapped the book against his hair.

“Lighting and other technical things are the unsung heroes of a production. They enhance the actor’s performance. I guess you wouldn’t feel the same since you want to be a concert pianist. You’re the type who prefers working alone too.” Hyde said and replaced his textbook in his bag. “I picked the musical so what do you want to do next?”

“I need to stretch my legs after sitting for so long. Let’s walk through the plaza and look around.” Licht suggested but he was already walking forward. They fell into step next to each other and discussed the musical. He was rarely about to pull himself away from his piano but going to the theater was a fun change of pace. Hyde’s company made it better than he would admit.

Licht left his class and his attention was drawn to a crowd across the courtyard. He was curious about what had their attention. “What’s so interesting about this wall?”

“Our professor must’ve just put up the audition result.” He took his hand and pulled him towards the crowd. Hyde thought that it was best to wait for the crowd to thin before he checked the list. He did his best at the audition but he doubted he got a large part. “Will you come watch me even if I’m just an extra on stage?”

“Did you see what part you got already?” Licht stood on his toes in a vain attempt to see past everyone to the audition result sheet. The text was too small for him to see at a distant. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed Hyde shake his head. “Then why would you say you’re an extra? You’re hopeless, Shit Rat. I’m interested in seeing that play though. What is it?”

“Romeo and Juliet. I like that play but I was hoping that they would put on one of his lesser known plays. Maybe a comedy like…” Hyde trailed off. Licht noticed his gaze appear far away and he turned around to see what caught his attention. A man approached them but he didn’t recognize who he was. He saw how Hyde stiffened. “Oh, Ayato. I don’t see you around campus often.”

“I switched programs a week ago.” Ayato told him. Licht found himself stepping in front of Hyde slightly. He didn’t know why he felt protective of him.

“You switched majors in the middle of the semester?” Licht didn’t hide how doubtful he was.

“His parents are influential people in the music industry and they’re almost as wealthy as my family. Almost.” Hyde whispered into his ear. Licht rolled his eyes at Ayato and it was clear that he was far from impressed by the man. “I didn’t see you at the audition. What part did you try out for?”

“My fiancé and I auditioned to be Romeo and Juliet.” He answered. The short answer echoed in Hyde’s mind and he felt himself froze. Fiancé? They dated for nearly seven years yet Ayato proposed to someone else shortly after their break up. A few months ago, the news would’ve devastated him. Hyde neither felt sad nor upset now.

“Shit Rat, who’s Tybalt?” Licht interrupted them. He faced them and tapped his knuckles on the piece of paper. “You’re playing him and not an extra. I don’t remember much from high school English class but I think he’s important.”

“I got the part?” Hyde knew Licht wasn’t the type to lie but he was still in disbelief. He skimmed his finger over the names until he found his own. Next to his name was ‘Tybalt’ in black and white. He read it a few times and a smile slowly spread across his face. Suddenly, Hyde hugged Licht. He spun in a circle and his feet was lifted off the ground. “I got the part!”

“I know, Shit Rat. I was the one who pointed it out to you. Put me down before all this spinning makes me puke. I will throw up on you.” He warned. He felt dizzy when he placed him on his feet again. Licht wasn’t angry after he saw Hyde’s large grin. He had never seen him so happy or proud. That smile had a charm that made his heart skip.

“I wouldn’t have been able to get the part without you, Lichtan. Thank you. I’ll take you out for dinner as a treat.” He took Licht’s hand and started to pull him away. He faced Ayato and said, “You’re playing Mercutio. I can’t wait for our big scene together.”

Hyde grinned at Ayato before he walked away with Licht.

#servamp #lawlicht #greed pair #kuromahi #sloth pair #servamp hyde #licht jekylland todoroki #servamp kuro #mahiru shirota #fanfiction

[romancatholicreflections]

21st December >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Luke 1:39-45 for 21st December: 'Blessed is she who believed'.

21st December

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Luke 1:39-45

Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

Gospel (USA)

Luke 1:39-45

And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Reflections (6)

21st December

(i) After Mary responded to the message of the angel Gabriel with the words, ‘let what you have said be done to me’, Luke tells that Mary set out as quickly as she could to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Even though she had received wonderful news regarding herself, her first thoughts were not for herself but for her older cousin. Her faith showed itself in love, a journey of love to someone who was in greater need than herself. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul says, ‘the only thing that counts is faith working through love’. Mary is a perfect example of the kind of faith Paul refers to. Having given herself in love to Elizabeth by travelling to meet her, Mary immediately receives a blessing from Elizabeth. Elizabeth declares Mary blessed because of the child she is carrying and also because of her believing response to God’s word. It is often the way in our own lives that we are greatly blessed by those to whom we reach out in love. Quoting Paul again, this time his second letter to the Corinthians, ‘you will be enriched in every way for your great generosity’. Mary’s journey of love graced Elizabeth and Mary, in turn, was graced by Elizabeth. Both women were so open to the Lord that each of them brought the Lord to the other. Here we have an example of human encounter at its best. It is the kind of encounter that we are all called to make possible, especially at this time of the year.

And/Or

(ii) 21st December

According to the gospel reading we have just heard, Mary set out on a journey to visit her older cousin Elizabeth to be with her in her pregnancy, and she stayed with Elizabeth three months. This was a visit that seemed to bring out the best in both women. Because of Mary’s visit, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the child in her womb leapt for joy, and Mary herself was moved to pray the great prayer that we know as the Magnificat. Both women, the visitor and the one visited, were the better for Mary’s visit. The journey and the visit are very much part of our own celebration of Christmas. Some members of your own family may have already arrived to visit you for Christmas after travelling a long journey. Others may be setting out in the next few days and their visit is eagerly anticipated. Our airports, our ports, our bus stations, our train stations will be very busy places over the next few days. As Mary visited Elizabeth in the gospel reading and that visit was joyfully received by Elizabeth, so the act of visiting and the receiving of visits will be at the heart of our lives over the coming days. Mary’s generous visit in the gospel reading was matched by Elisabeth’s generous welcome, a welcome that recognized Mary’s worth and that celebrated her goodness. If Mary shows us how to visit, Elizabeth shows us how to receive a visit. We welcome our visitors by recognizing the good that is in them, by recognizing the ways the Lord is working in their lives.

And/Or

(iii) 21st December

In this morning’s gospel reading, Elizabeth greets Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. It is a lovely title for Mary, one we do not hear very often. We can each say of Mary that she is ‘the mother of my Lord’. To speak of Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’ is not far removed from referring to her as ‘the mother of God’. Both of thes title ‘God’ and ‘Lord’ equally apply to Jesus and express his divinity. Yet to speak of Jesus as ‘my Lord’ highlights the personal dimension of our relationship with Jesus. It echoes the way Thomas, the disciples, addressed the risen Jesus towards the end of John’s gospel as ‘my Lord and my God’. It was a very personal confession of Thomas after a period of great doubt. Jesus is Lord and God but for each one of us he is ‘my Lord and my God’. If we each address Jesus as ‘my Lord’ we are acknowledging our desire to allow Jesus to be Lord of my life, my unique and unrepeatable life. We venerate the child Jesus in the crib as someone who is now ‘my Lord’. Like Elizabeth, we honour Mary as the mother of my Lord. We honour her because it was through her that the Lord came to us. It is because of her that we can each come to know Jesus as ‘my Lord and my God’.

And/Or

(iv) 21st December

This morning’s gospel reading has always made a deep impression on me. It is the meeting of two women, two great women of faith. It is also the meeting of two children, Jesus and John the Baptist who are being carried in the wombs of the two women. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting we are told that the child leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. Even before he was born, John rejoiced at the coming of Jesus. Elizabeth in turn recognized the child that Mary was carrying by declaring, ‘blessed is the fruit of your womb’ and by addressing her as ‘mother of my Lord’. Both Elizabeth and her unborn son recognized that the visit of Mary was, at the same time, a visit from the Lord. The Lord was coming to them through Mary. The Lord came to all of us through Mary. Mary, in turn, exemplifies our own calling to bring the Lord to each other. We will be giving gifts to each other this Christmas, but the real gift we can give to each other is the gift of the Lord, the gift of his loving presence.

And/Or

(v) 21st December

It is likely that we will all be visiting people over the coming days of Christmas and people will be visiting us. It is one of the good traditions of Christmas. We go out of our way to visit family members, friends, those who may be alone at this time of the year. We make a special effort to welcome those who visit us and to make them feel at home. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth sets the tone for all our visits. Mary brought the Lord to Elizabeth, and Elizabeth, in turn, recognized the coming of the Lord through Mary. The Lord was at the heart of their meeting. We too are called to bring the Lord to those we visit and to recognize the Lord in those who visit us. The Lord is to be at the heart of the visits we make to each other. At this Christmas time of the year, we celebrate the most fundamental visit of all, God’s visit to us in and through Mary’s child. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, declared in his great prayer, ‘God has visited his people’. We are called to make that great visitation of God to us in Jesus real and concrete in our visits to each other at this Christmas time.

And/Or

(vi) 21st December

In this morning’s gospel reading we hear of the meeting between two women, Mary and Elizabeth. It is also the meeting between two infants, Jesus and John the Baptist, whom Mary and Elizabeth were carrying in their wombs. The child in Elizabeth’s womb is described as leaping for joy at the greeting of Mary, because in some mysterious way, John, although still unborn, sensed the presence of Jesus in the womb of Mary. We are given a picture of John the Baptist as someone who is extremely sensitive to the presence of Jesus even as both John and Jesus were still in their mother’s wombs. John the Baptist has something to teach us about the art of being sensitive to the presence of the Lord. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus we can often fail to recognize the presence of the Lord even though he is close to us. We can be so absorbed in our own experience, as those two disciples were, that we fail to see the Lord, fail to notice his presence. As we become sensitive to the Lord’s presence to us, we can help others to notice what we have noticed. In the gospel reading, the reaction of Elizabeth’s child in her womb enabled Elizabeth to recognize Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. Through her unborn child, Elizabeth came to see that Mary’s visit was also the visit of the Lord. Advent and Christmas is a time when we help each other to become more aware of and alert to the presence of the Lord among us, especially in and through each other.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or  [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin

[underquail]

..... Would you be pissed if I asked you to answer every single one?

Nope! Here we go! This is gonna be a long post, so asks are under the read more

1. Who’s your favourite character from UT?

Mettaton! I’ve cosplayed him like...3 times (and won like $50 from a costume contest eyyy). Undyne is a close second.

2. Who’s your least favourite character from UT?

Uhhhhh.....doIhaveone if I had to pick I guess Jerry??

3. Your opinion about UT fandon:

All fandoms have their......issues. I don’t heavily interact with fandoms but the other cosplayers I’ve met at cons were pretty cool

4. What’s your favourite quote?

“Despite everything, it’s still you.” I’ve cross stitched it and it was on my college graduation cap.

5. What’s your favourite soundtrack?

I really love how Hopes and Dreams ties a few of the other themes into it

6. Pacifist, neutral or genocide?

Oh geez...playing the pacifist route makes me feel warm inside, but...I admit I’ve done about fifteen genocide runs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

7. Why did you decide to play UT?

Long story short, I was having an anxiety problem and I needed a distraction. I started playing and fell in love. Since then it’s been my go to for panic attack prevention.

8. Favourite battle?

The Mettaton battle is lots of fun. I do enjoy fighting Sans, though...I’m actually better at fighting him than Undyne the Undying

9. Favourite scene?

Cooking with Undyne

10. Your first letter to Mettaton was:

Don’t remember; think I mentioned legs

11. Your reaction when you saw Omega Flowey for the first time:

fuck

12. Your headcanon about Frisk’s gender:

dfab, agender

13. Which UT character reminds you of yourself?

Alphys, no question

14. Which UT character reminds you of your best friend?

My two best friends remind of Sans and Papyrus a lil :)

15. Would you smooch a ghost?

Heck yeah

16. Which UT character would be your best friend? Why?

idk, maybe Alphs

17. Do you remember your first killed character? Who was that?

Probably a froggit

18. Did you do sth in game you regret?

naahhh. It’s just a game.

19. Which ending was your first? 

TECHNICALLY it was the hard mode end at the end of the ruins--I knew Frisk’s name from tumblr and named the fallen child that first. I then proceeded to grind since it was hard to survive. Then I reset and got the no-kill neautral ending before the pacifist end.

20. Your favourite land in UT and why: (Snowdin, Waterfall or Hotland)

Waterfall is so pretty

21. Your favourite place in UT and why: (Undyne’s house for example)

Home makes me feel fuzzy

22. Your headcanon about River person’s gender:

Irrelevant. It’s the dog on a stool under there. next.

23. Your headcanon about one of the UT characters:

Post-pacifist Alphys, with Metta’s endorsement, goes on to work more on robotics, specializing in prosthetic limbs

24. Butterscouch or cinnamon pie?

why not both?

25. Your opinion/headcanon about six human souls:

Patience lived with Toriel for at least a few months. The last of them fell a long time before Frisk did--long enough that most monsters Frisk encounters hadn’t been born/were very young when 6 fell, since many monsters don’t recognize Frisk as human.

26. With who would you go on a date?

Platonic date with Papyrus

27. Marry, fuck, kiss and kill:

Marry Undyne, fuck Mettaton, kiss Alphys......do I have to kill someone??

28. Do you wanna have a bad time?

bring it fucker

29. Your favourite UT au:

Underswap, but like...where they still retain their personalities in their new positions if you get me. e.g. Scientist Undyne isn’t a nervous wreck (meaning she’s not just Alphys) and takes an...explosive position to being a scientist

30. Your least favourite UT au:

Ehhh.....maybe Underlust? It’s kinda just over-sexualized for the sake of sexualization ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

31. Would you want to fall into underground?

Nah.

32. Describe or draw your undersona:

Don’t have one

33. One reason why you love UT:

As I’ve said before it helps with my anxiety

34. One reasom why you hate UT:

I hate the cringy perception people have of it when they haven’t even tried it

35. If you could choose one type of food from UT, what would it be?

Spaghet’s my favorite food

36. Your favourite amalgamate:

dog

37. Your headcanon about Gaster: who do you think Gaster is to Sans and Papyrus? (Father, brother, uncle etc)

I think IF he’s related he’s probably a father figure

38. Your opinion about bad puns:

I was the bane of my high school band for puns. love em

39. Do you draw fanarts from UT? If yes, then what do you like the most to draw?

If you’re reading this you probably already know I do (but I work 6 days a week so I haven’t drawn in a long time....). I like drawing Undyne a lot

40. Which of human souls fits you the most?

kindness

41. What would be the first thing you would to show to Sans, Papyrus or the rest of characters in human world? Why?

maybe a wide open park

42. Which song reminds you of UT or one of the UT characters? Why?

I thought Big Freeze by Muse fit UT enough to do a whole video for it

43. Your opinion on underloid:

Pretty cool! I have a whole playlist of it on soundcloud

44. Do you forgive Asgore for what he’s done?

yeah

45. Did you pay for Tem’s college?

heck ye

46. Have you seen any youtube letsplay of UT?

I saw Steam Train play it

47. Do you listen to any fanmade songs? If so, then which are your favourite?

not really, beyond Underloid

48. What are your favourite theories?

None come to mine rn

49. Who is your favourite enemy? (Not including boss monsters)

Shyren

50. Do you have any headcanons about Chara’s past? (Why they hate humanity, why did they fell to the underground etc)

Hmmm...well, I have a few, and none of them are pleasant. Abusive parents, misgendering, and so on pushed them to run away in hopes of never returning

51. Who is your favourite dog?

Lesser Dog. him long

52. What was your reaction to true lab?

...ah

53. Your fabourite voice acting:

I like the voice they gave Paps on Steam Train

54. At the end of pacifist run did you stay with your friends or did you come back to your family?

I always stay with Toriel

55. Who is older - Sans or Papyrus?

Sans

56. Your OTP(s):

I actually like Mettalphys a lot. And Alphyne. And Mettalphyne...

57. Your NOTP(s):

I’ve just never really liked Pap/yton. Or any incest ships, or Frisk + any non-children (Fr/ans etc)

58. Your BROTP(s): 

Undyne and Papyrus

59. Your favourite puzzle:

I like the bridge puzzle where you go to the sign and it tells you that you failed

60. Which battle was the hardest for you?

Undyne the Undying. Harder than Sans for me

61. Did you still hate Flowey after you discovered his true indentity?

Nah. Doesn’t excuse what he’s done but I like him more as a character

62. The saddest moment:

Neutral route, killing just Mettaton: Undyne’s grief over Alphys’ death

63. Which ending is your favourite?

Besides pacifist, King Mettaton

64. How old do you think Frisk is?

8 or 9

65. Any post pacifist run headcanons?

My bbs are happy

66. Your favourite NPC:

I love Tem, especially having met the real Temmie Chang (she’s awesome)

67. Humans or monsters?

monsters

68. The funniest situation:

“I’M UNDYNE AND I’M SMOOCHING UP A STORM!!!!”

69. Skeletonfucker, robotfucker, goatfucker or kinkshaming?

r o b o t f u c k e r

70. When playing for the first time how many candies did you take?

All 4

71. Did you kill or spare Flowey at the end of the game?

Spare, though I’ve killed him sometimes

72. If you had to be one of the main characters, which would you choose?

Undyne

73. If you had to kill one of the main characters which would you choose?

Well, you have to kill Asgore in every run so....yeet

74. Which character(s) would you like to cosplay?

I mentioned I’ve done Metta a few times. It’s be fun to do a casual MTT, but I’m also interested in full-armor Undyne

75. Your favourite Burgerpants’ quote?

“I’m nineteen years old and I’ve already wasted my entire life.”

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

4th June >> Fr. Martin's Daily Reflections / Homilies on Mark 12:1-12 for Monday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time: 'They seized him and killed him'.

Monday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Mark 12:1-12

They seized the beloved son, killed him and threw him out of the vineyard

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes and the elders in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce from the vineyard. But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about the head and treated shamefully. And he sent another and him they killed; then a number of others, and they thrashed some and killed the rest. He had still someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all. “They will respect my son” he said. But those tenants said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this text of scripture:

It was the stone rejected by the builders

that became the keystone.

This was the Lord’s doing

and it is wonderful to see?

And they would have liked to arrest him, because they realised that the parable was aimed at them, but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and went away.

Gospel (USA)

Mark 12:1-12

They seized the beloved son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture passage:

   The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?”

   They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.

Reflections (7)

(i) Monday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

It is clear that Jesus recognized himself in the vineyard owner’s son of today’s parable. Having initially sent his servants, who were mistreated and killed, the vineyard owner sent his son to collect the produce of the vineyard from the tenants. However, the tenants killed him as well and threw him out of the vineyard. Jesus spoke this parable in the city of Jerusalem, shortly before his passion and death. He would soon be taken outside the city of Jerusalem and killed. Immediately after telling the parable, Jesus uses another image to describe his forthcoming death. He was the stone rejected by the builders. Yet, that second image has a note of hope in it, because, as Jesus says, quoting one of the psalms, the stone rejected by the builders became the cornerstone. Having been rejected and crucified, Jesus would be raised from the dead and would become the cornerstone of a spiritual temple, the church, the community of his disciples. God brought great good out of the dark and painful experience of Jesus’ rejection and death, because Jesus had remained faithful to God in the midst of all that darkness and suffering. In our own lives, as we seek to follow the Lord’s way, we may at times feel like the rejected stone. We sense that the gospel values that are so significant for us are not shared by many others. We can feel somewhat demoralized and discouraged as a result. Today’s gospel reading calls on us to remain faithful to the Lord at those times. The Lord’s image of the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone reminds us that the Lord can work powerfully in and through those difficult experiences, if we keep faithful and keep turning to the Lord as our refuge and stronghold, in the words of today’s responsorial psalm.

And/Or

(ii) Monday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

The story that Jesus tells in this morning’s gospel reading is a story about rejection. A vineyard owner sent his servants to collect his share of the fruits of the vineyard; all of them were rejected out of hand. He then sent his son who was not only rejected but killed. At the end of the story Jesus declares that the stone rejected by the builders went on to become the keystone, the most important stone in a building. The story is, of course, a veiled reference to what had happened to the prophets before Jesus came and what would soon happen to Jesus. He would be rejected and put to death. However, God would raise him from the dead and he would become the keystone of a new spiritual building, the church. The experience of rejection is a common enough human experience. People can feel themselves rejected by others, often by significant others, at various stages of their lives. Jesus who knew the pain of rejection by others identifies with us in our own moments of rejection. He also assures us that there can be life beyond rejection; the rejected stone can become the keystone. As well as experiencing rejection, we can also find ourselves rejecting others or rejecting some proposal or some possibility that is put to us. Today’s gospel reading encourages us to look again at what we reject; God may be present to us there in a way we might not suspect.

And/Or

(iii) Monday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus, quoting one of the psalms, makes reference to the keystone. The keystone was a very important stone in a building. If you removed it, all the other stones would give way and the structure would collapse. When speaking of the rejected stone that became the keystone, Jesus, of course, is referring to himself. Having been rejected and crucified, he went on to become the keystone of a new spiritual building, the church. Jesus is the keystone of the church; without him the church would collapse. Saint Paul was very clear about that. Using a slightly different but related image he writes to the church in Corinth, ‘I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it… No one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ’. Jesus is the foundation of the church. That should reassure us, especially in these difficult times. We are resting upon a wonderful foundation; that gives us the confidence to build something worthwhile on that foundation with our lives, with lives that in some way conform to the foundation that supports us.

And/Or

(iv) Monday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus, at the beginning of the last week of his life, speaks a parable to the religious leaders in Jerusalem in which he announces his own immanent rejection and death. Quoting from one of the psalms, he speaks of himself as the stone rejected by the builders. Yet, continuing to quote from that psalm, he also declares that this rejected stone went on to become the keystone of the building. Jesus, having been put to death, would be raised from the dead by God and would become the foundation of the church, that spiritual building of which we are all a part. Jesus declares there that his rejection by the religious and political leaders of the day did not in any way thwart God’s purpose. God continued to work powerfully through Jesus at the very moment when his mission seemed an abject failure. We are being reminded that God’s good purpose continues to work itself out even in and through those negative experiences in our lives that are not God’s direct will for us, the experiences of rejection and failure.

And/Or

(v) Monday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

The parable that Jesus tells in today’s gospel reading is a story about rejection. The vineyard owner had invested a great deal in his vineyard, yet when he sent his servants to collect his legitimate share of the produce the tenants beat them up and even killed some of them. They then did the unthinkable; when the vineyard owner sent them his own son to collect the produce, they killed him too. The parables of Jesus are always about more than they seem. In this case, Jesus is really the story of the rejection of God’s messengers, the prophets, culminating in the rejection of God’s Son by the religious leaders. Yet, Jesus’ comment on the story shows that rejection, even violent rejection, does not have the last word. Quoting from one of the psalms, Jesus says that the stone rejected by the builders became the keystone. God brought good out of the experience of rejection. Although his Son was rejected, God raised him to new life and he became the keystone, the foundation, of a new community, the church. The parable suggests that God works in a life-giving way even in the darkest of situations. Our own painful experiences, including the experience of rejection, do not have the last word. If we open ourselves to the Lord he will bring some good out of our most painful experiences. The rejected stone can always become the keystone with the Lord’s help.

And/Or

(vi) Monday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

The parable that Jesus speaks in today’s gospel reading paints a realistic picture of the human tendency towards violence. The response of the tenants to the messengers of the vineyard owner is one of escalating violence. The first two messengers are beaten up; the third messenger is killed; the fourth messenger, who is the son of the vineyard owner, is not only killed but thrown out of the vineyard without any proper burial, a horrifying insult in that culture. The tenants are depicted as knowing full well what they were doing. They recognized the fourth messenger as the owner’s son and, therefore, his rightful heir, and in killing him they were intending to gain his inheritance. Jesus saw in this figure of the ‘son’ a reference to himself and the fate that awaits him. The parable shows human nature at its worst. Yet, Jesus’ own comment on the parable includes a quotation from one of the Psalms which draws attention to God’s good work, ‘It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone. This was the Lord’s doing and it is wonderful to see’. There was nothing in the story itself that was wonderful to see. Yet, Jesus suggests that God can work in a wonderful way even in situations that reveal the worst of human nature. Jesus was crucified by sinners, but God raised him from the dead and made him the keystone of a new community, the church, where sinners could find the grace of forgiveness and renewal. The gospel reading reminds us that there is no situation so dire as to prevent the Lord from working within it in a life-giving way for others.

And/Or

(vii) Monday, Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

There is a lot of violence in the parable we have just heard. A vineyard owner sends several servants to collect the produce at the appropriate time. The tenants beat up many of the servants and kill some of them. The owner then sent what was most precious to him, his beloved son, and he too was killed by the tenants. What motivated the final killing was greed. In killing the son the tenants saw a way of taking over the owner’s inheritance. There is so much violence and death in the parable that we might be tempted to wonder if there is any redeeming feature there at all. When we look at the violence and death in our world at the moment we can be tempted to ask the same question. Yet, there is always some redeeming feature even in the darkest of situations. There are always to be found people at work trying to bring some light into the darkness, creating opportunities and spaces for others to grow and flourish. InJesus’ parable the positive feature that comes through is the determination of the owner of the vineyard to ensure that his vineyard is properly managed and that the fruit of its harvest is carefully disposed of. As Jesus says in his comment on the parable, even a rejected stone can be turned to a good purpose. God is always at work in a life-giving way, even in the most unpromising of situations. Our calling is to allow ourselves to become channels of that life-giving work of God, especially in those contexts where it is most needed.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or  [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

[pamphletstoinspire]

A Typical Day In The Life Of Saint Padre Pio

Padre Pio:

Padre Pio was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, and baptized in the name Francesco. From his early childhood he was visited regularly by his guardian angel and the Blessed Virgin Mary. He did not think this was unusual until a young friend told him otherwise. He was ordained a priest in the Capuchin Order on August 10, 1910. His young priestly life was marked by numerous episodes of poor health, and also included a short stint with the military. After being discharged from the Army in 1918, he was stationed at the monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, never to leave until his death. On December 20, 1918 he was blessed with the extraordinary visible stigmata of Christ (5 wounds on his hands, feet and side).

His priestly ministry was characterized by humility, perseverance and obedience to his priestly duties, especially to the celebration of Holy Mass, hours in the confessional, and spiritual direction. He was able to read into the hearts of many who came to him for confession, often reminding them of un-confessed sins and foretelling future occurrences in their lives and God's will for them. A hugh International cult rose up around Padre Pio, manifesting itself in constant crowds of pilgrims to the monastery to attend his Holy Masses and to confess to him.

INSPIRING WORDS FROM PADRE PIO

"Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer."

"Pray, pray to the Lord with me, because the whole world needs prayer. and every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord, because even God needs our prayers."

"You must always humble yourself lovingly before God and before men, because God speaks only to those who are truly humble and He enriches them with His Gifts."

"In all the events of life, you must recognize the Divine Will. Adore and bless it, especially in the things which are the hardest for you."

"Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God's heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips, but with your heart. In fact on certain occasions you should only speak to Him with your heart."

"Who can assure us that we will be alive tomorrow? Let us listen to the voice of our conscience, to the voice of the royal prophet: 'Today, if you hear God's voice, harden not your heart.' Let us not put off from one moment to another (what we should do) because the (next Moment) is not yet ours."

"Don't allow any sadness to dwell in your soul, for sadness prevents the Holy Spirit from entering freely."

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF PADRE PIO

This represents an imaginary day in the life of Padre Pio but as the routine of the friary did not change much it would have been very much a typical day. Each picture has a brief commentary with an interesting anecdote or quote.

***

Padre Pio's day would begin about 2:30 a.m. when an alarm clock would ring in his cell. He would make the sign of the cross, kiss his rosary, glance at the image of Jesus and Mary and then say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the new day. He would get up three hours before the other friars to prepare himself suitably for the celebration of Mass. I say he would get up and not wake up because he slept very little.

Fra Modestino of Pietrelcina, in his book "Testimonies of Padre Pio", recounts: "One evening in 1964, I was alone with the Padre by his bed. Suddenly he said to me: `Listen, my son, pray to God that I am able to sleep. My eyes hurt and I am exhausted. It is three years that I have not slept"

***

At the end of holy Mass Padre Pio would return to the sacristy, preceded and followed by a group of men who wanted to touch him and see him from close up. Without talking and still immersed in the divine mysteries just celebrated, he would remove the sacred vestments and would recollect himself in intense prayer of thanksgiving. He would be aware of nothing around him. If he could, he would have remained for hours in that intimate dialogue. And when he tasted all the sweetness of the immaculate flesh of Jesus, received in the sacrament, he felt himself in paradise!

Padre Pio at the end of holy Mass, never omitted to do his thanksgiving. And our Lord would gratify him with marvellous experiences. In fact, to Padre Agostino, his confessor, he confided: "Yesterday, only God knows how much sweetness I experienced, especially after holy Mass, so much so that I still feel them. My head and heart were on fire; but it was fire that did me good. My mouth tasted all the sweetness of that Immaculate flesh of the son of God". (Letters I).

At 9:30 a.m., with a surplice and stole, Padre Pio would distribute Communion to those penitents just absolved of their sins and those other faithful who wished to receive the sacred species from his wounded hands. He was happy to see so many pilgrims approach "the sacred banquet of the divine Lamb that he considered such a powerful remedy against human weakness, and a “great means to aspire to holy perfection". He desired however that all approach the Eucharistic table with the desire and the intention to remove from their hearts all that displeases the One who becomes bread for us.

To his spiritual daughter Raffaelina Cerase, Padre Pio wrote: "Let us approach to receive the bread of angels with great faith and with a great flame of love in our hearts. Let us await this most tender lover of our souls in order to be consoled in this life with the kiss of His mouth. Happy are we if we succeed in receiving from the Lord the consolation of this kiss in the present life!". (Letters II).

Padre Pio surrounded by the crowds and all the pushing and even fanatical outbursts that he always firmly scolded, would successfully reach the protection of the cloister. On the way, women and men of every age and social standing would be waiting for him, in the sacristy, in the corridor or in the "St. Francis hall", to ask him for advice, a prayer, a blessing; to give him a letter or an offering to give vent to their troubles, to recount their sufferings. And the stigmatic of the Gargano would give to all, words of comfort, spiritual direction and paternal exhortations.

While Padre Pio was going by, a voice called from the crowd: "Padre, what must I tell my sister, Rose?". The woman convinced that she could obtain from him an answer... direct from heaven, almost shouting repeated: "Padre, what must I tell my sister Rose?" Padre Pio, to repress any fanaticism, answered: "Tell her that she will become a carnation..." and indeed she soon later met and married a man called Carnation. (Gennaro Preziuso, Padre Pio, Apostle of the Confessional).

At lunch time the friars summoned by the bell would unite in the refectory. Padre Pio would join them a little later having been delayed in the blessing of a car in the garden or held up by someone talking. Arriving at his place, he would kneel down with his arms outstretched, to thank providence for the food he was about to eat. His prayer would continue until he ate a few mouthfuls. He would then pass his plate to the friar sitting next to him and he would remain to listen to the reading of the Gospel or the Franciscan Rule.

A fellow friar asked Padre Pio: "Padre , how are you able to live on so little food?" The Padre answered: "There are in nature fertile and non fertile fields. For the former, one grain of wheat will produce much; for the latter not even with the best fertilizers will any grain be produced. It must be the same with the human body or at least it is so for me." (Testimony from the Process of Canonization of Padre Pio).

Padre Pio would make holy the short pause for rest with the reading of Vespers and Compline. Then he would remain a few minutes on the veranda of the friary, with his inseparable rosary in his hands and his thoughts always turned to God. At 3:00 p.m. he was again in the sacristy to hear the confessions of the men. At 5:00 p.m., from the choir loft, he would join in the communal recitation of the rosary. At 5:30 p.m. he would lead the evening Benediction and recite the prayer to Mary Most Holy composed by St. Alphonsus de Liguori.

In reciting every evening "the prayer to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament" Padre Pio would be deeply moved, even to tears. To Padre Agostino of San Marco in Lamis he wrote: "I often ask myself if any people exist who do not feel their breast burning with divine fire, especially when they are close to him in the Blessed Sacrament. This seems impossible to me, especially in the case of a priest or a religious". (Letters I,).

Once Vespers were over; Padre Pio, when the weather was good, would go into the garden for some fresh air. He would walk along the path between the row of pine trees, or he would watch a game of bowling played by the friars. Then, in the summer, in the shade of a tree, or in the winter in a room of the friary, he would spend half an hour in conversation. To those present he would bring joy and smiles with his sense of humor and with his anecdotes that had a moral lesson he would give insights into the spiritual life.

Padre Pio once recounted that at Foggia, in the church of St. Anne, a fellow Friar told him loudly that a doctor friend was arriving to see him. An elderly lady who had just confessed to Padre Pio, asked him at once if this friend could visit her daughter who was ill. Padre Pio answered her that the friend was a doctor of "philosophy"....The woman thinking that philosophy was a part of medical science, commented: "How many illnesses there are in the world!...Thanks all the same, Padre, but my daughter is not ill with philosophy". (Fr. A. Ripabottoni, "Padre Pio Recounts and Says").

#a typical day in the life of st. padre pio

[ghostlydelusiondelusion-blog]

No vehicle, Need SR22 Or Non Owners Bond? Ohio.?

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[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

21st December >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Luke 1:39-45 for 21st December: ‘Blessed is she who believed’.

21st December

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Luke 1:39-45

Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

Gospel (USA)

Luke 1:39-45

And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Reflections (6)

21st December

(i) After Mary responded to the message of the angel Gabriel with the words, ‘let what you have said be done to me’, Luke tells that Mary set out as quickly as she could to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Even though she had received wonderful news regarding herself, her first thoughts were not for herself but for her older cousin. Her faith showed itself in love, a journey of love to someone who was in greater need than herself. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul says, ‘the only thing that counts is faith working through love’. Mary is a perfect example of the kind of faith Paul refers to. Having given herself in love to Elizabeth by travelling to meet her, Mary immediately receives a blessing from Elizabeth. Elizabeth declares Mary blessed because of the child she is carrying and also because of her believing response to God’s word. It is often the way in our own lives that we are greatly blessed by those to whom we reach out in love. Quoting Paul again, this time his second letter to the Corinthians, ‘you will be enriched in every way for your great generosity’. Mary’s journey of love graced Elizabeth and Mary, in turn, was graced by Elizabeth. Both women were so open to the Lord that each of them brought the Lord to the other. Here we have an example of human encounter at its best. It is the kind of encounter that we are all called to make possible, especially at this time of the year.

And/Or

(ii) 21st December

According to the gospel reading we have just heard, Mary set out on a journey to visit her older cousin Elizabeth to be with her in her pregnancy, and she stayed with Elizabeth three months. This was a visit that seemed to bring out the best in both women. Because of Mary’s visit, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the child in her womb leapt for joy, and Mary herself was moved to pray the great prayer that we know as the Magnificat. Both women, the visitor and the one visited, were the better for Mary’s visit. The journey and the visit are very much part of our own celebration of Christmas. Some members of your own family may have already arrived to visit you for Christmas after travelling a long journey. Others may be setting out in the next few days and their visit is eagerly anticipated. Our airports, our ports, our bus stations, our train stations will be very busy places over the next few days. As Mary visited Elizabeth in the gospel reading and that visit was joyfully received by Elizabeth, so the act of visiting and the receiving of visits will be at the heart of our lives over the coming days. Mary’s generous visit in the gospel reading was matched by Elisabeth’s generous welcome, a welcome that recognized Mary’s worth and that celebrated her goodness. If Mary shows us how to visit, Elizabeth shows us how to receive a visit. We welcome our visitors by recognizing the good that is in them, by recognizing the ways the Lord is working in their lives.

And/Or

(iii) 21st December

In this morning’s gospel reading, Elizabeth greets Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. It is a lovely title for Mary, one we do not hear very often. We can each say of Mary that she is ‘the mother of my Lord’. To speak of Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’ is not far removed from referring to her as ‘the mother of God’. Both of thes title ‘God’ and ‘Lord’ equally apply to Jesus and express his divinity. Yet to speak of Jesus as ‘my Lord’ highlights the personal dimension of our relationship with Jesus. It echoes the way Thomas, the disciples, addressed the risen Jesus towards the end of John’s gospel as ‘my Lord and my God’. It was a very personal confession of Thomas after a period of great doubt. Jesus is Lord and God but for each one of us he is ‘my Lord and my God’. If we each address Jesus as ‘my Lord’ we are acknowledging our desire to allow Jesus to be Lord of my life, my unique and unrepeatable life. We venerate the child Jesus in the crib as someone who is now ‘my Lord’. Like Elizabeth, we honour Mary as the mother of my Lord. We honour her because it was through her that the Lord came to us. It is because of her that we can each come to know Jesus as ‘my Lord and my God’.

And/Or

(iv) 21st December

This morning’s gospel reading has always made a deep impression on me. It is the meeting of two women, two great women of faith. It is also the meeting of two children, Jesus and John the Baptist who are being carried in the wombs of the two women. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting we are told that the child leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. Even before he was born, John rejoiced at the coming of Jesus. Elizabeth in turn recognized the child that Mary was carrying by declaring, ‘blessed is the fruit of your womb’ and by addressing her as ‘mother of my Lord’. Both Elizabeth and her unborn son recognized that the visit of Mary was, at the same time, a visit from the Lord. The Lord was coming to them through Mary. The Lord came to all of us through Mary. Mary, in turn, exemplifies our own calling to bring the Lord to each other. We will be giving gifts to each other this Christmas, but the real gift we can give to each other is the gift of the Lord, the gift of his loving presence.

And/Or

(v) 21st December

It is likely that we will all be visiting people over the coming days of Christmas and people will be visiting us. It is one of the good traditions of Christmas. We go out of our way to visit family members, friends, those who may be alone at this time of the year. We make a special effort to welcome those who visit us and to make them feel at home. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth sets the tone for all our visits. Mary brought the Lord to Elizabeth, and Elizabeth, in turn, recognized the coming of the Lord through Mary. The Lord was at the heart of their meeting. We too are called to bring the Lord to those we visit and to recognize the Lord in those who visit us. The Lord is to be at the heart of the visits we make to each other. At this Christmas time of the year, we celebrate the most fundamental visit of all, God’s visit to us in and through Mary’s child. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, declared in his great prayer, ‘God has visited his people’. We are called to make that great visitation of God to us in Jesus real and concrete in our visits to each other at this Christmas time.

And/Or

(vi) 21st December

In this morning’s gospel reading we hear of the meeting between two women, Mary and Elizabeth. It is also the meeting between two infants, Jesus and John the Baptist, whom Mary and Elizabeth were carrying in their wombs. The child in Elizabeth’s womb is described as leaping for joy at the greeting of Mary, because in some mysterious way, John, although still unborn, sensed the presence of Jesus in the womb of Mary. We are given a picture of John the Baptist as someone who is extremely sensitive to the presence of Jesus even as both John and Jesus were still in their mother’s wombs. John the Baptist has something to teach us about the art of being sensitive to the presence of the Lord. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus we can often fail to recognize the presence of the Lord even though he is close to us. We can be so absorbed in our own experience, as those two disciples were, that we fail to see the Lord, fail to notice his presence. As we become sensitive to the Lord’s presence to us, we can help others to notice what we have noticed. In the gospel reading, the reaction of Elizabeth’s child in her womb enabled Elizabeth to recognize Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. Through her unborn child, Elizabeth came to see that Mary’s visit was also the visit of the Lord. Advent and Christmas is a time when we help each other to become more aware of and alert to the presence of the Lord among us, especially in and through each other.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or  [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin

[romancatholicreflections]

21st December >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflection on Luke 1:39-45 for the 21st December: ‘Yes, blessed is she who believed’. 21st December Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada) Luke 1:39-45 Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’ Gospel (USA) Luke 1:39-45 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Reflections (6) (i) 21st December After Mary responded to the message of the angel Gabriel with the words, ‘let what you have said be done to me’, Luke tells that Mary set out as quickly as she could to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Even though she had received wonderful news regarding herself, her first thoughts were not for herself but for her older cousin. Her faith showed itself in love, a journey of love to someone who was in greater need than herself. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul says, ‘the only thing that counts is faith working through love’. Mary is a perfect example of the kind of faith Paul refers to. Having given herself in love to Elizabeth by travelling to meet her, Mary immediately receives a blessing from Elizabeth. Elizabeth declares Mary blessed because of the child she is carrying and also because of her believing response to God’s word. It is often the way in our own lives that we are greatly blessed by those to whom we reach out in love. Quoting Paul again, this time his second letter to the Corinthians, ‘you will be enriched in every way for your great generosity’. Mary’s journey of love graced Elizabeth and Mary, in turn, was graced by Elizabeth. Both women were so open to the Lord that each of them brought the Lord to the other. Here we have an example of human encounter at its best. It is the kind of encounter that we are all called to make possible, especially at this time of the year. And/Or (ii) 21st December According to the gospel reading we have just heard, Mary set out on a journey to visit her older cousin Elizabeth to be with her in her pregnancy, and she stayed with Elizabeth three months. This was a visit that seemed to bring out the best in both women. Because of Mary’s visit, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the child in her womb leapt for joy, and Mary herself was moved to pray the great prayer that we know as the Magnificat. Both women, the visitor and the one visited, were the better for Mary’s visit. The journey and the visit are very much part of our own celebration of Christmas. Some members of your own family may have already arrived to visit you for Christmas after travelling a long journey. Others may be setting out in the next few days and their visit is eagerly anticipated. Our airports, our ports, our bus stations, our train stations will be very busy places over the next few days. As Mary visited Elizabeth in the gospel reading and that visit was joyfully received by Elizabeth, so the act of visiting and the receiving of visits will be at the heart of our lives over the coming days. Mary’s generous visit in the gospel reading was matched by Elisabeth’s generous welcome, a welcome that recognized Mary’s worth and that celebrated her goodness. If Mary shows us how to visit, Elizabeth shows us how to receive a visit. We welcome our visitors by recognizing the good that is in them, by recognizing the ways the Lord is working in their lives. And/Or (iii) 21st December In this morning’s gospel reading, Elizabeth greets Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. It is a lovely title for Mary, one we do not hear very often. We can each say of Mary that she is ‘the mother of my Lord’. To speak of Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’ is not far removed from referring to her as ‘the mother of God’. Both of thes title ‘God’ and ‘Lord’ equally apply to Jesus and express his divinity. Yet to speak of Jesus as ‘my Lord’ highlights the personal dimension of our relationship with Jesus. It echoes the way Thomas, the disciples, addressed the risen Jesus towards the end of John’s gospel as ‘my Lord and my God’. It was a very personal confession of Thomas after a period of great doubt. Jesus is Lord and God but for each one of us he is ‘my Lord and my God’. If we each address Jesus as ‘my Lord’ we are acknowledging our desire to allow Jesus to be Lord of my life, my unique and unrepeatable life. We venerate the child Jesus in the crib as someone who is now ‘my Lord’. Like Elizabeth, we honour Mary as the mother of my Lord. We honour her because it was through her that the Lord came to us. It is because of her that we can each come to know Jesus as ‘my Lord and my God’. And/Or (iv) 21st December This morning’s gospel reading has always made a deep impression on me. It is the meeting of two women, two great women of faith. It is also the meeting of two children, Jesus and John the Baptist who are being carried in the wombs of the two women. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting we are told that the child leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. Even before he was born, John rejoiced at the coming of Jesus. Elizabeth in turn recognized the child that Mary was carrying by declaring, ‘blessed is the fruit of your womb’ and by addressing her as ‘mother of my Lord’. Both Elizabeth and her unborn son recognized that the visit of Mary was, at the same time, a visit from the Lord. The Lord was coming to them through Mary. The Lord came to all of us through Mary. Mary, in turn, exemplifies our own calling to bring the Lord to each other. We will be giving gifts to each other this Christmas, but the real gift we can give to each other is the gift of the Lord, the gift of his loving presence. And/Or (v) 21st December It is likely that we will all be visiting people over the coming days of Christmas and people will be visiting us. It is one of the good traditions of Christmas. We go out of our way to visit family members, friends, those who may be alone at this time of the year. We make a special effort to welcome those who visit us and to make them feel at home. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth sets the tone for all our visits. Mary brought the Lord to Elizabeth, and Elizabeth, in turn, recognized the coming of the Lord through Mary. The Lord was at the heart of their meeting. We too are called to bring the Lord to those we visit and to recognize the Lord in those who visit us. The Lord is to be at the heart of the visits we make to each other. At this Christmas time of the year, we celebrate the most fundamental visit of all, God’s visit to us in and through Mary’s child. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, declared in his great prayer, ‘God has visited his people’. We are called to make that great visitation of God to us in Jesus real and concrete in our visits to each other at this Christmas time. And/Or (vi) 21st December In this morning’s gospel reading we hear of the meeting between two women, Mary and Elizabeth. It is also the meeting between two infants, Jesus and John the Baptist, whom Mary and Elizabeth were carrying in their wombs. The child in Elizabeth’s womb is described as leaping for joy at the greeting of Mary, because in some mysterious way, John, although still unborn, sensed the presence of Jesus in the womb of Mary. We are given a picture of John the Baptist as someone who is extremely sensitive to the presence of Jesus even as both John and Jesus were still in their mother’s wombs. John the Baptist has something to teach us about the art of being sensitive to the presence of the Lord. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus we can often fail to recognize the presence of the Lord even though he is close to us. We can be so absorbed in our own experience, as those two disciples were, that we fail to see the Lord, fail to notice his presence. As we become sensitive to the Lord’s presence to us, we can help others to notice what we have noticed. In the gospel reading, the reaction of Elizabeth’s child in her womb enabled Elizabeth to recognize Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. Through her unborn child, Elizabeth came to see that Mary’s visit was also the visit of the Lord. Advent and Christmas is a time when we help each other to become more aware of and alert to the presence of the Lord among us, especially in and through each other. Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland. Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie Please join us via our webcam. Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC. Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf. Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

21st December >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflection on Luke 1:39-45 for the 21st December: ‘Yes, blessed is she who believed’.

21st December

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Luke 1:39-45

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

Gospel (USA)

Luke 1:39-45

And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Reflections (6)

(i) 21st December

After Mary responded to the message of the angel Gabriel with the words, ‘let what you have said be done to me’, Luke tells that Mary set out as quickly as she could to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Even though she had received wonderful news regarding herself, her first thoughts were not for herself but for her older cousin. Her faith showed itself in love, a journey of love to someone who was in greater need than herself. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul says, ‘the only thing that counts is faith working through love’. Mary is a perfect example of the kind of faith Paul refers to. Having given herself in love to Elizabeth by travelling to meet her, Mary immediately receives a blessing from Elizabeth. Elizabeth declares Mary blessed because of the child she is carrying and also because of her believing response to God’s word. It is often the way in our own lives that we are greatly blessed by those to whom we reach out in love. Quoting Paul again, this time his second letter to the Corinthians, ‘you will be enriched in every way for your great generosity’. Mary’s journey of love graced Elizabeth and Mary, in turn, was graced by Elizabeth. Both women were so open to the Lord that each of them brought the Lord to the other. Here we have an example of human encounter at its best. It is the kind of encounter that we are all called to make possible, especially at this time of the year.

And/Or

(ii) 21st December

According to the gospel reading we have just heard, Mary set out on a journey to visit her older cousin Elizabeth to be with her in her pregnancy, and she stayed with Elizabeth three months. This was a visit that seemed to bring out the best in both women. Because of Mary’s visit, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the child in her womb leapt for joy, and Mary herself was moved to pray the great prayer that we know as the Magnificat. Both women, the visitor and the one visited, were the better for Mary’s visit. The journey and the visit are very much part of our own celebration of Christmas. Some members of your own family may have already arrived to visit you for Christmas after travelling a long journey. Others may be setting out in the next few days and their visit is eagerly anticipated. Our airports, our ports, our bus stations, our train stations will be very busy places over the next few days. As Mary visited Elizabeth in the gospel reading and that visit was joyfully received by Elizabeth, so the act of visiting and the receiving of visits will be at the heart of our lives over the coming days. Mary’s generous visit in the gospel reading was matched by Elisabeth’s generous welcome, a welcome that recognized Mary’s worth and that celebrated her goodness. If Mary shows us how to visit, Elizabeth shows us how to receive a visit. We welcome our visitors by recognizing the good that is in them, by recognizing the ways the Lord is working in their lives.

And/Or

(iii) 21st December

In this morning’s gospel reading, Elizabeth greets Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. It is a lovely title for Mary, one we do not hear very often. We can each say of Mary that she is ‘the mother of my Lord’. To speak of Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’ is not far removed from referring to her as ‘the mother of God’. Both of thes title ‘God’ and ‘Lord’ equally apply to Jesus and express his divinity. Yet to speak of Jesus as ‘my Lord’ highlights the personal dimension of our relationship with Jesus. It echoes the way Thomas, the disciples, addressed the risen Jesus towards the end of John’s gospel as ‘my Lord and my God’. It was a very personal confession of Thomas after a period of great doubt. Jesus is Lord and God but for each one of us he is ‘my Lord and my God’. If we each address Jesus as ‘my Lord’ we are acknowledging our desire to allow Jesus to be Lord of my life, my unique and unrepeatable life. We venerate the child Jesus in the crib as someone who is now ‘my Lord’. Like Elizabeth, we honour Mary as the mother of my Lord. We honour her because it was through her that the Lord came to us. It is because of her that we can each come to know Jesus as ‘my Lord and my God’.

And/Or

(iv) 21st December

This morning’s gospel reading has always made a deep impression on me. It is the meeting of two women, two great women of faith. It is also the meeting of two children, Jesus and John the Baptist who are being carried in the wombs of the two women. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting we are told that the child leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. Even before he was born, John rejoiced at the coming of Jesus. Elizabeth in turn recognized the child that Mary was carrying by declaring, ‘blessed is the fruit of your womb’ and by addressing her as ‘mother of my Lord’. Both Elizabeth and her unborn son recognized that the visit of Mary was, at the same time, a visit from the Lord. The Lord was coming to them through Mary. The Lord came to all of us through Mary. Mary, in turn, exemplifies our own calling to bring the Lord to each other. We will be giving gifts to each other this Christmas, but the real gift we can give to each other is the gift of the Lord, the gift of his loving presence.

And/Or

(v) 21st December

It is likely that we will all be visiting people over the coming days of Christmas and people will be visiting us. It is one of the good traditions of Christmas. We go out of our way to visit family members, friends, those who may be alone at this time of the year. We make a special effort to welcome those who visit us and to make them feel at home. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth sets the tone for all our visits. Mary brought the Lord to Elizabeth, and Elizabeth, in turn, recognized the coming of the Lord through Mary. The Lord was at the heart of their meeting. We too are called to bring the Lord to those we visit and to recognize the Lord in those who visit us. The Lord is to be at the heart of the visits we make to each other. At this Christmas time of the year, we celebrate the most fundamental visit of all, God’s visit to us in and through Mary’s child. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, declared in his great prayer, ‘God has visited his people’. We are called to make that great visitation of God to us in Jesus real and concrete in our visits to each other at this Christmas time.

And/Or

(vi) 21st December

In this morning’s gospel reading we hear of the meeting between two women, Mary and Elizabeth. It is also the meeting between two infants, Jesus and John the Baptist, whom Mary and Elizabeth were carrying in their wombs. The child in Elizabeth’s womb is described as leaping for joy at the greeting of Mary, because in some mysterious way, John, although still unborn, sensed the presence of Jesus in the womb of Mary. We are given a picture of John the Baptist as someone who is extremely sensitive to the presence of Jesus even as both John and Jesus were still in their mother’s wombs. John the Baptist has something to teach us about the art of being sensitive to the presence of the Lord. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus we can often fail to recognize the presence of the Lord even though he is close to us. We can be so absorbed in our own experience, as those two disciples were, that we fail to see the Lord, fail to notice his presence. As we become sensitive to the Lord’s presence to us, we can help others to notice what we have noticed. In the gospel reading, the reaction of Elizabeth’s child in her womb enabled Elizabeth to recognize Mary as ‘the mother of my Lord’. Through her unborn child, Elizabeth came to see that Mary’s visit was also the visit of the Lord. Advent and Christmas is a time when we help each other to become more aware of and alert to the presence of the Lord among us, especially in and through each other.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or  [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie  Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.