#Ken got a shotgun you better run!

[hauntingmiser]

Archiving this because this goes so hard

*Ahem* I present to the sketches I made!

It's very cool right?

[iguessthisisanewobsession]

It takes a mob pt. 7

Previous

First

Ao3

Bill thought the kid’s first introduction went pretty well all things considered.

“Well aren’t you a littl’ dumpling? Yes, yes you are. Oh you’re going to be so distracting! I need to call in Gabe. Bill! Who’s his mother? Why is he here!?”

With a grunt he placed another bag on the rack,

“Why do you assume it’s mine?!”

“Well, he ain’t Marv’s, that’s dam for sure! And he better not be Kenny’s! I taught him better than that and I am too dam young to be a Great-granny!”

Bill smacked a snickering Marv as he exited the pantry.

Me-mah was gently swaying to an invisible beat as she worked around the baby on her hip. Danny giggled as he watched the old woman make a roux. Earning himself a peck on the head.

Contrary to what she claimed, Me-mah wasn’t hindered in the slightest, she may have been twirling around but she still held the kitchen with the same iron grip.

Even if said grip was one arm less than usual.

Bill sighed as wiped his brow,

“It ain’t like that Me-mah..”

“Oh did a saucy littl’ minx run out on you? Do in need my boomstick?”

“No No! Ain’t like that! No need for the stick!”

The lady huffed as she went to check on the stock.

“So, then what’s it like? Information is important sonny!”

Marv joined Bill on a stool before butting in,

“There ain’t a lot of information to go around mad’m.”

“Oh?”

Me-mah shifted Danny onto her other hip as she turned,

“How’s that?”

The two men shared an awkward glance as Marv continued on,

“Me-Mah I-, there’s really no easy way to put this. You see-“

“We found him in a garage can.”

Bill decided to take over,

“Had nothing on him but crusty cape.”

Me-mah stopped swaying, much to the displeasure of Danny, and with a gentle ease switched the heat to low.

“Me-mah?”

“Bill, do you mind taking back your son now?”

Bill hesitated for a second,

“He’s not really- “

“Now. William.”

Bill took back the kid.

With a deep breath Me-mah reached under her table,

“Woah Me-mah! There wasn’t shit in the alley way!”

Marv stated as he raised his hands in placating manner,

“They were long gone by the time we walked by and that was hours ago-“

“I’m well aware Marven.”

The lady loaded the auto shotgun in a precise manner,

“Like how I’m well ware I am not a bat. That being said-.”

She cocked the gun,

“If I do not work my frustrations out somewhere then I can’t exactly put my all into the cooking. The soup can simmer.The gun range will do.”

~~~~~~~~~

Ken made his way over to the other guys as they once again wrapped Danny back up in the corner. Marv stood in front of Bill, blocking sight.

“So how was every thing in the kitchen?”

“THAT GODDAM MOTHER FUCKIN’ FLOOZY!!”

Several goons flinched as buckshot could be heard making target.

A quiet muttering of Jesus Christ.. being came from the closest goon to the trio.

“WE’VE BEEN WORKING THESE STREETS FOR TO GODDAM LONG FOR DAT!!”

Bang

“WE AND THE WAYNES”

Bang

“HAVE NOT POURED OUR SWEAT AND TEARS INTO POLISHING UP THIS HELL HOLE!”

The sound of a heavy knife meeting its mark joined the fray,

“TO HAVE SUCH SHIT HAPPEN AGAIN!”

Another shot,

“Jesus fuckin’ crisis, what the fuck did you two do?!”

Ken hissed,

“What did you expect us to do? Hide something from her?”

“When it makes her this angry? Yes!”

“How could we know that she would react this way to the kid’s backstory? Marv isn’t psychic last time I checked.”

Bill finally zipped up the coat and stepped into the open.

“WE GOT BOXES FOR THIS SHIT! INSULATED!”

Bang

“BOXES!”

Bang

“WITH ALARMS!”

One last shot rang out as the old woman finally lost steam. The only thing that could be be heard was her exhausted breaths as she hobbled out of the range.

“As... interesting as that was to hear.”

A voice piped up,

“I didn’t expect such a welcome back.”

Eyes turned up to the warehouse window as the boss made his entrance.

“Everything alright Me-mah?”

The cook let out an embarrassed huff before calling back

“Nothing I can’t handle sonny. Sorry about that.”

“No problem granny, but whoever was the two idiots helping tonight, I expect you in to be in my office with a good reason.”

Fist wave of hoodlums:

@reinluna,@confused-moose-child,@mimilikey,@emeraudesfateandfandoms, @dolfay, @boredomfarie, @aconitewolfsbane, @withoutcontxt, @onyxlightdragon, @satanicrutialspecialist, @phoenixdemonqueen, @vixen-uchiha, @skulld3mort-1fan, @bytheoldwillowtree, @illusionwolfwriter24r8, @thewondersoflebanon, @vipower001, @autumnwulf, @alice-hazelwood, @fisticuffsatapplebees, @f4nd0m-fun, @markus209, @latheevening226, @dolfay, @basilf1res, @jotaroslooseeyebrowhair, @skirter01, @bun-fish, @ascetic-orange, @thegatorsgoose, @sunflowershine03, @ladythugs, @firegirl108, @glitchedchaos, @rangerhorsetug, @mimilikey, @booberrylizard, @lehana37, @dragongoblet, @flamey-comet, @mandyne-1001, @starscreamlover, @moonfirearc, @bae-graphomaniac, @mewzaque, @wolfeyedwitch, @idfk-man10, @demon-cat-goes-woof, @undead-essence, @jaguarthecat,

[lightchildofthespring]

The fantastic adventures of Takeru Takaishi

Chapter 3: Takeru's amazing (ruined) plan

{In which Takeru’s marvelous plan to save the revolutionaries doesn’t work quite as predicted and one Ken Ichijouji steals his thunder when it comes to speeches}

When Osamu told his little brother to stop working on the pepper field to join the henchmen, Ken was hesitant, but couldn't think on a good excuse to decline. It was too exhaustive to work 18 hours per day, seven days per week, on one of Yamanaka's farms, after all. And the payment of 50 cents of royale per hour was far from being enough to buy food and other necessary things from the shops controlled by Yamanaka. Since most of the population of Turtle Island worked on his farms, most of the people were indebted to him and couldn't leave their jobs; those who tried to escape without paying their debts were hunted by his henchmen and murdered as examples.

However, there was one opportunity for a simple worker to gain a bigger remuneration: to become a henchman. The problem was that a henchman's job was to assure that workers remained productive and obedient, to collect taxes and other payments and to severely punish those who didn't fall in line. That was the job Osamu had chosen. His alleged reason for working for Yamanaka was to pay their family's debt and save enough money to buy a good boat, so he and his brother could start a travelling business. For Ken, that excuse wasn't good enough. Nevertheless, it was difficult to say no to Osamu.

For that reason, he was following his brother and the other henchmen up the hill to fight the revolutionaries. Osamu insisted for Ken to carry a shotgun like his, but Ken took a small pistol instead. He wasn't planning to fire it, but his brother wouldn't like to hear that.

“Just you wait until you shoot someone for the first time, Ken. You'll see there's nothing difficult about it,” Osamu told him.

“Have you ever... killed people...?” Ken asked.

“I do my job,” Osamu said back. “If everybody just did what they were supposed to do, they wouldn't have to be punished. Honestly, it's their own fault if they get killed.”

“Was it Mom's and Dad's fault...?” Ken muttered.

Osamu turned to face him. His angry expression made Ken step back.

“Stop bringing them up!” Osamu ordered. “They shouldn't have tried to run from paying their debt! They should've paid it! If it wasn't for their transgression, maybe I wouldn't have to do this kind of job in the first place! I'm the one who provides for you, so show me some respect!”

“I do work on the farm...” Ken murmured, looking down.

“You can barely buy bread with your payment!” Osamu stated. “Which is why you should join me as a henchman already! I'll show you how there's no big deal about it!”

Ken shivered, but didn't say anything else. Osamu wouldn't listen to him, anyway.

Right before they entered the woods, someone came from among the trees. It was a young man with spiky red hair and black eyes. He stood in front of the group of 80 people and gave them a severe look.

“You should turn back right away!” the stranger told them. “You are dealing with forces you don't comprehend and your insistence on fighting the revolutionaries will bring-”

Osamu shot the stranger on the forehead before he could finish his sentence. Blood splattered from the bullet injury as the man fell on his back, completely still.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?” Ken shouted.

“I did my job,” Osamu replied, coldly.

“You just killed someone!” Ken cried. “How can you act as if that's normal?! What's the matter with you?!”

“You better stop disrespecting me, Ken! Or else!” Osamu said in a threatening tone.

However, they noticed shrieks coming from the large group around them; those men and women who usually bragged about not being scared by anything were all pointing to the stranger who had been killed not long before. Ken and Osamu turned to that direction and saw the red-haired man standing up. The bloody hole on his forehead expelled the bullet and then closed itself. He tried to wipe away some of the blood on his face, but he just spread it more.

“You're still here...?” the stranger had a confused voice. “I had never come back so fast... please, don't kill me again, otherwise-”

The henchmen discharged their weapons on the stranger as if there was no tomorrow. Maybe because they probably thought there would be no tomorrow for them if they didn't kill that thing, whatever that was.

“I-I-I must've missed the shot earlier,” Osamu muttered, shaking from head to toes, “yeah... t-that's what happened... but now we definitely killed that guy!”

“OH MY GODDESS, WHAT THE HECK?!” various people shouted, pointing at the man soaked in his own blood, who was once again rising to his feet. The henchmen tried to shoot again, but realized they were out of munition.

“You all are really inconsiderate people, you know that?!” the stranger shouted, furious. “It's my third resurrection today! THIRD! I can't wait for you to die and go to the Underworld! All the people you've killed are waiting for you there! And then, you'll understand the pain you've inflicted on so many others!”

“U-Underworld...?” Osamu asked in a weak voice. “Is he talking about Hell...? D-Did that thing come from H-Hell?!”

“It's a demon!” Someone yelled. “He's going to kill us and drag us to Hell!”

“Do you see now that you're dealing with forces you don't understand?” the red-haired man inquired. “Leave the revolutionaries alone or face the consequences!”

The henchmen all screamed and ran away. Ken was the only one left behind. He fell to his knees, shaking. What had he just witnessed?

“Nooooooooo!!!” a cry came from the woods, followed by an elegant blond man running in the direction of the person who was soaked in his own blood. “Koushiro! You ruined everything! You were supposed to deliver the inspiring speech I wrote and make them see the errors of their ways!”

Five more people followed the well-dressed young man down the hill.

“Well, our group escaped safely and those dreadful henchmen are gone,” a woman with orange hair and a gentle smile said. “The way I see, everything turned out fine. Cheer up, Takeru!”

“But my beautiful speech was never heard!” Takeru cried. “I knew I should've been the one to deliver it!”

“If you had done that, you'd be the one shot on the head,” an older blond man with a grumpy face told the younger one, “unlike Koushiro, you can't come back to life. You would've died pointlessly!”

“You don't have to be so matter-of-the-fact, Yamato...” the woman with orange hair said.

“The special protection I created worked perfectly!” a beautiful lady with shiny purple hair announced in a proud voice while approaching Koushiro.

“About that, Miss Miyako...” Koushiro murmured, taking from under his shirt what looked like a deformed piece of armor, “... you'll probably have to fix it...”

“That's easy!” Miyako dismissed. “But, tell me, how did you do that trick of faking being shot in the head? It was quite impressive, I must say.”

“I was actually shot in the head multiple times,” Koushiro told her. “I died twice.”

“Yeah, right!” Miyako laughed.

“It's true, Miyako,” a young man with dark pink hair said, “if we look around, we'll certainly find pieces of Koushiro's-”

And, at that moment, his eyes locked with Ken's. Cold sweat ran down Ken's forehead. The revolutionaries had discovered him! What would they do to someone that had stood by their enemies' side? Ken tried to remember terrifying stories about how vengeful the revolutionaries were. But the truth was that he had never actually heard any story like that. When the common folk talked about the revolutionaries, they always used the words “good-for-nothing” and “hiding among the trees.” Maybe Ken shouldn't worry too much about his fate, after all.

“There's still one henchman left!” the pink-haired guy shouted, pointing a finger at Ken, startling almost everyone else.

“You mean you hadn't seen him?” the teenager with dark hair and green eyes asked.

“Iori, you had seen him and didn't alert us?!” Miyako was alarmed.

“I thought he had surrendered or something!” Iori adopted a defensive tone. “How did nobody else notice a person kneeling on the ground?!”

“I don't know... he has kind of an unremarkable face, I guess...” the one with pink hair said.

Unremarkable? Ken couldn't accept that insult! Sure, he had trouble standing up to his beliefs and confronting people, but that didn't mean... in truth, that probably meant he was an unremarkable person. Understanding that made him depressed. Especially because the ones calling him unremarkable were the good-for-nothing revolutionaries that did nothing more than hiding among the trees all day!

“That's kind of a mean thing to say about someone, Daisuke,” the woman with orange hair told the man who had insulted Ken.

“Sora, we don't have to be nice to one of our enemies!” Yamato pointed out. Then, he got closer to Ken and pointed his shotgun to his face.

Reassessing his previous conclusion, Ken decided that maybe he should worry a bit about the revolutionaries. Or at least about the blond grumpy one pointing a shotgun to his face like some maniac.

“Wait, no! He's an ally! Or, better said, he's going to be an ally!” Koushiro shouted. The young man covered in blood ran to Ken's direction and put himself between him and Yamato. “I had a vision of him... erhm... it's kind of a random vision, actually... you were all on a ship... or a boat... and Mr. Takeru was looking at the moon and wondering in loud voice what surprising developments the trip would bring...”

“That is indeed something I do every time I travel...” Takeru admitted, looking up at the dark sky while striking a dramatic pose. Or at least that was what Ken thought he wanted to do as the younger blond man ran his fingers through his hair, shook his head slowly and then pointed at nothing specific in the dark sky. “Because life... is the greatest mystery of all...”

Ken wasn't sure what was happening. Were those fools really the revolutionaries? Even though nobody ever gave too much credit to them, Ken had always assumed they had to be minimally competent to be considered a threat to Yamanaka. But upon encountering that group, he couldn't help but wonder how they hadn't been wiped out yet? Maybe Yamanaka's men were even more incompetent than them. To realize that his oppressors weren't actually a mighty unit but a bunch of incompetent morons that could be taken down with minimal organization and effort was a bit underwhelming.

Koushiro turned to face him, like all the others were doing. But, unlike the other revolutionaries, there was no glimpse of preoccupation in his eyes, as if he was sure that Ken wasn't a threat. Koushiro intrigued him, not only because of his unexplainable resurrections, but mainly because he had the air of someone who knew a lot more than he was willing to share. It took him a few seconds to realize that the others were expecting him to say something. Unsure about what to do, Ken stood up and raised his hands above his head, as a sign that he wasn't dangerous.

“Listen, my name is Ken...” he hesitated, remembering that revealing his family name would denounce him as the brother of someone who certainly had killed several revolutionaries, “I never wanted to work for Yamanaka as a henchman... I worked on one of his farms, though... but what other choice did I have if not working for him in a way or another? He owns everything on Turtle Island! I never wanted to become a henchman, but I was coerced into joining their group anyway! I never killed anyone, though! But if I were to kill a person... it would be the bastard who had my parents murdered because they tried to run from their debts!”

Against his will, Ken let a couple of tears escape his eyes. It was never easy to remember what had happened to his family. If his parents hadn't been caught trying to escape, his predicament certainly wouldn't have been so bad. Maybe his brother wouldn't have become a murderer for the sake of taking care of him.

Yamato put down his shotgun. The threatening aura he had been exhibiting had vanished. In his blue eyes, Ken thought he had seen a glimpse of sadness and compassion.

“My parents were also killed because of debt...” Daisuke said. He approached Ken and put a hand on the newcomer's shoulder, in solidarity. “They were good people... they didn't deserve that... nobody deserves that!”

“My family is alive, but we've been persecuted too. We tried to own a small business... our goal was to sell things for affordable prices... but it got shut-down by force by those men...they broke everything we owned... Yamanaka doesn't like anyone defying his monopoly...” Miyako muttered, also approaching Ken.

“For as long as Yamanaka stays alive, everybody on Turtle Island will continue to suffer!” Sora stated, clenching her fists. Ken was taken aback by the intensity in her voice. It was if those terrible things had happened to her. Perhaps they had, to some extent.

Ken was starting to understand that the revolutionaries were normal people, just like him and everybody he knew. Of course, they suffered because of Yamanaka as well. That should make them the most motivated people to fight him. And thanks to Koushiro, who had dispersed the henchmen, there was no better time to fight that horrible man.

“Let's go kill Yamanaka!” Ken proposed. “His henchmen ran away and, from what I heard, there's only a weird monk protecting him right now! This is the best chance we'll ever have of killing him! Let's do it!”

The revolutionaries exchanged concerned looks. Koushiro paled and looked down.

“Do you think we're foolish enough to listen to someone who was our enemy a couple of minutes ago?” Iori inquired.

“We gave our comrades time to flee, our mission was accomplished!” Yamato reminded the others. “We should reunite with them now! There's no need to do anything unnecessary”

That comment ignited Ken's fury. Was it unnecessary to fight? Was it unnecessary to free Turtle Island from that tyrant?

“Oh, right! Go hide in the woods again! That's all you revolutionaries do, right?” Ken accused. “It's not like you ever bothered about helping anyone!”

“That's not true!” Sora interjected. “We've been recruiting new people and organizing our forces to prepare-”

“For how many decades have the revolutionaries been preparing?” Ken wasn't willing to back down. “How many people have died due to your inaction? How many have lost their loved ones because you weren't ready to fight? You are all a bunch of useless spineless good-for-nothings!”

Nobody contested Ken's accusations, as if deep down they already knew all that. Ken was disappointed. If they at least tried to argue, maybe he could understand the reasons for someone to stay still on the face of injustice. And then, maybe, he would have an excuse for his own life-long inaction. But the truth was that there was no excuse and it was time for Ken to take responsibility for his future instead of letting himself follow the flow. Even if he was alone, he had the moral obligation to at least try to do the right thing.

Ken was about to turn around and head towards Yamanaka's mansion when Sora suddenly spoke:

“You're right!”

Ken stopped moving. Did he hear that right? Did his unremarkable words have an effect on someone else?

“Sora, no!” Yamato protested.

“He's right! This is our best chance! We might never get one like this again!” she stated.

“It's not intelligent to invade that place without a plan!” Yamato insisted. “We should at least head back to our comrades and plan an attack!”

“That would give Yamanaka's henchmen time to regroup,” Miyako said. “This window of opportunity won't open again! We should strike now!”

“I don't like the idea of listening to an enemy but... I'll accept anything to bring justice to Yamanaka's victims!” Iori murmured, angrily.

“To me, it would be stupid to lose this chance! Think about all the people we could save if Yamanaka's rule ends tonight!” Daisuke had hope in his voice. “We can do this! We can win!”

“It's a bit sudden... but I'm all for this new development!” Takeru exclaimed. “In the end, my words really inspired transformation!”

“You mean Ken's words,” Miyako corrected him. “Nobody listened to your speech.”

Takeru had a mortified expression. Then, he looked at Ken with rage so deep that it should only be directed at the most despicable of creatures.

“It seems that there's no stopping you...” Yamato sighed. Then, he turned to Koushiro and asked: “You said we would all be on a ship, right? Does that mean that none of us is going to die tonight?”

“That's correct,” Koushiro confirmed. “You will all survive... I probably won't, though...”

“Why do you say that?” Sora asked, worried.

“That monk that is protecting Yamanaka is not an ordinary person... he's the one responsible for most of my deaths for the last centuries...” Koushiro informed the others. “He won't stop until he kills me for good.”

“Who on Earth is that monk?” Daisuke questioned. “Another demon?”

“An old enemy?” Takeru wondered. “A nemesis?”

Koushiro hesitated for a few seconds before answering:

“My best friend.”

[squeallywrites]

Promise Ch.7

The next morning, Ken woke up on the floor with a blanket thrown over him and a pile of clothes on the table. Ann’s back was against the door, clad in the garb she was wearing last night except for the jacket. The tank top showing off her lithe, strong arms. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes.

“Morning,” she said, “How’d you sleep?”

“Good.”

“That’s good. You might want to get dressed, that is unless you want N to see you stark naked,” she ended with a giggle. He smiled at her and began to get dressed. N, hair flying in all directions and clothes muddled, walked into the living room just as Ken finished with his belt.

“Good morning. Any trouble last night?” he asked in a tired voice, looking between the two

“Nope,” Ann answered, getting up from the floor.

“That’s good. When did you get back?”

“About two. There’s food in the kitchen. How’s Leo?”

“He’s good. Still asleep though. Thank God it’s over.”

“It’s not,” Ken said as he pulled his shirt over his head. As he ran a hand through his hair, trying to tame it, he made his way to the kitchen to make the coffee that Ann thankfully got last night.

“What do you mean it’s not?” N asked.

“Ken’s right. This is not over. This is a full-on zombie apocalypse. The city completely overrun last night.”

Gunshots sound in the distance, causing the three to look towards the shattered window.

Ann sighs, seemingly saddened, “Ignore it.”

“What?” N asked, “Why?”

“They’re already dead,” Ann said, her voice disheartened.

“How can you tell?” Ken questions.

She shrugs, “I can hear it,” before getting up to grab the duffle bag of weapons.

“No you can’t,” scoffs N, crossing his arms, “That’s impossible.”

“In any case, it’s deep in the city. We wouldn’t be able to get to them in time, so it’s a pointless to think of rescuing them. Why don’t you have breakfast? After everyone’s done eating, I want to go through the weapons with you lot.”

~~~~~~~~~

Ken and N were finishing their food when Leo groggily walks in from the bedroom. N sits next to the younger as he eats, eyeing Ann as he filled Leo in.

“We need to get out of here,” she whispered to Ken as he shimmies over to join her on the couch.

“I agree, but how? You’re the only one here that can actually take down a zombie by yourself,” he whispered back, “I bet they’ve taken over the entire hotel.”

“True, but when I was on the ground, I noticed one of those contraptions that’s used by window washers. I could drop you off at the bottom and have you try and find a car with its keys, but that would leave you vulnerable.”

Ken looks off as he sighs, “Well, I guess I better get moving on how to use a gun, eh?”

~~~~~~~~~

After Leo finished eating, the three gathered around Ann as she went through the shotguns, the pistols, and the rifles she got as well as how to load and how to clean them. It helps that while she was in high school, she looked into these kind of subjects, albeit for bleak desires at the time, but that was tabled when she got sick. After that, she and Ken made their way to the bathroom, leaving N and Leo to their own devices. They decide to take a shower together to ‘conserve water’ (as they told the two), but really they just wanted to be alone. Later, as Ken went into the bedroom to clean up his stuff and get a change of clothes, Ann got dressed quickly and made her way to the living room coming to a dead stop.

N was standing at the door, which was wide open, and Leo was missing.

“Where’s Leo?” Ann hissed.

N’s attention snapped to Ann.

“He went to our room to get the rest of our stuff,” he stammers.

“WHAT?! Close the door as soon as I’m out. Alert Ken,” Ann ordered as she picked a couple knives. Ann ran out of the room and quickly heads for their old room. She searches the destroyed room, not seeing him anywhere. Then a familiar yell came from the elevators.

“HELP!!”

Ann ran to find Leo hanging from the elevator’s ledge, with, of course, zombies climbing up the sides of the shaft. Grabbing his arm, Ann struggles to pull him up. As they turn, a zombie  her leg and dragged her back towards the elevator shaft. Acting as fast as she could, she screamed at Leo to run back to the room whilst trying to hold her ground against the hoard. She fought them off as best as she could, but soon she remarkably grew tired and the crowd piled on top of her, ripping and biting her flesh. Her screams reached the residents of 2601, and Ken could not stand it one more second. N tried to stop him, but to no avail. Ken grabbed a rifle before rushing the hoard atop Ann. He fought them back enough to grab her and drag her back into the room.

“CLOSE IT CLOSE IT CLOSE IT!!!” Ken screamed the second he got inside. Leo slammed the door against the corpses and N helped him brace it.

“You....idiot...” Ann breathes before she loses consciousness in Ken’s arms. Zombies pound against the main door as Ken carries her into the bedroom, gently placing her on the bed, and quickly retreating to help N and Leo fend off the hoard.

~~~~~~~~

Later that night:

Ann slowly comes to, groaning at the soreness that wracks her body. She glanced down at her body as a roaring headache throbbed in her head, she could see long, gnarled lacerations, bruises and bite marks taking up the better part of her body. It was then that she noticed Ken in a chair facing the door. He gets up from the chair to kneel beside the bed, “You’re awake,” Ken’s voice was low and full of concern, “How are you feeling?"

“Like I got ran over by 50 trains,” she replied weakly.

“Is...Is there anything I can do?” he asked.

Ann looks away, knowing the one thing he could do, which she couldn’t bring herself to do. Understanding, Ken grabs the machete he left on the chair and drags the sharp edge across his left shoulder. Deep red blood flows from the shallow cut.

“No..”

“Ann, you need to,” he reasoned as he slowly offers her the shoulder.

“No, I’m fine,” she trembled as she edged away from Ken, causing her to fall off the bed. As she attempted to crawl away, Ken gently picked her up, placing her back on the bed in his lap, “Ann, you are most definitely not fine. You’re weak and need blood.”

“No...I can’t...I...I won’t be able to stop...I’ll kill you,” she strain. Ken’s blood had completely soaked the left side of his shirt. He gave up with trying to reason and kisses her before pulling away.

“I trust you,” and with that pressed her into his shoulder, not relinquishing his grip until he felt Ann finally began to lap up his blood. He could faintly see the cuts on her legs knit together, leaving no evidence of the wounds ever being there.

“Ann…,” he said faintly.

Ann continued to drink, feeling Ken’s heartbeat slow and his grip around her waist weaken before falling away. She quickly snapped out of it and lets go of Ken as he falls back unconscious onto the bed.

“Ken?”

Not thinking, Ann’s teeth rip into her wrist, filling her mouth with blood, and then forced him to swallow. His faint heartbeat began to race. Hoping against hope, Ann cuddles close to her lover before falling asleep.

[khaosgaming22]

Blackout - A Destiny Story

“Eyes up Guardian!”

Chase flashed and hovered over his guardians bunk, attempting to wake up a half asleep Kenton. Or Ken, as he was called by his friends, a titan exo named CHAO-5 and awoken warlock named Draeko. However like Ken, he gave them nicknames because they felt they worked better in combat. Respectively, Chao and Drake.

“Wake up!”

Ken tossed a pillow at his ghost, but Chase was able to avoid the fluffy projectile. Defeated, Chase sighed and went to get Chao and Drake to have them try.

“Won’t get up eh?”, said Chao oiling his upper section of his arm. Last time he went into the crucible, he fell and hit it, ever since it’s locked up in missions. He found oiling it has helped but has refused to ask for a new arm. Usually these three stay in their ships but they were all tired and decided to crash in the bunks room at the tower. They were out running a strike on Io and it took them a while to get back to earth.

“No, I’ve been trying for 10 minutes, he’s determined.”, Chase blinked.

“Or Hungover”, lamented Chao.

“Sigh... he was drinking again?”

“Yes, I know we got some great loot last night but he needs to lay off.”, Chao replied.”

At this, Drake walked into the breakfast room, he grabbed a bagel and looked puzzled at it. “Curious, it appears to be a donut without a dough or glaze? What’s the point of eating an inferior version?”

“Good point, why would you eat it?”, Chao agreed.

“Because we wanted to eat healthily pre-traveler era.”, said Ken stumbling out.

“Look who’s up, sleeping beauty!”, Chase chided. “You need to stop drinking alcoholic beverages after every mission!”

“Shut up Alexa”

“That’s.. not my name... I don’t understand?”

“Never mind, I’m getting a waffle.”, Ken said trodding off toward the iron.

“So, what are we doing today?”, Drake said sitting down, uncomfortably on the bench attached to the table. Drake, as an awoken had been away from earths people for a while and was still adjusting to things.

“Well, i still have yet to do that quest Ada gave me, Servo, what’s my average LL?”

“You’re sitting around 597, she recommended 610”, Servo answered.

“But, we’re all at 590-600. If we all go we might be able to do it. I got the same task.”, interrupted Ken drowning his waffle in maple syrup.

Drake contemplated this, munching on his discount donut. He had the highest Light Level out of the three and though he still had to do the quest as well, he was worried at how tough it could be. Eventually he got up, stuffed the rest of the bagel in his mouth then started toward the elevator to the armory. Not that Ken or Chao noticed, they were too busy arguing about which exotic of theirs was better, Ace of Spades or Sleeper Simulant.

Drake pressed the button and the elevator door closed and whirred as it ascended. Eventually the elevator stopped and arrived at the armory, Drake stepped out and noticed someone moving crates of weapons around.

“Good morning.”, called the warlock.

“Ah, good morning, you’re here early. Pardon the dust just organizing some boxes of rifles!”

It was Shaxx, overseer of the crucible, awoken can get pretty tall, but even standing several feet apart, Drake seemed tiny compared to the boisterous titan.

“Just checking out my weapons.”, Drake explained.

“Going on another mission?”, Shaxx said putting down a crate.

“Depends, I want to check my gear to make sure I can carry my team if I need to.”, Drake replied. “My Well of Radiance can only do so much, I want to see what my new weapons have in the way of perks. Eve?”

“Yes?”, the ghost said blinking into existence.

“Can you check what the stats on these weapons are?”

“Certainly.”, the ghost replied.

“You have the primary Assault rifle, Breakneck, the Shotgun, Retold Tale and the Sniper Rifle,Whisper of the Worm. All in the 590-605 range.”, Eve counted.

“As for my Gear, I have some good stuff, it seems and the Sunbracers for gloves.”

“Seems like I should get ready and tell them.”, said Drake returning his ghost.

<========================>

“All right, ready to go?, said Chao getting in his ship. Drake and Ken replied with a thumbs up from their cockpits and the sound of their engines filled the hangar.

After a while the three of them are on there way to the EDZ and start up a conversation about their favorite weapons. The three may be very different in origin and history but the one thing they have in common is their love of rare weapons and other personal items. Ken asks what Drake’s is “being a warlock”.

“What’s that supposed to mean Cowboy?”, says Drake alluding to the hunters choice of subclass Gunslinger.

“Nothin��� but we both agree that we have very different styles when it comes to fighting.”, the hunter replied with a smirk.

“I probably would go with Prometheus Lens, it goes well with my solar subclass and it’s great for add clearing.”

“Yeah”, interjected Ken, “It used to be even better, but it was such a problem the Vanguard had to tell Banshee to mod them so people couldn’t take advantage of it!”

“Oh yeah, Banshee had a lot of work to do that week!”

“What about you, Chao?, what’s your favorite exotic?”, asked Ken slowly moving his hand toward the throttle.

“That’s a tough one, I think if I had to pick one it would we my...”

“Yeah whatever, RACE YOU TO THE EDZ!!!”, Ken yelled into his com, shut it off then pulled on the throttle sending his ship into a nosedive.

“YOU SON OF A!”-

“That little...”

The three ships raced toward the landing zone north of Trostland and the warlock, titan and hunter appeared on the surface transmatting from thin air.

“I totally beat all of you!”

No you didn’t, I clearly won that!”

“WOULD YOU TWO STOP ARGUING!”, Drake shouted.

“Let’s just get to the location on the map.”

“Fine”

“Okay”

<========================>

“Well, here’s the spot.”

“A cave...at the edge of the EDZ...what’s the point here cause I’m sure missing it?”, Ken said shouldering his rocket launcher.

“What’s that in the center?”

“I think that’s what we’re here for, hey Ada?”

“HOW DID YOU GET ACCESS TO...oh it’s you 3..sorry, reflex. Ahem, that is a forge, your job now that you have that frame, is to forge the Machine Gun.”

“You need to collect charges and put them into the forge before time runs out, otherwise the forge won’t complete.”

“Sounds simple enough, just chuck some balls at the thing in the center and BAM! free loot!”, said an excited Ken racing toward the forge.

“WAIT!”, Ada shouted.

It was too late, the forge turned on and Cabal came charging through the caves for the 3 of them.

“YOU IDIOT!”, shouted the angry Awoken, “She was about to mention the danger!”

“You guys we’re taking too long we’ll be fi-

SMACK!, a gladiator Cabal smashed the frail hunter into an adjacent cave wall.

“Ugh what did he do now?”, lamented Chase reviving his dead guardian.

“He poked a hornets nest, he rushed in without a plan what do you think he did?!”

“-ne, what happened? Did we win?

“NO, you rushed in without a plan and died to a Space Turtle. Stop doing that!”

“You guys worry too much, I’m fine as long as I have Chase!”

“AND WHAT IF IM NOT?!”, yelled Chase at his guardian shotgunning a Cabal.

“What?”

“What if I’m not able to revive you? What if im not there to? What then?!”

“I’ll be fine.”, Ken replied reloading his Handcannon.

“I always think of a way out of things-

“No...your friends do...I do.”, Chase said sulking away.

“I’ll be fine without him...”

————————————————

“Good thing you have that Well of Radiance D! This is getting rough!”

“Im also 5 levels above you!”, the warlock responded taking a shot at the centurion.

“Hey, is...where’s Chase going?”, asked Drake.

“Huh?”

“Chase! Wait!”

“Leave me alone...”, Chase called turning away.

“What’s wrong?”, Chao pryed shooting a psion.

“What’s wrong is my guardian is an incompetent buffoon who insists on getting himself killed and never thanking the person that revives him over and-“

“Guardian down!”, said Servo announcing his Titan’s death.

“Anyway, he clearly doesn’t need me, so I’m just gonna watch you two.”, Chase declared, if he had arms, they would be crossed.

“Jeez, that hurt, hey, my super’s almost ready!”, said Chao.

“I’ve got a while before mines ready, what about yours Ken?”, Drake asked over comms.

Ken was busy lining up shots with his hand cannon as its bullets made contact with the hard skulls of Cabal. Then he was struck with a blast from a Cabal gun and fell to the ground losing his grip on his revolver.

“Ken!”, said Chao rushing over to help.

Chao slammed the Centurion with a shoulder charge and rushed over to put up his barrier.

“Servo! Can you help him?”

“I just revived you, it’ll be a while before I can.”, replied his ghost.

“and Drake just got revived by Eve...”

The titan looked at the angry ghost in the corner of the cave.

“What?...No, NO! N-O, NO!”

“Come on Chase he’s your guardian!”

“Not until he apologizes, oh wait he can’t..HE’S DEAD!”

“Sigh...we need him for this man! You’re the only one who can do it!”

Chase looked at the cloak being stomped on by Cabal. Then his guardians cloak moved just enough to reveal his handcannon. He could see the engravings of crashing waves making up the texture of the grip on the weapon. He stopped and looked around then finally replied with, “You cover me while I bring him back.”

Soon the hunter was back, he looked at his ghost and started to apologize.

“Listen, I’m sorry for acting like an idiot... Sometimes I just get distracted or pissed off, but...thank you for bringing me back..”

“Alright, I’m sorry too... I know you can’t help it it’s in your nature to rush into things, always has been-

“Always will be, but I’ll try to not get myself killed as much from now on okay?”

“Thank you”

“Now let’s kick some Cabal a**!”

————————————————

The three were on the final part of the forge and were having trouble killing the Warden, putting as many shells and rounds into it as they could but to no avail.

“I think this is why Ada told us to be at 610!”, Chao said putting up his barrier.

“Hey! Let’s pool our supers together and take this guy down, we got this!”, Ken replied.

“Sounds good to me, any objections?...no...okay!”

The Warlock summoned his Dawnblade engulfed in solar light hot as Sol itself as the Titan rushed over and put up his Ward of Dawn. The blade slammed into the cave floor, creating a spiraling Well of light as the purple tint of the Titans shield encased the two blocking shots from the Centurion. Finally the Hunter slid in front of the bubble and called his Golden Gun. After firing 6 shots from the Revolver encased in light empowered by the Well, the Warden was almost down. The three took out their power weapons and blasted what was left of the armor off the Cabal as it fell to the cavern floor.

[zacklover24]

Fallout OCs master list

@ahzrukahl

‘I‘ve already lost my father, my mother, my home I'm not going to lose you or anyone again!’

Name: Roy

Gender: Male

Age: 29

Height: 5’6

Body type: Athletic

Hair: onyx black hair done in a layer undercut.

Eyes: Thin Almond Blue eyes

Clothes: Vault 101 suit and leather armour

Weapons: Lever action shotgun, laser pistol, baseball bat

Face Claim: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Father: James(Dead)

Mother: Catherine( Dead)

Husband: Charon

Skills: Sewing, cooking, medical knowledge, shooting, and lock picking.

S: 4

P:4

E:4

C:5

I:10

A:4

L:3

Skills: Barter,  medicine, repair, speech and science

Bio: Roy was born in vault 101 twenty-nine years agos. Roy grew in the safety and the peace of the his vault, where he expected to die. At sixteen Roy, GOAT told him, he was set to be the next doctor of the vault, and Roy was happy with that. But then Roy’s father James feld the vault, and Roy went after him. Roy would be lying if didn’t struggle or was afraid when he first stepped out of the vault. But with a hell of lot of luck and hell lot of help Roy made it. Along the way Roy made friends, and enemies and found a lover in his ghoul bodyguard Charon.

Charon and Roy carved a bloody path in there quest to save James and to defeat the enclave. After Roy killed Colonel Autumn, Roy entered project purity and brought clean water to Capital. But not without losing part of himself.

Ten years later, Roy has helped to make Capital better than it was. Roy with the help of the ghouls in the underworld and the BOS has helped to create thriving area of trade, technology, and settlements. But Elder Maxson sights have turned to Commonwealth and now he wants Roy and Charon to come with him.

***************************************************************************

‘The house may always win but this time I won and he died.’

Name: Vic short for Victorian

Gender: Female

Age: 30

Job: former Courier for the Mojave Express, is the head of the New Vegas Strip

Height: 5’9

Body type: Athletic

Hair: bright red, done in a fishtail

Eyes: Round green eyes

Clothes: Ncr ranger armour

Weapons: Lever action shotgun, plasma rifle, and combat knife

Face Claim: Julianne Moore

Father: ?

Mother: ?

Husband: Benny

Son: Benny jr

Skills: Sewing,  shooting, and lock picking.

S: 4

P: 6

E:5

C:5

I: 7

A:4

L:10

Skills: Energy weapons, barter, lockpick, and melees weapons

Bio: Vic was born somewhere up past new reno. She doesn't talk much about her past or she can recall from past. She got work the Mojave express running packages for them. One day she was sent to deliver a package from mr. House when she was ambushed by Benny and his gang and shot twice in the head and left in the shallow grave in goodsprings. Thankful Victor and the good doctor fixed her up.

With a lot of luck and some skills she was able to kill house, get the chip, kill Caesar, give the khans peace, make the strip and freeside one, defeat the legion at the dam and become the ruler and mary Benny and now they have a son. Vic has survive big mountain has found and survived the Sierra Madre, came and went to the divide and is friends with the burned man.

***************************************************************************

‘ I'm not as innocent or has prue as people may think I am.’

Name: Angel Gray

Gender: Female

Age: 219

Height: 5’3

Body type: Athletic

Hair: Pastel blue, done in Dutch braid

Eyes: Thin almond blue

Clothes: vault 111 suit, a plaid shirt, jeans, her uncles old army jacket, army hamlet later the silver shroud hat

Weapons:  10mm pistol, righteous authority, and baseball bat with nails

Face Claim: Sophie Cookson

Father:  The admiral

Mother:  Lucy Lyons

Uncle: Staff- sergeant Ken Gray

Brothers: Charon and Shaun

Pets: red wolf Dog named hades

Boyfriend: Elder Maxson

Skills: Shooting, boxing, lock picking

S: 3

P: 6

E:5

C:5

I: 6

A:7

L: 8

Bio: Angel was born prewar in Boston, she lived in sanctuary hills with her uncle and Charon. Her father was busy working at the sub base in Bar Harbour and her mother waa big time lawyer in DC. Angel was anything but good girl she got into trouble a lot from starting fights at school to defacing public property. If it wasn't for her uncle and a detective named Nick Valentine she would have been in more trouble. Nick gave angel a job at the station he worked at, along with being an ear for her talk to and it helped angel.

The day the bombs dropped angel, her uncle and Shaun were heading to bar harbour for the admiral ball but then the sirens went off and they booked it to the vault. Angel watched in horror as kellogg killed her uncle and took Shaun. Now she is on the hunt with her dog hades, Danse, a synth named nick she hopping to get to the bottom of this mess.

There is a part of Maxson that stills loves and misses Sarah Lyons. He never got over her death, he's tried but no one could really fill the gape in his heart. Now Angel comes along, native and fresh from vault 111, they by chance and maybe Arthur thinks he found someone to help him. But here's the thing angel doesn't get it. Arthur could have any women be wants so why here? Because she looks like Sarah.

****************************************************************************

‘ I am only afraid of two things deathclaws and ranger knight and fuck the brotherhood of steel.’

Name: Ranger Lupus

Age: 24

Height: 5’6

Gender: Female

Hair: sun bleached blonde  and the sides had been shaved off leaving the top alone. The back of her hair was tied into a small ponytail.

Eyes: Round steel grey

Face claim: scarlett johansson

Scars:   The three scars which looked like cawl marks ran from the top left corner of her forehead, across her nose and ended at the bottom right corner of her mouth, missing left arm from the elbow down

Tattoos: on left shoulder down to elbow deathclaw hand, back from next her neck starts to where her jeans starts is a pattern of black diamonds followed by white dots, right shoulder to elbow a ghost of she.

Pre-war Prosthetic left arm

Body type: lean with muscle and heavily tanned

Gear: Ncr ranger combat armour, colt 45, anti material rifle from, cosmic knife

Animal's: night stalker named venom, Appaloosa horse named mustang

Goal: broker a peace between the rangers and bos of the east even if it means wooing elder Maxson

Skills: Sewing, medical know how, tracking, hunting, barter, speech, and repair

Bio: Luna was born in the capital wasteland. Her mother and father were both paladins. They were both killed by super mutants when she was very young. After there death elder lyons took luna under his wing. She trained hard and strong to become a field scribe and was close to Arthur Maxson.

But then one day while she and Maxson were on patrol a deathclaw attacked and luna lost her left arm. Lyons had the scribes find her a pre-war prosthetic arm. But the damage was done and luna no longer trusted Maxson.

Some time later the elders of the east coast chapter hated how much there soon to be leader cared about luna. Luna was nothing more than a scribe and he was going to be an elder. They plotted, and knew that even those luna lost her trust in Maxson she still loves him. To make sure they didn't became something the elders sent her to the Mojave, seeing as she being tossed aside luna left faking her death.

The leader of the rangers listened to luna story and saw she had what it would take to be a ranger. She passed the training and gained a new arm and was given a mentor in ranger knight. Luna has survived zion, survived the Seria Medrea and a hero the dam.

Awards and accommodations: field scribe for the brotherhood of steel, veteran of the battle for hoover dam, veteran of the helios one battle, savior of zion, helper of waking cloud, personal friend of Joshua Graham aka the burned man, savior of New Canaan, tammer of the night stalker, killer of the salver centurion dead eye, champion of the throne, killer of salt-upon-wounds, and liberator of the dead eye slaves

[anrbackchannels]

Blog Update: I Won A GNK!

It was a couple weekends ago, but I haven’t had the time to write this up until now.  It was a small event, just 4 people. I brought Ken Tenma and Titan Transnational.  My decks’ theme being: “Try to keep up.”  Yeah, my decks have themes and aren’t just the best 45 cards I can fit with an ID.  My headcanon is that Tenma watches way too many old action movies and imitates the hyper-masculine protagonists in a misguided effort to be cool.  I included a tri-maf contact in the deck so there would be someone to roll their eyes whenever he said a cheesy one-liner.  Speaking of which:

Round 1:

“I’m gonna take you to the bank, Mr. Yale... the blood bank.” - Ken “Express” Tenma

Game 1: Ken Tenma vs Titan Transnational

My only loss.  Tenma got a few agendas early with some well placed inside jobs, but my opponent managed to score an atlas from hand.  A powered up Aumakua gave me access to centrals for a few turns until my opponent drew an IP block.  I didn’t think they were running boom, but I should’ve known better.  I ran through the ICE, hoping to win ASAP, and piled up tags for a bunch of fruitless equivocation runs on r&d.  It ended with a bang! Errr.. Atlas counter for Boom!

Game 2: Titan Transnational vs Steve Cambridge w/Aesop’s (so-called “Griftershop” deck)

Titan went fast, hemorrhaging agendas the whole way.  We both got to game point before I was able to FA the last agenda.  Steve got a lot of recursion value for Aesop because I only iced hq for the last turn of the game, but all those credits didn’t end up being very relevant in the end.

Round 2:

“I’m here to kick ass and play cards...  and I’m all out of cards.” -Ken “Express” Tenma (holding a shotgun in Jinteki HQ)

Game 3: Ken Tenma vs Jinteki: Potential Unleashed

An early employee strike allowed me to run everything my opponent put in their remote without decking myself.  Mongoose and Faeries made it easy to run through Komainu a dozen times.  I spent most of this game clicking for credits, drawing cards, and running the remote; playing as slowly and carefully as I could manage.  Since my opponent never scored a House of Knives, I was able to afford some R&D runs with equivocation.  I won the game by snagging a Philotic of the top of R&D with only a couple cards left in my deck.

Game 4: Titan Transnational vs Exile w/ Aesop’s

I put an Atlas in the remote on turn one, exposing myself to an indexing which cost me an Atlas.  Regretful, but I think I came out ahead on that exchange.  MVP was probably Illegal Arms Factory.  This card fed me cards and credits to keep my tempo up, threatening a score each turn by jamming something in the remote.  I got two atlas tokens, but my opponent got the other atlas and my hostile takeovers.  I ended up waiting two turns to draw one of the cards needed to win and burn my atlas tokens.  I scored a Global Food Initiative from hand with Red Planet Couriers for the win.  My opponent whiffed on two indexing attempts in the course of the game- but their chances weren’t great on the last one with 6 agendas scored/stolen, one dumped in archives, and half my deck left to go.

Round 3:

“Evil ‘round every corner… Careful not to step in any.” -Ken “Express” Tenma

Game 5: Titan Transnational vs Sunny Lebeau

Luckily for me, Sunny had a hard time finding all her breakers and didn’t get her Nexus up and running.  I had a pretty perfect draw on the other hand and rushed out pretty cleanly.

Game 6: Ken “Express” Tenma vs Pālana Foods

My opponent was on a glacier strategy with Grail ice.  I sniped two Niseis with Inside Jobs + Aumakua.  My opponent purged every other turn, trying to make a scoring window, while I pressured centrals with my piecemeal rig, picking up a GFI.  I installed a political operative to stop the Batty in his remote and trashed my Same Old Thing for another Inside Job. I used all my credits during the last run on the five ice remote and had to trash Abagnale to pass the last piece of ice to pick up the winning agenda.  I just so happened to have all the answers when I needed them.

[ethanalter]

'Marvel's Inhumans': 5 reasons why I'm still watching

Black Bolt (Anson Mount) and Medusa (Serinda Swan) reunite on tonight’s Inhumans. (Photo: Karen Neal/ABC)

Hello, my name is Ethan Alter and I’m the sole person at Yahoo Entertainment who’s still watching Marvel’s Inhumans. No, this isn’t a cry for help; it’s a conscious choice, and I’m satisfied with it. Not satisfied with the show, mind you. No, Inhumans hasn’t improved very much (if at all) from its two-hour pilot, which deservedly earned across-the-board pans from the rest of my colleagues. Even then, though, I had an inkling I’d be sticking with it. And it’s not because I’m a die-hard Marvel TV zombie; after all, I bailed on ABC’s flagship Marvel series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., way back at the end of its largely terrible first season and never looked back, despite its apparent creative improvement. So what is it about Inhumans that has earned my grudging allegiance? In advance of tonight’s fifth episode, which my DVR is ready and waiting to record, I’ve jotted down five reasons why I’m riding shotgun with Black Bolt and the rest of his Attilan royal family until the bitter end.

1. I’m already halfway through I’ve watched — or, to be more honest, half-watched — all 22 episodes of Season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the entire 13-episode run of Netflix’s Iron Fist. Compared with those endurance tests, completing Inhumans‘ 8-episode arc is the equivalent of a single lap around the jogging track. Heck, I was already a quarter of the way through after finishing the pilot alone, and last week’s episode brought me to the halfway point. Four more weeks seems like an easy sprint, compared to the many miles I had left to go with the resurrected Agent Coulson at this point in S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s first season.  

2. My new favorite game is “Where’s Lockjaw?” Marvel famously gave Inhumans a splashy launch, with a pre-premiere IMAX theatrical release designed to showcase its Hawaiian locations and splashy (for TV anyway) special effects. The intended crown jewel of those effects was Lockjaw, a plus-size teleporting pup created entirely via not entirely convincing CGI. Following that premiere, the per-episode budget took a noticeable dip, and rumors flew that Lockjaw would be sent to the doghouse to keep costs down. So far, at least, the canine star is still in the picture, but very rarely on camera.

Crystal (Isabelle Cornish) and her trusty teleporting dog, Lockjaw. (Photo: ABC/Marvel)

In the third episode, for example, Lockjaw got injured when a motorcyclist collided with his large frame. (Though considering his size, one would think that the accident would hurt the motorcycle a lot more than Lockjaw.) And last week, that same cyclist, Dave (Chad Buchanan), transported the dog to his barn for a house call by his ex-girlfriend, who also randomly happened to be a veterinarian. Besides sidelining Lockjaw from using his expensive powers, this storyline also allows the show to leave him out of the frame completely while still being a presence. We knew Lockjaw was injured because we hear whimpering from off-camera and, likewise, we knew he was on the mend when the sound of his contended snoring filled Dave’s barn. You gotta give the Inhumans folks credit: It’s hard to hide a 2,000-pound dog, but they’ve found a way.

3. I want to hear Black Bolt’s first words One could argue that Anson Mount has the easiest job on TV right now, since he doesn’t have to remember any lines to play Black Bolt, who remains silent due to the destructive power of his voice. On the other hand, he does have to always remember to keep his jaw from opening too widely, lest it look like he’s sneaking an accidental whisper or yawn that should theoretically cause a minor sonic boom. (I’m pretty sure I caught him letting out a gasp following that gas tank explosion he helped cause last week.) As the show’s endgame approaches, a face-off between Black Bolt and his usurper on the Attilan throne, Maximus (Iwan Rheon, aka Ramsay Bolton), is inevitable, and that’s where it seems most likely for him to use his super-powered voice, despite Marvel TV head honcho Jeph Loeb’s insistence that the silent act will continue up until the time the credits roll on the final episode. I just hope that Mount’s one and only line this season will be worth the wait. You know, something more creative than, “Hey, look over there! It’s Lockjaw!”

Hawaii is a guest star on both Lost and Inhumans. (Photo: ABC/Marvel)

4. I’m holding out for more Lost cameos Seven years after the end of Lost, we finally know what heavenly paradise the formers residents of Mystery Island visit after they die: the moon-based kingdom of Attilan. At least, that’s where Miles Straume (Ken Leung) ended up, now going by the name of Karnak and in possession of psychic powers. But Leung’s not the only Lost veteran to find his way into the Inhumans-verse. Henry Ian Cusick brings his button-mashing abilities to the guest spot role of geneticist Evan Declan, who appears to have unsuspectingly forged an alliance with Maximus. And then there’s Hawaii itself, with its lush island backdrops arguably serving as the biggest star of both shows. Just think of the Lost-ies that can still drop by before the finale: Nikki and Paulo! Danielle Rousseau! Evangeline Lilly! (Well no, not her. She’s safely ensconced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which prefers to carry on as if these TV adventures don’t exist.) At the very least, I want a very special appearance by the Hatch.

5. It’s still better than Iron Fist! Between Iron Fist and Inhumans, Scott Buck has the distinction of overseeing two of the least-liked Marvel series so far. In a choice between Black Bolt and Danny Rand, though, it’s not even a close competition: Hail to the king (of Attilan), baby. Watching Inhumans strive to be a Game of Thrones-meets-X-Men hybrid and fall well short is a lot more entertaining than the slogging through Iron Fist‘s weak approximation of classic martial arts movies. Not for nothing, but if Danny can fail upwards into a second season, shouldn’t Black Bolt as well? On second thought, it’s probably best to leave Inhumans as a one-and-done affair. Even I would probably decline Lockjaw’s offer to teleport back to the moon for more adventures.

Marvel’s Inhumans airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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[the-record-columns]

Aug. 21, 2019: Columns

The candy cooler is wedged between Coca-Cola and Pepsi coolers at the offices of The Record and Thursday Printing.

 From NASCAR to Whitman Chocolates

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

A couple of years ago I received a call from the folks at NASCAR Race Hub about a piece they were producing on Junior Johnson.

It had to do with the 50th anniversary of Thomas Wolfe’s article in Esquire dubbing Johnson as “The Last American Hero.” Since Johnson and Wolfe were still alive and kicking at the time (Thomas Wolfe died in May 2018), it seemed like a good idea to me, too, and one with plenty of folks to interview.

Which brings me to me. They asked if they could interview me, to which I replied “Why?” When they said that someone had suggested me to them, I said “But, I am not a NASCAR fan.” They said that didn’t matter, and, to make a long story short, I told them to come on, and they did.

On the appointed day, the crew arrived and it was clear they had been to the rodeo before. They set about making my mess of an office suitable for an interview, and soon it began. I politely explained to them that, when they took the race away from our speedway here, I was through with them; that they had “…gotten above their raising” so to speak; “…forgot who brought them to the dance,” well, you get the idea.

 The interview lasted nearly an hour, but I want to share just two items with you today. When asked what I admired most about Junior Johnson I quickly told them it went right back to my comment about losing our race in Wilkes. Junior Johnson is still loyal to those who made him famous and has not forgotten where he came from. He is still humbled and thankful for it all. I told them how Junior would take a phone call from anyone, that The Record has asked him to make an appearance off and on through the years, and he never turned us down if he could possibly schedule it-even to coming to the retirement of a rural mail carrier whose only request for his special day was to shake hands with Junior Johnson.

The other part of the interview I want to share concerned the author of the Esquire piece, Thomas Wolfe. The NASCAR folks told me that Wolfe had referred to the people of Wilkes County as standoffish and unfriendly. I quickly took great exception with that, and recommended that they tell Wolfe to keep his happy ass in New York where he belonged. I went on to suggest to the TV crew in my office to pull their van off on the 421 By-Pass as they left town, and cut on their emergency flashers. I assured them that not three minutes will have gone by until someone stops to see if they need some help. I ended that part of the interview by telling them that if someone in Traphill answers the door at midnight with a shotgun in hand, “…that’s not standoffish-that’s just cautious.”

And now to Whitman’s Chocolate.

There will be more on the the machine pictured on this page later, but today I want to focus on getting it into the offices of The Record. There is still no substitute for dumb luck, but a chance encounter with a collector friend of mine led me to this beautiful late 40’s edition of the Whitman Chocolate company’s refrigerated answer to being unable to sell chocolate year-round in the South. It is an amazing piece, 100 percent intact, six feet long, 30 inches wide, five feet tall, top-heavy and as awkward as can be to move, and weighed what seemed to be a ton.

Having done the work to make a place for something this large in my somewhat crowded offices, I was determined to move it in the same day. I enlisted one of my helpers at the time, who I had personally seen pick up a washing machine by himself and carry it across a large warehouse floor without even taking a deep breath. However, when he hunkered down to pick up one end of this cooler, he stood right up and said, “I’ve got to call by buddy, Hoss.”

Well Hoss is named right and, along with the help of another total stranger who randomly saw we had a struggle going on, the beautiful, historic Whitman’s Chocolate cooler/display case, originally in the Horton’s Drug Store on Main Street, was installed in its place of honor here at The Record.

 Bear in mind that these two guys who made this move bearable were total strangers to me, one of which I didn’t even get his name. When the job was done, and, I must add that the inside the office part of the job was no piece of chocolate itself; neither of the two Good Samaritans would take a penny for helping and even turned down my offer of taking them to lunch.

Just glad to help, they both said.

I am convinced that these two Wilkes County guys would have been the very ones who would stop to give assistance to the NASCAR Race Hub crew in their white van on the 421 By-Pass.

Or even Thomas Wolfe.

Bibi, RIGHT for Israel. LEFT to disaster

By AMBASSADOR EARL COX and KATHLEEN COX

Special to The Record

In politics as in life, there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Moses expressed it well just prior to leading the people of Israel into the Promised Land. To Moses it was clear. There is a way leading to blessing and a way that brings a curse.

Times have changed, but the Torah has not. A unique phase for Israel having an unprecedented second election within a year, means this is a momentous time for Israel to get it right just as in the old days. This is a time to forge together, to form the necessary coalition, and to forge ahead in congruence with the prime minister.

Yet, Israel is not a Torah-run government. This is reserved for only certain segments of Israeli society and the government must accommodate them as well as those who are not Torah observant, including middle-of-the-roaders. Additionally, those on the left where the gas gauge reads empty (meaning they have nothing beneficial to offer), these citizens are also represented by the government though they are more difficult to appease.  This is due, in part, to the left being less realistic about the real world and especially about Israel. Worse yet is a circulating report alleging Israeli police are being controlled by political leftists and in collusion with the media. According to a political analyst, they have a type of agenda to bring down Netanyahu and his government. If this is the case, then Netanyahu has formidable leftist opponents who have brought indictment and fraud charges against him that may be considered frivolous. How far do such hijinks go?

The current prime minister continues as a very favorable leader, standing on his long-proven record of solid leadership bringing Israel among the top tiers of the world in agriculture, technology, business, medicine and others. He is rational during emotional, national crisis such as the handling of Gaza and other potentially explosive situations yet people are quick to criticize him. The highest leaders of any government always have more intelligence information than the popular press and therefore are better positioned to call the shots. The prime minister is not weak nor fearful of Israel’s enemies. He consistently chooses the path which will cause the least amount of harm to the Israeli people while at the same time leading the world’s most moral army in defensive conflicts.

Given the unusual complexity of geopolitics, he is careful and has deftly made his way through the complex and tight web of international relations. He has positioned Israel in such a way as to be on speaking terms with those who, just a few years ago, would view this as unthinkable.

The most vociferous dissent against Netanyahu might be his handling of domestic issues. This is an issue not uncommon in many other countries. With a steady hand, Netanyahu has adroitly handled societal and cultural issues that pop-up unexpectantly during any administration. 

As with other nations, Israel’s domestic issues include citizenship, cultural and ethnic issues, and fiscal issues that realistically cannot satisfy everyone. These things always have a way of being chronic and worthy of news stories everywhere. A major difference between Israel and her neighbors is that Israel permits opinions to be freely expressed and not suppressed. 

When engaged in battle or conflict, the old adage that it is better to know the person you’ve got than to take a chance with the person you don’t know, is particularly pertinent to Israel.  This tiny nation, surrounded by hostile enemies on every side, cannot afford to lose even one war. Netanyahu’s has been steady and very statesman-like. His opposition possesses no similar record of experience. One wrong move to the left could lead to disaster. Leftist views tend to keep going left, too bizarre to be realistic. 

U.S. President Trump has not released his version of what is being called the most comprehensive Middle East Peace plan to date. Though there is obvious synergism between Netanyahu and Trump, Netanyahu has been quiet prior to hearing and reviewing the full version. This is a sign of both deliberation in judgment and wisdom as taught in Pirke Avot, commonly known as Ethics of the Fathers.

All Israeli voters should also be deliberate and consider that going right trumps moving to left in order to avoid disaster.

 A visit to the Rosemary House

By CARL WHITE

Life in the Carolinas

Not long ago, we were filming on location in Pittsboro, at the Rosemary House Bed and Breakfast.

We were on the front porch capturing a scene of a couple in rocking chairs; they were enjoying the calming effect of rocking, a refreshing beverage, conversation, and the gentle awareness of life passing by. Everything was going well, and as soon as we finished, I heard one of the people in the rocking chair say, “A big bird just landed behind Carl.”

Being mindful of the idea that if a big wild bird had indeed landed behind me, I should move slowly.  So, I did, and while turning, I retrieved my cell phone from my pocket and turned on the camera so that as I turned, the camera would see what I was seeing. As I turned, I saw a healthy full-grown hawk within six to eight feet away. He had landed with a squirrel, and the power of the talons of the bird was evident as the squirrel had lost whatever battle the two may have had.

We witnessed a hawk having dinner rather than the keen hunting skill of this raptor. None the less it was a captivating moment in time. I was able to capture about six minutes on my phone, and we were also able to move one of the professional cameras in place to capture the moment. We were amazed at the hawk’s ability to keep an eye on everything going on and not fly away. That is until Wilma the cat came sneaking around the corner. When Wilma was within striking distance; the hawk took to flight with his remaining dinner.  

The hawk would continue his meal elsewhere, Wilma went from stalking mode to cute kitty mode, and we humans would talk about the wonders of nature. We would go on to have a good evening of production along with the following day. It’s always amazing at how many hours we work for a four- to six-minute segment on TV.

Producing a destination segment always involves at least two trips, and sometimes more. It all depends on the angle of the story. The first trip is always about getting to know the property and the owners or managers.

Travel adventures take many forms, and when we discover a new place, we are not entirely sure what we are going to experience. It’s when we wake up that first morning after what was hopefully a restful night that we begin to form our opinions. That would be, of course, if the rooms were adequately cleaned and comfortable when we first check-in.

When you travel often, there are times you need a place to shower and get some rest before you get back on the road. Then there are times that our lodging needs to be a place to relax and rejuvenate.

Maybe it’s your home base for exploring an area or a destination family reunion. In those cases, the importance and expectation of lodging are elevated to a much higher level. It may not be that you need a five-star location. However, you may need a space that offers a lot of flexibility.

The Rosemary House is exceptional for a variety of reasons. The home has historical significance, the rooms are clean and comfortable, and breakfast is fresh and tasty. Breakfast is made with you in mind.

If you have specific dietary needs, they do their best to meet your expectations. That’s reason enough to make me want to stay again. But they have something extra special. They are also home to Kindred Art Gallery. Folk Art from several noted artists are on display throughout the house, so if you enjoy folk art you are in for a big treat.

I love the idea of being able to live with art for a few days. If you like what you see you can buy a piece and take it home with you.  The owners, Jamie and Heather Buster, do have a few personal pieces on display; however, everything else is for sale as part of The Kindred Gallery collection.

You may or may not see the hawk when you visit. You can enjoy the walkable streets of Historic Downtown Pittsboro. You can enjoy the delightful Rosemary House B & B and Kindred Art Gallery and now and then I’ll be around, and we can have a cup of handcrafted Poppysol tea.

Wilma, I don’t think he’s going to let you have that squirrel.

Carl White is the Executive Producer and Host of the award-winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In The Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its 10th year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturday’s at noon and My 12. The show also streams on Amazon Prime. For more information visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com. You can email Carl at Carl@lifeinthecarolinas.com

[xoleahbeanxo]

Okay, so since July 25th I’ve been playing a game called Fortnite every day. I have it for my PS4 and I’ve literately have not missed playing this game. I love it so much. It’s like State of Decay, had coffee with Pixar, on it’s way to meeting with Fable and Minecraft. They later got drunk, had the wildest, most passionate loving making experiences ever and 9 months later they gave birth to...you guessed it. Fortnite. There are four main characters (there’s a whole lot more, but they use four for the marketing.) AC. He’s a treasure hunter and an outlander that deals fantastic damage with pistols and toys. Ken, He’s a ninja, he will straight up shred you with his swords and throwing stars. The lovely Ramirez,  who wheels and deals damage with her Assault rifles and grenades. And the big beautiful Penny on the end. She’s a constructor, if you need a fort safe from the husks, then she’s gonna drop the BASE to keep it safe.

Now I know what you’re thinking. They only have the 4 characters? NOPE, if you don’t like these four, they have multiples of each class in many different races to chose from and I love them all. Check them out here. https://fortnite.gamepedia.com/Heroes

What’s the appeal beyond the beautiful animated graphics and the wonderful cast of characters? Everything. The third person combat and action is so fun, it’s good to try different character because they do so many different things. Learn how to build the best forts to keep the Husks from wrecking your shit so you lose the match.

Another fun thing, you don’t have to play alone. Each match loads you in with 3 other people all working for the same goal. Now I’ll be honest, some players are duds, that’s the way of online play but I’ve met some really good people on there that always helps when they can. It’s giving be a new outlook upon playing solo versus playing online. Still you can play solo, they give you these AI characters called defenders that you can level up and evolve into your own personal army.

Drawbacks; There’s a few, what game doesn’t have them nowadays? The biggest one is this is a pay to play early access on a game that will be free to play. I know you’re turned off but listen...these guys are doing a fantastic job. This is the best early access I’ve ever played and it has bugs but they are working daily and weekly to fix them. Just last week, they patched the game 4 times. That’s for updates in a week and the game is running better than ever. It wasn’t even running that bad for me in the first place. It’s a really good game and I am not shy to say that I founded this bad boy at the highest tear because I believe in it and it’s not let me down. Plus they already added another free mode to play for a limited time just to try it out. And the new mode is incredible. I’m sure they’ll bring it back in final release but still a free expansion to the game isn’t easy and can’t be beat.

The game has microtransactions. So does everything else nowadays. They are dedicated to keeping the rate drops of gold llamas (Did I mention llamas) high. Also, they award you Vbuck for doing some of the quests and as rewards for just doing missions. It’s quite generous. In the end, you don’t have to buy them to enjoy the game.

Lastly, this game does crash from time to time, it’s an early access and they’ve fixed it so it’s a lot less frequent. So they know there’s a problem and they’re working on it. The good thing is, it saves your match while you’re loading back in and you can always rejoin as long as there were other players in the map with you.

You probably haven’t even gotten this far because, lets face it. I talk a lot but I have a spare Founder code that I got with my edition. They cost $40 on PSN and I’m looking to sell mine for $30. Now that’s just the founder edition, you get some really neat stuff with it but if you like the game as much as I did, you can upgrade your founder edition and get more free stuff. It’s well worth it. I’ll even make you a set of really nice weapons to help you get started in the game.That’s a Pistol, a Melee weapon, an Assault rifle, and a shotgun to welcome you..If you’re interested, just PM me and we’ll talk.

[bandaged-heart]

Shotgun Ch.1!

I actually wrote a chapter! And I posted it on Ao3 too if you'd rather read it there, but I'm posting it here too!!! Tbh I'm super rusty with fanfics because I've been focusing on my novel for so long that I've just... lost the touch. But hey, the only way I'm gonna get better is if I actually write things. And if I don't publish those things I'll never finish them. So here it is. Summary: at a staff member's birthday party Hajime and Momoko both had a little too much to drink, and ended up in bed! And if that didn't complicate things enough, Momoko hasn't been feeling well ever since... --- The night before had likely been wild, judging by the fact that Momoko was drawing blanks. This wasn't her bedroom either, by the looks of it. Perhaps she'd been escorted to a guard's room to sleep off the booze? A soft snore sounded from next to her. Well, that's one theory debunked. Sudden panic flooded her system. She had obviously slept with someone, but who? She was almost too scared to look, but she knew she had to. It was that or close her eyes and stumble to the door naked and blind, hoping she didn't run into anything. Yeah, no. She'd take her pride bust like an adult. It was probably Kenshirou anyway, he was probably the only person in the prison with enough balls to fuck her anyway, even when plastered. With a sigh she rolled over, fully expecting to see her loyal friend sleeping soundly. And she was already prepping her escape, provided he too had no memories of the night prior. It wasn't as if she was ashamed of a one-night-stand, it was just that while she and Ken were extremely close, she really just wasn't into him. Plus, she knew Musashi was very interested in the dog guard, and even though technically their relationship wasn't allowed, Momoko really just wanted the poor kid to be happy. And its hard to get in someone's good side when you sleep with their crush. But there was no sign of the (admittedly attractive) dog next to her. No, instead there was a sight she could have only dreamt of. It was Hajime. She, against all her rational though, squeaked. Loudly. Luckily Hajime was a very heavy sleeper when he drank, which she knew from past parties. (Nanba is the prison equivalent to a party college, lots of parties, lots of fun.) In her shock, Momoko nearly fell off her side of the bed. Her hand caught the side table, and sent a plastic bottle crashing to the floor. As she picked up the bottle, the door creaked open to reveal, thankfully, Momoko's closest confidant Mitsuru. "Hey Warden!" He thankfully whispered, "quite the night eh?" Momoko, wearing nothing but a sheet, rushed to the door. "Mitsuru, where are my clothes, what happened? Help!" He pulled her across the hall and into a different room, and handed her a pile of clothes. "I got your cutest jammies and a bottle of Gatorade for you, and I'll go start breakfast. You just relax and wait for him to get up, and don't bother trying to avoid this, he never blacks out." Momoko groaned, "he's gonna remember it?" Mitsuru laughed, "don't you want him to like you? Wasn't that like... your life goal?" "Yes, but a drunken hookup is never the way! Are you kidding me? He'll think I'm a floozy!" "Hajime has way too much respect for you to think that! Besides, if anything he'll be mortified at himself. He slept with his boss!" "Not helping!" She cried, slamming her face into her hands. Shrugging, Mitsuru ushered her into the building 13 break room for breakfast. -- Hajime had awoken not long after Momoko had, spurred by her panicked exit of the room. It hadn't taken him long to piece together the events of the night prior, cosnsidering while he was considerably drunk he didn't black out. The embarrassment and fear washed over him like an ocean, but he was confident in the knowledge that what happened wasn't suspect. No, in fact his boss's feelings were made very clear. It was then he heard the hushed voices from the hallway, and he went to the door to see a half-open door across the hall revealing Mitsuru apparently trying to calm a hectic and hungover Momoko. Mitsuru laughed, "don't you want him to like you? Wasn't that like... your life goal?" "Yes, but a drunken hookup is never the way! Are you kidding me? He'll think I'm a floozy!" "Hajime has way too much respect for you to think that! Besides, if anything he'll be mortified at himself. He slept with his boss!" "Not helping!" She cried, slamming her face into her hands. Mitsuru caught his eye, and winked as he began ushering Momoko down the hall to the break room. Hajime headed back into the bedroom and opened the now dented Gatorade bottle and chugged half of it. It made him feel a little better. He felt guilty. Even though both of them were drunk and thus not accountable for their actions, it still seemed like his fault. It made him feel mean and dirty, like he was toying with the Warden's emotions. The night prior had revealed a new side of her he wasn't used to. She was awkward, and not used to being a normal person. She opened up to him and trusted him, and now the decision was his. The door creaked open, revealing Mitsuru. "Hey dude! Boss lady's calmed down, coffee's ready if you want some. She's a little worried about it but I'm sure you got this dude!" Hajime sighed, "I appreciate your support Mitsuru, but you do realize the gravity of this situation, correct?" Mitsuru frowned, "Hajime, my guy, Momoko is just a person! A person who really really likes you, despite the fact that you're a douche canoe! And every single person who remembers last night is betting on you two! Do you really want to be the person to break Uno's betting streak?" Admittedly, it was a little comforting to know that Momoko's feelings were supported by their coworkers. Nanba was never a normal workplace anyway, and perhaps that was for the best. It only fueled Hajime's self loathing however, when he realized how alienated Momoko probably felt from the rest of them, just due to her lack of tact in casual conversation. And it's not her fault, it's really not. She just has one of those faces plus some social anxiety. Hajime knew it was only right to give her a chance. But in that same vein, didn't that ruin the legitimacy of the relationship if he was only doing it because he was obligated? It was a catch 22, but at least with the date he had a chance for a happy ending. And, admittedly, he was in awe of Momoko. She was so strong, so composed, truly an inspiring person. When Hajime thought about a potential wife and mother, he could not deny that she would be an ideal for that role in his life. Someone who could stand with him as an equal, and give that crucial standpoint he really couldn't. Raising Hitoshi mostly on his own, it was an experience. In fact, Hitoshi was the one who seemed to be raising him most of the time. It brought to Hajime's attention how much knowledge of the world he lacked, and it scared him. For years he said he'd never have children because he felt like he couldn't raise them properly. But with someone like Momoko, the supreme example of a strong modern woman, maybe he could. Maybe he could.

[227snewfacebookfries]

227's™ TRAGEDY ALERT! 10 Dead! Spicy' Santa Fe Chili' Texas High School Shooting! News #Nike'Spicy'Tunes Spicy' NBA Mix! (Houston Chronicle) 'Multiple fatalities' reported at Spicy' Santa Fe Chili' High School Spicy' shooting

SANTA FE, Texas – At least 10 people died Friday morning in gunfire at Santa Fe High school, law enforcement officials confirmed, while at least 12 others were injured, according to area hospitals. Law enforcement officers are responding to Santa Fe High School following a shooting incident in this Harris County Sheriff office, Santa Fe, Texas, U.S., photo released on May 18, 2018. Police arrested a suspect and detained a second person, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said via Twitter. The bloodshed 30 miles south of Houston is the worst mass shooting in America since February, when 17 people were gunned down at a high school in Parkland, Florida, according to a database of shootings maintained by the Washington Post. UPDATE 11:17 a.m.: At least 10 people have died, Gonzalez said. 11:10 a.m.: A senior law enforcement official said nine people have died. The shooter is a student who was armed with an AR-15 style assault rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "Evidently this guy threw pipe bombs all in there," the official said. "We don't know if any of them went off. The source said the death toll, which includes students and staff, is expected to rise. He also identified the injured police officer as John Barnes, a former Houston police officer who was retired and working with the school's police department. He was shot in the shoulder and is not critically wounded, the source said. 11:04 a.m.: Sheriff Gonzalez told reporters the number of dead could rise as high as 10. The suspect is believed to be a student, he said, and most of the dead are students. It is still a "very active" scene at the school, with a bomb squad and police checking to make sure the area is secure, he said. 11 a.m.: Gyl Switzer, executive director of Texas Gun Sense, issued a statement: "Our hearts go out to those affected by today's shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe Texas. We Texans love our children. We must do a better job of protecting them. There are proven strategies to reduce senseless gun violence. Today, Texas Gun Sense re-doubles our commitment to stop the killing. Work with us." Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton earlier issued a statement offering thoughts and prayers. 10:53 a.m.: Yesterday, David Hogg, a student from the Parkland high school that reginited a national conversation on gun control, had a chilling premonition. He said gun violence kept him up at night. "There is someone alive right now that will not be alive at this time tomorrow and has never even thought about gun violence, but everyone around them will have to for the rest of their lives," he told reporters at an engagement in Los Angeles. 10:47 a.m.: Tenth grader Dakota Shrader said he heard alarms go off and students exited to a grassy area, waiting for an all-clear as in a normal fire drill. Then he heard three gunshots and screams of "Run! Run!" Shrader ran as fast as he could to a wooded area, started having an asthma attack and called his mother. "The world, I just don't like what it's becoming," Shrader said. "Every school shooting, kids getting killed, innocent kids getting killed. No family should have to suffer that just because somebody wants to be selfish and go out and hurt other people. It's just not right at all." 10:45 a.m.: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement: "The thoughts and prayers of all Texans are with the people of Santa Fe and those affected by today's tragic shooting. As horrific reports come out of Santa Fe High School, my office stands ready to assist local law enforcement as needed." 10:40 a.m.: Trey Lemley, 17, said he was in the school's first floor art room when a shooter walked in, his sister, Courtney Lemley, 19, said. Trey dropped his phone and barricaded himself inside one of the room's two closets, she said. When he left, he saw three bodies and pools of blood. Courtney and her boyfriend, 19-year-old Austin Evans, graduated from the school last year. They said the art room is located near a main, back exit of the school, and the room itself has an exit that leads to the parking lot. After being turned away from the school, Courtney and Evans walked to Arcadian First Baptist Church, where Courtney's mother works. In the parking lot, National Guardsmen gathered supplies before driving towards the school in a military vehicle. Small groups began to gather in the church's parking lot, staring at their cell phones and sharing details they heard from friends and from news outlets 10:35 a.m.: The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston has received three patients, the hospital reported on social media. Two are adults and one is under 18. Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster received seven injured students, a spokeswoman for that facility said. Previous reports that an injured officer was taken there are wrong, she said. Two other injured students were taken to Mainland Medical Center in Texas City, she said. The conditions of all of the injured are unknown. EARLIER: An unidentified law enforcement officer was shot, but sources said he was "clipped" and was not seriously injured. One source said the gunman was a male, but could provide no further information. The shooter has been "arrested and secured," said Santa Fe HS Assistant Principal Dr. Cris Richardson. Several other students as well as an officer was injured in the shooting. Joe Gamaldi with the Houston Police Officers Union tweeted, "Please keep the officers in your prayers as one officer is being life flighted to the hospital." Students described the gunfire, which broke out about 7:30 a.m. Junior Liberty Wheeler, 14, was in class when she heard five shots ring out near the art room. Her teacher told them to run toward the theater department's storage room, where they hid for 45 minutes before being escorted outside by the SWAT team. "You could smell the gunpowder that came from the gun," Wheeler recalled as she was escorted out of the building. "We were all scared because it was near us." Paige Curry, a junior at the school, said "I was sitting in my classroom and I heard very loud booms and I didn't know what they were. I was confused but after I heard screaming, I figured out what they were, got up immediately and started to run. I almost ran out of the school but I hid instead with the other students. I was there for maybe 30 minutes I was on the phone with my mom the whole time. They found us and escorted us." "There were a lot of people, a lot of different suits so I wasn't really sure but I think they were SWAT." "I was very, very scared but I managed to keep calm, especially with my mom on the phone." "I heard people were hurt and the gunshots were from a classroom maybe three doors down. I heard five [shots] maybe. It was one boom, then another boom very loud. It wasn't rapid." The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is treating two patients, their conditions not yet being disclosed, said spokesman Raul Reyes. He said more patients are expected, including one currently being transported from the branch's League City hospital. He said a helicopter with at least one patient is on the way and more ambulances are expected. Officers in tactical gear were deployed into the school. Outside, groups of students evacuated from the building are being patted down by authorities. Deputies from the Harris County Sheriff's Office were sent to assist Galveston County officers on the scene, according to a tweet by HCSO Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. The ATF also confirmed it responded to the scene. Richardson said he could not confirm whether there was more than one shooter. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/multiple-fatalities-reported-at-santa-fe-high-school-shooting/ar-AAxtvuC

Top 5 Spicy' Plays of the Night | May 16, 2018

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[watchingthesuperbowl]

Notes taken during Super Bowl XXXVI

PREGAME

This is a Sky Sports simulcast of a Fox production. No more Channel 4, it appears.

The Sky Sports pre-produced open is just absolutely awful. The guy is using words that don't mean what he thinks they mean.

Sky Sports open: "They are underdogs personified, led by Tom Brady, a backup quarterback who nobody had heard of before he stepped out of the shadows to get a grip on a team of unknowns and has-beens to become overachievers." Dude, he threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns while winning the Orange Bowl as a starting quarterback when he was at Michigan. If you hadn't heard of him, you weren't a football fan.

Patriots are one of the biggest underdogs in Super Bowl history. 14 points, it appears.

"Kurt Warner was the Cinderella story of the 34th Super Bowl. Is Tom Brady to be the Cinderella story of the 36th?"

Sky Sports package about the Rams. This is actually well-written and well-conceived. They should have let this reporter do the cold open. Martz discusses the offense. Martz runs plays based on what the defense does. They break down the winning play in XXXIV. Trips right, single coverage with a safety. They knew the safety would help on the slot receivers, leaving Bruce one-on-one.

Drew Bledsoe: Not surprised at how well Brady has played. I've seen him in practice.

Bledsoe: Didn't like losing my job due to injury. Didn't agree with it, but we're in the Super Bowl now.

Bledsoe: We're friends, but it's awkward sometimes and changed our relationship.

Bledsoe drives a Mercedes, Brady drives a Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Bledsoe: Impressive to see how well Brady prepares, and his preparation is meticulous. Has as good a command on what we're doing and what the defense is doing as anyone I've ever seen.

Back to the Sky Sports studio. Analyst calls Brady "What'shisname".

Analyst: Brady has a bad ankle. I'm the Rams, I blitz him. And if Bledsoe comes in, I blitz him too. Brady is nervous. He could be great, and he could be real bad. They've got Bledsoe if he's bad.

Oh, hey, there's Paul McCartney. He's performing before the game. Fox runs a graphic describing him as a 13-time Grammy winner, as if he needs an introduction. "Okay, everybody clap your hands for freedom!" He does a song about his rights given by God to live a free life. It's apparently called Freedom and is his response to September 11, 2001. It's sort of garbage, and I say that as someone who loves most of McCartney's work.

Now a bunch of Patriots sound bites about Belichick. This is a Pam Oliver Fox package, chopped up and rebuilt.

The studio "expert" is apparently Mark Collins, former Giants DB. I am decidedly not a fan of his media work.

Patriots WR Terry Glenn is holding out, may not get a ring if New England wins.

One-on-one interview with John Madden, which is awesome. Madden says the Rams are the better team, but the winner is always the team that plays better on the day. Both interviewer and Madden say special teams may be big for the Patriots.

Madden describes Rams offense as the best ever assembled. I'm not going to say he's wrong, but IMO the Niners were better circa Super Bowl 29. This Rams offense is awesome, though.

Introductions: Rams offense. 40% of the starting offensive line played in the MAC, so that's cool. Pat Summerall doing the introductions.

Introductions: Patriots. They come out en masse, not introduced individually.

Star Spangled Banner: Boston Pops and Mariah Carey

Coin Toss: Roger Staubach and George H.W. Bush. Rams win the toss and will receive.

Rams beat Patriots 24-17 in Week 10.

Dick Stockton and Darryl Johnston in the booth, apparently. I think this is a Sky Sports-specific commentary team for this game.

FIRST QUARTER

Yo Murphy back to receive the opening kickoff. A big deal is made of his time with the Scottish Claymores. Heck of a return, out to the Rams' 39.

Fox using the umlaut in Tom Nutten's name. Cool.

Rams doing Ram things, across midfield quickly and nearing field goal range within the first minute.

2nd and 18, Warner goes deep into double coverage to Torry Holt. Apparently Holt beat CB Tebucky Jones and Law was there to assist. Drive stalls at the New England 40. John Baker will punt, and for once this strategy pays off. He kicks it out of bounds inside the 5.

First play for the Patriots, Brady to Troy Brown for 21 on a slant. That's very Rams of them.

Brady is the third QB to lead his team to the Super Bowl in his first year as a starter. Kurt Warner and Vince Ferragamo (both Rams) are the other two.

Johnston: When the Patriots go shotgun formation, left guard Mike Compton plays center and center Damian Woody plays left guard. They've been doing it all year. He's never seen that before. Neither have I.

Patriots stall near midfield and punt. Ken Walter, one of two recent NFL players to go to Kent State and not play football there. (Antonio Gates is the other.)

Patriots in their third Super Bowl, all in New Orleans.

Four of Warner's first five pass attempts have been to Holt.

Cool play alert: Running back Marshall Faulk lines up as a wide receiver, then goes in motion and runs a jet sweep.

Warner converts a third down in which he's pressured and improvises a pass. One play later, they're across midfield.

Huh. Rams run a middle tight end screen. Johnston says the Rams have used that play all season long and it's one of their favorites. Mike Martz knows more about offense than I do, but that seems like an ugly play.

Rams stall just inside the New England 35. Jeff Wilkins comes on to attempt a 50 yard field goal, and it's right down the middle. 3-0 Rams.

Cutaway: Trainer working on Kurt Warner. Cramp? Back muscle issue? The commentary team doesn't even reference the shot, so I have no idea. 

Team that scores first in the Super Bowl is now 25-10.

Patriots go three and out. Defensive end Grant Wistrom with great coverage on running back Kevin Faulk to prevent a third down completion.

Stockton: People are talking about Marshall Faulk as if he's one of the greatest, or maybe even THE greatest of all time. Pump the brakes, Dick. He's great, but he's not Brown or Payton. Rookie LaDainian Tomlinson is about to replicate Marshall Faulk's career, albeit without the Super Bowl ring.

Quarter ends with Rams on top 3-0.

SECOND QUARTER

First quarter stats: Rams 89 total yards and 5 first downs, Patriots 50 and 2.

Sky runs a graphic of World Bowl champions.

Third and 15, Warner throws to Az Hakim, who's surrounded by four Patriots defenders. Two of the Patriots crash into each other and Hakim gains some additional yardage.

Wait, did the Rams just call a quarterback draw with Kurt Warner? They did. Bananas. It gains five yards on 2nd and 10. After an incomplete third down pass, Jeff Wilkins is on and misses a 52-yard field goal wide left.

Third down, Brady deep for David Patten. Knocked away by Kim Herring, who won a ring last year with the Ravens. Doesn't matter. Holding, defense, first down.

Patriots don't accomplish much and punt. Rams will take over at their own 20.

Coming up at halftime, a live performance from U2. "Music" from Barenaked Ladies, which means it's...not live? I dunno.

First and 10 Rams from their 39. Warner under pressure, tosses it up, a terrible throw under pressure and Ty Law picks it off. He's gone with a pick six. 7-3 Patriots.

Stockton: Patriots felt like if they could get out of the first quarter with the game close, they'd be in good shape.

Johnston: Nobody beat the St. Louis Rams this sesaon. They've beaten themselves when they lost.

On a first down play, Az Hakim makes a catch past the first down marker but inexplicably runs backwards behind the marker. Second and inches, but a run is stuffed on second down and Warner throws incomplete on third down. Hakim blew it. Rams will punt.

A promo for www.NFLJapan.co.JP. Huh.

Stockton: There is no question the Patriots have stolen the momentum.

Marc Edwards getting the ball here. Three touches for the fullback on this possession.

Fox graphic: Fewest points the Rams have scored this year in the first half: 9, twice.

Promo for NFLEurope.com. Sky shows video of Kurt Warner as an Amsterdam Admiral.

Patriots punt and the Rams take over with 1:52 left in the half. They're deep in their own half of the field.

Inside handoff to Az Hakim! Clock running, Rams at their own 20 with around 90 seconds left before halftime.

Warner completes a pass deep downfield to Ricky Proehl, who almost immediately fumbles. Terrell Buckley recovers and runs it back to the Rams 40 or so. If you're a Rams fan, you're beginning to feel some indigestion.

Patriots driving in the two-minute drill. A big third down run from Kevin Faulk makes it first and goal from the 8 with 36 seconds left.

First down, Brady throws into the end zone to David Patten, who makes an incredible falling, off-balance catch. Perfect throw, perfect catch. This is a stunning turn of events. The Rams were two-touchdown favorites.

They're going to review it to make sure he had the ball and was in bounds. He did. It's a touchdown. 14-3 Patriots. This is the Rams' largest deficit of the year.

Rams take a knee after the kickoff. It's 14-3 New England at the half. The team leading at halftime is 27-7 all-time in Super Bowls.

 HALFTIME

U2 performs. "Beautiful Day". Then a tribute to September 11, 2001 victims as they play "MLK" and "Where The Streets Have No Name". Victim names are projected onto a screen behind the band and scrolled. U2 lost me in the early 90s and has never really gotten me back, but they absolutely nailed this halftime show. Perfection.

Back to the Sky studio. Mark Collins shows off his Super Bowl rings.

THIRD QUARTER

Patriots receive the second half kickoff. Decent return to the 30 or so.

A couple of big runs from Antowain Smith to start the half and the Patriots have moved into Rams territory.

The drive stalls near the Rams' 45 and Ken Walter will kick it away. Rams take over inside their 20.

After a penalty, the Rams have a 1st and 18 from their own 8, but they take care of it right away. Warner hits Hakim, who weaves through defenders for a first down. Next play, Warner to Bruce down the middle of the field, and they're out to the 50.

That's more or less where the Rams' first drive of the half ends. They'll punt. Patriots take over near their 15.

New England feeding Antowain Smith. 17 yards on the first play of the drive. He's gotta be up near 100 yards now, midway through the third quarter.

End around! David Patten for 22. Looked for a moment like he might score.

Smith: 14 rushes, 84 yards. Now 15 for 85.

Drive stalls near the Rams' 35. They punt, and it goes into the end zone. Net of 15 yards. Whee! Belichick was thinking field position, I assume.

Stockton: Rams' deepest penetration is to the Patriots' 32 yard line.

Promo for American Bowl 2002 in Osaka: Washington vs. San Francisco. The first preseason game of the year, next August.

Marshall Faulk beginning to heat up. Rips off a couple 8-12 yard chunks outside. Rams get to midfield.

Patriots defense looking a lot like Belichick's Giants in XXV. Allow catches, but no yards after the catch.

Warner with a terrible throw, picked by Otis Smith, who returns it to the 33. Torry Holt fell and Warner was throwing to a spot.

Run/pass option to Kevin Faulk, but he's sacked. I guess it'll go down as a three yard rushing loss, but that was a sack. He wanted to throw. (As it turns out, this was recorded as a sack.)

Another trick play with Kevin Faulk. Direct snap to the running back as Tom Brady acts like the snap went over his head. Nearly enough for a first down, but sets up Adam Vinatieri for a 37 yard field goal. Got it. 17-3 Patriots, with 1:18 left in the third.

All 17 Patriots points have come off of Rams turnovers.

Video of Adam Vinatieri kicking for the Amsterdam Admirals.

Johnston: I like the calm St. Louis is showing on offense. They don't seem shaken, there's no sense of panic despite a 17-3 deficit.

Rams out near midfield again after a couple of completions. Third quarter ends with New England up 17-3.

FOURTH QUARTER

Team that's ahead after three quarters is 30-5 all-time in Super Bowls.

Third and 6, Warner finds Hakim across the middle to convert. They're unside the 45. Next play, Kurt Warner scrambles, buys time, and somehow finds Ernie Conwell for nine yards.

Rams still not panicking, doing their thing, taking their time. This is a big drive, but they're not forcing anything.

BIG play to Marshall Faulk coming out of the backfield. He gets man coverage against Mike Vrabel, which is a huge mismatch. Gets to the 9. First and goal.

Warner throws into traffic on second down. Lawyer Milloy nearly picks it off. Not a great throw. Next play, nearly picked off again. Ty Law probably should have had that ball for the Patriots. Bruce was running a fade route and never looked for the ball.

The Rams will go for it on fourth down, needing two touchdowns in the next 10:29.

Rams have scored on 37 consecutive Red Zone possessions. 27 TD, 10 FG. Last time they didn't score was against New England in Week 10.

Fourth down, Warner can't find anyone open and scrambles, eventually decides to take off and run with it. Tackled at the 1 yard line and fumbles. Tebucky Jones scoops and takes it 97 yards for a touchdown...but there's a flag on the field. Defensive holding. First down, Rams. Huge, huge play. Replay shows Willie McGinest essentially tackled Marshall Faulk while Faulk was trying to run a pass pattern.

First down from the Patriots' 1, Faulk up the middle, stuffed.

Video of Paul Tagliabue with a personalized FC Barcelona jersey. It's soccer, Paul. It's sort of like football with no hands.

Second and goal, Rams spread the defense and Kurt Warner waltzes in on a quarterback sneak. I don't think I've ever seen a quarterback sneak up the middle from the one yard line where the QB goes in basically untouched. 17-10. Rams are alive.

Daryl Johnston and Nick Halling chat about FC Barcelona playing exhibition games in the US. Halling snarkily asks Johnston if he'd go to the games and Johnston emphatically says yes. He says soccer was the first sport he played. Halling is audibly surprised and a bit impressed.

Patriots go three-and-out. They'll punt with 7:55 left in regulation and the Rams down by 7 points.

It's a good punt, and there's a penalty on the Rams. St. Louis will start at its own 6.

Rams convert a third down inside their own 10 with a clutch pass from Warner to Bruce. It's only five yards, but it's good enough for now.

2nd and 10, Warner with a beautiful pass downfield to Ricky Proehl. The Patriots blitzed and paid the price. Rams nearly out to midfield, needing a touchdown to tie the game. Less than 6:00 left in regulation.

Huge sack on second and 10. Willie McGinest sacks Warner for a loss of 16! Rams now facing 3rd and 26, around 4:00 on the clock, no timeouts.

New England calls its timeout. Wow. That's odd. They're giving Martz and Warner time to think. Neither team has any timeouts left.

Stockton: This would be the second-biggest Super Bowl upset of all time, behind the Jets in Super Bowl III.

Neutral zone infraction on the Patriots. Five yard penalty. 3rd and 20 or 21 from midfield. Warner throws into traffic. Incomplete to Torry Holt.

Rams will...punt? Okay. They'll punt. It goes into the end zone. 3:44 left, Patriots with the ball, Rams have no timeouts and might not get it back. 17-10 New England.

Smith run, loss of 2. Clock will be under three minutes before the next snap. Dump pass to Smith, gain of 4. Clock will be below 2:20 before the third down play. Pitch to Smith, gain of 2. Two minute warning, Patriots to punt.

Holding against the Patriots on the punt. Penalty declined. 30 yard punt gives Warner great field position on their own 35.

Complete pass underneath to Az Hakim, who shakes a tackle and gets an additional 12 yards. They're inside the 40.

Now it's Yo Murphy! A swing pass for 12, getting out of bounds. Yo was lined up in the backfield and it confused the defense.

Next play, a fade to Ricky Proehl, who gets away from Tebucky Jones and weaves his way into the end zone. The Rams are an extra point away from tying this game. They get it. 17-17. This could be the first overtime Super Bowl in history.

Johnston: "The only question is, did St. Louis score too quickly and give New England too much time?"

Good coverage on the kickoff. Troy Brown tackled inside the 20. 1:21 left, tie game.

Johnston: The Patriots have plenty of time and a great kicker.

First play, dump pass to J.R. Redmond. Patriots at their 20 as the clock ticks under 1:00. Another short pass down the middle to Redmond gets 10. They spike it and stop the clock with 0:41 left. 2nd and 10 from their own 30.

Another pass to Redmond, this time for 11. Clock stops because he got out of bounds. 0:33 left.

Vinatieri's long is a 55 yard field goal. Postseason long is 46.

Brady rolls and throws to...nobody. Rams sideline freaking out because it probably should have been called intentional grounding. The call is not forthcoming. Brady was inside the tackle, but outside of where the tackle originally lined up.

Now Brady finds Troy Brown for 23 yards. Clock stops at 0:21. Ball at the Rams' 36. Would be a 53 yard field goal right now.

Brady to Jermaine Wiggins, a dump pass over the middle. Clock ticking at 0:15, this is tempting the fates...They have to spike it. 10...9...8...7...they spike it with 0:07 left.

Here's Adam Vinatieri, trying to win it. He's never missed a kick indoors. 48 yarder. GOT IT! The clock runs out and New England wins, 20-17.

POSTGAME

Stockton: This is the most dramatic Super Bowl game ever played. Did dude see the one two years ago? Because that was every bit as dramatic.

Johnston: Great representation by NFL Europe today. Vinatieri and Warner.

Stockton: Patriots lost three of their first four games, their quarterbacks coach had a heart attack, and then they lost their starting QB (Bledsoe) to injury. Won the Super Bowl anyway.

Stockton and Johnston both talk about how fitting it is that the Patriots would win the first Super Bowl after 9/11. *insert wanking motion here*

Sky Sports studio host: AFC East had lost its last eight Super Bowls. I don't wanna talk about it.

Studio analyst Mark Collins: Doesn't matter if there's one week off before the Super Bowl or two weeks off. All you're doing in the extra week is going to parties and getting free stuff.

Collins: Game-tying touchdown was an illegal pick play that wasn't called.

Collins: Vinatieri has to be the MVP. Only Patriot who stood out. Otherwise, everybody played very well but nobody was great.

Patriots owner Bob Kraft: New England fans have waited 42 years for this day and we're world champions. Happy to be associated with coaches and players who put team first. Talks about "this time in our country" and the "spirit of America". "We are all Patriots", he says. I can't speak for anyone else, but I was a Ram that day.

Bradshaw: People thought you were crazy when you traded a first round draft pick for Bill Belichick. Kraft: Best deal I ever made.

Belichick: Credit to players and coaches, and if we played next week, we'd still be the underdogs.

Belichick: Decided we needed to cover receivers more than rush Warner because he gets rid of the ball so quickly.

Belichick: We have two good quarterbacks - three, with Huard - and you can't have too much depth at QB.

Brady: Incredible. This is what happens when guys believe in each other. Gives credit to all his teammates. Dream come true.

Brady named MVP, wins a Cadillac Escalade. Says it's a team car and everyone's using it. Bradshaw says Brady will pay the taxes on it.

Vinatieri: Never been so proud to be a member of anything in my whole life.

Promo for NFL Europe coverage. April 13, Barcelona Dragons at Scottish Claymores.

Closing montage: U2, Beautiful Day.

[nyasters69]

*Ahem* I present to the sketches I made!

It's very cool right?