#nazareth university

[dailyoceanoconnellrosenberg]

TRICK OR TREAT

Happy Halloween!!! Here's some Nazareth University Ocean! (Actress is Cassie Murphy)

[septfair]

space age bachelor man (clip) - nazareth university

[thurifer-at-heart]

The character of emptiness, at least for a Christian contemplative, is pure love, pure freedom. Love that is free of everything, not determined by any thing, or held down by any special relationship. It is love for love's sake. It is a sharing, through the Holy Spirit, in the infinite charity of God. And so when Jesus told his disciples to love, he told them to love as universally as the Father who sends his rain alike on the just and the unjust. "Be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect." This purity, freedom and indeterminateness of love is the very essence of Christianity.

—Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer, p.73

[kstarlitchaotics]

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Why I fell for Kurt Wagner 🥺🥹💙

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

But Paul merely took incarnationalism to its universal and logical conclusions. We see that in his bold exclamation “There is only Christ. He is everything and he is in everything” (Colossians 3:11). If I were to write that today, people would call me a pantheist (the universe is God), whereas I am really a panentheist (God lies within all things, but also transcends them), exactly like both Jesus and Paul.

Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Birth of Jesus

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. — Luke 2:1-7 | Cambridge Paragraph Bible (CAMB) The Cambridge Paragraph Bible of the Authorized English Version, by Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose, 1813-1891. Published by Cambridge University Press. Cross References: 1 Samuel 16:4; Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:18; Matthew 1:25; Matthew 4:24; Matthew 22:17; Matthew 24:14; Luke 2:12; Acts 5:37

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

One of the main reasons I'm not a good omens fan and refuse to read the book is because I don't like Christian motifs. I'm fine with it and think it's kinda funny in media where all gods are real including the Buddha and Dionysus and Lakshmi, because that implies there's some real dick bag of a god out there who's like "I know all these other gods exist but I'm the most special" but I'm simply not interested in media where capital G god is real and Christ is the savior and we're waiting on the rapture. I don't care how subversive or sacrilegious the media is, that is just not a set of assumptions I'm willing to suspend my disbelief to buy into for the length of time it takes to read a book.

I will be watching GO season 2 because my friend is really into it and we have a deal where I watch good omens with them and they watch OFMD with me, but make no mistake these are my blorbos in law, not my blorbos.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Visitors admire the newly restored Edicule on 21 March 2017. The floor beneath the shrine is at risk of structural failure, scientists warn.

📷: Oded Balilty, AP for National Geographic

By Kristin Romey

8 September 2023

Over the centuries, Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre has suffered violent attacks, fires, and earthquakes.

It was totally destroyed in 1009 and subsequently rebuilt, leading modern scholars to question whether it could possibly be the site identified as the burial place of Christ by a delegation sent from Rome some 17 centuries ago.

The results of scientific tests provided to National Geographic appear to confirm that the remains of a limestone cave enshrined within the church are indeed remnants of the tomb located by the ancient Romans.

Mortar sampled from between the original limestone surface of the tomb and a marble slab that covers it has been dated to around A.D. 345.

According to historical accounts, the tomb was discovered by the Romans and enshrined around 326.

Until now, the earliest architectural evidence found in and around the tomb complex dated to the Crusader period, making it no older than 1,000 years.

While it is archaeologically impossible to say that the tomb is the burial site of an individual Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth, who according to New Testament accounts was crucified in Jerusalem in 30 or 33, new dating results put the original construction of today's tomb complex securely in the time of Constantine, Rome's first Christian emperor.

The tomb was opened for the first time in centuries in October 2016, when the shrine that encloses the tomb, known as the Edicule, underwent a significant restoration by an interdisciplinary team from the National Technical University of Athens.

People line up to visit the renovated Edicule, the shrine that houses what is believed to be the tomb of Christ.

📷: Oded Balilty, AP for National Geographic

Several samples of mortar from different locations within the Edicule were taken at that time for dating, and the results were recently provided to National Geographic by Chief Scientific Supervisor Antonia Moropoulou, who directed the Edicule restoration project.

When Constantine's representatives arrived in Jerusalem around 325 to locate the tomb, they were allegedly pointed to a Roman temple built some 200 years earlier.

The Roman temple was razed and excavations beneath it revealed a tomb hewn from a limestone cave.

The top of the cave was sheared off to expose the interior of the tomb, and the Edicule was built around it.

A feature of the tomb is a long shelf, or "burial bed," which, according to tradition, was where the body of Jesus Christ was laid out following crucifixion.

Such shelves and niches, hewn from limestone caves, are a common feature in tombs of wealthy 1st-century Jerusalem Jews.

The marble cladding that covers the "burial bed" is believed to have been installed in 1555 at the latest, and most likely was present since the mid-1300s, according to pilgrim accounts.

When the tomb was opened on the night of 26 October 2016, scientists were surprised by what they found beneath the marble cladding: an older, broken marble slab incised with a cross, resting directly atop the original limestone surface of the "burial bed."

A conservator cleans the surface of the stone slab venerated as the final resting place of Jesus Christ.

📷: Oded Balilty, AP for National Geographic

Some researchers speculated that this older slab may have been laid down in the Crusader period, while others offered an earlier date, suggesting that it may have already been in place and broken when the church was destroyed in 1009.

No one, however, was ready to claim that this might be the first physical evidence for the earliest Roman shrine on the site.

The new test results, which reveal the lower slab was most likely mortared in place in the mid-fourth century under the orders of Emperor Constantine, come as a welcome surprise to those who study the history of the sacred monument.

"Obviously, that date is spot-on for whatever Constantine did," says archaeologist Martin Biddle, who published a seminal study on the history of the tomb in 1999. "That's very remarkable."

During their year-long restoration of the Edicule, the scientists were also able to determine that a significant amount of the burial cave remains enclosed within the walls of the shrine.

Mortar samples taken from remains of the southern wall of the cave were dated to 335 and 1570, which provide additional evidence for construction works from the Roman period, as well as a documented 16th-century restoration.

Franciscan priests visit the traditional site of Jesus' tomb during its renovation in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

📷: Oded Balilty, AP for National Geographic

Mortar taken from the tomb entrance has been dated to the 11th century and is consistent with the reconstruction of the Edicule following its destruction in 1009.

"It is interesting how [these] mortars not only provide evidence for the earliest shrine on the site but also confirm the historical construction sequence of the Edicule," Moropoulou observes.

The mortar samples were independently dated at two separate labs using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), a technique that determines when quartz sediment was most recently exposed to light.

The scientific results were published by Moropoulou and her team in 2018 issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

NOTE: This article was originally published on 28 November 2017 and updated to reflect the publication of the journal article on the dating of the mortar.

[littlestarprincess]

Every time I see something about Supernatural, I wonder how much of the current atheist attitude towards Christianity is rooted in people mistaking Supernatural for being well researched and intelligent.

[artist-issues]

Ummmkay 🙄 I "stopped replying" to you because...you stopped replying to me, first. You stopped replying to what I was literally saying, and started arguing with someone in your head, instead. You're kind of still doing the same thing now. You're picking out pieces of things that I say, then rearranging them in an order that you can try and criticize 🤷‍♀️

But whatever, other people have tried picking at this issue and it's so ridiculous at this point that I might as well set the record straight.

The Islamic god is different than the Jewish God and the Christian God. Please do some reading. Any reading. The tiniest bit of reading would prove this.

The Islamic god is Allah, who would be all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present, as well as the creator of the universe. And the similarities end there.

Christians are actively being murdered right now by Muslims for believing in a different God, Yahweh, who is revealed in three Persons: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the image of the one and only Creator God, and He claimed to be very explicitly. The Islamic believers only think He was a Prophet—they certainly don't believe He is God, or that Allah sent an expression of himself to earth.

The kind of God who would do something like that is fundamentally different than the kind of god who wouldn't. Two fundamentally different divinities: one who is gracious and merciful and wants to be in a relationship with humanity, and the other who is none of those things. You might as well have a reader say, "geooricle and artist-issues are the same tumblr blogger." That's how silly it sounds. Anywhere outside the West, Muslims will torture or kill you for believing in Yahweh, the Divine Trinity, instead of their god, Allah.

Don't be ridiculous.

Where Orthodox Jews and Christians differ is simply in how much there is to know about God. The Jews believe that everything you can know about God has been revealed in the Torah. The "religion" started ignoring what their God was doing and saying around 6-4 B.C. We both still claim to worship the same historical Deity: same character, same name, same works--up to a point. It's like watching a TV show together, but one group stops watching during season 2. And each group still claims to be a "fan."

They just don't believe that Jesus of Nazareth was God's fulfillment to His own prophecies, and we do.

And to the point, because everyone keeps throwing "Rebecca Sugar is Jewish" out there like that means anything at all in this context, and I'm so tired of it—

—ya'll realize that Orthodox Jewish religion accepts the words of the Torah as the Holy Word of God (just like Christians do) right? And y'all realize that it is in the Torah that their God condemns homosexuality, and claims to have created mankind for His own purposes, and tells His creations they must live up to His standards of perfection, right? Which is what White Diamond is doing in the show? I mean, y'all realize that if Rebecca Sugar actually believes her Orthodox Jewish religion, she's completely saying the opposite with her show, right?

Her religion-of-choice doesn't change what she's saying with her show: if I say I'm a vegetarian and then go around eating bacon, I'm just a liar, or you could say, a really terrible vegetarian. She's bashing the God of the Torah with her show identically to the way she's bashing the Christian God, because they're the same God, and ya'll bringing it up shows how little you're actually aware of what Christianity and Judaism are—and how little you're thinking about consistency and intellectual honesty.

“At least it's not ferociously attacking God quite as directly as Steven Universe did…”

Not that I’m surprised by this statement, but can you elaborate on this? Kinda intrigued by your thoughts on Steven Universe.

Okie dokie, you’re not the only one who has asked me about this, so I suppose I’ll poke the hornet’s nest. 😅 I haven’t talked about this before because I assumed that everyone who wanted to hear my kinds of opinions on stories wasn’t watching or interested in Steven Universe.

It’s like asking vegetarian if they enjoyed a turkey dinner. The turkey dinner was so obviously not made for vegetarians to enjoy, so why would the vegetarian even bother analyzing the turkey?

But I think if some people are asking me why I think Steven Universe is anti-God (of the Bible) its because maybe they don’t know what the turkey is. Not completely. (Maybe not you, because like you said, you’re not surprised by my comment.) So I’ll explain my thoughts on Steven Universe.

If you’re just following me because you liked some stuff I posted, but didn’t realize that I’m a Bible-believing Christian and don’t want to hear about it, unfollow me now. Because I’m going to talk about some hot button issues here and the trolls will come out.

Steven Universe is really well-done. The jokes are funny, the writing is believable, the characters have great chemistry, great design, the concept is fascinating, the slow build-up and reveal of the plot elements is great. But when you watch the throne room scene in the last episode of Season 5 “Change Your Mind,” it’s alarmingly clear how much the whole show is not just settling for defending and championing the LGBTQ+ worldview—it goes all the way to attacking what Christians believe, on the other side.

Anything that’s pro-LGBTQ+ is doing that by default, but this show goes out of its way to do that.

You have to understand: God created and designed us. Deeper than that; He created and designed romantic relationships, and invented marriage. He didn’t just create love—He is love. So when humans come along and do what we’ve always done since the fall, and say, “I’d rather define what Your thing is and how it works for myself, God,” it’s not only an incredible slap in the face, it’s an attack on God’s actual identity—and it’s destructive for us and the people around us. Like a fish insisting it can breathe oxygen.

But Steven Universe goes beyond that. It knows that the Christian worldview is it’s biggest opposition. It digs right down to the heart of the worldview-battle. LGBTQ+ worldview says, “I should get to love what I want and be who I am, because I’m me. Love is love. (By which I mean, any action or relationship I choose to call love is love, because I’m the one calling it that.)”

Biblical worldview says “No, wait, you shouldn’t base your decisions on you alone; what you want changes day to day, and you’re broken, so you can’t ever be satisfied based on what you want—the Bible says God made you for something, and you rejected that, and it broke you. You’re not how you’re meant to be: even what you want and what you think love is is twisted up and can hurt you and others. But if you submit to God He’ll help you, He’ll fix what’s broken and give you new life by making you how you were supposed to be: He’ll live in you and through you.”

Are we beginning to get the picture?

See, the whole thing with the opposing views between LGBTQ+ and Christian people is as old as time. It’s not a new debate. It’s Satan and Eve in the garden. She says, “This is not how God said things should be,” and Satan says, “Are you sure that’s what He said? He knows if you do this thing, you’ll be like Him. You’ll be god: you’ll get to decide ‘how things should be’ for yourself.”

He lied and said that disobedience would satisfy her. That she knew what her own heart needed better than the God that made it did. That the very act of being imperfect would make her godlike.

And then Steven Universe comes along and says “if every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hotdogs.”

And has a cast of created being characters who’s imperfections (Garnet’s forbidden “love,” Pearl’s obsession, Amethyst’s insecurity) are supposedly “the best thing about them; what makes them who they are.”

And has a main character who used to be a part of the god-like creator relationship, but used her power to come down to earth and completely change who she is into a fully different person.

And has a godlike Creator character who claims she “doesn’t need” her created beings (just like the God of the Bible) but they all have a little part of their creator in them so she has to repress their imperfections; she holds them all to a standard that’s impossible to reach called “perfection” and punishes them when they don’t meet it even though it hurts them to try; she expects them all to do what they were created by her for; she fixes them when they can’t meet her standard by shining her light through them and making them extensions of their Creator.

And has a main character who argues, fights back, tries to stop her, and is answered with lines that sound surprisingly like what LGBTQ+ people hear when Christians argue with them: “you’re only making things worse; you’re just deceiving yourself; even while you resist it your actual light can’t help shining through,” etc.

White Diamond just wants everything to be perfect. Like her. She just wants her created beings to “be themselves.” But what she means is, be how she created them to be.

And she’s the bad guy. She’s playing God in this show, and Rebecca Sugar is saying, “If God is telling us that can only be happy by being perfect, as He is perfect, and doing what He created us to do, then He’s wrong. Our imperfections are what make us special—unique—individuals—free—and there is nobody who has the right to take that freedom away from us, not even out creator!”

And you know what?

If God were like White Diamond, like Rebecca Sugar believes Him to be, Steven Universe would be right.

But He is NOT.

God is not a dictator who forces us to conform to a standard of perfection and then smashes us when we don’t meet it. He is a King who made us perfect to begin with, and we rejected him, because He allowed us to do that. He knew that true love was love that had to be chosen, and He wanted us to love Him by choice, so he gave us the option. But Rebecca Sugar doesn’t understand—there was never “Choose God or Choose Yourself.” There was only, “Choose God or Choose Nothing.” There was nothing except God. Then He created everything. There is no version of reality where you have something better than God, or even slightly less good but different, to pick. You’re not jumping from one ship into a smaller one, but at least it’s yours—you’re jumping from one ship into a void, and then complaining that there’s no other ship. That’s humans. That’s not God. / White Diamond didn’t make her creations perfect (Amethyst) and she didn’t make them for love. She made them for power. That’s not the God of the Bible.

Even when we did choose to try and love ourselves instead of God, and therefore warped our ability to perfectly love at all, He didn’t smash us. True, everything fell and was cursed, which is exactly what He warned us would happen if we chose it, but it was a natural consequence of breaking ourselves. And then He didn’t leave us that way. He didn’t give up on us. And He certainly didn’t just zap us, snap His fingers, quick-fix it and turn us all into robots who are extensions of Him, who say they love Him but only because it’s His voice puppeting us to say it.

No. He came to us, chose to give up His life at the exact point on the timeline when Romans, masters in the art of slow, humiliating, torturous death, would be the ones to carry out His crucifixion, and saved us Himself. Through the sacrifice of His own life. And even then, we still have a choice. We get to choose to accept that incredible self-sacrifice when we don’t deserve it, and be given new life and a relationship with the Creator who knows us and loves us better than we can love ourselves or receive love from others—OR we can just keep stubbornly insisting that our slavery to the opposite of what God wants is somehow freedom, and our twisted versions of love are genuine, and we’re not broken, and die like that. Die broken creatures who lived their whole lives stomping their feet and screaming “I’m not a creature, I’m a god!”

White Diamond sacrifices nothing, because Rebecca Sugar doesn’t know the God of the Bible. She just knows her idea of Him. She’s never actually gotten to know Him. If she had, she’d learn how silly and twisted her idea is.

Because you know what, yeah, if every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hot dogs. But people aren’t pork chops. And hot dogs have flavor (not better than pork chops) but they are awful for you.

Christians aren’t perfect cuts of meat with no individuality or flavor. Just because we all know and love the same God doesn’t mean we have no personalities. It just means we don’t think so freaking much about what we are, or who we get to be, or what we like and want. Jeez, what a self-centered, narcissistic, self-obsessed way to live. She plays Steven like he’s this wonder-child, innocent and full of heart, who encourages his friends to love and keep trying. But honestly?

This is very pretty animation but it’s not real. Steven looks happy hugging Steven but self-love doesn’t ultimately get you that.

That’s all based on the premise that what he’s encouraging them to do is actually good, and will make them happy, and will help them love better. And it just won’t. Not in real life. That’s not how any of this works. Self-love is just self-obsession. And that is a sure-fire way to hurt you, and everyone around you.

You’ll never be free by choosing to run to a worse master. You’ll never be satisfied with your crappy attempts at loving yourself, because you were made to be loved flawlessly and forever by someone who is Love Himself.

And choosing to identify with your imperfections doesn’t make you uniquely you. It just makes you exactly like every other human being marching in the same line since the Fall.

White Diamond’s not relational. She’s up high and distant. That’s not God. He made you to be in relationship with Him. He loves you, totally and perfectly, and He proved it by sacrificing for You.

So yeah. That’s the problem with Steven Universe. Come get me, SU fans.

[b14augrana]

Newbie

You meet Kika for the first time

Kika Nazareth x teen!reader

Part of the Scrubber universe

GIF credits: @a-lexia11

masterlist

Warnings: ✖️

A/N: i love kika so much 🥹 her good vibes are off the charts and because of that i really think she’d get on with scrubber well so here’s a blurb of those two

for the sake of my own happiness lucy is still thriving in sunny cataluña.

“Kika!”

You sat up rapidly as you heard Aitana speak, and the foam roller slipped out from beneath your leg and rolled away slowly. You looked around curiously, and everyone was spread out yet bunched together as they swarmed the three new additions to the team. You were just barely familiar with Ellie Roebuck from following each other on Instagram and you were more than familiar with Ewa Pajor through your mutual ties with her that existed through Frido and Ingrid. However, the girl that Aitana had beelined to, you hadn’t ever met her or known of her. A hand belonging to Mapi tugged you up from the ground and dragged you along to meet the new transfers, and you happily did so.

“You’ve grown so much from the last time I saw you!” Ewa gushed, smiling fondly at you to which you returned the gesture. The last time you had seen Ewa was during the 2023 Champions League final, when you weren’t a main player in the team but merely a reserve. It was an experience either way and Ewa was right — you had grown, physically and as a player. Throughout your entire little conversations with Ewa and Ellie, you could only think about meeting the unfamiliar one. You slunk away from the conversations with the Englishwoman and the striker before approaching Aitana and the final transfer.

“…miss Benfica a lot, actually, because this is my first time playing away from home,” she said to Aitana, who nodded along understandingly as you spoke, until you appeared by her side and her face lit up.

“Kika, I need to introduce you to (Y/N), mi pequeñita,” Aitana exclaimed, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. You smiled at the woman across from you, who grinned back. “Hola! I’m Kika,” she introduced herself. You already liked her; just the way she spoke and smiled at you gave the impression that she’d fit right into the team, and most importantly, get along with everyone. “I’m (Y/N),” you responded, but before you could continue and say anything else, you were engulfed in a warm hug by the Portuguese woman. It was yet another reason for you to like her, so you gratefully accepted the hug.

“I’ve watched you before, and all I can say is, I’m glad we’re on the same team,” Kika laughed, making your cheeks swell up with a rosy tint. Aitana nodded and squeezed your arm affectionately, “That means you’re already Barça. We feel like that everyday, ask Caroline.” She giggled and looked at Caro standing a little to the side of her, rolling her eyes with a smile.

“I’m alright…” you mumbled, shuffling around nervously with an awkward smile. To this day, you still weren’t the best at compliment-taking — especially from people way better and experienced than you — despite the amount of compliments you received often. It was still insane to you that the likes of Mapi and Irene complimented you on your defending, when they were the ones that deserved all the lauding more than anything.

“You’re more than alright, pequeñita,” Aitana scoffed, nudging you softly, “Te lo juro, Kika, sin ella no tendríamos la tercera Liga de Campeones.”

“Aitana, do you forget that you scored a goal in that final as well?” you laughed, and she shook her head earnestly. “No, and I definitely don’t forget who assisted me,” she responded with a light elbow to your side, which made you laugh even more. Kika joined in on the giggles until it all died down, and you invited them both back to your pre-workout stretches station. There, you three sat down and continued the conversation, until Aitana got up to do a workout with Fridolina and the weighted ball, leaving just you and Kika.

“You came from Benfica, right? Unless I’ve been hearing things,” you asked her, feeling relieved when she nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been there my entire career. It’s been a bit tough, adapting to Spain when I’ve lived in Portugal my whole life, but I love it here. What about you?” she explained.

You placed the foam roller back underneath your legs as you spoke, “I’ve more or less lived in Barna my entire life. I was in France for a couple years but I hated it so I kinda block it out from my memory. It sucked.” Kika laughed at your statement, inciting a smile from you. “Can you speak any French?” she asked, and you shook your head.

“Besides bonjour, au revoir, si vous plait and je suis (Y/N), I’m hopeless. If you ever want lessons, go to Lucy,” you replied, glancing at Lucy before nodding your head in her direction. Kika smiled and looked at Lucy as well, shooting her a charming grin before gazing back at you.

You liked her, a lot. She was nice and easy to get along with, she wasn’t super serious which was a big thing for you and she didn’t baby you any more than the others which was an even bigger thing. Kika was a very smart transfer for the club to have made, and you could see her becoming part of the family very soon. Her being close with Aitana was already a good start to that pursuit, and you knew it wouldn’t be long before the others warmed up to her.

“Are you any good at Catalan?” she asked you, and you hesitated before nodding, “I think so.” She sighed a breath of relief and lunged over to grab her own foam roller, placing it beneath her calf as she spoke, “Good, because I need a teacher for that. I’m not terrible, but I’m definitely not fluent yet. I tried to get Aitana to teach me but she talks too fast, it’s hard to keep up!”

With a lighthearted giggle, you nodded, moving the foam roller from your left leg to your right one. Kika continued rolling her left calf, bracing the floor for leverage and balance as she did so.

“How old are you, (Y/N)? Aita’s told me in the past but I can’t remember at all. You’re around my age, sí? 20, maybe 21 like me,” Kika spoke, shaking her head briefly at her own forgetfulness. You shrugged it off lightly, “Don’t worry about it. I’m– um, I’m actually 16,” you said nervously, smiling at the shocked expression on the woman’s face when you revealed your age.

“16 years old? Dios mío, and you’re a defender? What do they feed the kids at this club, gosh…” she muttered. Your cheeks flushed pink and your smile widened, tugging at your cheeks as you gazed down shyly, not a word coming out but your reaction spoke for itself. “Wait, so, where do you live? Do you go to school?” she questioned, intrigue capturing her facials expressions as she looked at you eagerly.

“My family don’t live in Barna, not anymore. I live with Irene most of the time but I just bounce around between apartments, and I attend classes at the academy,” you explained. “Oh, and I don’t think you’ll fully settle into the city unless you go to one of the cafés downtown. My favourite one is 5 minutes down the road, maybe we could go there after this?”

Kika was on board before you had even finished proposing your idea. After training, you pulled your hoodie over the top of your kit and left the grounds with your new friend, saying goodbye to everyone and explaining to them that you were steering her away from ‘guiri’ accusation territory.

You two walked down the streets, admiring the shops and cafés that were full of people, and on occasion, pointing out the Barça crests and flags displayed in the windows of buildings. You didn’t have a car yet, let alone a license, so you normally caught a ride with someone else, but it was nice to stroll down the streets of the city with Kika and introduce her to the place you called home. Eventually, your adventure came to a close when you found yourselves outside your favourite café of all time, before you walked into the entrance and took a seat right by the window.

The café was furnished with two-seat tables all around and a large display of everything you could imagine, from sandwiches, quiches and savoury muffins to decadent cakes and pastries. The comforting aroma of tea and other brews wafted through the air and only added to the warm atmosphere emitted from every corner of the room. You placed your bag down beside your chair, resting your hands on your thighs as Kika did a similar thing and relaxed her hands on the table. She looked around with an admiring gleam in her eyes before meeting your watchful gaze with an appreciative smile. “This is a lovely café, I can see why it’s your favourite.”

“Wait until you try the food, it’s even better,” you responded with a cheeky grin of your own, making the pair of you laugh simultaneously. “Do you want to go up and order first? I’ll stay here and watch our stuff and then I’ll order,” you said, gesturing for her to go up to the counter. She agreed, and you waited for a couple minutes until the woman returned to your table with her food; an iced tea, chocolate muffin and an apple danish. “I was going to order something healthy but I do not feel like vegetables right now,” she grimaced, placing her food down on the table slowly.

“I’ll be quick,” you said as you stood up and made your own way to the counter, ordering your own choice of food. You settled on an almond and icing sugar dusted croissant along with a cup of tea and a platter of mini donut bites. Once you received your order, you balanced your meal on your hands and carefully walked back to the table, talking slow steps until you reached Kika and placed it all down hurriedly, sinking into your seat once again. “Oh, yum,” she remarked, eyeing up your food before teasing you, “You’re making me regret getting this.”

You didn’t respond, because you knew from the moment she sunk her teeth into the chocolate muffin, her mind would change immediately, and you were correct — her eyes widened once she got a taste of the rich chocolatey goodness she possessed, and then they closed for a good minute as she savoured the taste. “Nevermind,” she mumbled between her mouthful, “You can keep it. This is th’ best thing ever!”

You looked at her with an ‘I knew it’ expression, which made her smile as she swallowed her bite and placed the muffin down atop its paper bag. You took a sip of your tea and then threw a donut bite in your mouth, offering one to Kika as you did so, who took one and thanked you with a nod of her head.

“So, you said you go to school at the academy. How is that?” she enquired. Unlike other teenagers who probably got sick and tired of being asked about how school is going, you actually didn’t mind. School was rarely a subject of interest for people when it came to your life, so it was kinda nice to know that someone was making the effort to know you outside of football. “It’s alright. Since the Champions League they’ve been letting me off easy with homework and stuff, so that’s pretty nice,” you answered with a shrug, “Some of the classes suck, like maths, but other than that it’s not too bad.”

“Any friends?” Kika continued, to which you nodded. “Well, I wouldn’t consider them friends, because I don’t talk to them outside of class since we’re all busy with our teams, but I’m okay with most of the people I take classes with. Some of them that play for the men’s first team, I’d call them my friends, but that’s it. I just hang out with the girls in our team,” you explained, “I love them all though, they’re the only friends I need.” Kika made an ‘oh’ expression to signify her understanding, and she nodded to further stress that.

“Yeah, I went to a regular school when I was still in school, and it’s much easier to take your classes in an academy like La Masia where everyone understands that your priorities are in football,” Kika said, taking another bite of her muffin. She paused for a minute to chew, and then she spoke again once she had swallowed it, “When you have friends that are always upset over you not having time to hang out because of football, it becomes a pain in the ass.”

You took a sip of your tea, wincing slightly as you adjusted to the piping hot temperature. “Yeah, I get that. I think we’re gonna get along really well, Kika,” you smiled warmly, invoking one on her own face. She was glad to have made a significant first impression, especially with you, the baby of the team. They undoubtedly loved you, and she was already on the path to joining them, enamoured with how friendly you were to her straight away.

The conversation strayed into talks about Portugal, and what it was like for Kika when she lived there. She told you about Benfica, her favourite restaurants in her hometown of Lisbon, her family and what made her want to play for Barça. You learnt a lot about her during that short café date, and in exchange, you told her more about your personal life and what you loved most; Vidić, slide tackles, your big sisters and Barcelona (the club and city). There were also the trivial things you loved that you decided to save for another day, like your love for Hay Day that she was sure to discover sooner or later.

You two shared the rest of the donut bites after you finished your muffin and croissant. She split her apple danish with you, which you gracefully accepted and thanked her for, and the conversation continued up until the last of the donut bites was gone and you were both stuffed.

“See why it’s my favourite café?” you said to the woman, and she nodded. “I’m definitely coming back, that chocolate muffin was delicious,” she groaned, scrunching her paper bag up. You both stood and grabbed your training bags, slinging them over your shoulders, and on the way out you tossed your rubbish into the bins, thanking the café owner. The pair of you strolled to Kika’s new apartment, and you learned that she was barely 5 minutes away from Irene’s home that was situated just around the corner: “That’s great!” she exclaimed happily as you two neared her home, “That means café dates can happen more often.”

Walking Kika up to the front door of her apartment, you peered inside and got a look of the cozy area. You were surprised at how furnished it was, because you were under the impression that she had only recently arrived in the city, but it didn’t seem that way anymore. “Your apartment is so nice…” you whispered, looking around a little bit more before pulling your head out, “I’ll see you tomorrow, thanks for coming with me!”

She embraced you in another warm hug before you left, smiling widely as she spoke, “I should be thanking you! It’ll be much easier at training tomorrow, knowing two people instead of just one.”

You waved goodbye to her and she returned the gesture before she shut the door. It didn’t take long you to be standing on Irene’s doorstep, unlocking the door with your key and slipping inside. She had known about your plans to go to the café with Kika, so she wasn’t alarmed when you came home particularly late, and instead she asked you about it.

“I love her, she’s great!” you lauded, flopping down beside her on the sofa, “I think we get along really well, and I can’t wait for her to meet Clau and Patri.”

“Oh no,” Irene groaned, shaking her head. “Do not introduce her into your trio of tontos,” she exclaimed. You shrugged, leaning back on the sofa, “I won’t, but the other two will probably do it on their own.”

She let out an exasperated sigh, looking at you with an eyebrow raised.

“Please don’t ban us from seeing each other again,” you begged, looking at her with a grimace. She shook her head, dismissing the idea. “No, because the last time we tried that, you three rode those jet skis at the Barceloneta.”

“Okay, that was not my idea, and you should blame Claudia for that… but it was really fun and it would be nice if you let us go again,” you said quietly, looking at her with an indicative expression.

“…Fine. I guess it would be okay, only if the rest of us come and we make it a beach day.”

“Deal!”

[septfair]

[t0xicn30n]

Will yall hate me if I said smash

AND HES TALL TOOO

Hello there Jesus of Nazareth

Okay jokes aside, this moment is extremely beautiful and I'm watching this on my own, I cannot explain the surreal feeling that courses through my veins. This show is the air I breathe, the water I drink and the soul inside me and this scene, however the hell you see jayce and viktor literally doesn't matter. Lovers, platonic soulmates, idc. This scene is beautiful, in any context and any universe. Thank you arcane production team.

[meazalykov]

the neighbor

kika nazareth x reader

summary: you wanted a new friend in a new city

your heart pounds a little as you balance the plate of banana loaf and protein cookies in one hand, pausing at your neighbor’s door. 

the idea of making a new friend in this massive city feels like exactly the kind of thing that could make it feel like home, but as soon as the door opens, you almost forget what you’re here for.  

standing in front of you is one of the most attractive women you’ve ever seen, her dark eyes curious, framed by waves of her dark hair. she’s dressed casually, but there’s something so effortlessly confident about her that it leaves you momentarily speechless. 

she blinks, looking from you to the plate in your hands.

“um, sorry– hi!” you finally manage, a little flustered but quickly recovering. 

“i just moved in next door, and i thought i’d bring over a little welcome gift.”

her face lights up with a genuine smile, and the warmth in her expression melts away any nerves you might have had. 

“oh my goodness, that’s so nice of you! please, come in.”

you step inside, glancing around. the space is cozy and bright, with a few unpacked boxes pushed to the side, indicating she’s just settling in too. 

there’s a faint, comforting scent of vanilla and lavender in the air, and the place already feels warm, even if she hasn’t completely unpacked yet. she sets the plate on the counter and gestures toward a stool at the kitchen island.

“have a seat! i’ll get us something to drink,” she says, moving toward the fridge with a natural ease.

you sit, watching as she pours a couple of glasses of what looks like strawberry lemonade. as she hands you a glass, you take it with a grateful smile. 

“thanks. i’m y/n, by the way.”

“kika,” she replies, her smile widening. 

“so, y/n, what brings you to barcelona?”

you’re about to take a sip but pause, trying to put it into words. 

“honestly? i’ve always had this– um– love? for the city. i visited a few years ago, and it just… clicked. i knew i wanted to live here someday. i finished university a year early, so i figured, why not now?”

she nods, looking impressed. 

“that’s brave. i think a lot of people have dreams about starting fresh somewhere, but actually making it happen? that’s a whole different level. what do you do?”

“i’m a nurse. i just got a position at a clinic nearby,” you explain, and kika’s eyes widen slightly.

“a nurse? that’s amazing!” she exclaims, and you feel your cheeks warm at her enthusiasm.

you laugh, shrugging modestly. 

“it’s rewarding but intense. i’ve seen it all, from broken bones to kids swallowing the craziest things like handfuls of sand or batteries.”

she grins, shaking her head. 

“that’s the coolest thing, though. not everyone can handle that kind of job.”

“thanks,” you say, surprised by how easily you can talk to her. 

“what about you? what do you do?”

there’s a little sparkle in her eyes as she shrugs, looking like she’s about to downplay it. 

“i play football.”

“seriously?” your eyes light up. 

“that’s amazing!”

kika chuckles, clearly not used to people reacting this way. 

“yep. i just joined the club here.”

“oh, so you’re with a local team?” you ask, not fully understanding.

she leans forward, her voice dropping slightly as she smiles. 

“barcelona. i play for fc barcelona.”

you blink, the words not quite sinking in right away. 

“wait. are you serious?”

“dead serious,” she replies, laughing softly at your reaction. she pulls out her phone and flips through some pictures before holding one up, showing herself in a barcelona training kit at what looks like her first training session.

“that’s… that’s incredible,” you say, genuinely in awe.

“i mean, i’m not the biggest soccer fan, but i know enough to understand how huge that is.”

she chuckles, looking almost shy. “not a big football fan? i need to take you to a game someday– but yeah it’s a big deal, i guess,” she shrugs. 

“i think being a nurse might actually be cooler.”

“absolutely not,” you say, laughing. 

“you’re living the dream for so many people. besides, i only moved here a week ago, and you already sound more established than i am.”

she shrugs, clearly a little bashful but appreciative of your compliments. 

“still, you’re doing something meaningful every day. you know, helping people.”

“i guess we both are, in a way,” you say, realizing you feel surprisingly comfortable around her. it’s only been a few minutes, yet you feel like you could stay here chatting with her all day.

you look around her apartment, noticing the soccer cleats on a shoe rack near the open closet door. they’re neatly placed next to a few pairs of sneakers, and you can’t help but think how fitting it is. 

almost every girl in europe played football if they weren’t buried in university work, you figured, so it hadn’t been a huge surprise to hear she played. still, learning she’s actually a professional? that’s something else.

“do you live alone here?” kika asks, breaking the silence.

you nod. 

“yeah, just me. it’s a bit quiet sometimes, but being in a big city… i don’t know. it just felt right.”

she leans forward, her eyes softening. 

“barcelona can be a little intimidating at first, but i think you’re going to love it here. especially if we can keep having hangouts like this.”

“same here,” you say, feeling a warm buzz of excitement. 

“i was kind of hoping i’d find someone cool in the building.”

she laughs, the sound filling the space with a kind of brightness. 

“well, looks like you got lucky then,” she teases, nudging your arm lightly.

before you know it, your phone buzzes with an alarm, snapping you out of the moment. it’s your reminder to start getting ready for the gym, and you glance down with a sigh, realizing you have to go.

“i’d better head out,” you say, standing up reluctantly.

kika follows you to the door, and just as you’re about to leave, she surprises you with a warm hug. it catches you off guard, but you hug her back, feeling a little spark in the embrace.

as you pull back, she looks at you with a hopeful smile. 

“hey, would you maybe want to grab lunch together? say, wednesday?”

“wednesday sounds perfect,” you say, feeling that warm buzz in your chest again. 

“and, you know, if you ever need anything, just knock on my door.”

“you got it,” she says, grinning. “see you wednesday.”

you give her arm a light squeeze, a soft “see you,” before stepping out into the hallway. 

masterlist

[apollo18]

Concept: the justice league finds out that Blaze and Satanus, the rulers of hell, are kids of their ‘even more of a boy scout than Superman’ coworker’s “boss” and think Shazam is the Christian God. They ask Billy really vague questions that lead Billy into confusing them even more and they become convinced that Marvel’s Wizard guy is God with a capital G and Marvel’s either an angel or the second coming of Jesus.

Meanwhile Shazam doesn’t even know what the Bible is and his knowledge about religion is so outdated he still thinks Solomon’s Judaism is new age and not worth his time to research such a ‘fad’ religion, but he knows humans will make a religion out of anything as well as bastardize existing ones and very well could have mixed up actual tales that involve him, his allies, and his children into some sort of melting pot of a religion.

So when someone finally asks Marvel outright if his “boss” is God, Billy goes ‘wait… old guy in white robes and sandals, with long white hair and a beard… lives in space… aka the “heavens”, whose a ghost(Holy Spirit), and knows everything(historama)??? I need to dig deeper into this hold on guys’ and goes off to ask the wizard.

So when Billy asks the Wizard he just tells Billy “well, my boy, if so many things match up, maybe it is so and the tales of myself and my champions grew so estranged from their origins or mixed in with other beliefs that it can explain the things that aren’t true to our reality.”

Then The Canonical Character To The DC Universe, Jesus of Nazareth, shows up.