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twstjam · 9 months

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Have you ever thought about swapping bodies with your blorbo???? me neither but when your lives are so DIFFERENT it seems like it would be so, so interesting. Basically: Soulmates???? au where you and Malleus occasionally swap bodies. Have you seen Your Name/Kimi No Nawa??? Yeah like That. Might write and post a part 2 in the morning. It is currently 2 am

You wake up in the most comfortable bed you've ever slept on in your life.

That should have been the first clue to tell you that something was Off, but as a college student who can only sleep on the best mattresses someone in crippling debt can afford (read: not at all) the unexpected luxury felt like Heaven and who would you be if you didn't indulge in it for as long as you could? Your exhausted bones begged for it anyway.

You really would have slept the entire day away if it weren't for the knock at your door. You grumble, irritated at being disturbed, but you know that you need to get up at some point anyway to scuffle down breakfast and get ready for morning classes. You should count your blessings that your roommate had bothered to try waking you up.

"Lord Malleus?" calls an unfamiliar, slightly muffled voice. "Have you awakened, my liege?"

You rub the sleepiness out of your eyes as you flop onto your back with a groan. You spread your arms out over the silky sheets of your bed like a disgruntled starfish.

Wait… silky?

You grope the surface of your sheets again. Confused, you open your eyes to look at what's beneath your hands, only to be even more confused at the canopy over your bed.

You blink, just to make sure you're not imagining it, and slowly sit up.

If you weren't feeling out of sorts already, you do now, now that you've gotten a good look at the bed— no, platform? Doesn't matter what you want to call it, the bed you're in is so much bigger than anyone has any right to own with way more space than you could possibly occupy. It was something you never thought you'd have the luxury of experiencing in your lifetime, let alone your dreams.

Dreams. Are you dreaming?

You're startled out of your thoughts when another knock comes from the door.

"Lord Malleus?" the voice sounds meeker this time. "Would you like your breakfast?"

You don't know where the Hell you are, let alone who the fuck "Lord Malleus" is, so for a long minute all you do is gape cluelessly at the— good God.— massive double doors of this… bedroom? Just like the bed and the door, the space you're in is much more expansive than it has any right to be.

You hear the shuffling of feet. Whoever is waiting out there is getting even more anxious the longer they go without a reply from "Lord Malleus".

You glance around just to make sure, but aside from the decor that makes you feel like you're living a Goth's dream you don't see anyone else in the room aside from you.

"Who—"

You jump, stunned. You try again.

"Who— Who's there?"

Startled, your hands fly to your throat, unsettled by the unfamiliar sound it makes when you open your mouth. Your voice had come out deep and smooth and, most notably, not your own.

Immediately afterwards you notice how long your nails are. Sharp, like claws, and polished black, poking into your skin where you hold your hands over your neck. The fingers they're on are long, slender, pale, and most definitely not yours.

Neither is the sleek black… nightgown? That hangs loosely from your body. Your eyes draw up from your hands, following your arm up to your (broad?!) shoulder before tracing the neckline that dips low, exposing a toned chest that you are very, very sure has never belonged to you.

Your hands fly to your face and upon the unfamiliar contours of defined cheekbones and a strong jaw, you scramble out of the bed— Getting tangled in the sheets that are equally as massive as the bed as you do— and stumble as you're thrown off by how unexpectedly far the floor is. You grab the bedpost for support as you regain your bearings before waddling like a newborn foal on unsteady long legs.

Is it just you, or are you suddenly much, much taller?!

Alright, it most definitely isn't just you if your hands and voice are anything to go by, and if that didn't convince you, the long, silky black hair that falls over your shoulders and frames your face should and— holy shit why is your head so heavy. If you don't find a mirror right this second—

"I… I have come to bring you your breakfast, your highness," squeaks the person outside the door as you make your way across the room. Somehow, you're still able to hear them incredibly clearly despite your increasing distance from the door.

You almost trip over your feet getting to the full-length mirror in the room, but when you finally actually see yourself, you might as well have fallen anyway for how violent the air is knocked out of you at the sight of your reflection.

Or… not your reflection. At least you don't think???

You blink. Blink again, and the stranger's reflection gapes at you with the exact amount of bewilderment that you feel.

You're looking at a mirror. That's your reflection. You wave your hands and the image repeats the movement seamlessy but, you're pretty sure though, positive, that you're not a 7 feet tall, inhumanly gorgeous horned man.

Your reflection and your body don't care what you think though, and the green-eyed stranger in the mirror stares back at you in confused horror.

#twisted wonderland #malleus draconia #malleyuu #twst malleus #twst mc #twst yuu #prefect yuu #ramshackle prefect #malleus draconia x yuu #malleus draconia x reader #malleus draconia x mc #malleus draconia x you #matcha nonsense #matcha writes a bit

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correlance · 2 months

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Art of Alastor as a Boucle Unicorn with deer features that I commissioned back in 2020 from my best friend, Dana Veitinger, a professional artist, illustrator, and animator. Dana and I met years ago through HARPG (Horse Art Roleplaying Game) on DeviantART.

See below the cut for a full explanation on "Boucle Alastor", as well as more related art and design pieces by Dana V. and other artists.

Some background: From 2017 to 2022-2023, I was highly active in Boucle Unicorns, a fantasy equine D&D art and pen-and-paper roleplaying game. In the tradition of "ponifying" characters, as seen with the TV show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (MLP: FiM), people who participated in Boucles created unicorn OCs, as well as variations of characters from other IPs in unicorn form. The group also revolves around breeding; specifically, using a breeding roller that took years for the group to create that auto-randomizes breeding rolls.

Now, normally, Boucle Unicorns look like your standard fantasy unicorns, with various mutations and variations that you could choose, such as lion manes, gemstone horns, etc. I initially joined the group in April 2017 due to the group offering a limited-edition Lapin mane, or bunny-ears-and-tail, for the month of Easter. However, in August 2017, the group introduced one of the biggest changes to the breed: Corrupted, a super-rare deformity that would turn your Boucle Unicorn into an eldritch abomination, or a "cursed" version, of itself.

To this end, one of the administrators, Tigglesaurus, introduced the first Corrupted: Doom, based on Sleipnir from Norse mythology. In order to get your own Corrupted, you had to breed a normal mare to Doom, and hope that, through chance, the breeding roller would roll for the foal to inherit the Corrupted deformity; that is, of course, if the breeding was successful. As many group users started breeding to Doom, the group made it harder to breed Corrupted foals, as the deformity was supposed to be rare. The rules were changed to this:

"Corruption is an incredibly rare group of birth defects, and their ways of expressing is largely unknown. It seem to warp the bodies and sometimes the minds of the Boucles, and while they do not have special magic types or abilities some seem to be prone to their magic backfiring. A Corrupted Boucle will always reflect the phenotype it has; for example, a Corrupted Muffet would have a spider theme! If an Ancients' Blessing [from the gods] is bestowed upon a Corrupted Boucle, the Corrupted [curse] is removed!"

Breeding Corrupteds:

All Boucles that inherit Corruption also roll for an extra defect, as well as any others inherited from the parents (i.e. blind, deaf, etc.).

Only 50% of breedings to normal Boucles succeed, as Corrupted Boucles quite often scare away their partners [due to their fearsome appearances], or are not very fertile.

Breeding one Corrupted to another Corrupted has a 75% rate of a successful breeding.

Even if the breeding is successful between a Corrupted and a non-Corrupted, and a foal is produced, there is still only a 25% chance that they also inherit Corruption (50% chance if both parents are Corrupted).

If you breed a Blessed Boucle to a Corrupted Boucle, and it inherits both, the Blessing will cancel out ('heal') the corruption, [as the Boucle deities hate Corruption, and Corrupted Boucles].

I helped my friend, Dana, breed one of the first successful Corrupted offspring from Doom: Pennywise, based on Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King's IT. However, when the Hazbin Hotel pilot episode came out on YouTube on 28 October 2019, I decided that I wanted to try my hand at breeding Alastor the Radio Demon as a Corrupted Boucle into the Boucle Unicorns roleplaying game.

Now, for those familiar with Boucle Unicorns, and how their breeding roller works, this was an exceedingly difficult task, due to how inheritance works in the game. For one, the mutations needed to create "Boucle Alastor" could not simply be ported as a starter Boucle Unicorn into the game; you had to specifically breed a certain combination of mutations into a foal to get the result you desired. This means having to submit a breeding, and hoping that the "odds were ever in your favor" of you rolling all of the mutations you want.

On top of this, in order to breed a Corrupted foal, you had to breed a Corrupted Boucle to a normal Boucle, and hope that, one, the breeding didn't fail outright (50/50 odds of success/fail); two, that the breeding rolled each mutation that you wanted (50% chance of each for heterozygous); and three, that you also rolled the 25% chance of the foal inheriting the Corrupted defect from their parent.

Breeding Alastor into the game itself also took a lot of careful planning, and selecting a sire and dam who could pass the desired trait(s) to produce Alastor's genotype and phenotype. When I say that summoning Lucifer himself through a demonic summoning ritual would've probably been easier, I mean it. I was lucky in the sire department; Dana, who owned Pennywise, gave me unlimited breedings to him, as I had helped her breed Pennywise into the game successfully in the first place. However, finding a dam was harder.

For one, one of the mutations needed to create Alastor in the game was "Extended Fawn Rayé", a gene that gave a Boucle foal deer-like features, such as antlers, a deer tail, etc. However, as Extended Fawn Rayé was a limited-edition Christmas mutation, I had to find a mare with the gene who I could breed to Pennywise to combine it with Corrupted. I eventually got two breedings to Tropdetache, a mare with the Extended Fawn Rayé gene, as well as "Sabertooth Félin", an additional gene that could give a foal sabretooth cat-like fangs.

All in all, it took months to organize, plan, and roll the breeding. A few months after the pilot episode aired in October 2019, I finally sent in the breeding between Pennywise and Tropdetache in January 2020. Why January 2020? Well, you had to breed during the month of January in order to get a red birthstone for the foal. Since I just had two breedings to Tropdetache, I had to hope and pray that the randomized roller gave me the genes that I needed to breed Alastor.

There were low odds of success, but the breeding, much to my surprise, worked...mostly. The breeding rolled in the 50% range for "success" (i.e. produced a foal), and I rolled an amazing 50% "success" for each of these genes: "Vampire (1) Noir Merle (2) Winternight Nuage (3) Jeté (4) Féerie (5) Haunted Joker (6) Plumes (7) Extended Fawn Rayé (8) Sabretooth Félin (9)". That's nine genes in total, with about a 50% success roll on each (1 in 512 probability).

There was just one big, glaring problem: The foal didn't inherit the Corrupted gene from Pennywise (25% odds, so lower than 50%), which was one of the main points of the breeding to begin with. However, I was able to find a loophole: By bestowing an Ancient's Blessing of Blood on the foal through another in-game reward, I could have the foal mimic Corrupted, without it actually being Corrupted. Thus, "Alastor the Boucle Unicorn" was born in the game.

Note that some genes were technically "Christmas", but because the foal also inherited Vampire and the Ancients' Blessing of Blood, I could "twist" the Christmas genes to be more Halloween-ish. For example, "Winternight Nuage" became a blood moon here instead.

From October 2019 to September 2020, when Alastor was finally bred, designed, and referenced, the entire process took about a year. Dana and I spent another few years levelling up Alastor in the game.

Boucle Alastor's magical abilities, which had to be earned in-game, with Alastor being a disciple of Sanguis, the Deity of Blood:

Fire Magic (ability to produce and control fire, from god Ignis)

Blood Magic (ability to control blood, from god Sanguis)

Dark Magic (power over shadows and darkness, from god Nox)

Electricity Magic (ability to control electricity, from god Fulmen)

Time Magic (ability to control time and flow, from god Tempus)

Telepathy Magic (ability to read minds, from god Animo)

Creator Magic (ability to create objects, from god Aedifex)

Official group description for Sanguis:

Not only did Boucle Alastor become even more overpowered than canon Alastor ended up, but Boucle Alastor became a god himself. A lesser one, to be sure, but still a powerful being blessed by the gods.

In turn, Alastor also created his own slew of offspring, including the lovely Anenome, designed by the artist Memuii, also blood-themed:

Eventually, since Dana and I both ship Charlie/Alastor (Charlastor), I was able to breed a mate for Alastor in the game: "Princess of Hell". Ironically, Boucle Charlie did inherit the Corrupted gene from her father, so you have a Blessed Boucle, favored by the higher gods, paired with a Corrupted Boucle, with the gods hating Corrupteds.

There is another small irony: Charlie is taller than Alastor, officially speaking, per the randomized official rolls. Alastor is 16 hands high at the shoulder, whereas Charlie is 17-18 hands high, more like Lilith.

I'll edit or reply to this post later with Dana's art of Boucle Charlie.

#alastor #hazbin alastor #alastor hazbin hotel #alastor hazbin #radio demon #boucle unicorns #d&d art #dnd #dungeons and dragons #rpg art

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sichore · 8 months

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[I haven't written in years and bam - 1200 words off the dome of whatever idea I've got rattling around.

Pickles goes to the ocean.]

As usual, Pickles is pulled from sleep by a dull throb in his head and in his groin. Try as he might to ignore it, he can't ignore instinct: he has to piss.

With a groan, he opens his eyes and stumbles from the beach chair and over various passed out bodies strewn across the sand to find some place to empty his bladder. Which ends up being some decor half destroyed by whatever the guys were up to a few hours ago. Whatever.

It's the dead of night. All he can make out is the blue of the sand, and the black of the sea beyond. If it wasn't for the crashing waves, he'd think he was looking out into the abyss.

The abyss, and - he blinks a few times, his squinting, blurry vision focusing on a figure in the ocean.

That's -

"Oh! Hey! Heyyyyyy!"

His need to go out there overrides the seed of panic in his gut, as he sprints across the beach with about as much grace as a newborn foal taking its first steps. Stumbling, tripping, he hardly falters once he breaks water, wading until he reaches them.

The [scribe].

No, wait, that's what Nathan keeps calling her, when she's not a journalist or whatever. Right. She's an art teacher. Toki's tutor. [Painter].

… why was her name not coming to mind? Whatever. Not important, clearly.

"Hey, what're you - you, uh, okay out here?"

"Hey," she greets him, casual as ever, like she's not standing in the middle of the goddamn ocean. "I'm all right. No freaking out or deep, soul-wrenching breakdown this time."

She's just standing there, looking out at fuck knows what - everything to the horizon and back is complete darkness. Onyx. Ebony. Blacker than the blackest black times infinity.

She turns her head to look at him finally, her round glasses flashing with the movement. Her lips move and - he's not sure any sound comes out. Her mouth doesn't form his name and yet he recognizes it all the same, spoken with a familiarity and acceptance that feels dangerously close to affection. Pickles.

"I think it's happening," she says, like it's the most obvious announcement in the world.

"Uh… dude, there's nothing going on," Pickles replies, feeling sick as he says it.

"Yeah you do. You know, this. Us. Whatever we're supposed to do." She shrugs, and Pickles realizes he hasn't stopped looking her over. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Her dark curls as usual are pulled up and spilling over and around her face, like she hasn't been to bed. Starlight catches on her brown skin, shimmering, silver, then gold. The corner of her full lips quirks - she's trying not to laugh.

"Cut that out. Look."

He Looks.

Stars glimmer and shine beneath their bare feet. Pickles wriggles his toes and he swears that a nebula swells in response. They're everywhere. Galaxies unfurl and sway in the cosmic breeze and stars twinkle and shine and burn and die. He can't look away from the radiant giant of a far off planet, long dead. There's an explosion frozen in time, blooming and swirling cosmic dust blessing the birth of a new star that cries out, wailing, ringing -

He hears…

He hears -

"Ohhh shit…"

He grasps her shoulder; she's freezing, scorching under his grip. His eyes dart around even though he doesn't see so much as feel Them.

He's not high enough for this shit and tonight they're fucking loud, and he can't ignore them, can't get away, can't -

"It's okay." Pickles can't tell if she's talking to him or not. She's holding herself, nails digging into her arms, and without the glasses her brown eyes are - are black, too. Fuck. "I-it's okay."

"Is it?!" Pickles shrieks. "How can you be so calm with this - this cosmic mumbo jumbo bullshit going on? Oh my god. Oh my god, I - I need a drink. Fuck." His hand shakes as it runs through his dreads, thinking this is the worst time to have a panic attack where he can't hide from Their Song, dick and balls out for the world to see like this is some hentai -

"We're gonna be okay." She's speaking, her voice resonating into infinity. Huh. He didn't think the universe would have great acoustics. "We're - what? What do you know about hentai?"

"How would I not know about it?"

"You barely use the computer!"

"Wh - And? I've been around! I've seen old tapes and shit!"

"I just thought it was a bit past your time-"

"Yer not that much younger than me!"

"Oh, my god. Whatever. That's beside the point." She waves her hands and finally turns to face him, and for a moment, he's distracted from the inky black dancing in her eyes.

"... Huh, so it's two snakes on yer tits-"

"Pickles." She's claps her hands before her face and takes a deep breath, like she's praying for the strength to deal with his bullshit. She wouldn't be the first one, he thinks bitterly. "Stop that. Focus. I want to be here."

"Do you really? And how come you can hear me but I can't hear you? That ain't fair!"

"I don't know, you're loud as hell here and I can't turn it off. Look!" Her hands frame his face suddenly, more of a double-slap than a caress. Pickles stills.

Everything goes quiet, blessedly so, and calm washes over him. It's not dreadful this time. There's the universe, and there's him. Breathing in time with the rise and fall of the Great Breath.

"Oh, hey, that's…. That's kinda nice."

"Yeah," she agrees, and despite the nameless dread lapping at his mind he finds himself staring at her face. Her hair loose and waving in the current. Eyes rich like fine whiskey and summer afternoons. Nose wide and nostrils flaring as she stifles another laugh, but she's smiling. Like really smiling, not awkward and forced. Their secret. He promises not to tell. "Freaky, but nice."

"So, uh, now what?"

"I dunno. We listen, then… do what we do best? What we have to do. Or something."

"Like what, pop a Perc, smoke a bowl? Freaky sex?"

"I - what? No. What? I mean, uh, another time, maybe. No, like, there's something bigger going on."

"Uh huh." He's not sure when he starts holding her hands, but here he is. Idly rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. "Is… is this the end?"

"No." She shakes her head, which is something to witness underwater. Stars fall from her curls - or embers. "It's the beginning. Just don't mind the tentacles."

"Yeeeeah, I dunno about that."

"And don't look down."

Of course, he looks down. The last place he needs to look when he feels Their tendrils beckoning, slipping down his spine - and himself reaching in turn, with his brain. Or something. Is his mind literally expanding? Shit.

There's heat coming from somewhere. Everywhere. A distant flame that he knows is an inferno. And beneath his feet, a planet looms. He stands above it as a moon, a satellite, space debris and sky hawk all at once. He sees clouds form and waves churn. He feels the Deep, reaching up to call him home.

Pickles' stomach drops as he plummets.

#metalocalypse #mtl oc #pickles the drummer #my writing #i have never done this formatting on mobile so uh good luck #and its not about pee!!!

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apenitentialprayer · 1 month

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Left: detail of an icon of Jesus's Palm Sunday Procession. Right: detail of a 1791 replication of a bas relief of the Triumph of Titus

[T]his demonstration harbored a dangerous message that would lead to Jesus's public execution by the end of the week. The way Jesus entered Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover week was a strategically organized demonstration. Jesus's entire ministry was headed toward Jerusalem. Every time he had to leave a large crowd of sick people begging to be healed, it was because his journey was aimed toward Jerusalem. Word of Jesus's message had already spread to Jews in Jerusalem, and they were prepared to participate in these planned demonstrations. Mark 11 tells us that when Jesus and his disciples were approaching Jerusalem, he told two of his disciples, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.'" We don't know who was assigned to tie up the colt at the entrance, but taking the colt communicated to the crowds waiting in Jerusalem that Jesus was about to arrive. From the Mount of Olives, Jesus entered through the east entrance of Jerusalem on the colt while a crowd surrounded him, preparing the road for Jesus by spreading their cloaks and "leafy branches that they had cut in the fields" on the ground. And they shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" This deliberate sequence of actions was a symbolic reenactment of the prophecy of Zechariah. Zechariah 9:9 says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey." Matthew even directly quotes the verse in his account. This was a purposefully timed demonstration that would also remind people of the next verse in Zechariah 9: "He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." Although the gospel accounts do not report this detail, we know that the Roman governor Pontius Pilate arrived in Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passover Week as well. First-century Jewish historian Josephus wrote that during every Passover, Pontius Pilate and a legion of Roman soldiers spent the week in Jerusalem because of an increased chance of an uprising as Jews celebrated the event of the Exodus. The Romans wanted to make sure nobody got any dangerous ideas as they recounted God's attack on Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites. So as Jesus humbly entered Jerusalem from the east on a donkey, surrounded by a crowd of peasants and leafy branches, Pontius Pilate was likely entering Jerusalem from the west on a chariot led by a war horse, surrounded by a legion of Roman soldiers with armor and deadly weaponry. In their book on Jesus's last week in Jerusalem, John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg point out, "What we often call Jesus's triumphal entry was actually an anti-imperial, anti-triumphal one, a deliberate lampoon of the conquering emperor entering a city on horseback through gates open in abject submission. The symbolism is packed with meaning for the lives of those in the crowd surrounding Jesus. This demonstration exposed two warring kingdoms: the kingdom of Rome, with the power and weapons on their side, and the kingdom of God with the people on their side, desperate for liberation.

Damon Garcia (The God Who Riots: Taking Back the Radical Jesus, pages 146-148). Bolded emphases added.

#Christianity #Jesus Christ #Kingdom of God #The World #Palm Sunday #peace #war #imperialism #Pontius Pilate #symbolism #Gospel of Mark #Book of Zechariah

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dbcjr3 · 18 days

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youtube

Why is Palm Sunday significant? Well, a couple of big reasons. First, Jesus comes to Jerusalem as King. But it was HOW He came that really made a difference:

Matthew 21:1 “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This was miraculous because why would a man release his property, his means of making a living, to a complete stranger based on this? But let’s read on and it gets better!

4 “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion,

‘See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

———-

Jesus came in humility but was received as royalty. The prophet Isaiah described Him 700 years before as a suffering Servant and He fulfilled that prophecy word for word.

While Jesus was the triumphant King he came humbly on a donkey. Paul described the humility of Christ this way:

Philippians 2:8 NIV “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

But verse 6 deals with the humility “…rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

In other words He not only lowered Himself from God-status to human, He was a serving human.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

————

The original Greek language for “made himself nothing “is more literally translated “ poured Himself out”.

Paul sees humility as a fundamental to spirituality. Peter and James said, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Anything we do outside of grace, well, it’s not effective!

But let’s look at fulfillment of the Word. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies in Isaiah, 700 years before Christ was born; in Zechariah 600 years, and in several other prophetic scriptures. Why is that important? Isaiah put it this way:

55:11 NIV “...so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Jesus demonstrated you can count on what He says!

#prophecy #prophet #jesus #jesus christ #faith in jesus #bible scripture #bible verse #bible prophecy #fulfillment #Youtube

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 25 days

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The Triumphal Entry

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.

A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest!”

When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them. But the chief priests and scribes were indignant when they saw the wonders He performed and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked.

“Yes,” Jesus answered. “Have you never read:

‘From the mouths of children and infants

You have ordained praise’?”

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where He spent the night.

In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.

When the disciples saw this, they marveled and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”

“I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?”

They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered, “We do not know.”

And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

But what do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

‘I will not,’ he replied. But later he changed his mind and went.

Then the man went to the second son and told him the same thing.

‘I will, sir,’ he said. But he did not go.

Which of the two did the will of his father?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in a righteous way and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.

When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit. But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them.

Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?”

“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them. Although they wanted to arrest Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet. — Matthew 21 | The Reader’s Bible (BRB) The Reader’s Bible © 2020 by Bible Hub and Berean Bible. All rights Reserved. Cross References: Genesis 4:24; Exodus 30:12; Genesis 49:11; Leviticus 1:14; Ruth 1:19; 2 Samuel 14:7; 2 Kings 9:13; Psalm 8:2; Psalm 118:22; Psalm 118:26; Proverbs 26:5; Song of Solomon 8:11; Isaiah 5:1-2; Isaiah 5:3; Isaiah 8:14; Isaiah 28:13; Isaiah 28:16; Isaiah 56:7; Isaiah 62:11; Jeremiah 7:11; Jeremiah 8:13; Jeremiah 26:8; Jeremiah 37:15; Matthew 4:28; Matthew 7:7; Matthew 8:10-11; Matthew 9:27; Matthew 11:9; Matthew 11:25; Matthew 13:3; Matthew 16:7; Matthew 17:20; Matthew 20:24; Matthew 20:34; Matthew 22:4; Matthew 26:6; Matthew 26:55; Mark 11:1; Mark 11:7-8; Mark 11:12; Mark 11:20; Mark 11:23; Mark 11:27; Mark 12:1-2; Luke 20:5; Luke 20:16; John 7:30; 1 John 3:22

#Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem #Jesus Cleanses the Temple #Jesus curses the fig tree #The Authority of Jesus Questioned #the Parable of the Two sons #The Parable of the Wicked Tenants #Matthew 21 #Gospel of Matthew #New Testament #BRB #The Reader's Bible #Bible Hub #Berean Bible

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pin-striped-soup · 1 month

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Palm Sunday: Christ’s Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem

The Sunday before Easter is what the Christian world traditionally calls Palm Sunday. This day commemorates Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem the Sunday before His death.

Before entering Jerusalem for the final time, Jesus asked two of His disciples to bring Him a donkey’s foal, also known as a colt (see Matthew 21:1–7). In fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding the colt (see Zechariah 9:9). Many people came to greet Jesus and covered His path with palm leaves, flowering branches and cloth. Recognizing Him as their King, they shouted praises such as “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 19:38) and “Hosanna to the Son of David” (Matthew 21:9).

Though many of Jesus’s followers thought He would save them from Roman oppression, He came to earth for a more eternal purpose — to save all humankind from sin and death. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all God’s children “may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel”

It is fitting that during the week from Palm Sunday to Easter morning we turn our thoughts to Jesus Christ, the source of light, life and love. The multitudes in Jerusalem may have seen Him as a great king who would give them freedom from political oppression. But in reality He gave much more than that. He gave us His gospel, a pearl beyond price, the grand key of knowledge that, once understood and applied, unlocks a life of happiness, peace and fulfillment. …

“Let us remember on this Palm Sunday, during this Easter season, and always that the restored gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has the power to fill any emptiness, heal any wound, and bridge any vale of sorrow. It is the way of hope, faith, and trust in the Lord” ( Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Way of the Disciple” 2009)

#palm sunday #jesus christ #Easter Week

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renee-writer · 6 months

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Feelings Chapter 28

AO3

Julia and Fergus are weaned. Two now, they run after their cousins and papa. Jamie teaches Fergus and Julia to ride, on a docile pony at first. Claire smiles as she watches them, sitting so proud, as their papa leads them around.

They are inseparable for most of their childhood. Jamie teaches his daughter all he teaches his son. Claire does the same. Fergus learns to bake and sew. Both children taught basic medical skills. When they are ten, those skills come in handy.

After nearly a decade, Claire falls pregnant again. It shocks the entire household. Julia is excited. After seeing her auntie have baby after baby, she is finally getting a baby brother or sister.

“Technically Julia, Fergus is your baby brother. He is three months younger.”

“It isn’t the same mama.” Jenny just had young Ian and her child was jealous of Maggie, who plays the role of a second mam to him.

Both children and her ever attentive husband, are attentive to her. Once she reaches her third trimester, they stay close to her side.

It happens early one morning. Jamie left before dawn, to see to a calving. Julia helps her dress. Right in the middle, her waters break. They both stare at the growing puddle.

“Mama?”

“Your brother or sister is on the way.” She calmly says even as a pain, way to strong for early labor, rips through her, “Go fetch your Auntie.”

She nods and runs out the room. Claire grabs one of the bed post, trying not to scream and disrupt the early morning stillness.

Fergus enters, having run into his sister in the hall. When he sees his mama, a jolt of fear runs through him before the need for calm, steadies him.

He doesn’t say a word. Putting the kettle over the low fire, he thinks of what is next. The week before, he assisted papa in the birth of a foal. It isn’t the same but…

“Mama, is the baby coming?” he isn’t asking if she is in labor, it is easy to see that she is. No, he is asking if the baby is coming now.

Lord is her son smart!

“Yes, it is.”

Julia runs back in, breathless. “Auntie is feeding young Ian.” She reports, “and will be here after.”

Fergus shakes his head. “Julia, the bairn is coming now.”

She turns white as a sheet. “Children, I can….” Another massive pain tips through her, “bloody hell!”

“What do we do?” Julia asks.

“The baby must be guided out.” He recalls the feel of new life in his hands. Then his papa was right there by him. Now, “God will show us.”

That calms his sister some. “We need hot water to sterilize our hands.”

“The kettle is on.” He nods to it. His hands move over his mama’s bump. He feels the hard head low.

They sterilize their hands. Claire closes her eyes, trying to pray through the pain. Her children are about to help deliver their sibling! God help them all.

It is coming. The pressure builds to unbearable levels. Breathing, praying, pushing.

Julia, bless her, kneels down between her legs. “Oh, it has Fergus’ hair.” She breaths.

Fergus joins her. He is just in time as the newest Fraser makes it’s inpatient way out. His hands move to guide, as he did with the foal. The head glides into his hands. He sees the wee face and almost lets go.

Julia is there. She covers his hands with her own. They both deliver the baby. Head, shoulders, and they are holding their brand new brother.

This is when Jenny walks in.

#my writing #outlander fanfic #feelings #chapter 28 #jamie and claire #cannon divergence #outlander fandom

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roman-catholic-mass-readings · 10 months

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9th July >> Mass Readings (USA)

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green: A (1))

First Reading Zechariah 9:9–10 See, your king comes to you humbly.Thus says the LORD:

Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; the warrior’s bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 145:1–2, 8–9, 10–11, 13–14