#Despair and Redemption

[wickedzeevyln]

Ghost

“Just a second,” Ted raises his index finger at the man barely clearing the horizontal frame while still talking to someone on his phone. “I’ll get back to you soon. There is someone here,” said Ted pushing the button of his ear bud. “This better not be the wrong protein shake you delivered last week—” The man pulls something from behind his back and aims it at Ted, a revolver. “You stole my wife…

[dapper-lil-arts]

Top two characters that would have made the most worthy-awesome-incredibly cathartic alicorns

[gremlin-boah]

Your boi has officially have lost his mind.

Rob's post on ig jumpscared me so much, it actually full me out of despair and sadness.

[myosotisbeee]

Hosea matthews study ?

i always have a hard time drawing any of the characters in rdr2 in my style.. i just wanna draw old man yaoi :(

[moxie-girl]

so uh... what is under the mask?

[limbcom]

new crktwt post and its pissing me off so bad /positive

i truly do wonder if this glimpse of empathy for shadow milk cookie does slightly confirm that there may or may not be redemption arcs for the beasts (no way theyre letting smilk be the only one redeemed LMAO (pls dont)), or is this glimpse only exclusive to pure vanilla cookie just so he earns the compassionate title? much to think about.

I hope they do more w the beasts before the dark enchantress plot begins again.

[daroamine]

some long awaited fully rendered christmas fanart . canvas time 21h

[best-character-named-x-poll]

have you done your daily click

[apenitentialprayer]

In Christ, YHWH Himself Becomes the Accursed One, by Christopher Powers.

According to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, nothing good happens to Jesus once he is put on the cross. All the signs are against him. He has been mocked, and the mockers have asked for a sign that he is the Son of God. Well, the sign has been given. Here is the sign that Jesus is the Son of God: darkness. God has pulled back.

Reader, do not miss the point. Everything turns against Jesus: the cosmos, the political world, his compatriots, his fellow religionists, his chosen companions, nature itself. There is no mercy. There is no grace. There is not even a fragrant breeze.

And have you ever thought about this? There is no silence.

One might hope to come to one's death in peace, to have a calmness and quiet about you within which you could compose yourself to face your end. Jesus had no peace. Not only did he have the pain from the nails and the agony of suffocation; he had the horror of screams. A crucifixion scene is a scene of screaming. Raymond Brown says that crucifixions were "particularly gruesome" because of "the screams of rage and pain, the wild curses and the outbreaks of nameless despair of the unhappy victims." There was screaming around Jesus for hours from the others, only a fragment of which is recorded in the Gospels (their taunting of Jesus). And finally, in the end, Jesus himself screamed.

Yes, Jesus screamed out in the midst of his pain, not in rage, not in a curse, but in a loud cry. The Word of God incarnate does not merely speak; it is a screamed-out question, and it is his death cry. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? What does it mean?

It means, I think, the obvious thing: that Jesus died in the worst way possible, that he died in unimaginable pain, and that his physical pain was accompanied by the mental and emotional pain of being abandoned by God. He entered into our human condition; he came down from heaven and was begotten by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man. And then he went down further. He entered into the saddest and lowest human conditions; he entered into griefs and degradations and betrayals and tortures. He entered into them, he went down, and then he went down further. Jesus plumbed the absolute and literal depths of what it is to be human. He wept, sometimes with us and sometimes over us. He visited our tombs. And —it sounds trite but it's literally true— he shared our pain.

This, to be honest, is good news for us. There are no depths to which we may have to descend that Jesus has not already descended. However bad your life gets, Jesus will be with you. He can be with you, because he has gone down even further.

[... A]ll of us know that we have untested limits. For Jesus there were no untested limits. And with trembling in our bones we can voice the sacred truth, that it is . . . good . . . that Jesus was so completely tested. For when Jesus screamed, it was, as I said, not in anger, not in rage, but in: a prayer. Although screamed out, the words My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? are a prayer.

Jesus feels nothing but abandonment from God, and yet nonetheless he prays to God. He no longer feels any intimacy with God — less than twenty-four hours earlier he was praying to his "Father" that he be spared of all this; now he cannot pray to his Father, but he can still pray like any human being can pray, to "God," to indeed "my God." He screams, yes, he cries out, yes, but it is a question that he cries, and a question rests upon a relationship, on the reality of one to whom a question is addressed. Jesus goes all the way down to the very bottom of human existence, and even at the bottom, even in the midst of all the pain in the universe, even in the absence of any sign at all that he has a divine Father, even there at the bottom a human being can still pray to God, can still ask, if nothing else, why this God, to whom he is speaking, why this God has forsaken him.

We find God by going down this road, down the road that goes down. Leonard Cohen, in his song "Suzanne" (which Susan used to sing to me), saw deeply, if not perfectly, when he said Jesus realized "only drowning men could see him." Jesus saw this from the cross (I think this is what Cohen means by "his lonely wooden tower"), where, Cohen says, he was "forsaken, almost human."

No, that last modifier is wrong: forsaken, fully human is the point. Yet it may be true that only drowning people can see Jesus. We who have suffered the depths can catch sight of him, I think, because Jesus was fully human all the way down: in the darkness, beyond the darkness, forsaken, fully human, he sank (as Cohen almost says) beneath God's wisdom like a stone.

Rev. Canon Victor Austin (Losing Susan: Brain Disease, The Priest's Wife, and the God Who Gives and Takes Away, pages 135-136, 137-138). Italics original.

There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still.

Betsie ten Boom, as recorded by her sister.

[simplegenius042]

Music Monday

Tagging @imogenkol @socially-awkward-skeleton @direwombat @raresvtm @cassietrn @g0dspeeed @aceghosts @inafieldofdaisies @voidika @josephseedismyfather @noodlecupcakes @cloudofbutterflies92 @adelaidedrubman @derelictheretic @icecutioner @shallow-gravy @strangefable @statichvm @carlosoliveiraa @wrathfulrook @starsandskies @ladyoriza @la-grosse-patate @thewanderer-000 @omen-speaker @alypink @shellibisshe @josephslittledeputy @skoll-sun-eater @afarcryfrommymain @strafethesesinners @turbo-virgins @florbelles @minilev @justasmolbard @yokobai and @seedsplease + anyone else who'd like to join.

Music Monday for a RDR2 WIP from The UnTitledverse and OCs from The Silver Chronicles and Life, Despair & Monsters. Listen to the songs under the cut below:

First song, "Shotgun", is for a character from Life, Despair & Monsters; Hatter, and specifically him being one of the few characters who enjoy traveling from world to world. Hatter was stuck in the "Other Dimension" for so long that when Icarus, Hatsukami and Xavier became his avatar/s, to say he was ecstatic would be an understatement. Hatter likes to see new things beyond what he usually sees in the Other Dimension, and every new world he and his allies explore is just another new thing after another. Although his avatars (and his "kiddos", Marinette and Adrien) are less than ecstatic about this new endeavor, Hatter himself is having the time of his life, especially with new friends (as well as the few other characters who enjoy going from world to world; that being Haoyu Anabuki and Lora, which is why those three get along quite well). Listen below:

"Homegrown alligator, see you later Gotta hit the road, gotta hit the road Something changed in the atmosphere Architecture unfamiliar I could get used to this

Time flies by in the yellow and green Stick around and you'll see what I mean There's a mountaintop that I'm dreaming of If you need me, you know where I'll be

I'll be riding shotgun underneath the hot sun Feeling like a someone I'll be riding shotgun underneath the hot sun Feeling like a someone

We're south of the equator, navigator Gotta hit the road, gotta hit the road Deep sea diving 'round the clock Bikini bottoms, larger tops I could get used to this

Time flies by in the yellow and green Stick around and you'll see what I mean There's a mountaintop that I'm dreaming of If you need me, you know where I'll be

I'll be riding shotgun underneath the hot sun Feeling like a someone I'll be riding shotgun underneath the hot sun Feeling like a someone

We got two in the front Two in the back Sailing along And we don't look back!"

Second song, "Part Of Me", for Silva Omar from The Silver Chronicles, focusing specifically on her determination to not let the tragedies and opposing factors in her life completely break her down, and rob her of the qualities that make up her personhood; her love, compassion and iron will to fight and resist for what's right, especially for the normalcy and peace she so much craves. Whether it be her father, her adoptive father, or the Father of Eden's Gate, Silva refuses to let them completely destroy the fundamental aspects of what makes Silva, well, Silva. Listen below:

"Days like this, I want to drive away Pack my bags and watch your shadow fade You chewed me up and spit me out Like I was poison in your mouth You took my light, you drained me down But that was then and this is now Now look at me

This is the part of me That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no This is the part of me That you're never gonna take away from me, no Throw your sticks and your stones Throw your bombs and your blows But you're not gonna break my soul This is the part of me That you're never gonna ever take away from me, no!"

Last song, "The West Was One", is for my Red Dead Redemption 2 WIP Red Dead Redemption: Peace For Thy Sinners from The Perfect Storm saga of The UnTitledverse. RDR: Peace For Thy Sinners is a canon compliant and yet canon divergent retelling of the RDR2 game but with the inclusion of a few OCs; specifically the main one, an Van Der Linde outlaw (who was picked up around the time of Arthur and John) by the name of Maddilyn Darling and her perspective throughout the game. Other OCs include Abigail Emmet (future mother of Mario Emmet) who is a founding member of the gang alongside Dutch and Hosea, as well as the woman that steals Dutch's newest girl, Molly O'Shea closing in on the final act of the WIP, with the other OC being Sir Enigma Malvolio, with this WIP explaining what in the world happened to him after the Life, Despair & Monsters series. I'm also heavily playing around with the "Right For The Wrong Reasons" trope here, especially for Maddilyn, it will solely be her POV focused on throughout the WIP, unlike previous ones where there's at least another or more characters we get perspectives on. So yeah, that'll be fun to explore. "The West Was One" is made by one of my favorite artists, The Stupendium, with the help of SquigglyDigg. Have a listen below:

"One day from just plumb fadin' away How you gonna build a house with the foundations erased? Keep prayin', no sayin' what brothers become On the dawnin' of the day the West was one Day away from livin' on a history page Ain't it fittin' how they're fixin' to be winnin' a race And the rest of us are given a direction to run On the dawnin' of the West was one!"

"The sun is settin' on the turne of a century I know for certain it's my turn to be legend'ry Ain't no curtain gonna be avertin' my centerpiece Reach for the sky, you're gonna get burned eventually So call me Icarus, hick with a burden left to seed Ride or die, I'mma ride till there's nothin' left to grieve My momma said to me, "Son, you could be anything" Best believe I'll never be anything less than deadly Scared of me? Y'all better be I'm out here avengin' the death of the Old West Even if it isn't dead to me The day it dies is one I hope I don't live to see But this hayride is fallin' by the wayside of industry Strippin' our history 'til there's nought left of Dynasties of leather and dirt, our ancestors Bled to make fertile this earth, so come arrest us I'mma keep singin' 'bout the day the West was-!"

"One day from just plumb fadin' away How you gonna build a house with the foundations erased? Keep prayin', no sayin' what brothers become On the dawnin' of the day the West was one Day away from livin' on a history page Ain't it fittin' how they're fixin' to be winnin' a race And the rest of us are given a direction to run On the dawnin' of the West was one!"

"Me and my brothers are hustlers, rustlers Bad customers, in other words, underdogs, backwater juggernauts Who prefer a bit of rough and tumble To the hustle and the bustle of The big city, well y'all can sit pretty As the cats get fat on another man's livin' Then you call me the villain because I'm unwillin' Well, I weren't born to conform to your vision God willin', my thoughts of prosperity ain't got no comfy chair in it You call that coffin an office? Honestly y'all can come bury me You're stockin' shares, I'm just despairin' Lord, give me that prairie, please My father's footprint, some good men And a horizon's all I'll ever need You call progress a wonderful thing But you yanked the great chain out from under the gangs So what's left for a felon but to shut up or hang? When it's don a stuffed shirt or go bust up a bank? Well I'm a hick, sure, irascible prick who'll Stick it to your big future and stick with a six-shooter 'Cus I predict your vision is a couple hicks fewer Well I'd rather live fuller, eat the grit a bit sooner Do I fit your picture? No room for a bandit? Branded me bad, all I am, well you banned it Man's gotta stand, so we came and we banded Together took a stand for the land you abandoned Give me a horse and road and I'm set but Give me four walls for a home - I get restless You can steamroller the world the Lord blessed us I'mma keep singin' 'bout the day the West was-!"

"One day from just plumb fadin' away How you gonna build a house with the foundations erased? Keep prayin', no sayin' what brothers become On the dawnin' of the day the West was one Day away from livin' on a history page Ain't it fittin' how they're fixin' to be winnin' a race And the rest of us are given a direction to run On the dawnin' of the West was one!

Don't be upset if your sun's set on a sunset Stick to your guns 'cus your run just ain't done yet And pray the day never comes when there are none left." "Spin your barrels, 'cus your battle ain't won yet!" "You can trace this life of mine out on the horizon line I've hit those valleys low, I've mountains yet to climb The only test I've left to best would be the test of time And you can bet I've no intention to be left behind!" "Don't be upset if your sun's set on a sunset Spin your barrels 'cus your battle ain't won yet Don't be upset if your sun's set on a sunset Spin your barrels 'cus your battle ain't won yet Don't be upset if your sun's set on a sunset Spin your barrels 'cus your battle ain't won yet Don't be upset if your sun's set on a sunset Spin your barrels 'cus your battle ain't won yet

Ten gallons of regrets and they weigh on my mind Was livin' my best or just wastin' my time? Did the path that I tread have to stray outta line? You can deny me the trail, but those bootprints stay mine! You see a bandit, a crook, who was foresaken I see a man who just took what the Lord gave him I didn't plan for a habit of lawbreakin' But someone's gotta get back All that y'all have been takin' An office space is squandered waste of all the Lord gives ya And clerkin's workin', stackin' shelves with other men's riches The land was all we had until you taxed us to the ditches Tore our souls out through our pockets So we fought you sons of britches The world turns with infernal machines Watch the world burn as we turn up the steam Will my saddle still gleam? Or just burst at the seams? When it's all that's left to carry that American dream..."

[beneaththetangles]

Zenshu’s Ultimate Exister and Falling (Back) in Love with Life

Virtuoso animator Natsuko Minose faces her problems head-on, at least when they are literal monsters bent on destroying the world and wiping her and her comrades off the face of the isekai. She whips out her magical pegboard, sharpens her Hi-uni pencil, and gets to drawing the biggest, baddest, most OP defender she can imagine to physically overpower and crush the enemy. Natsuko is incredibly effective at what she does, but she’s also a bit of a blunt instrument, brute forcing her way through any challenge—except, that is, when that challenge comes from a friend, as it does in episode 4 of Zenshu. When faced with the ultimate betrayal, Natsuko abandons the brawny, well-armed character designs that are her go-to and instead she draws…an idol? Huh? And yet with this dreamboat chanteur and cheesy ballad sequence, Natsuko actually gives us a picture of how we wage and win the battles of the heart, and of who partners us in the dance as we do.

(Read More)

[wastokins]

I'm sorry, Danganronpa has officially taken over my brain to the point where I physically need to write a fic about it rn or I will die.

I feel like the Warriors of Hope are the series biggest missed opportunities, fumbling them - so I intend to right that wrong.

I present the first chapter of Danganronpa - 'Now and Then'!

Quick content warning - The Warriors of Hope all have fucked up pasts. There is a lot of child endangerment.

Links:

fanfiction.net/s/14377329/

wattpad.com/1465572512

archiveofourown.org/works/57746530

[hightidejellyfish]

Guys, guys, guys PLEASE can we stop the stigma that young = better. I’m tired of seeing all of these anti-aging products being advertised, like cmon man you aren’t actually going to get any younger by using those, just spend the money on what you actually want. You probably won’t be as able as you were before or as sharp but being old means that you made it no matter what life threw at you. I understand that getting older sucks but dwelling on the past constantly will make you miserable for the time you have left. Also do you know how many people simp for and/or have an f/o that is just some slightly out of shape middle aged person? Everyone wants to be on the next cover of Vogue but for fucks sake just calm down a bit, we are not at the beach that makes you old and you’re still you.

[foundfamilyhq]

[ultfan]

my ass going over ch6 again and... why tf isn't anyone talking about the implication naegi (and gang, i suppose) was manipulated into putting the remnants into the nwp?

[poodwattle]

Red Dead Online lassoed me off my sloop right as I was getting ready to re-enter my Sea of Thieves fixation

Now I’m too focused on delivering mail and looking for treasure to deliver mail and look for treasure

Wait