#cast out by those important to them bc they made a mistake (that also resulted in an explosion)? check!

[tenebrius-excellium]

Nope sorry the Arcane hype is not over... Jinx is so cooooool.... her hair... her body language... her thingamajigs... the way she observes before acting, weighing people by their trustability, like a cat. Her eyes spot the stuff that others miss. She's so kind. She's so unhinged. I understand most of it about her and she's awesome.

[itsclydebitches]

Controversial take, but vol. 6 is the worst season bc its built entirely around fan service. Qrow's letter (IQ was popular), Ruby's proactivity, backstory at last, Ozpin's awful treatment, Bees, killing Adam, adults suck(tm), even Penny's return... just saving throws to keep RWBY alive. So everything failed in 7/8 bc fans thought they had been shown beats that mattered, but CRWBY never added those into their actual plan. Since vol. 6 began its all been misdirect, no one knows what to look at.

Putting aside my own very personal desire to not treat Ozpin and Oscar like that (because that’s where the bulk of my criticism stems from), I think Volume 6 is only a bad season retroactively. The concept of fan service isn’t inherently a problem, especially if the desire for certain things stems from the fans recognizing why that would be good for the show. People tend to reduce fan service to a purely negative thing, produced to appease the “rabid” fanbase, but fans aren’t pulling things they want out of a hat. They’re recognizing what things the story has lost (can our main character make decisions again?), what the story has intentionally or even unintentionally set up (these characters have great chemistry!), and what things might keep the story feeling fresh moving forward (maybe we need new combat ideas, like semblance upgrades). And that’s largely what Volume 6 is made up of, following the highly criticized Volume 5: a whole bunch of changes that were meant to both reintroduce what made RWBY great before and breathe some new life into a six year show. 

Our title protagonist should have agency again, so Ruby starts making decisions. We really should know more about this world and the quest they’re on, so we get an entire episode devoted to lore. We need to make the grimm a threat again, so we introduce the Apathy. Penny, as an android, always had a good chance of coming back, so let’s do that in Volume 7, originally meant to appear in Volume 6. It’s not fans’ love of a character demanding that the story sacrifice something (like logic) to meet that desire, it’s fans picking up on the internal logic of the story (androids can be rebuilt) and extrapolating possibilities. Now, we’re seeing the same work going into Volume 9. The frustration that Jaune fell into the void in part stems from recognizing that our main team hasn’t had much development lately and has been separated a lot since Volume 3/sharing time with JNOR, resulting in few Team RWBY moments. A desire to make Sun a significant part of the Vacuo arc stems from the knowledge that he’s there, he was formerly an important character, he’s friends with our other characters, and it would overall make sense to incorporate him into this part of the story. Hoping that Qrow and Robyn get their own adventure stems from a desire to keep the story internally consistent (please don’t have them arrive in Vacuo within a day when the Atlas citizens supposedly couldn’t just fly off to safety) while the hope that they’ll be set aside entirely until Volume 10 comes from recognizing that our cast is bloated and we need to pare things down. 

So much in Volume 6--giving us lore, introducing a SEW mentor, even acknowledging their headmaster’s mistakes to try and forward the protagonists’ growth--wasn’t bad on its own, but the execution failed horribly for some parts during the volume (Ozpin) and, more importantly, everything else petered out. As you say, the fans, myself included, had all assumed that this was going somewhere, but across two volumes we realized that RT didn’t actually know what to do with these plot points, they just threw them out and then... nothing. Things were either dropped or changed because they never had a real chance to begin with. How many times were we reassured that the group was going to reconsider their position with Ozpin and there would be a whole arc of growth, ending in heartfelt apologies on both sides? Just wait! Two years later, there was no development, no mention of it, and only one, quick apology to scoot that plot point off screen. How many times were we reassured that Penny was coming into her own and that resurrecting her/making her the Maiden was the beginning of a long, fulfilling journey? Just wait! Two years later, she had the powers for two days in-world, had her android identity stripped away, and then died again. The concept of new grimm didn’t have an impact because our group wasn’t fighting them in the Battle of Atlas/they killed the Hound in an episode, Maria as a mentor means nothing because she’s forgotten by the group and then literally forgotten by the story, Qrow’s relationship with Ironwood is tossed out for a kill threat that was then also tossed out for him to fight Harriet instead. It doesn’t feel like they planned any of this. The vast majority of what’s introduced in Volume 6 has no meaning or payoff. In reality, most things are actively contradicted by what comes next. What’s the point of establishing the horror of keeping the Salem secret if Ruby’s just going to turn around and keep it herself? What’s the point of establishing that the Lamp attracts grimm if that’s not going to impact Oscar carrying it around? What’s the point of spending a whole volume with Ironwood trusting them only to make him a cartoon villain at the start of the next? What’s the point of spending a volume emphasizing how much Nora cares for Mantle only for her to go start up Amity instead? What’s the point of Ren questioning their choices and supporting Ironwood if he’s just going to reverse course once his semblance upgrades? And on and on and on. Ideas don’t just disappear, the cast frequently does the opposite of what they should if those ideas had ever mattered. 

The worst part is, I’m still seeing so many fans pushing the “You just have to wait” argument. The conversation surrounding Emerald is nearly beat for beat the conversation surrounding Ozpin. Sure, things were pretty rushed and the emotion of the scenes was all one note… but that won’t last! Just wait until next season when Emerald’s redemption takes center stage. And then if that doesn’t happen there will be lots of excuses—this was the spirit world volume, we’re not supposed to be focusing on Vacuo yet—with further confidence that it will all come to a head in Volume 10. And then when Emerald either dies or is left behind by the plot, those fans will realize across Volumes 8-10 that RT isn’t writing a planned, cohesive story, the same way we realized that across Volumes 6-8. The fan service itself isn’t the problem, it’s that RT introduced a ton of ideas—ideas the fans obviously wanted—and then didn’t have any idea what to do with them. 

[raccoonpoptart]

wanted to share this scenario idea bcs it's adorable ;; it's where the reader accidentally made a mistake in casting a spell, ehich resulted in them turning into an animal! i'm wondering how the characters would react to them huhu

YESSS THIS IS SO CUTE THANKYOU 🌸✨ this is so funny to think about honestly could you imagine suddenly turning into an animal? personally if i turned into a raccoon i would never want to be human again 🦝🦝🦝

☼

that’s not how that goes...

warnings: none! wholesome times tonight <3

some of the animal choices are obvious but others are...just for giggles 🐝 hope you like it! ✨

Earlier at the market y/n got some new ingredients to use in a spell, but had to substitute a few obscure things with more easily accesible items. With nothing but hope in their heart (that they wouldn’t absolutely ruin anything important), they made their way home.

It wasn’t until about halfway through the spell that y/n realized something was a bit...off. The smell just seemed a bit more potent, and the color was a little more unexpected than usual. Magic was strange like that, so they shrugged and threw the last ingredient in the bowl. Poof! Smoke went everywhere and y/n was covered in green dust.

Suddenly, everything grew so much bigger in the shop and y/n began to panic. Asra wouldn’t be home for a few hours! What were they supposed to do? Their heart raced as they walked to the nearest mirror. They realized that it wasn’t the shop that got bigger, it was them who got smaller. Uh oh...

alright gamers lets do this

Asra

when he came home he looked everywhere for you and when he saw the mess you made he started to panic a little

he had no idea what you were trying to do but the fact that you weren’t around was...really unsettling

“mc?? where are you? please come back...”

suddenly he felt something slip up his arm and squeeze...

“oh, hi, faust...did you s-”

what looked back at him wasn’t those red eyes he was used to but instead it was two big purple eyes

he was about to scream (because who wouldn’t freak out over a random snake) when he heard your voice in his head

i think i messed up the spell :(

he laughed softly and placed a soft kiss on your head and assured you if he couldn’t fix it, it would probably wear off anyway

spoiler alert it took almost a whole day for it to wear off but he enjoyed having you wrap around him whenever he went anywhere

faust thought it was the best thing ever, she would wrap around asra’s left arm and you would be on his right

Bite the goat!

(i was so tempted to do a fox but i thought it would be cute to sorta be like a chimes and flamel moment)

Nadia

when she was told that a lynx had been spotted sneaking around the palace she was a little worried

lynx are not common, so of course she wanted to see! but when the lynx ran up to her and started to rub against her and purr?? she was very confused

it wasn’t until she saw your eyes that she realized it was you! but didn’t really know how she knew...it was just her intuition she guessed

she just assumed something magical happened and hugged you

loved when you followed her around the palace because everyone was so afraid, or just had a puzzled look on their face

when you would meowl (or, yell for lack of a better word) she would smile and kiss your head then laugh if anyone around her got scared

would talk to you like normal even if you couldn’t properly answer, she just assumed any noise you’d make was a response

complimented your ears and thick coat then offered to brush your fur (she wanted to hear you purr again)

she enjoyed having you around all day and once you were back to normal she asked so many questions

Julian

another damn raven had taken a liking to him and he was ready to leave vesuvia again

he facepalmed as malak and this new bird had started messing with his hair and squawking

meanwhile you found it pretty funny how he accepted it so quickly and waited a while before having malak tell julian

you and malak had continued to bother julian for a few hours but once he got annoyed you had malak explain and julian just laughed and asked if malak had run into a window again

when you softly pecked his nose and rubbed against his face he blushed softly

“ah, well...at least it’s temporary. it is temporary, right? please tell me it won’t last forever!”

boi was a bit stressed because now he felt like he had to look after you but malak told him to *ahem* buzz off we’ll say cause he was having so much fun

found the looks he got a bit funny because of course having two ravens follow you everywhere would look strange (CAN I MAKE A NORSE MYTHOLOGY JOKE PLS.....TWO RAVENS = ODIN LMAO)

once the spell wore off he held you close and let out a sigh of relief,,, “darling, you make a beautiful bird but please don’t scare me like that again <3”

Muriel

ignore the part where it says the shop got bigger, for this it got smaller ok thanks <3

inanna had been gone a while so he went out to find her

instead found her outside playing with a......bear?

he closed his eyes and exhaled then turned to go back inside to avoid dealing with another unexplainable thing

but inanna dragged him over to the bear and he just stared as the bear stared back

woof! “inanna that makes no sense, it’s not mc”

then the bear hugged him and he blushed but didn’t pull away because why else would a bear have silver fur and pink eyes

you couldn’t exactly fit in his hut so he decided to just sit outside with you. he assumed that a spell went wrong because the same thing had happened to asra before

“so, mc... do you think this is permanent?” you grunted in response and placed a paw on his head

it was a bit awkward but he laughed softly and placed a hand on your head (wholesome mountain man :( i would die for him...)

watching you catch fish was hilarious to him considering you couldn’t do it by yourself a few months ago, but made sure to keep an eye on you anyway

he liked that you were taller than him for a bit and felt safe when you would hug him, even if the sight of it would seem strange but was happy when you were back to normal (now he can kiss the top of your head and hold your hands properly)

Portia

walked into her cottage and stopped in her tracks

she was face to face a puma and her heart started racing, she was about to run until she saw pepi run up onto the bigger cat’s head and headbutt her

“pepi.....can you please explain who this is quickly” she was trying not to freak out in case the giant cat would attack her

in response pepi started to purr and rubbed against the cat and was surprised when the big cat started to purr too

she thought that maybe pepi had somehow made a new friend? and just was grateful that it didn’t eat her

you had to lead her back to the shop and show her the mess as well as the pile of your clothes on the ground for her to understand

“mc :3 does that mean you’re technically naked?~” she poked your side and laughed when you made a slightly annoyed noise

absolutely loved how everyone ran at the sight of her with a puma and walked with a bit more confidence “i feel like the main character in a story! strong, beautiful woman with her most trusted cats at her side!”

you wished you could laugh but you loved how adorable she was and also you were amazed at how even though you were walking, pepi stayed asleep on your back

after work the next day she found you asleep in her bed wearing some of her clothes and she smiled so big as she hugged you tight

Lucio

“can somebody please explain why the hell a damn PEACOCK IS IN MY ROOM???”

as he raised his voice, the bird puffed up its feathers and started to squawk which freaked him out but it just walked up to him and stared

he was so confused but was thankful the bird wasn’t attacking him so he tried talking to it

“uhhhh- hello there, aren’t you beautiful? are you an albino? your white feathers are gorgeous” you puffed up your chest at the compliments and expanded your tail feathers

he smiled and tried to pet your tail feathers “you aren’t so scary now, how’d you get in here?” he didn’t really think to ask anyone because the only person he could think of was asra and he didn’t want to talk to him

mercedes and melchior liked the bird so why shouldn’t he? he shrugged and just let you follow him around all day, talking to you like you were another one of his pets (which was annoying but you liked the compliments althought they were new, obviously you didn’t normally have feathers)

the spell wore off in the middle of the night he went from having two dogs and a bird in his bed to having two dogs....and YOU!! just when he thought being with you couldn’t have brought more surprises and weird stories

he gave you his shirt and laughed as you explained what happened ,, “well, it’s good it was temporary! if i never saw you as a human again i don’t know what i would do”

☼

that was so fun!! omg i love writing weird stuff like this 🍓 anyway, i hope you liked it! i’m thinking about writing a story where mc can turn into animals on the regular but we’ll see ✨✨ now i wish i could turn into an animal for a day lmao

[jungnoir]

𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡!𝐛𝐭𝐬;

bts but as witches in a coven. discuss

𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐤𝐣𝐢𝐧: the supreme

ok not quite but he’s the most experienced in magic out of all the boys

his mother was a witch and she taught him everything he needed to know from birth to adulthood

his whole family is blessed with magic save for a few who didn’t get the gene but every family reunion they all dote on jin and talk about how powerful he’s become and how proud they are of him

the coven house where all of the boys stay is actually jin’s ancestor’s home from a long time ago

the place has brought up witches of all generations and jin was very eager to inherit it

while there’s definitely a lack of witches he’s been able to recruit, he loves his family of six so it doesn’t really bother him

he acts like he’s all serious but in reality he’s always casting spells on the youngins as tests (read: for fun)

jimin: why tf did you give me green skin

jin: if you had been paying attention during lessons you would know how to fix it :)

has definitely said this out of context more than once: ”any witch worth a broom handle knows how to get rid of poisonous snakes! you know back in my day…”

wears the flashiest outfits, but little do people know that they’re all homemade. he has a serious creative eye and seeks to make what simple human designers wish they could (taehyung is very eager to learn this talent from him)

goes all out on halloween with this talent too, creating uber realistic costumes

no he didn’t make a costume out of real human bones that year he went as a scarily realistic skeleton what are you talking about

no graves were robbed in the making of this outfit

if you couldn’t tell, his specialty is in glamours

honestly the guy should just tattoo “i’m a witch” across his forehead, he makes it so damn obvious

he openly practices magic too like it gives yoongi stress pains bc!! there’s still ppl who would very much like to burn witches still to this day!!! where is the self-preservation!!

jin doesn’t care. he’ll burn them right back. checkmate bitch

honestly charms anyone that comes in contact with him which is one of the things he never has to try at

the guys think he uses magic to do it but he’s honestly just, as jin would say, “born with it”

𝐲𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢: the right hand man

*namjoon voice* and who do we got here right now??? ˢᵘᵍᵃ!!!

when it comes to magic, yoongi is pretty neutral

an awfully interesting feeling to have given that seokjin has appointed him the heir of the coven in case anything happens to him

he’s not obsessed with magic like tae, hobi or kook

he doesn’t spend his time learning everything about it like namjoon

and he’s not playful with it like jimin and jin

yoongi just… acknowledges it. its like it exists as something he can do and he’s proud but he doesn’t really care if that makes sense

most of his friends outside of the coven are human too and he has no reservations about telling them what he is bc if they cause trouble he is more than prepared to take care of it

they’re usually like “wow so cool! i wish i was a witch” but yoongi really doesn’t care lmao

with or without magic, yoongi is the same: he loves music, he loves making music, and he loves being a musician

yoongi, however, is guilty of having used magic to make his music just right before

sometimes a note just doesn’t sit with him right and it’s driving him insane

or maybe the bass doesn’t hit hard enough

he charms his music in a way that when one listens to it, they feel exactly what yoongi wants them to feel

people are always telling him he has a real gift in music and while he most certainly does, he feels he has to give credit to his magic for helping him along sometimes

but then seokjin will be like “isn’t magic your talent too? aren’t you just exercising it when you charm your music? it’s not like you can only make music well. you should give yourself props for your magic too”

it’s just. weird to him because he’s seen how much magic can corrupt people in much higher positions than himself and it’s Terrifying

he wants to know that no matter what he makes, it’s his and his alone, not attributed to any otherworldly advantage

this just kind of contributes to his need to be as detached from magic as possible

he’s too cheap to buy one of those coffee makers that automatically start brewing at a certain time in the morning and just uses magic to do it instead

“yoongi do you want me to buy you a new coffee maker for your birthday? they have ones that do all the work for you now-” “no”

he has to be extra, okay namjoon

jimin teases him sometimes but yoongi knows it’s all out of love

jimin understands yoongi in a way, and while the others are always like “yoongi you should have more fun with your magic!” jimin is always like “no no no, let him be”

besides yoongi could probably smoke all of them in a battle of magic if it came down to it lol

𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐤: the perfectionist

HERE HE IS!!! ITS HE

hoseok is probably one of the most talented witches in the coven

hoseok is a perfectionist to a t so if he feels insecure about how he’s doing a certain spell he will do it over and over and over until he’s got it right which makes him a pretty formidable opponent

like even the boys wouldn’t go up against him bc they know they’re just gonna get their ass handed to them

he’s a sweetie tho and very light-hearted and he never lets his power get to his head

he mainly uses it to bother the others tbh

also uses magic to give himself and the boys cool ass hair colors

currently he’s obsessed with this orange he’s got going on

calls it “pumpkin spice” bc it angers yoongi

“it really brings out the burnt sunset hues of a pumpkin ya know? or like a mix of changing fall colors, like golden crisp and warm crimson” “it’s fucking orange” yoongi can be heard chiming in from somewhere else in the house

but don’t get me wrong, hoseok loves himself some yoongi and vice versa

yoongi taught hoseok directly bc yoongi was the one that found hoseok

he was just an average college student and wasn’t really finding a will to live outside of paying off his student debts

he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life and was pretty dead inside, working at a cafe and serving coffee to other dead inside college students when yoongi came in and sensed his strong magical aura

yoongi kinda forced hoseok’s magic out of him by tossing a cup of steaming hot coffee to the floor, causing hoseok to freeze the entire cafe in time, save for the two of them. yoongi told him what he was and the rest was history

now that it’s been so long hoseok still gets upset that yoongi was willing to break one of the cafe’s mugs to prove a point

because of course, when time unfroze, the mug fuckin shattered all over the place what a fuckin jerk guess who’s going to have to clean that up does he really have no respect for retail workers seriou

seokjin also was opposed to yoongi’s method but since it resulted in hobi joining their coven, he can’t be too mad

it was hoseok’s natural ability that yoongi was able to help hone, and when hoseok found a love for it, he took it upon himself to be the absolute best witch he could be

hoseok’s power of stopping time is uniquely his own and he’s worked hard to perfect it

sometimes he just stops time to stop it

hob: *freezes a movie theater right before something dramatic happens on screen* hold on yall I gotta piss real quick

freezing time is also super helpful during *cough* stressful exams* cough*

𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧: the scholar

he knows…. everything

not only did he do the reading, he did an 8 page analysis on it and corrected a few mistakes too

namjoon was aware of his witchy nature even from the moment he was a little kid, and his parents were both human and a bit scared for him since they didn’t know how to handle it, but they gave him the option of pursuing magic or not. they made sure to do all their own research into where witches could go to hone their craft just in case

in the end, namjoon grew curious and started reading books about magic and magical things

tho he didn’t actually start using his power until his mid teens

by then he was a bit shaky with it, but he knew a lot and was very determined so he got the hang of it very quickly

rarely uses his magic outside of it being necessary tho bc he’s gone so long without having to use it that he doesn’t rely on it for anything

he also likes to be independent from his magic in a way

while magic is very much a part of him and his being, he doesn’t want it to be like a crutch, you know? his biggest fear is losing his magic, bc he’s heard it can happen

he’s also aware that some witches lose important life skills and miss out on opportunities to build their character bc they’re so used to being able to just magic their way out of a situation

went from student to teacher real quick

teaches the other boys how to properly say incantations

“its levios-ah not levios-ar”

actually?? a pretty scary dude when it comes to using his magic for real

don’t put him in a situation where someone is getting hurt because he will not go easy on the aggressor. the other boys can attest to this too, having been saved by him far too many times than is acceptable in namjoon’s eyes

basically dont fuck with namjoon’s boys or u gon die

does cute things for the boys on their birthdays with magic

one time taehyung was sad that it wasn’t snowing on his birthday so namjoon made it snow for hours

may have fucked up the climate a lil bit

yoongi almost lost a toe

namjoon frequents a library and whenever a lil kid is struggling to reach a book he uses his magic to drift the book down to the little kid and when the kid looks at him in awe he just presses his finger to his lips and winks at them

flirts using his extreme wicca knowledge, of which is either a major turn off or a major turn on. you decide

𝐣𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧: the reluctant

jimin loves magic, but it wasn’t always like that

jimin kinda struggled with accepting his magical abilities at a young age bc he was really confused

like why wasn’t he just like everyone else? why did he have to be a witch? why did he have to have magic when he could’ve just been normal?

he often rejected it, never bothering to learn anything even to impress the family at reunions

but as he grew older, his parents grew worried he’d hate his magic and never use it again, putting him in a vulnerable position if his magic were ever to just come out when jimin isn’t in a place to control it, so they let him meet a slightly older witch that could help mentor him

his parents would’ve done it but jimin hardly ever listened to his parents about magic and they wanted to show him there were witches his age that were amazing people and embraced it, that it didn’t take away from jimin’s life but in fact added to it

in comes yoongi

yoongi, at first, really pities jimin

he understands the struggle between wanting to be normal and dealing with a part of his identity that won’t ever go away

where yoongi is concerned, that struggle for him was that he wanted to be himself regardless of being talented in magic. jimin... just hates it

but then jimin starts bashing magic and witches and he’s about to get angry at his parents for trying to force him into being a witch when yoongi just,,, slaps him upside the head

jimin’s shocked and yoongi is just like “respect your parents kid, they’re looking out for you. just because you don’t use your magic doesn’t mean people won’t know you’re a witch. its dangerous for a witch to go around with magic and not know how to use it”

jimin is shocked. he never thought of it that way

jimin feels embarrassed all of a sudden and apologizes and then yoongi cracks a smile and he’s like “no biggie kid, i’m just here to teach you the basics of magic and then i’ll be out of your hair”

jimin finds that learning magic with yoongi is really fun and soon he’s asking to be apart of the coven and embracing being a witch

he becomes carefree with it, like it’s another part of him, and he’s still kinda inexperienced, but he’s learning a lot from yoongi and namjoon

loves playing with temperature

the boys make him freeze their drinks for him, or ask him to heat up some popcorn while they’re all sprawled out on the couch on movie night bc no one feels like waiting two minutes for it to cook in the microwave

makes the water in the shower cold whenever one of the boys is taking way too fucking long in there which is Everyday

also jimin: *hitting on someone at the bar* *makes the room slightly warmer* “is it hot in here or is it just you?”

relates everything he learns back to naruto in some way, much to everyone’s complete and utter confusion

he just really kins the guy i guess

100% owns every single witch pun shirt known to man

“witch please” “witches do it better” “this is my resting witch face”

jungkook: by all means jimin why don’t you just burn us all at the stake yourself

it’s ok tho bc it’s his own little way of owning his identity, and if you want to avoid having your fingers frozen off, you’ll be sure not to step to him any kind of way

𝐭𝐚𝐞𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐠: the transcendent 

my favorite witch!!! i wrote this whole thing for him

tae is like jin in that his whole family is magical and he grew up surrounded by magic his whole life

in fact, he’s so familiar with magic that he’s kind of sick of it (no he isn’t (most of the time))

taehyung is unique with his magic bc he’s actually able to transcend realms oooh~

the information on how many realms and parallel universes and such are limited as hell so taehyung actively helps broaden that knowledge as he travels, a very Dangerous and Scary job to anybody else

but to him he’s like!! fuck yeah astral projection!

basically, he’s able to put himself into a deep sleep where he moves through different realms, some more or less magical than the others

he’s so good at it that he can project himself into someone else’s dreams too

he’s basically capable of seeing more than most magical beings, and he can perceive spirits easily, as well as being able to actually see a magical aura around someone

so for instance, if a witch who didn’t know they were a witch walked into a bar, he’d know what they were instantly. besides the general intuitive feeling that most witches get, he can see the auras physically, like swarming tendrils of smoke unique to every person

each aura feels and looks different than others which makes it easy for him to point out shape shifters and vampires and werewolves and all the other guys pretty easily

bc of this ability, taehyung also likes to mess with the boys like everyone else lol

“tae, i just saw the most beautiful-” “they’re actually an ogre in disguise” “WHAT”

“man my english teacher is a witch” “she actually is”

in case you couldn’t tell tae’s favorite victim is jungkook

casually tells people he’s a witch just for the #reactions

if you’re wondering, no. nobody in this coven cares about keeping this shit a secret

since he’s more sensitive to dreaming, a lot of his dreams leave him incredibly emotional because sometimes he really is there

he once had a dream where all magical beings were universally accepted in the world and were loved and happy and woke up sobbing into jimin’s lap

also nightmares take a HUGE toll on him so his sleep pattern is fucked for real

usually ends up eating cake with jin in the dining room at four am and talking about life together to get the nightmares off tae’s mind

tae uses his magic on humans in a different way. like he doesn’t prank them that much, but rather manipulates their moods. he tries to charm anyone he comes in contact with to make them happy or to make them giggly

he wants to use his magic for good, because it often leaves a very painful burden on him in turn

𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤: the prodigy

honestly i feel like if jungkook was a witch he’d probably be an underdeveloped one, you feel?

he finds out his power late bc either his family didn’t know (they’re all human) or they just didn’t tell him in hopes of him never becoming one

but jungkook is being bullied by some guys in his grade and they corner him after school one day and jungkook gets so frustrated that he just,,, makes them all start uncontrollably burping

as dumb as it is, those kids never bother jungkook again

when he does get a hang of it, jungkook probably uses his magic for fun more often than not

jungkook is recruited by jin for this very reason. he catches jungkook messing with old people at the park on his afternoon runs and he’s like this kid is such a brat. i want him

jungkook is SUCH a fast learner holy shit

he goes to namjoon for every little question, to the point where namjoon is positive he’s become a better witch simply because jungkook has prepared him for any fuckin scenario known to man

he also makes himself float upside down in the kitchen at night so when hoseok comes down for a glass of water he almost pisses himself

“haha did i scare you” 

cue hoseok making jungkook fall down as he mumbles “little shit” under his breath

halloween is his favorite time of year and he likes to pull harmless pranks on the kiddies while scaring the mean teenagers ruining all of the children’s fun

like he sees this guy in a deformed mask holding a plastic knife about to scare a little boy so Jungkook just gives the dude a wedgie with his magic

all the kids are laughing at him and jungkook just smirks

honestly he doesn’t like reading about magic as much as he likes just doing it from intuition/namjoon’s instruction. he’s a lot like hoseok in that he has a lot of natural talent but not a lot of proper training when he first starts honing his ability

since jin yoongi and namjoon are in charge of teaching magic they all hound on him like “did u do the reading”

jungkook maybe glosses over everything and then just over-performs as compensation

they get on him abt it but there’s no lying about it, jungkook is a strong witch on his own

he hasn’t gotten a special manifestation of his magic Just Yet but he only gets stronger as he goes. the more he applies himself, the stronger he grows

[ardentlythieving]

Hey lads Arden here to yell about media

Tl;dr as seen in the example of the female ghostbusters remake the way many progressives react to bad media produced by women/people of colour is super reductive and does nothing to address the root issues of how some people view media.

As always I encourage constructive discussion on my posts! :D

Look. There’s people out there that think media made by women or poc is inherently bad. We’re online, we know this, we’ve seen it. And I personally believe a lot of the way we respond to it (as a whole, I’m sure there’s progressives who don’t respond this way) is counterproductive and unhelpful, as shown by the debate around the female ghostbusters movie.

Let’s get this out of the way first. The female ghostbusters movie wasn’t a particularly good movie. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with liking it, I personally enjoy a lot of bad or mediocre media. But the movie being bad has nothing to do with it being co-written by a woman, or its stars being women.

The issue then, is that of course there were dudes out there going “wow the ghostbusters movie sucks lmao, movies with women are shit”. And the issue is that instead of going “yeah this movie is shit, but it’s one movie lmao what’s ur point how the fuck are you relating it to all women?” some of us went “actually ur wrong and it’s a good movie.”

The problem here is that we’re allowing the assholes to frame the debate. Because, and I know it isn’t any of our intents, this still keeps the framing as “the ghostbusters remake is a standin for all female-centric media rather than just one movie”. Even though you’re coming at it from a position of supporting women, it’s still conflating the two. The conversation is still one movie with women = all movies with women in terms of quality, and I think that’s a huge mistake to make. Same with bad movies written/directed by or starred in by people of colour. Don’t let the assholes frame the conversation.

At this point I have a confession to make: like most of my meta posts this one came from a conversation/me venting in discord to my wonderful and long suffering friends, and @godhatescrackers pointed out that:

“A big problem with bad movies that just happen to be made by women or have a mostly female cast is that people will say that is the source of their badness. not bad plotting or characterization or anything that would be taken into account with a mostly white male cast. So I don't know if saying "here are some good movies made by/mostly about women" would work, because many of them will think it's bad regardless. Marvel hasn't done shit for women. but black widow even being able to hold her own against men pissed a lot of guys off. marginalized folks aren't allowed to be anything more than side characters who don't affect the plot much. not saying that there was never any valid critique of black panther, just that a lot was rooted in racism ”

@lilquill added:

“yeah I think that’s what’s hard is they already have a clear bias against women. Like I don’t think a lot of those ppl think it’s bad bc of actual movie quality reasons but rather just bc it’s made by women”

And these are both great points because yeah! There’s absolutely shitheads out there who do think that only cishet white men can make good media and that is absolutely not a bias it’s easy to fight against/tackle. So no, I don’t think what I’ve mentioned here will work against them.

But, because this post wasn’t already long enough, here’s where I want to get into a key point about these sorts of media discussions: they aren’t targeted at the bigots. Which, I know, that’s the person you’re arguing with? Why wouldn’t you target it at them?

Well, smarter and more educated on the topic people than me have gone into this, such as @innuendostudios in his Alt-Right Playbook youtube series that you should absolutely watch, but basically when you’re arguing with a bigot, they aren’t arguing at you or trying to convince you. They’re trying to convince the undecided audience. So if you’re trying to convince the bigot, rather than joining them in trying to convince the audience, you’ve already lost.

The whole point, in my opinion, in showing examples of objectively good/strong media made by minorities or bad/mediocre media made by white men is that hopefully your audience thinks “huh, maybe I’ll check that out” and that your audience also stops considering work made by one woman or person of colour to be representative of all work made by women or people of colour. 

Anyways in conclusion, I think what Cosmic and Sakshi brought up is super important re: looking at our own views on media. IE when we judge a piece of media made by a women or a person of colour, are we judging it more harshly than we would media made by a white man? Because not to be all “we live in a society” but.... we live in a society, and have biases as a result of that. And just because we aren’t as out there with them as the bigots, doesn’t just remove that.

[comicteaparty]

November 20th-November 26th, 2019 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from November 20th, 2019 to November 26th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

What main character do you relate to the most?  How relatable does a main character have to be for you to like them?

Capitania do Azar

You know, relatable is simultaneously a very strong and very week word to describe how I see main characters. Sometimes, the MCs I like the most are those I can't relate to in any way, when their actions are so out there and wild that I cannot for the life of me seeing myself doing (regardless of weather I understand their motivations or not). I tend to find secondary characters much more easier to relate to, since they're not so much under the spotlight and get to have personalities that are often less directly connected to the plot, and creators get to have more freedom. That said, on the top of my head, one of my favorite protagonists is Trigger, from Ghost Junk Sickness, https://www.ghostjunksickness.com/, who I cannot, for the life of me, relate to, but whose horrible decisions I find absolutely amusing.

Now, for side characters who I can definitely relate to, I'm gonna go with Aaron from XIIComic, https://xiicomic.com/magic-and-muses/, because that one was love at first sight, eheh(edited)

FeatherNotes

I agree with @Capitania do Azar-- For me, main characters are the ones who would be written with the themes, and the backstory that make them unique enough for a singular experience so i would often find it most difficult to 'fully relate' to them. That said, characters don't have to be very much relatable at all for me to like them , and that most MCs with flaws that are beyond me are who i mainly like bc of their potential complexity! Secondary characters are my go to's, and i relate to them much more quickly! With that said, i def have vibes with Sanna and Dizzy from Startrip http://www.startripcomic.com/cast

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

I rarely find main characters "relatable", but if they are well-written enough I can like and root for them no matter if I think they are relatable to me personally enough. @Capitania do Azar and @FeatherNotes made really good point as to why this is the case. Anyways a character I still really relate to is Rafael from Superpose (https://superposecomic.com/). Painful gender feelings, people being dismissive of ones gender, the overall feeling of being stuck and not knowing what the future will bring really speaks to me, so reading Superpose I got especially invested. Another character would be Nikita from O Sarilho (http://sarilho.net/en/) and he's very interesting to me because there is a lot about him that feels deeply relatable and familiar but then so many things that are absolutely alienating. I think that makes him an especially alluring character to me.

Cronaj

I agree with the everyone else. I don't really need to relate to a main character to like them. In fact, I just realized on my search through the webcomics I read/enjoy that I don't relate to pretty much ANY of the characters. This might have to do partly with the fact that I read a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, and historical comics, so the issues the characters face are very different than the ones I personally face. That being said, there is one comic where I relate to one of the main characters so much, I actually cried. This is the character Taesoo from the webtoon The Lady and Her Butler. (https://www.lezhin.com/en/comic/ladyandbutler) He is a struggling artist with low self-confidence and the after-effects of a bad relationship with someone who didn't appreciate him. His scars from this situation have remained with him and made it difficult for him to love again. I know this sounds like something straight from a drama, but this legitimately happened to me. (On a side note, I relate to my own characters, but that's because I subconsciously created characters a lot like myself.)

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Like others have said above me, I don’t really need to relate to a main character to like them. If they’re well written and receive good development, I’ll probably like them on some level. I do tend to gravitate more towards roguish and morally ambiguous characters, and my favourite is usually an outrageous villain. As for my own characters, I put a bit of myself in all of them, but probably none more so than Anor from Children of Shadow. I hadn’t meant to mirror so much of myself in him, but my characters tend to act and grow independently of me. He struggles with depression, PTSD, feelings of isolation, and has a similar queer experience / identity as me. He isn’t me, however, and differs in a lot of ways, too. But I can identify with him probably more than any other character I’ve written.(edited)

Batichi

I feel kinda narcissistic saying so, but the character I do relate to is my own protagonist, mainly because the point of the character was to have one that was more like me I guess. Low energy, unable to feel like they progress, never knowing if points of trauma are growing or hindering being a full person. I never intended a 'full insert' but a lot of their personal journey I feel gets pulled out of my own head since it's where I can pull from. I don't know if that counts or not xD I don't need a character to be relatable for me to be interested in them, but I do need to understand them. 'Defined' feels like too broad of an answer, but when I can be interested in both heart of gold protagonists and drug dealing warlords that's the best I can come up with.

spacerocketbunny

I may not need a character to be relatable to like them but it definitely does make me soft when I can. I think a character I can relate to would be Satinder from Shaderunners http://shaderunners.com/ I think she's a lot more outgoing than me and generally just more jovial and sweet but I relate to her struggle with her relationship with Ivo the most. Pining for someone who doesn't want to settle and just wants to move on bigger and better feels pretty real to me! Other than that I'd say Vic from Inhibit http://www.inhibitcomic.com/ while again I don't relate to his personality or much of his situation, I feel for his struggles SO MUCH. Stuck in that awkward, can't do anything right and just exists in the mediocrity of his situation just gets me all the time.

eli [a winged tale]

I think I relate with main characters who are competent in their own way but FLAWED, and are shown in the story to be facing a struggle. They may not have to make the right decisions or be the most clever, but their reasons are justified (via history, development, relationships). So ultimately it really comes down to the creator’s execution. I’ve been thinking about this question for a while and I think the best example is liking Kushana more than Nausicaa in Miyazaki’s graphic novel (you’ve watched the film, now go read the epic graphic novel!). She is presented as an antihero and a foil to Nausicaa and we see her struggle against how she was raised to the ideal way of dealing with the world presented as a possibility. Edith is also one where you see her being put together on the surface, but hiding deep insecurities inside. Yet she continues to grow, face her fears and maybe make the mistake of being on the wrong ship I jest, but working hard to solve her problems. I find static, good influence characters to be a little bit harder to relate to but if the story is good, I can invest in it.

GGY

Most of my characters stem from small pieces of my personality and experiences. Some of those personalties are exaggerated a bit to drive the plot and explain a few things going on with the characters. I don't have to relate to a character to like them but it is always interesting to see that side of a character that the other characters don't get to see as often or its not apparent. Not that the character is leading a double life or anything but that there are reasons why characters act the way they do and those reasons are either presented in a back story or from that character's perspective of the world. Anyways if I had to bottle it down to one character I think I relate a lot to would be one of my main characters Bridget Killigan of Over 8 Miles mainly because she runs by her own logic of how things go wether or not they are wrong. However this is only because of the result of circumstance, which I can relate to all too well XD(edited)

DanitheCarutor

I don't pay attention to relatability when reading a comic? Like I have no idea what characters I can relation to outside of my own since mine were sorta made to vent my experiences and issues. It's like gender and sexuality, as important as those details can be, I don't actually notice those things unless they're blatantly pointed out. Given that, not a whole lot of people can relate to me personally (I'm a weird person with weird opinions and views), so relatability in characters isn't totally possible and isn't important. Sometimes they can relate in life experiences, or a mood, but that's about it. Character(s) who are fleshed out, growing, and/or who are interesting is what matters most. So I guess I'm kinda parroting what other people have already said.

AntiBunny

Relatable? That's a bit of a tough one. I can care about a character without relating to them. In fact to answer last week's question, having characters I can care about is probably the most important thing to hook me into a webcomic. But relating to a character is different than caring about them. I would at one time say Riff and Torg from Sluggy Freelance, a couple of irresponsible guys getting into hijinks, but I've changed as a person over the years.

I suppose the most relatable character, might be Rhea from Slightly Damned. I say that because she's the one who has to be the responsible one now. She's the oldest of the 3 main characters, but still basically a kid herself. She has to protect and guide these two oddball teenagers, even though she's not even sure of her own place in the world.

I guess as you get older, people start looking to you as a protector, and as a guide, even though you still very much feel like a child wearing an adult suit. So Rhea is someone I can relate to in that regard. She's from http://sdamned.com/

Akreampuff

Sometimes I find I relate to elements of a character - Like when they comment or express an opinion on something - But having a character resonate with me isn't something that really happens often. I can't remember the last time it did. For me to like a character though, they just have to not be a shitty person. Flaws are fine - Flaws are great - But if they are just a horrible person or a flat bleh character then I lose interest very quickly.

kayotics

Karkat Vantas

RebelVampire

One character I relate to immensely off the top of my head is Shy from Radio Silence http://www.radiosilencecomic.com/ There have been a lot of moments in that comic, especially related to social anxiety, where I have cringed super hard along with Shy because I knew exactly what it was like to feel what he was feeling. It actually makes the comic difficult for me on occasion just cause it brings flashbacks. In terms of the second part, that's a difficult question. I feel like it's super easy to relate to at least small portions of every main character, since people are complex and have a million different sides to them. So, for me at least, I can always find at least a little something I can relate to. But overall, that usually doesn't determine if I like them or not. I'm more concerned about whether I'm invested in their goals and want to see them succeed or suffer for their pursuit of those goals. To me that's what makes a character likeable. So in the end, it's not a question of how much, since I'll always relate in some way. It's just also not important.

[symphysins]

Have any other good fics for us???

sorry this took a while to reply back to. i’ve been compiling this for a while.

since you didn’t specify what kind of fics, i’m gonna give like a smorgasbord of different ut fics i love w/ a blurb of stupid commentary from me :’D

(be warned, snas is my fav so a bunch feature him/are centered around him.)

(also be warned that not everything i like may be ur cup of tea, so make sure to read the tags/warnings.)

longpost under cut. ready? here we gooo~ ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ 

Universal Displacement by knowmeknot: A forgotten doctor once theorized that when the same event occurs at the exact same time in two separate universes, they converge for a single moment and something… spectacular happens. A destabilization maybe. Or a merge. Or better yet, a displacement of two similar but different entities.

one of my favorite kedgeup things is when ut!sans or uf!paps lands in the other’s universe, and this fic expands on this idea rlly well.

A Lack of Brotherly Love by Askellie: After a brutal series of genocide runs, Sans wakes up in an alternate universe where the monsters were saved, everyone is on the surface and the future looks bright…except the fundamental difference in this universe is that its resident Sans never loved or supported his brother. As a result, Papyrus is a lonely outcast, unable to fit in and scarred from years of emotional neglect.And Sans isn’t going to let that stand.

i desperately want sans to punch the fuck out of dr.serif. and then go give poor paps all the hugs he deserves.

To Love Yourself by undertailsoulsex: UF!Sans fights with his brother and doesn’t know what to do with himself. He ends up traveling to the Undertale Universe where he meets the kindhearted Sans and Papyrus.UF!Sans has to come to terms with his depression and his newfound feelings for the other skeletons.

this fic emotionally destroyed me… but in a good way i swear! it’ll lead you on a rollercoaster of feels, but it’s worth it.

It’s A Long Story by RiseiTekiSensei: a soriel series detailing toriel and sans’ relationship in the underground and aboveground. i really like how both of them have their own issues, and how they support eachother through those issues. i also love how head over heels sans is for toriel.

A Fortune Cookie For You by Darkhymns: “In bed” jokes are the lowest form of comedy. So, of course, Sans and Toriel love them.

the jokes man. the jokes are the best.

Never a Lovely So Real by Kaesa: The city of Ebott, 193X. The market’s down, the crime rate’s up, and Sans is just trying to make a buck and keep an eye on his brother by working for the Dreemurr crime family. But after the Dreemurrs rescue a human child from their rival gang, the Flower Boys, Sans soon finds himself in way over his head. (Well. Not that that’s hard.)  

i love all the research put in to make this mob au fic really authentic. reading the little anecdotes at the end is rlly fun. 

Our Skeleton by yastaghr: The people who love him come to realise Sans may be hiding something from them. 

this. this is the fic that really got me into sansgoriel. royal goats showering tiny skele in love is the best.

for queen and country by tealmoon: Being the Judge of the Underground isn’t just a job, it’s about being chosen to carry out the infallible will of the Royal Family, to keep chaos and crime at bay, to protect all of Monsterkind.            

And for Papyrus, it’s about being helpless, and afraid, and alone.

us!paps suffering: the fic. somebody give this skele a friend. pls, he desperately needs one.   

Fired Up and Bone Weary by perniciousLizard: slowburn domestic sansby series. sans is written so in-character and grillby is really fleshed-out as a character. there’s tension and drama here and there, but it still feels mellow overall. reading this fic feels like sitting next to a warm hearth. 

These are our Days by Rehlia: Two days ago, you said goodbye to your best friend. Yesterday, you lost your job with no prior notice. And then today, you had a fight with your mom. So that’s your day today. Lonely, fighting with your mom, jobless. Perfect Day for a drink or two, right? What’s that on TV about monsters?You didn’t expect the monsters to accept that application for a social media job you sent them while you were drunk. Now you’ve suddenly moved to Ebott and spend your days hanging out with monsters, documenting your weird new life, and marvelling at how different monsters and humans can be - and how similar.  

god, i love all the worldbuilding in this fic. the little things about monster culture are so great. this fic really makes me invested in monsterkind’s integration on the surface. and the build-up to the sans/reader relationship rlly makes it all the more satisfying.

Tend to your memories by Rainbow_Sprinkles: Post-Pacifist after many, many resets. Explores political, social, and personal facets of monster integration into human society. Begins in 211X and spans over many years. Political and social climates have undergone major shifts from those of the present day. Character development and platonic-familial relationships receive the most attention. Major motifs include health, medicine, and science. 

realistically, i think a lot of the ut cast have been traumatized in some way, and this fic explores that very thoroughly. i think my favorite part about this series is the frisk, flowey, and chara development.

Kingship, And What Comes Next by CatKing_Catkin: This is the story of the Underground after Sans hung up the phone, after Papyrus took the throne. There’s no one left to guide him, no one left to look up to. Papyrus doesn’t want to let anyone down, especially not Sans when his brother is working so hard to support him. Sans doesn’t want to let Papyrus down, when his brother really is all he has left.They make mistakes, they miss one another, but together, they try to figure things out.This is a story about growing up, moving on, and what’s important in life.

this fic managed to take one of the saddest (imo) endings and turn it into something hopeful. 

lest ye be judged by nilchance: in an alternate universe, asgore became something like a parental figure to sans and papyrus. the whole series is wonderful, and i love the relationship sans and asgore have. 

Tsum Papyri by BarkingPup: In this world there is only Papyrus and… more Papyrus

the super sweet tsumtsum au made by zarla turned incredibly horrifying.

Overextension by MaxieSatan: Strength and weakness are not mutually exclusive, and neither one always looks the same.

i like reading fics about undyne & sans, bc you really never see them interact in game. it’s interesting to think about how they’d act around eachother.

Late Night Snack by EvilZebra:    

Tuesday 3:55 amRUDE SKELETON: did he ask you to help too                     

RUDE SKELETON: he did i can hear more pots dying             

RUDE SKELETON: pls spare my ketchup it does not deserve this 

papyrus cooks at 3 in the morning. sans and undyne suffer.

social links by simplycarryon: Friendship’s pretty neat, or so your video games and anime dictate. But you are not an anime protagonist, and you’re not sure you know what friendship is any more.

i love sans and alphys being science buddy friends.

Angels in the Underground by joliemariella: 200 years ago, angels were banished from the surface world after the commander of the heavenly host, Asgore, declared war on mankind. Now, young Frisk has fallen into the Underground and must conquer the angels’ seven trials if she, and the angels themselves, are to have any hope of escape. Along the way she meets Sans, a wounded seraphim who agrees to guide her through the trials at Toriel’s request. Friends are made, history unfolds, and Sans comes to hope again.

monsters with wiiiingsss. also seraphim dad sans is best dad.

Butterscotch and Bones by kaliawai512: Toriel promised herself she would never leave the Ruins. She had to stay there, to make sure that if a human fell, she could care for them - even if she couldn’t stop them from going to their deaths in time. But now and then, leaving is inevitable. The Ruins have only so many resources, after all. This time, before she heads Home from her latest expedition, she decides to stop and check in on the asocial Royal Scientist who was once her good friend.                                                   

She doesn’t find him.                                        

She finds two other someones instead.

FLUFF. SO MUCH FLUFF. some sad, bUT THAT ONLY MAKES THE FLUFF SWEETER. this fic is like a balm on the soul from the hurt of the handplates au.

Under the Veil by poplasia: Sans has gotten himself stuck in the void between worlds in a successful attempt to stop the resets of his timeline. He’s not sure how long he’s been chillin’ alone there, but eventually a chance at escape stumbles his way in from the Veil of Death. His name?—Sirius Black.

crossovers are great. crossovers with two of my favorite fandoms are even better. i’m really excited to see what these two pranksters will do next.

Missing Child Case by StoryCloud: Against all odds, the police find the four-year old that went missing around the summit of Mount Ebbot. A story from a child’s perspective has many interpretations.

it’s really rare to see fics that deal with neutral route endings, so this is a nice treat. also the fact that frisk is only four puts things into a diff. perspective.

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times by ABadTime: Set immediately after the pacifist run, the dark history of the skeleton brothers begins to surface when everything that held them together unravels, leading to the revelation of dark and transformative truths.The Best of Times, the Worst of Times sees the rise of heroes of unusual stripes in the face of unusual traumas, and explores the value of relationships in unusual times. The True Labs hold a great many terrible secrets only some of which have been able to reach their conclusion.

leaves you hanging on at the edge of your seat at some points, and has a satisfyingly happy ending. not to mention super cool gb!sans.

a lesson in grief. by ohmygodwhy:                           

you’ve got pressure dripping off your shoulders.               

or: sans tries to deal with some things.

let’s end this off with some of that sweet, sweet sans suffering. one of the first few ut fics i read. the ending was like a punch in the gut.

[feadae]

RULES: List ten of your favorite characters (male versions bc i’ve already done the female one) in ten different fandoms (in no particular order), and then tag ten people.

I was tagged by @frosttrix!

Favorites are so haaaaaaarrrrrd... And in ten different fandoms? Do I have favorite male characters in that many fandoms? Only one way to find out, I guess. Let’s see...

1. Very nearly any of the Caretakers from Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica by James A. Owen would easily make a favorites list, but I think Fred the Badger edges out just ahead of the rest of them. He’s just so sweet, and so eager to help in any way he can, and I love him. Fred Protection Squad. 2. Marco Alisdair from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. He’s that reserved kind of intelligent, but no less capable than a louder person of kicking ass. Except he doesn’t kick ass physically--he does it with magic. Get you a boy who will build a magical circus for/with you. 3. Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Literally nothing against Frodo--I love him, too--but Sam did everything Frodo did and wasn’t corrupted by the Ring, despite his proximity to it for so long. And the whole time, he did his best to keep Frodo’s spirits up by reminding him of the home that he believed would be waiting for them when they finished their task. Also, the whole Shelob thing. Sort of important. Read: if it weren’t for Samwise Gamgee, Frodo Baggins would definitely have died before getting to Mordor. 4. Remus Lupin from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Listen. Give a character a tragic backstory, and I’m immediately drawn to them and want to protect them. Give a character self-loathing issues and the resulting angst, and that protective instinct multiplies a hundredfold. Give that character a child they love who outlives them, and you’ve hit the Sympathetic Character Trifecta. Also, even if Lupin didn’t have all/any of those things, he’d still be the best DADA professor Harry’s ever had, and just an all-around cool guy. Remus Lupin Protection Squad. 5. Héctor [last name??] from Coco (dir. Lee Unkrich). So, Coco’s still relatively new, so I’m gonna avoid spoilers as much as I can, but Héctor’s got a tragic backstory, too, and it’s fucking heartbreaking. But it’s all the more heartbreaking because he manages to put on a cheerful, playful, lovable-scamp façade for almost the whole movie, and when the backstory is revealed, the façade drops, and my soul shatters. Aside from the tragic backstory, Héctor’s just such an endearing character. He’s so funny, and clever, and sweet, and don’t think I missed when he went from calling Miguel gordito, chamaco, etc. to m’ijo. Don’t think I missed it, Disney. 6. Giles Corey from The Crucible by Arthur Miller. So this one’s kind of cheating, since Giles Corey was a real person, but I have no idea what he was like in real life. I know what he’s like in the play, and it’s amazing. He’s a bit bumbling, but he’s still got his wits about him, and he’s contentious as all hell, but it’s understandable in his situation (as he says, “I know my rights, and I’ll have them”). He’s another Comic Relief Turned Tragic type, and it’s super impactful when he turns tragic. You see this can-do, independent, cantankerous old man break down and weep on stage because of a mistake he made, and that decision affects his choices for the rest of the show, and it’s so fucking sad, guys. 7. Neil Perry from Dead Poets Society (dir. Peter Weir). I love the whole cast of Dead Poets Society, but I’m drawn to Neil in particular because he wants desperately to be an actor (rather like someone we all know--nudge nudge wink wink), but his father won’t let him (thankfully unlike that same someone). So what does Neil do? He forges a permission letter from his father to let him audition for a local production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where he ends up being cast as Puck. And on top of that, he does well in school but also breaks rules and is a large part of the driving force behind the Dead Poets Society being (re)started. He’s got huge amounts of wit and spirit and he (SPOILER) gets a sad ending, and my heart cries. Also, he’s played (expertly) by Robert Sean Leonard, which means he’s not exactly hard on the eyes. 8. Mercutio from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Listen. Listen. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve read/seen R&J, so forgive me if I don’t remember most of Mercutio’s characterization, but his wit is my favorite thing about that whole Godforsaken play. His last words are a pun, people. He gets stabbed in the chest, and as he lies dying, he says, “If you look for me tomorrow, you shall find me a grave man.” A grave man. Fucking--Mercutio, y’all. 9. Again with the whole male cast being awesome (the female cast kicks ass, too, but unfortunately that’s not the question): The West Wing (written by Aaron Sorkin). It’s really tough to choose from among these guys, too, but I think I’m going to go with Charlie Young. This boy (I’m allowed to say boy--he’s, like, my age) is personal aide to President Bartlet, and he’s the quintessential Hufflepuff. The hardest worker you’ve ever met in your life, loyal as all hell to his loved ones (including his boss and the rest of the White House staff), and incredibly humble. Plus, he’s one of, like, two people in the country who gets to sass the President with minor to no repercussions. And he does it spectacularly, maintaining a polite facial expression and tone of voice the whole time. 10. Christopher Belling from Curtains (book: Rupert Holmes, music: John Kander, lyrics: Fred Ebb). Most of the guys in Curtains are guys I’d love to play, but Christopher Belling, British Sass Master, wins this time. He’s the director of the show-within-the-show, and literally the only thing he cares about is his show. Case in point: Curtains is a murder mystery, and when asked about how he feels about being in the same building as a murderer, his response? Oscar: “You can’t sleep either? Belling: “Knowing that someone in this company is going to change my blocking?!” This man. Completely and utterly shallow, but it’s hilarious. Another golden line is when he first learns that his leading lady (who wasn’t very good, nor was she popular with--well--anyone) has been murdered, his knee-jerk reaction is to ask, “And what are they going to do with her killer? Does he get some sort of trophy, or a Pontiac convertible?”

Are you sensing a few trends? I’m sensing a few trends. Oh, well.

I’ll tag @alienjack, @sublimegentlemanalpaca, @teabooksandsweets, @ofbadgersandblueberries, @fluffybishenanigans, @onedragontorulethemall, and anybody else who wants to fill this out!

[spoks-illogical-art]

a really badly explained plot of Invasion AU below

Roswell, Vincent, Laionel, Nekro, Newt and Ryland are the main cast

there’s no Drew, Chester, Nestor, Kate and Liam

Kendrick and Nyssa appear at some point, 

Vincents’ parents are dead and his brother Joel is missing, 

well Laionels’ parents are obviously dead too

great

Gordon, Ramsay, Erwin and Chris appear 

I still didn’t decide what about Mattie

basically there’s no Howard too, he doesn’t appear till the very end

Roswell is married to Ryland yaayy *but the media doesn’t know*

it takes place on Beta 5 (the canon main human cast home planet)

Beta 8 is the Greyhound home planet 

!quick reminder! Barons full name is Timothy Roswell and his undercover name is Aaron Dantes 

well the basic idea was that B8 invades B5 like in canon, but earlier 

when Vincent was like 28 and Lai 6

but it starts just like canon - Ryland meets Tim that’s working on creating a breach between Beta8 and some other planet that ends up being Beta5, because their home-planet is being destroyed by meteor showers

(actually during this AU B8 gets completely destroyed by an asteroid after everyone moved to B5),

then Howard appears, he’s a lil shit as usually and would mess up with Roswells’ plans *bcs creating breaches in time an space IS ILLEGAL* so he kicks his ass and throws out of B8 plus creates a power-field around the planet that keeps the red shrimp away so he can work on his *not so* mischievous plans in peace, 

there’s of course the civil war and the formation of the rebel groups against Baron

his *not so* evil plan was to make a deal with B5 humans to lend Greyhounds some of their land to move on to//and later on they could maybe build a city on the sea? like on a fake island or smth? idk// well they could live together - in return Greyhounds would give them their technology

what a damn utopia, he tried 

at the other hand that  deal was still kinda an ultimatum, Greyhounds had no choice, they needed to move on B5 even If humans liked it or not, because their planet was for sure going to get destroyed sooner or later, 

so they invaded them. i guess. lol.

it’s earlier so the rebels forces weren't so well military equipped and just ready to stand against Baron, but still had spies among his forces, while he was trying to make this deal with B5 they started to encourage others to rebel *because it was taking a lot of time and humans are so fragile and it would be easier just to take the planet by force right duh* 

in a result they actually /did that/ 

all Greyhounds are really short-tempered and impatient lol 

well then there was no chance no finish the deal, it was cut off and humans basically run away? ? at one side that’s what you do when you get attacked and ur damn planet doesn’t even have an army, but at the other hand that was actually a really dumb decision made by humans?? bcs Baron was maybe not on their side, but also against rebels after all ?? ? heh

so his own forces go rogue and start mass murdering humans, stuff gets out of control for few days

sad

well until the ones in charge of the riots are taken down by what was left of Barons forces still at his side

still not everyone responsible for it dies and later on takes over the government to form the new Council, *do they ever learn?? no, they don’t* 

so the riots stop *more or less*, before humanity is wiped out and they make an agreement - humans can live alongside them, can’t be enslaved, but basically have no other rights, and have to live in the specific parts of the town, mostly outskirts

and u know who came up with this agreement? It was Tim, but Greyhounds don’t talk about it, some still hate him for not letting them just kill everyone and be done :U

after that he was thrown out of his position of a leader and just came back to being a scientist

and that would be from Barons point of view

meanwhile back at the beginning Vincent was working as cop for mere 4 years when it all started

and as B5 didn’t have a proper army, police was the only institution that could stand against the Greyhounds *not for long tho* and was mostly in charge of the evacuations 

well long story short he bumbs into that kid left alone on the street and adopts him. done. sdhfjkdshfjkhsdjk the city is burning!! gotta run away!!

and through the entire AU everyone keeps asking why the hell did he do that, that was so stupid, he just made a problem for himself wtf, 

would u leave a kid in the burning city invaded by evil dog aliens?

no.

and they run away and just travel a lot, trying not to get killed, that keeps going for few years, until they meet and join Nekors group of rebels that’s trying to take down the government

good idea

that would be enough for the exposition pff

----- present time -----

which is like 8-9 years after the invasion

everything takes places in the newly built by Greyhounds Capitol City, that’s where Barons Lab Center is 

and Nekor and the rest live on the outskirts

 it's the human part of the outskirts, but poorer greyhounds live there too or just the one that aren’t so against humans

so like they have this sort of a bar, not everyone can get inside tho,

the bar is just in the front, its kinda like a basement ?? but not basement basement, they have gun storage in the basement, and in the back part of the building, they all actually live there or in the buildings around so no government spy gets inside lol idk, but it’s old, like made of bricks

im bad at describing stuff especially buildings 

Nekors’ in charge alongside with Newt, Vincent sometimes gets to speak for himself as /a human/,

Laionel’s just sort of a there, they are keeping him as long as Vincent’s alive,,,

it took Baron some time to track down the rebels and they were the closest group so he just went to them

*imagine Baron thinking about how rebels dress to match with them dfhdksj* 

he goes undercover *i just love this prompt fight me*

and it starts really cheesy with him saving the child from some Greyhounds on the street

 later on Nekor n the rest take him hostage as a spy, but the child is like /ay he helped me/ so Vincent’s like/ ay wait let him speak/ 

he introduces himself as one of the Barons scientists that could provide them maps or other useful information

so the irony is that both Baron and Vincent have to work with those who started the war

tragic.

I mean it really is, Nekro, Newt, Hicks and the rest were rebels back on B8 so for quite a long time and it’s their fault too

Vincent doesn't know about it tho

Nekor as a long term rebel stil didn’t get over is hate towards Baron even tho he haven’t been important at all for a long time now and has no control, but Nekor is incredibly stupid in this AU and doesn’t recognize him

like everyone, but just, let’s say he should. at least a little bit. 

they work together for over half a year (up to 8 months I don’t know)

during this time Roswell has to sneak out of his lab, sometimes few times a week

poor Ryland doesn’t know about anything and starts to worry quite fast when he starts to disappear for whole days :U 

well until he finds out //that was like the first thing Ii posted with this au lol

it’s when rebels decide to ‘hey let’s just? attack Barons lab? I mean he’s not doin shit now, but he used to be a jerk right?’ good idea huh?’ 

but I have few other versions of how he could find out so that may change

 *AUs for AUs for days*

same goes with how Nekor and the rest finds out

i just can’t decide which is canon in this au dksf

there’s at least 5 versions now 

kill me

there’s also a part when the child gets taken into custody and Baron has to get him out of there. as himself. not undercover. that’s pretty ridiculous I gotta say

but what is this Barons long term undercover game even for 

well there's another tower that emits a power-field that keeps Howard away from Beta5 too, so they have to destroy it/turn off, Baron can get inside because he projected and built it and does check ups once in a while, but can’t mess with it, 

the council just waits for any mistakes he would do to shut down his lab or even get rid of him in any other way,

so he needs a backup like a group of rebels that would burst into the government building, make a mess, give Tim some time(lol) to turn it off, they would take the council hostage and wait for Howard to do his job. 

easy.

 well Tim should die in effect, because he kicked his ass in the first place so eh.

the only AU where Howard is actually NEEDED and WANTED what a plot twist 

but how the hell can you fix a planet completely taken over by a race that can’t go back to their home planet *bcs it doesn’t exist*

isn’t that too much even for The Watchman

idk

no srsly i don’t know how to end it

???? ?

that’s it

i guess

[gethealthy18-blog]

Healing—Bible Teaching Made Plain (Part 2)

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/healing/healing-scriptures/healing-bible-teaching-made-plain-part-2/

Healing—Bible Teaching Made Plain (Part 2)

We have been examining the subject of healing—and what the Bible really teaches We have already covered crucial setup, along with Old Test accounts of God healing some, but not others

We also learned that God is the only one who can heal—and how healing is tied to forgiveness of sins Now, what can be learned by studying New Test accounts? And how does Christ's sacrifice relate to healing? What are the requirements, if any, for one seeking to be healed? Part 2 answers these and other questions Follow closely because there is vital knowledge to come! The World to Come The Restored Church of God presents David C Pack

We pick up from last time continuing with how the true gospel is tied to healing In Matthew 24, Jesus discusses the most important conditions and events to appear just prior to His Return His disciples wanted Him to explain what would happen: "Saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered…Take heed that no man deceive you For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many" Many have come claiming Christ's authority—and many have been deceived! Satan's ministers have failed to announce the coming, world-ruling kingdom or government of God

They have most often replaced Jesus' message about the kingdom with one about the Messenger The Messenger is not the message His announcement was the message—and still is But Jesus foretold that, just prior to the end, His Church would preach the true gospel in all nations Notice: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come

" Mark's account adds, "The gospel must first be published among all nations" 3 chapters later, Jesus commissioned His apostles to faithfully carry the true gospel to the world, saying: "Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" Matthew 24:14 plainly states that the preaching of the kingdom of God would occur prior to the end If this had been done for the preceding 1,900 years, the statement makes no sense (Only a relative few heard the gospel thru this time

) How could it be foretold to occur at the end if it were happening all along? But Jesus foretold a final period of witness and warning would occur before His Return And, beginning in 1934, it did! The Restored Church of God continues preaching this gospel today! However, neither Matthew nor Luke recorded that public healing would accompany preaching the gospel at the end of the age This is because healing is now for the Church (Jms 5:14-15), which Jesus promised to build (Matt 16:18)

It would be a commandment-keeping Church comprised of those seeking to please God in everything they do (I Jn 3:22) Rev 12 is a summary of the 2,000-year history of Christ's Church—the true Church The small, faithful few of God's flock (Luke 12:32) have been persecuted, suffering extreme hardship and martyrdom at the hands of another church This large church is described as politically powerful and controlling this world's rulers and nations It is also pictured as "drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus

" It has suppressed the gospel of God's coming government, and described itself as "the kingdom of God on Earth," present in "the hearts of men" This false church, called a "great whore," began in AD 33 under the leadership of Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8)—and by the 2nd century was masquerading as God's Church Jude 4 describes those who "crept in unawares…turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness [license]" II Kings 17:18-24 describes how, in 718 BC, Samaria, in northern Israel, became the headqrtrs of the Babylonian mystery religion—from which the false church received her doctrines But the kingdom of God is still being proclaimed—and is going out in power around the world today

When that gospel is being preached, healings, demons cast out and other miracles take place These all do still occur in the true Church, which teaches and practices all truths about healing Some will admit that the Old Test shows God heals, but seem unwilling to understand many New Test scriptures that are just as plain Instead, confusion reigns due to the lack of faith in God's clear promises Some think God still heals, but only thru medical science—that God raised this up for us today

Others believe God healed in the past, but only thru Christ and the apostles in the first century Still others go further, believing God can heal, but are not sure He will—or that He will heal them Of course, we saw Jesus healed "all manner of sickness and all manner of disease" After His Sermon on the Mount, it says, "Great multitudes followed Him And, behold, there came a leper and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if You will, You can make me clean

And Jesus put forth His hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be you clean And immediately his leprosy was cleansed" When the leper asked if He would heal him, Jesus said, "I will" It was Jesus' will to heal It still is today

2 verses later, Jesus encountered a Roman centurion It demonstrates God also heals Gentiles: "There came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented And Jesus said unto him, I will come and heal him The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven But the children of the kingdom [the Jews of that day] shall be cast out into outer darkness…And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go your way; and as you have believed, so be it done unto you And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour" Recall that David asked for forgiveness when he sought God to heal him

Also recall that this is because healing involves forgiving sin Understand Paul wrote, "All have sinned" But what is sin? Many proclaim themselves "sinners," having no idea what this means How did they sin? I John 3:4 states, "Sin is the transgression of the law

" This is critical knowledge that directly relates healing to God's kingdom How? God's spiritual law of love (read these verses) will be enforced in His kingdom It is best described as the "give" way of life and is summarized in the 10 Commandments Sin carries a terrible penalty Romans declares, "The wages of sin is death"—eternal death

It could be said that the wages of physical sin is sickness and disease Violation of spiritual law will result in eternal death Violations of physical law can result in illness or even physical death But sin has other consequences It cuts people off from God (Isa 59:1-2), and His blessings (Jer 5:25)

When God set His great spiritual law in motion, automatic penalties for disobedience were set in motion with it But how is one released from the penalty of sin—physical or spiritual? While most traditional Christians never fully grasp Christ's sacrifice for spiritual sins—and what it means—they do generally know "Christ died for us" (Read Col 1:13-16 and Eph 3:9) His shed blood paid the penalty for broken spiritual laws But what about the forgiveness of physical sin? How does this work? Most do not even know there is such a thing as the forgiveness of physical sin—partly because almost no one uses or understands the term

Let's understand Human beings come from dust (Gen 2:7) No matter how long a person may live, eventually he dies—no exceptions (Heb 9:27) But your body was made with numerous inter-connected systems that, when functioning properly together, result in good health When physical laws are broken, systems break down and no longer work in harmony

Things go wrong—and sickness and disease is the result This is the penalty for disobedience to one or more of these laws After the healing of Peter's mother-in-law in Matthew 8, the account adds critical understanding of Christ's prophesied role in our healing Notice: "They brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils [demons]: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses" This is a plain New Test verse about Jesus' fulfillment of a prophecy to bare our infirmities and sicknesses

This includes ours today This is God's promise—and it was always part of His Plan that Christ physically suffer so He could remove the penalty of broken physical laws hanging over us Jesus willingly paid the penalty for every physical mistake human beings make that results in bad health Every condition, pain, suffering, disease, illness, injury, infirmity—and even death—is covered within Jesus' promise He literally takes your physical sins and bears them for you

They are not placed in some kind of suspended condition Jesus removes them Thru God's miracle, they are gone! Matthew referenced Isaiah This prophet recorded 2 astonishing passages describing Christ's terrible suffering before His crucifixion Examining and considering their meaning reveals how Christ was able to bare our infirmities and sicknesses

Let's read the Revised Standard Version: "As many were astonished at Him—His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of the sons of men—so shall He startle [shock, astonish] many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of Him; for that which has not been told them they shall see, and that which they have not heard they shall understand" Yes, Christ's true suffering and condition will one day be shocking—startling!—to a great many Notice that 2 groups are mentioned when referencing what Jesus endured Those who were astonished at what He suffered—and those who shall be startled by this knowledge, and by the supreme power and glory Christ will have when He returns as King of kings The entire world will then recognize Christ as both King and Healer of every disease known to man! This long passage actually continues past the manmade chapter division

Let's complete the picture of Christ's fulfillment of His role—and how the vast majority of mankind would misunderstand and reject the true Christ: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" These are graphic words

What Christ suffered was not a light thing The typical picture of Him hanging on a stake only shows a tiny bit of blood where the spear entered and a little more near His crown of thorns This picture falls far short of how He really looked! Another New Test passage summarizes the picture, speaking of Christ, "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth…Who His own self bore our sins…by whose [get this!] stripes you were healed" The apostle Peter speaks of Christ's "stripes" Does the New Test record when and how this was done? It does

Notice: "When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see you to it Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified" Two other accounts confirm what happened: "Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged Him, to be crucified" Also: "Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him…Then [afterwards] delivered…Him…unto them to be crucified

" These passages clearly reveal that Jesus' "scourging" occurred before He was crucified It was a separate event, carrying distinct and important meaning Now you know why it happened Pause for a moment and reflect on what Christ was willing to endure on behalf of those who need God's marvelous healing power Ask when, if ever, have you heard even one of this world's preachers explain, or be willing to describe, the terrible beating Jesus was willing to endure so human beings could be restored to perfect health from every conceivable physical malady one can imagine

God describes Himself as a Father who pities His children All parents know the pain of seeing their children sick or suffering And we are merely physical human beings How much more compassionate would God, as our spiritual Father, feel toward His sick children, than would any human parent? God is eager to apply Christ's physical sacrifice of suffering on your behalf He is neither reluctant nor grudging in His desire to see you "prosper and be in health"—and to enjoy the "abundant" life

Though we must be willing to acknowledge that we have broken certain laws—and be willing to change—God is anxious to heal! Satan hates the laws of God Eph 2:2 says his spirit "works in the children of disobedience" He wants mankind to believe it can disobey God's laws—physical and spiritual—without penalties Then, when natural penalties do occur, people reach for medical science to remove the effects—which are sickness and disease I Cor

declares, "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" Each year, on the night of Passover, Christians are commanded to assemble for a very solemn memorial service, which looks back at Christ's suffering and crucifixion It is unlike any other occasion in the year The apostle Paul explained, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do you, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of Me

For as often as you eat this bread, and [2 separate symbols] drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till He come…Whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord [both], unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord [both] But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation [meaning judgment] to himself, not discerning the Lord's body For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep [have died]" Christians are told to pause—stop activity—and reflect soberly on what Christ endured

Some in Corinth neglected to do this They did not appreciate how God would have healed them The result? "Many [were] weak and sickly…and many [died]"—needlessly God wants us to understand forgiveness of sins This is why it says Christ's "body, which is broken for you

" (TURN 5) Matt 9, Mark 2 and Luke 5 all contain a parallel account of Jesus healing "a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed" Luke has the most detail, and makes absolutely clear how healing directly involves forgiving sin Carefully read this long passage: "As He was teaching…there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before Him And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus

And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, Man, your sins are forgiven you "The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answering said unto them, What reason you in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Your sins be forgiven you; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins, (He said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto you, Arise, and take up your couch, and go into your house And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today" Consider what this account is actually saying

Jesus says that telling someone he is healed ("Rise up and walk") and forgiving him ("Your sins be forgiven you") are one and the same Yet people think this strange The Scribes and Pharisees did not understand, and considered it blasphemy (Obviously, as God, Jesus had the power—the authority—to forgive sin) Men don't see that doctors cannot heal because doctors cannot forgive sin

But now you see this! I mentioned previously that healing is now for those in the Church Where does it say this? The apostle James describes those who are sick being "anointed" by the ministry (Acts 19:12 says this is sometimes done thru the use of an anointed cloth sent by mail) Now: "Is any sick among you [meaning those in the Church]? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" Some healing can be due to accident and not sin

We will return to this verse later in the series, but we should recognize that it introduces the crucial element of faith to God's equation for healing The verse speaks of the "prayer of faith" bringing "forgiveness of sins" and relief to the "sick" What then is the Bible definition of faith? It is all-important to establish this All who wish to be healed must understand and learn to demonstrate real biblical faith It is time for a fundamental question

Does the Bible give an exact definition of faith? Since there is one faith (Eph 4:5), does it give one definition of that faith?—a place where the Bible says, "Faith is…" and a precise definition follows? If so, where and what does it say? Hebrews 11 has often been called the "faith" chapter It describes many of God's greatest servants and how their faith enabled them to perform great acts and miracles, or to endure severe trials This long chapter is inspiring, and all who want real faith should read it often It contains the word faith two dozen times

Verse 2 says, "For by it [faith] the elders [these Bible figures] obtained a good report" How could they have obtained a "good report" unless they understood faith? Now for God's definition in verse 1: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" Notice faith involves evidence of things not seen The marginal rendering of substance is assurance Faith involves an assurance "of things hoped for

" But if something is hoped for, it has not yet been received Therefore, where faith is involved, there is an assurance it will be! But how can evidence be related to something not seen? Do we not rather think of evidence as involving things that are seen? In a courtroom, for instance, evidence is what can be proven It involves facts visible to a jury In other words, evidence only involves things that can be seen or demonstrated How then can faith involve evidence that is invisible—not seen? Faith involves evidence in the following way

Real faith, in any promise made by God, is actually the evidence It is the belief that is the evidence If God promises to do something, it is impossible for Him to lie (Heb 6:18) Your evidence that He will perform it is the very unwavering faith you hold

Get this! Remember, Hebrews 11:1 said, "Faith is…the evidence" If you have true Christian faith, you do not need to search for the evidence—you already have it! To understand more fully, carefully read this booklet What Is Real Faith? Jesus said, "I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not My own will, but the will of the Father which has sent Me" Grasp the meaning here How many people do you know who really concern themselves with God's will? How often have you stopped to ask yourself if you are seeking your own will—your own purpose—or God's? Yet Christ, who was God in the flesh, never sought His own will His entire focus was to be sure that He was in harmony with God's Plan—His intention—His purpose—His will

Under supreme test, even when facing the agony of scourging and crucifixion, Jesus prayed, "Let this cup [His coming suffering and death] pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as You will" Jesus knew that what He would soon endure would be horrible beyond belief He was in an agonizing battle—a mental war—over it His conclusion? Stay focused on God's overall purpose and will We will pick up next time talking more about God's will and its connection to healing

There is also much other information on healing still to understand Until next time, this is David C Pack saying, "Goodbye, friends" This program was made available by Restored Church of God members and donors from around the globe Explore our vast library of literature and other World to Come programs, which are all made available free of charge

To order literature featured in this program, call toll-free 1-855-828-4646 That number again: 1-855-828-4646

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WWE SummerSlam 2017 predictions: Picks for all 13 matches on the card, kickoff show

BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- SummerSlam is here. WWE's second-biggest show of 2017 is going down Sunday beginning at 7 p.m. ET with a kickoff show starting two hours earlier at 5 p.m. ET. The monstrous card includes matches from both Raw and SmackDown and with nearly every title the company has to offer being defended on the six-plus hour program. Check out our full slate of predictions for SummerSlam along with a complete match card below. Be sure to stay with CBS Sports the entire weekend as we go in-depth on SummerSlam live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Be sure to subscribe to my podcast In This Corner with Brian Campbell where I break down everything you need to know each week. There will be instant analysis of SummerSlam immediately after the show. 2017 WWE SummerSlam predictions Jason Jordan & The Hardy Boyz vs. The Miz & The Miztourage (Kickoff Show) Adam Silverstein: Added on Thursday, this match is a good way to get these guys on the show and provide some additional entertainment as fans are filing in. At this point, it's worth showing up and starting to watch at 5 p.m. ET as you will get two title matches and the intercontinental champion in a match with one of the best tag teams in WWE history. Pick: Jordan & The Hardy Boyz win Brian Campbell: The recent injury to Scott Dawson of The Revival seemed to shelf The Hardyz' original SummerSlam plans, making way for a last-minute switch. Seeing the intercontinental title relegated to this usage, however, feels like a major downgrade. The Miz was simply too good in the build up to WrestleMania to be cast off. Pick: Jordan & The Hardy Boyz win Cruiserweight Championship -- Akira Tozawa (c) vs. Neville (Kickoff Show) BC: Tozawa's victory on Raw provided a nice surprise moment during Monday's go-home episode of Raw. But this remains Neville's division and "The King of the Cruiserweights" is still operating at a level above everyone else. Tozawa has looked good in recent weeks and this feud has done well to legitimatize him, but there are more talented 205-pound performers who better deserve to be the long-term successor. Pick: Neville wins the title AS: The rise of Tozawa has been impressive, and WWE fans are buying in. Neville is so versatile and obviously ready for a return to the main roster. It's a shame that crusierweights are relegated to only fighting those weighing 205 pounds or less because he really should have a hybrid role. It's time for the division to move on with fresh blood. Pick: Tozawa retainst he title SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- The New Day (c) vs. The Usos (Kickoff Show) AS: While it's a travesty a match and feud of this caliber is on the kickoff show, it was obviously moved to give them the 20-plus minutes necessary on a jam-packed card. Originally, I expected New Day to retain their titles, but in announcing the competitors beforehand, I think they're tipping the hand here towards a title change. Pick: The Usos win the titles BC: Provided they are given the time, this one has all the potential to be a memorable match. The extracurricular action outside the ring has also been increasingly physical in this rivalry. There's no reason to stop this feud anytime soon. Pick: The Usos win the titles Big Show vs. Big Cass with Enzo Amore Enzo Amore will hang above the ring in a shark cage BC: Here's to hoping we see more of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in this one as potential new stablemates for the heel version of Cass. Outside of that, this hasn't been the strongest build. Cass has already proven in multiple weeks that he can handle both Big Show and his former teammate Amore at the same time. Unless WWE is banking on a hometown pop for the New Jersey native Amore, look for Cass' singles push to continue. Pick: Big Cass wins AS: Why is this match happening? And why is WWE using the shark cage gimmick for the third time in nine months? Pick: Big Cass wins Randy Orton vs. Rusev AS: Why is this match happening? If Orton does not put Rusev over -- and after doing the job to Jinder Mahal so often, I'm not sure he's going to -- what is the point of this? Rusev could be a legitimate mid-carder in WWE, but they have slogged him down with this awful gimmick and have nothing planned for him. Pick: Orton wins BC: Despite the tremendous collective talent in this match, WWE has done a poor job giving us a reason to care about who wins or why they were paired together in the first place. That's about the nicest thing that can be said at this point. Pick: Rusev wins SmackDown Women's Championship -- Naomi (c) vs. Natalya BC: The best way to describe Naomi's title reign might be underwhelming at best. Some of that blame can certainly go to how she was booked, of course. Either way, this seems like the perfect setup for Carmella to cash in her Money in the Bank suitcase and create her SummerSlam moment. Pick: Carmella wins the title AS: It really is the perfect situation for Carmella to cash in for a victory, but it now seems too obvious -- and WWE would have no more MITB briefcase holders just a couple months after the event. WWE has done an awful job booking Naomi's championship run with multi-women No. 1 contender matches and pushing Lana as her only competitor for no reason. There will be a title change, though. Pick: Natalya wins the title John Cena vs. Baron Corbin AS: Some believe that Corbin's failed cash-in on SmackDown will result in a win over Cena at SummerSlam to help him get heat back. That's not how I see it. I think WWE realized it made a mistake giving the briefcase to a guy who is just OK in the ring and absolutely awful on the mic. Corbin is not ready for the WWE title anytime soon. Maybe the United States championship? Cena is not going anywhere at the moment. There's no reason to give Corbin this victory unless you're going to extend their feud one more month because you have nothing better to do with either. Pick: Cena wins BC: Some much-needed buzz was added to this match when Cena's distraction played a role in preventing Corbin from successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase Tuesday on SmackDown. Expect an angry Corbin to seek revenge in a big way and look for this match to serve as a litmus test for future of "The Lone Wolf." If WWE still has huge plans for him, anything but a victory doesn't make sense. Pick: Corbin wins Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt BC: Wyatt capped his clean victory over Balor on Raw by pouring a bucket of blood over his head, thus guaranteeing we see the return of Balor's Demon character. That doesn't mean an automatic Balor victory comes with it, however. Wyatt has consistently gotten the upper hand in terms of the mental and supernatural warfare exchanged between both. If he's successful once again, could we see Balor bring his spiritual powers to the dark side along with Bray? Pick: Wyatt wins AS: This match is actually being billed as "The Demon" Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt, which is strange because they dropped "king" from the nickname and have completely ignored the gimmick since his return from injury. There is a surplus of singles talent on Raw, but Wyatt has actually won plenty recently, which I believe was done to set up a loss that will not hurt him in the least (for a change). You can't have Balor put on the demon gimmick and lose. Period. Pick: Balor wins Raw Tag Team Championship -- Sheamus & Cesaro (c) vs. Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins AS: Sheamus & Cesaro are a great tag team and have done a tremendous job as champions, but it's time for a change. The Ambrose-Rollins duo is hot, and unless WWE is going to pull a fast one and have Ambrose turn on Rollins immediately here -- which would be a mistake and not draw nearly the heat a longer-term tag team would -- they will win the straps. There is money in a rematch, and there are too many heel tag teams on the Raw roster at this point. There is more money in a full Shield reunion. Expect an extended reign and an eventual split. Pick: Ambrose & Rollins win the titles BC: Just the tease alone of this partial Shield reunion has consistently produced gigantic pops one each and every Raw episode throughout the build. There's no reason not to give the people what they want with a tag team title victory to pair with it. While a long-term breakup feels all but guaranteed, let's enjoy the ride for now. Pick: Ambrose & Rollins win the titles Raw Women's Championship -- Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Sasha Banks BC: The shoulder injury to Bayley turned out to be a blessing in disguise for WWE. Bliss and Banks, the two best women on the Raw brand, simply belong together on a showcase this large. This match also offers WWE a chance to finally give "The Boss" the kind of serious push she received in NXT but has only flirted with on the main roster. Pick: Banks wins the title AS: What he said. It's time for Banks to get her time in the sun with the title and the spotlight to herself without Charlotte Flair around. There are good feuds to be had with Bliss, Nia Jax, etc. Pick: Banks wins the title United States Championship -- AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee AS: While Owens is great, his time as U.S. champion has run its course. The gimmick grew stale rather quickly, and he is so versatile that he does not need a title to get over. We have been screwed out of the Styles-Owens match we've wanted to this point, but SummerSlam is an opportunity for them to get it right while setting the stage for a future Owens-McMahon money match, possibly at Survivor Series More Details. Pick: Styles retains the title BC: The quality of these two performers alone gives this potential to eclipse a four-star rating with ease. But adding McMahon as referee just makes it feel that much more important and special. In the end, Styles deserves to be the one retaining his belt, regardless of whether this match produces further heat between Owens and McMahon. Pick: Styles retains the title WWE Championship -- Jinder Mahal (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura AS: Conventional wisdom would have Mahal retaining the title as WWE is set for a tour of India soon. That's not how I see it. It would be rather difficult to imagine WWE elevating Nakamura to this level so quickly only to have him lose the biggest match of his career to a perennial jobber in Mahal. Rather, I think Nakamura gets the win -- and a massive, massive pop from the Brooklyn crowd -- only to lose the title to Mahal in a rematch while WWE tours in India. Nakamura losing overseas -- particiuarly with Mahal getting help form The Great Khali again -- would not hurt him one bit back here. It would also reaffirm Mahal as a champion despite him not deserving it. Pick: Nakamura wins the title BC: Nakamura's run as WWE champion is coming ... just not yet. Mahal will cheat to win one more time, largely for business purposes as WWE continues their move into India. No matter how great a Nakamura win in Brooklyn would be -- as Adam alluded to -- it's just not the time. Pick: Mahal retains the title Universal Championship -- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe Lesnar and Paul Heyman will leave WWE if Lesnar loses the title BC: The expectation for violence and big spots in this one is off the charts. Simply put: You know a Fatal 4-Way match has a chance to be great when you make strong cases for all four participants to come out of the match with the championship. While WWE has done well to work the real-life talk of Lesnar entertaining a UFC return against Jon Jones into his wrestling storyline, adding a stipulation that Lesnar and Heyman would leave WWE with a loss, in the end it feels like a bit too quick and convenient. Look for "The Beast" to exit with the belt and (hopefully) a spinoff feud with Strowman. Pick: Lesnar retains the title AS: Stole my thunder here, BC. Absolutely agree that WWE only put in place that stipulation once it confirmed with Lesnar that he would not be returning to UFC, otherwise it would be just way too convenient for that to happen. But kudos to WWE for playing off the hype of a Lesnar-Jones match that may happen one day but just not now. There's only two ways this match goes. Either Lensar retains the title, as we predict, or Samoa Joe gets the strap. He's done a tremendous job since being elevated to the main event, and WWE cold probably squeak out one final Reigns-Strowman match next month before moving on. Lesnar-Strowman is so money, but I see it going down a bit later at Royal Rumble. Pick: Lesnar retains the title