#but mordecai would have to have some reason to go along with that. Maybe as an out for working for atlas forever; but now he's at marigold

[unproduciblesmackdown]

fr is he, you know.............................................repeatedly described as being Impersonable and Lacking Charm and Pedantic and confused / bothered by things he supposedly shouldn't be while inspiring confusion / botherment in others in ways he supposedly shouldn't and like 99.9% of the grief he's given is over All That while he's just sitting or standing there rather than the like intimidatingly efficient hitman georg thing he has going on. which is in fact The Skill That Makes Him Useful Despite It All and also perhaps the least foothold in interactions because [worried he can & may kill you] affords power when otherwise just being the weird guy nobody likes(tm)

bonus mordecai balling

[a-libra-writes]

part 3 was a delight to read! how about headcanons of Mordecai x gn reader where they meet in the marigold? would a relationship even be possible with a marigold coworker?

Oh thank god hes found somebody sane

The Savoys constant teasing and lassiez-faire attitude would certainly give Mordecai a reason to work with his other associate, even if you're only slightly more level-headed. He'd prefer the two of you working together for a few reasons: Four is a crowd and more suspicious, the Savoy siblings can't lay low to save their lives, and he's more used to working as a duo than a trio or quartet. As mentioned, he'd prefer a calmer and steadier personality - but if you're more wild, at least there's only one exhausting person to keep up with. Mordecai's willing to put up with a lot as long as you get the job done in a timely manner, though.

And if you're familiar with St. Louis' criminal underground, you might be aware of his reputation, which he prefers. Like with the siblings, he wants to keep a distance from those he works with in the Marigold gang. So he starts off cold and standoffish with you, though you'll start to see his weirder side after a few months (wow that's a strong reaction to spiders.)

Where the story is now, you would've been working with Mordecai for a year at most - and unlike Nico and Seraphine, that isn't long enough to gain his trust. However, he finds himself trusting in your judgement, whether it be during fights or trying to discern someone's motivations. Being capable at your job, explaining your logic to him, getting "results" - while also respecting his boundaries - well, it goes a long way. Eventually it becomes obvious that Mordecai would rather work with you, and while he'd never say it in front of you, when given a new assignment he tells Asa he's bringing you and you only.

It also helps to not question Mordecai's loyalties, or openly mistrust him - even though he has plenty of suspicious comings and goings, and he killed his last boss. This doesn't mean you blindly trust him, but you keep those suspicions to yourself and respect his space, otherwise he'll shut you out completely. The fact he gets along well with you (at least by his standards) is a problem for Mordecai. He's not here to make friends, after all, he's here for answers.

(And if you were noticeably loyal to the Marigold gang, there would be times where he'd seem to run hot and cold - you thought you were getting somewhere with him one day, then a few days later it's all curt responses and annoyed glances. What's with that?)

You'll notice how quiet Mordecai gets if you bring up Lackadaisy - never a smart move, really - or worse, mention how glad you are to have him with the Marigolds. He gets really irritated by those sort of compliments.

There's some humor in that Nico and Serafine are put out by how much Mordecai prefers you. Maybe that's how you realized your overtures and attempts at friendliness were actually getting somewhere; Asa probably not-so-subtly mentioned it, too. It doesn't seem like Mordecai's preference is "just" business, though of course you'd never get any solid answer out of the shadowy tuxedo cat. You don't think the Savoys are outright jealous, but they definitely have a more-than-what's-healthy curiosity for Mordecai and will press you for answers on him.

So yeah, being part of the Marigold gang and have a romantic interest in him... well, good luck. It'd be slow and steady enough if you were with the Lackdaisy back in the day, but after his "betrayal" and all the feelings that came with it? After he's become single-minded on figuring out the truth of Atlas' murder, regardless of who he has to kill to prove his loyalty to the Marigold gang? That's a whooole lot of angst and emotional turmoil you're opening yourself up to. Good luck with that.

(And hypothetically, if you came across any of his 'investigations' or someone in the gang suspected him - How much would you cover for him? How much would he cover for you? Would he take your help as friendship, or would he take it as a debt he now owes? Nothing's really simple with him ...)

[shadowredfeline]

Three in One Post

For my P-Pal's Drawing.

Tory 😺🩰: Looks really adorable Riya you brought home a pink rabbit. I bet Jenny will love that. Also, Maybe we should enjoy some treats together and dance afterwards. 😊

And for my P-Pal's On this Day Post.

I remember seeing Maxwell's style in Peppa Pig, normally I only remember the US Dub when it used to air on the Cartoon Network Tickle U block, which normally doesn't have good ones on Kid shows. But I know Peppa Pig was Brought back only on Nickelodeon, they only did it in the UK Dub which now gets overboard and is too popular for kids. Even when they showed so much merchandise for Peppa Pig. Even the storyline is lazy and that narrator is always like "Oh Dear! De ta de ta de!" I know these narrators can be over the top depending on which narrator I'm listening to. Even if they didn't keep going like "Oh Dear! Ha ha ha ha ha!" And some kids shows sometimes don't need a narrator. Thomas and Friends Narrating is good because depending on the American or British Dub, they're both good. But with other kids shows, like say Bluey for Example, that show doesn't use a Narrator, since the show is a lot like Peppa Pig, except it has Dogs and the show doesn't use a Narrator and I like that, because the story goes on depending on the story. And when I saw Maxwell's style in the Bluey Universe, it looked really good. Especially if Maxwell wants to tag along with Bluey, Bingo and their friends alongside their families and friends.

And for Response to both my P-Pal and my A-Pal about the Gumball Video.

Yes, I know the Castle Episode where Gumball, Darwin and Anais spend their casual time with their dad and have a party with a bunch of people. But Nicole didn't have to get too Brutal with the People. And yeah I also don't like the Finale episode either like where the Wattersons face the consequences, the Finale would've been better if the Wattersons were sent to a Different Cartoon Network world. Like say they went into the Regular Show universe, except Gumball got separated from his family and was sent to the Park. Gumball decided to get his mind off of Elmore and he even applied for a job as a Park Keeper and Benson assigned Gumball to work with Mordecai and Rigby and the three of them managed to do some of their work and tasks and managed to get them finished. And Mordecai and Rigby kinda like having Gumball around, even Benson toned down his anger since Gumball, Mordecai and Rigby finished their jobs at the right time. But if things get worse like how Benson yelled at them for no reason after saving the park, then his boss, Mr. Mallard, Pops' father, then Demotes Benson to work with Pops and Skips and Nicole Watterson is the new Park Manager, and Darwin will work with Muscle Man and High Five Ghost, and Anais and Richard will enjoy their time at the Apartment. Since that's where Nicole, Richard and Anais live now. And Nicole Watterson will only get angry only if either the Park is in danger by Bad guys or during Park Prank Wars against Jean. And Benson will give Nicole advice about taking on a Prank War and Muscle Man will give her Advice too. And at normal times, I'm sure everyone will get advice from Skips. And at the Coffee Shop, it's only Penny and Eileen working at the Coffee shop now and Rigby and Gumball will enjoy getting drinks and meals anytime. Even if Margaret found a different job.

And that's how I would rewrite the Finale episode in Gumball.

Or if Gumball doesn't get a movie soon, I hope we can work on Cartoon Network in Persona 5 where we have Gumball enjoy his Modern day life in the Cartoon Network town looking a lot like Tokyo. And Penny and Morgana will be there with him, as well as for their Cartoon Network friends and Professor Utonium.

[silver-heller]

So, if I were to start romantically f/oing Mordecai, what are some suggestions you'd give for breaking down his cold/uncaring shell?

I honestly think it's completely valid to just write Mordy being warm/soft with your S/I purely because you want to. But, since you asked, here are some personal ideas and scenarios I came up with.

Have Your S/I Not Be In The Business

As I said in my previous post, one way to throw Mordecai off-kilter is to present him with someone who is unassuming. Someone who isn't in the business would have no reason to see Mordecai as the "scary icepick/hatchet man", and would rather find his terse behavior either comedic or simply just rude.

I feel like the Flirtation comic is a good example of that;

This could also make for an interesting dynamic, as Mordecai could be confused and frustrated that not only has he fallen for someone, but that someone is not in his line of work. This could potentially put them in danger and he might struggle to explain himself and his work.

Your S/I Used To Work With Mordecai

I know this is a pretty common one but, I'd say it is for very good reason. It gives an easy excuse for Mordecai to be close to them due to their history, which can explain some of his different behaviors. It can also be fun to fill in the blanks, figuring out what their relationship was like during that time, along with their relationship with the rest of the Lackacrew.

An S/I That Doesn't Take Crap

I think the reverse of the "unassuming" thing is just having an S/I that isn't willing to put up with Mordecai's crap. Maybe they have a reputation themselves and so don't find him intimidating, or see right through his act. Either way, that could be used to break down his barriers.

A Sun Shine Type S/I

Mordecai wouldn't really have power against an S/I that was just constantly happy or cheery despite his grumpy behavior. In the end he'd have no choice but to go along with it when he can't upset them, not that I think he would try after realizing this.

Obviously it is your S/I and these are just some ideas. Really excited to see what you come up with!

[rjmhereunderprotest]

How to Fuck Up a Good Thing, Mordecai-Style!

This is bothering me cause I saw it online a lot, so I'm writing it down here to make it clear. I have NEVER in my life seen a character botch something so perfect for himself than Mordecai fucking up his relationship with CJ. NEVER! Not even Mako and Korra, they stayed friends! They were both failing each other in that. THIS was all on Mordecai... because he's a fucking idiot!

Let me break this down for you thusly, Mordecai has been mad simping Margaret for years, he's never made a move, he eventually does but she's moving away and it's over already. He eventually gets back in the game with Cloud Girl CJ, who he previous met and hit it off with well until her anger management problems made things literally too stormy to weather at the time. But now, she's getting those under control and the two connect really well.

Seriously, it was nice. CJ wasn't some idealized pedestal placed dream girl. She was real, she and Mordecai shared a lot in common. She got along well with his friends and co-workers. She put herself in many of the crazy situations with them all and was cool with it. They clicked! But the problem was always fucking Mordecai.

The dumb fucking Blue Jay just couldn't drop his fucking obsession with a girl who had left him. He kept hemming and hawing over whether or not he should still make moves with Margaret, which worsened when she moved back. She's cool with CJ, despite Mordecai worrying she wouldn't be. No, no, the problem is him, cause despite everything going so fucking well with CJ, not perfect mind you but no relationship is perfect, he keeps finding ways to jeopardize things.

But he can salvage it, he can be a good boyfriend if he tries. He makes an effort, he really does. And then... he fucks it all up in the worst possible way.

It's his friend Muscle Man's wedding day, and he's gotta make a speech about love, Muscle Man wants him to, I have no idea why. Maybe he thought it would be funny. Mordecai is having problems though cause he's still, STILL, struggling with whether or not he really loves CJ or Margaret. Despite the fact he's been with CJ for a good while and they have very clearly worked just fine. Even Rigby, usually the dumb one, his best friend, keeps telling him to get with the program and fucking just reassure CJ he loves HER. Admitting he's dating Aileen now! So if he can fucking seal the deal with a girl, what the fuck is Mordecai's problem?

I'll tell you what his problem is, he's an asshole! Constantly avoiding CJ all day, refusing to face or talk to her, running away at the first chance he gets, isolating her further and making her feel unwanted. And then, to cap it all off... he makes his speech:

What. The. FUCK.

First of all, WHY in the holy HELL would you do this as your speech in front of everyone and almost fucking ruin your friend's wedding!? This is Muscle Man's day, not yours. Do not fucking make it about your fucking self!

Why would you decide to do this now of all times? When you're giving a speech and everything? Just shut the fuck up, step off stage, don't make this a spectacle!

Worst of all though, if you pay attention to the speech and consider the context, Mordecai probably was not going to dump CJ. He was likely going to try and explain himself and fix things. The problem is he says it in such a fucking bullshit wishy washy way it reads like a Dear John letter, or worse, like some shitty acceptance that he's just settling for CJ cause he can't have Margaret! Of all the things to say, you do not declare you don't know who your soulmate is in front of girlfriend, you just don't! If you sound that uncertain about who you want to spend your life with, then you shouldn't be surprised when they're upset about it.

Mordecai in this moment forever fucked up any future he had with CJ for no good reason just because he couldn't get over a fucking crush he hasn't thought about in months! And when he tried to fix it, he did it in the absolute worst fucking way that humiliated CJ in front of everyone!

This was what made me drop the show. You do not spend a whole season building up the relationship between these two and then throw it out the fucking window like this! I hated Mordecai after this, I felt he was a complete fucking moron who I could never relate to. The idea that he can't accept happiness with someone he likes because he has this obsession he can't quit is nauseating to me. Don't blame Margaret, this is all on fucking him! The dumbass should've shut his beak.

There are ships I get invested in that get sunk. But rarely do I walk away hating a character for it after the fact. Mordecai is an example of everything not to do in any relationship at any stage. CJ deserved better, I don't know if she ever got better, but I know she does. Fuck you, Mordecai, you're a fucking idiot!

[urproblematicfav-arsonk]

There's a lot of things about Borderlands 3 that makes it kinda a garbage game. And all of those things are valid and true but a aspect of bl3 that deeply bothers me isn't something I've really seen people talk about?? Maybe they have but I missed it but I want to say my interpretation. (Also like, spoiler warning throughout all of this post)

To start off with: hi, I'm a autistic afab nonbinary person and this is relevant for this little rant I'm bout to go on.

I want to begin by stating why I love this franchise so much.

Borderlands, whether you like it or not, is INCREDIBLY queer. And not in a coded kind of way, it's just flat out gay as fuck. And that means so fucking much to me. Borderlands 2 was one of the first times I ever felt fully represented in a game. Zer0 being this dumbass making Yugioh references and generally being a fun garbage boy and also being nonbinary meant a lot to me and I adore him to this day (nonbinary people can use gendered pronouns fuc off). And getting more and more into this series and finding out that basically every character was on some level queer was really cool to me. Maya being asexual and most of the characters being attracted to multiple genders so honestly and off handily was so refreshing and amazing to get to play through. The casual mentions of a woman's wife or some man's husband in the echo's you find or Moxxi talking about her ex girlfriends was one of the reasons I loved this so much.

Another thing I loved particularly about Borderlands 2 was how feminist it was. I can not tell you how quickly I lost my shit at Mr. Torgue talking about the friend zone being misogynistic(it is btw). And the repeated jokes about fully murdering men for being rude to women was some of the highlights of my first playthrough. Punching a guy till he explodes because he disrespected a sex worker?? Fucking immaculate.

SPEAKING OF SEX WORK.

Mad Moxxi is a icon. She is a mother of MULTIPLE children, a survivor of rape and assault and a fucking bad bitch who runs a now intergalactic titty bar. Getting to have not only a sex worker be respected in a narrative, Moxxi is fun and a genuinely complex character who isn't defined by her job or her appearance. She is emotional and strong and funny and flawed but amazing person.

And then there's the way the male characters a represented and treated. I'll be honest here, I haven't really played Borderlands 1, mostly because have been spoiled by auto pick up and also I just didn't feel like it. So my idea of most of the men are based entirely off of Bl2, the pre-sequel and Tales. Anyway, Mordecai in particular is a character I really liked upfront. I love how a lot of his motivation and character is driven by his love of animals and Bloodwing. He's kind and though troubled knows when to get his shit together and be there when he needs to be. His casual "are you okay?" After the latter falls in the Arid Nexus was such a nice moment and the way he genuinely tries to be there emotionally for all of the people around him who he cares for is so fucking rare to see in a male character. And his arc of giving up alcohol to focus on being a better bird dad and you getting to help Brick make Mordecai a special gift to celebrate his sobriety is so amazing and I'm so proud of him.

Mr. Torgue is my dad and I love him. As mentioned, he is normal and believes that the friend zone is absolute garbage talk is ICONIC™ and the best scene in that game fight me. Torgue is a crybaby. He is an emotional person who is not afraid to express his pain and hurt when people are mean to him. He respects women and loves unicorns. The fact that is physical appearance is a big muscle guy who screams but is the literal opposite of toxic masculinity will forever make him the best male character of all time and I love him and he is my dad.

Roland was a character that I was never in particularly attached to but I still respect him and did enjoy his presence. I really appreciated his leadership style being primarily based on empathy and logic as opposed to him being a big meanie man with a HUGE dick who yells at people. I always really resonated with the echo from Tannis talking about how she came to Sanctuary. Roland going out of his way to bring Tannis to safety while completely respecting her autism and struggle with socializing really made his death hit harder when Tannis was very obviously distraught by losing him. It really seems that Roland was the only one who didn't treat her differently. And as someone who's autistic, finding people who legit 100% understand and respect you and just let you live the way you want/need to is kinda hard and those are the qualities I'd personally want in a leader.

Angel is also a big spot of affection for me. Handsome Jack being a irrefutably horrible person who Angel flat out says gaslights people and killed her means a lot to me considering 99% of Bad Parent stories end with "I forgive u" getting to see an abusive victim take that narrative and say fuck you was powerful and meant a lot to me coming from my own abusive home life.

There's a lot of other things I love about Borderlands but if I keep going I won't stop lol so let's get into why Borderlands 3 makes me so uncomfortable.

One of the main things that bothered me was the sexism. Its nothing too horrifying but given how feminist bl2 was it was really shocking and a bit hurtful the number of times women are called bitches or made to seem crazy. If you recall I brought up how you punch a man to death for calling a woman a bitch? Yea no, in this game we mock women for having boundaries and opinions because lol she's just a CRAZY BITCH who just needs to stop acting so hysterical am I right guys?

Yea the whole mission with that stupid bear thing and his ex robot girlfriend made me insanely uncomfortable and upset. I kept waiting for the gotcha moment where it says actually this bear guy is a dick and he shouldn't use language like that but no we just,,,,,, are supposed to laugh along. I hate it.

Even though Borderlands 3 is still very much queer, this game introducing 2 new trans characters as well as a whole DLC about a gay marriage and one of the playable characters being a lesbian there was this some shit that bothered me.

The mission where you crash and ruin a lesbian wedding.

That mission made so upset and uncomfortable. I hated how traumatized and hurt Tumorhead was as I murdered her family and wife. I hated how unfulfilling the mission was where PLOT TWIST the lady was actually a spy or whatever. I hate how there's a mission about ruining some poor psycho ladies wedding. I would've much more preferred a mission where Idk Bloodshine asks you to help her kill a spy who's causing problems and then fucking go around Promethea collecting wedding decorations or something. OR MAYBE JUST NOT A MISSION WHERE YOU KILL LESBIANS FOR NO FUCKING REASON.

I'm mad, anyway.

I also hated how Tannis was treated in this game. Under absolutely no circumstance would Doctor Patricia Tannis ever willingly take up a position of leadership. She is a severely autistic woman who gets nose bleeds from talking to people she wouldn't just be like "I'm in charge now pls talk to me!!!" Fuck off. And the joke about her dating a minecart isn't funny. The whole thing with the chairs, though funny in its absurdities was still a very important and powerful moment of character exploration. Tannis is insane. She is traumatized and hurt and in a moment of severe torture, she humanized some inanimate objects to cope. Tannis crying over the echo over Phillip is a heartbreaking moment of true vulnerability. It is also funny, because that's how good dark comedy works. It can be both hysterical and emotionally ruining at the same time. So what exactly does Tannis divorcing a minecart mean? What is this saying about her character? Why is it funny? Because lol lol reference??? Again, fuck off.

I hate how the Calypso twins childhood is handled. Troy implies it was horribly abusive and traumatic. But when we met Typhon whatever, he acts like it wasn't that bad??? He acts like he just didn't buy his kids the latest iPhone and oh no whoopsie now they're evil, my bad guys. It feels super weird and I don't like it.

Speaking of abusive parents. THEY DID MY GIRL ANGEL DIRTY SO BAD. This was literally when I decided I hated this game. Angel being the one who killed her mother and not Jack was fucking horrible. Especially after the literal foreshadowing in borderlands 2 implying he did. The fact that Jack is treated like a fearful man making what he thought was the right decision was insulting. I get that MattPat manipulated the fandom into thing Jack is a uwu bean but fuck you, you're the writers and you should fucking know better. Handsome Jack saw his daughter had power and turned her into a living battery for him to use as he saw fit. He was not scared and he was NOT right. Fuck you and fuck you for framing child abuse as chill and ok if your spooked enough like that. And the mission directly contradicts the echo's in Get To Know Jack. If Angel killed her mom why does she ask Jack where her mommy is when he's putting her in her chambers?? Why is it in the echo Jack is aggressive and forcibly and hurtfully makes her go into her chambers but in the memory, he's quiet and passive about it?? That's literally just flat out bad writing. Also fuck you.

Anyway,

I think that's really all I wanted to say about this topic. Obviously, there are also things that suck about bl3 but I'll try to chill and not make this too long.

I mostly wanted to make this to see if people cared/are bothered by the same things I am. I've seen how some of the fandom treats the more emotional and gay aspects of this franchise(the people throwing a fit over Amara, the friend zone line, not respecting trans peoples pronouns, sexualizing and being gross about Moxxi)

Anyway that's it byeeeeeeeeeeeee

[ocsxinxpurgatory]

Small Steps (Mordecai Silvers Drabble)

Series: Wynonna Earp

Disclaimer: I own the plot and Mordecai and everything else is borrowed in this work of fan-made fiction off of which no money is made. 

Setting: Prior to Season 1.

Pairing: None

Rating: PG

After Bobo Del Rey deals with his father, Mordecai aids him in convincing a certain problematic Revenant from the area along with offering something to the male as a token of his esteem. Lines are slowly blurred between purely business and something more familiar between the half-djinn and the Revenant King...

Author’s Note: I can honestly say that the friendship that blossoms between these two is one of my favorite things about this timeline. And honestly, Bobo Del Rey deserves all the friends at this point.

*~*~*~*

Small Steps

He’s not surprised how little time it takes for his request to be carried out especially after the trap is set and his sire is made aware of his presence. Egotism had always been a core part of the male he’d met only a few times, and he was grateful it was that little. This abandoned barn would suffice for finishing this entire mess and he gets to work with the sharp implements ignoring the blood and gore that this was amassing as he skins the large, very dead Djinn trapped in his animal form.

In the end, the departed creature deserved it. The sheer amount of souls he’d had the “pleasure” of taking for misuse of his own abilities was staggering and what he was about to do was a disgrace and humiliation that would be fitting the crimes. So he works slowly, diligently.

“I’m surprised you’re bothering with this,” comes an almost amused remark a few days later.

“If anyone has never educated you on a Djinn, Bobo Del Rey, then allow me to point out that there is still power to be had in the skin of one. More so the fur of the animal they travel as. It has magical properties; allows one to not be taken in by some forms of magical manipulation.”

“And what were you planning on doing with it?” There is honest curiosity and Mordecai smiles before he gazes over his shoulder at the male.

“Gifting it to one who seems to have a Revenant problem with a very charismatic individual. It will also temper a few of the spells that your....confidante can do. Not all of them. But a few.”

“You…”

The honest surprise makes him chuckle before he returns to his task. “Yes, and besides, if you are going for the aesthetic of someone intimidating, then you need a bit more of an addition to your attire. Also, take it as the gratitude of one who really wanted this creature out of the picture. As much as his clan followed him; enough of them hated him to desire this almost as much as me. There is nothing to be gained from getting attention garnered on certain beings and the Djinn know that better than anyone. Secrecy is a better method of staying alive especially with how...intolerant humans can be and how easily riled they are.”

“And how much they do like to kill things,” Bobo agrees mildly, “So definitely would not like one going rogue like that.”

“No, absolutely not,” Mordecai agrees, “So, is it an acceptable gift?”

“You treat all your business partners like this?”

His lips curve upwards before he remarks, “Just the ones I’m beginning to like.”

“I am not sure that’s a favorable thing, you realize; thinking a demon is worth befriending.”

He gives a shrug of his shoulders. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. But you and I both know that it takes more than labels to make one a monster, Bobo Del Rey.”

“Suppose you have a point to that so I wouldn’t say no to a gift. That would just be rude.”

*~*~*~*

The sight of the coat adorning the other is something and Mordecai grins. “You look sufficiently unapproachable now.”

“Fantastic as I do not need everyone and sundry asking for my time and attention,” comes the bemused response, “but speaking of charismatic Revenants...I would like your help in moving him along. There’s enough of this goddamn place that he can be a prick elsewhere.”

“I suppose I can give him a good reason to tote his wares elsewhere,” Mordecai answers evenly, “Considering that I do owe you a debt.”

He is expecting the trouble this brings. Lou is not a compromising individual but neither is the half-Djinn considering a place in Purgatory. His companion finds out firsthand just what his magic is capable of before he gives the hint that this isn’t an idle threat and Mordecai’s teeth are sharper than hers. Lou does not hang around long enough to find out what sort of things Mordecai will do to them if they continue this nonsense.

Tired and worn out, Mordecai does something he hasn’t in a while and slips into the form of an animal. He wonders as he slowly pads through the woods if it will ever be something that Bobo Del Rey understands the meaning behind. It’s a consideration for another time, he decides as he limps for the place he knows Bobo Del Rey stays and lays by the door. Everything was a consideration for later.

He sleeps fitfully for a while before dozing off. Jumbled voices is what slowly pulls him back. “...you mean leave it? You do realize what that is don’t you?”

“How about you don’t question me?” comes the familiar and irritated tone of one Bobo Del Rey.

Mordecai slowly blinks into awareness and raises his head to gaze at the small cluster gazing at him. He watches Bobo snort softly as he approaches despite the clear distrust before crouching down. “Gave even you a bit of trouble, huh? Hope this means he’s left.” Slowly, he leans his head and nuzzles the offered hand. “Fantastic. One headache out of the way. I can handle that.”

“Boss…”

“This is Mordecai,” comes the immediate answer, “He’s a partner of mine and half-djinn. Apparently, he also...turns into a coyote.” There is a pause at the end, almost curiosity and Mordecai knows their next conversation is going to be an interesting one. The feel of the male’s fingers carding through his fur has his eyes falling shut again at the soft touch and he allows himself to enjoy this while he can. Sometimes all one could do was savor the good things.

There were too few of them these days it seemed.

*~*~*~*

“You turn into a coyote?”

There is quiet a moment before he says, “I do now.”

“You…” A low chuckle follows. “Seriously have I told you to be careful about befriending demons?”

“You did,” he answers immediately, “So know that I have an idea what I’m doing.”

“You sure? Because that certainly doesn’t seem to say that.”

“Maybe you just don’t trust yourself anymore, Bobo Del Rey, but that doesn’t make it any less true that I do.”

“You know that’s dangerous, right?”

“Of course, I do. I just think that the benefits outweigh any potential risk that’s all.”

He watches the other snorts and shake his head. “I don’t suppose you’re going to listen to caution are you?”

“About what? You are not half as bad as you claim to be, Bobo Del Rey. You have a way of doing things and sometimes it’s not the easiest or the cleanest path but it’s yours. I am not here to tell you how to live your life or criticize your choices. I’m here to do what I can to help and in return have people who understand what it’s like not to be fully human. That’s all. So, yes, I turn into a coyote.”

There is quiet a moment before there would come, “It’s Robert, actually.”

“Robert?”

“Mmhmm, Robert Svane. He was a timid, mousy thing. Got cursed when he went to back up Wyatt against a demon sheriff. Fun times.”

Realization comes slowly before would come, “You may call me Kai if it pleases you, Robert.”

“Kai, huh? I like it. Suits you. Feel free to wander to the park however you want, Kai. The boys’ll get used to you in time. And if not...feel free to bite them until they do.”

“You sure they don't have rabies?”

He watches the other cock his head a moment before remarking, “Let me do some checking and get back to you,” which has him laughing softly.  

[at-the-exd-of-everythixg]

U know what I wAS going to merely just write about Dae and Sal's new doggos but. I have instead decided to do...all of my kids. Ur welcome.

Ava: Still working as a PI, but now she takes more into helping ex Dragonflys out as well as bringing new members to where they belong. Much happier and better at controlling her powers and often keeps her biker sense of style but it practically never seen without her leather jacket that shows a mint green dragonfly surrounded by flames on the back.

Mimi: Has moved out of the pro wreslting life as she finally got to study and become a life guard. She's often happy to spend most of her time out there and teaching swim classes to kids in the winter time as well, not to mention relaxing at home with her pet fish, Gubby and Bubby.

Finn: Owner of Cotten Tail Bakery and is not only big handsome tall man, but sports a beard full time now and is no longer ashamed of his mutation. 6'3 and a doting rabbit man 👀. Peter is somehow still alive and Finn is now the proud father of a new Netherland Dwarf called Cookie. Peter os not amused at his new sister.

Pascal: Bigger Dog Dad Dilf than ever. Works full time in the dog shelter but now has accepted the good he can do at his own pace and this leads to Pascal often helping the animals get homes faster and at weekends, visiting hospitals to aid his visions. Cassandra now lives with Pascal as well as the fact that Pascal wears moonstone glasses to keep his eyes at bay, like a "Cooler and Hotter Scott Summers" Pascal quotes.

Mahogany: Now the Alpha of their Own Town, Mahogany happily takes those with powers in and has formed their own well known coup of super humans that have powers far beyond anyone else. Not to mention the fact that Mahogany has now begun to dabble in magic that could allow them to break through into other realms. Got hotter in the fact that they often have long braids to join the many scars decorating their body...and the fur from their beloved baby: Baby Daisy Dukes the big poofy white cat.

Edith: Proud second in command of the Valkyries. Loving life as she gets to visit other realms and ensures to always bring a souvenir back for Wulf and to hopefully not get herself and Ragnarok scarred up too much. Hair goes to the FLOOR baby we're repunzeling this shit along with the fact that she's covered in tattoos and flowers now. Has a lovely fellow warrior named Talitha that Edith has begun to court recently.

Wulf: Finest warhorse trainer in all of Asgard by now and has shifted along to guarding cattle to, which explains the long scars up his back and arms from barbed horns. Wulf occasionally visits other realms but has decided to lay back now and enjoys the connection he gained from the tempest of Earth and is more assured in what he wants for himself and his choices. Has taken to showing Asgard the songs of Earth and is the reason why "Bad Romace" by Lady Gaga has been sung at parties for four months now.

Adonai: Starting to thread themselves back together after years of damage. Merajo lives with them and Ava and the three live together, trying to reconcile over time. They have started a unique job of filling in for celebrities or politicians when needed and Doe actually quite enjoys a job that gets them admired and that means they don't have to kill as often as they used to. They stick with their own form more now, although Doe will take on other people's eyes and skin markings if they like them. If not with anyone for either of them (or maybe an ot3 hm???) Then Doe has begun to slowly date Mordecai again.

Lace: Finally getting off his medication after SHIELD and Xavier's and many court cases were filed against the people who made Lace's family for decades of human experimentation. On the positive side? He's finally getting good therapy and being trained with his powers. The bad side? Suddenly Lace is open about his feelings and it stings. Not to mention the fact that he can barely go around places without catching some paparazzi's eye. At least he still has Ferret and has been allowed to get a lot closer to his family, who also struggle with their broadened world.

Peach: She's starting to move past her truama and the first step of that was slicing her hair short into fluffy curls. Peach had decided that while she loved her other halves more than life itself, she needs to see the world for herself. Basically? Peach is on one long self discovery journey that involves her travelling around with water while sending home the occasional message when Morde and Dae worry too much. Peach dreams of being able to start a bar fight and come at her loser, her little brother and big brother will kick your ass when she yanks them though a pool. Very into the pirate outfits.

Mordecai: Has given into the curly life more now and suffers Fluffy Man syndrome only on weekends along with rocking his scars and prosthetics after Dae ripped his arm and leg off. He still sticks to the slitted skirts though and skips the sunglasses that would normally hide his eyes from people. Morde is more than thrilled to have Doe trying to reconnect and Morde has even begun to work at the pet shelter with Pascal since his powers come in handy with dealing with rowdy dogs...and because Morde still can barely stand most humans.

Dae: Still the curliest boy with the shyest smile, Dae has started to let his skin peel in order to show his diamonds out more and no longer worrying about human skin and blood. He killed Iris guys. Still likes to cook and helps Finn out at the bakery and now had a service St Bernard called Onyx, who is a very gentle giant and yet has the loudest bark ever as he waddles around and gently carries Honkers in his mouth often.

Sal: His sight has declined far enough that Sal eventually decided to shift to a smaller town where he could get better and...never really left? He's shifted to doing camera porn work to keep money going in while trying to figure out what he could do for himself more. Not only has he shifted into his country form, but Sal's lost enough eyesight over time that he ended up getting a guide dog, a rottweiler and golden retriever mix who he named Artemis...and who Sal nicknames Doodlebug. Sal's...happy, but mortified if he finds someone from a previous life.

[christsbride]

Not Forgotten

Esther 2:1-7

God's presence is not as intriguing as His absence. His voice is not as eloquent as His silence. Who of us has not longed for a word from God, searched for a glimpse of His power, or yearned for the reassurance of His presence, only to feel that He seems absent for the moment? Distant. Preoccupied. Maybe even unconcerned. Yet later, we realize how very present He was all along.

Though God may at times seem distant, and though He is invisible to us, He is always invincible. This is the main lesson of the book of Esther. Though absent by name from the pages of this particular book of Jewish history, God is present in every scene and in the movement of every event, until He ultimately and finally brings everything to a marvelous climax as He proves Himself Lord of His people, the Jews.

Mordecai was a descendant of one of those exiled Jews. He was a godly man, and his most significant role was his relationship to Esther.

Esther, which is this young woman's Persian name, means "star." This seems appropriate, since she is truly the star of the show, the heroine of the story. The immortal, invisible, all-wise hand of God is working behind the scenes, hidden from human eyes. Only such a gracious and all-knowing Being would have His hand on some forgotten orphan, a little girl who had lost her mother and father and was left to be raised by her cousin Mordecai.

There is a beautiful message here for anyone who has ever experienced brokenness, for anyone who has ever been crushed by life, for anyone who has ever felt that his past is so discolored, so disjointed, so fractured that there is no way in the world God can make reason and meaning out of it. We are going to learn some unforgettable lessons from Esther. Here was a little girl who must have cried her heart out at the death of her parents, bereft and orphaned, yet who, years later, would become key to the very survival of her people, the Jews. God and God alone can do such things—He, in fact, does do such things, working silently and invisibly behind the events of history.

And he is working quietly behind the scenes of your life too.

Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

from Chuck Swindoll's Daily Devotional https://ift.tt/2IuiEMZ via IFTTT

[bullets-and-masks]

Lilith’s Character Analysis

Hey, guys!  As requested by @valoscope I’m taking a deep dive into Lilith’s character. Differently from Krieg, that had as an objective creating a plausible backstory for,I decided my goal with Lilith is to look further and perhaps clarify the biggest divide in regards to her in the fandom: Why did Lilith do what she did in the end of TPS?  (Spoilers for all games and the Borderlands comics anthology.)

Let’s go by this order  - Borderlands (when she first appears), BL2 (we get to know her), Comics (to further what we know), and then TPS (oh the discourse)  Borderlands:  Lilith is a playable character in Borderlands (1) and unlike BL2, the first game doesn’t include ECHOs with extra bits of backstory liying around. As a result, anything that can be grasped about Lilith is from the main story - that has very little to do with WHO the original Vault Hunters are and her quotes. Lilith’s quotes are mostly all centered around her being a badass with a short temper, often hushing things to happen and going after danger. She celebrates victories and thinks highly of herself and her siren powers.  In short, Lilith in Borderlands is cocky, self assured and short tempered, enjoying what she does and proud of being a siren.  Borderlands 2 (oh how the tables have turned) In Borderlands 2, Lilith becomes a NPC deeply connected to the story, assisting the player and being one of the main characters related to what’s going down. We also get DLCs and tidbits of her personality outside a conflic situation.  Lilith in Borderlands 2 starts as presumed dead. We learn later that her and the other vaulties decided it would be best to hide. Under the alias Firehawk, she gives up being with Roland and her friends to draw Bloodshot bandits away from Sanctuary. It’s under this alias that she first meets the player.  She appears with flaming wings and greets the player with “Sup”, something we learn she likes saying before or after using her powers.  After Lilith goes back to Sanctuary we start to get a better grasp of her personality as her friends gather up. Lilith likes saying stupid/mean jokes but actually worries about her friends and saving Pandora, helping as far as she can. In the mission In Memorian, the player picks up old ECHOs of Lilith after she hid as firehawk, all of her trying to talk to Roland after their relationship has gone cold and awkward. Lilith is also awkward, seemingly searching for reasons to see Roland, but quotes like “I liquified a guy”, said with surprised/fearful tone, even if she says it was awesome later, show that she trusts Roland and is the kind to actually search for help - and that she doesn’t quite undertand the extent of what she is. And that maybe she was also lonely among crazied bandits. In the mission Where Angels Fear to Thread, Angel warns the player and the Vault Hunters that no siren should go in the mission. Lilith debates this and then complies, only to show anyway.  This has caused great divides in the community, many blaming Lilith for allowing the Warrior to be woken, but with all we learned the conclusion is: Lilith’s confidence and love for her companions makes so she goes, she wants to help terribly and ends up as doing things work. Lilith makes a mistake.  Then, we have the DLCs. The biggest points of interest in the DLCs is that they happen after there’s no more danger, so we get to see Lilith more relaxed. In Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, Lilith disciplines Tina, wants to help with her grief. She also admits to being a nerd, and that she was bullied when little for liking geek stuff and for her tattoos, going so far as to keep Mr Torgue from playing because he doesn’t seem like a nerd and she’s worried his only interested because geek is trendy.  In Sir Hammerlock and the Son of Crawmerax, there’s a small dialogue involving the original Vault Hunters and showing that Lilith really likes Talon, Modercai’s new bird. She doesn’t mind being bit and sounds really proud of how Talon is going.  In short, we learn in Borderlands 2 that Lilith’s own nature is still a source of confusion, surprise and pride for her. She’s still cocky and violent, not taking long to make decisions, but she seems to want to stick to the plans, she really wants to make a difference for Pandora and she’s terribly awkward with feelings of any kind, but likes being near her friends and even seemed lonely. Comics: Borderlands Origins Lilith’s chapter in Borderlands Origins starts by her telling the reader she’s a siren, followed by this monologue: 

(Image Description: A starry sky with yellow text boxes that read “There are six of us in the entirety of the universe. Or so I’m told. Prophecies can be fuzzy with the specifics.”)

(Image Description: A starry sky with yellow text boxes that read “It seems when you’re a little girl, you can look up at the stars as if they will live on forever. As you grown into a woman, you reaize that stars die just like anything else. Thrashing, heaving, clutching at anything not to go quietly into the black.”) This text already shows not only a deep sense of loneliness - the only out of six like her in the whole of existence - but also that much of Lilith’s personality might come from this stuborness to not die quietly.  Enter the flashback to when she was little. By her size and inteligence, I’m willing to guess 6/7yo+. Lilith watches as her dad dies (not specified of what). His last words are “Promise me you’ll see the galaxy” and “I’ll see you among the stars”. Right after that, an old lady, the oldest siren, walks up to Lilith. The old lady had been looking for her. Lilith watches as she dies and simultaneously gets her own siren tattoos. She asks the old lady what she should do, too, but the only answer Lilith gets is: 

(Image description: white speech bubbles over a orange and yellow background. they read: “That is up to you. Do as you will and grow as you might. We siren have no code, we’ve only our song. It is yours to sing now.”)  From this, we gather that Lilith has no one else to be with her. As the old siren dies, it’s understandable that Lilith has now two very different types of loneliness; literal and the one that comes from being turned, unwillingly, into something not quite human, and something that makes her unique and alone. The old siren also tells Lilith she will NOT be seeing her father among the stars.  The flasback ends and takes us to Lilith in a bar in Pandora. Later she gets in Marcu’s bus and Borderlands the Game starts from there.  In short, what we understand from Borderlands Origins is that Lilith had to fend off on her own since little, probably making so she’s really proud of her habilities and surviving. With time she starts enjoying this power, which comes with the short temper and will to keep going after challenges to push herself. Coupled with this comes the great sense of loneliness of being a siren, and of carrying her father’s wish forward. In my opinion, this turns many of Lilith’s actions into a search for a sense of purpose, of place.  (not that she’s not having fun with it).  Also, wether one considers the comics canon or not despite being written by one of Borderlands writes and being considered so, nothing above is news. It’s all in her behavior and extra game content.  On to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel  TPS is told by Athena, one of the people (and playable characters) hired to help Jack. Lilith’s actions in TPS are short and sweet. She’s actually barely in the game.  Lilith and Roland are helping Jack because he wants to stop Zarpedon from blowing up Elpis, Pandora’s moon.  Shortly before they defeat Zarpedon, though, Jack gets word that one of Hyperion’s scientists might be a spy. He proceeds to throw all of them out in space and then says something about how it felt good. His tone is also glad, truthfull. Among other actions and commentary, this makes so Lilith, Roland and Moxxi decide not help anymore - because Jack might actually be... Not their brand of good.  This decision culminates in Lilith later phasewalking into the Vault and punching a vault relic Jack’s found. It’s unclear wether or not her intention was to brand his face, but clear she wanted to destroy it - too much power for not a very good man.  Pre-Sequel Epilogue:  The TPS Epilogue goes down after BL2. Lilith’s pissed about Roland’s death, and her conclusion is that killing Athena for having helped Jack is what she wants to do. What she wants because it’s cleary a harsh action decided with anger, as many of Lilith’s actions.  Mordecai and Brick note that this isn’t like her.  (All is stop by eridians that say war is coming and we’ll need all the vaulties we can get)  In the Claptastic Voyage DLC, Lilith also apologises to Athena, admitting her blame on Jack’s rise - should’d killed him, not just branded/punched the relic. Her apology comes with the realization and admission that ordering to kill Athena made her just like Jack; Lilith understand’s her shortcomings and tries to fix it. She doesn’t shy away from blame  In short, TPS Lilith along with companions took actions based on their own morallity and what they thought would be best to Pandora and Elpis. In the epilogue, Lilith displays high levels of anger and impulse decision making - she’s very led by emotions, BUT is able of seeing her wrong doings and wanting to do better. Conclusion:  Lilith is a very harsh person, both proud and short-tempered. She has fun with violence and her powers, but also goes out of her way to help people and those she holds dear. Many of her actions can be pointed towards not having enough interactions and education, specially in patience and strategy; and certain interactions. Lilith is a nerd and well intentioned, some of her behavior even seeming like what someone would do to look cool. Her temper gets the best of her. She’s the kind to look for purpose in quick missions, friends and helping. While much of Lilith’s character can be explained, it shouldn’t be excused. People can grow and change out of what they are. Lilith is a great, flawled character, and I’d like the conclusion of this analysis to be that she can grow as a person and character.  She did what she did in the end of TPS because that’s what she ( and Roland and Moxxi) judged as the best to do at that momment; making sure an unhinged man didn’t have so much power in his hands.  Regarding the Discourse:  No, it’s not her fault for Handsome Jack being Handsome Jack. She didn’t make it any better, and it’s her comment that names him “handsome”, but the man was already dangerous and unhinged. It’s not the fault of her character and temper either; it was a decision taken by at least three people. 

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

i have so many theories!!! theyre all screaming at me!!! i must write out them all!!!!! 

so here’s one that’s been knocking around my head since finals week began:

the Writing 3 Playlist on Spotify 

I think this bad boy is a hint at the game’s timeline

maybe not 100% explanatory, but I think we can guess certain parts of the game through this

and i just wanna tell y’all now, almost all of this is speculation, as honestly im 90% sure the playlist was created bc it had borderlands-y songs in it (although the last few have me scratching my head)

lemme explain why im writing this, though I’m very thirsty for lore

tl;dr: game goes like this: lilith powers stolen. go to promethea, go to jungle, find brick mordy and tina, get into a fight, lose fight, go find other VHs, get into another fight, Krieg shows up to save Maya, maya die. (oh no she ded), the twins have their we are GODS moment, the VHs get summoned to the Eridian homeworld, there’s a huge ass final battle, someone attempts to create an end-of-the-world scenario

so the playlist itself was created to help one of the authors of the game get into their borderlands jam 

it starts with a Cage the Elephant song, “Trouble”, the band of which we all know wrote the first song used in BL1. Not really much else to say here, but we do know the opening cutscene of the game involves our current team of Vault Hunters being attacked by the Children of the Vault. this is, of course, not indicative of any songs used in bl3, but we can assume it captures the general feeling of the game.

Second song: “Fire” by Barns Courtney (holy shit I love this guy so fucking much!! if you’ve never listened to his music, PLEASE do so! I really recommend “Rather Die”- I am in the process of making a bl3 animatic to it actually lmao). 

So anyway, I’m just sayin’, the lyrics of this song...

“Oh, a thousand faces staring at me Thousand times I've fallen Thousand voices dead at my feet Now I'm gone... And my mother told me son let it be Sold my soul to the calling Sold my soul to a sweet melody Now I'm gone... Oh gimme that fire ...”

Honestly, I would not be surprised if this song was about Lilith’s loss of her powers. I mean, she used to call herself the Firehawk because she burned the shit outta bandits. c’monnn.

The man, the myth, the legend himself even says that "[The song is] quite defiant as well, like this cannot be how it ends, it cannot be my situation."

Mooooving on

“Majesty” by Apashe and Wasiu

holy fuck i love this song so much. and its so very obviously about the Calypso Twins- at the very least its Tyreen.

“All the stars and galaxies address me as your majesty So better say your majesty, I might react erratically Throw you in a fire, purify you I'm the sire, my empire's on the rise You better find yourself a place to hide Your place to find, but say it twice My name divine, I'm aimin' high Don't look in my face or eyes Take a bow and save your life Glory to the emperor, my temperature is risin' Always hot, it's getting violent”

I mean come on if its not when we meet the twins for the first time after they steal lily’s powers, then its definitely when they do something absolutely badass and really show us why they’re revered as gods. Possibly related to the Holy Broadcasting Center?

“The Way I Do” by Bishopp Briggs 

this one honestly had got me stumped as to its purpose, i lowkey kinda think its getting Sanctuary 3 up and running (and possibly meeting Maya for the first time- still not sure about that). I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a whole thing for Scooter and this song fits pretty well. I imagine we also meet Vaughn and the Children at some point, so maybe here?

“Greeting the Menace” by Zack Hemsey 

yeah i uhhhh dunno. This sounds like a song about a dude getting tortured which scares me a bit lmao. 

I thought maybe this song and the next 2 could be VH-based songs, as the next 2 have no lyrics whatsoever and the third is called “Best Friends”, but who knows... If this is the case I could make the argument this is about Zane or Moze, leaning towards Zane cuz he’s pretty covered up, plus I think “Best Friends” would be more Moze’s style lmao

I could also see this being a song about Troy... could explain all the ‘body mods’ and the missing arm.

“ProtoVision” by Kavinsky

If we’re going with the idea that these next few songs are about the Vault Hunters, then I imagine this would be Fl4k’s. It’s got that synth and some guitar which I think fits perfectly with his robo-hobo aesthetic lol

Other than that, I truly have no idea what part of the story this song could reference since there aren’t any lyrics. Maybe Promethea’s city? I could kinda see it, it sounds pretty high-tech

Similarly, “diatribe.” by Oliver Michael

the beginning gives me a whole meditation vibe which I kinda associate with Amara and her phasecast skill which “sends out an astral projection” of herself. 

Then again, this could be the outskirts of the Promethean city... I could see myself wandering around the huge ass foliage and discovering an abandoned research base to this song idk

“Best Friends” by grandson

aaahh i love grandson. I think this could be a Moze-based song. I just get that vibe from her leather jacket... anyway

I also could totally see this as discovering Brick, Mordecai, and Tina in the research base (if that truly is where they are). Cause we saw them in the trailer hanging out there. 

tbh the lyrics themselves kinda remind me of pre-Tales Rhys and Fiona and all their friends

“All of my best friends Like to go and get fucked up Then they talk about all the lives they never got to live Oh, they're still waiting for some sort of invitation It's never coming along, oh no, you'll get just what you give”

but idk if that’s what its meant for

“Bap U” by Party Favor

hmm another ‘lyricless’ song. not really lyric-less but uhhh the lyrics are pretty nonsensical lol

I could see there being a fight scene with Brick Tina and Mordy as AIs helping out here, maybe exploring the abandoned research base?

“Not Human” by elegant slims 

oh you know what im going to say here hahaha

monster troy p l e a s e

i wouldn’t be surprised if Tyreen started accumulating more powers here, like perhaps the previous fight scene was over the Vault on Promethea and the twins were able to access it before us? and Tyreen gives the Vault Monster the succ

“Crack in the seams You're breaking through The animal inside of you You're not human anymore... Your eyes go black electric blue The animal inside of you Life on a string Watch it swing Hide your teeth”

and one (or both) of the twins start going feral lol

“Way Down We Go” by KALEO

one (1) fear and that’s that someone dies during the scene that corresponds to this song

hopefully its just the boys being depressed over a loss instead of a victory, but oof

anyway, you know what they say: “sometimes you gotta fall before you make it big” ;) thats a typhon deleon quote

“I’m a Wanted Man” by Royal Deluxe

I want to believe these next few songs are us recruiting the rest of the Vault Hunters not seen yet

I kinda associate this one with Axton since his whole History with DAHL, but who knows! It could be Gaige, too. or Maya since she looks like she’s being incredibly gay criminal on the Maliwan Monastery planet. Maybe both Axton and Gaige? I would love that

“The Devil You Know” by X Ambassadors 

Could also be Axton! I lowkey think its Salvador or Timothy Lawrence. The reason I think its Timothy is cuz the whole song gives me huge Handsome Jack vibes, but it could also be Sal cuz I totally imagine him becoming a bounty hunter to fund his gun addiction lmao

“00000 Million” by Ella Vos

this one also gives off Maya vibes imo. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one is about her and the introduction of Little Blue. I could also see Athena and Janey here, just living their lives out in a cottage somewhere. awww

“Jungle” by Tash Sultana

Ahh a love song [pukes] Hopefully this one is about Athena and Janey, cuz there is a depressing lack of both of them in all the trailers we’ve seen! It sounds lowkey sad, though. I hope nothing happened to them D:

“Don’t Wait Up” by Dustbowl Revival

this one gives me very big Fiona and Sasha vibes. 

Of course, there’s also the fact that the song is about a dad, and we still don’t know who the heck “the Father” is on all those Calypsos posters. We also dunno who in the heck “Mother” is, either. Sounds like Father left the cult, though, oof, and Mother stuck around. Wonder what that’s all about, maybe he felt like the twins were working fast/efficient enough and left to do things himself? Very lost on this idea tbh. the song seems very out of place, but it has to connect to something, yknow?

“Dies Irae” by Apashe and Black Prez

For those of you who don’t speak fluent Latin (the fuck guys?? lmao jk), the title means "Day of Wrath". Nice, nice, nice. 

the lyrics, you might be asking:

“'Cause I'ma beast. Where you at? I've been unleashed. Whatchu doin'? Sink my teeth. Y'all can't fathom I'ma beast”

me: [vibrating in my seat] monster twins monster twins monster twins monster twins

at the very least this is definitely a fight scene here. Probably with the twins again (hopefully). Maybe they found some way to imbue the cultists with fucked up powers and are sending them against the VHs as giant demon things and as we fight through the temple (apparently with some Guardians) we realize the final one is Troy and/or Tyreen?

I like to imagine this is where Maya gets her powers stolen, if only because the next few songs... I think she’s around because she’s now the only person with Siren powers on the side of the Crimson Raiders, so they might need her help with the Vault in some way

“RAMPAGE” by GRAVEDGR

y’all wonder why I seemingly forgot about Krieg in the above songs? Well, this is why. 

The only lyric for this entire song is “Bitch, I'm on a rampage- mask on my damn face”

I mean come on, Krieg with his psycho mask on, the fact his action skill is literally called “Buzz Axe Rampage”, the fact he loves Maya as shown in his introductory trailer... it’d be so perfect. And I bet badass psycho Krieg would be the only thing able to beat back whatever’s attacking at the moment. I’m just imagining him smashing down a wall and going apeshit

“Black Out Days” by Phantograms

Another song I think is about Krieg and Maya. I don’t think Maya does too hot in this game, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she gets the Roland treatment if you know what I’m saying. I wonder if this causes Krieg to devolve back into insanity cause the whole song seems to focus around that. I hope not D:

“Hide the sun I will leave your face out of my mind You should save your eyes A thousand voices howling in my head Speak in tongues I don't even recognize your face Mirror on the wall Tell me all the ways to stay away”

To be honest I could also see it being that Maya gets her powers stolen and thoughtlock-ed by the twins to fight on their side (as she’s seen fighting with the big demon elemental things), and maybe we have to kill her or hurt her in some way to get her to stop attacking us. God I hope not.

Let’s hope this is someway about the twins and definitely not about our favorite Siren and/or Psycho

“The Finishing” by Stavroz

oof i think somebody dies... If its not Maya, my best guess is Krieg or Lilith. Maybe Mordecai or Brick? Oh I hope not, I love both of them way too much for it to be healthy. But, hey, at least Tina learned some coping mechanisms :(

“Intro” and “Apocalypse Please” by Muse

merged these into 1 because Intro is like 15 seconds long and is literally the introduction to Apocalypse Please. 

Definitely reaching the end of the game here... 

“And it's time we saw a miracle Come on, it's time for something biblical To pull us through And pull us through And this is the end This is the end Of the world Proclaim eternal victory Come on and change the cause of history And pull us through”

I think the twins (or whoever may have become the main villain- perhaps the Eridians?) have claimed victory/gotten the ultimate power in one way or another, and/or this is the Crimson Raiders getting themselves ready for a final stand-off with the big bad evil guy. 

I would really love if there’s a scene right at the end of this where the Twins have their huge “BOW TO ME” moment and then they just get COMPLETELY obliterated by a new villain. Just absolutely decimated.

New villain, like if they opened a Vault and whatever was being imprisoned there just wipes the floor with them (something like the Destroyer, if not the Destroyer itself), or fuck shit maybe even Tannis? or the Eridians looking for help in the war. or the Eridians bringing war. Who knows!

Again, could just be the Twins having gotten their hands on the end-game material, like realizing they can turn troy into big demon fuck (no i am not letting this one go) and we are kinda fucked now.

“Free Animal” by Foreign Air

I... have no idea lol

maybe Krieg getting rescued, maybe (one of?) the twins getting recruited by the Raiders for the final fight? It could fit into the ‘Beast’ imagery. Fuck, maybe even rescuing/finding Typhon or something? Idk, im kinda in the party that Typhon is going to be coming back some way or another lol, I’d love to meet the guy

“Dreams” by ZHU and Nero

This definitely sounds like a new BBEG has just been introduced or the big bads just entered the final phase of their plan, like the Crimson Raiders just learned about something life-changing and this is their “oh shit” moment

i wanna believe that the Eridians or another alien race (like the Seraphs!) are going to come in at the ‘end’ of the game and the Watcher is gonna be like “bitch did you really think I thought these dumbass ECHOnet streamers were the epitome of War??” I imagine we’d be on the side of the Eridians here, since y’know, the Watcher came to us for help.

Of course, the twins could still be the BBEG and have gotten their hands on that universe-destroying power that was described on the website (”to recover a map to ancient Vaults and prevent a universe-destroying power from falling into the wrong hands”) so maybe the Eridians called us in in order to meet and get help against the COV?

“Beyond the Fray” by Cassandra Violet

personally i think this one is about the Eridian homeworld

“I'll mark the day When we can meet beyond the fray Don't lose the will to see your home You find the way so we can meet beyond the fray I'll fight to see that you get home Consider this small clue Look beyond your point of view Make a space for honesty hide“

Wouldn’t even be surprised if someone made a sacrifice so we could get there... I imagine its hidden somewhere in the alternate dimension or wherever the Vaults lead to so it couldn’t be found, so maybe Lilith’s got her powers back at this point and she sacrifices herself to send us there?

idk...

“Outside the Realm” by Big Giant Circles

ah yes, another reason I think the end of the game involves the Eridian homeworld in some way. Have you heard this?? huge “we just stumbled upon a long-lost-alien-planet” vibe. I love it. Maybe even just a shot of Sanctuary III slowly gliding over the giant planet, having just exited phasewalk. God yes

“Battle Royale” by Apashe

another reason i think the final fight is some giant battlefield/wave fight instead of just against 1 or 2 enemies. not to mention the fact that the VH skills we’ve seen so far are crowd control based instead of raid boss focused. 

Its likely the VHs against the Cult of the Vault, but if we defeat the Twins halfway through the game, then the Cult will dissolve on its own. Either way, I really really really really really want a huge fight against an army. I don’t care if its against the Children of the Vault, the Eridians/some Guardians, or if its against the Seraphs or a new set of aliens we’re gonna get (maybe whatever the Destroyer was/is?). idk idc i just want a huge battle. I imagine we’re on the Eridians’ side, as I said above, but who knows, maybe the Watcher went rogue. 

oh and also, the next song:

“Doomsday” by NERO

oh hey, I recognize this song, it’s giving me major BL2 flashbacks lmao

Also the last song in the playlist, which is giving me the big fear (tm)

I imagine that we wouldn’t have been brought to the Eridian homeworld if it wasn’t kind of a huge deal, and what’s more of a huge deal than the end of the universe?!

that’s what i’d call doomsday, anyway.

could be the reason the Eridians are coming out of hiding after all this time. Either to stop our dumb human asses from opening the Vaults, or to get help against these alien fucks because our dumb human asses keep destroying their first line of defense- the Vault Monsters.

If the twins actually DO remain the main villains throughout the whole game, then I imagine this is them prepping to destroy the universe

but maaaan i really want some aliens... maybe the universe destroying power IS the aliens? aw hell yeah

[shellalana]

One of Ours

“I’m hiding like a bitch. Wanna be a bitch with me?” He held a finger to his lips, smiling like an idiot. Mordecai was drunk, beyond drunk, to the point that he found it difficult to even remain upright in his stooped position. Audrey had found him hiding behind one of the elemental barrels near her bandit camp. Why he was there of all places... Mordecai... how drunk are you?” She sidled over to him, thinking it was better to play pretend than to continue talking at this distance. Maybe then he would tell her what he was up to. “Oh, beyond shit-faced,” he declared quite proudly. He peeked over the edge of the barrel before ducking down again. “Who... are we hiding from exactly?” “’kachi. She’s gonna be pissed.” He hiccupped-belched, tried to stifle it behind a fist, and failed. “S’not easy, what she wants me doin’. Don’t think I coulda done it straight-faced. Hence me bein’ here.” Audrey was having a hard time following along with the sniper’s rambling. He was wearing thin on her patience already, and that was saying a lot. Conversations between them usually went the other way around. “What does she want you doing?” Mordecai opened his mouth then closed it again. Something at the back of his mind told him that he shouldn’t be talking about it. This was something important... a surprise! That was it. He needed to keep whatever it was hidden for some reason. The fact that he couldn’t remember, however, annoyed him. “No. ... no, no. Ain’t s’posed to tell.” Without warning, he grabbed her wrist and hoisted her onto his back, booking it to the nearest Fast Travel. Akachi would be pissed off at him, but he had what he came for, who he’d been sent for hours ago before he’d started drinking. It all came back to him very slowly, the reasons he was here. It had been Akachi’s idea for starters, and there was no argument he could raise against it. It made sense anyway and it wouldn’t hurt. In fact, it would make things all the easier. Audrey protested, swinging her arms and legs back and forth to free herself, intent on getting the sniper to let her go, or at least to explain what the heck he was doing. But it was for nought, even as the Fast Travel whisked them away. The air was unmistakable; they were in Sanctuary, crisp and clean and filled with the occasional smell of fried stuffs from Moxxi’s. But they weren’t heading that way. No, the sniper headed towards the apartments that Audrey knew all too well when she would visit the gunsmith. He took that familiar path too, and she soon heard a light knocking on a door. Silence. Another knock. His ECHO pinged and he fumbled for it for a few seconds. Mordecai was scared shitless for what was about to happen and how pissed Akachi would be. it couldn’t be helped, however. This kind of this wasn’t really his thing and he’d needed a lot of liquid courage to see it through. All of that was gone now as he stood before the door. “Alright, alright, ya gotta close your eyes, ‘kay? No peekin’ ‘til I says so.” Mordecai gently lowered her to her feet, spun her around, and pressed his gloved hands to her eyes. “We’re ready!” She could hear the soft click of the door opening and instantly smelled something... sweet? Plus the scent of something burning. It gave her moment to pause, afraid that something had gone horribly wrong. But there was no reaction from the man leading her in, nor from the Siren who lived within. She was going to have to trust them that everything was alright. Mordecai carefully guided her to a seat where he sat her down, his hands still to her eyes. The two were mumbling quietly and quickly to each other, in a language she hadn’t grasped. “Ya ready?” “No, but this is getting boring,” she quipped. She just wanted it all to be over with. His fingers peeled back to reveal the tallest frosted cake she’d ever seen, decorated in mismatched candles of different colours. She was so taken aback, she sat there frozen for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. She swallowed hard and gazed at the smiling faces of the other two. Nelinha was cradled against Akachi’s shoulder, fast asleep. “It’s... not my birthday.” “We know, hon. This isn’t about your birthday.” The pink-haired Siren strode closer and handed her a gift-wrapped box, her face practically glowing with her smile. “Not really.” Audrey’s fingers slowly wrapped around the edges of the box and sat the thing in her lap. It was unbelievably light; in fact, she thought it was empty. Was this some kind of trick? Another glance up at the two revealed encouraging nods. Up the lid went and inside... was just a piece of paper. Confusion wrapped her mind and gripped her heart. If this was some kind of joke, it wasn’t a very funny one. She felt the first hints of tears springing to her eyes, ready to throw the box to the ground, when she started to read what was written there. Her breath was stolen away. She held the paper up to the light. The words were really there, written in ink, and bore all three of their names. “Looks like you gotta new sister, Nel.” Mordecai nudged the baby’s head with a kiss and threw his arm around Akachi’s shoulder. “Whaddya think, Audrey? You up for bein’ a part o’this?” He gestured to the entire room, his stance still a little wobbly. She looked down from his face to the paper then back up again. A family. And a sister. The words across the paper started to blur and wobble in her vision. She quickly dragged a hand across her eyes before they could fall. For the sake of her pride, of course. “... is all this cake for me?” she asked as a means of distraction. “Course, hon. Eat until you get sick if you want to.” “Don’t tell her that! I don’t wanna hold her hair all night while she pukes pink into the toilet!”

[a-libra-writes]

Hi, how about some content for Asa with a reader who is the sister of Savoy but more calm and open to communication with others.

the comedic potential of this is too good (kind of a shortie!)

Being both oldest and most-levelheaded of the Savoy siblings, you're often the one doing the talking when it's time for introductions or making nice. Being easy on the eyes helps, too. When the three of you were approached by the much larger Marigold gang to leave your current employment and join up with them. That's when you came in contact with the Hotel Maribel's night manager, Asa Sweet.

The relationship was purely professional at first. You were the messenger between Asa and your siblings - initially he was good-humored but wary of them. They weren't particularly keen on making nice and behaving, but when did they ever? These meetings start going from talking in the office to talking at a café or restaurant. In Asa's words, the office is too stuffy for a lady. It's best to talk business over a good meal.

While Nico is amused with these outings, Serafine is the one whose a little bothered - sure, getting cozy with the "night manager" might be advantageous in the future, but that's her sister, damn it! She gives Asa unsettling grins across the Marigold Room, as if he wasn't totally aware how dangerous the two were. If you were also a gunman - well, he didn't get that level of fear from you, but still. He treads carefully, making sure his compliments aren't too forward and gauging your interest first. Look, he's a gentleman - he'd never start flirting unless he knew you'd be open to reciprocating. And that's before he found out you always carry a gun.

(Mordecai has had the unfortunate pleasure of sitting in on a few of these these conversations-turned-dates. Yes, he looks utterly miserable and annoyed. He thought you were the reasonable Savoy, apparently he was wrong.)

Once it's pretty clear you have a similar interest, Asa would buy you little things here and there. Some pretty flowers to your suite after a successful job, maybe a pretty little bracelet or set of earrings for a holiday or birthday. Nothing ostentatious, and you figure the only thing he likes more than conversation is giving you lovely, inconspicuous gifts... Serafine notices anyway. She's still wary of the whole thing, but she still joins Nico in teasing you mercilessly about liking such an "old man".

Anyway, Asa's a charming, fun and gentlemanly date. You don't feel any lesser for sounding 'strange' or essentially growing up in a swamp, and he always wants to flatter and spoil you. It's nothing serious, just you two enjoying each other's company. When's the last time you had such fancy dates, anyway? Heck, if it interested you, he'd take you to the theater or fancy banquets, delighting in how awed and curious you are. And obviously he wants to buy you pretty things to wear for the events. Overall, it's always a good and interesting time.

Regardless of your personal preferences, you and Asa agree it's best to keep any physical affection on the down-low, especially around your siblings. (Yeah, no matter how much you reassure him, he's certain they want to tie him up and leave him for the gators ...)

You've talked it over with Nico and Serafine several times, and while Nico went from apprehensive to indifferent to amused, the relationship never really sits right with your sister. You think if Asa was closer to a rumrunner instead of say, an upper class manager, she'd be more at ease. She doesn't like all the fancy gifts and dates, because that isn't who you are. It'd be one thing if you stringing the older man along, but you're actually happy. Serafine wouldn't stop you or try to break it up, but expect lots of extra snark when you get back from a date.

[lapis-lazuliie]

why eggscellent is the best rs episode

so you all know this episode is my #1 favourite in the entire show, and nothing you can say will change my mind. below i’ve written a pretty long, almost detailed, reasoning of why i hold this one in particular so close to my heart and i would put it under a read more, but again, tumblr on mobile is complete horseshit

so lets get on w/ the “review/rant/opinion piece” ;

i’m going to start at the argument scene between benson and mordecai. what i love most about it is how well recognised it is. i don’t exactly know how to put it bc of course it was “”“well recognised”“” since jg himself wrote the entire episode but…..it’s just such a tense moment already, and it becomes suddenly Worse when mordecai socks benson in the face

the entire argument between them is so emotionally charged and you’re not given a moment to ‘breathe’ until the next scene rolls over of mordecai ordering the omelette. the episode definitely deserved its’ emmy, but that scene ALONE is worth a lot of praise. it was so well written and it’s crystal clear jg /loved/ those two characters in particular

honestly……and i have absolutely no qualms typing this……..i truly think a flip switched on the show after this episode

for the first two seasons, it was really the viewers learning about who these characters are and the world built around them; us seeing the hilarious banter between mordecai and rigby (and others lol), and sure the first few episodes of the 3rd season did that, but when eggscellent aired…….it was an entirely different ballgame

the core of the show is really mordecai and rigby’s friendship; we see their antics through seasons 1 + 2 where it just exists w/ a lot of hilarity in the situations they get in. but nothing actually happened to showcase that friendship (and their characters) propery until ‘eggscellent’, where we were introduced to a truly dire situation where their relationship and mordecai’s character were put on complete display

in the earlier seasons, rigbys defining trait was that he fucks around and doesn’t bother with the backlash from it. mordecai’s defining trait was recognising the responsibility put on him and using that…….(there’s probably a better, more obvious trait, sorry but it illustrates my point plus it’s like 12:30am right now and i just want to get this out of my system lmao….)

in the episode, these traits take an absolute turning point in that it’s not all fun and games anymore; rigby does a completely idiotic thing that lands him in a coma and mordecai makes absolutely no hesitation in stepping up to the plate and making the right decision by doing what rigby now can’t

yes rigby still does fuck up in episodes (and seasons) after this and mordecai still has to stick up for him sometimes but that situation obviously made their friendship a whole lot stronger, and it made the audience extremely aware of the lengths mordecai will go for somebody he deeply cares about…..and that trait was shown countless times after this through various episodes. it made us come to the realisation of how important rigby is to mordecai and had us love their friendship even more bc of what mordecai was willing to do for him

bensons defining trait is his inability to put up with bullshit, namely mordecai and rigby’s bullshit. just as he comes to learn rigby could possibly not wake up from the coma, his IMMEDIATE understanding of the situation is “this is what your idiotic behaviour gets you. this is what happens when you don’t listen to me and this is a perfect fucking learning curve for you two”. and while mordecai can understand this to a certain extent, he still has no hesitation in punching him straight in the face for it bc now is not the time to bring this shit up, especially in the worst fucking situation imagineable and their argument starts from there before mordecai walks out

being on the outskirts of this relationship, benson only witnesses a fraction of mordecai’s caring nature for rigby. but what he doesn’t see or at least doesn’t exactly consider is the absolute compassion and responsibility mordecai feels when faced w/ a scenario where their screwing around takes on an entirely different set of circumstances. and it still doesn’t comprehend bc he’s never fully grasped the idea of them being two seperate people. yes he knows mordecai is capable of responsiblity, moreso than rigby, but it’s somewhat easier for him to simply jam them together because a majority of the dangerous shit caused around the park is always their fault. mordecai could easily blab to benson a lot of the time, but bc of his basic dedication to staying by rigby’s side, he chooses not to, and so benson really has no choice BUT to see them as a unit no matter the situation they find themselves in

a lot of what benson’s about is work and that’s very clearly shown to us from the get go. it’s who he /is/, he’s the boss at the park and that’s all we really get to see of him (until the first few episodes of s3 where we’re given some honest insight into who he used to be and currently is), so of course he holds a certain expectation for the employees who work under him. he expects rigby to do this shitty thing and pay for the aftermath later. he expects mordecai to follow along and pick up the pieces that’ve been dropped by him

bc he’s grown so used to their daily fuck ups, it comes as no surprise to him that rigby lands himself in the hospital from an absolutely idiotic decision he was consciously aware of making. and bc benson is so strongly aware of this, he has the absolute gall to turn around and tell mordecai exactly why this has happened; because they skipped on work

to reiterate: he wants the two to come away from this knowing that a very real and terrifying thing has suddenly come about because they didn’t do their fucking jobs. and this is the exact kind of shit benson had been trying to avoid since hiring them. to him, this was GOING to happen. this was inevitable

these characters and their relationships have already been so well established that having a situation between them suddenly be cranked all the way to 11 is of course going to call for some incredibly needed development; not only does mordecai physically lash out at benson, he also verbally attacks him too by admitting to him that nobody truly cares for him beyond the general boss/employee relationship. it’s extremely harsh and is said in such a cold way that we’re just sat there wondering when benson’s going to speak his mind again to counter with him

but he doesn’t. of course he doesn’t. and why? bc that punch to the face and those verbal insults were a fucking wake up call. in all the time he’s known mordecai, this is the very first instance where he sees firsthand just how mordecai takes on the emotional backlash from shit like this. and he stands there and takes it because he knows mordecai is 100% in the right in his actions and his words; and even if he isn’t, benson takes it on anyway bc mordecai has every fucking right to react like this from being fed such a ballsy piece of bullshit in an incredibly extreme situation that shouldn’t call for this whatsoever

it’s in mordecai’s exact reaction that benson’s logical, “no bullshit’ attitude comes to a grinding halt and he’s suddenly forced to take a step back and really come to terms with seeing mordecai for who he truly is without rigby by his side for the very first time since he’s known him. it’s mordecai’s raw devotion and love for the people he cares about, in this case: rigby, that causes benson to come to the gradual understanding of how much he truly fucked up in saying what he had before

in an earlier s3 episode, benson tries unsuccesfully to get rid of a stick hockey game mordecai and rigby find holed up in the garage. though the two want to know why he’s so against them playing it, we’re not exactly told much of anything until close to the end of the episode, where it’s revealed to us that benson used to be a stick hockey champion and had taken a young apprentice under his wing by the name of dave. without going into details, dave is killed in a match against a man named chong and since the incident, benson has had to put away another facet of his past until the duo dig it up again. so he has no choice but to go down there and play chong, thus winning and getting the closure he needs with daves death

you would think bc of all this, bensons empathy card would come running through the gate as soon as he realises just how serious the situation is. if he wasn’t constantly wearing a shell made of wax paper, maybe the first thing to come out his mouth would’ve been “oh shit mordecai i’m so sorry” instead of “you fucked up and this is why” like a decent human being

……okay

when benson realises what he said was completely uncalled for, he not only apologises to mordecai, but he takes it upon HIMSELF to give him jonthans own book and work with mordecai to complete the challenge, and this leads into what has to be one of my favourite uses of a licenced song in this show since its airing; bonnie tylers ‘holding out for a hero’ played over an animated 80s-esque training montage

the music has always been a main fixture of the show for a lot of people. older audiences can very much appreciate the brief nostalgia trip while saying aloud “they got that song in here? kudos to them!” and younger audiences can appreciate the flashy colours and coming to the realisation that this was played in the cinematic masterpiece that is shrek 2, while both can be similitanously distracted by how truly boring these scenes would be without music overlaying them. that’s the beauty of a montage, folks; no matter the age, they’re still enjoyable to watch….unless they have a shitty song playing over them. 'holding out for a hero’ was such a perfect song choice to have in this episode; not only does it encapsulate the utter cheesiness of every training montage of the 80s but it fits for the exact scenario that rigby is in. i don’t need to spell it out for you bc it’s already there in the damn title, but let me just say that jg could not have chosen a more 'right’ song than this one

they stop outside the restaurant, and as everyone clambers out of the cart, we get ANOTHER one of my absolute favourite scenes between benson and mordecai; i believe this scene was christened amongst the rs fanbase as 'the apology scene’, where mordecai admits to benson that he is a good friend despite how much of an absolute dick benson can be sometimes. it’s incredibly sweet and written in a very direct way; from what we’ve already seen between them up until this point, there is no doubt mordecai holds a complete plethora of feelings about benson and their relationship, benson likewise upon suddenly learning just how highly mordecai values the friendships around him, his own with rigby especially, and instead of getting all choked up about it, mordecai makes it very clear that as of right now, it’s all he has say to benson, and it’s from bensons reaction and one line response that it’s all he needs to hear from him too

in that brief moment, without so much as a few sentences said between them, they’ve come to a mutual understanding of one another, in that both are very aware of just how much this situation has impacted their previous “water and oil” relationship. in fact, this scene was so ridiculously important that in the middle of his commentary for the episode, jg pauses midsentence to watch this scene play out, despite already knowing exactly what happens in it, bc he recognises how pivotal it was in not just their relationship, but in the series as a whole

in an earlier draft of the episode, jg explains in the commentary that they were going to have rigby upchuck the omelette then have the sick come to life and train him in beating the challenge. hilarity and moral questioning ensues when he slowly realises he’s aiding rigby in eating his own kind for a stupid hat and a fight breaks out in the restaurant

not only do i personally fucking adore this change, obviously, but i also find it incredibly interesting in that the absolute craziness of a general episode, where rigby is very much awake and is the main character, is switched out for an episode that showcases the utter importance of friendship, and how rigbys fucking around can get him almost killed, which is what we had seen in previous seasons, but never this bad. in a roundabout way, rigby is the main character, even if he isn’t consciously aware for a second of the events happening around him, bc we see the complete fallback rigbys idiotic decision has on not just mordecai, but benson too

jg clearly took this episode idea and fucking ran with it. it was the only episode to win them an emmy, and rightfully so; every single scene is an absolute masterpiece and it pales in complete comparison to almost every other episode following it. with a show so trenched in its tagline “anything but regular”, the much needed turning point comes as an absolute surprise to the audience, where the core of the show is flipped on its head and we’re suddenly told that your moronic behaviour can have extreme backlash when you’re unaware of the consequences that come with it. having benson and mordecai be front and center of it all, the two characters who are very knowledgable of the sheer stupidity rigby can pocess at times, is so fucking perfect in itself bc it forces them to push aside their differences to work together in something benson would usually find as completely ludicrous and would most likely opt out of if the stakes weren’t so high

i’ve already said before that i love this episode and i will continue to love it bc it is so fucking important. in the 11 minutes of runtime, jg manages to write an episode that, at its core, is about friendship and the lengths you’re willing to go for somebody you deeply care about, while also developing a relationship that goes from absolute hatred to the beginning of a friendship based around that very lesson

though the show had produced some truly great episodes from various board artists, jgs always seemed to have a very distinct style to them; they were always wacky and fun, but took on a serious note at times while also hiding some sort of message underneath the antics, and as every show creator, he was highly keyed into the beats of his show. one of the main reasons this episode was so incredible is bc it was made by somebody who has an extreme love for and deep understanding of his characters; yes the artists episodes were fantastic at times, but when it comes down to it, the creator really does know them best, and being the sole artist for this episode gave jg a ton of creative freedom to try his hand at throwing them into such an intense situation for the first time, where mordecai could potentially lose his best friend and seeing just how everybody responds to the weight of that scenario is exactly something we, the audience, needed to see. and the shows creator healming the reigns for this entire episode was just 👌🏼

you really could not have trusted anybody else to board this episode

[angelguk]

royal au!bangtan

i gave this idea away a while ago but the account never did anything with it nor did they post it so imma just leave this here for anyone who wants to use it as prompt/idea starter

this has nothing to do w/ the fae!au btw

endgame was meant to be either jungkook or taehyung but do what you want! :)

it was roughly based off moon lovers: scarlet heart ryeo minus the time travel and ten times the betrayal 

prompt includes: brief plot outline, character outline and first potential chapter (but everything can change pretty easily)

leavin it under here

potential title: affinity meaning a binding by mutual attraction

BANGTAN – TAEHYUNG (Duke), JUNGKOOK (General) NAMJOON (Philosopher/Astronomer) YOONGI (Advisor to King) JIMIN (Duke) HOSEOK (Duke) JIN (Stable Boy)

BRIEF PLOT OUTLINE – Reader is part of a country which is been invaded by the Emperor of the boys Kingdom. (Places need names). During an attack of a village that the reader lives in she is captured. Jungkook was leading that attack and found her hiding in the stables. Reader is the daughter of the leader of that region. Reader is known to have helped her father in many excursions. They capture her and bring her for questioning in the castle. Reader is tortured hoping that information could be taken from her. Reader knows nothing. King orders her execution but Namjoon defies it saying the stars have something in plan for her and they may use her as bait to draw in her father (who fled before the attack or wasn’t there). Yoongi is completely against this. But reader is now sentenced to do stable work / slavery where she meets Jin. They befriend each other quickly – Jin does not know where reader comes from. One day Jungkook needs service on his horse and Reader has to do it. Jungkook causes trouble and his friend, Taehyung (the Duke of some Court/place) is there with him as well as Jimin and Hoseok. Jimin takes the reader’s side while Jungkook and Taehyung are assholes (Only Jungkook knows where she is from).  Later that day a maid is dismissed from work (reason unknown yet) and there’s a bit of chaos as they need servers since the main dukes and general are here celebrating a holiday with the King. Reader is randomly chosen by the Chef and is forced to serve. At dinner Jungkook, Yoongi and Namjoon are shocked. King pays little attention to her. Crown Prince keeps on staring at Reader. That dinner is more of a conference meeting event and the Reader hears everything. Start’s to think on how to destroy the King so she can revive her Kingdom. Leads to Yoongi finding her in the Accords (place where important documents about the King and his kingdom are kept) but Namjoon comes to her rescue. Jungkook is also suspicious of her but Taehyung, Hoseok and Jimin take her side. She begins to build a relationship with those three but she finds one of the King’s men (along with the Second Queen) planning an assassination of the Crown Prince. Reader happens to help prevent the death of the crown prince. Jungkook and Yoongi even more suspicious of her. Reader builds relationship with Namjoon and relationship with Taehyung turns romantic. (Now she is a permanent server no longer a stable girl).  Not sure where it goes from there.

End Game: Unknown (Either Taehyung or Jungkook – so either the boy who’s been by her side forever or the asshole who became her lover after they stopped being enemies)

Relationships

-         Deep friendship w/ Jin

-         One way w/ Jimin (Jimin loves her)

-         Mutual love/hate Jungkook

-         Mutual love Taehyung

-         Friendship w/ Namjoon

-         Friendship turned romantic/ sexual w/Yoongi (MAYBE?)

-         Deep Friendship w/ Hoseok

Names/Places:

·         Ennia READERS Kingdom

·         Ardeland  BANTANS Kingdom

Characters:

-         Reader

-         Bangtan Members

-         Queen Min Soonja (1st Queen)

-         Queen Hae Jisoo (2nd Queen)

-         Consort Ro Soo Ah (1st Consort)

-         Consort Mo Suelgi (3rd Consort)

-         Crown Prince Ryo Minho

-         King Ryo Gyeong Su

-         Prince Young Jae (Son of 2nd Queen)

-         Princess Yoona (Daughter of 2nd Queen)

-         Princess Hyo Rin (Daughter 1st Queen)

 Note: Gardenia is where the Reader was placed for safe keeping while her Father vanished + Jungkook became a General after his father died. 

CHAPTER ONE – NO MAN UNDER THE SKY LIVES TWICE

The air carries the pungent stench of death, within it lies the tired breathe of horses, the echoes of metal meeting metal in furious clashs and the faint glimmer of metallic blood. Dust dances in the air he breathes, coating his lungs in a thick layer of earth and smoke. Catani sits beside him, glistening sliver in the harsh sunlight of the Ennia lands. Her sliver body is caked in scarlet blood, slipping slowly off the sharp tip that’d been driven into the bodies of thousands. Her owner glances down, dark hair soaked in sweat clinging onto his forehead. His face is young but time and fighting has begun to show themselves in the deep chocolate eyes he possesses. His gaze stayed on the sword, ignoring the moving world around. The voices of his men chattering and bickering away as they assembled sticks and logs to create a fire fell on his deaf ears. He didn’t hear the crunch of dry grass as a man cloaked in midnight blue dashed towards his huddled figure. Until the man stood before him, panting heavily as sweat dripped from his sliver beard.

“General Jeon, there has been a message for you. From the capital.” The man says the word capital in a hushed whisper, as if the word alone could get him killed.

“What is it.” The boy doesn’t ask, his tone is a clear and solid command. His gaze doesn’t shift from the bloodied weapon either. Instead fingers painted in blue bruises and ivory scars find themselves twisting idly around a tall piece of grass.

The man tuts, lifting his hands to rip the head wrap from his sweltering skull. Hair the colour of moonlight tumbles from the intricate wrap design, falling like a waterfall down his back. “You’re not even going to look at me huh. Little rapscallion.”

The boy laughs. It’s short and brief and it comes out his throat like a cough instead.

“I didn’t need to look at you,” His fingers rise and point idly to the shoes the man was wearing. Curved pointed tips which reach for the skies. Capital shoes – not army boots. “Nobody else wears those bothersome things, Mordecai.”

The man huffs in reply, flopping down beside the boy. His heavy navy cloak hits the ground with a thud, spreading itself around the man’s frail body.

“Alright then Jungkook. But I wasn’t lying when I said there was a message from the capital.”

“What is it.” There’s a slight twinge of impatience in his voice. Reasonable because his arms and legs ached with pain. Tearing through bodies with a sword as heavy as Catani was wasn’t not as easy as he made it seem.

“His Majesty wants you to go forward into Gardenia tomorrow. It’s one of the last few villages we haven’t conquered yet. His Majesty is certain that the princess is there.”

Jungkook sighs, ripping the leaf of grass from its roots and tossing it into the heavy air, now tainted with smoke and fiery orange hue of the setting sun.

“My men haven’t rested for three days. Last night we had to deal with a rabid Kroni attacking our horses. We’re not at all ready for a new advancement. We need at least a day’s rest Mordecai.”

His eyes are on the elderly man, laced with lassitude and dispiritedness. His whole body sagged underneath the heavy armour, almost like he was caving in. Mordecai looked at the boy, yes he was a boy; more the half the men he controlled were his seniors. But he was a boy nonetheless. A boy who’d seen blood and fire. A boy who’d narrowly escaped death and swiftly handed out ones. He may have had the body of an adolescent man but his mind was as old as his father’s once before he’d passed away.

Jungkook always reminded Mordecai of his father.

The older man turned away, fixing his gaze on the blazing fire that’d been erected before them. The heat from the flames combined with Ennia’s natural furnace the sun (which refused to stop giving heat even after it went down) the world was an incinerator.

“You speak to me as if I was the King. I cannot change orders Jungkook. I can only deliver them.”

“I wish you hadn’t delivered this one then.” He’s up, black boots crunching leaves into dust beneath them. His strides are lengthy. His lean tall stature is covered in a black coat, the golden intricate insignia of a King’s General engraved on the back. Dry wind rips at his clothing, ruffling the brown mane his possess. He looks exactly like his father in Mordecai’s eyes.

“Jungkook-ah,” Mordecai says to no one. “There are many messages I wish I hadn’t delivered.” His sigh is carried by the wind to the ears of the young General. “So many.”

+

You can’t sleep. The night air surrounding you is abuzz with the sounds of glowing dragonflies skittering over the slumbering river beneath your feet. The water is cold to touch, slipping over your nimble fingertips like velveteen. The world is silver and gold; cool moonlight meeting the warmth of the lanterns scattered carelessly around the pathway.

The calm breeze whispers stories in your ears, ruffling the flimsy white nightgown you’d adorned when you’d slipped into the warmth of the blanket back in your room. It hadn’t occurred to you that a jacket would be necessary when the night had called you awake.

The fabric is rough beneath your fingertips, completely unlike the smooth satin dresses that’d your wear in the palace. Here, satin was a thing of treasure. Not one person wore it.

You’re kicking the ground beneath absently, the familiar knot of resent and anger towards your father forming in the pit of your stomach. Why did he have to leave you here? Of all places this tiny village couldn’t have been the best choice. He could have sent his men to collect you when that bastard Ryo attacked. He could have – but he didn’t.

A sigh slips out of your mouth and you spin around, trying in vain to get rid of that feeling that’s been building up in your bones and blood since the attack. The world was a kaleidoscope of grey and black and silver and gold. Glistening rocks surrounded you, shimmering under the glow of the moon. Your shoes skidded across the wet surface beneath, but because of the insane training you’d received from Myrna your balance didn’t falter.

Despite this attempt, the questions that drew you from sleep tumble in your head.

Why did he leave you?

Why didn’t he attack back?

Where did he go?

Is he even alive?

Why Gardenia?

Why?

“Y/N!”

The world is shook from you grasp and you come to a halt, frantically searching the dark trees for the voice which called your name.

“Y/N,  why aren’t you in bed?” The voice come from behind you.

*prompt ends here*

[dfroza]

Another ancient book begins

to illuminate the spiritual truth of rebirth with the first chapter of the book of Mark as book #2 in the New Testament:

This is the beginning of the good news of Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, the Son of God.

Isaiah the prophet told us what would happen before He came:

Watch, I will send My messenger in front of You

to prepare Your way and make it clear and straight.

You’ll hear him, a voice crying in the wilderness,

“Prepare the way of the Eternal One,

a straight way in the wandering desert, a highway for our God.”

That messenger was John the Baptist, who appeared in the desert near the Jordan River preaching that people should be ritually cleansed through baptism with water as a sign of both their changed hearts and God’s forgiveness of their sins. People from across the countryside of Judea and from the city of Jerusalem came to him and confessed that they were deeply flawed and needed help, so he cleansed them with the waters of the Jordan. John dressed as some of the Hebrew prophets had, in clothes made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. He made his meals in the desert from locusts and wild honey. He preached a message in the wilderness.

John the Baptist: Someone is coming who is a lot more powerful than I am—One whose sandals I’m not worthy to bend down and untie. I’ve washed you here through baptism with water; but when He gets here, He will wash you in the Spirit of God.

It was in those days that Jesus left Nazareth (a village in the region of Galilee) and came down to the Jordan, and John cleansed Him through baptism there in the same way all the others were ritually cleansed. But as Jesus was coming out of the waters, He looked up and saw the sky split open. The Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove, and a voice echoed in the heavens.

Voice: You are My Son, My beloved One, and I am very pleased with You.

After that the Spirit compelled Him to go into the wilderness, and there in the desert He stayed for 40 days. He was tested by Satan himself and surrounded by wild animals; but through these trials, heavenly messengers cared for Him and ministered to Him.

After John was arrested by Herod, who ruled the Jewish lands on behalf of Roman interests, Jesus went back into the region of Galilee and began to proclaim the good news of God.

Jesus: It’s time! The kingdom of God is near! Seek forgiveness, change your actions, and believe this good news!

As Jesus walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He met the first of His disciples, two brothers, Simon and Andrew, both fishermen who were casting their fishing net into the shallow waters.

Jesus: Come and follow Me, and I’ll send you to catch people instead of fish.

Simon and Andrew left their nets and followed Jesus at once.

When He had walked a little farther, He saw the sons of Zebedee, James and John, in their boat repairing their nets. Right away He called to them, and they dropped what they were doing and left their father Zebedee and the hired men aboard the boat to follow Him as His disciples.

They came at last to the village of Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee; and on the Sabbath Day, Jesus went straight into a synagogue, sat down, and began to teach. The people looked at each other, amazed, because this strange teacher acted as One authorized by God, and what He taught affected them in ways their own scribes’ teachings could not. Just then a man in the gathering who was overcome by an unclean spirit shouted.

Unclean Spirit: What are You doing here, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I can see who You are! You’re the Holy One of God.

Jesus (rebuking him): Be quiet, and come out of him now!

The man’s body began to shake and shudder; and then, howling, the spirit flew out of the man. The people couldn’t stop talking about what they had seen.

People: Who is this Jesus? This is a new teaching—and it has such authority! Even the unclean spirits obey His commands!

It wasn’t long before news of Jesus spread over the countryside of Galilee.

Right after they left the synagogue, Jesus went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. They told Him about Simon’s mother-in-law who was there in bed, sick and feverish. Jesus went to her side, took her hand, and lifted her up. As soon as He touched her, the fever left her and she felt well again—strong enough to bustle around the house taking care of her visitors.

Just before night fell, others had gathered all the sick, diseased, and demon-infested people they could find. It seemed as if the whole town had gathered at Simon and Andrew’s door. Jesus was kept busy healing people of every sort of ailment and casting out unclean spirits. He was very careful not to let the demons speak because they knew Him and could reveal to the people who He really was.

Early in the morning, Jesus got up, left the house while it was still dark outside, and went to a deserted place to pray. Simon and the others traveling with Jesus looked for Him. They finally tracked Him down.

People: Everybody wants to know where You are!

Jesus: It’s time we went somewhere else—the next village, maybe—so I can tell more people the good news about the kingdom of God. After all, that’s the reason I’m here.

So He traveled to the next village and the one after that, throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and casting out unclean spirits.

A leper walked right up to Jesus, dropped to his knees, and begged Him for help.

Leper: If You want to, You can make me clean.

Jesus was powerfully moved. He reached out and actually touched the leper.

Jesus: I do want to. Be clean.

And at that very moment, the disease left him; the leper was cleansed and made whole once again. Jesus sent him away, but first He warned him strongly.

Jesus: Don’t tell anybody how this happened. Just go and show yourself to the priest so that he can certify you’re clean. Perform the ceremony prescribed by Moses as proof of your cleansing, and then you may return home.

The man talked everywhere about how Jesus had healed him, until Jesus could no longer come into a town openly without the risk of being mobbed. So He remained on the outskirts. Even so, people still sought Him out from far and wide.

The Book of Mark, Chapter 1 (The Voice)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 3rd chapter of the book of Esther in which Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman because of his reverence for God over the fear of man, just as my own heart won’t bow to the demands of a lying dragon:

A little while later, according to King Ahasuerus’ wishes, Haman (son of Hammedatha, an Agagite) was promoted to a rank above all his fellow nobles in the kingdom. The officials at the king’s gate all bowed down before Haman and paid him homage because the king commanded this. But Mordecai, the Jew, refused to kneel and refused to honor him.

Mordecai’s actions came to the attention of the king’s officials standing at the gate.

Officials (looking at Mordecai): Why are you disobeying the king’s command?

The officers questioned him daily about his disobedience to the king, but Mordecai refused to listen and bow down. The officers reported this to Haman to learn whether or not Mordecai’s excuse would be tolerated, for Mordecai had told them he was a Jew. Haman was furious when he saw that Mordecai refused to bow and pay him the respect he was due. But Haman wasn’t to be satisfied with killing only Mordecai, so he began to think of ways to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

During the 1st month (the month of Nisan) of Ahasuerus’ 12th year as king, they cast lots (also known as “purim”) in the presence of Haman in order to select a day and month. [The lot fell on the 13th day of] the 12th month (the month of Adar), a day nearly one year in the future.

Haman (to the king): All the provinces in your kingdom are overrun with one insignificant group of foreigners, people who haven’t adopted our customs. Their laws differ from all other peoples’, and they do not keep your laws. Therefore it’s not a good idea for you to tolerate them or their actions any longer. If it is your wish, sign an order that these people be destroyed, and I will bear all the costs. I’ll pay 375 tons of silver directly to those who carry out the king’s business in order to relieve the royal treasury of the expense.

Not knowing which group of foreigners was being targeted, the king took his signet ring, the symbol of his power and authority, from his finger and passed it to Haman (son of Hammedatha, the Agagite), who hated the Jews.

King Ahasuerus (to Haman): The money is yours and the people are yours also to do with as you wish.

On the 13th day of the 1st month, the royal secretaries were summoned. The king’s order was written down exactly the way Haman dictated it to all of the king’s rulers of the regions, governors of the provinces, and nobles of the ethnic groups. The orders were written in every script and every language spoken in the provinces in the name of the king, and they were sealed into law with his ring. Messengers were sent out to all the royal provinces with the official law giving the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all of the Jews. They were to kill everyone, including women and children, young and old, on the 13th day of the 12th month (the month of Adar), and they were free to take everything the Jews owned. An official copy of the king’s order was to be issued to every province and read publicly, so that the people could get ready for that day. The messengers were quickly dispatched by order of the king. Then the decree was publicly proclaimed in the citadel of Susa. As the king and Haman relaxed and drank wine, the city of Susa was thrown into chaos.

The Book of Esther, Chapter 3 (The Voice)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Wednesday, march 31 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about personally discovering the pure acceptance of God:

"If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). The sages say, "Being free means that I am in the place I am supposed to be." In other words, freedom means surrendering, accepting, and yielding to God's path of blessing for you. This a place of great spiritual contentment where you are liberated from the slavery of fear and disappointment. Yeshua lived in this freedom, since He completely yielded Himself to His father's daily care (John 5:19; 8:29; 14:10).

Surrendering yourself to God’s care is also the means of finding self-acceptance. God knows all your sins and has paid for them upon the cross, and therefore His love for you is the basis for which you can properly forgive and accept yourself... A Yiddish proverb reads, “If I try to be someone else, who then will be like me?" When you die, God won't ask why you weren't more like Moses, Elijah, etc., but rather, why you weren't more like the person He created you to be. No one else can do the things you are called to do, and therefore God created you as a distinct individual who reflects His glory in a unique way... “To the one who conquers I will give a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it” (Rev. 2:17). Those who follow Yeshua can intellectually understand and emotionally trust that God is working all things together for good in their lives (Rom. 8:28). [Hebrew for Christians]

3.29.21 • Facebook

"If then you have been raised with Messiah, seek the things that are above, where the Messiah is seated at the right hand of God (לִימִין הָאֱלהִים); focus your thoughts on the things above - not on things here on earth - for you have died, and your life has been hidden with Messiah in God" (Col. 3:1-3). Note that the verb translated "you have died" (ἀπεθάνετε) indicates that your death is a spiritual reality you must accept by faith. You don't "try to die" to the flesh, since that is the fool's errand of man's "religion." No, you trust that God has killed the power of sin and death on your behalf and imparted to you a new kind of life power (John 1:12; Eph 2:5). Because you partake of an entirely greater dimension of reality, namely, the spiritual reality hidden from the vanity of this age, your life is likewise hidden from this world (Col. 3:4). Therefore we are instructed to consciously focus our thoughts (φρονέω) on the hidden reality of God rather than on the superficial and temporal world that is passing away: "For we are looking not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient (i.e., "just for a season," καιρός), but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).

Just as you must trust and accept that Yeshua was crucified for you, identifying with you, taking your place in judgment, exchanging his life for your own, so you must trust and accept that you have been crucified with him, and that your old life was taken away and replaced with a new, indestructible nature. In other words, a union is created where his "for me" is answered by my "with him." Χριστῷ συνε��ταύρωμαι– "I already have been crucified in Messiah" (Gal. 2:20). Indeed the two go together: to trust in the finished work of Messiah for you is to trust in his finished work within you... When he died on the cross for you, which sins didn't he bear on your behalf? which remedy did he leave unfulfilled? [Hebrew for Christians]

3.30.21 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

March 31, 2021

Other Preachers

“What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18)

This verse seems to conflict with warnings about false teachers (2 Peter 2:1) and another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). The key is identifying what Paul is allowing on the one hand and condemning on the other.

Some teachers of his day (probably both in Philippi and in Rome) appeared to be taking advantage of Paul’s imprisonment to enhance their own reputations. Indeed, some were trying through their public preaching to “add affliction to [his] bonds” (Philippians 1:16).

Even though some with ungodly motives stood out among those preaching of “good will,” Paul was able to rejoice that “Christ is preached” (today’s text) by both categories, and therein is the source of the “power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).

The stern denunciation of “another gospel” (Galatians 1:6) exposes the untruth of all hybrid messages, whether human or angelic, that would attempt to preach anything other than “Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Here is the message for us. When the full gospel of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection—according to the Scriptures— is preached (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) by whatever means and even under sometimes questionable motives, the “good news” is cause for rejoicing. It is the gospel that has power, not the messenger.

However, when some people attempt to change that gospel to make it seem more attractive to those who wish to continue in sin, or change its message to allow for human works, we are to see such preachers as dangerous and under condemnation. May God keep us from both mistakes. HMM III