#Magic Man in the Sky

[adventism-atheism-orthodoxy-me]

I sat on the idea that I thought Penal Substitution was a theological dead end for years before I said anything to anyone. And then, the question was always, "Don't you think there has to be a better way to understand God and his saving work through Christ that works better with the God of the Bible then Penal Substitution?"

The answer was always unequivocally, "NO."

And yet so many scriptures talk about God in a way different than the preachers talk of him.

I gave up.

I determined that the views my fellow American Christians had of God was decidedly wrong, but I didn't have anything better, so I just kept my mouth shut - giving a mild protest here or there. But knowing in my heart that the God of American Protestantism was not the God of the 1st Century Martyrs.

We had lost our way. Of that I was certain.

As an Adventist, I grew up thinking about end time events, I knew that the tools my particular form of Protestantism gave me were weak, relatively useless if my comfort or life were seriously threatened. I determined to myself that the best thing I could do would be to not deny God as best I could - Beyond that, he would do with me what he would. I have no crystal ball. I can't pretend I'm perfect. But there are so many Protestant Americans that argue that they can do anything they wanted to through God's Grace - again, that seemed overly indulgent, and not quite how life works. Who makes up the rules? Not the ten commandments - but the denominational midrash. Which denomination even had the correct divine midrash?

Eastern Orthodox Christianity has given me that alternative vision.

The Soli Deo Gloria is not found in the person of an inscrutable Cosmic Warlord.

Glory to God for his tender mercies.

[aloneinthedark-eagle]

lonely eagle 🛩️🦅

[arom-antix]

Merry Christmas, @crickets-lovely-place! Hope you're having a lovely holiday. Here's my Secret Santa gift for you!

[kurthummeldeservesbetter]

What's crazy that when Mel catches Viktor and Jayce breaking into Heimerdinger's office, the flashlight she shines at them is the same bright white that reflects on them in the season 2 intro. And in the same vein, when Mel catches them, Viktor looks directly into the light and Jayce looks away with his hand up.

And since Mel is a Mage....she is that embodiment of the arcane that Viktor accepts (though not initially willingly) and Jayce is eventually blinded and overwhelmed by. And the only one not blinded by it is the one in control of it, aka the only one where the arcane comes naturally (being born into it).

Rather than the two people who broke the law, and eventually the ethos, of the arcane itself, overwhelming it until it got out of control (the wild rune) and took over and corrupted someone trying to do good with it (Viktor) and ultimately, the one who has to end it is the one who both wanted to bring it to the masses, but was also blinded by it's warnings of misuse.

Which is why their story, at least those three, end where they begin. Mel, who when finding that Viktor and Jayce have successfully proven Jayce's theory states "It's time for a new era of magic" embraces her own she never knew she had. It was never Jayce and Viktor's magic, it was her own all along.

And for Viktor and Jayce, they go back to the beginning:

Except instead of being separated by the magic at the start, they embrace each other at the end.

[ecoharbor]

📍New Zealand 🇳🇿

[possiblyawesometmblr]

What Hozier songs do you think would fit your characters?

OOOOOH what a QUESTION okay loving this

arisanna: butchered tongue. fun fact, i listened to this while drawing the memory of soraza holding baby ari and cried about it. this song really works for anyone from the aether, and that hurts me so much. something something losing your home in a truly irrepairable way and only having scraps to hold onto, and doing the best you can with those scraps.

sylph: to noise making (sing). very, very narrowly beat out damage gets done. there's a lot of unabashed joy in this song that i think fits sylph very well. they live for themselves and for happiness, and they have never cared what other people think of them. "you don't have to sing it nice, but honey sing it strong" feels very them to me.

owen: in the woods somewhere. it's about the vibes, dude. i can so clearly picture him having a nightmare that goes exactly like this.

rowan: de selby (part 2). this one might seem weird, but trust me on this. i've said before that yes, rowan is a bard, but she has no interest in being famous. she doesn't want to be known. also, not to give too much away, but she's been running from something for a long time, and the line "i wanna lose me" is particularly pointed for her.

mal: nobody's soldier. fuck the law. i think mal's second worst nightmare is having to answer to an authority other than herself. second worst, because we all know what the first is.

bonus speed round because i love hozier:

beckett (wwsmp): jackboot jump

rosie (six feet umber): jackie and wilson

[anywizzlee]

More ranting about Arcane for you guysss

Viktor told us that evolution has a destination. Which I'll have you know that that is completely false, everything evolves but does not have a destination, we will just keep evolving and evolving and evolving forever and ever because that is how it works.

Now Fate is probably a different story (and feel free to correct me if I do get anything wrong while talking on these topics!).

Fate has a destination. Let's assume Fate is the end of one's life. That would be a destination, you met your Fate, or your death, I KNOW that Viktor would not agree to what he said, meaning the Viktor we see in s2 is not Viktor.

Since he fused with the Hexcore, we will probably not see the real Viktor anymore.

Do NOT Blame Jayce for killing Viktor. He promised him he would destroy the Hexcore. Meaning he had to kill Viktor in order to do that.

One small detail that gives me a sliver of hope that Viktor is still Viktor, is he kept the gear from when they first started Hextech.

Some of this might not be accurate but I'm right tis at like 4 in the morning sooooo

[huh-1260]

Can't believe I'm posting spoilers but I don't care because it comes out in a few hours

These guys are from the same AU, Magic is fucked up.

Where I have light magic that can overwhelmed a person's personality like dark magic, so in my case a softie Wars.

The Wild that actually got bit by Gremlin Sky

And then Chimera Hyrule which I'm debating on changing the design slightly, so he can be taller and more Gleeok because the dragons in Botw/totk have a little too much arms for me to draw constantly

Also

[batsight]

Star Flower, loner, Medic of SkyClan

She/Her, cis bisexual

Mother: Turnip

Father: One Eye

Adoptive Father: Skystar

Siblings: Unnamed, all deceased.

Design notes:

-She is styled after the Pokemon, Ogerpon

-The plants are a physical part of her body. They grow out of her.

-She is the physical embodiment of The Blazing Star.

Story notes: [Abuse CW]

-She was born as a normal kitten to a traveling band of rogues who loved to trade and spread their music. Unfortunately, this band died out to a plague, one that nearly took her own life. Desperate to save his family, her father Carrot traveled to a set of tunnels in Sanctuary Lake rumored to house a reality-bending god. He asked the god for a cure, and the god asked for his eye in return. They made the exchange, and he retrieved a glowing, golden, five pointed flower. However, he was too late to save most of his family, so the entire cure went to his surviving kit. He wasn't expecting her to survive the night given her fragile state and the dubiousness of the exchange...

-But the next morning, she was perfectly fine- great, even. If a little... odd... were those buds growing on her paws...?

-It only got stranger from there. When Carrot ended up finding more cats suffering from the plague, just a few calming purrs from his kit seemed to have them ripe and ready to go the next morning. Carrot understood then what had happened- his kit had become the cure herself. And cats were starting to look towards them more, started begging for her healing, for anything. And Carrot had lost everything... wasn't it time to start winning stuff back?

-And so, the pair became One Eye and Star Flower, for recognition's sake. The two formed their own small group, filled with cats Star Flower had healed. Star Flower loved to spread her magic where she went, to save cats from the brink of death and be showered with their love and appreciation. They felt like they owed a great debt to her, and she enjoyed that.

-She was very close with her father, even if their relationship could be strained. One Eye loved her, but to an extent, he also used her. He grew arrogant in his success, believing he had become the accomplice to a god, and began to hold that over cats who fell sick. He grew desperate for control and Star Flower was his key to that.

-One day, however, her father's group encountered the early clans. They were just beginning to settle down, work out their new rules, and declare borders. But what caught the group's attention was the near murder of a young kittypet, almost mauled to death by proto-SkyClan's leader, Skystar. Unable to heal wounds with her magic, Star Flower managed to bring the cat to a twoleg, who took her away.

-Appalled by the cruelty, Star Flower took a great interest in Skystar's group, and witnessed several of his other crimes against his cats and the other groups. As did One Eye, who, seeing the early signs of a plague, had an idea to put this cat and the other leaders in their place.

-One Eye and Star Flower joined the group, with One Eye acting as a curious loner, flattering Skystar with praise. Skystar enjoyed his company, and so One Eye grew in the rank rather quickly. He also took a great interest in Star Flower and her abilities. After murdering Tom, who insulted the cats and attempted to attack them, One Eye took the chance to take control over the group, overpowering Skystar and using Star Flower's power to keep the remaining cats in line- everything is going to be okay, you'll get your cure... if you stay in line and do as One Eye says.

-This went on for a moon, of Star Flower holding her magic over the heads of her clients to keep their loyalty towards One Eye. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel pride at it all at helping her father.

-Ultimately, One Eye was overthrown and killed when Skystar came back with reinforcements from the other clans. The rest of the rogues they'd accumulated ran off, and suddenly, Star Flower was alone. She'd never been without her father, and running would mean abandoning his grave, which she didn't want. But... this place had been a home to her for some time now, and she needed a place to stay. SkyClan had taken all of the available territory in the area, anyways, and she was in no shape to brave the other territories or twolegplace. So she offered her power to SkyClan as a peace offering and asked for shelter in return.

-Skystar was still sore from the event, but he couldn't deny that having Star Flower as an asset would be beneficial to him in the long run. And around this point, his son Thunderstar had disowned him and split off ThunderClan from SkyClan. He felt that he was losing allies, losing family, and he latched on to desperate Star Flower very quickly- as a cat who would never disobey him.

-Skystar takes Star Flower under his wing as his new child, her new ward, instating her as a medic. And because she is loyal to a fault, she won't disobey a new leader so similar to her father. And so, he pushes her to do humiliating things in front of the camp, ranging from general chores like tick baths, to forcing her to run laps around camp with an injury if she took too long to work her magic. He would take out his frustration from gatherings on her and berate her over the most menial things. He would make her withhold her power to help anyone in the clan who had displeased him. And if Star Flower ever tried to stick up for herself, all he had to do was remind her of what she did, how she helped torment his cats by holding a cure over their heads to help out her father.

-This went on for years, Star Flower becoming more and more despondent. One night, there was a particularly stressful gathering, in which Skystar got into a territorial dispute with Thunderstar over a pack of dogs ravaging the territories. He lost the dispute, came home, and immediately took it out on Star Flower, shouting at and attacking the molly for "taking too much food she didn't deserve". And something in Star Flower finally snapped, and for the first time, she didn't save a life- she took one. And another. And another. As many as what remained in Skystar's soul. She was discovered taking his very last life in his nest, while she was wondering if she could pin it on the dogs. She escaped the camp, and wandered the territory for the rest of her life.

-Unfortunately, while she finally won against Skystar in the moment, it was history who decided the victor. Sparrowstar declared that they couldn't let a tragedy like this happen ever again, and doubled down on banishing rogues. Every rogue-born cat was looked at with suspicion from then on, and as the decades began to pass, Star Flower's story became twisted and bent. As the story is told, a rogue had infiltrated SkyClan's camp asking for help, but had manipulated and charmed the leader with her prowess and rose in the ranks just high enough to take him out and attempt to claim his spot. Her story was used as a cautionary tale against rogues, warning cats against those who would infiltrate the camp and rot it from the inside. Eventually, even her true name was lost to time...

Rotten Flower, Warrior of The Dark Forest

Skystar didn't hesitate to throw her in the depth of the Dark Forest when she died. She wears her mask constantly, trying to keep away from the sickness of the muck. She's embraced the false myth made about her, claiming to have killed a founder for power and prestige. But in reality, it's been so long that she's forgotten her family, her power, her name. She barely even remembers Skystar himself. Though she's admired in the Dark Forest for her achievements, she doesn't hang around anyone, and acts hostile to those who approach her.

Perhaps someone can help her remember who she truly is...?

[supercap2319]

"You're going to help me find someone, Y/N." Hope stated. She sounded so sure of her request, that it would be pointless for Y/N to argue, but he did it anyways.

"And why the hell would I ever want to help you? After what you did to Josie and Lizzie's father. What you did to Silva. Forget it, Hope." Y/N said.

Hope smiled. "I'll repeat myself. You're going to help me... Or I kill live-action Ken doll."

They both knew what she was referring to. To Sky. If Y/N refused to help her, she'd take it out on Sky. Immediately, Y/N felt this wave of anger, fear, and nausea. "You stay the fuck away from him, Hope." Y/N's eyes flashed light blue as ice forms a pair of fairy wings on his back.

Hope's smile widened. "No need to show off, Y/N. I know you're powerful. Which why this is going to be so much fun. Causing so much chaos and pain together."

"Who are you looking for anyways?"

"Landon's brother. Clarke."

[britcision]

So.

Watched The Giggle.

Guys.

Guys.

About 10-15 years ago I went on an Old Who binge. Like, raided Daily Motion, downloaded the full episodes list from Hartnell to Baker and then every episode with the Master or the Rani

And went for every “lost episode”, a bunch of which are on Audible

And

You know who my favourite was?

My most favourite Old Who thing that I went on a jillion tweet rant about how they should bring back immediately?

The fucking Toymaker

I LOVED him

Favourite guy

And you know the other thing? That… complicates the memory?

I don’t visualise. At all, ever, so I also don’t really remember things in visual aspects, so not being able to visualise what those episodes looked like? Meant nothing to me

That’s normal

I spent the whole damn episode with just the very most nostalgia and delight and also yes, the feeling of “this is so very familiar but I don’t know what it should look like”

Like… I knew it was black and white cuz it was Hartnell

But I couldn’t remember a single visual aspect of those episodes, but it still felt so… perfect. So right

Guys

Guys

There fucking ISN’T video of the first three fucking episodes in that arc. There just isn’t. It’s gone. We have the audio and some stills and some saint has made a kinda audiobook version and then shackled themselves to Audible for some ungodly reason and given us the arc that way

I WAS TRYING TO REMEMBER VIDEO FOR EPISODES I KNEW I LOVED BUT HAD ACTUALLY NEVER SEEN BUT I COULD NOT TELL BECAUSE I AM GODDAMN APHANTASMIC AND CAN’T VISUALISE THE EPISODE I JUST WATCHED

this is all the Toymaker’s fault and Neil Patrick Harris was so fucking perfect and I loved that he came in to do a musical number and then left for no fucking reason

He gave me life and also epic catch was Fine I Guess but someone needs to challenge the Toymaker to a ttrpg, particularly one like DnD or Pathfinder that does not have a win condition because I feel like that would upset him so much but also he wouldn’t notice for like 8 years

[axagonyyyy]

Religion is such a pile of horseshit how does anyone believe it

[dent-de-leon]

Oh my god…the new fairytale about a magical castle in the sky is probably Zemniaz, since these are all Zemnian tales, but oh…it just. Feels so very reminiscent of Aeor—

I wonder if Caleb ever showed Kingsley this book of his favorite childhood fairytales. Tealeaf, who took comfort in old songs and stories of the Moonweaver, who used to cling to the desperate hope of, "once upon a time," and the dream of a happy ending. Does King ever flip through that book, see a story about a mystical castle floating in the sky, and feel something in his heart twist? Would it bring back all those nightmares of black chains and alien screams and buried memories?

And that story of a hag in the woods who devoured children...does that also tug at something in the shattered remnants of memories from Lucien--

[poetry-protest-pornography]

How to use super subtle metaphor to get your vampire boyfriend to sex you up:

Bonus; Jolie and Chin using real words to communicate, and being generally adorable (before smooching about it):

[theskeletoninthegarden]

Reading Witch Hat Atelier and God, I wish that were me

[ayyponine]

not to be a milennial but harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban really is that bitch....