#what does it profit a man to gain the whole world

[reformedfaith]

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

Mark 8:36

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @corrodedcoffinfest Seven Deadly Sins pop-up event.

Not Just Sundays

Prompt: Sloth | Word Count: 1313 | Rating: T | CW: Language | POV: Eddie | Relationship(s): Steddie | Tags: Corroded Coffin Trying to Make it On the Road, Steve Back Home in Hawkins, Failing at Managing the Distance, Good Uncle Wayne, A Touch of Angst w/a Happy Ending

Another night, another show, and another missed phone call that he promised he'd make over a week ago. Fuck. Time is just slipping away from him. From the studio to gigs to party after party. They've really got a good thing going, and slowing down right now just isn't an option. Once the ball is rolling, you gotta keep it going. Steve will understand. Steve always understands.

He's good like that.

Eddie knows Steve wants the band to make it. Succeed. Even if that means Steve's been getting a smaller slice of Eddie's attention right now. It won't always be like this, Eddie's sure, so for right now he's gonna strike while the iron is hot.

He'll call Steve tomorrow. For sure.

A week later, there's a note waiting at the front desk of the next hotel. An order to call home. Eddie looks at his watch, but doesn't really have time to call Wayne right now. 

"Make time," Jeff says, as if Eddie had said that out loud for everyone to hear. He didn't, he doesn't think, Jeff just knows him that well.

"Fine," Eddie says, and drags his ass off to one of the phone booths in the lobby. It's cheaper than using the room phone, he's sure.

Wayne picks up after three rings.

"I had a boy here last night, pretty upset after not hearing from you in sixteen days," Wayne drawls by way of greeting. It's a condemnation, and Eddie feels it. If he hasn't talked to Steve in sixteen days, he doesn't even know how long it's been since he's called Wayne. 

Longer. Much longer.

"Shit," Eddie says.

"I'd say," Wayne answers.

"I'm just busy," Eddie says, and he knows it's an excuse. He could make time, he just hasn't prioritized it. Like getting out of Hawkins just spread his wings a little too far.

Wayne sighs. 

"What will it profit anyone, if they were to gain the whole world, but lose their own soul?” Wayne quotes, and Eddie leans his head against the glass.

"Are you proselytizing to me again, old man?" Wayne grew up with religion in a way that Eddie did not, and therefore can pull verses and lessons out of his coveralls pocket at any time. It's annoying.

Wayne sighs, "No. I'm not. Not really. But what good will it be to you, boy, if you make it to the top, and then take a look around, only to realize you're all by yourself?"

He's not all by himself. He's got Gareth and Jeff and Goodie. 

But he knows what Wayne means. Will the fame be worth it, if he loses Steve in the process? No. No way, and he knows that. He does. It's just been hard to juggle both right now.

"I'll call him," Eddie promises.

"It's not that," Wayne says, as if that wasn't the reason for his whole call.

"It's not?"

"Think long and hard, Ed. If you don't have space for him right now, if you don't want to make space, it's okay."

And Eddie starts to argue.

"Eddie. It's okay. But don't string him along while he waits back home. It's not right."

"What do you-"

"Shit or get off the pot, kid."

And Eddie laughs. They've moved from a sermon to Midwestern idioms. Great.

But he knows Wayne is right. 

Goddammit.

He calls Steve next, and he's not home. Which, that serves Eddie right. He doesn't leave a message, feels that's too easy. Steve will hear it, forgive him, and Eddie thinks he deserves to get a little bit of his anger. A little bit of his hurt.

They have a four-night break. He could run home. It's not that far. See Steve. See Wayne. Put out the fires he's caused.

Yeah. He's doing that.

Eddie throws some clothes in his duffle, as the other three watch him pack.

"And you'll be back by Thursday?" Jeff asks, and Eddie swears he will be. He knows the schedule. 

"Okay then," Jeff says, tossing the keys onto the bedspread, "go apologize."

Eddie will grovel, will beg if that's what it takes.

It was a long drive to think. The house is dark. He pulls out his keys and lets himself inside. It's kind of a mess, which is so unlike Steve. There are dishes piled into one side of the sink, and laundry sitting in baskets waiting to be folded.

Maybe he's just been busy at work. Picking up extra shifts or something.

Eddie dumps his bag in the bedroom, and no Steve there either. 

He needs something to do to keep his idle hands busy, and he starts the dishes. Folds the laundry, then moves on to running the sweeper. 

It's after ten, and still no Steve. Maybe he's staying at Robin's. It's too late to call her, she'll either be pissed or worried about where Steve is, so Eddie can't do anything except wait and worry that maybe he's too late.

Then a key's sliding into the lock, jiggling the handle, door swinging open, just before eleven. Eddie's been sitting on the couch in the dark.

And he doesn't mean to, but he scares the shit out of Steve.

"Jesus Christ, fucking hell," Steve snaps, clutching his hand to his chest like he's decades older than his years. Like he's terrified.

Well, that's probably fair. He spent his teenage years being chased by monsters.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just me," Eddie reassures, holding out his hands as if to prove that he's harmless.

He's not harmless.

He's hurt Steve, and that's a bitter fucking pill to swallow.

"What are you doing here?" Steve asks as he takes a couple big steps forward, barreling into Eddie's chest. He smells like sweat and, well, Steve. 

Eddie hugs him back, but feels like shit that Steve has so easily opened his arms, and heart, after Eddie's been so careless with him.

"Everything okay?" Steve asks, face presses into Eddie's neck.

"Yes, yes, I just missed you and I've been pretty shitty about showing that," Eddie explains, hugging him as tight as he can.

"Missed you, too," Steve says, "I'm glad you're home."

Eddie wants to know where he was, wants to know how he's passing the time. But isn't sure if he should barrel in and start demanding to know things. He's the one that hasn't been around, hasn't been reaching out, he probably doesn't get to start grilling Steve.

"I probably stink," Steve says, trying to take a step back, but Eddie won't allow it and just hugs him tighter.

"Love it, wouldn't change a thing," Eddie teases and Steve laughs, his voice rumbling against Eddie's chest.

He really wouldn't change a thing.

"Sunday night basketball," Steve offers, as if that's an explanation. 

"Yes, of course, that," Eddie says, teasing him a little more, and Steve giggles, pressing his lips to Eddie's neck.

"Mr. Clarke unlocks the gym. And the dads and old men in town get together and play basketball at the gym," Steve says, fingers digging into Steve's back.

Eddie laughs, "Mr. Clarke plays basketball?"

"Not well," Steve admits, biting him, just a gentle nip, and fuck Eddie's missed him. "But good isn't a requirement. Just gotta be outta high school and willing to show up."

Eddie should know this. Should know what Steve does every night, not just Sundays. 

"I'm sorry I've been scarce," Eddie apologizes, "I've been an asshole."

"You've been busy," Steve counters, "but I wouldn't mind hearing from you more often. Even if it's just for a few minutes."

"I'll do better," Eddie promises, and hopes that's true. Steve deserves for him to do better. Eddie wants to do better for him, for them, for their whole future, for their present.

Where he's a touring musician, for real, and Steve is playing basketball with Mr. Clarke for fun.

Eddie wants it all with Steve.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @corrodedcoffinfest and follow along with the fun! 🦇

Notes: Sloth was interesting to approach! Of course, at first I was like, sloth = lazy. Then I read this:

"Sloth becomes a sin when it slows down and even brings to a halt the energy we must expend in using the means to salvation."

Obviously, I'm twisting the religious take here, but Steve's his salvation, and he can't neglect expending his energy to love him.

[marvelstars]

For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Lucas 9:22-25)

No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends(John 15:13)

[obsidianpen]

While you were writing NG, have you ever added, sort of, connoted any religious references into it?

Because V's behaviour towards Harry in it is not only so highly canonical to his character, but also so reminiscent of this one story. In the New Testament, Matthew 14:6-12, if I remember right, there was this story about how King Herod hosted a feast on his birthday for his nobles, etc. and the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, pleasing Herod and those who sat with him after which he said to her:

"Ask me for half of my empire, and I will give it to you." So she went out and said to her mother: "What shall I ask?" She said: "The head of John the Baptist!" Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked: "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."

The thing is, also as a religious allusion, that "for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" which basically translates to human life equals a whole empire. V's never really cared about taking any life. In the Deathly Hallows, the Second Wizarding War overall, the only thing he truly cares about is killing Harry, because Harry's his only mistake, only failure, that he's ever made in his whole life (account hollowed-theory-hall explains it impeccably in one of their posts), and he proves that point. He practically stops caring about everything else, including winning the war and including his supposed empire, but is entirely obsessed with, well, Harry's head — even long before he, in NG, becomes... Infatuated?

And just like Herod, he's so down (for Harry's soul's purity and Harry's own beauty he keeps pointing out and simping over cough cough) that he does things he never thought he'd do and truly considers Harry's head his new empire (sort of like when he goes so far as to haunt down Nicolas Flamel for the elixir of life and all to make Harry immortal, even though... Yeah, it's bc of his OWN immortality's sake but still </3).

Either way, he's beyond repair in terms of head-over-heels IMO and I'm all here for it <33

purposely, no, I haven’t been making any biblical references like that in NG. But the Bible is quite the big book with many stories, and I was raised Catholic, so it’s not surprising to me that there may be a plethora of religious themes there… but none of them are conscience. Hauntingly is an entirely different story and situation of course - very purposeful there.

(and yes you’re right, he’s down bad bad and what’s worse is he’s starting to realize it)

[mswyrr]

both katniss and coriolanus are consummate survivors who can be ruthlessly pragmatic - to the point of being tempted to cut out their own hearts for the sake of an empty "survival." and they both fall in love with artists whose focus is on an internal understanding, wisdom, and artistic expression of the world - they don't want to die, but they don't just want to be a body that lives without that heart either. the inner world they build in their insights and reflections and express in their art is what is most precious to them. it's life.

katniss chooses her artist and the path they walk together, to embrace the parts of her soul peeta spoke to and brought alive. coriolanus allows fear to drive him to betray lucy gray and cut his heart out to go on living as an empty husk.

"for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?"

[terrence-silver]

We know that TIG can sing, and so can some of his characters. If pressed to sing, which songs would TIG characters choose?

---

― Twig, growing up as a rich boy with, if we read between the lines, draconic parentage with possibly high standards and rather perfectionistic attitudes in education, the only things a young Terry would sing is some kind of classic tune instructed by an onslaught of private tutors hired by his parents for the explicit purpose of training their son's voice or the Zemirot sang around the table during Shabbat, Jewish kid that he was. That's it for you. The first vestige of actual freedom and individual expression, came, perhaps, ironically, in the military, in the early 1960's, surrounded by soldiers from all classes and walks of life, everyone with their own flavor of music, songs and tunes of the decade and my god, if the high of that didn't hit a young Terry quick and hard to the degree it re-wired his brain chemistry, I don't know what else to tell you. Self-control and liberty gained, Twig, would, given the chance, sing or hum anything just because and he was pretty damn good at it too. Suppose when it was just him, John Kreese and Ponytail in the bunk all by themselves, a young Twig might merrily sing something while they conducted their chores together; moments of calm before the storm.

― Terry Silver in the 80's gives a mocking and taunting edge to everything he does because he's tough, he's powerful and he's at the top of his game and he's fairly shameless and despicable when he wants to be which means, around this era in his life man could do anything from busting into an operetta with expert proficiency, because if he does something it will be done perfectly or sing into a mic like he was born to sing into a mic, but will do neither seriously because there's veiled cynicism and an ulterior motive behind it. He's always laughing behind the eyes and yes, you're the joke. Imagine him singing We are The World during the height of a famine in Africa (Ethiopia 1983-85) he might've contributed to by having a major factor in the continent's pollution through Dynatox and trying very hard to seem very heartfelt and genuinely empathetic as he does it for a non-profit organization meant to help the poor (Look! He's helping!) or in equal measure, being at a black tie event fundraiser and singing some tune for (reads smear on hand) ah, yes, children in need. Either ways, the audience esthetically clapped and Mr. Silver gleefully ate up the praise being the center of attention like the big, smug snake he is.

― Old man Terry, if prompted to sing, simply wouldn't. He's past the point of singing, regardless of the fact he's a fierce, deep voice that's more than educated for it. Sure, there must've been a garden party or two where some rumbunctious guest must've prompted Mr. Silver charm all those gathered with a song or a tune on the piano but Terry might've responded with an equally charmed smile and had the obnoxious guest singing for him instead (as a very concealed punishment and veiled hazing ritual hidden beneath layers and layers of relaxed politeness) --- yes, who's to tell Emile, for example, didn't end up entertaining the whole party because Terry turned the tables around on him? Or god knows what sort of various humiliations he put Stingray through purely because he could and because it's awfully easy to imagine him saying 'Sing, Raymond.' as he pours himself a glass of Cognac, eases himself into the nearest armchair and has the buffoon shakily sing, for quite literally, his life. Nothing's for free, right? But, see, that's the point: Terry's convinced he's the earned the right sit back and be the overlord. Not that he ever doubted it. He's Grandmaster. He's Sensei. He's Sir. He's Mr. Silver. He's the Dragon. The dragon doesn't sing. The dragon rules. If he sings and plays it's because he wants to, mostly for himself.

---

― Terry McCain undoubtedly sings something Irish, to nobody's colossal surprise because everyone who even vaguely knows the man knows for a fact that this is his go-to choice of music each and every time; some folk tune from the old country passed down through many generations, until the person it originated from is long since forgotten in his family and all that remains is a memory of a memory and Terry's rendition of it, that is, for all intents and purposes, spectacularly good and catchy, especially when he follows up his own song with a tune he plays on a piano --- a thing culturally near and dear to him, and it's surprising with what gusto, passion and emotional charge he does it with, the same way, Catholic boy, born and raised that he is, it is not entirely shocking to find him being very apt and capable of delivering a church melody that could bring a parish choir member to absolute shame and in times like these it is abundantly clear that The Detective is awesomely multi-talented, and that if it wasn't for his career in law enforcement, one in music would've suited him just as well, if not better.

― Cash cannot be persuaded to sing because he doesn't care about the pursuit, finds it a waste of his time and quite frankly, he'd be most likely to glare if it's ever suggested to him --- the most he's willing to do is absent mindedly and very quietly hum some real or imaginary tune while he's waiting in ambush, tapping his gloved finger on the steering wheel, car parked a couple of blocks down as he carefully scopes out a target and patiently lays in wait for his cue, sipping on a cup of black instant coffee --- and even that only if his wait proves to be very, very long. His life is one of excess tension and it's quite literally no song (pun intended) nor is there any time for it and when there is, there's little place for yearning left. In fact, the man undoubtedly doesn't remember when was the last time he genuinely had time or the desire to switch on the radio and deliberately sit down and just listen to music for its own sake. But, if this man ever stalked someone? He's never likely to forget the music he's heard them listening to when they thought they're all alone. Undoubtedly, they're the very tunes he later absentmindedly hums.

― Gus Travis likes his sea shanties because his dream was quite simply put to buy a boat one day and sail out there, live off of the great, wide blue, but it's an ambition that never really came into fruition in the fullest sense, bogged down by the career criminal in's and out's of his dalliances on the wrong side of the law. It is what it is. Nevertheless, he enjoys the notion of a life at sea and everything involved in it, including the associated tunes, songs and music, not that he sings with any positive notion behind it, a full heart and joy either, more like, if Gus ever sang, he'd sing it almost mockingly, yo ho ho, while dangling a live victim upside down over a shark tank, mocking both the poor, unfortunate soul he's about to feed to the fishes down below and mocking himself, in a way, perhaps without even realizing it or wanting to admit that that's precisely what he's doing, because this is what his life has come to and everything he's ever wanted has been slipping further and further away from his fingers with each passing year or has, for the lack of a better word, gone to shit.

― Jan Valek is a medieval Bohemian clergyman, so, utilizing some form of logic, if he ever sang, it could be some old lullaby in Czech that lingers on the very edge of memory, sang to him by who knows who and who knows when, perhaps a mother, a kindly family member, someone from where he used to live when he was human and very young at that, long before he took his vows, or he'd sing some religious hymn in Latin in a voice that could freeze over the full moon with it's haunting beauty; a remnant of a bygone time when he was mortal and dedicated to the service of God, all association with music intricately tied to a more vulnerable time when he wasn't accursed and condemned, now, his song resembling a howl in the dead of night, a phantom's call slashing through the darkness, something chilling and gorgeous that is hard to explain, but certainly not entirely human. The type of thing you hear and you no longer belong entirely to yourself, falling under a vampire's spell, rather, you go out there, looking for the source of whatever it is you heard, mesmerized.

― Jack Blaylock, or rather, Timothy Calloway is All-American; irregardless of the fact that he lives in Japan, made his life in Japan, is embedded in the culture (and its Underworld) of Japan, operates out of Japan undercover with the facade of an Expat like any other, and hey, for all we know, he was born there too, which might make his attachment to all things American profoundly fascinating, no less the fact that if he sang, he'd not only sing something American, but something profoundly anachronistic and belonging to a bygone and nearly idealistic era he never even experienced himself, the same way he either never experienced his actual homeland or experienced it so little and so long ago, one can consider him remotely estranged from it (never say this to his face). So, knowing all of this, it is easy to envision Jack softly singing something by The Harptones, Bobby Darin or The Platters as he cleans his sword, produces his blades, checks his firearms with an immaculate attention to details, puts on a crisp, clean button up shirt, preparing for his next hitjob.

[jellybeanium124]

Chidi Anagonye was raised in Senegal

As Kamilah tells us in season 3, "Chidi" is an Igbo word meaning "God exists" (double checked with Behind the Name)

Chidi's father, Emeka, also has an Igbo Name

The Igbo people are from Nigeria

Nigeria is not close to Senegal. They are about 2,500km/1,550mi apart.

According to Wikipedia, there is not a significant Igbo population in Senegal

Chidi's mother, Ndeye, does have a Senegalese name. (x) (x) (x) (it's not on Behind the Name but several other websites agree that is from the Wolof language in Senegal, so... here's hoping they're right)

Ok so now I have SO many questions about Chidi's family. Did Emeka immigrate to Senegal? Why Senegal? Chidi's birth year is set to about 1982/1983, and the Nigerian government was having crisis after crisis at the time. Colonialism looms large over this entire story for obvious reasons. Nigeria gained independence in 1954, and Senegal in 1959. Nigeria had two coups in 1966, followed by civil war from 1967-1970. There was an oil boom in the 1970s, but obviously the people did not see much of the profits from that as the military government had no interest in raising the standard of living. There was another coup in 1975, and then another in 1976. From the early 80s to 1999, the Nigerian government was a corrupt military dictatorship before democracy was reinstated (x).

In comparison, Senegal had a much more consistent government committed to democracy, diplomacy, and human rights. There was violent conflict and border tensions, but broadly things were more stable, and Wikipedia claims Senegal had "one of the more successful post-colonial democratic transitions in Africa" (x).

All this stuff could never be explored in the show for obvious reasons: it's a comedy (showrun by a white man and made almost entirely by Americans), but I'm still left wondering about it. What was it like for Emeka to move so far away from home? What was it like for Chidi to grow up both Wolof and Igbo, with an Igbo name? How did Emeka keep him in touch with his roots that were thousands and thousands of miles away, or did he encourage assimilation instead? Was this challenging at all for Chidi, growing up?

Also, and I'm going to preface this by saying I am in no position to write this arc/plotline, but I think there's something to be said here, and it could've fit really well into the story if there were west African writers in the writers room who wanted to explore this. Chidi's whole thing is about choice, and he is someone from two different cultures. They could've written a story about Chidi learning not to see himself as two separate halves, but one whole person. But tbh? I don't think they cared to. I'm not sure how much of this is intentional, how much of this implied story of an immigrant leaving his home for greener pastures, falling in love with a woman, and having a baby who then finds making a choice between two things the biggest challenge in the world was intentional, versus how much they just googled "African names." I know Chidi's name is somewhat intentional, given how they explicitly bring up its etymology in season 3, but do they care that the Igbo people are not from or in Senegal? They did seem to forget that Chidi says his native language is French in season 1. Plus they are sorta forced to gloss over the fact that Chidi's actor is American and has an American accent. Or maybe this was 100% intentional and hidden in there for people who either know all of this already or bother to google stuff. I don't know. I just remembered that the Igbo people are from Nigeria and Chidi has an Igbo name, and was pretty sure Chidi didn't say he was Nigerian, so I googled him and went to his fandom wiki page and fell down the rabbit hole from there.

(I am not west African nor do I know much about the histories and cultures of west Africa, so all my sources have been linked in this post, which were Wikipedia and name websites, my apologies if there are any errors in this post, and if there are, please feel free to correct me.)

[orthodoxadventure]

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mark 8:34-9:1

[sl-newsie]

American Woman (Thomas Shelby x American OC) Ch. 3: Admiring Power

The family goes on chatting while I ladle soup into more bowls and pass them out, earning compliments as they dig in. I’m glad to see that they’re starting to accept me, but it’s still limiting since I’m the only one here who’s not a Shelby. I clean up what I can and then sneak off to my room, knowing that I have no reason to invade their family dinner. First I go to do some reading, but remember my only book is still in Finn’s room. All I have left is my Bible and a small embroidery project-

Huff!

I freeze at the new noise coming from outside the window. Cautiously, I creep over and stick my head out. What on Earth…? Oh. There’s a horse outside. But not just any horse. One of the most beautiful horses I’ve ever seen. Tall, black, and sleek.

“Well hello there,” I greet the animal. “Are you alone too? Want some company?” The horse tosses its head. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Sneaking out the window on my first night of employment might not be my best call, but I have better chances of making friends with this horse right now than I do with my employers. The window’s big enough to slide through, and the alley’s empty so I don’t have to worry about being seen. After I’m out and standing next to the grand animal, I hold out my hand for him to smell. 

“You’re magnificent. I bet you’re one of the Shelby’s horses. But I’m a bit surprised to find a horse like you being kept in this dodgy place. You deserve a wide, green pasture.”

“He has one.”

I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear Thomas’ voice, spinning to find him standing by a door a few feet away.

“Having a midnight rendezvous, are we?”

“N-No, Mr. Shelby. I was settling into my room when this creature asked to chat.”

Thomas raises an eyebrow. “He said that?”

“Well, no… But he does seem awfully friendly. When you’ve grown up in the city your whole life you don’t really get to interact with horses. Is this your horse?”

“Yes,” he states plainly.

“He’s beautiful.”

Thomas looks to see if I’m joking, but is surprised when I’m not. “Thank you. His name is Monaghan Boy, races at Kempton next week. Yesterday I arranged a bit of a magic trick to help him win.”

This surprises me, considering that Thomas seems to be the most bland of the group. “I didn’t take you for a man who believes in magic,” I say as I lean against the alley wall.

“You call it magic, I call it a publicity stunt. When Monaghan Boy wins he’ll gain more popularity and then everyone will bet on ‘im.”

“All profiting towards your business, I’m sure. You seem awfully young to run a bookkeeping business.”

Thomas cocks his head. “And you seem awfully young to be alone. What’s your story, love?”

At first my mind warns me to keep things simple and not to go into detail. No one needs to know my deep family roots, so I’ll keep it simple.

“My name is Verena Nora Steenstra. My father’s Dutch, and my mother’s Irish. All my life I’ve lived in Brooklyn, New York, and of course with my luck the first time we decide to take a vacation is when I get left behind.”

This gives Thomas an intrigued look. “That’s different. I’m sorry to hear that. Will your family come looking for you?”

I chuckle and give a halfhearted shrug. “Who knows. I’m the youngest of five brothers, and they’re always lecturing about how I need to ‘toughen up’ and ‘see the world.’ Maybe they left me here on purpose.”

“Seems harsh.”

“They’re family, I still love them.” I give Thomas a grin. “You’ve very good at interrogating, Mr. Shelby. A real gentleman, letting a woman do all the talking. But if you’re looking for any vital information I can’t help you. My father runs his business water-tight.”

Once again Thomas is fazed by my reaction. “Are all Americans this sassy? You’re much more sophisticated than I pinned you for.”

“Well thank you! I do admit I’m more reserved than some but when the time comes I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty. But enough of me. Could you tell me a bit about how your family business works?”

Thomas suddenly goes stiff and looks around to make sure we’re alone. I don’t know why, but I’m finding myself opening up more to this strange character. He seems lost. Almost as if he can’t seem to figure out what to do with his life. He beckons me closer and I notice he smells faintly of mint, ash, and cigarettes. 

“I’ll tell you the basics, but you need to keep this to yourself. No blabbing to the coppers, is that clear?” He warns.

I nod stiffly. “Crystal.” I’ve known my fair share of keeping family secrets.

“Good. Arthur and Nipper work the books. Nipper’s not as important, Aurthur runs the show.”

“He seems… Nice.”

Thomas chuckles. “If you think that’s nice just wait ‘till you see him drunk.”

“I don’t plan to. And what is it you do, Mr. Shelby?”

Thomas gets a cocky look and steps closer, towering over me as his icy blue eyes seem to peer straight through me. “I think, so they don’t have to. I’m the one who drums up new money and keeps things in order. Such as discovering if new pretty faces like you are a threat.”

I stifle a laugh. “The closest I’d ever get to a threat is if you forced me to. My suggestion: keep your own business out of mine.”

This seems to please Thomas, because he gets a satisfied smile and leans in to whisper: “Good, then we understand each other.” He leans away, leaving me slightly dazed from him being so close. “Someone else you need to stay away from is Freddie Thorne. He’s the BSA union covener, and a communist.”

My eyebrows rise. “Better for me not to even meet him. If my father hears I’ve been involved with a commie he’ll disown me.” 

“Yeah, well, he didn’t used to be like that. If we have anything in common, we both give false hope to the poor. Freddie with his speeches, me with my horses,” Thomas remarks as he strokes Monaghan Boy.

“I can tell you’re very proud of your horses, as you should be. Seeing that black beauty of a beast trot through the street is enough to chill your blood.”

Thomas turns to me with a devilish grin. “You admire my horse?”

“I admire many things, Mr. Shelby.” Such as your suave demeanor and effective use of authority.

Something in Thomas’ eyes seems to flicker, a quick sign of vulnerability. “You know, normally I require that all employees call me that. However, since you’ve been hired to specifically help my brother and not to run the business, you can call me Thomas.”

Alright, what is this man’s angle? Butter me up and get me to spill my family’s secrets? Because I won’t. But that doesn’t mean his charm is going unnoticed. Never once has a man made my heart this light before and I’m hoping it doesn’t show.

“Very well, Thomas. Thank you for trusting me. I know that’s very important coming from you.”

“Sure is, love. Now I think we’d better get back inside before people start looking for you.” Thomas puts a surprisingly gentle hand on my shoulder and guides me to the back door, where I give one last wave to Monaghan Boy before he leads me back to my room.

“My room’s directly next to yours, so keep that in mind the next time you plan on sneaking out,” he warns lightly.

“Believe me, Thomas, you have no fear of me running off in the night. I don’t know where I’d go and probably wouldn’t be able to last one night without getting beaten to a pulp.”

Thomas tips his hat just before he goes to shut my door. “Goodnight, Verena.”

“Goodnight, Thomas.”

Once I’m alone again I quickly dress into my nightgown and turn off the lights, climb into bed and say a grateful prayer for all the help I’ve received today. Just before my heavy eyelids close, my last thought is of the unexpected feelings that Thomas Shelby has awoken inside me…

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Obedience Hurts

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+ John 8:47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

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VERSE OF THE DAY

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+  John 15:8 This is to my father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM OBEDIENT

I AM KIND

I AM COMPASSIONATE

I AM A DISCIPLE

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READ TIME:8 Minutes & 13 seconds

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THOUGHTS:

=======================

    Yesterday, we talked about being friends with people we shouldn’t and not partake in their ways, but this verse tells us to bear fruit as his disciples. We all can do whatever we want, but when we are disciples of Christ, we should show it in what we do, our speech, and our ways. If our ways don’t show that we are followers of Christ, we need to change how we handle things; the most essential part of being a disciple of Christ is picking up our cross and following him.

 Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 What will profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

    This verse is telling us to be a disciple of Christ; we must deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow him; no matter how heavy it gets; we must push forward and ask for his strength to help us get to our next assignment some of us are stuck in a season. We are stuck there because we don’t want to pick up our cross. We don’t want to leave this world. We want Christ, but we want this world too, and we want to do our sins; friends, we must choose Christ.

   The word goes on to say that to be a disciple, we must lose our life, but we will find it; we will find it through him and not through a job or marriage, but through him by obeying him. We don’t gain anything by trying to follow this world. It's not hard to be a disciple of Christ. We all are called to be disciples of Christ. It's up to us to want to do this. He leaves this up to us. This is how we create fruit by following him so he can show us how to do this because we can't do it when we aren’t connected with Him.

  “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

  It also says in the verses we just read that when we sin what does it profit us if we gain the world, what would we gain if we focus on this world, we won’t gain anything we will lose our soul, and it’s nothing in this world friends, this world is temporary, and the things in it too are temporary.

 John 8:31-32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

   It tells us that if we continue his teaching, we will be his disciples, throughout the Bible the Lord tells us how to follow him; we must hear him and do what he says. But when we leave the TRUE path, we find it hard to do because we aren’t listening to or reading our words. This world will always tell us it’s okay to be this way or that way, but they will never tell us to follow Christ because Christ is the opposite of what they are trying to do; in the word Christ spoke the truth, and this world can’t handle that at all.

  As disciples of Christ, we must do this: Matthew 5:16. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

 Show our light; we never want to do anything that will make our light invisible. We studied this earlier this week to have a light, and if we say we are followers of Christ. The word confirms it here: we must let our light shine so that others may see and so that God can get the glory for it; in today's world, it might be hard to show that light, but we must do  this so that we can show them that we are set apart we are different and a lot of people are afraid to show this side of themselves, but we shouldn't be afraid to show how good God is or show how much we love him because when we are afraid to do this the bible says

 Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him, will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

  It tells us here that if we are ashamed of God's glory, he will be the same way with us in front of his father. We want to choose: Do we want to be ashamed of who we are, or do we want God to get the glory for who we are?

  Jesus will love us no matter what we choose, but to get into heaven, we must choose: will we serve Christ or this world? It’s easy to serve this world; it’s easy to go through our day and not acknowledge God. That’s easy, but we must be followers of Christ.

  Romans 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient enslaved people, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

  We want to present ourselves as obedient enslaved people, which leads to righteousness, not enslaved people leading to death, and that’s what we do when we don’t obey Christ. We must figure out what we want to do. I have lived in the darkness doing whatever I wanted, I was always empty. Still, when I followed Christ, it was filling, a feeling that I never got from anything my whole life because he showed me that he loved me, he showed me that he cared, he cares so deeply for us, and he’s longing for us to choose him.

  ***Today, we learned how we must serve Christ or this world; some find it easier to follow this world , and some find it easier to hear the voice of God; all of it is your choice, but what lasts forever is our relationship with God. What lasts forever is being led by the spirit. The thing about being led by God is doing what he says. When he says we must learn to be obedient even when it’s tough, to be honest, I have had times in my life when it was tough for me to be obedient, and it hurt me to be obedient; no one talks about how hard it is to follow the light.

    It’s hard to be obedient when we know we want to go the other way, but we must understand that it’s a sacrifice to walk in the light. Every day, we make a choice, and it’s not an easy one; sometimes it is, and sometimes it’s not; learn to give yourself to God, and as you do this, you learn what he wants, and you learn what’s best for you which is hearing his voice and doing what he says. ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

========================

Heavenly Father, help us to follow you; help us to obey you, lord; we are sorry that we did anything wrong. Lord, help us to learn to be obedient. Lord, we need you so much for the difficult times; help us to lean on you more than anything; you didn’t tell us this road would be easy, but you told us you’d walk with us, and that’s all we can do is follow you,and help us to do that today in Jesus Name Amen

========================

REFERENCES

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+ Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust to overlook your work and your love for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.

 

+ Philippians 2:16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain

 

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

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FURTHER READINGS

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Proverbs 12

Leviticus 12

Genesis 12

2 Chronicles 31

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Social Links:

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Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Surrenderministry

Discord https://discord.gg/d5FRBKBz

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Jesus Makes Us Into His Followers

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” — Mark 8:34-38 | English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Cross References: Matthew 8:20; Matthew 10:33; Matthew 10:38-39; Matthew 16:24; Matthew 16:26; Mark 13:26; Luke 9:26; Luke 17:33; John 12:25

[inkedwingss]

Nothing will ever hurt my bones more than seeing someone who pretends they know God, doesn't show fruit, misrepresent Christ, confuse other people on eternal matters, betray the holiness for the sake of attention, money, whatever; steals from sheep and distracts the little ones, hurt the flock, says things that are not truth, spreading their own vain thoughts through human wisdom, and gets out of it thinking they are doing a good job. They decieve even themselves.

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body." (James 3:1-4)

First rule for interpretating scripture: the scripture interprets scripture. Not you. You only discover it. You can't add anything, and you can't take anything. You don't get to decide what it means. It needs to make sense according to all scripture. There is a limit on how much you can stretch the text and play symbolism. It's not an easy task, and like anything that involves more than one human being, people tend to disagree quite a lot. Their faith is still real, but that doesn't mean they are right – anyway, I'm not even addressing this type. It's more about people that use the gospel to profit somehow. To gain respect, money or power over others. This is truly the opposite of how humble and empty of ourselves we should be as disciples. It makes me sick to see so many distorted versions of what is sacred and pure.

People are so tired of fake stuff, yet decievers know how the human heart quite enjoys a little lie. We bite the bait if it looks good enough. But this world hungers for justice, and it cries out to God in silent tears of despair when no one brings the true light into the darkness to rescue them. Yes, you, the hypocrites, here are the words of Jesus: "For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers."

God is gonna come for you.

[fromtenthousandfeet]

I'm going to write a lot of meaningless words because I really want to talk. Sorry author, your blog will have to suffer. I apologize in advance for all the grammatical errors, I haven’t practiced my English for a long time, and it was not good to begin with

We are all worried about what is happening to Jimin, what he is thinking about and what he is going to do. I know a lot of people hope that he didn't sign the contract, but I'm inclined to think that he did. Unfortunately, Jimin loves the group very much and from some of his words in 2023 I conclude that he does not see himself outside of it (the show with Yoongi, for example, and all the "we are family" bs)

To be honest, Jimin's situation can be understood. Despite his strong spirit and hard work, Jimin was practically not allowed to show himself as a solo artist (his only solo work within the group was in 2016 - Lie). Moreover, there were cases where Jimin has taken an active role in composing melodies but was not credited. In general, his artistic vision was always present and should have been developed, but was shadowbanned for the benefit of the group and the company (also lets not forget the narrative where only the great and mighty rap line members write group songs)

However, even in such conditions, Jimin’s inner star shone. The growth of his popularity began with the red-haired Perfect Man, while the peak occurred in 2018-2019. After which the group entered the global market and Jimin's focus was blurred between the maknae line (and to some extent Yoongi). Not only did Jimin lose his dominant role, but he also gained a colossal number of haters, primarily among the crazy shippers who took the helm of the biggest fan accounts

Pandemic, scandal, Jimin's departure from social networks... A chain of unpleasant events happened since Dynamite and then hiatus. It seemed that everything was bad-bad. But no, Jimin was reborn as a phoenix and so did his personal fandom (I mean pjms). Yes, there was a free fall, there were some shitty paid articles, there was Jungkook, carried in the arms of the whole company, but Jimin’s light was bright

Enough of history. Now my true thoughts

Each member was developing himself as far separately as possible from the group. Of course, none of them named their own fandom out loud, as Lisa did, but each was focused on his own brand and media portrait. Some were especially smart and made "new friends". That's what Yoongi and Taehyung particularly did. I think these two have the greatest chance of leaving the group with the least losses in the future. Of course, except for Jungkook, who already has everything planned by the company. Unfortunately, Jimin didn't make new friends, working with the same group of people he'd been working with for the past 10 years. It’s good, of course, when people know you, but it also slows down your further development. If Jimin ever leaves the company, he would be left with nothing (btw he worked on CTT with Ayo and SGMB with Tommy and... Well, I hope he'll never work with them again)

I don’t know how much Jimin fought for himself, but in the end he was deprived of what the whole world knows him for, namely powerful performances and Western influence. Considering that he will be in the army for a year and a half, and when he returns, he will be back in the group, and before the army he practically did not appear in public for a year... In total, at least 3 years down the drain. He may find himself in a situation where his peak value is lost

Last but not least. I don’t really like to talk about the members, but they all showed their true colors in the solo era. Each of the 6 use each other to achieve their goals and get maximum profit from what their fans buy. Many pjms believe that by saying such things you are projecting yourself onto Jimin, but I will say it anyway: Jimin, it’s time to stop being everyone’s punching pillow. Open your eyes. Members can love you, you can love them too, but you need to love yourself more. On Instagram you need to promote yourself, not others. You should write songs not about the group, but about yourself (ah, this f..ing movement in SGMB). You need to go to your own meetings, not to the promo of others. Phew. I said it. I said it out loud

All in all, only when Jimin starts fighting for his rights, something good will happen. Pjms are strong and love him to no end, but no one will fight against the company forever. Sooner or later we will be mired in negativity if Jimin doesn't show that he loves himself and is willing to defend what belongs to him. If he chooses the path of the shadow in the group... He is finished

Anon, amen to all of this. Let's hope that Jimin is able to assemble a team of good managers, a decent social media person, and highly skilled and creative songwriting/producing team that have nothing to do with HYBE. Let's also hope he comes back from MS with crazy high self esteem and doesn't take any shit from anyone at that stupid company, including, but not limited to, his fellow team members. Call me crazy, but I have a lot of faith in him.

P.S. OMG! Your English is amazing. You write so much better than the average American. I take my hat off to you and your English instructors.

[hiswordsarekisses]

We live in a time where social media is a big deal. It’s actually guiding our culture, and within it, there’s a lot of talk about what we deserve, what makes us comfortable,

and self-care.

Taking time for yourself and not letting people walk all over you is necessary, but the rhetoric often leans toward complete selfishness.

If we’re not careful, self-care can become self-indulgence.

We can even become entitled and demanding.

Social media feeds us unreal expectations for our lives. We see a twenty second clip of a friend’s seemingly perfect life and the flowers her husband brought home and images that compel us to compare our bodies, our homes, and our marriages. We develop unrealistic expectations, and I believe, as a result, we’re seeing more divorces in the younger generation.

The Lord calls us to die in order to live (see Luke 9:23–25; Galatians 5:24). And with every little death of self, we grow and live more fully. Even when we refuse to behave like the world in response ti being mistreated.

Dying to self will cause us to find our voice and force us to do good things in spite of mistreatment.

“For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.” 1stPeter‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬

“For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended. How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.” 1stPeter‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬-‭20‬

Do not let the lies of selfishness, false expectations, or the comparison of others whispered from the enemy cloud out God’s voice and Word. Guard yourself concerning all that you look at, read, hear and allow to feed your mind.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. 1stPeter‬ ‭2‬:‭21‬-‭23‬‬

Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self? Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭23‬-‭25‬‬

[myremnantarmy]

𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel Mt 16:21-27

Jesus began to show his disciples

that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly

from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,

"God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."

He turned and said to Peter,

"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Then Jesus said to his disciples,

"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world

and forfeit his life?

Or what can one give in exchange for his life?

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory,

and then he will repay all according to his conduct."

[makima-s-most-smile]

Trigun Maximum 8.3

I am finally done with the volume. And my heart bleeds.

Trigun Ultimate: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 Trigun Maximum: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 9.1, 9.2, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5

Spin-off: Freed Bird

Okay, when is this? Is this the path to december? Or when Wolfwood is on the way to Juneora Rock? I mean, he doesn't have Angelina, but then again, she would have been left where the Ark started, so is it now? Then again, he wouldn't take up random work to get to December... So, I'd say that this is either Pre-Trigun Ultimate Wolfie on the way to Knives with the knowledge that he has no home anymore or Pre-Trimax Wolfie under the thumb of Knives. The way he thinks about Lina protecting herself could show his growth as a person.

Is Wolfwood the bird or the human or both? He has no freedom, none at all, the Eye of Michael and his responsibilities bind him down. But then there is a point to be made that Wolfwood is desperately trying to find a place to rest, that he is in constant pain from trying to survive. He gets like the worst out of both worlds. I would have loved for that birdmotive to be present earlier for Wolfwood.

Ahhh… good old peak idiot Wolfwood. 

A difficult situation. They were right to take a loan, but the father wasn’t very responsible with the money, then, was he? They profited from the ownership of the plant and lived a cushy life. He should have constantly put money away for such a situation. 

It is not only the responsible and fair thing to do ala you wash my back and I wash yours, but also considering the worth of plants, you cannot take even one death of them. I’d say make plants common property, but even that wouldn’t stop people from trying to gain power over them.

WOLFWOOD! YOU WERE SO GOOD WHEN LINA PROTECTED HERSELF FROM THOSE GUYS! And here you are like: “Nah… congrats. I don’t care.” I partially understand him. Wolfwood grew up in deepest poverty, he would most likely marry Orekano to get that lifestyle (give that money to the orphanage). He may not understand that someone may prefer a life of strife than to be an object in the hands of a weird man.

Again, the bird motive. Lina is a trapped bird. She doesn’t know how hard the world outside is, she truly doesn’t. She lived a life as an upper class woman. 

Haha, wrong person to ask.

Not gonna lie, her saying that she was an orphan and using that as a reason to say that she was dependent on people reads so fucking weird. Everyone is dependent on other people. If Maylene popped out a child and kept it, it would also be completely dependent on her. That’s what children are. In the next few pages we learn that she was adopted like at age 2 max. She had next to her whole life with this family, who took care of her as her own from what we get to see. She does not understand poverty or survival at all. She was at an age where you do not remember things. Sorry, but no girl. I understand that you may felt overly protected and maybe suffocated by your parents, maybe your parents actively stopped you from going out and growing up, but your lack of freedom is totally different than that of an orphan of a struggling orphanage.

Then again, that does not mean that she has to marry Orekano to keep her lifestyle. She has the ability and the freedom to decide for herself. She is a bird breaking out of her cage. It is her decision to make.

Wolfwood sounds pretty judgemental, but he also does not understand what Maylene has to expect of her new husband. For him it looks like a naive girl romanticising freedom from a position of privilege. He also projects onto her, what he doesn’t/didn’t have his whole life. He is the bird that just wants a safe place, but he cannot get it. He cannot imagine giving that up.

I just realised, Wolfwood said he put bullets into Chapel for the name he gave him. But we see him called Nicholas in the past. It was the Punisher. Wolfwood hates Chapel for making him an assassin, but my brain was too soupy in the last volume.

Ah, yes. Wolfwood’s old friend. Parentification. How it made him what he is today, the big brother, the caretaker, the protector. So much of Wolfwood can be traced back to this.

I think it is also interesting that we see a kind of neglect/abuse here, that wasn’t done with ill intent or anything. The orphanage was too full, the aunties had too many children to take care of and that led to Wolfwood being forced into that role. He wasn’t parentified by neglectful parents, but by a society that causes too many orphans and that gives not enough money to adequate care for the helpless and innocent. There was no alternative. Should they have left Maylene alone and crying?

From what we know about Wolfwood, he saw the orphanage as a kind of paradise. It was a place where he could be without having to give something. Wolfwood already came to the orphanage with the ideology of having to be useful, to balance out the debt that occurs from him being there. It was so easy for him to become a quiet helper to the aunties that didn't tell his needs. His basic needs were taken care of and for that he had to be thankful. Everything beyond that was to be used to pay off the debt, to give to the other children. 

What did he think then about the bird? Did he want freedom? Or was he okay with how everything is? He was fed, had a place to sleep and was being taken care of, somewhat. Did he ever wish for more?

It is about Maylene. Did Wolfwood ever wonder or hope to be adopted? Or did he see himself as damaged goods from the start? Maybe he came in as “too old” for an adoption and resigned himself to be the one that makes sure the little ones get adopted?

Little WooWoo is massively cute. I love this style more than Stampede’s. 

Why is this… wearing a cross… jumpsuit? I hate him already.

Grati… tude… What the fuck is wrong with this guy? Much, considering Maylene’s reaction. But at least now Wolfwood checks WHY Maylene may prefer survival to a cage.

No, he doesn’t. Wolfwood! Pull your head out of yer arse! Okay… okay… he was just put through the meatgrinder because Maylene declined and fled.

The only right answer to his incel shit… Why is that icky guy so obsessed with Maylene’s virginity? I push aside the train of thought about priests and naughties, because we know how reality looked since before the Renaissance and I do not believe that such a possessive icky, icky weirdo would even have such information.

Call him out, Maylene! Oregano’s actions aren’t her responsibility. I wouldn’t say Wolfwood egging him on made it worse, because I don’t think that… I have run out of insults… guy would have believed Wolfwood anyway.

Wolfwood the protector. The Punisher, then his body and then Maylene.

But… Damn, Wolfwood! I wanna root for you. But you say the vilest things. None of these deaths are on Maylene. They are on Orekano. Do you really believe that she would have a good and comfy life under him? Yes, decisions come with consequences, but fleeing from an abusive situation and the abuser acting out is never on the victim. We know how you came to that mindset, but, buddy, that mindset is massively flawed.

FUCKING FINALLY!

How did Orekano get even worse? “Hurdur, I would stain my hands on your defiled body…” Dude believes in fucking cooties.

We know that Wolfwood cares for Maylene. Even if his words are… saying the opposite. He wants her to have a comfy life. He doesn’t want her to struggle like he does. His actions show this. He protected her repeatedly from Orekano, he doesn’t take all the money offered for his funeral service, he gives her as much as he can so she can start somewhere anew. He doesn’t agree with her choice, but he lets her make her own.

And that line from Maylene, I understand much more. Somehow she got into her head that she being adopted is just the family filling some spot with her. That’s sad… And hopefully wrong. But it makes her point of breaking off from that legacy and choosing her own path. She heard Wolfwood’s warning, but she prefers being a free bird struggling to a caged wife.

Earlier, Wolfwood was sad that she doesn’t remember him. But he did leave a massive impression on her in the form of the bird motive. So much so that she took up carving herself. And Wolfwood is stunned, moved. He mattered. For all the blood on his hands, he had a positive effect on someone's life. And he cannot deal with it. That’s why he puts it down as a lousy carving.