Post by LACKLAN on Nov 10, 2018 21:14:32 GMT -5
Do you believe in God, Monsieur Rydell?
You should. Now, I am well aware that there are those who will raise up their hands to the sky with some pathetic charge of “Your god is fake!” because of their own sad lives, but they are those who deny Him because they would then have to look into their own mirror and see that their lives are full of sin. And it is because of that sin, a sin sent down to us by Adam’s folly, that their lives are full of broken promises, failed relationships, and forgotten dreams.
How are your dreams these days, Monsieur?
The world loves a redemption story, and even the Book speaks well of them. While the common rabble love to see one of their own rise up from their squalor and ascend the heights of their betters, they also enjoy the fall of that hero, the hero who is crushed by the weight of their own hubris. But better yet for the audience is when that hero stands back up, struggling on knees that shake in their weakness, and pushes themselves until their back is straight, their shoulders square, their eyes to the horizon. For the audience, the rise, fall, and redemption of a man is their ultimate path.
Unfortunately for the audience, the hero of redemption in this tale falls again before he can stand his full height. In this tale, you crumbled before the might of the Edge and Blade of God. Because no matter how you may feel about the dreams of yesteryear, or how you look forward to the hopes of posterity, your reality, on this day, right this moment, is that I am Divine Providence incarnate. I am what He wishes for the world. I am His hammer upon this Earth. And I shall brook no nonsense.
You have found success since your time away, there is no doubt. While you did find yourself unable to stop me on the night of your return, as I reached into the void and put away Mizore, your success that night in the battle royal not only was impressive, but it came as a shock to many. Indeed, your ability to defy the expectations of our peers in the Big Match scenario has sent your critics into silence, as you and the Vaughn girl have defeated the other three members of the her little stable. Unfortunately for you, your ability is not matched when the world is not on your shoulders. On a weekly basis, you have found yourself in your well-worn abode of loss and humiliation, and in the process, making those peers of ours who wish to snicker at your skills raise their voices higher to more than a whisper in the corner:
“Angie is carrying Dave.”
It would be a lie to say that my battles with your partner have all ended well. We have faced one another seven times across the year, and she has won the last three. But, in a reality that you know well on an intimate level, she won those matches when I was tired, when I was worn, when I was in need of rest. The path which the One Lord God placed upon me broke me down, and at my lowest point, I found myself on the losing end to Angie at Day of Reckoning. But those times of tiredness are gone, Monsieur. My bones...they no longer ache. My eyes...are no longer heavy. My mind...is no longer tired. From that low point of Day of Reckoning, when reclaiming my Chaos Championship was as wistful of a dream as your own fantasy of being the World Champion, I have defeated nearly all of the top names this company can boast. Baal. Morgan. MacLean. Somers. Dynamo. Necron. Pierce.
This is the reality of God’s plan, Monsieur. This is the ultimate truth of the Path of the Light. I take the chaos of the world that all of the foolish children have created and weave it into a tapestry of what God wants. I create the world that He wishes for us to have, a world where everyone, no matter how beleaguered or downtrodden, can look up onto the Heavens and see the brightness that is His vision, with the very chaos that made the world a thing of soot and ash in the first place. I take the chaos, and the hardships, and the pain, and the tears, and I create a coat of so many colors that even Joseph himself falls to his knees in awe at their brightness.
You may not believe in Him. You may scoff and shake your head in dismissal at the idea of His path and love. But His designs come to fruition with or without your understanding and belief, and you will believe at the end of the path, even if that means the hammer crashing down upon your head. Thomas doubted Jesus until he saw the scars with his own eyes. Gideon ran from his mission until he saw a host of miracles. Abraham and Sarah scoffed at the promise of a child late in life until the morning sickness came. We can only hide from God’s plan and mission for so long.
Just ask the Vaughn girl.
My mission is to destroy mediocrity, Monsieur. In this regard, I AM manifest destiny. And when Fear and I crush the Cooperative Champions on Monday, the entire UGWC will take and hold a breath, for they shall see God’s latest design: That the Champion of Chaos and the Embodiment of Fear should face the uncomfortable couple of Rydell and Vaughn at Horizons.
And take their championships.
I am the Queen of Red, Monsieur.
Deimos is the very face of fear.
Bow to us.
~~Saturday, November 10th~~
Aveline Lacklan smiles.
Children run around the Queen of Red with excitement in their laughter and wonder in their eyes. She cannot help by smile as the run about, each small group of five or six children accompanied by a member of the Path of the Light clergy, there to teach the children the wonders of God and their Church. Bordy’s emerald eyes jump between the groups as they visit various exhibits, pausing to hear the words spoken to by their chaperones. Her vision is filled with dozen of children and her smile grows wider as she allows herself to admire their location.
The Red Queen was a ridiculously flagrant example of why her step-daughter had to be reigned in. The brilliantly red yacht was purchased at the whim of Kenzi Grey and Roxy Cotton, perhaps in a show of faith and ability to be upstanding members of the Church of Scientology, and it included no less than twenty rooms, a deck filled with exercise and gaming equipment, and a helicopter pad to house what was rumored to be a solid gold chopper. Because of course it did. After openly declaring her return to the world, and thus taking over the estate which legally belonged to her, Bordy had made sure that such a ghastly display of sinful and arrogant spending was used for the greater good.
The “Into the Mouth of Jonah’s Tale” events were now a favorite among the children.
Occurring every few weeks, the Path of the Light Church’s recently-established branch on the West Coast took the massive boat out into the Pacific Ocean for a weekend filled with learning about God and His beautiful plan for the world. Stations were set up throughout the boat with pictures and stories telling of the progression of the Book of Jonah, and everyone was given free reign within the boat, allowed to go anywhere. Well, except for the Captain’s Cabin, of course. Much like the Grey-Lacklan rooms in the manor itself, that place was filled with so much sin and debauchery that any God-fearing man or woman would no doubt burst into flames upon entering!
Bordy herself had not been on a trip since the maiden voyage, and now seemed like a wonderful time. She had missed the children of the congregation, and being around them helped to lighten the weight which often pushed down against her as His arm of law and order. She was far more rested than she was a couple of months ago, but the weight of a divine plan on a mortal body would always be great in taxation. Her breath suddenly stops short as she watches the children in their groups, for a particularly tall head of bright hair stands out in the distance like the sun bursting from the darkness.
“C’mon, kiddos! We don’t want to miss the orcas!”
Angie Vaughn was an ever-present vex to the Queen of Red. Known to only but a very small handful, she was a daughter of her late husband, the patriarch of a family which might well dominate the sport of wrestling if they were ever truly united and unleashed. Within her flowed the blood of the Voice of God, the Savior of Professional Wrestling, and while her general disposition was that of smiles and hugs, those close to her had seen the fire within her. Those close to her had seen how hard Angie was willing to fight, how devastating she was willing to be, how far she would go to win. No one but that very small handful, no one but Ava, Angie, her birth mother, and her adopted father, knew what that natural tenacity meant in the face of her outward kindness.
That was the Lacklan in her.
Bordy lost herself in her musings as Angie led her group of children out onto the deck to watch the whales rise from the ocean in their play. There had been SOMETHING to Angie which drew Bordy from the first moment she saw her in person, something which made her want to rip out her eyes and keep them on their mantle. How she had missed it, how she had missed that those haunting eyes were her husband’s eyes, she would never know. But it all made sense when Richard Vaughn had walked his way into the manor and used the information of his birth to secure himself a seat at her table. Their chemistry to work together as a Cooperative team, even in the face of their initial aversion, was clear to her now. And their battles, which would now number eight in two days, had become something quite personal.
“Attention, les enfants!”
Along with the command, Bordy claps her hands together to bring everyone’s attention to her. Most look toward their matron, but the OOOOOOO’s and AHHHHHHHH’s coming from Angie’s group of kids as a whale breached the surface of the water made her grind her teeth together. Her plan for bringing her husband’s children together meant pushing pressure points on each of them, and while for Sarah that meant money and status, Angie’s was faith. Bordy had tried to bring Angie into the fold by having her be a part of the church, because despite of her well-deserved anger and disgust for Bordy herself, Angie could never deny the children. Through a series of “outreach programs,” Angie had become a sort of youth pastor, and even braved her legendary sea-sickness with a dose of Dramamine so large as to make even a pill-popping Hollywood starlet blanch with shock in order to be there for the children.
“Gather around, children. Come and learn the tale of Jonah and some of the lessons we may reap from the prophet.”
Bordy makes her way to a large mural painted on a wall, a mural showing the prophet running to Tarsish, being taken by the aquatic giant, and finally making his way to Nineveh. Eventually, the youth pastors corral their charges into a large group, with Angie’s group snaking their way to the front, because of course Angie is the kind of student who sits at the front of the class. Bordy makes sure to stand tall, her chin high, so that all can see her. She wears a dress befitting her station, which this day is a deep blue silk with the slashes along her arms being yellow, the silk riding up all the way to her chin to cover all flesh outside of her face. Her hair, freshly bleached to shine brightly, was pulled up and away to show her sharp features and the emerald earrings falling to her shoulders. But nothing shone more than the lock nestled against her chest and attached to the silver chain around her neck. The physical embodiment of the UGWC Chaos division was polished until it was blindingly bright.
“I hope that everyone has enjoyed the voyage thus far. It brings me great pleasure to teach the word of God in such a practical way. Especially when the lessons of Jonah are so applicable for those in attendance.”
While her eyes scanned the crowd, they settled on the Leggy Blonde of Legend at the final few words. A slight narrowing of Lacklanlander Blue eyes told her that the message was being received. She put on a small smile as she let her eyes leave the woman who had been a major rival in the UGWC throughout the year and find other faces.
“Jonah fled from God because he did not believe in what He wished. You see, dear children, it is not enough to believe in God. It is not enough to understand His love. You must also do as He wishes, as well. God’s Divine Plan is perfection, and while it may not fit your worldly wishes, it is a plan which MUST be upheld. Even if one’s own sin-”
Her eyes find Angie again.
“-would demand otherwise.”
She holds Angie’s gaze for a long moment before moving on.
“For Jonah, it was hubris. God wished to give the Ninevites the opportunity to repent, one of the proofs of His love for the entire world, and not just His executive arm that was Israel. But Jonah refused to what God wished and preach in Nineveh. He refused because he believed he knew better. He refused because he allowed his worldly hate for Nineveh to outweigh his divine duty. Instead of helping those in need of redemption and salvation-”
Her eyes find Angie’s again.
“-he chose to allow them to live on the path which would lead to Hell and an eternity swimming in the Lake of Fire.”
Breaths caught. While the children were wound up in the horror of defying God for a reason of the flesh, the look in Angie’s eye confirmed that she understood the message today. The two of them had been over this multiple times throughout the course of the last eleven months. Bordy was angry and disappointed that the otherwise penitent Angie would be close friends with a group of “lesbians and whores” without trying to bring them to the Light. Angie disagreed with Bordy’s conservative interpretation of Scripture and believed that God loved everyone, even those who did not obey every divine law.
“He CHOSE to push away God. He CHOSE to defy Him. He CHOSE to become akin to the Great Deceiver himself and place himself above our Creator. He CHOSE to have his fate be what it was. But God will NEVER be defied in totality. His plan will NEVER be pushed astray. Because even as Jonah fled and leapt aboard the boat for Tarsish, our loving Father brought up a giant creature from the very depths of the ocean.”
Providence seemed to be on Bordy’s side, for just as she mentioned its existence, just as she pointed to the painted depiction on the mural, a great orca burst from the water and reached up into the sky, causing the crowd to jump. Once more came the calls of “OOOOOOH!” and “AHHHHHH!” as the killer whale flopped back to the water’s surface and caused an explosion of wake to push all around. All except for Bordy and Angie, whose eyes stayed locked on one another’s.
“Swallowed by the whale! Taken in by the great fish! And there! There in the belly of the beast! The idiotic man who believed himself to be above God sat and stewed in his petulant ineptitude! His plan for escape was thwarted! This hope of denial was pushed aside! And for three days, he rested in that belly, three days he was forced to face the will of the God he presumed to supersede. Until God knew that the time had come and spat him out onto the sand. And there, forced to face God’s greatness, Jonah did move on to the next step of his journey and his mission.”
She pauses as the crowd become enraptured in her speech again, and those emerald greens stayed locked on the Lacklanlander blue. For her credit, Angie neither flinched nor wavered.
“The lesson, dear children, is that you will never be able to escape the love and plan of God when He has gifted you with action. You may run. You may hide. You may deny. But He will ALWAYS bring you back into the fold. But if you DO decide to flee from God’s grace because He has tasked you with something difficult, please bear in mind…”
She pauses to lick her lips.
“...there WILL be a whale to swallow you whole and put you back on His path. And you WILL thank Him later.”
After another moment of heavy silence, Angie gives a nod so small that even Bordy may not have noticed it. They both understood where the other stood.
“Now!”
Bordy’s call was abrupt, as was the change in her demeanor. Gone was the icy stare she was giving her fellow UGWC entertainment professional, and in its place was a bright smile, that smile which brought hope and joy to even the most downtrodden of men and women for the last several months. Many faces snapped in surprise at the sudden change, but the Champion of Chaos pushed right on as she smiled and looked throughout the crowd.
“Are there any questions? Come now, do not be afraid to speak up!”
Several hands raised into the air and Bordy pointed at one of them. A young boy with a gleam in his dark eyes raised a squeaky voice.
“Was Jonah afraid?”
“Yes, my child. It is perfectly natural to fear God, for we can hardly understand Him. But the believe in His love and perfection is enough to straighten the backs of any man or woman, Jonah included. Next question!”
More hands this time. Bordy chooses out an older girl with raven hair.
“What is your favorite recipe?”
Bordy cannot help but give a small smirk.
“Poitrine de pigeon au foie gras poêlé et aux légumes braisés.”
She noticed the grimace from Angie and smirked wider. Hands shot up and, with a curious look on her face, she chose a large girl in Angie’s group.
“What...kind of...music...d-do…”
She girl pauses, wheezing, clearly out of breath. Everyone tries to not draw attention to the girl who can’t even get through the question without taking her breath, and her youth pastor breathes out slowly and audibly grinds her teeth.
“...do...you...listen...to?”
Bordy raises an eyebrow for a moment but then gives a small shrug.
“That is an idiotic question which pertains to nothing important. Next question...perhaps actually pertaining to the lesson of Jonah and the Whale?”
Hands shoot up and Bordy notices that Angie’s is one of them. She gives her a slight nod.
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to just directly quote scripture instead of weaving a summary into a lesson?”
Bordy narrows her eyes at her rival.
“No. In fact, I NEVER do that. Only an idiot would think that I have EVER directly quoted scripture in ANY of the promotional videos or sermons I have produced. Ever.”
Bordy shakes her head and mumbles something about “...it is written…” and moves on to another hand.
“Do you know the difference between an allusion and an inference?”
“Why, of course, child. An allusion is when you have an indirect reference to something, only hinting at it. An inference is when you reference something specifically, perhaps a direct name, in order to make a case. An example would be whereas an inference specifies a particular person or event, an allusion would only hint at them, or conjure up an image. Why?”
“Oh, just saw someone the other day say that they caught an allusion when I thought it was a direct reference. Thought I was wrong!”
“No, child. You would have been correct in that. Anyone saying that a direct reference is an allusion to something is a person who is trying to use big words they do not understand in order to seem smarter to those around them. Next question!”
“How come your second LFL season isn’t going very well?”
Bordy rolls her eyes at this.
“Someone’s theoretical scheme doesn’t seem to be translating very well into reality.”
Emerald eyes find Lacklanlander blue for no reason whatsoever. Hands shoot up and she chooses one final question.
“How awesome was Lord Lacklan?”
Bordy doesn’t respond. The silence settles heavily as her eyes begin to glisten. It takes her several moments to speak after licking suddenly dry lips.
“Wonderful.”
She pauses, her face thick with thought.
“My husband, Il est ressuscité, we a man of morals and passion. A man of God. A man who stood against the tide of sin and mediocrity and fought, to his very last breath, to save everyone he could. He-”
Her eyes suddenly found Angie’s again.
“-he was worth being proud of.”
Several heavy seconds as the woman stare at one another. Everyone jumps as a bell tolls, hands clutching suddenly beating hearts.
“Lunch time, les enfants! Follow your group leaders into the dining room!”
Bordy stood for a long time, watching the children be ushered out of the room.
Angie stood just as long, looking back at Bordy.
Both refused to give an inch.
You should. Now, I am well aware that there are those who will raise up their hands to the sky with some pathetic charge of “Your god is fake!” because of their own sad lives, but they are those who deny Him because they would then have to look into their own mirror and see that their lives are full of sin. And it is because of that sin, a sin sent down to us by Adam’s folly, that their lives are full of broken promises, failed relationships, and forgotten dreams.
How are your dreams these days, Monsieur?
The world loves a redemption story, and even the Book speaks well of them. While the common rabble love to see one of their own rise up from their squalor and ascend the heights of their betters, they also enjoy the fall of that hero, the hero who is crushed by the weight of their own hubris. But better yet for the audience is when that hero stands back up, struggling on knees that shake in their weakness, and pushes themselves until their back is straight, their shoulders square, their eyes to the horizon. For the audience, the rise, fall, and redemption of a man is their ultimate path.
Unfortunately for the audience, the hero of redemption in this tale falls again before he can stand his full height. In this tale, you crumbled before the might of the Edge and Blade of God. Because no matter how you may feel about the dreams of yesteryear, or how you look forward to the hopes of posterity, your reality, on this day, right this moment, is that I am Divine Providence incarnate. I am what He wishes for the world. I am His hammer upon this Earth. And I shall brook no nonsense.
You have found success since your time away, there is no doubt. While you did find yourself unable to stop me on the night of your return, as I reached into the void and put away Mizore, your success that night in the battle royal not only was impressive, but it came as a shock to many. Indeed, your ability to defy the expectations of our peers in the Big Match scenario has sent your critics into silence, as you and the Vaughn girl have defeated the other three members of the her little stable. Unfortunately for you, your ability is not matched when the world is not on your shoulders. On a weekly basis, you have found yourself in your well-worn abode of loss and humiliation, and in the process, making those peers of ours who wish to snicker at your skills raise their voices higher to more than a whisper in the corner:
“Angie is carrying Dave.”
It would be a lie to say that my battles with your partner have all ended well. We have faced one another seven times across the year, and she has won the last three. But, in a reality that you know well on an intimate level, she won those matches when I was tired, when I was worn, when I was in need of rest. The path which the One Lord God placed upon me broke me down, and at my lowest point, I found myself on the losing end to Angie at Day of Reckoning. But those times of tiredness are gone, Monsieur. My bones...they no longer ache. My eyes...are no longer heavy. My mind...is no longer tired. From that low point of Day of Reckoning, when reclaiming my Chaos Championship was as wistful of a dream as your own fantasy of being the World Champion, I have defeated nearly all of the top names this company can boast. Baal. Morgan. MacLean. Somers. Dynamo. Necron. Pierce.
This is the reality of God’s plan, Monsieur. This is the ultimate truth of the Path of the Light. I take the chaos of the world that all of the foolish children have created and weave it into a tapestry of what God wants. I create the world that He wishes for us to have, a world where everyone, no matter how beleaguered or downtrodden, can look up onto the Heavens and see the brightness that is His vision, with the very chaos that made the world a thing of soot and ash in the first place. I take the chaos, and the hardships, and the pain, and the tears, and I create a coat of so many colors that even Joseph himself falls to his knees in awe at their brightness.
You may not believe in Him. You may scoff and shake your head in dismissal at the idea of His path and love. But His designs come to fruition with or without your understanding and belief, and you will believe at the end of the path, even if that means the hammer crashing down upon your head. Thomas doubted Jesus until he saw the scars with his own eyes. Gideon ran from his mission until he saw a host of miracles. Abraham and Sarah scoffed at the promise of a child late in life until the morning sickness came. We can only hide from God’s plan and mission for so long.
Just ask the Vaughn girl.
My mission is to destroy mediocrity, Monsieur. In this regard, I AM manifest destiny. And when Fear and I crush the Cooperative Champions on Monday, the entire UGWC will take and hold a breath, for they shall see God’s latest design: That the Champion of Chaos and the Embodiment of Fear should face the uncomfortable couple of Rydell and Vaughn at Horizons.
And take their championships.
I am the Queen of Red, Monsieur.
Deimos is the very face of fear.
Bow to us.
~~Saturday, November 10th~~
Aveline Lacklan smiles.
Children run around the Queen of Red with excitement in their laughter and wonder in their eyes. She cannot help by smile as the run about, each small group of five or six children accompanied by a member of the Path of the Light clergy, there to teach the children the wonders of God and their Church. Bordy’s emerald eyes jump between the groups as they visit various exhibits, pausing to hear the words spoken to by their chaperones. Her vision is filled with dozen of children and her smile grows wider as she allows herself to admire their location.
The Red Queen was a ridiculously flagrant example of why her step-daughter had to be reigned in. The brilliantly red yacht was purchased at the whim of Kenzi Grey and Roxy Cotton, perhaps in a show of faith and ability to be upstanding members of the Church of Scientology, and it included no less than twenty rooms, a deck filled with exercise and gaming equipment, and a helicopter pad to house what was rumored to be a solid gold chopper. Because of course it did. After openly declaring her return to the world, and thus taking over the estate which legally belonged to her, Bordy had made sure that such a ghastly display of sinful and arrogant spending was used for the greater good.
The “Into the Mouth of Jonah’s Tale” events were now a favorite among the children.
Occurring every few weeks, the Path of the Light Church’s recently-established branch on the West Coast took the massive boat out into the Pacific Ocean for a weekend filled with learning about God and His beautiful plan for the world. Stations were set up throughout the boat with pictures and stories telling of the progression of the Book of Jonah, and everyone was given free reign within the boat, allowed to go anywhere. Well, except for the Captain’s Cabin, of course. Much like the Grey-Lacklan rooms in the manor itself, that place was filled with so much sin and debauchery that any God-fearing man or woman would no doubt burst into flames upon entering!
Bordy herself had not been on a trip since the maiden voyage, and now seemed like a wonderful time. She had missed the children of the congregation, and being around them helped to lighten the weight which often pushed down against her as His arm of law and order. She was far more rested than she was a couple of months ago, but the weight of a divine plan on a mortal body would always be great in taxation. Her breath suddenly stops short as she watches the children in their groups, for a particularly tall head of bright hair stands out in the distance like the sun bursting from the darkness.
“C’mon, kiddos! We don’t want to miss the orcas!”
Angie Vaughn was an ever-present vex to the Queen of Red. Known to only but a very small handful, she was a daughter of her late husband, the patriarch of a family which might well dominate the sport of wrestling if they were ever truly united and unleashed. Within her flowed the blood of the Voice of God, the Savior of Professional Wrestling, and while her general disposition was that of smiles and hugs, those close to her had seen the fire within her. Those close to her had seen how hard Angie was willing to fight, how devastating she was willing to be, how far she would go to win. No one but that very small handful, no one but Ava, Angie, her birth mother, and her adopted father, knew what that natural tenacity meant in the face of her outward kindness.
That was the Lacklan in her.
Bordy lost herself in her musings as Angie led her group of children out onto the deck to watch the whales rise from the ocean in their play. There had been SOMETHING to Angie which drew Bordy from the first moment she saw her in person, something which made her want to rip out her eyes and keep them on their mantle. How she had missed it, how she had missed that those haunting eyes were her husband’s eyes, she would never know. But it all made sense when Richard Vaughn had walked his way into the manor and used the information of his birth to secure himself a seat at her table. Their chemistry to work together as a Cooperative team, even in the face of their initial aversion, was clear to her now. And their battles, which would now number eight in two days, had become something quite personal.
“Attention, les enfants!”
Along with the command, Bordy claps her hands together to bring everyone’s attention to her. Most look toward their matron, but the OOOOOOO’s and AHHHHHHHH’s coming from Angie’s group of kids as a whale breached the surface of the water made her grind her teeth together. Her plan for bringing her husband’s children together meant pushing pressure points on each of them, and while for Sarah that meant money and status, Angie’s was faith. Bordy had tried to bring Angie into the fold by having her be a part of the church, because despite of her well-deserved anger and disgust for Bordy herself, Angie could never deny the children. Through a series of “outreach programs,” Angie had become a sort of youth pastor, and even braved her legendary sea-sickness with a dose of Dramamine so large as to make even a pill-popping Hollywood starlet blanch with shock in order to be there for the children.
“Gather around, children. Come and learn the tale of Jonah and some of the lessons we may reap from the prophet.”
Bordy makes her way to a large mural painted on a wall, a mural showing the prophet running to Tarsish, being taken by the aquatic giant, and finally making his way to Nineveh. Eventually, the youth pastors corral their charges into a large group, with Angie’s group snaking their way to the front, because of course Angie is the kind of student who sits at the front of the class. Bordy makes sure to stand tall, her chin high, so that all can see her. She wears a dress befitting her station, which this day is a deep blue silk with the slashes along her arms being yellow, the silk riding up all the way to her chin to cover all flesh outside of her face. Her hair, freshly bleached to shine brightly, was pulled up and away to show her sharp features and the emerald earrings falling to her shoulders. But nothing shone more than the lock nestled against her chest and attached to the silver chain around her neck. The physical embodiment of the UGWC Chaos division was polished until it was blindingly bright.
“I hope that everyone has enjoyed the voyage thus far. It brings me great pleasure to teach the word of God in such a practical way. Especially when the lessons of Jonah are so applicable for those in attendance.”
While her eyes scanned the crowd, they settled on the Leggy Blonde of Legend at the final few words. A slight narrowing of Lacklanlander Blue eyes told her that the message was being received. She put on a small smile as she let her eyes leave the woman who had been a major rival in the UGWC throughout the year and find other faces.
“Jonah fled from God because he did not believe in what He wished. You see, dear children, it is not enough to believe in God. It is not enough to understand His love. You must also do as He wishes, as well. God’s Divine Plan is perfection, and while it may not fit your worldly wishes, it is a plan which MUST be upheld. Even if one’s own sin-”
Her eyes find Angie again.
“-would demand otherwise.”
She holds Angie’s gaze for a long moment before moving on.
“For Jonah, it was hubris. God wished to give the Ninevites the opportunity to repent, one of the proofs of His love for the entire world, and not just His executive arm that was Israel. But Jonah refused to what God wished and preach in Nineveh. He refused because he believed he knew better. He refused because he allowed his worldly hate for Nineveh to outweigh his divine duty. Instead of helping those in need of redemption and salvation-”
Her eyes find Angie’s again.
“-he chose to allow them to live on the path which would lead to Hell and an eternity swimming in the Lake of Fire.”
Breaths caught. While the children were wound up in the horror of defying God for a reason of the flesh, the look in Angie’s eye confirmed that she understood the message today. The two of them had been over this multiple times throughout the course of the last eleven months. Bordy was angry and disappointed that the otherwise penitent Angie would be close friends with a group of “lesbians and whores” without trying to bring them to the Light. Angie disagreed with Bordy’s conservative interpretation of Scripture and believed that God loved everyone, even those who did not obey every divine law.
“He CHOSE to push away God. He CHOSE to defy Him. He CHOSE to become akin to the Great Deceiver himself and place himself above our Creator. He CHOSE to have his fate be what it was. But God will NEVER be defied in totality. His plan will NEVER be pushed astray. Because even as Jonah fled and leapt aboard the boat for Tarsish, our loving Father brought up a giant creature from the very depths of the ocean.”
Providence seemed to be on Bordy’s side, for just as she mentioned its existence, just as she pointed to the painted depiction on the mural, a great orca burst from the water and reached up into the sky, causing the crowd to jump. Once more came the calls of “OOOOOOH!” and “AHHHHHH!” as the killer whale flopped back to the water’s surface and caused an explosion of wake to push all around. All except for Bordy and Angie, whose eyes stayed locked on one another’s.
“Swallowed by the whale! Taken in by the great fish! And there! There in the belly of the beast! The idiotic man who believed himself to be above God sat and stewed in his petulant ineptitude! His plan for escape was thwarted! This hope of denial was pushed aside! And for three days, he rested in that belly, three days he was forced to face the will of the God he presumed to supersede. Until God knew that the time had come and spat him out onto the sand. And there, forced to face God’s greatness, Jonah did move on to the next step of his journey and his mission.”
She pauses as the crowd become enraptured in her speech again, and those emerald greens stayed locked on the Lacklanlander blue. For her credit, Angie neither flinched nor wavered.
“The lesson, dear children, is that you will never be able to escape the love and plan of God when He has gifted you with action. You may run. You may hide. You may deny. But He will ALWAYS bring you back into the fold. But if you DO decide to flee from God’s grace because He has tasked you with something difficult, please bear in mind…”
She pauses to lick her lips.
“...there WILL be a whale to swallow you whole and put you back on His path. And you WILL thank Him later.”
After another moment of heavy silence, Angie gives a nod so small that even Bordy may not have noticed it. They both understood where the other stood.
“Now!”
Bordy’s call was abrupt, as was the change in her demeanor. Gone was the icy stare she was giving her fellow UGWC entertainment professional, and in its place was a bright smile, that smile which brought hope and joy to even the most downtrodden of men and women for the last several months. Many faces snapped in surprise at the sudden change, but the Champion of Chaos pushed right on as she smiled and looked throughout the crowd.
“Are there any questions? Come now, do not be afraid to speak up!”
Several hands raised into the air and Bordy pointed at one of them. A young boy with a gleam in his dark eyes raised a squeaky voice.
“Was Jonah afraid?”
“Yes, my child. It is perfectly natural to fear God, for we can hardly understand Him. But the believe in His love and perfection is enough to straighten the backs of any man or woman, Jonah included. Next question!”
More hands this time. Bordy chooses out an older girl with raven hair.
“What is your favorite recipe?”
Bordy cannot help but give a small smirk.
“Poitrine de pigeon au foie gras poêlé et aux légumes braisés.”
She noticed the grimace from Angie and smirked wider. Hands shot up and, with a curious look on her face, she chose a large girl in Angie’s group.
“What...kind of...music...d-do…”
She girl pauses, wheezing, clearly out of breath. Everyone tries to not draw attention to the girl who can’t even get through the question without taking her breath, and her youth pastor breathes out slowly and audibly grinds her teeth.
“...do...you...listen...to?”
Bordy raises an eyebrow for a moment but then gives a small shrug.
“That is an idiotic question which pertains to nothing important. Next question...perhaps actually pertaining to the lesson of Jonah and the Whale?”
Hands shoot up and Bordy notices that Angie’s is one of them. She gives her a slight nod.
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to just directly quote scripture instead of weaving a summary into a lesson?”
Bordy narrows her eyes at her rival.
“No. In fact, I NEVER do that. Only an idiot would think that I have EVER directly quoted scripture in ANY of the promotional videos or sermons I have produced. Ever.”
Bordy shakes her head and mumbles something about “...it is written…” and moves on to another hand.
“Do you know the difference between an allusion and an inference?”
“Why, of course, child. An allusion is when you have an indirect reference to something, only hinting at it. An inference is when you reference something specifically, perhaps a direct name, in order to make a case. An example would be whereas an inference specifies a particular person or event, an allusion would only hint at them, or conjure up an image. Why?”
“Oh, just saw someone the other day say that they caught an allusion when I thought it was a direct reference. Thought I was wrong!”
“No, child. You would have been correct in that. Anyone saying that a direct reference is an allusion to something is a person who is trying to use big words they do not understand in order to seem smarter to those around them. Next question!”
“How come your second LFL season isn’t going very well?”
Bordy rolls her eyes at this.
“Someone’s theoretical scheme doesn’t seem to be translating very well into reality.”
Emerald eyes find Lacklanlander blue for no reason whatsoever. Hands shoot up and she chooses one final question.
“How awesome was Lord Lacklan?”
Bordy doesn’t respond. The silence settles heavily as her eyes begin to glisten. It takes her several moments to speak after licking suddenly dry lips.
“Wonderful.”
She pauses, her face thick with thought.
“My husband, Il est ressuscité, we a man of morals and passion. A man of God. A man who stood against the tide of sin and mediocrity and fought, to his very last breath, to save everyone he could. He-”
Her eyes suddenly found Angie’s again.
“-he was worth being proud of.”
Several heavy seconds as the woman stare at one another. Everyone jumps as a bell tolls, hands clutching suddenly beating hearts.
“Lunch time, les enfants! Follow your group leaders into the dining room!”
Bordy stood for a long time, watching the children be ushered out of the room.
Angie stood just as long, looking back at Bordy.
Both refused to give an inch.
x2
