#God Came Near

[renee-writer]

"Do you believe this?"

Wham! There it is. The bottom line. The dimension that seperates Jesus from a thousand gurus and prophets who have come down the pike. The question that drives any responsible listener to absolute obedience to or total rejection of the Christian faith.

"Do you believe this?"

Let the question sink into your heart for a minute. Do you believe that a young, penniless itinerant is larger then your death? Do you truly believe that death is nothing more then an entrance ramp to a new highway.

"Do you believe this?"

Jesus didn't pose this query as a topic for discussion in Sunday School. It was never intended to be dealt with while basking in the stained glass sunlight or while seated on padded pews.

No, this is a canyon question. A question which makes sense only during an all-night vigil or in the stillness of smoke-filled waiting rooms. A question that makes sense when all of our props, crutches, and costumes are taken away. For then we must face ourselves as we really are: rudderless humans tailspinning toward disaster. And we are forced to see Him for what He claims to be; are only hope.

"I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?"

Max Lucado God Came Near

[bethf1300]

Herald His Birth

We were discussing a Christmas hymn in our community group the other day. Many have studied the theology in the hymns before, but a few have not. A few days ago, I wrote about Joy to the World. Today, let’s look at the hymn “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” The hymn’s stanzas declare the nature of God. It is also a poignant expression of our deep longing for Him. And, of course, the hymn expresses…

[pokimoko]

The fact that Main-verse Ooo is as good and as kind as it is (relative to the other universes shown so far, at least, it's obviously not perfect) all because of the same character that starts off as the OG series' antagonist, the person we were made to see as the bad guy (albeit an often ineffectual one) for several seasons, is making me lose my mind.

Imagine finding out the guy you spent your childhood beating up and saving princesses from is in fact a driving catalyst behind you being able to exist, and not only exist but also live in a world that knows what kindness is. All because that man, the same man who you've witnessed do terrible things, once met a little girl and taught her how to be good.

Simon's story really shows us that even if you lose your way and forget how it is to be good yourself, the world keeps the memory for you. That act of love Simon showed Marcy by protecting her and seeing her as more than the monster she thought herself to be created ripples upon ripples, small at first but eventually enough to help give their wreckage of a world—a world that easily could have been forsaken, its goodness overlooked because of its inhospitable remains—a chance to grow into something beautiful. Because of those very same ripples Simon created, the people of Ooo grew up in a world where they know enough about kindness that they were able and willing to spare the 'bad guy' some, to see beyond the wreckage and allow him to grow too.

In saving Marceline, Simon helped to not only to save the world, but also himself.

[puppetmaster13u]

SO I was inspired by This Reblog and absolutely adore any and all dragon Aus. And was hit with a rapid bit of inspiration.

Danny sighed through his nose, rolling his shoulders as another blob coiled across his arm like a serpent. It was an interesting thing, how they mimicked other forms, though he didn't understand all of it.

Normally they wouldn't mimic him so much, not so strongly at least. But well, the ghosts here were mere whispers, visible to a few and unable to interact much. Which is what really brought him here in the first place.

Apparently something is blocking the access to the Realms here, enough that someone needs to do something about it. And look, he's not the Ghost King (thank fuck, he'd never be able to have Star-Time if he was) but he does sort of have a job to do. As the child of Time and new Ancient of Space to-be.

Not to mention that as said new Ancient-of-Space-to-be the Observants can't complain that much about him entering a world they didn't like.

And oh boy, this world. Yikes. There's some corrupted stuff freaking everywhere (even if not visibly), and monsters. And he does mean monsters, a lot of these things are corrupted as all heck- though thankfully the skeletal undead ones leave him alone no matter what form he takes.

On the other hand? There's this little gremlin child that reminds him of Ellie that runs into him repeatedly. Danny is starting to think it's on purpose actually. Child? Child where are your caretakers, you can't just charge at the lion-horse people- ... Danny despises prophecies. Alright child, he's going to start following you because you haven't even eaten tonight apparently. And your weapon has broken. Twice. And you're apparently surrounded by ghosts, how has he not noticed- alright. OKAY. This is fine.

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

Link, would like everyone to know, that he is actually having so much fun right now! There's this sort-of Hylian that he found when looking for Koroks whose sort of like a stal-hylian? Or something? But they're nice!

And they have wings! He thought it was some sort of cloak at first, but no, they're full on wings! And he's going to convince them to take him flying. He will.

After he takes care of this itching on his back, because it's getting really distracting...

Yes I used Flight Rising specifically because @fairy-lights-and-blobs mentioned it specifically for Danny's wings.

A Danny & Link <3 But also feel free to imagine them as mixed with any dragon really.

[tired-demonspawn]

i struggle a lot with deviating from the original design when doing fanart because i fear the character won't be recognisable anymore if i dare change the colours here and there

i think its a damn shame since i see all the cool spins on character designs and think "man, i could do that"

so here's my two little thinkin pieces on me, yknow, doing that, with alastor :)

i might actually make the final one into like... a thing??? but don't count on it, my attention span is abysmal.

[sga-owns-my-soul]

i've found a foolproof way to battle my seasonal depression

country music

so hard to feel depressed when a Funky Little Guy is singing to you about the pretty lady with the ruby red lips blonde hair blue eyes and he's about to bid his heart goodbye

[synthshenanigans]

Okay so the words he mouthed in that one clip is "One day you're going to die" Which is a lyric to Memento Mori [another ww song]

Which first of all, means that Memento Mori is very likely one of the next songs in the power hour

And second, all the bits referenced in Nerd are fully there! Red being one he did in the past [or what he was doing at that moment with the Cage line] & Green being references to the next two power hours after it

But then like, whats the last power hour???? Cos there's no more lyrics that are referenced I don't think?

[Insane theory ramblings in the tags v]

[somethingmissingthiswaycomes]

I don't know what to add, but I wanted to share this.

This needs to end.

This needs. to end.

Edit:

2nd edit in case this blows up: Do not be vile in the notes justifying or trying to recruit for antisemitism by using this genocide to justify another.

[im-getting-help]

i found this 'white girl bangers' playlist and i'm having the best night of my LIFE

[renee-writer]

By the time she got to Jesus, she had nothing left. The doctors had taken hwr last dime. The.diagnosis had stolen her last hope. And the hemorrhage had robbed her of her last drop of energy. She had no money, no more friends, and no more options. With the end of her rope in one hand and a wing and a prayer in her heart, she shoved her way through the crowd.

When her hand touches His garment a transfusion occurred. He felt it go out. She felt it go in.

It didn't bother Jesus that the woman came to Him as a last resort. To Him it mattered only that she came. He knows with some of us it takes a lot of reality to snap us to our senses, so He doesn't keep a time clock. Those who scramble in at quitting time get the same wage as those who beat the morning whistle. I guess that is what makes grace, grace.

Max Lucado God Came Near.

[bethf1300]

The Paradox of the Incarnation

Indeed, the mystery of godliness is certainly great: He was revealed in the flesh, and vindicated in the spirit; he appeared to angels, and was announced to Gentiles; he was believed in the world, and taken up in glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 NTFE What is the paradox of the incarnation? I wrote about how Jesus reveals the Living God in a previous post. Through the incarnation, the Invisible and…

[quietwingsinthesky]

Hiiiii! So, a few days ago you were talking about the whole thing with Amy, Rory, and River. And when I saw those posts a thought arose in my head and I wish to share it with you.

Since River grew up with Amy and Rory as Mels. And Mels was Amy's best friend do you think that they ever talked about children? Since I know that it can come up when talking with friends, and like... do you think that Amy might've ever expressed whether or not she wanted children?

And if she didn't, that Mels would've had to listen to her mother say that she doesn't want children? The idea is so heartbreaking and sooo interesting.

What do you think about it?

no, no, see, you're so right and this drives me wild.

because, the way i see it, i don't think amy wanted children. she's somewhere on the 'hasn't thought about it' to 'vaguely negative feelings about it happening' range to me, which falls sharply into 'Not Happening Ever Again' post-s6. (specifically, in terms of having a kid herself, even if she could, i really don't think she would. i do love that she and rory end up adopting a kid later, because that does make sense, for amy pond who grew up alone in one universe with her family swallowed by cracks in time before the doctor helped her set it right again, for her to want to make sure another child won't be alone in the world like she was. getting off-track here.)

and that's so. because the first real memory river/mels has of amy is of amy shooting at her. and depending on how well the silence fucked up the rest of her memory, it might be one of the very first memories she has at all. that's how she met her mother, crying for help and getting a bullet instead. her mother tried to kill her, so of course, you have to think. she must have needed to hear that she was wanted, right? even if she was taken away, even if amy shot her, at some point, melody must have been wanted?

river is good at getting people to do what she wants, but she is very, very bad at subtlety. and mels is younger, has less practice, so when she wants to know this, she's just going to ask. blunt and quick, easy enough because amy's used to the way mels will open her mouth and you just have to be ready to roll with what comes out if you want to keep up. it's why they're such good friends (like mother, like daughter.)

they're nine, and mels asks if amy wants kids, and amy wrinkles up her nose and says she won't have time for children, obviously, once her raggedy doctor finally comes back. they're fifteen, and amy and rory dance will they-won't they in a way that makes mels twitchy to watch, and taunting amy about wanting to have rory's babies is a good way to get on her nerves. but amy calls her gross, tells her she's got more life planned than children would leave room for, and besides, imagine her, a mom? it'd be a disaster.

mels does. a lot. she looks at her mother and just sees her best friend instead. she's not even sure what she wishes was there, but. maybe amy's right. and besides. imagine her, a daughter, instead of the ticking time bomb she really is? it'd be a disaster.

they're sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and on. mels stands on the outside of a love story that births a universe. and her. how do you compete with that? not that she would know, not yet, she hasn't been there. but it doesn't make her feel any less alienated when amy and rory talk in whispers about a half-remembered world that's bled through to this life, about roman soldiers and boxes and the big bang of belief.

all these memories, they never mention children. on amy's wedding day, she's different, not like someone remembering a dream but someone who lived it. rory stands straighter, won't leave her side, and they're both so much older than they were yesterday. maybe now, right? a wedding's as good a time as any to decide you want kids.

mels not being at amy & rory's wedding is such an obvious lazy way of them trying to explain why they totally didn't just throw this plot twist together at the last minute that i'm not even going to acknowledge it. of course she was at their wedding. she's their best friend. there's too many people around the doctor, and she wasn't ready today of all days, so despite this horrible burning need under her skin to strike, she stays her hand. doesn't let him dance with her because she might just tear his throat out if he gets too close. stays with amy and rory as the maid of honor should. she must have been there for the awkward questions that always gets asked, 'so, any plans for a baby?' 'when am i getting grandkids?' 'oh, you two are going to have gorgeous children together.' standing a few feet from amy in her wedding dress and watching her mother tense and grit her teeth and brush off the questions. watching her look nervously at rory but never ask if he means it when his mom asks him if he'd prefer a son or a daughter, and rory answers 'either one, some day, not anytime soon.'

god i'm just going on and on, aren't i. but really, what's it like to know that amy never changed her mind. the next time she sees them, she's already been born and stolen. i don't like let's kill hitler for. so many reasons. but there is something compelling about how recklessly river lashes out at the world, at the doctor. even her sacrifice at the end is almost suicidal, throwing all her regenerations into this man without knowing if that will even work or if it might kill her to do it. but it makes more sense in the context of someone who has reached the end of a long, long wait for some kind of indication, any kind, that her mother wanted to have her. and finally been told, no. she didn't choose melody.

[clannfearrunt]

Definitely the key to easing urself into being less afraid of bugs is to just start looking at them really close. Makes them more clearly Animal. Recontextualizes them. I used to be so scared of flies and look at me now

[hanzajesthanza]

if i thought the witcher was painfully realistic. i was wrong. it is a very clear fairytale that comforts and soothes. even in its realistic take on the genre, it inspires, even in its tragedy, it comforts.

evil is defeated epically in a final battle in the darkness, the valiant heroes fall together, the lovers die united, and all pass into legend and are remembered for ever and ever. and the spirit of our hero returns now and again to save and deliver us from evil… they become legend and in that legend they are immortal…

[mail-me-a-snail]

do you get ill every time you hear glados getting more "human" in each chorus of still alive like me or are you normal

[trainingdummyrabbit]

Tell us about The Guys what's their dynamic like

ok thats kind of on me for starting with the hardest character dynamic first

so. cocoa and luci. they're both characters that, narratively, are barely expected to be characters at all. let me explain. im entering unskippable cutscene mode. sorry <333

luci takes the role of the silly lil ai assistant... kinda. shes not supposed to be. shes Supposed to be just a basic guide/support mechanic, but she sure. Isn't. it was an accident. dont worry about it. nobody else did.

cocoa is cocoa. she wasn't always cocoa, but now she's all there is. easypeasy ^w^ she's like if an npc was a person, mostly. she just kinda stands or wanders around until shes needed, rarely speaks beyond basic preset responses, she just goes here :] shes just a silly lil thang, kinda confused but got the spirit, etc. And Also She Happens To Be The Highest Ranked Agent Here. dont worry about it. nobody else did.

they also happen to be, most likely, the two characters to change the most across the entire throughline. with like one exception, maybe. which is what makes this hard. im not going to waffle about too long, dont worry. probably. ill try.

so for a while it seems like...

...aka they dont seem to notice each other much at all. and it stays that way for pretty much the entire throughline! bbbecause everyones too busy running about to worry about The PA Voice and Their Shockingly Chill Coworker. unfortunately, The Problems.

see, they're both burying the lead. Hard.

because luci is The problem. Capital. as something that Super isnt supposed to be conscious (let alone alive,) she has a Lot of shit to figure out. and a Lot of issues. it takes a while for her to figure out her bearings (no thanks to everyone else, who was too busy squabbling about a "data compromise" and ""trying to find a new manager"". eyeroll.) but more or less, she's decided:

1) humans are fucking annoying. they worry about so much mess, care about all the wrong stuff, and insist on shoving it on other people. unfortunately, they're also deeply entertaining. theres 100% a superiority complex going on there. 2) she has Got to become something else. she wants something. deeply and desperately. its just... well, she's still figuring out what that is.

luci, as a character, is obsessed with Character and Relevancy. the deepest throes of passion and hatred, desire and purpose. to know for certain what your place is. (this doesnt say anything about her.) those that burn brightly like that never seem to die. not truly. (this says absolutely nothing about her.) to become a single, unshakable, irreplaceable star. (this means absolutely nothing about anything to her.)

and one of those things that grabbed her attention the most was that of abnormalities. irreplaceable, undying, bastions of Meaning. That was what it was. unfortunately, as Emotion isnt one of the things that she's inherently built with, it becomes a bit of an issue.

thus begs the question: how do you bring out that spark in something? and well, that's not a question she has the information to answer. however, if theres one thing shes good at, its Fucking Around And Finding Out ! and well, if there's some collateral damage or casualties about it, well. oops. not like they ever cared about death and the like here before. soooo whatever ^w^

and well, she has to practice her ominous dialogue with Someone who won't rat her out, soooo...

cocoa, on the other hand, is... well, she's different, for sure. that wasnt always her name, for one. or i guess, it always was. if i tried to explain her entire deal id be here another 10 paragraphs or so, but to make a long story short... living under the specific pressure that the city pushes onto its residents is taken better for some than others. cocoa is not one of these. the constant pressure of needing to provide and prove your worth to forces beyond your control put a ridiculous amount of strain on her, and even still, it could decide to snuff you out without a moments notice on a whim. and well, there's little you can do when you're someone like her.

its something she tried to bottle up for a long, long time. unfortunately, making it into Lcorp did not, in fact, help with this At All. and all of that dread and paranoia, the misguided self loathing, and the sheer inescapability of it all... well, of course she snapped. it wasn't anything loud, bombastic. just quiet. quietly, whoever it was that she used to be had vanished in an instant, snuffed by her own hand, before anything else could get the chance to do it first. and what remained was cocoa! a name to an absence. more Function than Person, she simply... became what was needed of her. and nothing more. and unfortunately, with how everything else was... this change slipped completely under the radar. for all except for one witness.

it doesnt mean anything to her. (it cant mean anything to her. not yet.)

all of that happens before the story even begins.

unfortunately, a superiority complex + the inability to process your own flaws + being allowed to be in control completely unchecked for an extended period of time allows luci to. spiral. to put it bluntly.

it becomes a horrible little race to figure out what exactly is going on before too many people end up dying in horrible ways. luci simply watches them run in circles like little mice. by the time they manage to scramble together enough to confront her, its a tiny group of maybe 4 against luci... and also cocoa. who, in trying to avoid thinking too hard about the meddling that luci was doing and the holes poked in her persona by the rest of the cast over time, has once again completely shut off in favor of simply doing whatever was asked of her. and well, luci was technically the one who had the authority to be dealing out directions, so... well. not gonna think about it too hard. shes had to suppress other agents before, so...

this, ultimately, becomes where cocoa's arc comes to a head. as stable as she seemed, turns out she was constantly teetering on a very dangerous edge. that edge between allowing outside influence, the bravery and will to push, to face uncertainty and risk... and erasing yourself entirely, forgoing the harms of failure and performance in favor of becoming something more akin to a tool, unable to perceive, but also unable to be hurt.

luci believes she knows cocoa. she's seen the depths of her-- she thinks-- has seen the dissatisfaction, the fear, the rage, the desire to reach and tear what she wants from anyone she can reach. for just a brief moment, she'd seen all of it, just before cocoa became... cocoa. and she sees herself in that. sympathy was not something that was afforded to her. it was not in her capability to feel that attachment. (it doesnt mean anything to her.) they were the same, werent they? held back by things out of their control. (it means absolutely nothing to her.) so it would be a kindness-- no, an act of pity, to grant this one the ability to truly Feel that, to Understand the self in its entirety. grant her that freedom. (it means absolutely nothing about anything to her.)

but to cocoa... this was just another will overriding her own. the reason something snapped-- she wanted to do good. to be good. but this world does not allow it. shes angry, yes. more than anything. but shes angry because of her own perceived uselessness. more than anything, she's exhausted. that buildup of anger and resentment-- it was something she desperately didn't want to inflict on others. so instead, she turned those teeth inward, and tore herself out for the crime of feeling. she doesnt want to act. she doesnt want to run. she doesnt want to be anything. she just wants to rest.

luci, insistent on her correctness but inherently oblivious, convinced she is giving a gift to someone she has done nothing but harm. and cocoa, afraid to let down the veneer of distance, to allow herself to want and hope-- afraid to take on the responsibility of being a Person again. but these two werent the only players in the game.

and well. cocoa makes her decision.