#wanted to think about grief and the doctor and demo

[multiheadcanons]

A LITTLE EXTRA FOR THE DOLLS. HEAVY AND MEDIC GET MARRIED. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

heavy proposed in a very unconventional way. medic did not take it very well.

they were reading separate books, together in the hall leading to the infirmary, in silence. he slid a golden band on the side table that was between them. he didn’t speak, or make a grand statement of it, just made sure to angle it so the glint caught the doctor’s eye.

and the doctor did notice. he was not cool about it. “that’s not funny.” is all he could say. as heavy insisted, the doctor’s face notably scrunched up in a strange combination of emotions. he looked like he just got shot. but he was also bright red.

it was time to share some secrets.

medic opened up— very hesitantly— without removing his face from the book, about his prior marriage. a woman he called the love of his life. his childhood best friend, the woman who knew him better than he dares to ever know himself. genevieve. and the doctor isn’t paying any attention as heavy’s face pales.

and heavy isn’t thinking as the only thing that exits his mouth, as the doctor is genuinely baring his soul to him, talking about this brilliant woman who fundamentally shifted his view in love and marriage and life itself; the only thing heavy can think to say is “isn’t that… demo’s genevieve?”

the silence that fell in that room. the doctor stopped mid sentence and did not close his mouth. he turned, so controlled in the slow movement, to the heavy weapons guy. and stared at him, slack jawed. harder than he’s ever stared at the man before. an active craze brewed in the doctor’s eyes. heavy kept calm, hoping that if there was any time the doctor would follow suit it would be right now. and for a solid twenty seconds, he had confidence. nobody spoke, but they maintained eye contact and heavy felt he had a handle on the situation. he was so confident he was going to disarm this bomb.

he was confident until he saw the book snap shut. and they held eye contact. and then the doctor carelessly tossed the book up. that is where heavy made the mistake of breaking eye contact, and in a swift motion, medic grabbed the ring and stormed away.

heavy had officially lost control of the situation. before he moved to chase, he went for the medigun.

and the doctor was like a robot. it did not take him long to locate where the louder teammates were. he was honed in, ring grasped tightly in his hand. and him slamming the door to the common area caught their attention immediately.

he took stock of who was in the room.

scout. soldier. pyro. engineer. demo.

there’s the son of a bitch.

and frankly, demo could tell from the look in the doctor’s eyes exactly what was about to transpire and for exactly what reason. there was nothing he could do but brace for it, and maybe do him the favor of meeting him halfway. he didn’t have time for the second before the doctor had crossed the room.

maybe he could’ve told medic earlier and moved past this.

it didn’t matter, demo hit the floor before anyone had time to react. luckily, they were close enough to grab the doctor before he could really start to do damage. he didn’t fight them either, and everyone looked at demo for answers as he stumbled to his feet and shook his head.

“it’s alright; i’m alright… i had that coming. long time coming. alright, doc…” he cracked his neck, and stared at the doctor, notably sobered from the hit. “firstly: hell of an arm you got there. we need to have a chat.”

“you need to be rotting out in the desert. we do need to have a chat.” the doctor replied, calm for a man who literally walked in swinging.

��are you gonna hit me again?”

“yes.”

“…fair enough.”

and they left the room as heavy entered, medigun slung across his back.

“…am i too late?”

the team didn’t see much of demo, or the doctor for about a week, initially. and when they did, they were engaged in silent conversation, their faces set in grief. in anger. in regret and contempt and pity and ache and despair. the team watched as their faces shifted through the days to broken resignation. sometimes the team would walk by and see them both with their heads on the mess hall table, slumped against each other, the bags under their eyes evident as they caught precious seconds of sleep that they weren’t getting otherwise. they would see the men crumble out of their peripheries. their tear streaks would hit the light as they passed by and they would simply continue to walk. but cries echoed through the halls of the base for weeks. the doctor wouldn’t look at anyone, his hands remained balled into fists and his face twisted in snarls. demo wouldn’t speak to anyone, even if he was addressed first, just shook his head and continued on. it showed in battle as they caught their breath in alleyways, and as their enemies passed they would catch glimpses of them on their knees, head in their hands, and the wracked hoarse sobs were drowned by gunfire. it took months for them to begin to show signs of returning to normal. with each other. with the team.

it took a month still from normality returning on shaky legs for medic and heavy to resume their reading together. the first time was tense. talking was off the table. just the repeated tap of the doctor’s foot against the floor, getting louder and louder until it was just him slamming his foot against the ground.

“i can’t do this.”

at that point medic threw his book against the wall and stormed into the infirmary. heavy did not follow.

neither he nor that wedding band were seen again for a few days.

heavy had resigned himself to the fact that he would never see that ring again. and he had mostly resigned himself to the knowledge that if he didn’t permanently ruin his professional relationship with the doctor, they definitely weren’t together in the way that heavy wanted them to be.

he thought that until a glint caught his eye.

he gave a brief glance.

a single silver band sat on the table. large enough for his ring finger.

he closed his book. “that’s not funny. that’s not funny.”

“it’s not funny at all.” the doctor closed his book as well. “i made my decision.”

he set the book down and began to pull off his glove.

“misha. i loved genevieve. i loved her with everything i could give her. it haunted me. she haunted me, her willingness to put her life on pause to be with me and save myself from my own… shame of attraction. i couldn’t thank her enough for that. there was no display of devotion i could make, past giving her a child, to show my gratitude, and i couldn’t do that. to her, to myself, to a child.” he paused in the removal from his glove, before continuing, revealing a single golden band around his ring finger.

“then i find out she didn’t. her life never stopped. only mine did.” herbert stared at the ring around his finger, sparing a slight glance towards misha. “…i’m ready to move on. i held onto her for so long. and i’m ready to let her go.”

misha stayed quiet. he gingerly reached for the ring. he wasn’t sure it was real. but the cold metal confirmed he could believe what he was seeing. he held it in his hand. so small in comparison to his palm. so small in comparison to the scars they give each other. he stared past the ring to the scar slashed across of the life line of his palm.

he gave himself that. for his doctor.

they were already bound by blood for life.

a ring wasn’t needed, he had told himself. he’d been telling himself that for weeks now, in the certainty he had been rejected.

“i don’t want a wedding. i don’t want a honeymoon. just put it on, and we can continue to read. or give it back, and we can continue to read. either way, it’s… it’s okay. it’s alright. i’m alright. we’re alright.” misha couldn’t stop the breath of laughter. the smile that crept on his face. a ring. a ring. and he couldn’t stop a couple of tears from falling. he wiped them away quickly. it felt a little silly to cry because he got what he wanted. it took months, but he got exactly what he wanted.

“it’s… not what i expected from you. when have you ever done what i expect from you?” misha finally found words to say that made sense in his mind; sliding the ring onto his finger.

a perfect fit.

“…i want a honeymoon.”

“…we may have a honeymoon if you would like.”

misha laughed. he couldn’t help it. he looked at his hand, at its new adornment. rotated his hand. saw the glint from every angle. looked at herbert. looked back at his hand. his face felt hot, and a hand naturally reached to feel the heat. he couldn’t stop the smile from getting wider. he laughed again.

he patted the seat of the chair next to him, and held out his other hand.

“come sit next to me. properly.”

herbert’s eyes narrowed, if only slightly and for the moment. but he took a breath. he forced himself to relax. he made this decision. he needs to stick to the commitment he made.

it took many days of working, and thinking, and crying, and not sleeping to decide to say yes.

he didn’t know if he had it in him to do it again. he didn’t know if a commitment he had made, by all means at this point except traditionally, by all means felt traditionally was the right thing to do; was the best thing to do for either one of them at this point. herbert was getting older. he had held onto the ghost of a woman, held onto what he thought was love so tightly for so long, and it was shattered in less than five words. everything he thought he knew about his life was shattered in less than five words.

and herbert was no stranger to hurt. he was no stranger to misha hurting him. he was no stranger to hurting misha. physically and emotionally. they’ve fought. they argued. they’ve said things to each other they can never take back. that still hang in the air some tense days. but they’ve always made it through. come back stronger, held onto each other tighter in battle. learned each other better, maneuvered with and around each other smoother. every force against them has made them a stronger unit, closer friends, better partners.

misha completed him in undefinable ways. understood him enough to accept him fully, wholly. never asked for more than herbert said he could give. respected it. respected him. it’s obviously not a far throw to say misha loved him.

he owed the man a commitment to the grave.

he took misha’s hand and stood, closing the distance and taking his rightful place at misha’s side.

they sat, shoulder to shoulder.

hand in hand.

misha squeezed. herbert squeezed back.

they looked at each other.

spared each other uncertain smiles.

then they opened their books and continued to read.

[doopy-n-loopy]

Ima just say if you ever start taking in commission you best believe Ima be your first customer! Alrigjt hear me out what if S/o like a different merc. A example would be like Yandere sniper likes s/o but s/o likes scout.

Awwww thank chu ❤️ but Oooooo that's gonna cause some HUGE issues with the yanderes 😳

Yan!TF2 Mercs × Reader

// obsessive tendancies, blood, violence

Defense

Demo

Demo sees you flirting with another merc

His jaw is wide open in utter shock

He takes a moment to process it

He realizes that you like him and he's not happy

He grumbles and goes to get drunk to try and forget about it but he can't

The thing is, if they weren't a merc he'd get rid of them easily

However, he works with them, which makes it harder

So instead he finds out what you like and tries to impress you

He also tries to lure you away from him

Heavy

Heavy is not impressed

I mean, how could you like that guy?

Heavy scoffs to himself knowing damn well he's much better than them

Heavy is like Demo, they don't really show it and decide to read to take their mind off of it (but can't)

So heavy figures out what impresses you and gets you those things

Also he tries to block your view from that person using his body so he can have you to himself

Engi

Angry texan mumbling.mp3

He'll go to his shop to build things to forget about it (to no avail)

He then gets the idea to build you things to impress you

He also offers to take you out to dinner

Whenever you're paying attention to the other merc, he'll have his robot make a loud noise just to divert your attention to him

Offense

Scout

Unlike the previous mercs, he lets you know he has a problem

"What's so special about that (insert specific insult used towards them in-game)?"

He then pulls you away and continues to talk shit about him

He then brings you to KFC or something to get a bucket of chicken

Starts flexing his non existent muscles at you

"Why chase after that loser when you have a hunk like me at your side, baby?"

Pyro

Angry pyro mumbling

They'll pull you away like Scout

Pyro will smother you in hugs

You can't fight back because Pyro is too damn strong

Pyro will decorate you in bones and guts, thinking you look pretty in it

If Pyro ever sees the merc, they'll flash their flamethrower at them to scare them

(honestly I think Pyro is aware of how scared they make everyone else)

Soldier

Is THE LOUDEST ONE

"Hah! I bet this maggot can't even bench press 400lbs with two eagles on each weight!" Like shut up you can't either

He will also drag you away, except he threw you over his shoulder

He will be screaming about how bad the other merc is and how amazing he is

On the battlefield, if you're near the merc you like, he'll grab you and rocket jump away with you

Support

Sniper

He turns away immediately after seeing you flirt

He goes to polish his gun, read, nap, anything to make him feel better

But he's tired of it

He first threatens the merc who you were flirting with

"Back off of y/n you lil bugger, if ya know what's good for ya"

If they don't or hell even worse, choose to try and make him jealous, sniper has no qualms against getting rid of them

They'll make it look like they were killed by the enemy sniper or they'll just disappear, with their body found hacked to death in a ditch days later

Either way he'll take your grief over their death to his advantage to get closer to you

"oh I'm sorry y/n, he was a good lad. Why don't you come to my camper so I can cheer ya up, eh?"

Spy

Spy knows he's the shit so he isn't too afraid of you keeping that ceush for long

At first he'll get you gifts and other things of the sorts to impress you

Then he'll threaten the merc you flirted with

"back off, or else"

His threats are vague but they get the point across

He understands how important each team member is but if he needs to get rid of them, he won't hesistate

They will never find the body

He'll manipulate you and use your grief to his advantage like sniper

Medic

He's probably the most deadly one

When medic saw you flirting with another merc, he used all of his energy to conceal his rage

Instead, he pulled you into his clinic, saying that you needed to have a check up

His grip on your arm was painfully tight

He uses the fact that he's a doctor to his advantage, he'll usually pull you away from them to give you check ups and on the battlefield he'll call your name for assistance

The merc better pray that medic emds them quickly, otherwise their death will be slow and painful

Medic doesn't care if he has to kill the entire team for you because this deranged man WILL do it

He'll make it look like an accident or get rid of them entirely, making it to where nobody can find his body... Not in one peice, anyways

By that I mean he'll purposefully botch a surgery to kill them or murder them and store their body parts somewhere

He's just scary as fuck

And a bonus cause I wanted to: Pauling

She doesn't see you a lot but qhen she does, she's always nice to you

However, she got a bit of an attitude after hearing you flirt with another merc

"you do realize that it's against company policy to have a relationship with a co-worker, right?"

She'll dispose of them carefully, either putting them on a mission that will for sure kill them or finding an excuse to kill them herself

She'll be a little more careful if they're someone that's hard to replace like spy or medic but she'll make sure that everything goes smoothly.

When you're greiving, she'll actually feel some guilt for her actions

However she believes what she did was necessary and won't hesitate to do it again

"I'm sorry for what happened y/n... At least you still have me"

She says in a sweet voice with a sinister undertone

Anyways I'm sorry for taking so long and sorry that these are so short, my inspiration was running low lol. I hope you liked these! Feel free to request anything again!❤️

[sobredunia]

Hello internet, welcome to Gaym Theory

This is just like the GRIS ramble, and as the previous “proof that I’m not normal” post, I’ll put this under a readmore because by god is this long

I have a huge theory for halOPE just hear me out

Aight so the game consists of an emotionless angel walking around qUiRkY worlds but they’re actually deeply fucked up if you look between the lines

Actually, there’s no “between the lines” in the complex, every single layer in that blue square onion is fucked up

The first world is the orange/yellow one, a wheat field forest thingie

You meet a shy lesbian witch, a cool plague doctor lady, some old man, a mushroom girl, the ultimate clown boy, a wooden puppet girl...

Then, after a few fetch quests, you reach the blue door, which leads you to the blue world, the complex. This one is literally just capitalism without the money

All the residents in the complex are lost. They’re too afraid to get out, not knowing where to go, too scared to lose the little things they already have. Some of them got there with ambitions, wanting to fix up the place and whatnot, but slowly the energy leaves them and they can’t be bothered to do something about the ever-rotting building

Now, we’ve only gotten two worlds so far, and starbage has confirmed that that’s about half of the game (unless she* decides to add more content than she anticipated and now it’s just a small fraction of the full game) so we can expect another two, maybe tree worlds

*I am merely guessing on these pronouns, I have looked thru your carrd and all sites linked didn’t have them. babygrill what r ur pronouns please i dont wanna misgender u

Now, where am I going with this? It’s simple: HalOPE is a game about the five stages of grief

Just not in the way we think

The orange world is not denial, nor anger

It’s acceptance

In this world, the witch lesbian girl comes to terms with her feelings and confesses to the plague doctor lady. The puppet girl gets free of the strings that were dictating her every move and, although it feels weird to move without them, she has realised that they were bad for her, and finally breaks free. In this world, people are mostly nice to you, outside of some few slightly mean dialogues that end up getting replaced with happy stuff (except for the old man sucks to be him I guess)

The complex? Depression. Do I really have to explain it. The main color is fucking blue

At the end of the demo, we go through a green door wounded, and get treated by an old(?) lady we can’t see the face of

I still don’t fucking know what the fuck is bargain, or how it works and is supposed to be represented, but my theory is that we’ll be making a medicine for ourselves since we’re sick or whatever, and in the end we’ll have to choose wether we use it to cure ourselves or the old lady who took care of u, since she’s also sick or whatever

I still don’t think that’s what bargain is about, but we’ve only gotten one official scene in the demo and a couple of screenshots that don’t say much about the story in the dev blog other than we aren’t fucking dead I guess

Now, what role does the angel play in all of this? They’re an empty figure that lacks emotions and only listens. Obviously, they’re the one that has been traumatised enough to go through the five stages, but there’s something else

Why would the stages go backwards?

Sure, recovery isn’t linear and the stages are a rough graph. People can go from depression to anger to denial again to bargaining, but I highly doubt someone who has already reached acceptance would go back

Unless they want to see what has traumatised them in the first place? This doesn’t make much sense, I know, but forgetting traumatic events is a thing that can happen, and maybe they want to go back to see what caused it to go through the phrases properly, or finally put an end to that gut feeling that something is wrong

The angel is just a representation of the person. They don’t get swayed by the nature of the complex, or stay in the nice wheat world. They’re analytical, emotionless, made to stop the phases from hurting them as much as possible

It doesn’t really work

Sadness is a very powerful emotion

I’m not even gonna fucking touch the actual angel lore we’ve been given, nope, my braincells have worked enough for today. I’m just laying this around. This is just the game’s overall message thing whatever

Enjoy a wholeass bible on your funni angel game, @starbage​

[aggressive-positivity-network]

do any of the mercs play board games?

Mercopoly (Board Game

Headcanons)

Scout:

You think he has enough of an attention span to play something that doesn’t involve sweating out his energy drinks?

Hell no!

He gets very bored very quickly, especially with something complex like chess.

He’ll play cards sometimes, but only Crazy Eights and Go Fish - that’s all he knows how to play.

However, there is one true board game he plays occasionally: Candy Land.

It’s one of the few board games that you don’t really have to read the rules for, and there isn’t any writing on the cards.

However, he only asks to play it when he’s not feeling very well.

Medic even has a page in his medical journal for the mercs that says, and I quote:

“The Scout has an extremely short attention span, and if an activity isn’t active or immersive, he will not stay long. If at any point he chooses a sedentary activity, a check-up is in order.”

As sad as it is, a request to play Candyland is a good way to know if Scout needs a little extra reassurance or support.

By the end of the game, Scout usually feels more himself, whether he wins or not.

Engie is especially good with Scout when he’s this way, being the one of the most emotionally sensitive of the group. But he also knows Scout would never admit straight-away how he was feeling, so he usually has a more fun way of getting answers.

“You feelin’ more like a King Candy or a Lord Licorice?”

“...Fudge Monster.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yeah...”

Spy:

If you ask him, he will most likely go off on a tangent about chess, and how it’s a game of strategy, deception, and crushing your enemy with your wit.

He scoffs at any other game, and constantly makes fun of several of his more intelligent peers for finding interest in them.

“You are mercenaries. Blood-thirsty killers of men. And you are playing ‘Hungry, Hungry Hippos’ like a hoarde of kindergartners?”

But one thing he cannot resist is Sorry.

He considers it above normal board games because it has strategy - or at least that what he says.

He actually just likes it because it’s a game of revenge, which is like a drug to him.

He’s gotten so good at it that if he asks you to play Sorry with him, it’s almost guaranteed that he’s mad at you and just wants to let off some steam by giving you a horrendous loss. However, occasionally, he’s the one who loses.

Spy isn’t a poor sport, exactly - he’s too cultured for that - but sometimes his pride outweighs his manners and he convinces himself that the other player cheated through made up signs of deception.

He simply “allows” them to win because he “doesn’t want to make a fuss.”

But god help the unfortunate soul who decides to rub their win in his face.

Sniper had won five games in a row, and it was clear Spy was getting hot under the collar.

Sniper ended their games with a mischievous, “You’ll get ‘em next time, tiger.” and a small pat on his shoulder.

Spy immediately saw red, grabbed Sniper’s hand, and before the aussie knew it, he was against a concrete wall with a butterfly knife to his throat.

“I could kill you right now. Your final cry for Medic will be drowned in blood, and I would leave you here to die a painful, dramatic death. You’ll be replaced with a rusted trash can of a bot until they could grow another clone of you. Every memory will be gone. The team will be shrouded in grief, not because of losing you, but losing what the clone can never have. And I shall bide my time, ask the clone to play the same game, and kill them when they win. Another clone, another kill. And again. And again. And again. You think the Manns give a damn as long as their work is getting done? You will never be able to form a single thought before I spill your blood - caught in an eternal prisoner’s dilemma where you always lose.”

After gathering his bearings, Sniper finally spoke.

“Is this about your takeout?”

Spy scoffed.

“Do you really think - !”

“Tonight, my treat if you don’t kill me.”

Spy squinted.

“Egg rolls?”

“And an extra order of crab rangoon.”

“Your treat?”

“Yep.”

“How do I know you won’t poison me?”

“Chemical test before and after the food arrives.”

“How do I know Medic isn’t in on it?”

“Miss Pauling as a witness and Scout as an overseer. Pauling’s main objective is to keep us alive, and Scout can’t do bloody anything subtle, even if he wanted to. You can also play back the cameras in the lab, if the mood really struck ya.”

Spy held Sniper against the wall for a minute or two while he thought it all over, then let Sniper fall to the ground.

“I don’t need your sympathy, bushman. But you had better keep your end of the deal. I am the only backstabber around here.”

Demo:

Can’t even stay awake long enough to play most board games.

On the rare chance that he’s sober, he, Engie, and Medic like to play Monopoly.

Here’s the thing: you should never ask a drunkard, an engineer, and a sadist genius to play Monopoly together. It will not end well.

They have been playing the same game for years, with new rules in place and physical extensions to the board in order to try and end the game. Every other Friday, they take the weekend to try and finish it.

However, it all ends up fruitless.

Demo is usually the one keeping the peace, since he is the least competitive out of the three. That isn’t to say he isn’t clawing for the win as much as the other two, but he is definitely the least invested. He’s mostly staying out of principle.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, ‘s ta ne’er give up, e’en when the goin’s gettin’ tough. Roll the dice, doc.”

Despite his confidence, he’s not even sure what he would do if he or anyone else won. It would seem more like a relief than a celebration.

Medic:

He’s the one who started the Eternal Monopoly game, which has led to some theories that the game itself came straight from hell, and is one of the many punishments used on sinners. The box does smell a bit of brimstone…

He seems to enjoy the chaos that each round brings and the challenge of coming up with new rules to the game. To any outsider, his commentary and directions are complete nonsense.

“According to zhe ‘Calvinball Rule,’ as stated by Engineer, and the ‘Double Kill,’ as stated by myself, since the current time ends vis a three and ve all received at least two kills zhis veek, ve need to double every other roll and whomever loses zhe resulting game of ‘Bim Bum’ vill have to go to zhe Purple Jail.”

The rules and mechanics are like an unholy amalgamation of Monpoly, Sorry, chess, D&D, Bluff, and poker.

However, when Medic isn’t stapling pages of rules together, he likes to play a nice, relaxing game of checkers with Heavy.

Both of them are excellent checker players, but neither of them care who wins.

In fact, they usually talk over the game, taking the other player’s pieces as one of them shares a story from that day’s battle.

They’ve even played while Heavy was in surgery - leading to many unfortunate times when Medic had to fish a piece out of Heavy’s intestines.

One would think that a genius doctor would also have a passion for chess, but he expresses his disdain for it almost every time the checker board is brought out.

“Ach, people think chess is such an intelligent sport. Let me tell you, liebling, it is terribly overrated. If zhe devil can play chess, anyvun can. He might as vell just give souls avay, vis those shaky claws of his.”

Engineer:

Being the engineer, he is usually the one to add to the Eternal Monopoly.

Pieces, board extensions, cards, trivia - it gives him a nice break from all the weaponry.

He’s usually the one who remembers all the mechanics and rules, and serves as the judge if rules contradict each other.

“Alright, now let’s see here…we’ve got the Infinity Loop over here, but now you’ve got the Time Travel card…how many years? Infinite? Ho boy…looks like I’m gonna have to add a Hilbert’s Hotel square somewhere. Hold on…”

Despite his affinity for Eternal Monopoly, Engineer will play almost any board game. He learns new rules and figures quickly, and enjoys the challenges that brings.

However, if he’s particularly burnt out, he likes to take a break by playing Jenga. He and Spy have a friendly rivalry, since Engie can tell which blocks are supporting and Spy has quick fingers.

Spy, oddly, is a lot more amiable losing in Jenga - he knows Engie won’t think less of him - but Engineer hates when the bricks fall over. Not because it means he lost, but because, to him, it’s a failure on his part…even if it was someone else that knocked it over.

He’s made several blueprints for the perfect Jenga game, but has concluded that no human hand could put it into practice.

During one particularly bad day, Engie bumped the table, causing the whole column to come crashing down. Spy had already recovered from the noise, but Engie was still standing there, stone-faced.

His eyes were covered by his goggles, but it was clear he was crying.

Several of his machines had broken on the job, and to him, this was just another egregious mistake.

Spy carefully put the blocks back in the container, and Engie came to his senses.

“I’m real sorry, Spy. Maybe another time…?”

Spy only nodded. He was thinking.

The next time they played, Spy brought out a different container.

Instead of wood, the bricks seemed to be made of a sturdy foam.

“They fall a bit more…quietly,” Spy explained. He dropped one, and it only made a small bouncing sound. “Pyro uses these, but they allowed me to borrow it.”

Engie was a bit skeptical at first, since it was a new material, but he got the hang of it rather quickly. He was almost ecstatic the first time it fell - the blocks barely made any sound at all!

After a few games, Spy had to leave for an assignment. Engie put a hand on their arm.

“Thank ya, Spy. Maybe you ain’t the cold-blooded backstabber I thought you were.”

Spy chuckled, but said little else. He didn’t want to admit that noise sensitivity plagued him as well.

Pyro:

Pyro loves board games, and has quite the collection in their room.

Each plastic piece is at least a little melted, and all the boxes have two or three scorch marks.

Hungry Hungry Hippos, Candyland, and Uno are among her favorites.

He is an absolute beast at Uno, though.

They take each game very seriously, especially when they can convince the whole team to play.

As you can imagine, it’s pure chaos - it even led to a rule in the Merc Guidebook: “When playing Uno with three or more players with the inclusion of a Pyro, at least one Mann Co. representative and/or a mediating Medic must be present.”

Pyro has been known the hide cards, bribe players, or even try to set flame to competition. Playing Uno is almost like a mission, with weapon preparation and Spy posing as other players.

The mercs even have a betting stand that Sniper runs. All parties have lost a lot of money that way.

It’s pretty much the only time outside of battle that the team remembers how cruel and malicious Pyro can be.

Sniper:

Conventional board games aren’t exactly his forté, but he does enjoy a bit of cards every once in a while - Solitaire being his favorite.

He even has a pack of cards in his Sniper Square for that exact purpose. It allows him the pass the time without having to look away from his targets too often.

On occasion, he could be pressed to play poker, but only if the stakes weren’t monetary (i.e candy pieces, crackers, duties, etc.).

His favorite part of every match is shuffling the cards. Pretty much every merc could shuffle cards, but Sniper could make them almost float with how quick his fingers and wrists moved. He always began the game with a new trick he learned, which delighted his fellow players (usually Spy, Engineer, Medic, and Demo).

You could always tell if he had a busy day because he would avoid tricks with too much movement, which would be murder on his sore fingers and hands.

Pyro is currently learning card tricks from Sniper, and show off what they learn at the beginning of every Uno game.

Heavy:

He isn’t a huge fan of the bright, plastic-y board games that Pyro has, although he will play them if asked.

It’s mostly because of how complicated the rules are and the fact there are almost never a Russian translation for the directions.

He always prefers checkers, cards, or mancala, which he almost exclusively plays with Medic because he’s the only one who speaks fluent Russian.

Heavy can play a mean game of mancala, though, and it’s the only game he can beat Medic at.

Soldier:

The only games he will play are Battleship and Uno - but only after Miss Pauling convinced him it was “American enough” because the game had red, white, and blue cards.

He prefers the electronic Battleship because of the sound effects and voices. However, if it’s out of batteries, he’ll make his own sound effects.

Miss Pauling is the best at pretending to be a commander, so she’s usually the one playing with him - but, sometimes, Demo gets in on the action, too.

[fencesandfrogs]

an abridged history/explanation of warrior cats if you didn’t read them as a kid and have questions (a primer)

welcome. i’m going to keep things to the point, this is not a plot summary, just, well, its a pandemic and people are seeking items of childhood comfort and its come to my attention that a lot of people didn’t read these books as kids and then they come up in conversation and they act shocked so! i felt compelled to write this.

[2.5k words, 10min read. section headers, no pictures. not a ton of helpful formatting. i don’t want to say don’t read this because obviously i wrote it and think it’s worth reading, but i’ll be honest, this is a lot.]

section one: about me

i was an avid reader as a child, most of which fits solidly into “stories for another time,” and some of which would necessitate me adding tags onto this post that are, well, not necessary. so i will skip over that backstory but for those aware of lexile scores, i had one that was too high for literally any book that was appropriate to give me. so reading in school was torture and reading for fun was excellent.

now because i was a first-ish grader and my mom was trying to keep the fifth harry potter out of my hands, she looked desperately for something else to pass to me. her friend, who had a daughter a year or two older than me, was into these cat books, and my mom was like “here honey you like cats” without thinking too much about it.

which is good, because as i’ll get into, it was a really good fit for me. but like a dozen books later she asked me about the plot and well. i think at that moment she realized that it might have been better to just let me read harry potter.

but yeah i continued to read them long past the recommended reading ages and still as a Young Adult will return to them for nostalgia, and also as i will get into, some really good books. (see a list of books for “morbidly curious but i don’t want to spend 56 to 168 hours reading this”)

i’m not fully caught up on the series but this is not a plot summary so that should not impact my ability to discuss this

section two: content warnings

these books (not this post) includes the following:

discussion of castration (1.1 series 1, book 1, i’m not including this on every item/discussion because this is a complicated series but i want to demo how up front some of this is)

teenage romance/sex/pregnancy (1.1ish-1.3 or 4, continues throughout the series quite a lot, comes up again in 3.4/5, 4.4-5, and a bit in 5)

death from childbirth (1.can’t remember which book, many others)

unwanted pregnancy (se super edition, or a longer one off novel, discussed in 4&5)

sex/implied, discussed, and very very very heavily hinted but never directly said/shown (1.1-3ish, se, other)

murder (constantly, 1.1, 1.4, literally every book, 3.5, i’m just listing the ones i remember off the top of my head that were particularly graphic)

disability/illness, esp. the debilitating and/or deadly nature of it (1.3-5ish, 3.1, but all of 3, 3.4ish)

dementia (1.3-5, i’ve heard in some of the later series?)

abuse (7/8 this is reported i haven’t read these books but based on what i know it’s def there)

child abandonment (1.4-5, 3.4/5, it’s also all over the place but i think those are the only major character incidents of it)

treason (1.3-5, all over the place)

the horror/tragedy of war (background, but pretty constant)

disagreeing with an integral religion/tradition (3, based on the series title, 8, and generally scattered)

the corrupting influence of power (1.4/5, possibly 7/8, others)

racism (1, 3-5, possibly others)

sexism (se, background)

patriarchal societies (se, seems to be somewhat softened based on what i’ve heard but i’m not entirely sure about this)

and more! but it starts to get stranger and this is enough to prove my point

basically everything that could go wrong does

oh yeah! child abuse also child abuse that’s a very major theme in the first series as well as during other points. and elder abuse in the first series.

okay i’ve made my point.

section three: the appeal

look. so. i think we’re kind of pastel-ify children’s literature based on movies. see, parents have to watch children’s movies with their kids, so they can’t be gritty and intense because a lot of parents will say “not for my nine year old! they can’t deal with treason!” and that seems to be bleeding into children’s literature.

but warriors is not that. it’s intense, it borders on “too gruesome for children,” and it’s from a time where kids books got to be serious and heavy and dark because they were about animals. which was great because i couldn’t find books at my reading level that weren’t too thematically difficult, so i got to read something below my reading level, but thematically too hard, so it kind of balanced out.

and then well. so. the series grows with the audience, but the books don’t grow in terms of like difficulty so new readers start deep into it and it’s a complicated thing, the fandom history is complex, but.

the appeal is that parents don’t usually read the books their kids read and so they see a book about cats and assume it’s fluff, and kids who are starved of complex content get to read hamlet-for-kids.

section four: worldbuilding/lore

oh yeah also there’s some really deep lore to explore. so there’s two bits of appeal.

i’m not doing a full world/plot summary, but i’ll explain some common elements here.

thunder/shadow/wind/riverclan: harry potter houses for cats (gryffindor, slytherin, hufflepuff, ravenclaw, except this doesn’t work for the last two but that’s fine because no one cares about them despite riverclan being pretty important in most of the books)

-kit/-paw/-star: naming conventions. everyone has a two part name. (we’ll use cinder as an example because i like the two cinders we know, even tho neither of them get to be cinderstar.) babies are -kit (cinderkit), then when they’re apprentices, which is like being a student, you know, elementary through high school, you’re paw, so cinderpaw. then you get an Official Name from ur clan leader (cinderheart). if you become clan leader, you get to be -star (cinderstar). i know i haven’t explained clan leaders bear with me. this is kind of important because i have the names burned into my memory so i cannot simply always call firestar firestar if he was firepaw at the time of the events i’m describing. it won’t be ambiguous, cinderheart/cinderpelt are a special case. if this is tricky for you it’s fine just only read the first part of the name.

clan (leader, deputy, medicine cat, elder): roles with in the clan. leaders literally have nine lives. deputies are next in line and chosen by the leader. leaders usually go through several deputies, because deputies don’t have nine lives. medicine cats are doctors. they also have an apprentice. those are all one per clan. elders are just retired cats. they’re not a special category per say, but i wanted to mention them.

warrior: adult.

warrior code: laws.

star clan: dead cats. this ties into the religion which is pretty important to the books but for the most part if you understand that dead cats get to give guidance and send their approval, you have the gist of it.

section five: so um, what the fuck

so we start with a cat named rusty who runs into the woods to join thunderclan and then his name is firepaw and we all forget that he’s named rusty except for like that one time it comes up again. bluestar is a great leader with some corrupt deputies but fireheart eventually takes care of it and becomes clan leader which is a big deal.

then a bunch of other shit happens and suddenly ashfur is possessing brackenstar and being (more) abusive to squirrelflight (who is on the outs with brackenstar anyway for lying about their kits jayfeather, hollyleaf, and lionheart because they’re actually the children of firestar’s other daughter leafpool who had them with crowfeather after she fell in love with him but he’s from windclan and she’s a medicine cat so that’s double illegal and apparently hollyleaf is alive even though she yeeted herself into a pit and died because she killed ashfur when he threatened to reveal this but couldn’t live with being the product of an illegal meeting and then it was all pointless because leafpool stopped being a medicine cat out of guilt anyway and jayfeather is just an ornery bitch about everything but especially all of this)

i’m not explaining any of that.

section six: i repeat: so um, what the fuck

so the thing about these books is they’re soap operas and dramas about cats and that means they get just as strange and chaotic as anything else in the genre. i think a lot of people like me, who read them as children, regard the series we knew as a child (usually either the first three or the first five, plus super editions) as something good and warm and comforting (despite being dark and gruesome) because they made us feel good.

they were also a breeding ground for young fandom because of all the the drama that exists and the nature of the books providing that.

section seven: super editions

the simple answer to what a super edition is has already been given (it’s a novel length one-off about a single character, and its usually either a side character - bluestar, crowfeather - or a event/perspective we don’t get to see - firestar, skyclan, greystripe - and they’re generally more mature)

my favorite super edition is bluestar’s prophecy. i read it at like 16, slinking into the children’s library with a stack of other ya fiction and a “children’s book” which dealt with unwanted pregnancy, grief, forbidden love, and more. still not sure why that’s in the children’s section.

section eight: about the drama

so there’s been a lot of fandom drama about these books. i can’t tell you about the nuances, because i am an old fan, so i watched but didn’t partake. the highlights reel that i can recall goes as follows (please note i will refer to characters by name without explanation. it’s fine. the point of this section is to convey the pettiness of this drama):

tigerstar: did he do anything wrong? (the answer is holy shit yes, this isn’t discourse, it’s okay to like a villain)

scourge: did he do anything wrong, also what color is his collar? (also yes, doesn’t matter)

was the new prophecy (2)/omen of the stars (3)/etc good? (yes, eh, no, yes, no comment, no comment)

should jaypaw or hollypaw be medicine cat apprentice (neither of them, but jaypaw’s employment opportunities are limited because he’s blind, so its gotta b him)

uhh a massive tangle around this parentage drama between squirrelflight, leafpool, brackenfur, and crowfeather, which i used as the crux of humor for how batshit the plots can get, so i’m not even going to pretend i can make it funny, but just know that it’s batshit and the correct opinion is as follows: no one is right, but squirrelflight has done the least wrong, brackenfur is an asshole to her where it’s unwarrented, and hollyleaf is an idiot

and the current drama centers around brackenstar and ashfur and is tied directly to the point above, which is why i’ve kind of given up trying to make jokes about this because this is the culmination of like 35 novels.

section nine: i feel like i need to have some conclusive point to justify writing all of this

but i don’t have one, because this was really an excuse to ramble about an old passion for like half an hour. i mean i guess i can say, like, i think younger fans are sort of embroiled in this drama they don’t really have context for, because i’m not kidding, the current drama centers around the grandchildren of our original cast.

it’s kind of hard to know why, say, mistystar matters if you don’t know that she’s the child of bluefur and oakheart and if you don’t remember the drama that surrounded that when bluestar was dying and tigerstar and leopardstar were ruling a combined shadow/riverclan.

(i really hope that’s intelligible i tried to lay the groundwork for it. basically, there’s a biracial kid in a very segregated society who becomes the leader of one of the clans. which is obviously drama, especially considering that that clan was part of a weird supremacy movement a while back.)

& you know? i really hope one of the new series gets to be like, a soft reboot. just. end the current drama and pick up again with the latest generation. a) we’re starting to run out of names, and b) i think that it’s kind of tipped over the edge of sane.

the series also used to be very low fantasy. the cat societies are reasonably close to feral cat colonies (the biggest detail is that toms don’t all have their own territory, but there’s honestly in-universe discussion of this and it’s basically a culture thing), and while star clan/religion is a real and legitimate thing, there’s also a discussion of its abuse and most of the early books don’t really use star clan/related ideas as a physical force so much as a plot device, barring, like, when a new leader gets their nine lives.

honestly, i’ll always adore these books for serving the role they did, and a lot of the series is fantastically well written. but the fandom surrounding it can be, uh, not great because 9-14 year olds don’t really have good brains to understand this.

also, i’m very sad that i can’t find the flash game that was for the great prophecy. it was not very fun, but i enjoyed playing it, so if anyone knows the url so i can search the internet archive for it, please let me know.

section ten: i’m morbidly curious but there are 56 hours of books to read, assuming a very fast reading pace, so is there something i can start with to experience this without dedicating 4 days to it?

yes, there is.

it’s called bluestar’s prophecy. it’s standalone, and i should have given you enough of a background on the lore that you don’t need to know anything else. i’ve already given away the twist in series 1 that it would spoil, so you’re all good on that front.

if you want more, or want the original experience, the first series is self contained and quite good. i’ve given the broad outlines of the plot, but trust me, there’s a lot of surprises and all sorts of things i skipped over because while i like it, it’s not exactly fandom primer material

i also enjoy firestar’s quest and skyclan’s destiny for super editions, but you’ll need to read the first series to understand FQ and FQ to understand SD, so it’s not exactly a starting point. also, SD especially deals with a very different set of themes as the other books.

also, if you were to, say, search “readwarriorcats” (no spaces) on duckduckgo, and then click on one of the first links, you know, not the official site, the one hosted on one of those free website things, you know, not wix, not wordpress, the other one, you would only find lists of the books with hyperlinks.

;3

[l000ey]

kwon ryu → r.d

pairing; song mino x rae dara (mention of kwon jiyong)

summary; mino wants a baby but dara tells him that she can’t have babies and why, then they go to visit someone special for dara

warnings; mentions of miscarriage, stress attack and mild depression and spoilers about red’s future

note; poor red dragon :( I think I'll do an alternate ending to see how it would be if she ended up with gd

2019

Dara's head was moving from side to side in sync with the demo of a girl, a possible artist of her new company, that Tian had brought her that morning. It wasn’t bad, the rhythm was catchy, the lyrics in english and along with many "bitches". Her artistic part, Red, she loved it. She smiled and shoved a large handful of ramen into her mouth as she looked at her emails.

She was alone at home since Mino had to go to the studio to finish his solo album but she didn’t care much, she was proud of him and the time alone was always a good thing for her, besides that if Mino was with her she couldn’t finish all the work she had with the opening of the new label, probably if Mino were here she would not even have been able to get out of bed this morning.

"D, I'm home!" The king of Rome exclaimed leaving the keys on the kitchen table. He greeted Jaehee, the housekeeper, who was cleaning the kitchen. "Hi, Jaehee. How are you today?".

"I'm fine, Mino." The woman gave her boss a sweet smile. "Thanks for asking. Dara is in her office, she said not to bother her until lunchtime” She sighed, picking up the plate with the remains of pancakes and chocolate syrup.

"Did she get up later today too?" He raised a curious eyebrow. Lately Dara had been behaving differently, didn’ t talk much, locked herself in her office or in the studio that she had at home and only went out to eat, have dinner and then go to bed. Mino thought that maybe it was because she was very focused on opening her own company, because her parents had told her they would come to visit next month or because she hadn’t been on stage for a while. Whatever it was, it was affecting her and that was worrying not only Mino but also her employees, her fans, her friends and the whole world.

Jaehee nodded, making her white hair bun move with the movement of her head. "She got up an hour ago, had breakfast in silence while looking at her phone and when she finished she locked herself in the office. Although about ten minutes ago came and prepared an instant ramen "

Mino let out a sound from his throat, making her understand that he understood and after giving her a slight smile he headed towards the office. He sighed when he saw her move her head with some song that was listening on her headphones, he smiled before closing the door behind him and leaned against the door watching her with his arms crossed over his chest. She kept humming a song that he didn’t know how to recognize and her eyes were focused on the screen of her computer, not realizing that her husband was right in front of her. It must be that the song ran out at once because she took off her headphones and smiled, even without looking at him.

"Are you going to stand there longer? You look like a creepy stalker” She heard him chuckle before approaching her and sitting on one of the chairs in front of her desk."How's the album? "

"Interesting" He shrugged, still crossed his arms "And the company?"

"Interesting" She made the same gesture as him making both laugh, when the laugh died Mino sighed without erasing his smile while Dara filled her mouth again with ramen.

"D?" The girl made an affirmative noise at his question, unable to respond with words because her mouth was full of food "I want to have a baby".

Immediately the brunette began to cough because of the surprise almost choked, Mino got up to help but she stopped him raising a hand, swallowed and drank water and then cough a couple of times more. She shook her head, her eyes were closed and her body tense. The boy frowned, was it so bad to want to have a baby with the person you love?

"Are you okay?" His voice drew her to reality. She opened her eyes and nodded before smiling and taking his hand across the table, her  thin hands were much smaller than his.

"Mimi" The brown eyed boy smiled quickly, he loved that nickname for some reason, but only if it was she who called him that because if you did not call yourself Rae Dara and you called him that way you ran the risk of taking a punch in the face " I...Why so suddenly? "

"Today Hanbin brought Hanbyul and, well she is not a baby anymore, but she is so pretty and it was so beautiful to see her and Hanbin hugging each other or how she fell asleep in his arms" He moved in his place and put both hands around hers with the other hand that was free "I want that, with a little princess that looks like you or a champion that looks like me and teach them how to rap, dance and produce, it would be incredible. I want to have a child with you".

A silence covered the room. Both looked at each other in total silence, she looked at him with pity while he looked at her with hope that she would say yes. Dara broke the visual contact by finding the glass that made the desk much more interesting, Mino frowned and took a hand to her chin to raise and make her look him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He gave her a sweet smile, trying to comfort her and convey that he was there for her although he was also afraid and the insecurities did not take long to reach her body. Many questions came to his brain.

She didn’t want him enough to have a child with him?, Didn’t she want to have a baby because she thought he would ruin her career? Would she think that if she was pregnant he would stop loving her because she was not thin? or worse, Did she don’t want to have a child with him because she was only using him as entertainment until Jiyong left the military service?, Would she ask for a divorce when that day comes?.

Her green eyes rested sadly on his, they were watery. "I can’t give you children, Mino. There is very little chance that I would get pregnant, almost nil"

"What?" Mino didn’t understand anything, why could not a girl like her have children? She loved children!

"When I was eighteen, I got pregnant by mistake but Jiyong and I were happy, how couldn’t we? We were in love, we had the job of our dreams and we were going to have a child, the perfect life was getting closer but apparently being parents didn’t fit into the destiny's plans so it tried to erase the error” She took a breath of air causing Mino to squeeze her hand because hers were trembling non-stop. She swallowed and continued "One day Tian and I were in the car, I had a concert here in Seoul and I decided to tell him that I would be a mom because he was like a father to me and still nobody knew, I wanted him to be the first to know, I was happy to finally tell someone the secret but Tian was not very happy about it. From the beginning he didn’t support my relationship with Jiyong, as any father would, but he learned to live with it, of course pregnancy was something else, he began to tell me it was stupid, a risk too big for my career, that I was very young and that both I and baby would suffer because Jiyong wouldn’t be long with us, we argued very hard and I had a stress attack that caused me to have an abortion, I lost a lot of blood and they had to operate on me. It turns out that something was bad insidet there and the doctor told me that thanks to abortion there was very little chance that I could conceive children in the future ".

By the time she finished speaking, she was in a mess, she was crying non-stop, her eyes looked like waterfalls, she was shaking and it seemed like she was not breathing. Mino approached her so that she would sit on his lap and hug her, kissed her shoulder to give her moral support.

"How long were you when it happened?" He muttered almost distressed, it felt strange to talk about a son who could be here scampering but that was not his but Kwon Jiyong's.

"I had just turned a month." She shivered in his arms, making him tighten her grip on her and place the blanket she wore earlier around her shoulders better. Shee looked into his eyes "You can’t tell how much it hurt to wake up from the operation and see Jiyong crying next to my bed, hugging my arm. The happiness that had lit up his face when I told him I was pregnant had turned into a heavy, dark shadow of pain and grief. When I was pregnant he looked at me as if I were some kind of goddess who was giving him the greatest of gifts and, you don’t know how much I would like to see that look on you Mino, but I can’t, I'm sorry” Finally she let out a sob, she hid her face in his neck and her hand made a fist around the fabric of the shirt he was wearing. The boy could feel the tears wet his shirt but it didn’t matter to him but he pressed her harder against his body and kissed repeatedly the skin of her shoulder.

"It's okay, babe. It's okay, I can settle for Johnny and you. We are the perfect family of three, although we could give Johnny a friend, what do you think? "He smiled at a laugh choking a sob, at least she was laughing. He stroke her back carefully and they both stayed in that pose for several minutes, both without saying a word. Oh, what memories of there for 2015 in the new year.

"These days I've been this weird because next week ten years ago and it's going to be the first year for the anniversary without Jiyong, and it feels weird and bad because Jiyong is the only thing left of that memory and always, every year, we go to his grave to take flowers.” She broke the silence with his voice even more hoarse for having cried. Mino tightened his lips making them a thin line, feeling even more bad for her.

"He have a grave?"

"Yes, it was Jiyong's idea" She shrugged her shoulders away from his neck while wiping her tears with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, which was actually from Mino “He said we needed something to remind us that this had really happened, that pain would make us human again if at some point we lost ourselves. "

Mino gave a nod, knew that G Dragon and Red had a language that only they understood, they said a lot of deep things that might not make sense at that time but they knew their meaning one way or another. Their relationship was strange and too poetic.

"Can we go visit him? I'd like to go” He asked and Dara smiled before giving him a chaste kiss and hugging him by the neck as she thanked him again and again.

And so, half an hour later, they were in the cemetery looking at a stone grave surrounded by flowers and a dragon sculpted in the marble next to the initials 'K.R'. Mino frowned, keeping his hands in the pockets of his coat while Dara stroked the stone and left a bouquet of flowers, as she had said on the way were sakuras, the typical flowers of Japan.

"K.R?" His scowl still frowned on one more "It's obvious that K is for Kwon, but what about the R?".

"Kwon Ryu, that was going to be his or hers name."

"Dragon in Japanese, of course" He let out a small laugh at the obviousness of the matter and Dara smiled at him from the ground.

"The dragon is something very powerful and precious. Jiyong name means dragon in Korea, my favorite animal is the dragon and that's why I have one tattooed on my back, I'm from Japan so Ryu was a good choice to be the name of our unborn child” She shrugged and got up, got rid of the snow that had stained her knees and entwined her arm with her husband's before smiling at the grave "Let's go home, it's beginning to snow very hard".

[mei-astrology-blog]

Mastering The Ideal Gaming Assistance With All Of These Effortless Hints

There are various options when you need to spend time playing a game. It makes no difference should you not own personal a method because you can participate in plenty of games on your hard disk. Read on to uncover the secrets of productive game playing.

Brighten up the screen. As you might appreciate getting the monitor set up to suit the market for which you are taking part in, it could possibly actually make it more difficult to learn the sport. Tones all grow to be one and match, that can make it hard to find your opponents, which lets them come up on you. Improved illumination allows you to see much better and improve your outcome time. This may cause shades a lot more distinguishable along with your foes much easier to identify.

Did you know some Zombie Catchers cheat jailbreak are useful applications? 

These Zombie Catchers free coins undoubtedly are a protected bet for younger children. Titles focused on older children or older people often include violence and also other information unsuitable for youngsters. Perform a little on-line researching for activity ratings using their company dads and moms. This is the way you can find games not alone proper for your kids, but even interesting and educational for the children at the same time!

Get common splits when you're playing a relevant video adventure that you simply are unable to get by yourself far away from. It's not difficult to get obsessed with game, and this is not healthier. Taking part in Zombie Catchers free coins needs to be an exciting and rewarding expertise. If you think Zombie Catchers Coins Hack take about your way of life, and you simply impression that you will be becoming addictive, communicate with your doctor.

If you would like be recent of what your kid's are going to do into their Zombie Catchers cheat apk society, then take part in along with them and enjoy their Zombie Catchers cheat apk titles. Participate in the gaming applications your self and get involved in these people with your kids. Be sure to make inquiries, and reveal your need for his popular action. Try to remember, the ideal way to find out is training!

Deciding which console you are looking for can be the most challenging alternative. Think about game wants you possess initially, combined with an added benefits available from the person solutions. Analysis each individual system on the internet. You can start by checking out the product reviews uploaded by gamers who reveal your preferences. Taking the time for getting enlightened before choosing will save you a ton of money and grief.

Determine with Zombie Catchers cheat apk! Action vulnerable engineering is setting up a significant affect on the gaming marketplace. Currently, you may get your physical activity in by way of some physical activities-correlated Zombie Catchers free coins like yoga. Get more healthy in the home.

When working to find discount Zombie Catchers free coins, you should know for the Metacritic report just prior to obtaining. Some games usually are not enjoyment whatsoever, consequently they are simply low-priced. As a result, you are likely to be putting together hard earned cash away on Zombie Catchers cheat apk which will not get used. The game's scores just might help you make the best choice.

To make sure you get the best from your child's games expertise, there more effective be limitations which have been arranged for your kids every time they have fun with Zombie Catchers Coins Hack. Your youngsters should never engage in for more than a small amount of a long time a day since there are other stuff they will likely consentrate on.

Hunt for gross sales if you would like obtain cost-effective Zombie Catchers cheat apk that your choice of young people will delight in. 

A number of online video media merchants aren't doing well. If you're paying attention, you could find a particular near by and find some fantastic Zombie Catchers cheats deals. The discs might require some washing, but are generally in playable state.

A system to cleanse disks is important should you be being economical by buying used Zombie Catchers free coins. From time to time, these made use of activities might come your way in distressed affliction. The grime and dirt will be wiped clean having a cleaning system and have the discs performing just as before. It is wise to try to find various ways. There are a lot of various packages you can aquire.

Look for like-minded folks internet to talk about activities with. Taking part in Zombie Catchers free coins could be an antisocial physical activity, therefore you must ensure that you require time to socialise with other individuals. On-line community forums and message boards are perfect regions so that you can converse to make family and friends with other individuals who discuss your attraction.

A lot of Zombie Catchers Coins Hack are available on the Internet these days.

 Regardless of the style of unit you are working with, you possibly can rapidly discover a match when you like. This really is convenient, nonetheless it improves the danger of your having to pay extra money. Don't squander money on the newest Zombie Catchers Hack and massive costs. Take your time and possess perseverance to learn about the product or service primary before you head out having to pay lots of money onto it.

Check out playing games that you really get on line as an alternative to going out and buying an item. Retro adventure fanatics will probably be very happy to learn that lots of the more mature Zombie Catchers cheat apk titles are available on the web, there is no have to buy them! Set some profit besides if you nevertheless would like to engage in more modern Zombie Catchers free coins.

It is possible to download and install some demos for people who have a Zombie Catchers cheat jailbreak program connected to the Web. This is helpful in choosing which Zombie Catchers cheat apk you wish to obtain but not waste products your cash. This may also provide a little bit of procedure before you purchase this Zombie Catchers free coins and try to get up and running. Hence, trying to play demos proves to be very helpful.

It might possibly tone uncomplicated choosing a new game; yet, it is definitely a difficult determination. You may end up spending your hard earned cash with a negative adventure unless you set up a little research to begin with. On the internet evaluations are an easy way to acquire a sensation of how compelling a Zombie Catchers cheats iphone will likely be.

Whether you possess an Internet connection or otherwise not, no matter if you're positioning a transportable gameplay strategy or perhaps cellular phone, no matter whether you're reviewing your Television or perhaps your computer, you're moments from the gaming exhilaration. The recommendation provided on top of will help you get the most out of your efforts used Zombie Catchers cheat jailbreak.

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/06/09/west-week-ever-pop-culture-review-6917/

West Week Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 6/9/17

  In an interesting shake-up over at CBS, Erinn Hayes has been let go from her role as wife to Kevin James in Kevin Can Wait. They say that the show is going in a new direction, which necessitated the firing. But here’s where it gets interesting. Leah Remini, who played James’s wife on King of Queens, popped up in the season finale as James’ former cop partner. Well, just before announcing Hayes’s departure, CBS announced that Remini would be joining the show next season as a series regular. Now, if you’ve never seen Kevin Can Wait, Kevin James plays a former NYC cop who tries to figure out how to adjust to his recent retirement. Based on the season finale, though, it seems like James’s character might be coming out of retirement. It’s just a strange move, seeing as how the show ended the season as the #1 new comedy on network TV – hardly a situation that necessitated a retooling of the show. Part of what critics praised was Hayes’s portrayal of James’s wife of 20 years. How do you just gloss over that relationship? I mean, they’ve gotta kill her off, but unless you do a time jump, you’ve gotta slog through all the grief stuff, which doesn’t lend itself well to a multicam comedy. And if they’re gonna fast track a relationship between James and Remini, will the audience accept it? It really feels like they blew a sure thing and, if they wanted to recreate The King of Queens, thy should’ve just revived The King of Queens! I’ve said that online since Kevin was announced!

Speaking of Remini, I’m starting to think she’s a Scientology double agent. Bear with me here: Scientology is a well-connected organization in Hollywood that allegedly has the power to ruin your career with the information that they have on their members. If you ever leave the church, you’re pretty much done. Just look at the list of former Scientologists. On that list, Remini and Jeffrey Tambor are the one ones who even have a semblance of a steady career right now, and Tambor kinda skirted the issue by saying he never really joined the church. Remini, however, joined up as a child, and was a HUGE booster of the church. Then, in 2013, she turned on the church – not for its negative views on homosexuality (which is why Crash director Paul Haggis left) or its alleged illegal activities. No, she left because she got her feelings hurt after leadership clapped back at her. At Tom Cruise’s wedding to Katie Holmes, Remini asked why church leader David Miscavige’s wife wasn’t in attendance, and they basically told her she didn’t have clearance for that info (formal speak for “Nunyo Biznazz”). She didn’t trust that answer, and went further to file a missing persons report on Mrs. Miscavige. Then, she made it her mission to publicly discredit Miscavige, criticizing his leadership, citing reports of abuse in the Sea Org, and more. She went straight to the TOP with her blame game, yet NOTHING has happened to her. In fact, it’s probably rejuvenated her career. She got a successful show on A&E called Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, where she’s basically telling all their secrets. When the show debuted, the church issued a statement attacking her. Yet, she’s working more now than she was before. So, there’s two things happening here: either Scientology isn’t as powerful and litigious as we’ve been led to believe OR they’re in on it. It’s yin and yang. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. While Scientology has its critics, it never really had an enemy before. Why not create one where they could control the narrative? It’s like learning that Captain America has secretly been Hydra the whole time. Long story short, I’m not entirely convinced she’s left the church, especially over something as trivial as what’s reported to have started the whole thing. And she’s laughing all the way to the bank.

In other TV news, Tia and Tamera Mowry (yeah, they got married and have new hyphenated last names, but I ain’t got time for all that) are trying to get a Sister, Sister revival off the ground. And I don’t know anyone who wants this. If you were cool back in the 90s you probably never watched Sister, Sister, where a set of adopted twins didn’t realize they were twins until a chance meeting in a department store, a la The Parent Trap. Then they all move in together. It was the definition of “mediocre”, yet once ABC canceled it, it gained a new life over on The WB. The most memorable thing about it was that Marques “Batman” Houston, of the R&B group Immature/IMx, played their annoying neighbor Roger (kinda like a watered down Steve Urkel), and they’d constantly yell “Go home, Roger!” at him. Other than that, it was just a bunch of zany, mistaken identity twin shit – stuff that I’d hope adult Tia and Tamera had outgrown by now. What’s the story to tell? They both get divorced, and move in together with their kids? Sorry, Kate & Allie, Getting By, and the upcoming Raven’s Home have already covered that old chestnut. Are they single in the city, doing the same twin shit? Not interested. I don’t have a lot of faith in this one getting picked up, though, because they’re far behind where they need to be. Right now, they say they’re looking for a show runner to guide the project, but then they’d have to find a network. Sister, Sister was NO Full House, so I doubt Netflix would be interested. If anything, the only place I’d put it right now would probably be Freeform, even though the twins are slightly older than the target demo of that channel. Let this just be a lesson that not everything needs to be revived.

In other television news, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has cast Tala Ashe as Muslim “hacktivist” Zari Adrianna Tomaz for season 3. She’s a computer whiz from 2030, so basically the team’s got their own Oracle/Felicity now – not that they really need it, with Gideon and all. Anyway, in comics Tomaz is actually an Egyptian who uses the Amulet of Isis to transform into the hero Isis. Before the New 52 reboot of the DC Universe, Isis was an important character in the weekly series 52, as she was in a relationship with Black Adam, and her brother, Osiris, was eaten by Sobek. Oh, and she had a cheesy TV show in the 70s. None of that’s gonna be in the Legends, I’m sure. Given the current political climate, and how loaded the name “Isis” is right now, I doubt they’ll actually ever call her that onscreen, either.

Song of the Week

Today I give you “Vampires”, by The Midnight. My pal and thrifting partner, “Special Forces”, and I decided that this is the official theme song for Thrift Justice should it ever become a real show. Synthwave AND saxophone?! I wanna direct Skinemax movies just so I can score them with this entire album. So sexy. Right now, Thrift Justice is a USA drama circa 1990, and I ain’t got no problems with that!

Things You Might Have Missed This Week

Modern Family‘s Sarah Hyland will guest star on Freeform’s Shadowhunters, which kinda sounds like a step back…

Speaking of Freeform, they’ve ordered a pilot for an American adaptation of UK hit Misfits. The network is a good home for something like this, but I’m still pissed over the American adaptation of Skins, so…

Rudy Huxtable herself, Keshia Knight Pulliam, escorted TV dad Bill Cosby to the first day of his rape trial. Whatever. Call me when Lisa Bonet shows up.

In next level pettiness, Taylor Swift put her entire catalog back on Spotify at midnight – at the very moment Katy Perry released her album “Witness”

According to Dan Aykroyd, Paul Feig blew his chance at a Ghostbusters sequel because he overran his budget on unnecessary reshoots. Sony refuted the figures Aykroyd presented, saying the estimates were off by about NINETY percent. Woo!

Jennifer Connelly will join Daveed Diggs in TNT’s Snowpiercer pilot, playing the person who makes the daily announcements on the train. Exciting!

Tom Cruise revealed that the title of the Top Gun sequel will be Top Gun: Maverick. I wonder if John McCain has any feelings about that. Coherent feelings, not ramblings about the Diamondbacks…

Speaking of Cruise, his The Mummy reboot opens today, and reviewers have called it “the worst Tom Cruise movie ever”. Wow.

Singer/actress/sister of Ray J Brandy was found unconscious on a Delta flight, and the doctor who came to her rescue was reportedly Kim Kardashian’s uncle! Considering Ray J put that family on the map, I figure it’s time the Kardashians did something to return the favor.

Gotham stars Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie got married. Knowing that show, it’ll probably revealed that they’re Bruce’s real parents or some shit. It’s not like it pays attention to any of the rest of the lore, so why not?

Fox canceled 24 Legacy after a low-rated single season, but they’re still committed to the 24 brand. They’re reportedly developing an anthology series to take the show back to its real-time roots

Like Peter denied Jesus, Jerry Seinfeld denied THREE requests for a hug from Kesha. I don’t blame him!

In one of the strangest deals I’ve ever heard of, Epix has inked a deal to stream its content directly to 2018 Honda Odyssey  minivans

Sony will begin selling clean versions of some of their hit movies. If you’ve ever accidentally bought a clean version of an album from Walmart, you can see why this decision might anger some folks

Hank Williams Jr is back singing the opening to Monday Night Football for the first time since 2011. I guess all his rowdy friends will be over after they finish burning a few more crosses…

George and Amal Clooney welcomed twins Ella and Alexander

Former Power Rangers director/producer/fight coordinator Koichi Sakamoto will direct the upcoming Ultraman Geed series, focusing on the son of the evil Ultraman Belial. Yeah, those words mean something to someone out there.

Newcomer Blu Hunt has been cast as Danielle Moonstar in the upcoming New Mutants spinoff of the X-Men films.

A live action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop is being developed, and my heart weeps. As one of the few anime series I’ve watched, and loved, I kinda hope this dies in development hell

Hackers released 8 stolen episodes of ABC’s upcoming game show, Funderdome, and nobody cared.

Donald Glover will be retiring her Childish Gambino hip hop persona after his next album.

We got our first poster for the Black Panther film.

Last week I gave my opinions and feelings on the movie. This week, I’m just gonna stick to the facts:

92% on Rotten Tomatoes

$103 million opening weekend domestic box office

$220 million opening weekend global box office

Third highest opening for a DC film

Most successful female-directed film

Mot expensive female-directed film, with a budget of $150 million

Most tweeted about movie of 2017, with 2.19 million tweets

Won Best In Show and Best Fantasy/Adventure at the Golden Trailer Awards

Last Saturday, Wonder Woman Day was celebrated at comic shops around the world

You’ve seen it by now, right? RIGHT?! Then, what are you waiting for? For these reasons, and more, Wonder Woman once again had the West Week Ever.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... This Is Us (S01E16) Memphis Airdate: February 21, 2017 @nbctv Ratings: 9.354 Million :: 2.48 18-49 Demo Share Score: 9.5/10 **********SPOILERS BELOW********** AGGGH! I want to just scream, but I can't because of the tears. If one episode of 'This Is Us' has made me 'ugly cry' the hardest, so far its 'Memphis'. I might need a minute to emotionally adjust and calm down to get through this review because I promise you I'll be crying while I'm writing. The show has given me another chance to parallel some feelings and experiences (and lack of ones) with Randall and William, and I won't let it pass me by. Both men have been given such a rare opportunity, Randall was given a rare chance to connect with his biological father and was able to explore that relationship in depth and even take one last ride with the man. William was given a rare chance of redemption... Something that doesn't often present itself in our lives, not like the way it did in William's. I'd like to think it was because William has good soul and underneath all the pain, regret, addiction, and lost dreams... There was a beautiful man who loved and felt very, very deeply. Sometimes, those of us who feel those emotions in such a volcanic & visceral way, end up masking that intensity or running from it because they seem to be inexpressible. From the very start of 'This Is Us', I felt an immediate connection to Randall. The Randall-centric episodes gave me a chance to explore a possibility, or maybe live a fairy tale, and also truly put some emotions into words about my feelings towards my own abandonment by my father and explore feelings I didn't know were in there. If you've been following along with me on our Website, TVShowTime, Twitter, or Tumblr (and now our Facebook page), The Trip' S01E09 was where I really just RELEASED and not only connected with Randall feeling like an outsider in his own adopted family, trying to find his place, but also dealing with the absence of my father and the grief of losing a loved one who was my connection to that part of me. I made some statements in that piece that my mother read and was upset by, I want to make it clear that tho my mother and I do have a strained relationship at times, I love her deeply and know that sacrifices she made having me at such a young age, early in her high school years. She could've made the problem go away, she could've not given me the chance for life, but she did and by doing so risked her own future and made her own ride through life even more turbulent. And even tho we live our lives very differently, I will be forever grateful for the life she gave me. Watching her struggle through high school, then leaving me behind while she went to college, coming back for me and going from poor apartment life, struggling through our step fathers addiction and subsequent & extremely inspiring recovery, to them both rising from ashes as both being independent & successful business owners has been almost intimidating for me as their son. Yeah they've made incredible mistakes, parenting mistakes, along the way, but we are human and their fighting spirit in life is inspirational and I hope to one day even come close to achieving what they have in their lives. Like Rebecca, who did not appear in this episode my mother was extremely apprehensive (that's probably not a strong enough word) about me meeting my biological grandparents... But I think the worry truly lied in the possibility of somewhere down the line meeting my biological father. Since I've already covered the subject, I'll leave it at this, but I needed to set some things straight as I continue the parallel. Many people reached out to me after writing that piece on 'The Trip' and a few other extremely naked and raw pieces, letting me know that they had gone through something similar. Somehow it's comforting to know that throughout this universe that my brothers and sisters who reached out to me from France, Brazil, The UK, Spain, Iran, and several other countries are connected to me through a similar struggle. A struggle we also are connected with through Randall, who actor Sterling K Brown has really made come to life. He's incredible and without his vulnerable and incredibly powerful performance as well as Ron Cephas Jones who also gave us an award worthy, captivating presentation as William, this just wouldn't have popped and have given us such a deeply affecting experience. This last hurrah with William, this trip to Memphis, a trip that Beth wasn't exactly on board with (as we saw in she and Randall's heated, but equally adorable back in forth in Doctor/therapeutic consultation) was the perfect leg to end this arc on. Knowing that there wasn't much time left to live, they set out on their cathartic road trip journey, something I myself am in need of as of late... Giving William the chance to go back home to face his demons, make amends, and live like nothing was wrong one last time... And giving Randall the chance to meet extended family, to trace his roots he'd only been able to dream about since he was a boy. For most of us this will never happen, I'm in my 30's and still waiting on that phone call or email from my father, but it hasn't come, and I don't know if it ever will, so watching it happen is like vicariously living through Randall. It's surreal. As they start the trip Randall says they won't be using GPS and pulls out a bunch of maps to which William promptly throws out the window... Yup, "Just drive, son... We'll get there." Truer words have never been spoken. They really captured that freeing road trip experience, an empty road as they forged ahead, surrounded by trees on either side, bright grassy medians, and windows down, wind blowing through their souls... There's something so cleansing, so purifying about a road trip. And as they followed the winding highways and byways to Memphis, we saw William's own timeline paralleled as his walk in life was explained... The show had started with his birth and then we saw that his father was killed leaving him with a single mother... The trip started with his mother seeing him off to explore his music and art to see if he could spread his wings the way that she knew he had it in him. Let's be clear, success isn't defined by the house you have, the things you sell... It's defined by the people you touch and whether or not you leave this plane of existence with a smile on your face. Randall and William traded stories about their lives, Randall talked about Jack Pearson, the myth, not necessarily the man, and how he used to calm him down through his debilitating panic attacks. At this point in the episode I had probably welled up with tears at least twice... Ok maybe three times, or possibly four. William wanted to know more about Jack and I just love hearing the three 'children' talking about Jack. When one of close loved ones passes we start to forget the bad and remember all the amazing things they did, the little things that brought us joy, relief, or just smiles. This is how we immortalize our lost ones, we all are terribly faulted, and if you can't look back and smile at a fault then it's probably not worth remembering. It's a human condition thing, I don't know if it's right, but it's what we do. I miss the long talks with my Aunt, who was more of my sister than anything, she'd talk to me on the phone for hours as I moved across country looking for a place I could call home. She always fantasized and pushed for me to come live with her, but we both knew I belonged somewhere far away. I remember when I was very little she would play on the piano and sing... My favorite was when she would sing Bette Middler songs... But she could do everything from 'Guns N Roses' to Power Ballads. She introduced me to music and we would sit in her room for hours and she'd write down and memorize every lyric to every song... Poison, Whitesnake, REM, Tesla, Joan Jett, Tone-Loc, nothing was off limits What I wouldn't give for some of those pieces of paper. I'd probably collage them out into a piece of artwork, but they are long gone. You never think about those things then because you don't think that one day they'll unexpectedly leave you. I pretty much knew that when William suggested that they drive a half a day out of the way to pay respects to Jack, that he knew this was his last trip. His speech to Jack's official resting place, where he says 'I would've liked to have met his son's father' had me in knots. To all of you out there like Randall, like me, who missed out on their real life blood father, I hope you get your redemption story. I hope that you are able to meet your cousins and your brothers and sisters. I hope that you don't just get to meet them once and swap an email or meaningless Facebook posts every once in a blue moon. I hope that what we are seeing in 'Memphis' is a possibility and not just a fairy tale, manipulating our emotions on NBC. We all deserve closure and to all the lost fathers, lost mothers, I don't care what you've done... You all deserve redemption. But you can't just sit back and hide in fear of get stuck in your feelings, frozen in their icy hold. You have to reach out. You have to make a call. You have to tell your sons and your daughters that deserve to hear you say that you're sorry, or you did what you thought was best... Whatever it may be. You might not get your Memphis, but even if you receive a emotionally charged reaction.... Anger, Sadness. Relief, Fear (and whatever else is controlling us from the inside like in the existential Disney/Pixar masterpiece 'Inside Out'), you owe it to your children and you owe it to yourself to just say something, anything at all.

[souichipresents]

Souichi Presents: Tomie, tOmie, toMie....

Kyahaha! Welcome, welcome back to Souichi Presents! The home of a true madman's task... to one day have reviewed every single Junji Itou story ever made! However... perhaps if you’ve noticed, even leaving aside the holiday hiatus, there’s been an unusual uptick in Non Mr. Itou Reviews. 

Why would this be? Well, I could say that I try to take in new horror as much as possible, to keep refreshed... but if I had to be honest in myself, it’s possible... I might be avoiding something. 

THERE'S JUST SO MANY OF HER. THEM. THESE STORIES. There’s so many of them. But that can’t stop me in my sacred duty because I swore an OATH... well I had a random idea when I was a freshman in college which I picked back up again for absolutely no reason I can recall and I’m sticking to it. 

Of course this is a labor of love, make no mistake. And there’s still a lot to love, as we get to... 

JUNJI ITOU’s, TOMIE: THE BASEMENT

(See part 1, MORITA HOSPITAL, here.)

Alright so if you weren’t here for the last part of this series, here’s a QUICK rundown. 

A girl is in the hospital while her not-boyfriend visits, until oh no! Tomie does that weird thing she does where her only enjoyment in stringing dudes along eems to be tormenting girls about it which isn’t weird at all. Sad hopsital girl is very sad, and also absolutely dying from Vauge Anime Organ Failure. But luckily for her, she’s able to get a transplant! Bad news, it’s a Tomie, signed off for the transplant from the sketchiest man alive claiming to be Tomie’s father. Again. Which is creepy because he is 100% actually the teacher from the very first Tomie story who may have impregnated her, was absolutely dating her, and 1000% killed her. So that’s creepy. 

Then it ended with ‘everyone with a uterus screamed internally during THIS bit’, alternate title ‘Aliens but with Tomie’. Now that we’re all caught up... 

(remember this is one of the very early translations, back when official publishers mirrored the art, so it’s left to right. God forgive us.)

Oh right, so this is early EARLY translation here, so it’s left-to-right again. My favorite part of this is that if theres a RUMOR about this, it indicates two things, really: one is that a patient happened to SEE this, which is just hilariously terrible. You get up, maybe getting some water, see- oh hey they’re operating and hhHOOOPS THATS A TINY HAND BYEEEE. 

Or option two: just some real gossipy nurses. “You would not BELEIVE the shit I put up with... yeah between this and whoever put the plastic wrap over the toilet seat, I’m out. I don’t care if it includes dental.”

...sorry, the heck is this?

Why it’s Fumihito! He’s... totaly unrelated to the story so far, and any future stories! But he’s sure here now. Good for you, Fumihito. 

Sure I make fun, but I’m pretty sure he might actually make it out of this ALIVE. Maybe the secret to surviving Tomie is to lack personality. Well he has one personality trait: checking out creepy things for No Reason. It might not get you very far at a party, but it;s gangbusters for moving a horror plot along. 

Well so much for my recap. This one’s probably more factual. Also can I just say I appreciate how in stride these doctors are taking this? Maybe they got all their ‘NO, THIS CAN’T BE’ out of their systems earlier. 

Well this has to be better then the goldfish bowl of hydrocloric acid the last tomie head was in. But whatever THIS is is... opaque... but not from... this side...?

....Mr. Ito, did you just have worries about drawing the doctors through the water at an angle? Well, god knows I wouldn’t want to. 

Now this is interesting, because it’s really the only go at a scientific explanation for Tomie’s... tomieness. But all he’s *really* saying is, hey, she can regenerate! I don’t think the real secret to this story is that Tomie turns out to be a large pile of planarians. ...though that would be amazing. 

...though it does speak badly for earths survival rate... do you eventualy wind up with a Tomie ‘apocalypse’? Crowds of tomies... gigantic tomies, like terrible lighthouses of adoration? Who knows, maybe every second tomie just kind of wanders into the ocean to keep overpopulation down... but still, you imagine it ends poorly. 

Yes well luckily rules don’t apply to NOSY MALE PROTAGONIST MAN! Able to use his amazing powers to satisfy his own vauge curiosity with a single bound. 

“And why are you in my room exactly?” “Plot contrivance! Need a character to follow to see the story happen, you know.” “...Isn’t that *me*?” “Don’t... don’t worry about it. 

This really highlights the difference in horror as a genre, you know? In most other stories someone being able to miraculously heal from major surgery would be a GOOD thing. Or at least even odds. 

See also: reading mysterious books, talking to strange new people, investigating odd noises. Don’t blame horror protags for doing those things; any other genre going into the magic furniture leads to narnia instead of hell. 

Similarly, only in horror is it possible for cancer to not be the worst outcome.

Now, I do feel the urge to make a joke here about just deciding to irradiate the monster why not, but they do actually have a logical train of thought here. They’re assuming something like cancer is happening; so they’re trying to see if radiation therapy could destroy the cells. 

WHICH is in turn interesting to me, because the “rules” of Tomie aren’t... clear. But they do seem to work. For the record-

Acid works. Fire works but you gotta be REAL thorough. Cutting is the opposite of working, bludgeoning not really much better. Water- laughable. Poison- untried. Concrete- ???? Radiation... well you’ll see in a minute. 

Meanwhile we get more of this. You wanted more of this, right? 

Tadashi sucked. Suuuuucked. This guy... exists. 

This does clarify a little more about her- it sounds like she has kind of a lonely life. ...I’m also going to throw this guy a bone and assume whatever he said in the original japanese might have been more of a “Oh, is that right?” then... that. 

Oh right, the monster. Radiation turns out to just make Tomie go from a kind of head-disaster to “barbie doll left on the stove.” Why? It’s a little late to want a scientific reason why THIS happens, because tomie already endlessly self replicates with no apparent need for outside energy... kind of. 

More then a few times we see her eating things (people) to regenerate from, but theres also times where nothing like thats around. Maybe having outside energy just speeds it up...? Or maybe she’s a nonsense curse monster. 

You know, I really didn’t think I’d like RE7 when the demo was out, but I like a lot of what they wound up doing with it in the main game. 

...And you are....?

Okay. Y’all. My dear friends. I love these comics. I love mr. Ito. I do. But we spend FOUR PAGES on, essentially, “Freddy hears noises behind the door, and briefly sees a walking figure.” I’m hitting the fast forward. 

There she is. The crux of this mystery- this and so many more. A living ghost? An endlessly self replicating memory? The guilt and fixation of a murderer imprinted into a endlessly replicating form? The grief of a murdered (pregnant!) teen girl horrifically cut down by a man?

If nothing else, a strange naked girl, in a fishtank, in a hospital basement he just saw a dude walk out of. What a strange sight. What a genuinely beautiful panel, highlighting a subtle, aberrant moment. 

...well. I mean, from a meta point of view, he took the safest available route, but... you can’t help but be disappointed, right?

Well Tomie has better things to do anyways. People to see. Short haired girls to loom over. 

No seriously, always with the short haired girls. Tomie has a.... type? Is that even what you could call it?

I’m not sure it really is about Tadashi, Tomie. I’m not really sure it is. 

Speaking of which, this is actually really unusual for Tomie. While she tends to generate terrible violence and suffering around her, I can’t really think of any time when she actually directly attacks someone. Usually she would have male ‘lackeys’ that she’d assign or manipulate to kill someone for her. This is an unusually direct motion on her part. 

Hey remember when she had slightly curly hair? We’re in the odd midpoint art wise where her design takes a odd turn. I can never figure out if it’s just a drift, or if it’s closer to how Mr. Ito wanted Tomie to look. 

Anyways it was nice knowing you, Dr. McDoctorson. 

Meanwhile, this is going to get a lot worse, and never get better. Note the interesting framing of the flowers here. I wish I knew if this was made before or after Dying Young. It feels like a very similar story thread, but Dying Young focuses more cleanly on the specific idea of ‘an illness making you beautiful, but at a terrible cost’. While this is... well. Tomie tomie tomie tomie. 

In the meantime, the doctors have been debating if tomie material can be used to cure illnesses (spoiler: hhhhooo boy no), and our main character went to visit John Smithee here. Who... does... this. 

...What the hell is he talking about? Her only personality change is she’s suddenly a little happier, and flirting with him. Also, he’s the one who’s been nonsensical in her grill hitting on her? Is this supposed to be like, ~oh I liked you for how you looked before~. 

I hate that. I hate every half-witted story where some boy is praised for seeing a girls ~natural beauty~. Like the discover of a girl is more important then whatever her plans for how she wants to look and feel are. And while this isn’t exactly because she just straightened her hair and got makeup, he doesn’t actually know that. So it just... grates on me. Endlessly. 

WHY IS THIS DUDE IN THIS STORY. 

Like this is supposed to be GASP TOMIE IS TAKING HER OVER but the problem is I don’t LIKE him, and his reason for turning her down is as shallow as anything Tomie has literaly ever said. 

It’s not sweet! And he has no functional personality. This story is supposed to be about her, but because she’s going through this transformation, it feels like he’s there so we see it from outside her point of view. But he just... sucks. 

Me too, totes-not-Tomie. 

Yeah his investment in how much more docile and quiet she was before really makes me feel the emotional weight of this terrible transformation coming over her. Which I guess is really my problem. 

This horrible thing happening to HER is being framed in how it’s affecting HIM. How HE feels about how she looked and behaved. And I could not care. Less. 

WHY CAN’T WE SEE MORE OF HOW SHE FEELS ABOUT THIS. 

meanwhile, Tomie accidentally saves many, many lives by getting rid of the other half of Kidney-Kaijulet, because these morons were going to inject more people with Tomie. 

Then this happens, and it kind of sucks. Even though it’s ~tomie~ and she’s evil or whatever... it... just kind of sucks. Which I guess is what winds up wearing me down in this series. We’re not short of media where ladies get hit and killed a lot. And I fully recognize there is context for this series as existing in japan that I’m not privy to, and will never actually be able to speak to. 

But to me, what the Tomie series has thats genuinely something different gets overshadowed by the monotony of the violence in it. For how little Mr. Ito work in later years includes outright slasher type violence, Tomie just... keeps goin. 

Also, she keeps dying but Creeper Teacher Dude here keeps being alive still, which also Just Sucks. 

Blink and you’ll miss it, here’s the whole reason any of this happened! It’s... this shithead again. Womp womp. 

Unintentionaly this might be the funniest page Ito has ever made. Poor bearded doctor just. 

WHY ARE YOU CUTTING HER UP? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WI- WHY THE FUCK DO *YOU* HAVE A CAN OF GASOLINE. WHY IS ANY OF THIS HAPPENING. I SHOULD HAVE JUST TAKEN THE JOB IN KURÔZU-CHO. 

Also.... “squeak squeak?” That cannot possibly be the right sound effect. 

...alright this guys a total shitstain in five directions, but this is also pretty funny. He’s basically doing a Loony Toons exit in a dark horror story. 

Don’t listen to that too long by the way, it’s kind of hypnotic. 

And this... this one page makes, to me, the whole rest of the story.... 

The intensity of the reveal. The tight closeups from her face to his, the way she seems contained inside the arc of the fire. The slant of the panels around them- leading to such a sense of unease, and drawing the eye.  

This. This is a beautiful horror moment. 

What a strange moment. Do they leave together? I don’t remember if he comes back again, though I suspect he must. What happens to her....? 

Is she really completely gone?

And that, at last, is the end of BASEMENT. 

This is a really muddled one for me. I feel like theres so MUCH in it I could enjoy, but somehow it both has too many ideas, and feels stuffed with filler. 

I’d loved to see some of these ideas. A hospital researching tomie? A girl being corrupted BY tomie and slowly losing her sense of self...? Those are both amazing ideas that I wish had been their own stories. I wish the girl becoming tomie had kept the lense on HER. On how she felt, on what she was doing. 

I think in a way I find this pair of chapters to be more frustrating then others because... if there weren’t good moments, I could just freely mock it, and maybe even skip past it. But there is a good story in it! There really is. 

It just feels like it’s happening somewhere else, while the ‘camera’ follows this unrelated person. With a level of decompression that... doesn’t work for me. 

I suppose thats a greater problem I have with Tomie. It can just feel like so MUCH, but it almost never gets bad enough i can comfortably abandon it. 

Almost. 

That’s all for this week, folks! Join us next time won’t you? I’m hoping to get to more Ito, and talk about the hauntingly strange short “Madame Tutli Putli”, and possibly talk about the great classic of horror cinema, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. And of course, the souichi presents patreon is now on monthly donations, and I’ll be updating it’s milestones soon! Even a dollar or two makes a really big difference. 

And as always, Souichi WILL... return. 

[americafuneral10-blog]

4 Social Media Mistakes Death Care Companies Are Making (and How to Fix Them)

Living and breathing social media marketing is a major blessing and a deadly curse. For us, it means always being ahead of the game. Leading a profession into the current state of marketing is a big responsibility.

On one hand, there’s always something new to learn and try. However, not everything makes sense when it comes to marketing death care companies. We’ve watched many funeral organizations lose focus on strategy due to the bright and shiny nature of the new tactics that pop up. Tactics come in all shapes, sizes and value levels. Some are new features that are useful and others can be ‘shortcuts’ that ultimately lead us in the wrong direction.

Recent conversations got us thinking, so we wanted to talk about some social media marketing mistakes we see death care companies make, and how they can fix them.

1. No Content Strategy

Whenever we work with a new client, one of the first things they want to know is what we’re going to be posting. We explain that we first need to create a strategy to determine what we are going to post. There is a HUGE difference in posting content matched to a strategy and just posting content for the sake of posting content.

The difference between the two is simple – a strategy is comprised of content pieces (we call these stories) meant to help achieve a certain goal related to the greater plan, while posting is publishing content just to have something in the feed for that day.

Never post for the sake of posting. Ever. There are many so called ‘social media programs’ from companies in the funeral profession that just want to sell you generic content (grief and inspiration images, Preneed sales images, bible verses, special holiday images, etc).

We recommend creating a content calendar that houses content directly related to the themes and goals you created in your strategy plan. Consider your content strategy a living entity that’s strict, yet also very flexible and can change with real world trends, like the solar eclipse (see below):

A proper content strategy is key to every successful social media strategy. There are no shortcuts.

2. Poor Visuals and No Video

With the rise of cinemagraphs, GIFs and videos, your social media visuals need to be high quality (on point) to be noticed. Every post needs to be a show stopper, like Wendy Peffercorn in The Sandlot.

Not every funeral home has the budget to invest in hi-res photos and video shoots and you really don’t need to because there are resources out there like Pexels and Death to Stock Photo that provide high quality graphics for free (14 Free Stock Photo Sites). You can create some awesome content using free stock photos and doctoring them up in a platform like Canva.

What about video, you ask?? A big concern funeral homes have is they can’t afford to hire someone to shoot video for them. Well, guess what. YOU DON’T NEED TO. Smartphones have become lifelines. You can video chat family, order from Amazon and watch all your favorite shows. Heck, I can practically run DISRUPT Media and ConnectingDirectors.com from my iPhone and never touch a computer! The evolution of the smartphone allows for content to be created anytime and anywhere.

Download our FREE white-paper ‘How to Shoot Video on a Budget’

At the end of the day, your content speaks about your brand and your brand is what the consumer perceives you to be, not what YOU say you are. Don’t rely on content that isn’t visually appealing. Take the extra time and make sure you’re giving the peeps something that looks so great it’s finger stopping (you know, they stop scrolling…with their finger…on their smartphone)!!

3. No Measuring

We firmly believe in providing as much data as possible to our clients. We call them ‘Buzz Reports” and they get deep! Every eyeball and click is measured.

Typically, we start with the “meat and potatoes” or the basics like community growth, impressions, engagements and basic demographics. With this base data, we can then do a deep dive and start looking at website demographics related to social followers and start understanding Facebook buying signals to better understand the interests of the exact users our clients want to engage and who are most likely to preplan or call our clients in an atneed situation. We can use this data to create content that is more likely to push a Facebook fan down the sales funnel and ultimately into a Preneed lead.

Unfortunately, when we partner with funeral homes or death care companies we find that they aren’t measuring results and if they are, they are measuring irrelevant data.

When you aren’t measuring results, you don’t have a clear picture on how your social media efforts are impacting your business. And if you don’t have a content plan and strategy with goals, how do you know what to measure? See the problem, you gotta have number 1 to get to number 3.

4. No Facebook Ads

A few years ago, you could use Facebook to reach thousands of people and drive solid website traffic without the need to boost content or buy ads. In 2017 having no advertising budget for social media can drastically suffocate your results. Regardless, Facebook is the most cost effective way on the planet to reach a targeted audience. Funeral homes who take advantage now will be getting in when Facebook advertising is massively underpriced and traditional marketing methods are grossly overpriced. Just look at the chart below that shows the CPM (or Cost to Reach a 1,000 people) of current marketing methods. Facebook is much more cost effective.

But you don’t need to break the bank. As a social media agency, we’ve worked with funeral homes that have allocated as little as $200 per month in Facebook Advertising spend and have been able to generate positive ROI. Not having advertising dollars isn’t a deal breaker, however you need to set your own expectations that it’s going to be a long hard road to positive return on investment without it.

On an average spend of $500 a month we have clients who bring in between $10,000 and $15,000 a month in sales from preneed leads generated through Facebook ads. I have said it before and will say it again, if you are not driving leads through Facebook, you are doing it wrong!

If you’re reading this and feel like these points resonate with you, it’s time to get serious. You must treat Facebook marketing the same as any other marketing channel if you’re going to see true business value. Facebook marketing is massively underpriced and it’s not just good will marketing. You should absolutely be driving leads through social media.

Schedule a live demo with DISRUPT Media: http://www.disruptmedia.co/demo/

About Author

Ryan Thogmartin is a death care entrepreneur and the CEO of DISRUPT Media and creator of ConnectingDirectors.com. | Follower of Christ | Husband | Father | Entrepreneur | Host of #DISRUPTu! and #FUNERALnationtv | Lover of Skittles

Watch FUNERAL Hustle: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkzmzds-VgOy_lT4ekLspCdQrxXqTxlEu

DISRUPT Media is a full-service creative agency built for the now. We partner with death care companies to drive deep rooted brand loyalty and measurable leads through social media..

4 Social Media Mistakes Death Care Companies Are Making (and How to Fix Them) published first on YouTube

[aliciasilverstonedd-blog]

Knowing The Best Mod Apk Guidance By Using These Effortless Suggestions

There are various selections if you want playing a Gems Hack. It does not matter unless you personal a method since you can engage in a whole lot of Mod Apk on your pc. Continue reading to uncover the tips for flourishing game.

Find out what your sport evaluations necessarily mean. Cheats have relocated past the purpose of like a kids' pastime, so don't assume that a game's articles will be appropriate for all ages. EC games are compatible with early on childhood years precisely where AO Cheats are just for grownups. Make certain you go for an correctly-graded activity, specifically when it is a present designed for another person.

Brighten up the display. Whilst you may well experience obtaining the display fixed to enhance the scenario for which you are trying to play, it may actually make it more challenging to experience this online game. Hile all turn into one particular and blend in, that can make it tough to seek out your foes, which lets them come about upon you. Raised brightness will let you see sharper and raise your response time. This may cause colorings a lot more distinguishable and also your adversaries quicker to recognize.

Do you know that some Cheats are informative programs? 

These activities undoubtedly are a secure option for kids. Titles geared towards older kids or grownups usually consist of abuse along with other content material unsuitable for youngsters. Perform a little on the net study for sport evaluations from other families. That is a way that you can obtain activities not just best suited for your kids, but even excitement and academic for him or her at the same time!

Bring consistent splits when you're performing a video adventure you are unable to take all by yourself clear of. It's effortless to get hooked on video gaming, and this is not good. Trying to play games should really be an enjoyable and enjoyable encounter. If you think that games are taking through your daily life, therefore you perception you are getting to be addictive, speak to your doctor.

Should you wish to be up to date on what your kid's are performing of their Mod Apk world, then participate in using them and play the game their activities. Take part in the Cheats your self and indulge in them the kids. Ensure that you ask questions, and present your fascination with his favored physical activity. Try to remember, the easiest way to discover is procedure!

Choosing which unit you choose could possibly be most difficult pick. Think about gambling necessities you could have first, as well as the additional options supplied by the sufferer systems. Research every structure on line. You can begin by reading the evaluations circulated by gamers who discuss your preferences. Making the effort to receive prepared before selecting can save you some huge cash and grief.

Training with Cheats! Movements very sensitive technological innovation is having a major affect the Mod Apk marketplace. Currently, you can find your exercise in by means of a number of sporting-relevant Cheats like yoga and fitness. Get healthier and stronger in your house.

When seeking to find out cheaper games, you ought to know for the Metacritic ranking just before purchasing. Some Mod Apk are definitely not exciting by any means, as a result they can be economical. For that reason, you can you should be throwing hard earned cash out on Mod Apk titles that will not get played. The game's score can assist you make the best choice.

To make sure you get the most out of your child's gaming encounter, there considerably better be limits that are established for your kids as soon as they play the game Cheats. Your children ought not engage in for more than a number of time everyday seeing as there are other stuff they should target.

Find income if you want to receive affordable games that your potential young people will enjoy. Countless training video suppliers aren't succeeding. If you're focusing, you will probably find 1 in the area to get some fantastic Mod Apk savings. The discs may necessitate a certain amount of maintenance, however they are usually in playable issue.

A kit to completely clean disks is essential should you be spending less by buying used Mod Apk. Often, these put to use Mod Apk titles may perhaps come your way in distressed state. The grime and dirt will be wiped clean using a clean-up equipment and acquire the discs performing one more time. You should invariably consider various other ways. There are a number of numerous packages you could buy.

Discover like-minded people internet to discuss Cheats with. Playing video gaming can be an antisocial task, therefore you must make sure that you just take time along to socialise with others. Web based community forums and discussion boards are great spots that you should talk and then make close friends with other individuals who reveal your fascination.

Many Mod Apk are online in these days. 

Irrespective of what method of product you will be by using, you can actually right away discover a game any time you like. This is extremely hassle-free, yet it boosts the possible risk of your paying out extra cash. Don't waste material funds on the most current games and also their large price tags. Take your time and have absolutely perseverance to discover this system primary prior to going out investing lots of money about it.

Check out playing Mod Apk that you just locate web based as opposed to going and buying a little something. Classic match buffs will be delighted to find that a lot of the aged Mod Apk titles are literally accessible online, there is not any should find them! Position a few bucks besides if you happen to continue to choose to perform more recent Mod Apks.

You are able to down load some demos assuming you have a Mod Apk process linked to the Web-based. This is very useful when you are deciding on which Mod Apk titles you ought to acquire and not simply throw away your dollars. It can also give you a little training prior to buying the overall game and become started out. For this reason, taking part in demos proves to be very helpful.

Perhaps it will smart quick choosing a new Mod Apk; however, it can be quite a complicated final decision. You can lead to spending your money on the lousy Mod Apk unless you place in a little shopping around 1st. On the web evaluations are a fun way to have a a sense how fun a Gems Hack can be.

If you have an Internet access or not, whether you're storing a transportable online game technique or maybe a cell phone, if you're reviewing your Television or maybe home computer, you're occasions clear of Mod Apk thrills. The recommendation offered previously will assist you in getting most out of your time and energy spent game.

[davec1970]

Lyric Of The Day 2016 In Full Day By Day

I went up to a big house with a U.S. flag upon display. I said “Can you please help me out, I got some friends down the way.” The man said “Get out of here or I’ll tear you limb from limb.” I said “You know, they refused Jesus, too.” He said “You’re not him. Get out of here before I break your bones. I’m not your pop.” I decided to have him arrested and went looking for a cop. I want it now, I want it now, don’t tell me that my ship is coming in. Nothing comes to those who wait, time’s running out the door you’re running in. And looking out at the world through my window pane. Every day has many colours ‘cause the glass is stained. Everything has changed but remains the same. So once again the mirror raised and I see myself as clear as day. And I am going to the limits of my ultimate destiny. Feeling as though somebody were testing me. He who sees the end from the beginning of time. Looking forward through all the ages is, was and always shall be. To see the unseen glitter of life, and feel the dirt, grief, anger and strife. I don’t wanna be an old man anymore It’s been a year or two since I was out on the floor Shaking booty, making sweet love all the night It’s time I got back to the good life. Just cause you don’t understand what’s going on don’t mean it don’t make no sense, And just cause you don’t like it, don’t mean it ain’t no good. The chip stains and grease will come out in the bath. Tired of being compared, to damn Britney Spears, She’s so pretty, that just ain’t me. In a French-ass restaurant Hurry up with my damn croissants. Creepin’ over, now his hand is on your shoulder. Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare “This is Major Tom to Ground Control I’m stepping through the door And I’m floating in the most peculiar way And the stars look very different today For here am I sitting in my tin can Far above the world Planet Earth is blue And there’s nothing I can do Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles I’m feeling very still And I think my spaceship knows which way to go Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows.” Ground Control to Major Tom Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong Can you hear me, Major Tom? Can you hear me, Major Tom? Can you hear me, Major Tom? Can you hear “And I’m floating around my tin can Far above the Moon Planet Earth is blue And there’s nothing I can do.” JED-E3 is what we first called him. Then it was “Jed,” But Jed’s system’s dead. Therefore, so’s Jed. We assembled him in the Kitchen, Made out of this and Made out of that and Whatever was at hand. When we finished Jed we were so proud. We celebrated, Congratulated, At what we’d created. Jed could run or walk, sing or talk, and Compile thoughts, and Solve lots of problems. We learned so much from him. A couple years went by and something happened. We gave Jed less attention. We had new inventions. We left for a convention. Jed had found our booze and drank every drop. He fizzled and popped, He rattled and knocked, Finally he just stopped.

Everybody wants to get busy, Counting money makes me fucking dizzy. Clogging on her wooden board, The tattooed girl took up her swords, And plunged them down Deep into the earth. When I find out all the reasons, Maybe I’ll find another way, Find another day, With all the changing seasons, of my life Maybe I’ll get it right next time, And now that you’ve been broken down, Got your head out of the clouds, You’re back down on the ground, And you don’t talk so loud, And you don’t walk so proud, Any more. Y te despiertas, Y entregas a la vida, Cuando comienzas una ilusión, Un día te encuetras, Y descubres la salida, Para que el mundo sea mejor. Can you feel it building, Like a wave the ocean just can’t control ? Are we etched in stone or just scratched in the sand, Waiting for the waves to come and reclaim the land? Will the sunshine, all sweetness and light, Burn us to a cinder, our third stone satellite. You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave. The sun will rise again, The earth will turn to sand, Creation’s colours seem to fade to grey, And you’ll see the sickly hands of time, Will write your final rhyme, And end a memory. Picnics in the garden, Then the children they can play, The first day of the summer and I laze here all the day, And we’ll invite the family round, And drink some English tea, Then I raise up my finger and watch football on TV. You give it away like free samples, But I don’t want what anyone can have, You got it, Damn right, you got it, So what? Keep it outta my face. Butterflies and zebras and moonbeams, And fairy tales, That’s all she ever thinks about. I’ve seen so much, I’m going blind, And I’m brain-dead virtually. You said you read me like a book, But the pages all are torn and frayed. Climb the mountain with your fingertips, Right hand strumming while the left hand grips, Broken fingers turn to broken dreams, Nobody splits until the hag screams. A word in your ear, from father to son, Hear the word that I say, I fought with you, fought on your side, Long before you were born. Love is always around and you can look for it anywhere, When you feel that you’ve found it my advice is to take good care, Never use it as a selfish tool, Never ever be such a fool, Every feeling you’re showing, Is a boomerang you’re throwing. I thought you said I never could, Well I did, I did it right in front of your face. Not a speck of light is showing, So the danger must be growing, Are the fires of hell a-glowing? Is the grisly reaper mowing? Yes, the danger must be growing, For the rowers keep on rowing, And they’re certainly not showing, Any signs that they are slowing. Well you know, I never meant to hurt no one, But I got a knack for getting things undone, And I got a way of ruining your fun, All the time. Waiting to pick up the pieces, That make it all alright, But pieces of what, Pieces of what, Pieces of what, Doesn’t matter any more. Daily, Except for Sunday, You dawdle in to the café where you meet her each day, Heartbeat, increasing heartbeat, As twenty cannibals have hold of you, they need their protein just like you do. Looking out a dirty old window, Down below the cars in the city go rushing by, I sit here alone and I wonder why. But if I just block it all out and I never leave my house, I’ll have nothing to be nostalgic about, When I was younger I didn’t think about such things, To sit and whine about the passing time it just seemed, Completely pointless. So I watch.. and it occurs to me.. that for some reason their affections have changed.. and I can plainly see, that instead of the stuffed animal, the big ol’ bug is the new baby… now. Bring me a day full of honest work, And a roof that never leaks, I’ll be satisfied. Let me back, Let me back, I promise to be good, Don’t look in the mirror, At the face you don’t recognize, Help me call the doctor, Put me inside, Put me inside, Put me inside, Put me inside, Put me inside. 40,000 stars in the evening, Look at them fall from the sky, 40,000 reasons for living, 40,000 tears in your eyes. There’s blood in my mouth, ‘Cause I’ve been biting my tongue all week. Be my Spiderwoman, I’ll be your Spiderman. I can’t take too much loud music, I mean I like to play it, but I sure don’t like the racket. Noise, but I can’t hear anything, Just guitars screaming, screaming, screaming, Some guy screaming in a leather jacket. There’s a naked man standing, laughing in your dreams, You know who it is, But you don’t like what it means. There’s so much destruction, All over the world, And all you can do is, Complain about me. I was a small, fat child in a welfare house, There was only one thing I ever dreamed about, And fate has just handed it to me, Whoopee. You don’t like me, but you love me, Either way you’re wrong, You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone, You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone. You wrote a book about yourself, The people left it on the shelf, You’ll write another one, Now you’ve got a story that’s worth talking about. Washrooms smell, They could be cleaner, Stench of cigarettes, And stale urea, I love you all. I keep a wristwatch on this arm of mine, I keep my flies wide open all the time, And I shot a man in Tesco, Just to watch him die. And you were cold, tired and old as you’d ever looked that night. And we were warned, yeah, We were warned not to stay out too late, But some things were worth getting in trouble for. There was a time when there was nothing at all, Nothing at all, Just a distant hum. Compromise, Conformity, Assimilation, Submission, Ignorance, Hypocrisy, Brutality, The Elite. All of which are American dreams. You own the money, You control the witness, I hear you’re lonely, Don’t monkey with my business, You pay the profits to justify the reasons, I heard your promise but I don’t believe it, That’s why I’ll do it again. If you wrote me off I’d understand it, Because I’ve been on some other planet, So come pick me up… They’re turning kids into slaves, Just to make cheaper sneakers. But what’s the real cost? ‘Cause the sneakers don’t seem that much cheaper. I enjoy stealing. It’s just as simple as that. Now it’s time to leave you a preview, So you too can review what we do. If you wanna see me do my thing, Pull my string. Talking to you is like clapping with one hand. I listen to your demo tape and act like I don’t like it, Six months later, You hear your lyrics on my shit. Is something wrong ? she said. Of course there is. You’re still alive she said. Oh do I deserve to be? She might’ve let you hold her hand in school, But I’m a show you how to graduate. A room within a room, A door behind a door, Touch, Where do you lead? I need something more. With a hammer in the back and a foot on the ground, He was standing there when the heat came down, And there was a scuffle pushed into a fight, When death paid a visit on the thief that night. All the wife beaters and all the tax cheaters, Sitting in the White House pulling their Peters Buy my cheeba from the cop down the street, The only cop with a rope chain when he’s walking the beat, Like a sneaky pouch time bomb ticking, Like the beat to my rhyme just kicking, Space cake cookie I discover who I am, I’m a dusted old bummy Hurdy Gurdy Man. Everything from toy guns that spark to flesh coloured Christs that glow in the dark, It’s easy to see we got in too far and not much is really sacred. Your silent suffering little servants, Just an anonymous mass, We built your fortune, Built your fame, We’ll guard your status for another day. Once I rose above the noise and confusion, Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion, I was soaring ever higher, But I flew too high. Looking down the barrel of a hot metal 45, Just another way to survive. Table tennis rules, They're so confusing, It's not played by fools.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Baskets (S02E07) Denver Airdate: March 2, 2017 @fxnetworks Ratings: 0.500 Million :: 0.20 18-49 Demo Share Score: 9.25/10 **********SPOILERS BELOW********** It's incredible how attached and involved I've become with these characters... I really thought Dale had made a breakthrough in 'Fight' but I suppose it's going to a helluva lot more than what we saw in that episode for Dale to unload all those beans he's so full of. But really, FUCK DALE. 'Denver' is all about Christine Baskets doing Christine Baskets, and it's about damn time. Christine is due for a WIN, and dammit, she's going to get one. She sets off to Denver in search of herself and of course Denver's Finest... 'The Carpet King'. Watching Christine wait around her hotel was a bit disheartening, it was almost as if she was sure she was going to be disappointed. Her phone dings and reminds her that her mother is due for a doctors visit. Her first instinct is to call Dale, he's the more responsible one right? Maybe he has a job, maybe he has a family, but the man is so self involved he thinks that an apology text should have fixed everything between the two and is now frustrated that Christine won't forgive him. So after that hard NO, she calls the last on her list... Chip. For some reason breaks my heart. Here I go, getting emotional again. I just know what it feels like to be the 'black sheep' of the family, and in Chip's case, a literal clown. But his experiences lately have changed him, and unlike Dale he's willing to do whatever it takes to win back his mother's affection. You can even hear the worry in his voice when he asks her where she is. He's determined to make things right, he's bought a toilet for his mother (since they ravaged the old one in 'Fight'), and now he's going to get his grandmother to the doctor (with Martha's help, of course). Right as Christine was about to head to the front desk of her hotel to check out, she gets the call from Ken she's been waiting for. They make plans and she ends up at Ken's home with his two daughters (his rocks, the ones that aren't in prison and actually help out with the family business). There are some simple, beautiful, shots of Christine with the biggest smile on her face as she interacts with Ken and his family, she's at home, she's at ease, and she's enjoying life... The cinematographer and camera operator, Colleen E Hayes & Marc Carter, capture these shots with light reflections and rays of sunshine beaming into the shots. They were beautiful. It took me back to a place in my childhood after my mother had me move in with her after she finished college... It was our second home in the city and there was a guest bedroom that I would lay in during the summer. I'd fix the blinds just right so that the beams of light hit the pages of my book and warmed my face and I'd lay on the mattress in the floor, reading Goosebumps books. I felt completely content, happy, safe, warm... This was Christine's moment where all those feelings were encapsulated and everything was...fine. Meanwhile Chip is as determined as ever to complete his mission for his mother to show her he cared and that she truly mattered, but his Grandmother is a firecracker. At first she won't get in the car, then they allow her to drive, and she drives right to the Casino where we finally put a face to a voice we heard in 'Marthager' when her mother and her friend on the phone convinced her to go to 'Denver'... Enid! I was almost as excited as Chip's grandmother! Listen, if an old woman just wants to blow off her doctors appointment and go to the Casino, there are no amount of Milano or Chips Ahoy cookies in the world that will change that. Unfortunately she overexerted herself and died emulating a silly dance, but she died with a big smile on her face. Chip has faced a lot of death this season and grief changes people, I really hope he sees the silver lining on this one, because really... When you're that old, there's no better way to go that I can think of than to go out dancing with a smile on your face amongst friends. Christine is back in Denver and she tries to pull out and go back to the hotel, that was Ken's cue to invite her to stay... A cue he not only picked up on, but took a step further and kissed Christine as well. I'll be dammed, I never in a million years thought I would say this... BUT I SHIP CHRISTINE AND KEN SO HARD! I just can't help but to root for these flawed, damaged characters who have been stuck in life's purgatory for so long to just fucking LIVE! It's beautiful. And we can go ahead and nominate both Zach Galifianakis & Louie Anderson (again) for their roles in S2 of 'Baskets' for every award known to man. Christine finally makes the connection she's been missing for over 25 years and lays with Ken. No I don't want to see it, but I sure am glad it happened. People finally taking control of their lives after so long is a beautiful thing. After the deed, Christine gets the call... It's Chip, Christine's mother has died, and it's time to leave Denver to make arrangements. You'd think that this would be terrible, but I get the sense that it's not. Christine came and conquered Denver (and Ken), did something for herself, made a *real* connection... And now it's time to come back to Bakersfield, which was always endgame. Ken, now it's your turn to make the trip. Another unbelievably top notch episode of 'Baskets', S2 continues to be an absolute pleasure to watch, an unexpected emotional firestorm... And I absolutely love it.