#aboutmordecaimeta

[bastardsunlight]

For your married muses: What was really transition from partner to spouse like? Did anything fundamentally change about your relationship?

I have a few so hold onto your butts.

[[MORE]]

Master Sergeant Rex “Sandman” Price nee Rogers

“The marriage actually came after the… rest of it… Had to. Fraternization.” He lifts the stump of an arm, too lazy today to wear his prosthesis. “We stopped shootin’ at people, for starters and I got my ass out of Humvees for good. I swear if I never see another one of those shitboxes it’ll be too soon.”

He looks around surreptitiously for the presence of either of his daughters, to ensure they’ve not heard him using foul language.

Piccolo Jr.

He thinks back to the wedding, when it had all become real to him. What had started out as a genuine gesture of solidarity and friendship became his life and his world when he’d laid eyes on the Saiyan Prince. The ceremony itself had been splendid and the reception would have been quite peaceful, had some out-of-town (off-planet) piece of power level-obsessed trash not spoiled it by making a mess of West City mid cake-cutting. The memory brings a smile to the Namekian’s face and he shakes his head.

“No,” he says after a moment. “We just live together now.”

Nathan Christopher Charles “Cable” Summers

“We aren’t married. Wade, please stop signing those divorce papers… ugh…” Pinching the bridge of his nose, the telepath makes a grab for the ream of paper Deadpool is tearfully signing, for some reason, with a splotchy fountain pen. Cable has no idea where he’s found this artifact and is, as usual, just a little impressed—an undertone of his overarching irritation.

Hanzo “Scorpion” Hasashi

“At first, there was little change,” Scorpion admits, “aside from the obvious.” He holds up a hand whereupon a band sits on his ring finger. “The transition—the most important one—occurred when we… when I… retired.”

Surrounded by grandchildren and glowing with pride, it is clear he does not regret this.

The Boy/0.005

“Dolores appeared when I needed her; she was there for me for… shit, half a century? I dunno where I’d be without her. It’s like I… wasn’t there before her and I won’t be here after her.” Is the minuscule assassin drunk and clutching a mannequin? Perhaps.

Daisuke Jigen

He doesn’t know why he agreed to the whole thing—it seems over-the-top, even for Lupin. A fake marriage, ceremony and all, complete with a contract? Well, he can say one thing for his ridiculous friend: the guy never does anything halfway.

“Nah,” he grunts, “it’s all for the payout, as usual.” Oddly enough, he doesn’t sound remotely disappointed with this arrangement. It’s just how they are.

Jessica Rabbit

She thinks about this a moment, pretty, red lips pulling into a pout she cannot help. Finely-plucked brows knit delicately and she makes a musical “hm” sound as she considers this. “What was the transition?” She considers this. “Now I get to wake up next to the man who makes me laugh.”

Jonathan “Johnny Cage” Carlton

“I’ve been married a couple times, and honestly the biggest change—if you’re not a total jackass—is that life’s not about you anymore. It can’t be… ‘specially if there’s a kid in the picture.” In his wallet are a pile of pictures of Cassie and Jacqui as children. The two had been inseparable and he can’t help thinking of the latter as his, in a way.

Loki Laufeyson

“Marriage is a bargaining chip,” he informs the faceless individual. He can respect the shapeshifting ability that has disabled his detection of their identity and right now, expending any kind of energy to actually figure out who they are feels like a cost he does not want to pay. “Nothing changes but the locale… Hmm, and my influence”

Matthew Horner

“The erh… first time, I didn’t even realize it.” He is loathe to recount the events of that fateful night of what he thought was a relatively innocent poker game which led to his marriage arrangement with Mira Han. Flushing deeply, he recounts a bit of the story of his second (and current) marriage.

“I think it really set in when Valerian—err, the Emperor—said he would take mylast name. Imagine that, the son of a merchant from Tyrador IX of all places…” He can’t help chuckling at this innocent picture he’s painted of himself, leaving out the hijacking of Hyperion and all the rebel activity that has made up the most exciting and instrumental parts of his life. “I can’t really put my finger on what changed when we finally said ‘I do’, but it felt like the ground was gone under my feet and the sky was… just so much brighter.”

Valerian Horner nee Mengsk

“When I dealt with Mira Han for Matthew’s hand, I knew that there were no lengths to which I would not go to have him. She knew it too.” His chuckle is wry. “And she took me for much, but it wasn’t nearly a fraction of what I’d have given up… for him. When we were wed, I realized, reallyunderstood that I didn’t have to be my father—that I don’t ever have to pretend to that throne. He’s helped me forge my own and I will always be grateful to him for that.”

Noctis Lucis Caelum

“I’m not—wh… I’m not married. I… not yet! I’ll marry Luna, soon… I think…” Noctis seems unsure of this, not unwilling but certainly not the elated bridgroom one might expect. His thoughts turn to the Galahdi hand-fasting ceremony, to the scant witnesses, the very few who know of the young prince’s most dangerous indiscretion, though Nyx Ulric is an indiscretion he will make over and over, if given the chance. His heart still beats fast in his chest when their eyes meet, but their liaisons are still secret, their love still hidden from the public eye.

Rayden *arranged Marriage AU because I like this one

“I’m a god now, so that’s new.” He snickers, grinning mischievously in the sorcerer’s direction. The myriad of lewd comments and stories he could tell are threatening to burst forth, but he holds them back, like a heavy thunderhead, waiting to rain its contents on the anticipatory ground below.

“I didn’t know Tsung before this, but to his credit, he mad a good effort at pretending I had a choice in the whole thing.” Rayden shrugs indifferently, as if being pitched between realms as a bargaining chip is a normal occurrence. “The little Kahn done fucked up, as you Earthrealmers say.”

Sherlock Holmes

“Not a thing,” he responds succinctly. “Watson and I have always had a companionable relationship. That has not changed one iota, nor, I think, will it. Now, if you will excuse me…” He is neither impolite nor brusque, but clipped, as if his mind is elsewhere and, as usual, it is. Tossing on a coat, the consulting detective disappears out the door of his rooms at 221B, likely on another adventure which his companion will summarily catalogue.

Solid Snake

“Otacon… he… hhnn… in a way I can’t describe, he completes what I was missing. I didn’t know what I could be until I met him.” He recalls vividly their first meeting, the fear, the friendliness… Otacon had been an utterly unique individual in his life, someone unlike any person he had ever met. How was he to know that they were the memetic legacy of their forefathers? At the time, he hadn’t. Now that he does, Philanthropy fights to be everything they were not. “He asked me if love could bloom on the battlefield and I… didn’t have a good answer for him—or… maybe I did, then, but now I’d say that is has to—for people like us, it has to. In a way, then, I think we were married before he asked me… and the only thing that changed was a ring and a promise made aloud that was always there, from the moment we left Shadow Moses.”

Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane

“I think we just.. said what we’d been feeling for a while. The ‘I do’ made it real, but…” Shiro shrugs broad shoulders. “It was always there. Keith’s my best friend—my oldest one—and he knows me, sometimes better than I know myself. I’m… I wasn’t the same without him and I’m better with ‘im.”

Raiden *restored timeline

“My shame…” He thinks a moment, deep, gentle blue eyes closing in pensive consideration. Breathing deeply, settled in a large, ornately-carved chair with a toddler asleep in his lap, Raiden speaks quietly, delicately, so as not to wake her. “I… learned to allow myself to desire and be desired… Tsung tried for years to show me, but his willingness to relinquish the relative freedom of being unattached, well… it made me realize what I was worth to him… and he to me.”

Ulfric Stormcloak

“It isn’t something we can display and… Jorleif assures me he understands, that it does not vex him… but it vexes me. We have always been friends, always been close—we stood before Mara and her priests and told them as much, but we cannot yet stand before our people and say the same, not until this war is over and we need not fight for succession.” That Ulfric has no heir is a point of contention in Skyrim and a point of leverage for the Empire. Rumors have circulated and, despite the overall indifference of the people of Tamriel, certain conventions must be observed and maintained.

Yasuo

“Nope. We went from kicking each other’s asses and fucking to kicking each other’s asses and fucking with rings.” He holds up a hand, knuckles bloodied, mischievous grin on his pretty, if swollen, lips. A gold band reflects with a lusty sparkle. His casual response belies the deep, abiding devotion Yasuo feels toward the Vastayan bastard. In a life of feeling cast out and poorly-fitted to most situations, he has finally found a place and a home.

Kang Lao *games nee Kung

“My name,” he responds simply, “and with it, the burden of that legacy.” It is not traditional for one spouse to give up their name, necessarily, in favor of the other, because of devotion to family and clan. Kung is a name he has happily shed, however, in favor of the name of a nobody of unknown origin and no family whatsoever, save a matronly thunder deity.

Kung Lao *MK2021

“We have a cell together,” he explains, “and we need not pretend we are not what we are.” He gestures, indicating that nebulous, inexplicable thing which is between himself and Kang. To explain it is to cheapen it, the grand champion feels.

Mileena

“The transition? Certainly. Tanya showed me what I am… and that I am beautiful.” Mileena’s past is fraught with violence and confusion, bafflement and rejection. All she has ever wanted is to be accepted and loved and with Tanya, the queen Kahnsort, she has that. Of course, Tanya had always been of this opinion, that Mileena is a goddess of grace and beauty, but for some reason, her verbal affirmation of it coming in the form of a marital oath had been the ultimate tipping point.

Mordecai

“Did it on a dare. Lil said we wouldn’t—we were too chicken shit.” He sneers, spitting. “Showed ‘er.” In essence, therefore, nothing has really changed and Lilith had simply grown tired of Tina’s Mordy-Mom and Brick-Poppa pretending that’s not what they were. Her next step would be to dare them to adopt her, insofar as legal adoptions can take place on a lawless planet like Pandora.

[bastardsunlight]

"Ey. Ey Mordi --" (Zed REEKS of whiskey, if his crooked smirk and tired eyes werent enough of an indication) "Mooordiiiiii -- y'come here often?"

It is normal for Mordecai to have the smell of strong alcohol surrounding his person. Zed? Less common. Not uncommon, but less common. The hunter wonders if the unlicensed physician has just come from a particularly difficult operation. He does seem to be splattered with more than just drink.

“Uh huh,” he grunts, raising a brow but not standing, his own bottle halfway to his lips. Talon shifts on the perch at the other end of the cave that is Mordecai’s home. He does not trust the flying Sanctuary; it makes him nervous, so the Casa de Mordecai still houses a vast majority of his gear.

If Zed is flirting, it’s honestly a step up from his usual. Mordecai shifts on the ratty couch and leans back. “Came a long way to hit on me. ¿Qué hay, papi?”

[bastardsunlight]

[ Hawk @ Mordecai ] "I think I know why you gotta throw that bird. If he took off directly from your arm under his own power, he'd blow your ass over. How good are his eyes, anyway -- I mean, can he even SEE you from a distance? Especially if you turn sideways. Holy fuck, I just about lost you the other day from the wrong angle. No wonder you're so goddamn good with that sniper rifle; nobody can fucking spot you."

“Did Lil’ put you up to this? I’ll fuckin’ shred you--come at me, pendejo.” Lilith had once told him that if he turned sideways, he would resemble a zipper. The observation has stuck with him ever since. “You wanna see how I gotta throw the bird, huh?” 

[bastardsunlight]

Haircare

Alba Meira - dyes his hair red, because why tf not--there’s a bit near the front that never takes the dye, however

Ulfric Stormcloak - it is Nord tradition to plait the hair before battle; these days, he rarely isn’t sporting braids

Torn - dreadlocks aren’t easy to maintain; he does spend time on them

Mordecai - ditto

Drizzt Do’Urden - in Drow culture, different noble houses can be told apart by the way the nobles of that house wear their hair. in rebellion against this, Drizzt has grown his out and cares very little for the styling

Put an object/word in my inbox and I have to pick three (3) or more muses who associate with that object. Bonus points for explanation.

[bastardsunlight]

//a short Borderlands drabble dedicated to @fuckthehealthcode

“Why’m I always the bait?” Mordecai isn’t fighting the efforts to pin his wrists up over his head, looking rather like a sacrifice to some unappeasable god. They’re not gods, he knows, the bandit gang he and his friends have decided to lure out and massacre, but they do seem to be unappeasable. Lilith steps back and admires Brick’s work, as if observing a piece of fine art. She even extends a thumb and sticks out her tongue, closing one eye as if to size him up. Brick finishes securing the bonds momentarily and steps back. It is Roland who responds.

“Well,” he says, “for one, I’ve got a turret—”

“I’m a Siren,” Lilith continues for him, stepping forward to stand next to her new boyfriend.

“I could do it,” Brick offers in his strangely kind way. Lilith and Roland can see his affection for their surly, slender companion from miles away—in fact, the only one who can’t is Mordecai himself. Lilith attributes this to his colorblindness and thinks the joke is quite funny when she’s a few drinks in. But they are sober now, and on a job, so the jest stays where it usually does, right at the back of her tongue, waiting for an opportunity to arise.

“No way, Brick.” She shakes her head and gestures between the two of them, Brick and Mordecai. “You’re the size of a bruiser—no one’s going to think you’re a remotely acceptable piece of… of bait, or whatever. Anyway, we need your fists.”

This seems to both satisfy and please Brick. He appreciates her compliments and Lilith means what she says. She doesn’t throw out pleasantries with reckless abandon. None of them do, really. It is, perhaps, part of what galvanizes the four Vault Hunters into the stalwart team they are today. Nearby, Bloodwing keens, complaining perhaps that his master is tied up like meat—or maybe he’s just hungry.

“See, now that right there is Blood’s way of sayin’ this is some skag shit,” Mordecai pointed out, jerking his chin in the direction of the cry. The bird lifts off with one flap of his powerful wings and in two more, is at diving height, circling above.

“Skags don’t shit, do they?” Brick inquires. He is secretly fascinated by the anatomical oddities of the fauna of Pandora.

“That ain’t the point… in fact it proves mine!” Mordecai grunts, straining against the bonds. “’Cause if they did, this situation is what I’d use to describe it, you hear me?!”

The other three are walking steadily away from the sacrificial dais, or whatever the Pandoran approximation of that might be called. Bloodwing alights on Brick’s shoulder, dark, gleaming eyes sparing a glance over one shoulder at his master and then turning back to receive scritches behind what passes for his ears. Bloodwing has learned the routine and at this point, only Mordecai seems remotely upset by it.

“Could be layin’ cover fire or somethin’,” he grumbles, irritated.

[bastardsunlight]

⚠️ "drinks alcohol from bottles thicker than his torso" mordecai

//Sheeeeit that’s just mean. It is also true.

send me a ⚠️ with a reason my muse should be shamed

[bastardsunlight]

TRUTH. Mordecai there are rumors that you're actually a siren. Is that true?

Mordecai bristles. He isn’t shooting, so that’s a good sign, but he isn’t in a good mood. There are a few bottles already settled by his elbow and he’s working on another. The music in Moxxi’s is loud, throbbing, making conversation difficult, but somehow, he hears this. Not only does he hear it, but he feels compelled to respond. Fortunately for the Hunter, he is clever, even inebriated.

“Yeah, sure, it’s true… there are rumors.” Now, his weapon is out—an old Tediore, an Equalizer by the look of it—and pointed straight at the stranger’s face.

TRUTH MEME

[bastardsunlight]

How would you say love is best expressed by your muses? (You can choose Like 3 or 4 since you’ve got a bunch), is that love returned?

//I tried to pick four different folks... I hope I’ve answered these adequately. Under a cut ‘cause ain’t nobody got room f’dat.

Mordecai'slove is expressed by demanding a high payment for killing someone…also not setting his bird on them. Zed appreciates the lack ofBloodwing in his clinic and Bloodwing appreciates not being stuffedin a microwave. Brick would honestly welcome a bird attack, but thedude's a masochist, bless his soul.

Steve'saffection is best described as the willingness to go into battleside-by-side with someone. Anyone who has his respect in that waymight also have his affection. There's a lot of trust, putting faithin the person next to you, or the one covering you. His interest isperhaps a little harder to detect, because he's not terriblyforthcoming about it. A man like Bucky might not realize it at first.Tony or Howard Stark would realize immediately and tease Steverelentlessly. Peggy is a professional, but would also quickly figuresuch a thing out. A man like Loki or Stephen Strange might be just asperceptive, but less likely to immediately walk into a combatsituation just to return the expressed affection—on the other hand,this is CaptainAmerica we're talking about.

McCreeis a flowers and candy sort of guy… also affectionate gestures andridiculous nicknames. Neither Shimada is outwardly impressed, butneither can deny the heat that reddens their cheeks at the words“Sugar” or “Darlin”. He's a charming man, for sure. Junkrathad never, in his life, been called Sweet Pea until he met JesseMcCree. Most of the team has no idea how to return this particularbrand of affection, so they just sort of… let 'im roll. He will flirt with just about anyone, so it’s difficult to say who he’s got feelings for until they’re in danger. 

Holmeshas great respect for his best friend, Dr. John Watson. His brand oflove is the kind that drags his colleague along on every convolutedadventure his strange occupation throws upon him. Is he in lovewith Watson? Hard to say. The man is enigmatic, at best. The best wayto describe how Watson might return such affection is, of course,that he agrees to go along. The thrill of following and chroniclinghis friend's life is just too much to pass up!

[bastardsunlight]

What allignment do you think Piccolo, Mordecai, and Jet are? Do they like their alignment or wish it would change?

Piccolo went from neutral evil to neutral good. 

Mordecai is chaotic neutral. 

Jet is chaotic good.

They are how they are ‘cause they can’t help themselves. They all know what they are and they’re either proud of it, or settled upon it. 

[bastardsunlight]

💔, 👛, 🌛

💔 who would be the worst couple of two of your muses together - Spyro and Sonic… they’re both critters, people. Both. Critters. (Alternative answer: Handsome Jack and LITERALLY ANYONE. He’s actual human garbage, folks.)

👛 which muse is the most frugal - Mordecai

🌛 which muse is the biggest dreamer - Viktor and Drizzt are probably tied. The biggest difference is Viktor is making his dreams a reality, but Drizzt is likely destined never to see his fulfilled. 

[bastardsunlight]

mordy why did you name your bird bloodwing?

“Thought it sounded cool.” He shrugs. This is an easy answer. He had been expecting something much worse. Reaching out with one long arm, past a pile of empty bottles, he grasps the last perspiring one on the bartop and brings it back to himself, presumably hoping to add it to the pile, as well. “We done?”

My muse must speak truth for ten asks. Ya got two, now.

[bastardsunlight]

mordecai for real this time, brick

“Sure,” he responds, shrugging thin shoulders. It’s not the first time he has heard this and it comes as no surprise, given how close he is with the Slab King. Leave it to their imaginations, he figures, what’s the harm? 

[bastardsunlight]

gunslinger

//GOOD ONE

Jim Raynor - wears a revolver, a giant fucking space revolver--he’s a space cowboy

Jesse McCree - he’s earth Jim Raynor, uses a future!revolver and calls himself a gunslinger--cowboy

Mordecai - his right side skill tree is “gunslinger” and he canonically won an intergalactic sniping competition with a revolver. as a frequent Mordy player, I can tell you I am VERY effective with a Tediore Equalizer

Cuthbert Allgood - a literal Gunslinger. That’s his title. It’s like a knight packing irons instead of a sword/shield. 

Put an object/word in my inbox and I have to pick three (3) or more muses who associate with that object. Bonus points for explanation.

[bastardsunlight]

HC dump Mordecai

Mordecai is greedy as all get out. He has, in the past, exchanged certain… favors for assistance, rather than paying cash because he hates spending it so much. This doesn’t always work out well for him, as one can probably imagine.  

He hoards sick revolvers—Tediore Equalizers (the ones with ammo regen) are his personal favorite.

He literally named his (illegally obtained) corpse-eater companion, Bloodwing, because he thought it sounded cool. Same goes for Talon.

Mordy is now an enthusiastic Bunkers and Badasses player. Lilith DMs most frequently, but rumor has it Mordecai is working on a campaign of his own.

He might be considered pansexual, with little leaning one way or the other. His type ranges from busty babes, to buff dudes—and maybe a little salt-n-pepper fella in there for good measure. His affections are hard-won, but he’s a loyal lover, in his way, seeking to maintain friendships with exes—on Pandora, one needs all the friends one can get, even if that one is a Vault Hunter.

Grandma Flexington reminds Mordecai (albeit loosely) of his abuelita, the old woman who raised him and a bunch of young, orphan girls on Artemis. Mr. Torgue introduces them, and Grandma Flexington and Mordecai hit it off. She tells mind-bendingly long stories, but what else has he got to do? Her cookies are phenomenal, besides. After Bloodwing’s murder (and he’ll always consider it a murder), Grandma Flexington is instrumental in getting the Hunter back on his feet. Rumor has it she also somehow facilitated the acquisition of the as-yet-unhatched Talon’s egg, but no one can say for sure and she isn’t talking.

Rakk Ale is the PBR of Pandora. Mordecai drinks it because it is cheap. Someone his size doesn’t need gallons and gallons to get wasted, anyway. Given that he doesn’t like eating, it takes even less. He has, on more than one occasion—though he’ll never admit this—died of alcohol poisoning and was forced to respawn at the nearest New-U station. The most irritating bit is the money he’s lost, but this, in turn, prompts him to seek more work, which drives him back to Roland’s cause again and again, even after ghosting from Sanctuary for his own “personal” reasons.

Right around the same time Roland “politely requests” Brick to leave Sanctuary, the leader of the Crimson Raiders (an ordered vigilante force, dedicated to keeping the peace on Pandora as best they can—the CR was NOT established to fight Handsome Jack and Hyperion, though that becomes its primary objective, if for no other reason than the survival of the free/lawless people of Pandora) confronts Mordecai about his “alcohol problem”. Roland thinks it may have something to do with Moxxi’s dismissal of Mordecai, something about which Mordecai never talks. It isn’t long after that Hyperion begins lasering the shit out of Elpis and Roland/Lilith inadvertently help Jack take it over and then turn it on Pandora, on them.

Mordecai doesn’t talk about how/why he and Moxxi broke up. It didn’t last long, as it usually doesn’t with her, but this one feels particularly ragged at the edges. After Roland’s death, Mordecai keeps an even tighter lid on his knowledge of Handsome Jack. Roland and Lilith never told Brick and Mordecai that they helped secure Jack’s dominion, and so there is a dance of silence and secrets, right up to the end. Brick is the only one of the group who genuinely never had any idea what the bastard was up to until the guy actually touched down and began drilling for the Deep Vault.

Mordecai is ftm trans. He’s been transitioning since he was in his mid teens and he actually uses the winnings from the intergalactic sniping competition (which he canonically won with a revolver) to have top surgery. It’s expensive for two reasons. He does not want his name to appear on any hospital record or database (he’s been doing mercenary work for some time and his bounty is substantial), and the “back alley” surgeon also must have the electronic expertise to rewrite his DNA in the New-U stations so that he will not respawn with breasts. He pays good money and the surgeon/data management specialist pulls through. He has scars, but nothing more.

The Hunter is also a Siren. 

When the Vault Hunters take out The Destroyer™, it causes Eridium to erupt (probably from the recesses of the Vault, e.g. another dimension) and enrich the planet, and throws Lilith’s siren abilities into overdrive because she is on the planet’s surface. Before all this, the only semi-visible bit of Mordecai’s tattoo is on his chest and it’s quite faded. The rest seems to be just waiting under his skin. As the Eridium erupts, the tattoo flashes brightly, shooting veins of light down the left side of his body. In Borderlands 2, he is wrapped completely with the almost the entirety of skin on his left side covered where before he’d only worn a t-shirt. He doesn’t know how the tattoo works, but he is terrified of it happening again, that the tattoo will just show up, sitting on his skin the way Lilith’s does. Though he knows in principle that he must use his power to cause the glow, the fear remains.

Moxxi doesn’t break it off with Mordy because he is trans; she does it because of a secret and a lie. They get along very well and they’re fairly good together—plus they both enjoy money and slaughter. She does it because of a man who comes poking around Moxxi’s Red Light on the crimson tollway. The alcohol is flowing and Handsome Jack makes moves on Moxxi. Mordecai isn’t necessarily the jealous type, and Moxxi can take care of herself, but she makes the mistake of suggesting a three-way. During the… proceedings… Jack notices the imprint of a strange tattoo on Mordecai’s left side. Even drunk as a skunk, he knows a siren tatt when he sees one, given that his daughter is a siren. Mordecai never told Moxxi, and she never noticed, because it doesn’t glow and unlike Jack, Moxxi has never see Siren tattoos up close. Up to this point, they’ve been very open and honest with each other so this feels like a betrayal. Truly hurt, Moxxi breaks it off with Mordecai, who leaves with his tail between his legs—thence begins the drinking.

Jack knows Mordecai is a siren, but doesn’t see a use for him because he never uses his power, whatever it is, and is therefore not even remotely a candidate for his project. Lilith is immensely powerful and perhaps a little addicted to the rush of Eridium infusion.

Mordecai worries about Lilith’s Eridium use. He doesn’t know what that stuff does to a living body and, so far, it doesn’t seem to be hurting her—all the same, the Slag by-product of it is some nasty stuff, so it stands to reason tha Eridium itself is potentially radioactive.

In a fit of guilt after Roland’s death, Mordecai spills his guts about his childhood and the fact that he’s a siren, unwrapping himself just far enough to reveal the tattoo, inert and barely visible on his dark skin. Lilith whops him a good one, cursing that he might have helped. Brick must hold her back and it is Maya who reminds her that “a siren has to use… their power a while to get a handle on it”. After this, Lilith encourages him to use it, but

In his mind, using the power he was born with acknowledges that he was born wrong, that he is now something that nature didn’t evidently intend him to be. Lilith has to admit she cannot understand, but promises she doesn’t think that power says anything about him other than he’s now a much scarier badass than he was before and that his bounty ought to quintuple after this. She is admittedly curious, but respects him too much to press.

Mordecai is completely colorblind… not red-green deficient, but really and truly sees the world in black and white. His goggles help. Teal is still his favorite color.

He thinks nothing of climbing Brick like a perch to get a better vantage point. In general, Brick seems to prefer Tiny Tina’s presence astride his broad shoulders, but Mordecai suspects it is because she is perpetually armed with explosives. He can respect this, but being seven feet higher in the air than he was before is too good an opportunity to miss.

Eventually, with encouragement from both Lilith and Maya, Mordecai consents to “taking [his] powers for a test drive”, and then praying they don’t suck. They don’t. Siren powers never do, after all. They’re rudimentary and not terribly strong, just like Lil and Maya’s had been when they were children. They dub his ability Phasestep. It resembles Lilith’s ability to Phasewalk, but with no explosive results, and he does not have to run anywhere. The transmission of his form is instantaneous. From his perspective, he is traveling through a similar dimension to Lilith, but when she performs Phasewalk at the same time as he uses Phasestep, she does not encounter him. In addition, no more than a second (however long it takes him to disappear and reappear) passes when he uses it, no matter how long it takes him to translocate.

They debate calling it Phaseport, but Phasestep sounds cooler.

[bastardsunlight]

Here’s some meta stuff for Mordecai.

Okay so, long story short, my Mordecai is trans. He always has been; that hasn’t changed since I added him to this blog—I just never mentioned it, because it wasn’t ever terribly relevant. His life and stories revolve around his rough-ass childhood, his jaded view of like, people in general, his greed and skills with precision firearms—also Bloodwing. You know what I mean? I don’t wanna make him all about his transness. He (and every other trans person) is so much more than his gender, however mismatched with the body in which he was born.

Mordecai’s siren tattoos have always been dim, because he’s never really used his powers. As a child, he was orphaned and taken in by an older lady who made it a point to protect and shelter parentless girls, in particular, just because of the roughness of the underbelly of Artemis—probably plenty of sex trafficking and nasty shit like that.

But what if the woman who raised him was actually, legitimately searching for sirens—either because she was one herself and wanted to show them the way (like in Lilith’s comic backstory), or because she was actually from some potentially heinous cult, Vault researchers or some nonsense, looking to harness Siren powers for something probably awful? I’m not sure about that, but Mordy also doesn’t know so who currs?

The siren tatts glow when the power is used and, I’m going to go ahead and say they recede with disuse (so, as a baby, there’d be the small beginnings of them and as the siren grows and uses her power, the tattoos begin to spread all the way down her left side, arm AND leg). Mordecai is 39 by the time he meets Lil, Roland, and Brick. By this time, it has been well over twenty years since he started his transition and such—thus probably about that long, or longer, since he used his powers. Mordecai wouldn’t ever want to use them, either because it would remind him that his body (some of it) still doesn’t match properly.

This also brings up the question of how trans people are treated in the borderlands universe. I’m guessing it ain’t no thang, but I’ll also bet you, dollars to doughnuts, that a big-ass company like Hyperion would absolutely capitalize on transition surgeries. Mordecai used his winnings from the intergalactic sniper tournament to get top surgery, but what if bottom surgery (as involved as it is) requires a little more in the way of testing, prodding, blood samples, etc., or maybe he got his top surgery done somewhere a bit less “legit”—though again, it’s much easier than bottom surgery.

He knows that if a high powered scanner ran his DNA, they’d detect the siren gene. Sirens are a KNOWN thing and an immense source of power and rumors. He doesn’t want to be found out, doesn’t want to think about it, and won’t ever use his powers as long as he’s got control of it. He’s a prideful, but fundamentally damaged man, and, as a wanted individual, would prefer to stay as far under the radar as possible.

Conclusion: Mordecai is a siren who doesn’t use his powers, and thus his tattoos have receded to the left side of his chest, over his heart. It’s the one part that won’t leave, and also part of why he wraps himself up so thoroughly.

[bastardsunlight]

Are you In love - Cherry Pools; Friction - Imagine Dragons; The Sharpest Lives - My Chemical Romance; Bodok Yellow - Cardi B; Work this Body - WALK THE MOON; Bishops Knife Trick - Fall Out Boy; Show me Love - Hundred Waters; Horns - Bryce Fox; Be OK - Ingrid Michaels; Shelter - Porter Robinson

Are You In Love - Abe

Friction - Cuthbert

The Sharpest Lives - Floyd 

Bodak Yellow - Alba

Work This Body- Alphonse

Bishops Knife Trick - Raynor

Show me Love - Link

Horns - Mordecai

Be OK - Allister

Shelter - Cable

Send me 10 songs of your choice and I’ll match ‘em to a muse!