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#Jesus’ Disciples Knowing God
the-derpy-duck · 8 months
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St. Peter redesign sort of. I mostly just gave him one of the Pope robes because St. Peter was the first Pope if I am not mistaken, and also I think this might mean that Hazbin Hotel is supposed to follow a more Catholic based lore (obviously this goes in tandem with the cardinal/mortal sins (aka 7 deadly sins) which is a more catholic thing and Al being dressed as a nun, but saints are mostly recognized as a catholic thing but I know that some orthodox sects and I think maybe one Protestant sect also recognize a few saints.).
So anyway I gave him the Pope robe thingy and I made the cross on it upside down to reference how he was crucified and made him a bit more stressed out. Also keys because I thought it would be fun
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losttranslator · 6 months
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like most Christian movies risen is cheesy and biblically dubious at times and gets loads of cultural stuff wrong for the sake of being recognizable to a primarily American audience but I'll readily admit the poor roman tribune's absolute bafflement at these religious weirdos who keep talking about love and stuff has me cackling unhingedly
Like, is it sound biblical doctrine and is it historical believable? No? Is it hilarious and do I enjoy seeing this random shmuck lose his mind going through what's essentially a very disturbing psychological thriller from his pov while the disciples are overflowing with joy? You bet??
The guy is dealing with horrifyingly decomposed dead bodies trying to find the right cadaver and previously sane soldiers going crazy and dead men being spotted alive and strange supernatural phenomena and angry gods and unexplained madness and religious fanatism spreading like a contagion, and meanwhile the disciples (and Jesus) are all like HELLO BROTHER WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT THE BEST NEWS EVER :D :D :D
#Help my man Clavius he didn't ask for none of this#I gotta admit this is the first time in a while I've enjoyed any part of a Christian movie#even if most of it has me rolling my eyes and going “THAT'S not how it happened”#THE DISCIPLES WOULDN'T PRONOUNCE THE NAME OF GOD AND THE HOLY SHROUD IS BOGUS (for starters)#And there was no stranger - much less a roman - when Jesus appeared to the apostles#But I AM having fun with the tonal dissonance#Poor clavius is dreaming of blood and storms and his sanity is crumbling to dust and it feels like the end of the world#while to everyone who knows what's going on it's the single greatest thing that has ever happened and ever will#Risen 2016#Resurrection#Bible movies#(Also in the list of things that get on my nerves no the spreading of the Gospel didn't hinge on one roman protecting the apostles)#(I hope they psychologically disturb that man some more he doesn't get to think he's that important)#(Centering a roman while getting some pretty basic stuff about Jewish culture wrong is also annoying)#(The beginning of the church are entirely and unambiguously JEWISH.)#(This character is like. 10 chapters too early.)#(Peter doesn't announce the Gospel to a roman until WELL after Jesus has ascended to heaven and even then it takes a direct order from God)#(And cornelius was already a follower of God and not pagan.)#(So Clavius just doesn't fit. And inserting a pagan guy as a witness to Jesus' most intimate moments with his disciples feels off)#The Gospel doesn't spill to the nations until God decrees it's time for it to happen. I don't like this romanisation#But again the first half of the movie had me laughing even though I could rant about its flaws for two hours
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fagofgod · 10 months
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there are people saying jesusjudas isnt real toxic yaoi bc jesus wasnt toxic... yeah ok so i was about to start speaking but then i got sleepy and realised i probably shouldnt. say the words i was going to. um. hm. do me a favour dont look at the tags
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dolokhoded · 9 months
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mel c magdalene made me realize what was missing from my magdalene design and it's that she's not fucking jacked. it's crucial to her character
#🧅#literally my takeaway from jcs2012 was mary magdalene's arms. yeah those guys were there too i guess#i think hers might be my favorite portrayal of mary#like. not just because she's jacked i just really liked how jc2012 worked with magdalene#she felt more fleshed out. and i <3 yvonne elliman in this role i always will but lets be so for real in the 1973 movie mary was a sexy lam#character except instead of sexy she was like. sopping wet cat lamp character#i mean i think she was also sexy. but that's beside the point this post is not about how attractive i find yvonne elliman#or mel c#well it kind of is about how attractive i find mel c#whatever. my point is it was the 70s and she was a female character. so like. you get it !#and i feel like a lot of the time magdalene is very girlbossified in a way that makes her very one dimensional#without EVER her appearing masculine of course because god forbid the one female character does not appear to the male gaze#(well originally female character anyways. today genderbend casting is a thing and it fucks)#it's either she's a Girl Disciple (no further elaboration) or she's like. a girlboss stone hearted biker gang leader leather jacket queen#(no actual further elaboration but her one 'ooh i love this man and i dont know how to show it' solo tricks you into thinking there is)#while 2012 magdalene somehow seems much more well rounded to me.#they let her be herself more. idk. that's how i interpreted it at least. in my mind.#it's like. i feel many other marys i've seen are described by how they treat jesus (and sometimes judas)#but this one still feels present even when jesus is not around. or he is but she's not interacting with him.#again this is a very specific interpretation that clicked in my brain im not saying that jcs2012 like. did some groundbreaking feminist#portrayal of magdalene. but yknow !#she also didn't acknowledge judas' existence once while he had created some weird one sided beef with her which was. very funny to me#literally did not waste a glance at him.
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remso · 5 months
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A layman's commentary on Matthew 24. No man knows the day or the hour. Matthew 24: 36.
Because many, like those who say King James only, will get literal and demand that the examples we use are exacting. Perhaps you need to be reminded that any English translation started as a lost Hebrew version, Septuagint Greek, and Latin long before they became an English version.  The section title in most Bibles goes like this: No One Knows That Day and Hour CONTEXT – Jesus is talking to…
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osmerharris · 5 months
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A layman's commentary on Matthew 24. No man knows the day or the hour. Matthew 24: 36.
Because many, like those who say King James only, will get literal and demand that the examples we use are exacting. Perhaps you need to be reminded that any English translation started as a lost Hebrew version, Septuagint Greek, and Latin long before they became an English version.  The section title in most Bibles goes like this: No One Knows That Day and Hour CONTEXT – Jesus is talking to…
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yeslordmyking · 1 year
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1 Timothy 4:12 — Today's Verse for Thursday, July 13, 2023
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katakaluptastrophy · 6 months
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You know when you're at a dinner party with God and things start to get...weird...? It's Maundy Thursday, and it's time for more Bible study for fans of weird queer necromancers!
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It's currently Holy Week, the week where liturgical Christians reenact the events of Jesus' death and resurrection in real time. And today, it's Maundy Thursday, which commemorates the Last Supper, where Jesus ate with his friends before he was crucified.
Before we get to the Locked Tomb, what's so special about the Last Supper?
There are actually a few significant things that happen during the Last Supper, but this is where Jesus introduces the concept of communion:
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood. - Matthew 26:26-28
This isn't actually the first time Jesus has told his followers they will need to literally eat him:
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. - John 6:53-56
If you're thinking that sounds a bit intense, you're not alone - the Bible says that "many" of his disciples left after being told that they were apparently going to have to eat Jesus to be saved and resurrected.
While many Protestant denominations take this symbolically, Catholicism teaches transubstantiation: that when the priest prays over the bread and wine at mass, they really do become Jesus' body and blood.
With this in mind, let's circle back to necromancers:
"Overseas to Corpus. (She likes the word corpus; it sounds nice and fat.)"
This is probably Corpus Christi College, Oxford (named after the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, where the church celebrates the real presence of Jesus in the eucharist). The symbol of the college is a pelican - there's even a fabulously gilded pelican atop the sundial in their main quad.
What do pelicans have to do with the eucharist? Quite a lot, actually... The pelican is a really old symbol for Jesus, because it was believed to feed its young on its own flesh and blood in times of famine. The pelican on the Corpus Christi sundial is pecking at its own chest.
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The pelican, like Jesus, was believed to give its own body to save those it loved.
Okay, so we've talked about Jesus, and weird cannibal birds, but why is this relevant to necromancers?
Specifically, the necromancer, the Necrolord Prime. John Gaius styles himself as "the god who became man", echoing Jesus as "the word became flesh". His entire pastiche of divinity is a sort of bootleg Catholicism. But while Catholicism posits Jesus' offering of his own body as foundational to the salvation and resurrection of humanity to eternal life, John's godhood relies the exploitation of other's bodies as the foundation of an empire of eternal death.
I've mentioned before in discussing Lyctorhood, how vampires have been understood to represent a sort of inversion of the eucharist because instead of consuming Christ's blood to receive eternal life in heaven, they consume other people's blood for an cursed eternal life on earth. John, and the Lyctors who followed him, gained power and eternal life from the consumption, body and soul, of another person.
In Catholic theology, Jesus offered his own body to degradation and death for the eternal salvation of humankind, but John forcibly consumes someone else's in service of his own apotheosis and immortality, dooming humanity in the process. He wants to be a Catholic flavoured god, but without the suffering that entails. But he's perfectly willing to outsource that suffering to others.
There's something just achingly awful about Alecto liking the feel of the word "corpus" - "body" - when she so hates the body that John constructed for her. John describing Alecto as "in a very real way" the mother of humanity and the mother pelican on the Corpus sundial rending her own flesh for her children. John forcing the earth into a personification of femininity and playing Jesus on another's sacrifice. His daughter, unwillingly trapped in her own corpse walking around with the wounds of her significant self-sacrifice like the resurrected Christ but yet again another body exploited by John in support of his performance of godhood. It brings to mind a very different fantastical engagement with Catholicism, where in the Lord of the Rings Tolkien - riffing on St Augustine - suggested that evil cannot create, it can only mock and corrupt. The ethics of The Locked Tomb may be messier than that, but there's something indicative in how John shies away from his creative powers - his abilities to grow plants, and manipulate earth and water - in favour of his dominion over death.
The metaphysical world of The Locked Tomb is clearly not intended to be the same as that of Catholicism. But with hindsight, perhaps John was onto something when he was surprised that he didn't "get the Antichrist bit" from the nun too.
John isn't the Antichrist. But he is, thematically, anti-Christ.
If we're talking about John and Jesus, there's also, of course, the question of Resurrection. But we've got to go through Hell and back before we get there on Sunday...
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tgcg · 11 months
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part 1 of something specific
TG: oh my god you get it
CG: OF COURSE I FUCKING DO, DAVE. I’LL ALLOW MYSELF CREDIT FOR ONE GOOD THING, AND THAT’S THE FACT THAT I KNOW HOW TO CONSUME MEDIA CORRECTLY.
TG: you understand me
TG: so many damn times ive tried to turn john over on this business and he doesnt listen
TG: like you dont need to be gay to see how naruto and sasuke are the romance of the fuckin century man its not rocket science dare i say it is elementary level 
CG: IT’S BASIC READING COMPREHENSION, I AGREE.
CG: I’M NOT ABOUT TO EVEN *TRY* TO UNDERSTAND EARTH’S BIASES TO CERTAIN FORMS OF ROMANCE, BUT IS IT LITERALLY JUST BECAUSE THEY’RE BOTH GUYS?
TG: i dunno i dont think hes like
TG: homophobic or something
TG: i think if anyone is the number one ally to anything its probably john yknow hed have your back bro if you were all up and being bisexual on earth and people werent scrambling hand over foot away from you because youre an alien 
TG: but just because you were that 
TG: thing
TG: bisexual
CG: YEAH, THAT THING.
TG: he wouldnt care man
TG: he wouldnt give a shit or fuck about it probably
CG: SPEAKING OF LABELS THOUGH!
TG: aw man are you about to pull out the quadrant shiz on my boys
TG: are you gonna tell me naruto and sasuke got a hate on for each other or something cus thats 
CG: OH JEGUS NO, DAVE. THAT WOULD BE COMPLETELY MISSING THE POINT OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP’S GROWTH AND THEIR ENTIRE DYNAMIC, NEVERMIND THE PURPOSE OF THE STORY ITSELF.
TG: alright lay it on me shercock homos ill be your watson watching you with the big twinkling eyes of a newborn fawn
TG: sleuth this shit like you were there when kishimoto invented it
TG: his alien understudy rises from the caverns of anime hell clutching the scroll of one universally understood truth and with his otaku disciples there to listen he takes a deep breath and delivers his groundquaking sermon to the masses
TG: jesus take the mic
CG: I’M CLUTCHING THE MICROPHONE IN MY CALLOUSED AND BONE-DRY TOUCHSTUMPS, BODY WEARY AND ON THE BRINK OF CAVING IN ON ITSELF, BUT I SPEAK WITH A STALWART DETERMINATION THAT WILL RING TRUE THROUGHOUT THE COSMOS FOR SWEEPS TO COME. THEY WILL WRITE MY FUCKING WORDS IN THE STARS, DAVE. IT’LL BE ALL THEY HAVE LEFT OF ME EVENTUALLY, BECAUSE I’LL PREACH IT HARD AND FEVERISH UNTIL THIS MORTAL COIL DECIDES IT’S FINALLY HAD ENOUGH OF PUTTING MY PATHETIC HALF-CORPSE THROUGH THE RINGER BY MAKING ME GET UP EVERY MORNING LIKE IT’S SOME KIND OF JOKE, AND FINALLY LETS ME KEEL OVER. THAT, DAVE, IS MY CRUCIFIXION. IT REPEATS ITSELF, OUROBOROS-LIKE, EVERY CYCLE, AND MAY WELL LAST UNTIL THE COLLAPSE OF PARADOX SPACE ITSELF SINCE THEY APPARENTLY FIND IT SO INCREDIBLY HILARIOUS. THEY BETTER MARTYR THE FUCK OUT OF ME. YOU BETTER PERSONALLY SEE TO IT THAT I AM MARTYRED TO *SHIT*.
TG: done and done
CG: THANK YOU. WHERE WAS I? OH RIGHT. NARUTO SHIP ANALYSIS.
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seospicybin · 9 months
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TOO HOT TO HANDLE.
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PART I
Seungmin x reader. (s)
Too Hot To Handle Masterlist
Synopsis: You and Seungmin become contestants in a reality dating show, Too Hot To Handle. (14,6k words)
Author's note: Not much of Seungmin in this part but hope you enjoy it nonetheless :)
YOU: I like my men how I like my drinks, I need to have five of them [laughs] I'm a flirt, even when I'm not flirting, they think I am [bites lips] I hate small talk [groans] I don't want anything serious with anyone. If I wake up in the morning and they're not there, that's great [blows kisses]
-
The weather is good and you're feeling good, when the staff says it's your time to enter the villa, you're ready to go.
The hair and makeup are on point, and the white bikini you're wearing compliments your features and complexion, all of that wouldn't stand out without confidence so you put your best foot forward and walk in confident strides.
Not forgetting to put on your best smile knowing so many pairs of eyes are looking at you as you step into the scene and walk faster as you get excited to meet all of them.
"Hello, hello," you enthusiastically greet and waving your hands at them.
"You guys are so beautiful!" You compliment, hiding your insecurities with a flustered smile.
Once you get close enough, you make a brief eye contact with everyone and start hugging around, introducing yourself to them.
"Oh my God, the eyes," you exclaim as you notice a pair of mesmerizing light brown eyes on a guy.
You're genuinely attracted to those eyes that you can't stop staring at him.
"You have such beautiful eyes," you blurt out without thinking.
He shyly laughs at your indirect compliment, "Thank you!"
You carefully remove the strand of hair caught between your lips before speaking, "What's your name?"
"Elliott," he answers with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Elliott," you say, offering your hand for a high-five since you already hugged him.
You join the other table, wanting to get to know everyone and get behind a man with a tall figure and long hair like Jesus.
"Oh, my Lord!" You playfully gasp.
The other two people laughing at your pun and when you join them, you can see that he has facial hair too.
"Come and join my disciples," He says.
"Wow. Am I in the right show?" You jokingly say, taking the champagne flute he hands you.
The Jesus twin brother pours the bubbly wine into your glass and puts the bottle back into the bucket of ice.
"I'm Vale," he tells you his name.
"Vale?" You pronounce his name wrong.
"It's short from Valentino," he explains.
"Oh! Vale!" You gasp, finally pronouncing his name right this time.
"I'm Italian," he informs you while tucking a hair behind his ear.
You take a small sip of your wine and smile, "I didn't know Jesus is Italian," you joke again.
He bursts into laughter and you try not to laugh or you'd spit your drink which is not the kind of first impression you plan to make on anyone.
"Oh, look!" You exclaim as you catch another guest arriving at the villa.
She's taking everyone's attention with her beautiful wavy, brown hair that looks and beautiful, rosy cheeks, walking with such elegance like a goddess emerging from the sea.
When she comes your way, you can see the adorable freckles on her nose and you just can't help but say, "Oh, you're such a babe!"
She smiles at your words and leans in for a hug, "Devon!"
"Devon, the babe, got it," you repeat and introduce yourself back.
You're not the only one who's swooned by her English charms, you can see everyone is just as excited to get to know her.
While Louisa is making a toast at the other table, you see the last male guest coming with his shirt flying open, showcasing his sculpted abs.
You're not the type that's crazy about muscles. However, when you see them on someone and they have them in the perfect places, you get a little loopy in the head.
"Blake," he introduces himself to you.
And Blake... oh, not only does he have those muscles in the perfect places, he has this gorgeous brown skin and the plus point is he has tattoos. He sure is driving the girls into a frenzy, meanwhile the boys, they're not that impressed with it.
"They're so hot," A girl next to you whispers and if your memory serves you right, her name is Adriana.
You lowly squeal in response and mutter through your gritted teeth, "I'm drooling."
Now that everyone is here, Vale takes the unopened bottle of wine and pops it open, spraying it at everyone to inaugurate the show.
-
YOU: [Rubs hands together] Let's get it started!
-
There are so many hot options in this villa.
There is Elliott's mesmerizing eyes, Vale's sexy hair, Jeff's tattoos, Tom's big biceps and then there's Blake's body.
God! Blake's body is just so hot, you bet it'll sizzle when you lick it.
"Ooo... sexy!" Adriana gasps as she pushes open the door to the bedroom.
There are ten guests but there are only six beds, well, that's a math problem anyone can easily solve.
"It doesn't make much sound," Tom says after testing the bed by rocking it.
A few laugh at that but you're too busy eyeing the guy you want, throwing flirty glances at Blake as he sits on the end of the bed.
You're very much aware that you're not the only girl having the hots for Blake, you see that Devon has her eyes on him too, well, you're not afraid of a little competition anyway.
After the tour of the villa, the girls are gathering in the dressing room to talk about... well, boys.
"Who do you fancy?" Lili asks, playing with a make-up brush.
"I like Jeff," Adriana is the first one to share her pick out of the sexy bunch.
"Going for the bad boy, huh?" Issa teases, twirling her curls around her index finger.
"What about you, sexy mami?" Adriana asks Devon who happens to sitting next to her.
"Blake," she shortly answers
So your guess is true that Devon is indeed going for Blake and it only means one thing: It's game on.
"He's hot, yeah," Lili approves Devon's pick.
Issa grabs your hand and gently shakes it, sending your bracelets clinking against each other, "How about you?"
Well, you have a man in mind but nothing is permanent yet and there's a lot of time to get to know everyone.
"I don't know," You bend against the vanity table and let Issa play with your hair.
"I don't want to limit myself to just flirting with one guy," you add with a laugh.
The girls are both applauding and chuckling at your honest answer. You realize that you can be competitive when you want to but let's hope it doesn't come to you getting your claws out for a man.
-
YOU: I don't know what I want yet so I can't rule anyone out right now [giggles]
-
The shimmering water of the Caribbean Sea is such a delightful sight, you take a long sigh as you take it all in that you'll be living here for the next 30 days.
Everyone else is either chilling by the pool or starting to mingle with each other or both.
You see Devon is closing in on Blake and it doesn't bother you much, you'll have your chance. You remind yourself that it's a marathon, not a sprint.
Someone comes up to you and joins you in the gazebo, it's the guy with the mesmerizing eyes, Elliott.
"Drinks?" He offers, holding up the drinks in his hands at you.
"Yes, please," you answer, scooting to the side to make some space on the sofa for him.
He hands you one of the drinks to you before sitting down, you both take a little sip of the sugary sweet cocktails.
"This is cute," you comment, stirring the drink with the small umbrella.
"Like you," Elliott teases with a flirty smile.
You giggle in reaction to his words, "You think I'm cute?"
Elliott licks his lips after sipping his drink, "Yeah."
Pulling a trick out of the book, you tilt your head to the side and flutter your eyelids a little.
"And I think you're cute too," you sweetly say, then clink your glass with his.
You have another sip of the cocktail and scrunch your nose when you taste the sour of the lime on the rim of the glass. You catch Elliott staring at you and knowing that he just got caught, he may as well ask, "So, do you fancy anyone?"
With your head still tilted, you do a little look away before looking at him right in the eyes, "Oh, wow, that's a tough question," you pretend to think hard.
Elliott is confidently staring right back into your eyes as he asks another question, "Anyone you want?"
You let out a low chuckle and answer, "I think it's too early to say."
"That's a good answer," he mutters.
Elliott is not taking his eyes away from yours even for a second, his stare is so intense that it makes you nervous. An awkward chuckle escapes your mouth, "Your eyes..."
You look down at your drink and put all of your focus on it instead, "They're making me nervous," you continue.
Elliott triumphantly smiles knowing that his eyes are doing a great job, "I'm just trying to shoot my shot here," he coyly says with a sexy smirk.
You nod and tuck your hair behind your ear, "I understand. You want what you want."
"Mm-hm," he immediately agrees with what you said.
"What I want is right here," he continues, clinking his glass against yours.
Elliott is, physically wise, not your type but he's confident, he has that good chat and he knows how to keep the conversation going.
As the saying goes if at first you don't succeed, then go for your second choice and Elliott would make a great second choice.
-
YOU: Well, if Blake is not going to acknowledge the fact that I'm here then I'm just going to give Elliott a chance.
-
It's loud in the dressing room as everyone comes up with guesses on what actually would happen tonight at the first party of Party In Paradise.
They prepare costumes for everyone to wear for the first party in the villa. The boys are dressed as pirates while the girls are dressed as mermaids and you choose the one adorned with sapphire blue sequins that resemble mermaid scales.
The beach is decorated with properties according to the theme and the drinks are ready so is the music, they're blasting upbeat songs through big speakers.
Everyone is looking hot, they're dancing and drinking, having the time of their life, it indeed feels like a party in paradise.
The good time comes to a halt as Issa initiates a game but it's actually what the staff briefed her earlier about.
"We're going to play X marks the spot," Issa says.
She then pulls lipstick out of the side of the sofa and uses it to make two crosses on each one of her breasts, "These are my best features so you can lick them, bite them, grab them, or even kiss the person if you want," she explains the game.
It's a simple game, with or without marking the spot, everyone knows where to touch or kiss. Issa then walks to the center and stands in front of everyone.
"So who wants a piece of me?" She cutely says while shaking her shoulders.
As everyone is about to hype Issa, Jeff dashes towards her and buries his head between her mounds, rubbing the red lipstick all over his face then plants a hard kiss on her lips. He then returns to his seat, leaving Issa standing there in bewilderment.
Everyone is either excited for their turn or to finally have the chance to make physical contact with the person they're interested in, including you.
You can't tell which one you're more excited for, taking your turn or making a move on someone.
It seems like it's the latter for Devon as Blake is drawing small crosses on his six-pack abs. He raises his hands and puts them behind him, letting anyone come to him.
"Come and get some," he says with a devilish smirk that takes his attractiveness to the next level.
Devon not only puts her claws on him but also sinks her teeth deep into Blake's neck, letting everyone know that it's her territory.
Well, Devon can piss on Blake too if she wants and you'll let her have him, for now.
Jeff whistles as Adriana marks both of her buttcheeks with the red lipstick while the others are howling like animals in heat.
"Whoa!" Lili grabs at your forearm in reaction to Tom licking her buttcheeks as Adriana slightly bends over.
"Oh, my God!" You gasp as they continue with a slobbering kiss, sending the red lips rubbing on each other's faces.
She then walks back to her seat and plops down next to you, panting while wiping the skin around her mouth with her fingers.
When it's finally your turn, you get so excited that you can't seem to function normally. You can't stop grinning as you walk to the center, carrying the lipsticks Adriana gave to you.
It's time to get some action so you give them no excuses to miss out on you. With the red lipsticks, you draw an X on your inner thigh, your breasts, and the last one, excessively putting the lipsticks all over your lips.
"Let's go, boys!" You say with a hand gesture, daring them to come.
As expected, Elliott is the first one to come out to play. He walks up to you with a sly grin plastered his face and he stops right in front of you, dropping to his knees to kiss your inner thigh.
His soft lips tickle you as he drags them down your thigh and you can't help but giggle. The trail of kisses stops when he reaches your ankle and he finally lets go of your leg.
Elliott gets up and immediately pulls you close, capturing your lips in a deep kiss. The way he eagerly lathers your lips, you can tell how much he wanted it, craved it and it's low-key arousing you.
You gasp for air when he lets go of the kiss and you hurriedly cover your mouth with your hand, nonplussed.
Before you can fully recover from Elliott's kiss, Blake walks up to you and holds you by the waist as he plants his mouth right on the X you drew on your breast.
He licks the red lipstick off your skin and does not waste another second to crash his mouth against your mouth, kissing you so hard.
You open your mouth to catch a breath, but he uses it as an opportunity to put his hot tongue into you, kissing you deeper, tasting you more.
You can hear everyone cheering and hooting as they watch Blake let go of the kiss with a triumphant smile on his face.
"Don't make me compete with you, man!" Elliott jokingly says with his mouth still tainted red from the lipstick.
To say the kiss was good would be an understatement, it was phenomenal, you get a little disoriented as you walk back to your seat.
-
YOU: I just knew he wouldn't be able to resist me [Coyly shrugs]
-
It's a good thing that you have some drink left in your cup as you need it to help you calm down from the madness you were in a while ago. You feel hot and bothered, finding yourself fanning your face from Blake's kiss.
The host of the show finally comes and leads the show, walking so carefully with her heels in the sand.
"Hello, party people!" She begins with a bright smile.
Everyone answers with a cheery howl, louder than the sounds of the crashing waves in the background.
"Are you having a good time?"
"Yeah!" Everyone replies in unison.
"Are you ready to have some more good time?" The host asks, fanning her hand close to her ear to hear everyone's answer.
"Yeah!"
"You know what? I think I know exactly what this party needs," the host says with a kittenish smile.
The fun keeps doubling as the night gets late and it gets everyone hyped for what's to come.
"We have invited a guest to the villa!" She announces with a playful whoop at the end of the sentence.
Your first thought is that they'll bring another guest into the villa but it's a party in paradise which means more people, the merrier.
"This one guest is very special and can change anything," The host hinted with a cryptic smile.
That piques everyone's interest and they're starting to randomly shout names of famous people, trying to guess and manifesting it at once.
"Are you ready to welcome our world-famous guest?" The host asks, also giving out another hint which makes a few of them believe it's a celebrity.
"Yes!" Everyone answers, getting impatient to find out who the new guest is.
You don't want to get your hopes up but it would be nice to party with a celebrity, whoever it is, you're ready to have some fun.
"Give our new guest a warm welcome!"
All of the lights are suddenly off and then a spotlight shines on the curtain behind our seats, you've been thinking that it's just part of the decoration but now everyone's eyes are on it, looking at it with so much anticipation.
"No way!" You gasp in a mix of nerves and excitement.
Adriana just can't stop squealing next to you, holding your hand by the wrist.
It's been a minute now and the curtain is still not open, you feel like fainting with this much anticipation inside you. A while later, smoke starts coming out as the curtain finally opens in one quick pull.
Then there's that melodic chime that you heard somewhere before.
-
YOU: [Groans] Why? [Throws head to the back] Why?
-
You look around and everyone is just as flabbergasted, as in shock as you are at the reveal of the true intentions of this show. All of you have been tricked into thinking that it's a Party In Paradise when it's actually Too Hot To Handle.
As if the sight of the cone is not enough, Lili turns her head at you and meekly says, "We're in Too Hot To Handle."
Now that she says it out loud, you realize that it's real and you can feel that you're already dreading it.
She rubs her temples and says again, "This is Too Hot To Handle."
Oh, no. This is real. You are in Too Hot To Handle.
"As you can see, this is no longer Party In Paradise," The cone begins talking.
"But it's so convincing, the crew got Party In Paradise shirts and everything," Adriana complain as if that would help her get out of this.
"This is Too Hot To Handle."
"Shit... fuck..." you quietly mutter as you rub your temples in stress.
"You have been specially selected because all of you are having meaningless flings over genuine relationships," Lana continues.
Wish you could deny it but you feel called out instead, if that's the case, then you guess, this is your karma.
"Not wrong at all," Elliott agrees with Lana's statement with a stupid grin.
"Since your arrival, I have been gathering data on your wild behavior but from now on, you must adhere to my retreat rules."
-
YOU: Hmm... my coochie is going on lockdown, isn't it? [Sighs]
-
"No kissing."
But that's exactly your plan which is to kiss everyone.
"No heavy petting."
The more you hear it, the harder for you to process it in your head and whether you can do it or not.
"No sex."
And that's it. You can't do it, it's impossible. You'll be staying with a bunch of attractive people in a villa on an exotic island and told not to make physical contact with them.
"And no self-gratification," Lana announces the last rule.
Which is the hardest one for you to accept. It's your own body and you can do anything to it? It doesn't make sense.
"That's crazy!" Blake reacts with his eyes widening in disbelief.
Despite the complaints, Lana continues with her announcement, "As part of your social development, I have allocated a prize of $200,000."
Hearing that much money on the line, you suddenly have a change of mind that maybe it's possible to keep your hands to yourself for 200 grand.
Among the cheering of excitement at the sum of prize money, Jeff makes a bold remark.
"We surely can spend some of it," Jeff sounds excited to spend it more than to win it.
"No, man. Don't mess it up!" Tom warns him while shaking his head in disbelief.
"Just a couple of grand," Jeff innocently says.
"I'm a college student. I need it," Tom says, putting some sense into him.
Jeff indirectly says that he doesn't mind spending some of the money only supporting the fact that it's not going to be easy and your optimism deflates right away.
Another problem is you don't have that much trust in yourself that you'll be able to keep it yourself.
"Welcome to your long, hard, sexless summer," Lana concludes.
-
YOU: It's going to be hard but... since when do I follow the rules? [Smirks]
-
The morning starts rough.
You wake up as soon as the lights are on, dragging yourself out of the duvet, and sit on the bed only to look Devon and Blake on the bed right across from yours.
Lili wakes up not long after you and sitting on the bed, lowly muttering, "I am so horny."
Hearing that almost causes you to choke on your water as you sip it from a water tumbler.
It's like she triggers the cone by mentioning the word 'horny', the cone lights up and chimes.
"Good morning!"
You groan as the truth that you're in a sex retreat hasn't fully sunk in yet.
"You may find this retreat challenging but I am always here to help," Lana offers some comfort on a gloomy, sex-deprived morning.
"And we ask for sex, Lana," Adriana says with a sleepy, depressive smile.
Tom who sleeps with Adriana on the next bed, turns to see Blake and asks, "Are you sure nothing happened last night?"
You act nonchalant but at the same time, stay quiet to hear his answer.
He coyly shrugs and rubs his eyes as he answers, "No."
"I notice the smug," Adriana teases Devon.
She shakes her head in response, "Nothing happens, I swear."
That doesn't quite put you at ease.
There's a big chance that they did break the rules but act like they didn't and if they did break the rules, then you don't want to waste your time pursuing Blake.
However, as you gather all of your hair and tie it into a messy ponytail, you catch Blake looking at you with a faint smile on his face.
-
YOU: I'm still going for Blake but if he's still not showing any signs that he's interested well... I may have to put my focus on someone else.
-
Last night was just as rough.
Everyone was still coping with the grand reveal and just couldn't wait to end the day, choosing their beds where they felt like it. Lili offered to share the bed with you since she doesn’t want to partner up with anyone just yet and you didn’t have problems sleeping with anyone.
But the other reason was that Blake had chosen to sleep with Devon.
Of course, you’re not going to be so adamant about your choice of man but what you can’t help is being tenacious, you have to always get what you want, and you don’t want to know what would happen if you don’t get it.
Since you took the first turn for the daily interview, you get to start your day late. You’re going down to the beach to do some exercises with Vale sitting cross-legged on the yoga mat not far away from you, meditating.
That’s the kind of vibe you got when you first met him that despite his perfect figure and built body, he’s a spiritual person, he’s the type who seeks ‘that’ connection. Unlike you, Vale fits right into this show and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he won it too.
“Hey, come and join me,” He says to you as you take a break from working.
You stop sucking your water tumbler and ask, “You want me to meditate with you?”
“Yeah,” he shortly says.
You quickly wipe your sweat with a towel and sit on the yoga mat he laid out for you next to him. You follow the way he sits, crossing your legs together and putting your hands on your knees, then intently listen to his instructions for the rest of the session.
It works wonderfully and helps you take your mind off things. Once you both got back to the villa, he playfully asks if you want to shower together.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” You tell him as you splash some water on your face in the sink.
As you continue washing your face, you catch the reflection in the mirror as he stands behind you with the towel hanging low around his hips you can see his pelvic bones.
“It’s not against the rules,” Vale simply says, half-laughing.
 “Yes, but…” You suddenly forget what you’re about to say and turn around only to find him dropping his towel before he walks into the shower stall.
Your hands fly to cover your face but continue to see through the cracks between your fingers, “Okay, now all I can think about is naked Jesus,” you jokingly say.
Vale laughs as he catches what you said even though he’s inside the shower stall, laughing as he runs his hands to wash his golden tan skin. You leave the bathroom before you change your mind and join him in the shower.
-
YOU: Can’t believe I got to see naked Jesus [Laughs]
-
In the dressing room, you’re getting your make-up done and going to dry your hair next. You check for your appearance in the full-length mirror, making sure the bikini looks flattering on you when you hear someone coming from the hallway that connects here with the bedroom.
“Hey,” You don’t want to make it obvious that you’re glad to see him but you’re glad to see him.
“Hey,” Blake says back, grinning when he realizes that it’s you.
He stops on his track just checking you out, his eyes traveling up and down your body, “Been looking for you,” he says.
You know better not to fall on such words, “Oh, really?”
“Yeah,” he shortly says with a grin that is both hot and sweet. He then goes to his closet on the opposite wall and takes out a bucket hat, putting it on to show it to you.
“How do we think?” He asks.
You close your closet door and rest your hand against it, “Cute.”
He switches the bucket hat with a cap and puts it on while also making a dramatic pose for you, “How about now?”
It’s hard to look at his face when his abs keep distracting you and you chuckle at how he spreads his arms out, “Try putting it on backward,” you suggest.
Blake follows your suggestion, turning the cap without taking it off, and strikes another pose for you, “Yeah?”
You were right about the hat, he looks hot with his cap on backward, and just like he heard what you’re thinking, Blake spins around on his feet and almost stumbles as he gets back on his feet.
“I know I’m hot but try not to kiss me, okay?” he says.
Well, you can try not to but that doesn’t mean you won’t do it. You shake your head and suck air through your teeth, “Can’t promise you,” you playfully say.
 “Come here, give me a hug,” Blake says, holding his hand out at you.
You take it only for him to pull you close and hug you, burying his head in your neck to catch your scent, “How are you doing?”
You giggle as he rubs his nose in your neck and you get to put your hands on him, feeling his warm skin under your touch, “Good. You?”
Instead of answering, Blake draws you closer, molding his body to you to feel your whole body against him, and lowers his hands to your hips. You don’t mind though, he’s so big and you like how he envelops you whole.
You hear his overwhelmed sigh before he plants a kiss on your neck, “Damn! You smell so good,” he mutters.
“Well, I showered,” you respond with a witty answer.
“I should try that,” he responds with an even wittier answer.
Blake closes the door of his closet and heads for the door, “See you around.”
“See you around,” you say back with a flirty smile.
-
YOU: I know Blake and I haven’t talked much but there’s something there and I can’t wait to explore that.
-
It feels like it was a while ago that you get ready for the day and now the day has turned to night.
You have to change out of your bikini and into a dress, getting help from Adriana to tie the straps on your back. The girls are busy putting on make-up and looking their best to attract whoever they fancy, including you.
It’s not that hard to know that Blake indeed feels something for you, you sense it in the kiss he gave you during the game yesterday and the way he hugged you this morning, or the way he secretly gives you the eyes even though he’s sitting right next to Devon right now.
People can run their mouths all they want but their bodies can’t lie. You can’t fake a physical attraction.
You join Vale sitting on the lounger next to him with a glass of wine in hand, “Cute shirt!” You compliment his colorful printed shirt.
“Thank you,” Vale responds with a bright smile.
You get comfortable and take a small sip of your wine before asking something you’ve been curious to find out, “My sweet Jesus, do you find anyone you fancy in here?”
Vale scratches his beard as he thinks of an answer, “Honestly… no, not yet.”
Vale is gorgeous and hot, you vibe well with him and he’s earnest which tells you that he’s someone that you can trust. Despite all of those qualities, he’s not quite the type you’re looking for and you believe, it’s vice versa.
“What’s your type?”
“I don’t have such things. I think I never limit myself to a certain type of person. It’s whoever attracts me,” he replies and his words carry some wisdom in them.
To put it simply, he’s not attracted to anyone and therefore, it confirms your assumptions about him.
Vale brushes his long hair to the back, sending a few strands falling over his face, “How about you? Who do you fancy?”
You put your glass of wine down and turn your head around for the person you’re looking for, finding him talking to Tom by the firepit.
“For now, it’s Blake,” you answer.
“How about Elliott?” He asks, tucking his hair behind his ear.
“Elliott is... he is cute and all but I like Blake,” you answer, hinting that Blake is your priority.
Vale cranes his neck to see Blake and then slumps back down on his lounger, “It seems like Devon got him on a leash,” he says.
“Yeah,” you say while chuckling.
You turn your head to see Devon putting her leg over Blake’s lap, “but that’s not going to stop me though,” you add.
Vale cracks a laugh, “I like that,” he says.
“Right? I don’t see any rings on it so...” You decide not to finish your words and have a sip of your drink instead.
Talking about Blake gets you thinking to start making a move, separating him from Devon is going to be the hardest part so you decide to take a moment to refresh yourself before executing your plan.
“I’m going to powder my nose,” you excuse yourself as get up from the lounger.
Vale doesn’t reply but helps you by handing you your glass. As you start walking away though, he shouts, “Hey, you’re beautiful!”
You look over your shoulder and blow a kiss at him, “I know.”
-
YOU: From what I see is that Vale is looking for someone he can instantly connect with and I hope he finds it.
-
The heels you’re wearing are starting to irritate you, you switch into a comfortable pair of wedges sandals and then take your make-up pouch with you to the bathroom.
You take a tube of lip gloss and put on a layer over your lips while leaning close to the mirror. You smack your lips together and check if there’s anything you can fix, deciding that a little more blush won’t hurt.
As you’re about to apply it to your cheek, you immediately stop moving as you see someone come into the bathroom.
“Hey, gorgeous!” Devon sweetly says.
From how enthusiastic she sounds, you’re sure the intention isn’t as sweet as her greeting. You put down everything you’re holding and turn around.
“Hey, babe,” you greet back with less enthusiasm than her.
Devon sits on the edge of the bathtub and starts brushing wavy hair with her fingers, “How are you?”
You rest your hands on the surface of the sink and lean against it, “I’m good. You?”
“Good,” she shortly replies.
She plays with her nails and a while later, looks at you, “I love the dress,” she says.
It seems like the compliment is an effort to try to soften you for whatever trick she has up on her sleeve, you put on a smile for her and mutter, “Thank you.”
A moment passes just you and Devon looking at each other and the silence that hangs in the space in between only adds animosity in the room.
“I have something to tell you,” Devon finally reveals her true intentions on why she came here.
You keep your smile on and slightly tilt your head to the side, “Yes.”
Devon bites her lips and fiddles with her bangles around her dainty wrist, “I know you’ve been like... eyeing Blake,” she begins.
“Yes,” you immediately reply, showing her that you don’t mind making it an open competition with her for it.
“I want to be honest with you and I hope you understand that I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings,” she says with a smile, in contrast to her words, she looks rather enjoying it.
“Blake and I,” she pauses to keep you on your toes.
Devon then flips her hair to the back and continues, “We kissed.”
The thing that you fear the most has happened and you don’t want to give Devon the satisfaction, you calmly cross your arms in front of you and nod.
“Okay,” you say with a plain tone.
“Oh, my God! I’m sorry,” Devon says, being dramatic for the two of you.
She comes and gives you a hug which she thinks would cheer you up. You reluctantly accept it even though you know she’s pitying you.
“I just want to tell you that,” she says as she pulls away from the hug.
Devon indirectly tells you that she comes here just to break your spirit and you don’t know how to respond to that. You actually know how to respond to that but you know you’re better than that.
Once Devon left the bathroom, you turn back around to face the mirror again and lowly mutter, “What the actual fuck?”
-
YOU: How thoughtful of Devon on letting me know about their kiss but girl, what the fuck?
-
It seems like Lana is not going to announce any rule breaks tonight. She’s more likely to collect the rule breaks for now and will eventually turn up with the receipt.
You don’t know how you feel about it but you enjoy seeing the sheer disappointment on Devon’s face that she didn’t get the chance to brag about her kiss with Blake.
Talking about Blake, you reckon you should move on but how can you forget Blake in one night?
It’s impossible, not when you’ll always see him walking around the villa looking so fine and tempting. As you get on your bed, you catch him looking at you and slyly smiling at you.
You don’t want to fall back into it but the bad girl in you tells you to not shut him down completely so you decide to put on a thin smile in return.
That should be enough to tell him that you’re not pleased.
You look away and see your bed partner with her arms flexed as she’s braiding her dark hair. You notice that her arm muscles are so defined and it should be from hours spent in the gym working on them.
Curious, your hand reaches for her shoulder and lowers it to feel her lats, “Lil, how much do you lift?”
She’s tying the end of her hair with a scrunchie then looks over her shoulder, “About 140 to 156,” she answers.
“Girl!” You gasp in shock.
Looking at her lean figure and your hard guess at her body weight, she must be advanced in weightlifting.
You allow yourself to feel the muscles on her arms, from her trapezius muscle down to her bicep, “Remind me not to work with you,” you jokingly say.
Tom enters the room carrying a water tumbler in his hand, he stops right in the middle of the room and looks at everyone.
“Did anyone break any rules today?” He asks.
It’s useless to ask, no one is going to say anything unless the situation pressures them to talk. For instance, Blake is shaking his head as Tom is seeking his answer.
“Be good you two!” Tom says to both Blake and Devon, making a gesture that his eyes will always be on them.
Well, good luck with that because they already did break the rules and succeeded in lying right to his face.
“Goodnight, everyone,” Adriana says, blowing kisses around the room right before the lights are out.
Tom was wrong to fear that these people would break rules during the day. What Tom should be afraid of is what these people do in the dark.
-
YOU: What cuddles? I got to feel my bed partner’s muscles in my sleep [laughs]
-
In the morning, Jesus comes to your bed.
The bed quakes as Vale dives right into the space between you and Lili.
“Morning, beautiful!” Vale says, getting comfortable as he puts his hand over your waist.
“Morning,” you sleepily reply, groping around with your eyes closed to touch him.
“Your skin is so soft,” Lili says.
You turn your head to see Lili rubbing Vale’s back. Wanting to prove Lili’s words, you follow suit and rub your hand down his shoulder.
“It feels like a foreplay now,” Vale mumbles with his head buried in your pillow.
You continue your day with a quick workout and a meditating session with Vale. After that, you decide to skip the shower and put on a swimsuit, taking a few laps in the swimming pool.
Maybe it’s because you have someone to avoid that you keep yourself busy, but when you look at the time, it’s barely noon.
As you take a break from swimming and use the opportunity to enjoy the view of the sea shimmering under the morning sun, you hear a splash. You notice someone joins you in the pool and he swims right at you.
“Hey, morning,” Elliott softly greets.
You put all of your wet hair to the back and smile, “Morning!”
“How are you?” He asks, wiping the beads of water gathering under his chin.
“Alright, I guess,” You honestly answer.
You turn to the side to face him while keeping one hand resting on the edge of the pool, “You?”
“I’m great,” he replies with enthusiasm that matches his answer.
The sun hits right on his eyes, making them brighter yet fiercer and they’re just as good as weapons now. You can only hope Elliott knows how to use them.
“Uhm...” Elliott seems to have something to say but hesitates to do so, “I know you have your eyes on Blake.”
Welp, it’s that obvious? You nod since there’s no use in denying it.
“Do you... still have your eyes on him or...?”
So Elliott wants to know if you have given up on pursuing Blake and you can safely assume that he hopes to slide right into his spot.
“I already made him aware that I kind of fancy him but I’m not getting anything back so... I don’t know,” You honestly answer, you feel pity for yourself as you say those out loud.
“Mmm-hmm...” Elliott bobs his head as he takes your answer.
The water trickles down his face as he pushes his wet hair to the back, “And who is your second option?”
Your assumption is true, Elliott is looking for a way to get into you and you appreciate that he didn’t come on to you and make it one big chase. He’s so easy and laid-back, and you like that.
“You,” You answer.
A sweet smile rises on his face and expresses his happiness with a cute shout, “Yay!”
It’s not even a phony answer, if there’s anyone else you want to try to make a connection with, it’s him.
“I haven’t got the chance to ask you about our kiss,” he says, taking a step closer to you.
It’s getting dangerous now that he wants to talk about the kiss in this proximity where you can see that his eyes are green in this light.
“What do you think about it?”
“About our kiss?”
He nods as the smile has been replaced with a grin, “Yes.”
You recall the moment when he kissed you during the game, “That was very cute.”
He suddenly lets out a chuckle and scratches his head. Is he flustered or nervous? You have no idea.
“How much do you think a kiss costs?” He suddenly asks.
Oh. You sense trouble right away but you’ve been craving for a little something. A kiss will suffice, you reckon.
Elliott is intensely staring into your eyes as you consider his idea, grinning at the 50% chance that you’d say yes to it.
“Fuck...” You curse as you let out a sigh.
You try to get yourself out of it by averting your focus elsewhere, fixing your bikini, and reminding yourself of Lana and her stupid rules. However, when your eyes meet again, your mind is set right away.
It; ‘s like your bodies are drawn to each other, Elliott and you come at each other at the same time and kiss. Maybe it’s because both of you are relaxed and there’s no one else watching, the kiss feels much nicer than the one you shared before.
Elliott puts the right amount of everything, the lips, the tongue, and even the teeth, you like how he kisses you, hungry yet gentle.
You hear nothing but the smooching sounds of both of your lips lathering each other and your bodies moving in the water.
“Your kiss is just so good,” Elliott says as he takes a step back from you.
And just like that, you break the rules for the first time in the retreat.
-
YOU: I was bored. I wanted to make Blake jealous and Elliott, I have a soft spot for him so... yeah, I kissed him.
-
There’s just something about doing the things that you shouldn’t and doing it anyway, the rush, the thrill of it... it makes you feel so alive.
Now that you’ve got a taste of it, you want more.
Just like Jeff said, we have so many cookies in the jar, 200 grand of them to be exact, and eating one or two more cookies should be fine.
The next question is who do you want to have the cookies with?
Elliott is the easy choice, he’s cool, he’s so easy-going, he’s following the vibe but that’s also the problem, he’s easy and you don’t want easy.
If we’re talking about Blake... oh, yes, he’s not easy, not when Devon is keeping him on a short, tight leash and that tells you enough that she’s not confident about him.
You steal a few glances at her as she’s doing her makeup on the other side of the vanity table from you, looking at her and seeing how pretty she is, there’s no reason for her to be that insecure.
Or maybe you’re that threatening to her? Well, that thought amused you so much.
“Pick one for me!” Adriana says, showing you two different colors of lipsticks in her hands to help her choose one.
“Uhm...” you take a closer look at the color.
Adriana has gorgeous full lips so you choose one with a deep berry color that would suit her better, “This!”
You watch as she’s about to apply it on her lips when the cone in the room lights up and chimes, startling everyone in their seats.
“Ah!” Adriana squeals in surprise.
“Hello, girls!” Lana greets.
“Hello, Lana,” You put down everything you’re holding, getting nervous that it’s about time for Lana to announce the rule breaks.
“I have given the chance for Blake to go on a date with one of you,” Lana announces.
Oh? Is it finally your chance to test the water and see if Blake is on board? You look around to see if anyone is also anticipating this but Devon is the only one looking a little fidgety on her seat.
“Blake has chosen...”
The real question is: is Blake ballsy enough to break away from Devon’s leash? It’s time to find out.
“... Devon.”
-
YOU: Un-fucking-believeable!
-
Devon is smiling from ear to ear after hearing Blake has chosen her for the date.
You believe Blake is playing it safe by choosing Devon, oh, well, it’s his loss, not yours. You continue with getting ready for the night with the rest of the girls.
You check yourself in the mirror and like what you see, especially the dress that enhances the curves on your body.
“What a waste of an outfit!” You mutter, allowing yourself to feel upset about not getting chosen.
Someone puts her arm around you and says, “Oh! We look so hot!”
You look at both of you and Adriana’s reflections in the mirror and suddenly gain your confidence back. Since when you’re not dressing for other people, you’re dressing for yourself.
Everyone is hanging out in the firepit. You’re sharing the small sofa with Vale and Lili is taking the other end, talking to Adriana and Tom with drinks in hands.
It only takes a couple of days for everyone to get used to each other and you guess it’s because everyone shares the same vibe, everyone simply wants to have fun and they don’t let Lana’s rules stop them from doing it.
Unfortunately, you get called to the interview room and do your duty as a TV show contestant, telling the camera about everything to its tiniest details.
That’s what they need for the TV, something juicy, and the juicier the better.
You promise to keep yourself as genuine as possible and only tell the truth, not fabricating any of it. Not going to lie, you feel tempted at times but you realize that one day, you’ll be out of here and you don’t want to regret something you said or did in the show.
You bump into Elliott on your way out as it’s his turn next and you squeeze his hand as you walk past each other.
“Have fun in there!” You playfully say.
Instead of going back to the firepit, you make a turn to the bedroom, wanting to take a moment for yourself to unwind. You take your shoes off once you get to your bed and take a hearty sip of water.
It’s not life if you always get what you want. Blake enters the room not long after you, his shirt is undone and you guess he must’ve just come back from his date with Devon.
What is it with him with his shirt flies open though? You have a hot body, yes, you get it.
Anyway, you want to ignore him but he smiles the second he spots you.
“Hello,” he softly says.
You put on a small smile and greet back, “Hey.”
You cap your water tumbler and put it on your bedside table, “Back from your date, huh?”
Instead of answering, Blake comes at you and does not stop until his body crashes against yours, taking you with him as he topples on your bed.
You’re giggling as he pins you under and then you gently push him away to sit on your bed. You don’t want to give it to him east, not after he chose someone else over you.
“So, how was the date?” You casually ask while fixing the straps of your dress.
Blake sits next to you, leaning back with his hands propped against the mattress, “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know what I want,” he vaguely says.
Well, that’s what he gets for keeping his options way too open. Then Blake turns his head at you then continues, “But I know who I want.”
You get it that he’s hinting at you from the way he raises his eyebrow and slyly smiles at you. But you play dumb instead, wanting to hear him saying it out loud.
“And it’s Devon?” You say.
He dramatically closes his eyes and lets out a low sigh, “It’s you.”
You pretend to be surprised to hear it, “Oh, it’s me?”
Blake nods and smiles, he rubs his hand down his abs, trying to make you look at it.
“What do you think?”
You’re sure he’s talking about what he just said, not the abs, and honestly, it sounds not that convincing.
“I don’t know what to feel about it. You just came back from a date with someone else,” you point out the only way that gets in the way of trusting his words.
Blake drags his hand on the bed until he finds your hand and holds it, “I know I have something going on but I wish we did talk more, get to know you more.”
You don’t know what he’s going with it but giving him a chance to explain himself.
“But just know... Just know that I feel something for you,” he says.
It should be a triumphant moment, knowing that the guy you like is liking you back but you feel conflicted instead.
Blake inhales air and then stares into your eyes, “I want you to know that,” he concludes with his thumb gently rubbing the back of your hand.
You want to give him one more chance to prove himself, to prove that he’ll act exactly like what he said to you.
You nod and smile, “Alright.”
But for now, you want to take his words as they are, that it’s simply him telling you what he’s feeling.
-
YOU: There’s something about him that’s calling for you and you kind of want to answer that.
-
As if Lana is aware that the two of you are alone which means there's a big chance of rule-breaking, the cone in the room chimes, making you jolt on your bed.
"Please gather everyone in the cabana," Lana orders.
You're clutching your chest as you walk to the cabana, knowing that it's the time: Lana is going to announce the rule breaks.
The plan is you'll sit there and not going to say anything, and you're aware of how flawed that plan is.
A moment after everyone assembled in the cabana, the cone chimes and lights up as she sits in the middle of the round, glass table.
"Good evening, everyone," Lana starts.
"Hello, Lana!" A few replies in a not-so-enthusiastic tone.
Before Lana talks further, you glance at Elliott and he catches you looking, the anxiety is also drawn on his face.
"The rules of my retreat have already been broken," Lana drops the truth right away.
"Oh, no!" Lili exclaims with her eyes going side to side.
Tom looks upset already with his clasped hands pushed close to his mouth.
"Wow!" he comments with a plain tone.
He takes a deep breath and finally be the one who confronts everyone, "Is there anybody that wants to come clean?"
-
YOU: I broke the rules but I'm not telling anyone shit.
-
You try to avoid looking in Tom's direction but it's hard when he's sitting right across from yours so you look the other away only to catch Elliott looking at you.
Elliott seems not to know how to put on a good poker face, he keeps grinning but the kind that only makes him appear guilty.
Adriana is the first to spot it, "Elliott?"
Elliott lets out a nervous chuckle, "Nah. Not me."
He gives it away as he can't stop grinning and as soon as he glances your way, you subtly give him a head shake, telling him not to say anything. Then you continue to act dumb, playing with your hair like it has nothing to do with you.
"I'm going to come clean," someone says.
All heads are turned to see that it's coming from Jeff and they all seem to see this one coming.
"It was me who initiated it, we had a moment—"
Jeff's explanation gets cut off as Lili interrupts and asks, "Who's we?"
Jeff licks his lips and slowly turns his head toward you, and then you see his eyes flick toward Issa, "Issa and I," he answers.
Issa gets flustered, smiling that everyone now knows who Jeff got it on with. Not that it's a secret but she looks smitten, they're showing a big potential to become an established couple in this retreat.
"This kiss has cost the group $3,000," Lana announces.
It's like taking a shot, hearing how much money lost to a kiss is that bitter aftertaste. But that's not the worst of it yet, you know that the rule breaks don't stop there.
"They were not the only ones to break the rules."
There you go, you mutter in your head and gulp air that people would start digging deeper to find out whoever cost them another $3,000.
"What? No!" Vale says, scanning everyone to spot any guilty faces.
You continue your dumb act, playing with your hair, brushing it with your fingers even though it's looking good. Your luck runs out as Tom notices the error in your behavior.
"You're good? It wasn't you, right?" Tom asks.
It would be nice if he just shot you with a real bullet and you would have died on the spot, that way you don't have to deal with his question anymore.
You put on a calm face, staying quiet and not intending to say anything. You notice Elliott is looking at you and eventually, people connect the dots together.
"Oh, no, you guys kissed!" Adriana says, being the first to figure it out.
The truth is out, all that is left to do is own up to it.
"I did want to tell you guys but I..." you give up on trying to justify your act.
"I'm sorry," you sincerely say.
Elliott looks at everyone and apologizes as well, "We are sorry. We really are," he earnestly says.
"The kiss has cost the group $3,000."
You cringe at the amount of money you spent for a kiss and even though it's not your money, it's still kind of stings.
"Expensive kiss, that one," Vale comments while scratching his facial hair.
"I think that'll be it," Adriana says, or more like hoping that that was just it, no more rule breaks.
Lana hears her and she doesn't intend to stop until everyone committed their crimes.
"That is not all," she says, "There was one more breach of the rules."
Your eyes dart toward Devon and Blake who sit next to each other at the end of the long sofa, it must be the one kiss she bragged to you about.
"Are you kidding me?" Tom reacts with a fed-up tone.
Devon looks at Blake but he seems to want to keep his mouth shut. You're not a lip reader but it's not hard to read what Devon said as she fixes her dress, "Shit."
The tension keeps building as everyone waits for the last confession Lana needs so she can calculate the damage and come up with the bill.
A moment passes and Devon seems to be uncomfortable keeping it to herself any longer, "We should tell them," she says to Blake.
Everyone is exclaiming and yelling at them all at once while Blake is sitting there, taking it all in. Once everyone calms down, he coyly admits everything, "We kissed. I'm sorry."
"These rule breaks have cost the group $6,000," Lana announces.
Tom's mouth hung open, "You kissed twice?"
Blake licks his lips and then nods.
"What the—" Vale doesn't even finish his words, he reclines on his sofa instead and looks up.
You know the one kiss they did and that's thanks to Devon's thoughtfulness, but the other one, you wonder when they did that.
"It was yesterday," Devon says.
"And the other one?" Tom asks.
"On the date earlier," Devon answers.
Wait... so Blake went on that date and kissed Devon, then he came back and told you that you're the one he wants. What the fuck?
-
YOU: I am so annoyed right now.
-
And you're not the only one.
Even though she's just a talking robot, you can tell that Lana is not pleased with these rule breaks. You can hear it from the way she informs the current prize money.
"The prize fund now stands at $188,000."
"What's done is done, guys," Blake coyly says, and somehow, that only pisses you more.
"In the first 24 hours, most of you have already broken the rules."
Tom looks at the people sitting on the long sofa, "Do you hear that, guys?"
"You have left me with no choice. From this point forward, all fines will be doubled," Lana delivers shocking news.
Tom's eyes widen like he's seeing his nightmare turn into a reality. He claps his hands together and leans back, "That's just great!"
Everyone is too stunned by the news that no one is saying anything. While you just can't wait to end the day already.
"Goodbye," Lana ends with a grim greeting.
Lana is indeed pissed and she deserved to be. You even pissed at what you did but what pissed you more than losing than losing $12,000 in one night is Blake.
Fucking Blake won't get away with it.
-
YOU: So Blake is that kind of player... oh, how typical! How boring! [Rolls eyes]
-
The boys are grouping on the terrace instead of going inside to get ready for bedtime so you follow the girls to the dressing room and it’s just perfect.
Telling Devon about what you know face to face, you doubt that she’ll believe you for it, she’d likely think that you’re trying to ruin things for her. This way, with the girls gathered together, you know they’ll support you and see the true intention behind it.
You need to pick your time right, you don’t want to interrupt in the middle of them complaining about the rules and the money, especially when you’re responsible for the $3,000 deduction.
“I mean… I’m trying to be respectful to Lana but some men are worth it,” Devin says while undoing her hair bun.
She pauses to correct her statement, “Not all, but some,” she emphasizes.
The other girls are busy wiping their makeup clean and half-heartedly listening to what Devon is saying and only reacting with short answers.
“Blake and I, we might be able to build something genuine,” Devon says.
Hearing that gets your blood boiling and you can’t keep biting your tongue, you let out a sigh and look at Devon, “You know what, Devon?”
Suddenly, everyone stops everything they’re doing and they probably know that there’s this slight hostility between you and Devon, you wouldn’t be surprised if they think you’re going to fight her.
Now that you have everyone’s attention, you start telling everyone what you know is true. You take a shallow breath before talking, “After he came back from that date, he went to the bedroom and I happened to be there. I asked him about the date and he was like “wish we did talk more, get to know each other more”.”
Lili lets her hair fall and gasps, “No!”
You keep going while constantly reminding yourself to keep calm, “And he held my hand telling me I’m the one he wants right after he came back from the date,” you tell Devon right at her face.
There’s no joy in telling her that she got played, you feel bad for her because you know how shitty that feels.
“That’s muggy,” Issa comments.
“I think he’s trying to have his cake and eat it too,” Adriana says, gripping the hairbrush in her hand.
You look at Devon and she’s in utter shock, you hate to ruin her picture-perfect of what she and Blake could be, but you need her to know and what she’s going to do with the truth is up to her.
“And I’m saying this, as woman to woman, I don’t want you to be that girl who falls for his bullshit,” You conclude.
It turns quiet in the room and everyone seems to give Devon the space to process this, they continue what they’re doing and doing it quietly.
After a moment, Lili tells Devon, “Maybe you should explore other options.”
Devon leans on the table and says, “I think I will.”
-
YOU: Oh, Blake, just know that you fucked it up and you deserve everything that comes to you.
-
“The fuck?” Vale blurts out.
Vale is that one person you feel like you can come and talk about everything with, out of everyone, you trust him the most. You come to his bed to tell him everything about what’s going down between you, Devon, and Blake.
He quickly lowers his voice since Blake is lying on his bed, “And what did Devon say?”
You shrug, “I don’t know.”
 “If she’s smart then she knows better not to…” his words trail off as he puts his hands behind his head as he rests his back against the headboard.
“That’s right,” you agree, kicking your feet in the air as you lay on your stomach.
He plays with his beard as he looks at you, “Then how about your plan?”
You’re so busy being upset about the Blake situation that you don’t think about it until he asks you, you realize you are just as single as he is now.
“Oh, fuck,” you blink your eyes in slight shock.
Vale laughs looking at your reaction, he sees the direness in your eyes, “Is there… uh, anyone else that you like?”
You secretly look around the room to look for your second choice but you witness Devon’s dramatic entrance, she turns her head at Blake and cryptically smiles at him before walking past their shared bed.
Everyone feels the tension in the room as Devon goes to Elliott’s bed and gets on it, witnessing the drama unfolding in real time.
You slowly turn your head back to Vale and say, “Well, there goes my second choice.”
-
YOU: Why did she have to take Elliott too? Ugh!
-
This morning, when you come to the bathroom to shower, you find Tom there, counting the condoms inside the little tray next to the sink.
You burst out laughing at the sight, "Having a busy morning I see," you playfully say.
Tom briefly looks at you and puts the condoms back into the tray, "There are eight of them and it's got to stay at eight," he says.
Tom couldn't possibly think that not using condoms doesn't mean that everyone is not rulebreaking. But you have to admit that he's dedicated to his role as the sex officer in the villa.
In the afternoon, you join Adriana sunbathing in the firepit, sharing the sofa.
"I can't believe that I'm about to say this..." you sigh while looking up at the sky with your eyes closed.
Adriana puts her hands on her sides, also looking up with eyes closed, "What?"
"I miss sex so much," you sigh.
Adriana softly sighs then a while later says, "Same."
You gently elbow her side, "At least, you have a man on your bed," you say.
"Yes but he doesn't want to do anything," she grumbles, reminding you that his partner is Lana's top student.
Being single means you have nothing to do with the situation, you want to rule break but have no one to do it with. Meanwhile having a man and not wanting to do anything, is much, much worse.
"Like I need something to happen!" Adriana says with an annoyed sigh.
You suddenly feel bad for Adriana but you also can't help yourself from laughing and she eventually laughs along with you.
When the day gets too hot for a sunbathe, you decide that it's time to cool down. Slowly, you get into the pool and sit on the edge, facing the view of the sea with the blue sky looking like something you see on a postcard.
Someone is swimming and apparently, whoever that is coming your way. You wait until he emerges from the water and sees Blake.
What a way to ruin your good day!
Blake brushes his dark hair to the back and wipes the beads of water around his eyes, he smiles as he fixes his eyes on you, then stands next to you.
"What are you up to?"
You remind yourself that you're a grown woman who can handle someone like him gracefully even though he doesn't deserve it.
"Just admiring the beautiful view," you calmly answer.
He looks at the view and sighs, "Yeah, it's beautiful just like you."
You feel like gagging but resist the urge to, "Thank you," you say with a thin smile.
There are two reasons why Blake is talking to you right now. One is the possibility that Devon confronted him about last night's situation and told him that she heard everything from you. If reason one is true then it's reason number two, he's going for his second option and unfortunately, it's you.
"I think it's about time we have this conversation. I want to see where's your head at," he says.
It's not the words, it's the way he casually talks to you and completely ignores the fact that he played you and Devon.
But remember, gracefully.
"To be honest, I did think you're the hottest person in here when I first glanced at you and I feel this sexual energy whenever you're looking into my eyes," you say.
Blake is grinning as he looks at you, liking what you're saying about him, "I'm open to see where this takes us," he says.
It seems like Devon dumped him and it's reason number two after all.
You shyly smile and say, "I do like you."
You tip your head to the side and continue talking, "But I want to know that I'm forming a connection here and not because I'm available by default."
The glints in his eyes dim as if someone flips the switch off the second he hears what you said.
"I see the other couples and they have this sort of trust in each other. It makes me want to trust the person I'm with," you lay it out as gently as possible.
Because how can you trust him after what he did? Even if you give him the chance, you're not sure that Blake is capable of change.
"For now, I want to be a bit more free, and figure out what I want while also getting to know everyone," you conclude, rejecting him in the nicest way possible.
Blake takes a moment to process your answer and you give him just the space. A while later, he nods and wipes the beads of water on his chin.
"I guess, it is what it is," he coyly says.
You see, this is not the first time you're facing a player like him. In the past, you gave that person a chance thinking that you could change him but it only ended up hurting you and you surely don't want to go through that again.
-
YOU: I think it's about time I get a little bit more careful in choosing people that I want to be with.
-
Days have passed and you can see that couples start forming in the villa.
Jeff has been going strong with Issa ever since that first rule break. Tom, despite being Lana's loyal follower, is having something going on with Adriana. Last but not least, Devon is smitten by Elliott, it's proven by two rule breaks they admitted last night.
And you, you'd better off alone than having to be with Blake. He was hot until he showed his true colors.
"I thought I was going to be the first to rule break," Vale says as you apply sunblock on his back.
"I didn't think that I would be the one missing all the actions," he continues with a crisp laugh.
You add more sunblock for his lower back and lather in on his tattooed skin. You're dry-humping his back once you're done applying sunblock.
"You are getting some actions right now," you jokingly say.
You both laugh and that's how you survive these past few days. Vale has been a very reliable friend, he's trustworthy and earnest, you talk about everything with him because he likes having these kinds of deep talk.
"You know what we need?" You ask Vale then sip your water.
Vale ties his long hair into a messy bun, "What?"
"We need new meat in the villa," you say, pushing the sunglasses you wear up the bridge of your nose.
Vale nods in agreement, then his hand reaches for the cone sitting on the small round table next to him.
"Lana, I know you'll be my main girl but we need new meat in the villa," he pleads while seductively stroking her cone-shaped body.
"I think that should be considered as a rule break," you joke.
Ask and you shall receive, Lana says.
She makes everyone come to the cabana in the afternoon and you share the sofa with Issa, waiting for the cone to chime in anticipation.
"Hello, everyone," Lana greets.
"Hi, Lana!"
You feel at ease knowing that she wouldn't call you out for rulebreaking but you're ready for some drama today.
"I have observed some early signs that connections may be starting to form. Therefore, I am sending two people on a romantic date," Lana announces.
She's going to send the couples on a date? And what about you? Is it really Lana when she delivers good news?
"I'm hoping it's us," Issa says to Jeff.
Everyone is already hyped for the date when Lana is not done talking yet.
"So that I can put your current connections to the test, these dates will be with two new arrivals."
Now that's the Lana you know. You look at the couples and their expressions change into panic ones.
"Did she say new arrivals?" Adriana asks with her eyes almost popping out of her sockets.
-
YOU: Damn! Lana woke up and chose to fuck shit up.
-
"I have allowed the new dates to choose who they would like to take on a date."
It's kind of unfair that the new guests are only allowed to choose from the coupled-up guests but Lana is brewing some drama in the villa and you're here for it.
"They're coming in hot and heavy, ready to fuck everybody," you comment, provoking the nervous couples.
From the other end of the sofa, Vale is holding in his laughter, he knows what you're doing to the others.
"The first new arrival is... Seungmin."
"I like the name," Lili says.
Everyone tries to guess what he'd look like from just his name but you notice that Tom is looking so nervous, realizing that Adriana could get chosen for the date.
"Seungmin has chosen... Adriana."
It seems like what Tom fears the most has just become reality. Tom and Adriana exchange a look that only they know what they mean.
Lana continues with the announcement of the second guest, "The second new arrival is... Cara."
You can't pass the chance to provoke them more, "Cara sounds like she's ready to get wild," you innocently mutter.
Now it's the girls' turn to get nervous, you see that Devon is looking displeased, maybe it's the previous incident haunting her.
"Cara has chosen... Elliott."
It really is not a good day to be either Tom or Devon, their luck will eventually run out but they didn't know that it'd be today.
"Adriana and Elliott, It's time for you to get ready for your dates," Lana orders.
They leave the cabana to get ready for their dates with the new arrivals and you envy them, you want to go on a date too.
Jealousy aside, you're excited for the new guests, especially this Seungmin guy.
-
YOU: Girl, I can't wait to see how the night turns out!
-
It's embarrassing that everyone in the dressing room witnessed you tripping over your heeled shoes and falling on your butt.
Lili is too late to catch you, she offers her hand to help you get up but you lie down on the floor instead, laughing in embarrassment.
"Are you drunk?" Tom jokingly asks.
You shake your head and sigh, "No, I'm just so horny," you joke back.
The boys and the girls are going their separate ways. You follow the flow, walking to the firepit with the other girls and sitting prettily on the sofa, waiting for the ones going on dates to return.
The one who has been losing her sanity the longer her man going on the date is Devon. She's been rambling and grumbling like a fussy child.
"If he did something, I'll know right away," Devon mutters.
You don't know who she's talking to but since you're sitting close to her, you feel obliged to respond to it.
"Yep," you say, validating her.
Devon shouldn't be scared whether anyone knows because Lana will know and she knows everything.
The first one coming back from their date is Adriana and the new guest, Seungmin, linking their arms together as they enter the firepit.
"Oh, here they come," Lili tells everyone of their arrival.
All of the girls' heads are turned to see them.
Your curiosity about this Seungmin guy is finally answered. Tall, with broad shoulders, his dark hair is pushed to the back with a few strands hanging over his forehead and the faint moonlight casts a shadow over his face, defining his masculine features of sharp jaws and high cheekbones.
And when he smiles, you see those facial features turn soft all at once.
-
YOU: Oh, my God! This guy, Seungmin, is cute [Smiles]
-
"If Elliott walks in holding their arms like that, I'm going to cry," Devon sadly mutters.
You're about to say something to comfort her but Lili goes ahead, asking Adriana and Seungmin about the date.
"How was it? How was the date?"
Adriana briefly looks at him and answers it for both of them, "It was nice, romantic even."
"Oh?" You blurt out, sensing that Adriana may switch beds tonight.
"Lana gave him a free pass to kiss but we didn't, I told him about Tom," Adriana says.
Adriana and Tom have been with each other since day one, they're a couple with great restraint so you're glad that Adriana is not tempted to explore more options.
Meanwhile, Devon is starting to look a little green after hearing that the new arrivals are given a free pass to kiss during their dates.
Issa spots the other has returned from the date and blurts out, "Oh, no they hold hands."
Devon's head snaps to the back, looking at where the boys are gathered on the terrace.
She turns her head back and her mouth curls downward. You immediately scoot closer to offer your shoulder, rubbing her back as she starts crying.
You turn your head to see Elliott introducing the new girl to the boys and he's looking all bright and smiley.
"Not going to lie, that's kind of sus," you say.
You didn't even mean to put salt on Devon's wound, you just don't expect Elliott to be that kind of guy, you know, the Blake kind.
Everyone eventually gathers in the firepit and Elliott proceeds with his duty to introduce the new girl to everyone.
Cara is Italian and your eyes dart toward Vale, that this girl can be his type. In response to that, Vale is eyeing Seungmin, hinting that you have one for you too.
This eventful night turns out to be a good one.
Adriana and Tom are still sharing the bed and thankfully, so are Devon and Elliott. You're relieved that Elliott turns out to be not the kind of guy.
The new guests have to voluntarily sleep on the available spots, Cara shares the bed with Blake while Seungmin shares the bed with Vale.
You're meant to look at Vale but Seungmin happens to be there and since he catches your eyes, you may as well smile and flirt with your eyes.
You don't know what you feel about him yet but you hope that he's not the Blake kind.
-
YOU: Not everyone forgetting that new guests also mean new temptations [laughs]
-
"No one is breaking the rules, right?" Tom says the moment the lights are on.
Everyone is not having it but no one is saying anything as they're sleepy and struggling to open their eyes. You quickly sip water to refresh yourself and not skipping the chance to take a jab a Tom.
"The next rule break is going to be Adriana's self-gratification," you say with a grin.
Adriana lets out a dry chuckle and holds all of her hair to the side, "Might be. Don't leave me alone in a room," she says.
Lana chimes in for the usual morning greeting, welcoming the new guests, and ends it with a satirical message.
"Enjoy your day of celibacy!"
Since the boys are taking over the open gym at the beach, you skip working out and go for a swim with Lili. You take a few laps and have a chat with her.
In the cabana, you see that Devon is talking to the new girl, Cara.
"Should we get in there and intervene?" Lili asks.
"No," you immediately answer.
You blow water out of your nose and wipe it away, "But get ready, just in case."
In the other part of the villa, you spot the new guy, Seungmin heading down to the beach in a plain white t-shirt and black swimming trunks.
"Cute guy. 11 o'clock," you lowly mutter.
Lili clocks him right away, she's lowering her head until her chin dips in the water.
"You think he's cute?"
"Duh!" You react with a dramatic eye roll.
Lili chuckles and stacks her hands on the edge of the pool, "Is he your type though?"
Seungmin is indeed cute but truthfully, he's not the type that you usually go for, someone with a bit of an edge to them. You feel some sort of attraction toward him but it's not enough to pull you in.
"On papers? No," you honestly answer.
"Have you talked to him?"
"Not yet," you reply.
You look at Lili and wonder why she asks you all of that when she should be calculating her chance with him.
"Are you going to talk to him?" You ask her back.
Lili purses her mouth as she thinks of an answer, "Maybe. I will," she answers.
There's not much thing happens during the day and somehow, you feel excited for the night.
You put on a black dress, a red lipstick, and before you go out of the door, you take a look at yourself in the mirror, you look ravishing.
It's kind of sad though that you did all that only to sit by the firepit all alone and it's messing a little with your good mood.
It would be perfect for anyone to come and save your day but what do you—
"Hi, how are you?"
You look up and see Seungmin, he looks taller as he's standing over you, "Hi, I'm good."
"May I sit?" He politely asks.
"Please," you scoot a little to the side to make space for him even though the sofa could fit five people.
Seungmin sits next to you, spreading his legs open a little, and rests his hand on his knee. You notice that he has quite big pairs of hands and evident veins on the back of them.
"I came here wanting to talk to you, get to know you," he casually says as if he didn't just tell you right away what his true intentions are.
But you dig that, you like his confidence and the way he's looking at you right now like you're the only girl existing on earth.
"Tell me something about yourself," he says.
"I didn't know I was interviewing for a job," you joke with a laugh.
He laughs and it's the quiet kind, but you see that he's enjoying your joke.
"I'm a videographer," you tell him a piece about yourself.
"Is it the same as a filmmaker?" He curiously asks.
"Not really. Videographers film their own material, we work with cameras, shoot them ourselves, and edit them. It's uh... a lot to explain," you stop yourself before it gets too boring.
"It's not just beauty on the outside, huh?" He coyly says as if he didn't just compliment you and make you flustered.
"Of course not," you cheekily say with a grin.
"Yeah, I noticed," he agrees.
Your cheeks are heating and your body somehow turns to face him, answering his body language all the while his eyes are not straying away from yours, not even for a second.
"How about you?" You ask, trying to keep the conversation going.
"I'm an athlete. A baseball player," he answers.
"Oh, wow!" You didn't mean to make it sound that surprised.
Oh, it's even more embarrassing than the time you fell in the dressing room. You keep yourself together and quickly say something to explain your reaction.
"That explains the uh... broad shoulders," you say.
Your eyes unknowingly flick down at his hand again and your mouth gets ahead of your brain, "And the veiny hands."
Seungmin softly chuckles, he holds his hands out at you and lets you look at them as you please.
"You like them?"
You shyly laugh and skip on answering, barely functioning as his eyes are gazing into yours again.
-
YOU: He has this beautiful smile. He has these beautiful eyes, I am being swept away by his charm [Smiles]
-
Seungmin doesn't have eyes like Elliott's, they're brown yet they have the power to slowly pull you under.
You were so wrong to think that there's not enough attraction to pull you in because Seungmin is not only pulling you in, he asks you to come drown in his warm brown eyes.
Other than that, his eyes have the power to make you say your thoughts out loud.
"You have such beautiful eyes," you say, unconsciously leaning closer to look into his eyes.
"Oh, they're dilating," you gasp, seeing the black in the middle of the brown becomes larger.
Seungmin softly smiles hearing your innocent, almost too naive talks.
"You know your pupils dilate when you see someone you're attracted to," he says.
"Really?"
He nods with the scintillating smile still on his face.
"Does that mean you're attracted to me?" You ask with a mix of shy and seductive smiles.
"Yes, I am, I'm attracted," he confidently confirms.
You finally find the kind of guy Seungmin belongs in. Seungmin is the kind of guy that should come with a warning sign, he looks cute and harmless but a layer is under that, he's a lethal man who knows what he wants and gets it.
"I want to get to know you," he says.
"Me too," you say back.
"I want to get to know you more because I see that you have more beautiful things inside you," he adds.
Not going to lie, that's the sweetest thing you ever heard a guy say to you in a long time. You don't want to overanalyze it, you want to simply accept them as they are. Also, you can see that Seungmin meant every word he said.
"Would you let me?" He asks, tilting his head to the side as he maintains eye contact with you.
"Yes. I'd love that," you tell him.
The smile on Seungmin's face grows wider and it looks incredibly cute on him like he couldn't get cuter than this. His hand reaches for yours and holds it by the fingers.
"How do you feel about sharing a bed?"
No offense to Lili but you've been craving having a man on your bed so you nod at him.
The stare gets intense as he gets closer, leaving a few inches of space between your faces.
"Then how do you feel about sharing a kiss?"
The more you look into his eyes, the more compliant you are to his wishes. It's not like you don't want to kiss him, only that you wish you could do more than kisses.
But a kiss... it should be enough for now.
"I'd love that too," you answer.
Seungmin puts his hand under your chin, gently grabbing at it to bring you closer to him and slowly, he plants his lips on you.
No, it's not because you haven't kissed in the last few days, it's him, Seungmin got you completely charmed that you find yourself returning his kiss with the same eagerness.
"Oh, my God!" You gasp in awe once you break the kiss.
Seungmin is only smiling in response, he knows that you feel it too. The matching energy, the surge of excitement, the sexual tension, the electrifying chemistry, you both feel them all.
"I got your lipsticks all over me, aren't I?" He asks.
"Yes," you hurriedly help him wipe it off clean from around his mouth and nose.
And just like that, you broke another rule only this time you're not doing it out of boredom or avenging someone.
You broke the rules with Seungmin because he feels right.
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YOU: Oh, we were just so in the moment that we forgot about the rules. Was it worth it though? Yes. Six thousand times yes.
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devouringdevoutly · 6 months
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The Hound of Heaven
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Summary: Whoever said that you can't fuck God clearly hasn't met Bada yet.
Note: There is no actual god in this fic, it's just straight up a world ran by the Devil. This is also biblically inaccurate as well so please don't stone me to death. Again, this is a work of fiction and does not reflect real life situations and relationships. Originally posted on ao3. CW: Smut, Church Sex, Confessional Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Fingerfucking, Cunnilingus, Demon Sex, Oral Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Religious Guilt, Catholic Guilt, Catholicism, Cheating, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Lemon. Pairing: Bada/Reader Language: English Words: 1,897
Whoever said that you can't fuck God clearly hasn't met Bada yet.  
That was the first coherent thought that had formed in my brain as her long fingers slid in and out of me, my warm and wet cavern welcoming her with so much exuberance you'd think I won the lottery jackpot. It sure did feel like that as I was cornered by her towering height and the wooden walls that the booth was made out of, all the while her snake-like tongue making sure she'd had enough of mine. I should feel disgusted by the way our mouths met. The way our tongues glided so ferociously that it made an obscene amount of wet noises that were clearly bouncing off the walls off the confessional booth. The way that my sap trickled down along my legs as Bada mercilessly continued on fingering me. The booth that was once used to repent one's sins was now used to make one after the other.
I should probably feel burdened by the weight of the situation I was in but who cares? My mind and body was stuck in a limbo named Bada. 
Her hands then roamed to my now bare breasts as she had managed  to rip off my brassiere and the white sundress that I wore earlier, was now practically holding onto its dear life as it was solely held by Bada sandwiching me between her and the wall. She then squeezed and fondled my left bosom, my nipples were already hardening by the cold air hitting it. I let out an elicit whine that even I didn't know I could make and my back arched against the wall like a frightened cat. 
Bada's mouth had now reached my right nipple, her tongue flickered back and forth as I moaned like a bitch in heat and I could feel her physically smirk through it. Both of her hands were more than preoccupied, her left hand was groping my left tit and her thumb was playing with my bud, all the while her right hand was still pumping deep inside of me; making sure that she curls her fingers every once in a while but purposely never hitting the spot so as to deny me of reaching my high anytime soon. 
She finally pulled back from tantalizing my sore nipples and she eventually stopped pumping my equally sorely soaked cunt. I whined at the loss of contact as Bada's tall figure leaned onto me. 
"I wonder if your wimpy god-fearing boyfriend knows how much of a whore his girlfriend truly is…" She says with a shit eating grin, I swallowed the lump in my throat as I didn't feel any sort of guilt for betraying him… I knew that even Judas did feel a tremendous amount of guilt as he had sold the blood of Christ for a mere thirty silver coins. I knew that the moment I had planted my lips against Bada's, that the Devil had penetrated into every part of my being as he did so with Judas Iscariot.
Nevertheless Jesus had already forgiven him before he even committed his sin, perhaps that idiotically pious of a Christian man will forgive me too if there is anything to be forgiven in the first place. If that is the case then I'll gladly break bread and be consumed by her as his disciples did in the last supper, every intrusion that she had made inside my walls was a carving of our covenant.
I already had my bite of the forbidden fruit and there was no turning back to the Garden of Eden.
"Stop talking about that twat and just fuck me already will you?" I groaned out as my hole clenched and unclenched around her fingers. I knew that my words were as insolent as our actions were. Father, will you forgive me for this rotten curiosity of mine? or will you banish me as you had with Lilith and Eve? 
"Demanding much? I'm sure you already know that you're the one at my mercy here, angel." Her cocky tone had only gotten me wetter and my cunt pulsed as fast as my heartbeat did. Bada's smile turned wider, almost menacingly as she had clearly noticed my reaction to her degrading words. My mind was in a haywire, my vision was turning hazy as I could see the face of God in the Devil's body. Why did God make the devil's advocate painstakingly handsomely gorgeous if he didn't want me to dive into the river Styx? 
"You like that hmmm?" Her thumb pressed meanly against my clit. She knew exactly what she was doing, the pet name? Angel of all things after calling me a whore? I let out another whine as my cunt's lips fluttered.
"Fuck… if you only knew how much I wanna fuck you on the altar… Fuck you in front of those foolish devotees singing words of praise to their equally foolish god. Make you cum with my mouth as they sing lamb of god or whatever the fuck they cry out in these futile masses." She crooned out as she rested her head against my neck and continuously drove three of her fingers inside my plump sopping cunt. Her staggering breath tickled my neck with every word that she had sermonized. I knew she would've done it if I just didn't have a reputation to keep, as if fornicating in a confessional booth was a last act of mercy on her part.
I knew that I was reaching my peak with every thrust Bada had propelled and she knew it too. The ascend to my peak was immediately put to a stop as Bada had other plans in mind. She quickly pulled her fingers out of me, leaving me with a pathetic gaping hole. My resolve had been long gone and my knees were absolutely weak, threatening to give up on me at any moment. 
In a swift movement I was easily lifted by Bada and was placed on the velvet cushion of the enclosed box's seat like some ragdoll. 
She seized hold of my feet and placed a chaste kiss on it before kissing the entirety of my legs, from my sole to my thighs. It was an intimate moment as if she was almost offering a prayer of thanks before she started to devour every bit and piece of me.
She stretched out her hands and deftly parted my legs like the red sea, I could see her devious grin as she had finally a closer and more intimate view of my aching fleshy cunt. I knew that I was embarrassingly wet and that I was absolutely sore but I didn't dare look down as I was afraid to meet her eyes and see what she had done to me. 
"Look at me." Bada said in a benign but firm manner, quite the contrast as she had grabbed my face forcefully and for a moment I was confused. Why the sudden tenderness? Bada's firm hand let go of my jaw before she dove into my ocean of wetness, her forked tongue slithered inside of me like a snake. I couldn't hold myself back anymore as I moaned loudly within the confines of the wooden booth, both sides of her tongue were able to move on their own accord and it just gave her a better aim at her insistent prodding. Bada didn't dare to cover up the noises I made anymore as the ongoing mass was clearly about to end, the people in their assigned seats were standing to give praise to the Lord.
Her tongue kept on ambushing both my lips and cavern, my tears of pleasure had now mixed with the sweat that I've accumulated with how steamy the enclosed space had gotten. I could smell the scent of sex and oak mixing together creating a musk. Somehow my senses were heightened once Bada had started eating me out, I was now conscious of the noise from the outside almost taunting me that we weren't safe from being walked in on by a random passerby. 
Bada's gaze met mine, as if her foxy calculating eyes pierced through every part of my being. My eyes were hazy from my tears and I could definitely feel myself getting there. 
And with one last skillful flick, I pressed her further into my cunt by grabbing onto her hair. I came hard on her tongue, filling her mouth with so much cum that it dropped down to her chin. I lustily moaned as the churchgoers outside had finally reached the chorus of the song, their harmonious high pitched singing had covered up mine. Bada had finally lifted her head and I looked at her just with a stupefied yet content daze. 
She finally sat up from her kneeling position before grabbing my face and roughly pressing our lips together. She kept much of my cum inside of her mouth before forcefully transferring it into mine, making me swallow and taste myself whole. My eyes widened before accepting my fate as I swallowed all of it without any defiance.
Bada kept our tongues in a languid movement until she could feel that I was running out of breath. Our mouths have finally parted ways and I could feel some sense of shame brewing inside of me but it was quickly interrupted by the clap of unison from the crowd, indicating that the mass has finally ended. I took multiple breaths before gathering the strength to pick up my discarded underwear and fix my dress up as Bada did the same for herself. I stood by the door, hesitating, leaving my hand and heart too heavy to open to unlock the doorknob and end this affair with the Devil herself. 
I took a final deep breath before opening it but Bada suddenly grabbed my wrist.
"Where do you think you're going my sweet cherub?" Her voice had a hint of malice and possessiveness in between lines, she raised an eyebrow and looked at me suspiciously. I looked at her a bit dumbfounded.
"H-home?" My voice trembled as I whispered my answer, I was unsure of myself where I was heading to either. I felt absolutely lost as my mind was now clear of any trace of lust and desperation, the realization dawning on me that I had just sold myself to the Devil for a mere exchange of ineffable pleasure that I was only to experience just once in my life. 
Bada grinned mischievously as she pulled me to her chest before she pressed her mouth against my ear. 
"You're coming with me." She whispered as her voice had dropped and shifted into something a lot more sinister sounding. 
I stood frozen in shock, I could feel my breathing pattern falter with each and every second passing by. I had come face to face with the Devil and willingly danced with her. 
I was finally faced with the cold hard truth that I had left the Garden of Eden long ago. I had laid with her under the thorny olive branches of Gethsemane. I had fed the evil with every bit of my purity in its wake. I had now buried every living being in me, I was now bound to her for eternity, unable to suffer the fruit of Eve's mortality. 
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thewordfortheday · 7 months
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Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to “love one another,” because “by this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
As a believer in Christ, your Heavenly Father says to you, "Be nice to your neighbour. . ."  Our human tendency shouts, "No! I don't want to! He isn't treating me right.  Still your Heavenly Father says, "Be kind to one another." In fact, He goes a step further to say, "Love one another as I have loved you."  And when you ask, "Why?" He replies, "So others will see that you follow Me."
God-kind of love expects nothing in return. That was what Jesus showed to His disciples when He “poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet”  That is the kind of love He displayed when He went to the cross for us.
The love of Christ in the lives of believers is what sets them apart from the world. 
Today, look for someone to whom you can show such unselfish love.
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dolokhoded · 7 months
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i need to go to sleep right now but i've got zimon in the brain and i know i won't be able to sleep until i do something to get him out of the brain but i can't get up to draw right now and i sure as hell can't get up to write that would take me around 11 years so i'll just sit here and rotate him in my mind like a burnt chicken
#🧅#im remaking the apostle designs too. just. a lot of disciple disease lately.#if there was more aro representation in media i wouldn't cling to the two characters i hc as aro so i can actually do it in a non shitty wa#and I wouldn't be up thinking about them right now and i wouldn't go to sleep late and i'd be abke to study tomorrow and actually get into#uni and get a degree and find a job a d have a life. so if i get nowhere in life it's actually because society hates aromantic people.#man why did i give up on writing. if i could write right now i could just. write all thr concepts out of my head instead of keeping them#up there.#pfft. ''the two characters i hc as aro'' as if i don't cast aro spells on Everyone Ever.#whatever you get james and simon are my blorbos of choice atm#if i could at least get over my current wave if Aromantic Rage so i could actually make ship content and post some jesus/judas along with#all the aro people so people would care about them more :/#queerbaiting you guys so you consume content about Other type of queers#man. i hate when this happens it alienates me from fandom So much . cause like the second people start talking about ships im like 'cool'#*fades out like that giy doing the peace sign*#and i know its not my actual Opinion either i like these ships it's just. auugghfhfh.#not to mention everyone making amazing ship content and not even being able to check it out because i get irrationally pissed#sometimes i wish i weren't aro so bad#sometimes. then i remember it's awesome and aromanticism is god's masterpiece and i love it. but man.
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artist-issues · 4 months
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every now and then I play with the exercise of "what if we're wrong" because sometimes I get bored and also as an actual exercise. I usually apply this to Christianity/religion, matters of the after life, or about other people.
So sometimes I poke at the big question, if Christianity isn't real, what does that mean? And I don't usually go the route of atheism or bad sci fi, just that the religion is proven to be fundamentally inaccurate to reality, so what does that mean?
Anyway it wasn't until I was reading a really good sci fi story, where this one dude explains to some aliens the concept of "Love your enemies, do good to those that hurt you" and of course the aliens are like what? (Because in the sci fi narrative the universe is functioning under a Dark Forest Theory) And the dude explains its from one of earth's greatest teachers. And the aliens are like, if the inhabitants of the universe could believe that, this universe would be a different place entirely.
And it was at that point where I realized bro... even if it's not accurate, practicing Christianity is still worth it, for a human being. Loving your enemies means loving them like humans. The Poor, the Meek, and those who mourn, those are promises and comforts that we shouldn't toss aside even if heaven isn't real.
I don't know, this is just a terribly simplistic because I'm not the best at putting my English thoughts into english out loud, but that crack gave me a touch of useful coping. I asked my dad, if aliens are proven to exist it doesn't automatically mean christians stop practicing and believing, right? And he said obviously not.
I don't know but have you ever engaged in such a question " what if we're wrong?" And if you ever have what answer had you arrived at?
EDIT: As @atwas-meme-ing correctly pointed out in the comments section of this post, who cares whether or not I’ve played this game: God answered the question through Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 5:19.
There’s no “good moral teaching” to be found in Christianity if Christ wasn’t God, or if God didn’t exist, or if eternity weren’t real. My rambling logic is below the cut.
I mean, I play that “game” all the time about other things, and sometimes I do it for work. I’ll take two established characters and a setting me and my friends have agreed on, and I’ll “run a scenario.”
But the thing is, once my brain picks out something that doesn’t make sense, or that wouldn’t be in-character for the characters to do, the whole scenario grinds to a halt and I have to start over. I can’t suspend my own disbelief once I notice that something doesn’t line up. Even if I really liked “where the scene was going” before I noticed that thing. Whatever I’m getting stuck on because of it’s out-of-character nature unravels the parts I like, too.
All that to say I can’t even run a scenario in my head where “what if all this isn’t true? What if it fundamentally doesn’t line up with reality?”
I can’t. Once or twice I have tried. But I hit snags immediately. I’ll go, “pretend all of this Christian religion really is just a centuries-old conspiracy humanity’s been patching up the holes in.”
But then that little simulation-checker in my brain goes, “then how do you explain people dying for it? That many martyrs aren’t likely to have allowed themselves to be tortured and murdered for something they knew was a conspiracy.”
And I go, “well, pretend they died because they didn’t know it was a conspiracy, they believed it.”
And the sim-checker goes, “but the original disciples of Jesus, ground-zero of the faith, were all martyred. Not just people who learned from them and came after them and could’ve been hoodwinked: the starting points, themselves. They would’ve had to know it was a conspiracy, if it was a conspiracy, and they still willingly died for it.”
Maybe I’ll pivot and go, “pretend there isn’t objective truth.”
And the sim-checker goes, “there isn’t truth…objectively?”
Maybe I’ll pivot again and try, “pretend that everyone really does just measure morality based on what they’re used to, what their individual society’s trained them to associate with pleasant feelings and reactions.”
And the sim-checker goes, “Okay, where did those societies get the training manual? Where did it come from? Why do so many different societies’ and people groups’ ‘association with pleasant feelings and reactions’ around the world have so many things in common?”
And the answers to all that leads me back to Christianity. Even if I go the longest way round I can think of.
And eventually I quit running those scenarios. Because guess what?
Where’d the ability to run scenarios come from?
How did I get that? How did you?
See, the thing is, we go, “what if all of this isn’t true?” But it’s right there in the question. “Where did you get that desire? The desire for “truth?”” Is it to keep yourself safe, like the natural animals have an instinct toward, or is it to keep yourself sane, because you need some sense in this life to make it through? Sure. Maybe. But why? What’s “sane?” What’s “safe?” Sanity presupposes order. Why do you, and all humans, naturally lean toward wanting things to be “the way they’re supposed to be?” Where’d that come from, that idea of “supposed to be?” And Safety presupposes good being found in avoiding pain and damage and fear. “Good?” Where’d you get that idea?”
The further you dig, even into your own psyche, the less you can run any scenario that has God absent entirely. And no wonder. He designed it.
One more thing.
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” - C.S. Lewis
I used to lean into the idea you’re saying here. “Even if it’s not true, I’m going to live like it is and believe it just in case. Besides, it makes me better, and makes the world better.” That’s not belief at all. That’s ends-justify-the-means thinking. The teachings that Jesus gave which “make the world a better place” are utterly worthless if they’re coming out of the mouth of a liar. Because why should anyone believe Him? Why should anyone “turn the other cheek,” or “do unto others?” Because it makes us “better?” Who gets to define “better?”
The answer, of course, is Jesus does. The One who taught those sayings. But only if He’s God. Only if He was telling the truth. If He wasn’t God, what right has He, to tell us to give away our possessions to others and let them abuse us and give our lives up? If He was a liar, all of those “good teachings” would be tainted and untrustworthy. Besides, like I just said, they’re all only able to be called “good” teachings if you accept that there is one objective, universal “good.” And we’re right back to “where did Good come from?”
All roads lead back there, to Him. But we humans like to do this thing with God where we pretend there could be any reality outside of Him. It sort of makes sense, how we got that way. After all, when was the last time you noticed oxygen? How often during the day do you consciously inhale and exhale? As often as it happens automatically? How often during the day do you notice oxygen touching your skin or moving your hair or drying your eyeballs? As often as those things happen automatically? No. But it’s ever-present. Without it, you couldn’t live, let alone notice anything. But oxygen has always been around and everything in our lives interacts with or can only exist WITH it. God is much more than that, but that’s as close as I can get to communicating: He’s so good, and He’s so constantly there, everything, all the time, that it’s easy for us to take Him for granted, forget Him entirely, then use our two-pound brain matter to say, “He might not exist.” You might as well say, “imagine a world with no matter.” 🙄 “Ohhhh kay. Then it wouldn’t be a world.”
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nerdygaymormon · 1 month
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Unfortunately, we have a tendency to look for differences and to classify people in categories, we determine who isn't worthy to participate in church or to receive God's blessings. This is the opposite of what we're called to do.
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"For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."--Samuel (1 Samuel 16:7 KJV)
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."--Christ (Matthew 19:14 NIV)
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."--Christ (Matthew 22:39 KJV)
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."--Christ (Matthew 25:40 KJV)
"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."--Christ (John 13:35 KJV)
"Love does no wrong to others"--Paul (Romans 13:10 New Living Translation)
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."--Paul (Galatians 3:28 NIV)
"he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile"--Nephi (2 Nephi 26:33)
"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men;"--Joseph Smith (Articles of Faith 13)
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sublimacje · 3 months
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Things that made me happy (or sad) from The Chosen s4
Calling Simon Peter! – man, chills, literally chills.
And the Matthew and Jesus talk. I liked how Matthew was open with his emotions and then learned something from it.
Jesus' words: I make people what they aren't. Yes, Jesus, please make me what I'm not. Only You are able to.
This being said – Matthew apologizing to Peter and then Simon Peter forgiving Matthew. A m a z i n g. The hug? Te relief on Matthew's face? The Peter's growth? I can see him being a leader.
Jesus always noticing the rejected ones – the blind man. Sure, he had friends (they were talking with Jesus) but the way he was sitting on stairs to the Temple and nobody gave him a second glance, but Jesus did.
I've never been to a wedding banquet, but I'm on my way to one. and then You wouldn't get it. These are your last words?
Some comic relief scenes: poor Matthew not understanding some things (and I get it, believe me, I do) as Andrew telling him he should write request on paper to speak with Peter or lifting his hand when pharisee asked who's writing Jesus' words down. Or Nathaniel? This man is hilarious. Not wanting to be chaperon for Thomas and Remah but telling John he won't be reliabe one to do it himself. Or questioning other followers' skills with pomegranates. Idk, I was laughing so hard.
Gaius. Oh my. I don't even know where to start. I loved his story. I loved how big his faith was. I loved how he cared about Matthew from the very begining. And he wanted to go to Jerusalem for Passover! I wonder how he'll react to news about Jesus dying... I know we don't have some things in The Bible, but do you think Jesus is going to reveal Himself to Gaius after resurrection? I hope He will.
Also I liked how the side characters of the story (like Yussif and Jair) were willing to protect Jesus even when they knew that He was Almighty God. They were sweet. They really loved Jesus.
Jesus with Romans!!! Oh my- This was His teaching in a nutshell. And Romans faces when Jesus told them they go further with them and how they started to take their things back form the disciples.
Matthew being ever the gentleman and taking heavy bacpack, so Mary won't have to carry it. I loved it. Also, can we talk about their meeting after years? And Matthew brave: still unusually pleasant to look at. That was very cute.
Showing Jesus as a human (His words to Mother Mary: also a human) and His frustration, anxiety and fear. I think it's very important to remember that He was a God as He was a human. And this is such a mystery to me? That God decided that He wanted to be one of us. Oh how much He has to love us!!!
PAUL MENTIONED.
Judas, ah, Judas... I think he really loved Jesus, but he didn't truly understand His teaching... I'm really sorry for Judas...
Grieving Thomas. As I already wrote once: I liked that writers decided to show us that following Jesus doesn't mean we always get what we're asking for. And this is sad and hard, but this is how it is. I don't always understand God's timing, too. But I think that following Jesus never ment to be easy peasy lemon squeezy. As in this meme, you know: it's difficult difficult lemon difficult.
I laughed when Yussif said that pharisee were furious because of Lazarus coming from the death and Lazarus' respond: Oh, I'm sorry. I'll try not to die next time.
Matthew confused: Do you REALLY want us to steal a burro for you?
Quintus. Do you think he's gonna be centurion with a spear? I mean, on the The Chosen s4 poster we see spears behind Quintus...
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