It kind of bugs me when religious people (not just Christians) will thank their deity for things done by mortal man.
When I volunteer as a first aider at church events I’ve noticed people thank God for any first aid I administer first, or thank him for sending me. Typically I hold my tongue and don’t tell them in an atheist, I doubt that would go over well. I just wish that in addition to thanking their lord on their knees that they’d thank those who act for the good of the community with their hands as well.
Yeah, thanking the person too is a good thing. Sometimes, people get "so heavenly minded that they do no worldly good." ...Not sure how you're relating this though? In the thing with my dad, the doctors had given up. They were literally suggesting we give up. I prayed, God answered, because that's when dad woke up. The docs don't get that one.
Now, the one who worked on him when he first went in the hospital in 2019? Her, I appreciate, and I did thank her. I even named a character after her. :)
As for you being atheist- I've known this, and I've known that Imp' said she was a practicing witch. I love you both, even if I don't agree with your beliefs or lack thereof. I fully support a person's right to choose their own beliefs, and choose their own eternity, because I believe that God gave us free will so that we could do that.
I talk about my beliefs openly when I feel the need, because a) I think we're supposed to, b) it doesn't hurt anyone that I do so, and c) atheists and those of other faiths have no problem sharing their beliefs, so fair's fair.
I usually talk about it in a manner like this blog. That is: I'm working out these things for myself. You can read them or don't. If it brings you to a point of knowing God, wonderful. If you want to talk to me about that? Also wonderful. I try not to push it directly to others in a confrontational manner- I don't think that's right. That said...
Since you brought it up, I think the atheist needs God in their life. God gave us free will, yes, but His desire is for us to use that free will to choose to have relationship with Him. The Word says it is literally what we were made for. I can prove that Jesus existed, and I can prove that He performed His miracles according to what a historian would call proof. What I cannot prove is the Holy Spirit. I cannot explain Him. That's one you have to experience for yourself, and that only comes by believing and faith. Sometimes by prayer, sometimes by His own methods.
When it comes up as it has here, I will tell you: Jesus was sent from God to die for our sins- mine, and yours, and everyone else's. He sent the Holy Spirit as a Comforter and Counsellor, and through the Holy Spirit, and in Jesus' Name, we come to the Father. And that is the end goal for all of us. Not everyone will reach that goal in this life, but at Judgment Day, we will all meet Him. I greatly desire that you know Him, rather than deny Him.
And Sun', I tell you all this because we've known each other on here for a while now, and I believe you can tolerate a different view. Even if you can't, I feel that I have to share what I believe to be the truth when it comes up. Here, it came up. If it brings God into your life, again: wonderful. If not, I still love you, man. Truly. Having you here is a very comforting thing. Cheers. :)
" 'This is Blue Paris.' That's the translation of 'C'est Paris Bleu' - a sign held by a young Parisian woman standing at the perimiter of The Parisian Impact zone. 'S'il te plaît, je veux partir' just below it in smaller letters: 'Please, I want to leave.'
"Only three days ago- some eleven years after The Great Impact of Indigo City- there has been a remarkably similar incident just behind me in Paris, France. The blue gas that was rumored to have flooded the streets of Indigo City in 2013 is clearly evident here, because it's trapped inside a giant energy dome - a force field that is simply being called The Paris Dome- and it has yet to dissipate.
...sheared through the Eiffel Tower...
"Early reports from Interpol indicate that after The Great Impact, France, like other countries all around the world, began research and development on ways to protect its major cities against alien attack, even though that has never been confirmed about Indigo. The crash that happened here sheared through the Eiffel Tower without warning, and apparently struck the French research facility, activating the Dome by accident. The blue gas, with everyone who was in Paris at the time, is trapped inside.
"Attempts to communicate with those inside the Dome have been troubled. The Dome emits a constant, low-pitched hum, somewhat like the sound you'd hear when standing under electric power lines, and it has both soundproofed the city, and cut off all forms of electronic communication between Paris and the outside world.
Energy dome concept art.
"That's what has brought people to the perimiter of the Dome with signs. It has been the only way to talk to people on the other side. The girl with the sign- who would not identify herself, but the world has dubbed Paris Blue- was among the first to the Dome's edge where she was greeted by press, and instant fame.
"So far, no one has been in a hurry to find a way to disable the Dome, as by Day Two of The Paris Dome Crisis, crowds of people seemingly disfigured by the gas flooded the Paris streets, and even attacked the walls of the Dome itself. Paris Blue disappeared in the confusion, and has not been seen since. Her sign lies trampled in the dirt after the stampede of zombie-like people.
I'm Neva Farr.
"The world is still scrambling to understand what is going on inside the Paris Dome, as the lockdown of Indigo City has never been lifted. There are rumors of a special government agency that was formed to handle the unique problems in Indigo being mobilized to come to Paris. We only know its initials at the moment: C.B.T.F. 'T.F.' is being assumed as 'Task Force.' No one is sure what the 'C.B.' stands for, although speculation abounds.
"We will continue to cover The Paris Dome Crisis with updates as they become available. For the French desk of Vital News Now, I'm Nevar Farr."
Indigo City, Headquarters of the Carrier Blight Task Force:
I'm the new director of the CBTF.
"Director... who are you?" asks Agent Rhonda Carter as she enters the director's office.
"You were on the right track," says the man at the desk, closing a file. "Name's Fred Cho. I'm the new director of the CBTF."
" 'New?' What happened to Director--"
"--Replaced," Cho says firmly. "Senator Rusche didn't like the way the Carriers were handled in 2017, and cleaned house of the upper ranks. Just came down today. Apparently, he was just about to clear the red tape for it in 2020 when the pandemic hit, and it was delayed until now."
"Never thought I'd be glad to not get that promotion," says Carter.
"About that. I need someone to head up the unit going to Paris. Your jacket's impressive," he says, pointing at the file he had closed when she came in. "You want the job?"
"I'm your woman, sir," she says with a salute.
Cho grunts. "I'm happily married, Carter."
Carter only smirks.
"Pick your team, get 'em scrambled, and have their names on my desk by morning. You leave by 1800 tomorrow. Paris would have blown already if it weren't for that dome."
Her file said she's ambitious.
"Yes, sir. Anything else?"
"That's it," says Cho. As Carter turns to leave he adds, "Oh, by the way, you're a captain now."
Carter's head snaps around at that. She smiles like she can taste the power. "Yes, sir," and she leaves the office.
Cho looks towards the door for a few seconds after she's gone, then shakes his head as he picks up another dossier. With a chuckle, he says, "Her file said she's ambitious. Fred, old boy, I hope you haven't created a monster."
35th floor of Tour First, Paris, France:
And then... those things.
I don't know what happened to our city, but it is in total chaos. There was the crash. Then the dome. Then the gas. The press on the other side of the dome. And then... those things. Are they really zombies? When they attacked, I panicked. I threw my arms up to shield myself, and then... nothing happened. I opened my eyes, and they were walking right through me! I backed up, trying to get away, and found my back up against the dome.
I panicked again, and found myself somewhere else. There were more of those monsters. A couple of them grabbed me, and tried to bite my arms. I screamed, and their teeth broke on my arm. There wasn't a scratch! I punched one, and its head exploded! I'm pretty strong now. That freaked me out, and I was somewhere else again.
Tour First
I was in an open square, and there were more of them coming. I looked around, and I spotted Tour First. I wished I was there, and then I was. I've been here ever since. I had to clear the floor of some of these monsters, but I managed well enough. There are some normal people here- they helped. They fought with whatever was at hand. Some of them died.
When it was all done, we sat chairs in front of the elevator doors to keep them open, so they wouldn't bring more of those things here. We used the emergency stop buttons at first, but that set off the alarm bells, and it was maddening. Luckily, someone with a key for it was on this floor, so we were able to turn them off.
We're holing up here for the time being, trying to figure out what's going on. We can't get internet. Can't get calls out of the city. People are panicking all over. I've been seeing different colored bright flashes all over Paris. I guess there are others like me- with some kinds of abilities, I mean.
I wrote notes back-and-forth with press outside the dome, and they said the world is calling me Paris Blue, because of my sign. I like it, so I told the people here to call me that. They also said there's help coming. Some kind of Task Force. I hope they get here soon. And I hope the blue gas clears up. I don't like it here, and I want to go home.
@cbishop: Damn that's a lot of fanfics. I'll give them a shot since I liked this one (read the first 3 issues but haven't finished it yet) so the others should be just as good. Which one do you recommend is the best to start with after I'm done reading this one.
She passed away? How do you know? Do you know her IRL or sum? If this is true then R.I.P to an amazing writer.
The best thing about 5CC is that it's original fics, not fan-fic. There are a handful of original fic groups here on the forum. For 5CC... the best? Tough call. I liked all of 'em, but here's a few picks: "The Quoll" and "Rocking Roll" by Batkevin74, "Wind Duster" by TommytheHitman, and "Peacekeeper" by ImpurestCheese (AKA Imp'). And now "Indigo Codex" and "Inkcap" by Imp'. :)
Imp' let us know about a year before that she had cancer. She PM'd some of us in 2015 to say goodbye, telling us that it was terminal. Two or three days later, her fiance logged into Imp's account, and posted to the same PM to let us know that Imp' had passed. Current member Sundown89 is that fiance's brother, and worked with Imp' IRL. She was a writing juggernaut on this site, posting an average of 30 chapters a month write up to the end. Her passing left a void here.
I usually don't read fanfics on CV but like 5 of these were bumped recently so I decided to just check one of them out. Ngl this actually caught my attention, I read a bit of it but I decided to stop there since it doesn't feel right reading a story's 5th issue when I haven't even read the first one yet. I'll read it later starting from Issue 1 which won't be hard to find since they linked in OP and @cbishop bumped them.
Thanks for bumping them btws, I got a taste of what OG Vine was like.
Yeah, I bumped 'em while I was re-reading. I'm glad you liked it! I highly recommend the 5th Column Comics (5CC) group of fics! Have a read: .5th Column Comics Library.
My only caveat for this is that ImpurestCheese passed away in 2015, so some of her series were left unfinished. Still worth reading though. Cheers. :)
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