#Debby is causing problems on purpose

[pushing500]

I did end up installing the Toddlers mod, and now we see the result! Baby Ro has become Toddler Ro!

The first thing he did with his newfound mobility was "bugwatch". I thought it was amusing that his bugwatching happened to be right where Frisbee the giant scorpion was walking, and I mean... Yeah, sure. A lot of people would consider her a bug. Entomophobic Zonovo does, at the very least.

Debby has decided to cause more drama with her polyamory trait, and Laurie has to pay for it. I wonder what will happen if Eva really does turn out to be a mime? That would definitely add drama to this story. Poor Brennan and Laurie, though.

We had an eventful raid with Eurros Pusmeberrus, a distant relative of Andrei and Andy's, coming to visit. We managed to capture her, but I don't know if we'll recruit her. She kind of sucks.

We also captured her friend, who was "unwaveringly loyal", but that was of little consequence as we had just finished building a subcore ripscanner. Doere was not a prisoner for very long.

Before Doere was ripscanned, Albina patched her up to avoid her bleeding out, and Henry tagged along to watch. I think the 'work watching' learning desire is my favourite one. Usually, it's cute to imagine a little kid trailing someone and bombarding them with questions about the jobs they're doing, but I'm not sure if it's quite as cute when it's watching someone operate on a prisoner.

Pacifist Vu started a social fight with Irwin, which resulted in her whole arm getting destroyed. Luckily Albina has the 'regrow limb' psycast, and hopefully, Vu will learn not to pick fights with people she has no hope of beating, no matter how empowered she feels wearing stolen liberated armour.

Then we got raided again by more people related to a colonist (and to prisoner Pusmeberrus, who in turn is related to Andrei and Andy). Fortunately, Hazrov is a crack shot and downed enough of them that the others turned tail and fled before they reached us. It made Wendy a bit sad, but I'm sure she'll get over it.

Finally, here's Andy being better at drawing dinosaurs than I could ever hope to be.

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[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

The Strongest Reason

“Wine is a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler; and whoever errs or reels because of it is not wise.” Proverbs 20:1AMPC

Back in the day, my mother and father were what was called— teetotalers. They were very young back in the ‘roaring 20’s.’ Alcohol sales were banned nationwide. People made moonshine or ‘bootleg liquor.’ Some of the moonshine was 300 proof alcohol, strong enough to eat the bottom seam out of paper cups, (yes, before plastic there were actually paper cups.) All of the ‘bootleg liquors’ would end up in ‘speakeasies,’ (private members only taverns with password at entrances). Hence, my parents were always against drinking alcohol in every form.

Before Christ, I used alcohol as a crutch to cover the symptoms of PTSD. Lou drank heavily in the beginning of our marriage because it was the Quebec way of life. After being saved, Lou quit drinking. Why did he quit something that gave him so much pleasure? His conviction was, being drunk would affect his Christian witness. Learned character traits from alcohol left him what was considered a dry ‘alcoholic.’

There is a purpose in alcohol which is positive— Medicinal— “Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress.” Proverbs 31:6NLT. “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.” 1Timothy 5:23NIV

Many scriptures come against the abuse of alcohol i.e. Proverbs 23:29-35 V31ESV “Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.” The entire content of these verses describe being drunk to oblivion or even in a drug stupor. Romans 13:13ESV “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness…” emphasis mine. 1Peter 5:8ESV “BE SOBER-MINDED; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” emphasis mine. When a person is in a drunken stupor, they can’t be watchful, virtually impossible. Satan can come in at that point. Mow a person down, making an utter fool out of them, causing a multitude of future problems. Other scriptures regarding being drunk: Ecclesiastes 10:17, Nahum 1:10, Habakkuk 2:15, Luke 21:34, Galatians 5:21-23.

One of the strongest reason for a Believer to not participate in getting drunk is Romans 14:21AMPC “The right thing is to eat no meat or drink no wine [at all], or [do anything else] if it makes your brother stumble or hurts his conscience or offends or weakens him.” When Louis felt led to not drink any more because of his Jesus— had other Believers around him started getting drunk— he may have ended up dying the death of a true alcoholic. Instead, their example reinforced his conviction, giving him cause to lead an honorable life before his children.

I know many Christians who drink a glass of wine here and there. Also, I know Believers who drink to get drunk occasionally. While I choose not to risk this behavior myself, I cannot condemn nor condone them. That is totally between them and God…but I caution… How do you know that you don’t have addictive personality tendencies which can lead to alcoholism? What you do, it’s your choice. You choose.

LET’S PRAY: LORD God help Your church to discern in this area what is right for each one to do. May we not bring reproach upon Your precious name, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2025 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional as author. Thank you.

[nathank77]

8/13/24

3:59 p.m

My mother called my aunt while I was cooking talking shit about me being in the bathroom all the time.

And my aunt was going off saying, "put him away in a psychiatric hospital. Lock him away. He's sick he needs it."

My aunt is a first class cunt and you can paint a picture of me but that doesn't mean it's true..... and she wasn't saying it in a concerned way or something. It was like you got a problem throw away the lunatic and throw away the key. Like I wasn't human.

I wanted to fucking start screaming. It took all the restraint in me to not say something to my mother or cut in on their speaker phone conversation she was purposely having to have me hear it while I cooked.

It was really triggering. She kept saying, this bitch threw her kid away and they straightened her right out. Yea it's called chemical handcuffs. Yea it's called taking someone's autonomy away and placing them in a prison.

Psychiatric hospitals are prisons. Mental health services except for individual and group therapy are legit prisons. They don't help people they hurt people. Placing them in chemical hand cuffs and taking away their right to choose.

We don't fucking understand the brain. Those "medications" aren't helpful unless you yourself decides to take them and I respect that if it works for you.

Either way it was really gross, to have to hear that bc I poop. Yea mom i poop and you drink a liter of vodka a day and want to pee every 5 minutes and my very existence is an issue bc you don't stop drinking fucking vodka.

She was like I won't throw him away and I just wanted to yell you fucking can't anyways you stupid cunts. You got to prove I'm incompetent. You can't prove I'm incompetent bc I'm not. I'm more fucking responsible than both of you.

I don't drink my liver to oblivion with vodka and stumble around the house. It's disgusting listening to this shit like I'm fucking traumatized from my night at the psych ward and I'm never going back. Why? Cause I'm mentally competent and you can't put someone away just bc they take a shit.

It's fucking gross if anyone needs to be put away it's my mother in rehab so she doesn't die. Or black out and break her rib cage again.

Fucking disgusting people I live with.

I was going to go to Debbie's funeral but nah I'm good. She didn't know I could hear her bc I was silent as a mouse. But nonetheless she's disgusting. She's as disgusting as my mother even worse for reasons I don't want to talk about.

I mean she fucking sees my uncle who has schizophrenia. He is on all sorta of antipsychotics, has Parkinson. Steve doesn't live. Steve died the day he got schizophrenia. Steve isn't in there. No one knows Steve. Steve doesn't even know himself.

It's disgusting that you can look at Steve and then say send Nathan away, I cry for Steve bc schizophrenia and psychosis can take your entire being away from you leaving you an empty shell. And I'm lucky that I got out of that prison and that they didn't medicate me.

I'm lucky that I'm not a husk..I'm lucky that I'm still me.

I fucking hate my toxic family. I think I'd recover if I ever got out.

[actiaslunaris]

Regina 'live-watches' Last Man: Zenmou no Sousakan S01E07.

This time up, the American Embassy ask the team and Minami for help in investigating a found body. And more backstory is revealed about Minami.

I snuck a peek at the ending of the episode because of @okonominyaki's comments, so I could have a good sense of what's coming. The opening of this has a sting to it because of it.

Aaaand, I watched a clip from it this morning on Instagram, so I'm not only spoiled for that, but for the identity of Deborah, whom Minami keeps name-dropping.

She's his ex-wife. And Godo's reaction to learning this is hilarious, from his first reaction of 'How did you pull that?' in amazement and then in sarcasm when he learns the truth of it.

And now she's flirting with Godo and he's having none of it. This is a fascinating dynamic, wheee.

Mutually beneficial relationship; I see how it is.

Deborah has explained that she wants Godo and Minami to investigate the widow of the person who was found dead because she is suspected to be a spy.

Minami: I'm very interested…. she's beautiful, isn't she? Me: Hello, Yukawa Manabu.

(Probably not a Galileo reference, but it's very similar to a few lines of dialogue in that show. Actually, scratch that, I bet Masha put that in there. Apparently the show-runners have been allowing a lot of adlibbing, so a reference like this could be on purpose.)

Ah, she's competent. And very closed and composed. Godo isn't jealous but he is feeling a bit overlooked; also gathering new information about Minami as he observes that interaction between them.

Hmmm. I can work with that when it comes to writing fanfic.

Minami is sitting on the other side of Godo at the briefing this time. (And he's there again later on. Either he wanted to be there or he was led there by Godo. It doesn't mean anything, but it was a change, so I noted it.)

I know it's a trope in crime shows for the investigators to speculate before proof is even found to support that speculation. I find it annoying and harmful. Pet peeve when it happens in otherwise well-written shows. Grr.

Minami sitting there agreeing with me. His unimpressed look is a thing of beauty.

Of course, that could mean that he's going to be proven right in some way, and that could deconstruct the trope. Maybe.

Also, I'm not so impressed with the bias of the writer about the women characters of this episode. One is treated as a flirt, and the other a black widow? Yeah, no thanks. (Redeemed only slightly by the end of the show.)

This is a very gossipy group of subordinates, lol. Izumi and Agatsuma teasing Manome about his crush on Sakura.

Godo to Minami: Your bias is showing. … And you're a hypocrite. Minami: ￣\_(ツ)_/￣

Hey, Debbie, let me have that supermarket sushi!

If Minami asked for her to bring snacks then she undoubtedly asked what he wanted for Godo…

I find this whole business of Godo accusing Deborah of being upset, sussy. Like he's testing to see if she does still care about Minami despite the casualness of their former relationship.

There have been a few hints that Minami's blindness is such that he's still able to make out shapes. This episode is leaning hard on that. He stops short of two people on the ground while using his cane without indication from them to stop. And shortly after that, though this could be chalked up to camera work indicating to the audience what is important, he appears to be cognizant that a glass of water left behind can be dusted for fingerprints.

Given that he's already been playing a few things close to his chest (why he's in Japan, that Deborah is his ex-wife) it's possible this is one of them.

If that's the case, I hope it doesn't lead to a reversal of the problem that caused Minami's blindness because I'm never here for that.

The twist here is utterly ridiculous. Lol. But! Truth is always stranger than fiction, and it makes both character and narrative sense.

Curse you, Japanese drama! How dare you always tug my heartstrings!

This is all down to Masha's ability to act, that the shift from outer perspective to inner perspective, has us be able to tell the difference in his perception. He appears able to see during that shift, to see the truth of the person sitting in front of him, instead of the lie.

This one is ostensibly about investigation, of course, but thematically, there was so much about interpersonal relationships of the romantic variety. It's actually hard to balance that, and I should know, because case fic is my bane and romance comes much easier to me.

Don't snoop, Godo! You won't like what you find!

That was a better twist, from my speculation of last week. It makes much more narrative sense to have Godo discover on his own that Minami has been investigating his parents' death.

What a cliffhanger, though.

[pillo-makes-art]

I CAN’T BELIEVE I DIDN’T POST EBBIE DEBBIE. Anyway here she is, this character sheet is not the best but eh.

She’s my very deranged cannibal sheep who sees in TOWW the perfect opportunity to cause problems on purpose. She mains the gauntlets because she enjoys ripping enemies apart and often uses teeth to fight too. She’s not too upset about the destruction of lambkind since she’s now free to indulge in her violent tendencies without her clan holding her back. And she kinda enjoys being the last lamb anyway, it makes her feel ✨special✨ Also she will definitely kill TOWW, sorry =(

She’s not very developed as a character because Shrimp is my star, but I still enjoyed creating her anyway. Hope you enjoy!

[vexsprompts]

♥️     𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬     [   𝚂𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂    ]    ♥️

sentence starters inspired by lyrics from bring me the horizons’ album 𝐚𝐦𝐨 !! some lyrics have been slightly modified to be more usable. feel free to edit  &  add context to your needs . have fun !!  ♥️

██████████████████████████████████████████████████████

𝐢 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠

❝   I saw you staring.  ❞ ❝   Don’t be afraid.  ❞ ❝   Love’s all we have.  ❞ ❝   It was mine.  ❞

𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐀

❝   Do you wanna start a cult with me?  ❞ ❝   I need a purpose.  ❞ ❝   How do you spell epiphany?  ❞ ❝   Before the truth will set you free, it’ll piss you off.  ❞ ❝   You’re gonna lose the plot.  ❞ ❝   Too late to tell you now.  ❞ ❝   Can I have your attention, please?  ❞ ❝   What were you thinking?  ❞ ❝   All you ever do is chant the same old mantra.  ❞ ❝   All I’m asking for's a little bit of faith.  ❞

𝐧𝐢𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬

❝   I can’t hide.  ❞ ❝   I’m burning up.  ❞ ❝   I’m only lonely for the truth.  ❞ ❝   I'm terrified.  ❞ ❝   I can’t get out.  ❞ ❝   Please, don’t follow.  ❞

𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤

❝   I feel so cold.  ❞ ❝   I’m lookin’ on the bright side now.  ❞ ❝   I think we need to talk, like, now.  ❞ ❝   Don’t swear to God. He never asked you.  ❞ ❝   It’s not [his] heart you drove a knife through.  ❞ ❝   Don’t you know you’ve lost control?  ❞ ❝   You can give the act up now.  ❞ ❝   You can’t keep me in the dark.  ❞ ❝   I’m not looking for salvation.  ❞

𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

❝   Are we rolling?  ❞ ❝   I read a fun fact about the brain.  ❞ ❝   I’ve forgotten what I’m on about.  ❞ ❝   I feel all numb now.  ❞ ❝   I wanna waste away.  ❞ ❝   Oi, Debbie Downer, what’s you problem?  ❞ ❝   Don’t you know how to chew with your mouth closed?  ❞ ❝   I’ve got a Type Two kinda thirstiness.  ❞ ❝   One day this might hurt me less.  ❞ ❝   Everybody knows I’m still down.  ❞ ❝   There’s no need for the obvious.  ❞ ❝   Everybody knows I got bounce.  ❞

𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡

❝   I always knew this was gonna end in tears.  ❞ ❝   And I thought that I had heard it all.  ❞ ❝   I hear your lover screaming down the phone.  ❞ ❝   I know I said I was under your spell but this hex is on another level.  ❞ ❝   I know I said you could drag me through hell but I hoped you wouldn’t fuck the Devil.  ❞

𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧��

❝   Some people are a lot like clouds, you know. ‘Cause life is so much brighter when they go.  ❞ ❝   You rained on my heart for far too long.  ❞ ❝   I don’t know why I tried to save you ‘cause I can’t save you from yourself.  ❞ ❝   All you give a shit about is everybody else.  ❞ ❝   Why don’t you deal with it?  ❞ ❝   You need a taste of your own medicine.  ❞ ❝   I spent too long in a place I don’t belong.  ❞ ❝   I think it’s time to stop.  ❞

𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐜𝐞 & 𝐭𝐞𝐚

❝   I think we’re too close for comfort.  ❞ ❝   I’m sorry, it’s over.  ❞ ❝   I'm breaking up.  ❞ ❝   Don’t move a muscle.  ❞ ❝   It’s got my head runnin’ 24/7.  ❞ ❝   I don’t reckon I can figure it out.  ❞ ❝   We’re so fucked.  ❞ ❝   Who the hell died and made you the King?  ❞ ❝   Fuck you.  ❞

𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢'𝐦 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧?

❝   I see you.  ❞ ❝   Ain’t you got someplace to be?  ❞ ❝   Was hoping this suspense would kill you.  ❞ ❝   They always wanna kick you when you’re down.  ❞ ❝   What the fuck have I done?  ❞ ❝   When all is said and done, my name’s still on your tongue.  ❞ ❝   Why you gotta kick me when I’m down?  ❞ ❝   You better pray I don’t get up this time around.  ❞ ❝   What doesn’t kill me, well, it better run like hell.  ❞ ❝   There’s no turning back now.  ❞ ❝   Oh, God, what the fuck have you done?  ❞

𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬

❝   Don’t you try to fuck with me.  ❞ ❝   Don’t you hide your love.  ❞

𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞

❝   I didn’t see it coming.  ❞ ❝   I never really had much faith in the universes’ magic.  ❞ ❝   It still has me choking, it’s hard to explain.  ❞ ❝   I know you know me, you don’t have to show me.  ❞ ❝   I feel you’re lonely.  ❞ ❝   Just let your heart speak up, and I’ll know.  ❞ ❝   No amount of words could ever find a way to make sense of this.  ❞ ❝   I wanna hear your mother tongue.  ❞ ❝   Love, I’m in trouble.  ❞ ❝   I'm sorry, but you got me gushing all over the place.  ❞ ❝   I think we're chosen. Like our fates were woven.  ❞

𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥

❝   I woke up in a warehouse.  ❞ ❝   It’s now or never.  ❞ ❝   I’m afraid you don’t love me anymore.  ❞ ❝   This shit ain’t heavy metal.  ❞ ❝   Do you love me anymore?  ❞

𝐢 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲

❝   I'll see you at the gates.  ❞ ❝   I’ll find a place to park.  ❞ ❝   How do I start when you don't know what to say? ❞ ❝   I don't know what to say.  ❞ ❝   I saw the universe hidden in your heart.  ❞ ❝   Where do you start when you know it has to end? ❞ ❝   I can die, but I can't break.  ❞ ❝   You can rule, I won't obey.  ❞

[aceholmes]

yonderland is a dnd campaign where the other players try to cause problems for debbie on purpose

[ohmewhatsthis]

*throws you more OCs I have*

Meet my own "musical" trio of Deltarune OCs!

(Musical in quotes because only one of them actually performs-)

I've taken to calling them the Psychological Fuckery Squad because they're all very capable of fucking with your brain and you will be so confused- Other trio name suggestions are appreciated and may be considered-

First, Debbie! (Art by @keebsu/ @5gigabytes)

Full name is Deborah Halifax, derived from the British radio frequency(?), DAB, which stands for Digital Audio Broadcast

Based on a radio, with some bits of karaoke machine sprinkled in

Generally kind, but gets snippy if you wrong her (especially if you hit on her)

Amy and Effie's older cousin

A model/psychology major in college by day, and an underground pop star by night!

Her stage name is Sirena Forte, a play on her singing VC, Eleanor Forte

Can play a damn good villainess on stage, like a heel in wrestling but for music

Much like a siren, she can hypnotize people with her voice, but only does so in self defense since it's energy intensive and hurts her voice box

No set genre for her music, has a general theme of "pleasant and usually soothing to listen to, but also unsettling"

(Examples: Hole Dwelling, The Cat's Dining Table, Honey I'm Home, the nameless song)

Has a British accent

Speaking voice claim is Junko Enoshima, singing voice claim is Eleanor Forte

Harold shes lesbian (perhaps even for a certain lava lamp speaker by @ananinidraws)

Hates snack cakes. Do not give her a twinkie, she will crush it

My latest SCC OC!

Next, Polly! (Art by @ananinidraws)

Full name is Pollyanna Laiche-Owsley, derived from Poly Lactic Acid, a common 3D printing plastic. Polly should be self explanatory, Laiche is a synonym for milk, and Owsley is derived from blue Owsley, a term for LSD, aka acid.

A 3D printed Virovirokun and Swatchling hybrid kid, made of floating shapes.

Debbie's songwriter and composer

Also childhood friends with her!

You'd be forgiven for thinking she's the creepy, quiet macabre type based on her music, when really she's anything but quiet or creepy

Very much macabre, but doesn't have any ill intent

Has a strange fascination with poisons and historic execution methods

Is immune to most poisons, and at worst, gets a bad headache from them. This is an ability she forgets is not widespread

Causes problems on purpose

Very high energy and difficult to follow if you're not close to her

Has secret boss energy but is just a dumbass

No one's sure how she hasn't been expelled yet

Voice claim is ENA. Which one? Good question

Has met Gaster, proud owner of a Shadow Crystal. They have lunch on Wednesdays

Last but not least, Eri! (Art by @clockworkcat99)

Full name is Erith Logisceles. Erith means flower, but Eri refers to a kind of silk. Logisceles is taken from a computer logic error and Loxosceles, part of the scientific name for the brown recluse spider

Debbie's college roommate, as well as her costumer and choreographer

She's the manifestation of a computer bug, and is based on a spider

Has a venomous bite, though she can control how deadly it is

General effects are hallucinations, loss of judgement, heightened emotions, flesh eating, and pain

Can also spit her venom, which is acidic

Much more of a wallflower than her friends, being quite shy and withdrawn. Also not as actively rebellious as the other two, but supports them anyway

The best cook out of the three, and a master at coffee stuff

Enjoys both watching and making those really aesthetically pleasing home cafe videos

Majors in cosmetology, wants to be a fashion designer

VC (as of now anyway) is the Danganronpa 3: Despair Arc incarnation of Mukuro Ikusaba

[somestansomewhere]

Shameless - Dysfunctional Family Roles

When taking a closer look at the Gallagher family there becomes a clear semblance of character traits used to build the dynamics between family members. More times than not, there is a specific pattern in “neurotic storytelling” used to explore families that deal with addiction and poverty. When you look at the character of Frank, it is extremely obvious that he represents “The Addict” within the family. Frank is the one that often causes the most conflict for the family, making him the catalyst for his children to fill the following roles:

Fiona’s role of “The Caretaker” is another that was strikingly obvious to me. It is due to Frank’s neglect and narcissism that she then becomes the one to take on all of his responsibilities in order to keep the family functioning. As a child she wants to make Frank happy, and as seen in S1E1 she wants him to acknowledge her for all that she has done for him and be proud of her. However, when we look at her character arc in S4 this becomes much more obvious. In her relationship with Mike, we see how attracted to chaos she really is. Fiona likes to solve other people’s (Frank’s) problems. She gets bored and thus cheats on him with Robbie as a way to reinsert herself into a problem to solve. This happens throughout the series as she needs adventure in order to “feel needed”, (also stated in the Pilot). She is drawn to Sean because of his addiction. She goes into Ian’s lawyer meeting in S9 when he requested her not to.

Lip at first struck me as “The Hero” but ultimately I feel as if he is “The Scapegoat” in the family. He has all the wisdom and potential to “get out” of their situation but ruins all of his chances. He acts out for attention and is defiant, often participating in illegal scams. When Lip goes to college he instantly feels out of place, in his conversation with Helene in “Southside Rules” we see that he won’t rat out Kev because: “Southside Rules”. Part of the problem here is that he has an extreme amount of hostility towards Frank which is why Lip tries hard to not become like him and diverts all of his attention away from Frank. Lip develops his own alcohol addiction and ruins his chances at achieving any extreme goals. Lip also falls into the trap of a “trickster mentor”. Youens is arguably just like Frank. He is intelligent, but also a drunk, so Lip is drawn to him to be “the father he didn’t have”. This is why it hurts when us, as well as Lip, are let down by Youens in court, and when we learn Lip wasn’t the only student he catered to.

Now, I’d will to return to Ian in a bit and first talk about Debbie who takes on the role of “The Hero”. Debbie is extremely self sufficient and we see that in the later seasons she attempts to fix the dysfunctional home life. For example, in S9 she begins to do home renovations. And in S10, while she did act a lot like Frank, by getting debt cards for the family, and having a budget, along with a chore list, it shows that she is reaching for some form of normalcy to pull the family up. I personally think she appears to be doing this more for herself but, without Fiona she does try to be the one running he house. In earlier seasons she is over-responsible for her age and wants to be treated like adult, all while catering to Frank.

Carl to me is “The Mascot” to Frank. He is “the dumb one” and that is played for comedic relief. In the earlier seasons, Carl is the one that constantly helps Frank. The family roles are devised in relation to Frank, and Carl is one of the last kids to see him for what he really is. While Carl is violent he also has such love and compassion for his siblings, telling Debs not to wear white when she gets her period, taking care of Liam, and even though he really wanted to go to the West Point mixer in S9 he offered to stay home with Lip, when Lip was going through a tough time. Carl’s generosity and commitment/praise to Frank shows that he tries to lesson the burden that is Frank’s addiction, all while assisting Frank in his schemes.

Now, Ian and Liam share the same role of “The Lost Child”, but in different ways. Ian is the third kid in the first half of six, and Liam is the third child in the second half of six, so it makes sense. Ian is the middle kid (and also technically not Frank’s), who separates himself from the rest of his siblings. Ian’s story arcs have always been with outside characters to the family (with characters such as Mandy or Mickey). In S1E7 the family is faking Frank’s death, Ian is not a part of that plot line till the very end because once again, his His storylines are separate. He is on his own, being independent. When Monica returns in S1 the family deals with it together, however Ian runs to Mickey. Ian also searches for a purpose (like the military, EMT, gay Jesus) to strive for so that he won’t feel so lost. Ian is extremely goal oriented. Another point I would like to bring up is his relationship with Monica. She is “the runway” and he feels the same. Being bipolar also makes Ian feel isolated because he worries that his family will view him like Monica. He is the only one dealing with it as well and instead of wanting to change, he wants people to accept him for who he is. Liam on the other hand fills this role because in the later seasons he begins to fly under the family’s radar. He deals with the repercussions of all of his family member’s actions and is often roped into Frank’s bullshit scams even while growing up. Liam was “a prop” at first and now is all alone with much older siblings. In S10 Lip asks Liam where everyone is, and Liam says that he misses having everyone around. He is lonely.

Keep in mind that these are my opinions and if you have any thoughts or disagree, I’d love for you to send me an ASK so we can discuss it!! I Find this really interesting and if you do as well, look up “ Dysfunctional Family Dynamics”, loads of info will pop up! I have much more to say for specific characters (even Sammi who acts out in rebellion wanting boundaries in S5a) but this was just my “quick breakdown”. If you made it through this whole thing, you’re the best. Thank you! 💙

[jiskblr]

I don’t like rewarding shouty clicktivism, so I won’t reblog it, but there is a bill in the Senate to fix a lot of problems with disability payments.

The bill is S.2065 - A bill to amend title XVI of the Social Security Act to update eligibility for the supplemental security income program, and for other purposes. It would raise the standard payment, increase the asset limit from $2000 to $10,000, and make it possible to earn moderate amounts of outside income and be not quite as perverse - currently you have your disability payment reduced 1:1 for income with a very broad definition of ‘income’. It also would remove the clause that removes benefits if the disabled person gets married.

This is a pretty worthy cause and seems fairly unobjectionable even from a small-government perspective, so it’s probably worth calling/emailing/etc. your Congressional reps. It’s currently in committee - Finance Committee membership list here.

Current list of cosponsors:

Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] (primary sponsor) Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA] Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI]

ATM the most valuable people to contact are (1) the ranking Republicans on the committee; that’s Mike Crapo [ID], Chuck Grassley [IA], and John Cornyn [TX]. And (2) the Dems on the committee who haven’t sponsored it - Debbie Stabenow [MI], Maria Cantwell [WA], Thomas R. Carper [DE], Benjamin L. Cardin [MD], Michael F. Bennet [CO], Mark R. Warner [VA], Maggie Hassan [NH], and Catherine Cortez Masto [NV].

TL;DR: If you live in Idaho, Iowa, Texas, Michigan, Washington, Delaware, Maryland, Colorado, Virginia, New Hampshire, or Nevada, this is probably worth your time to do sooner rather than later. If you live in South Dakota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Lousiana, Oklahoma, Montana, Indiana, Nebraska, or Wyoming, there is a Republican senator with less seniority that might be worth your time to contact soonish.

[mor-beck-more-problems]

Petty Vengeance || Morgan & Basil

TIMING: Current

PARTIES: @thebasilhouette & @mor-beck-more-problems

SUMMARY: Morgan works out her frustration on a chance encounter.

Coffee Plus made Morgan nervous now that she couldn’t caffeinate properly anymore. Black coffee gave her a nice earthy, bitter taste to savor, if she asked for two shots of espresso added in. But this usually earned her some very concerned looks, and Morgan wasn’t alway up to defending her life choices to underpaid college students. And today Debbie (and her mole) was with her, talking about Carl’s recovery and some wedding Debbie hadn’t been invited to but had followed extensively on Instagram. Between rehearsing her explanations to the barista and trying to figure out just why it was so important that the bride had included reclaimed wood name cards on her table settings, Morgan had enough on her plate to deal with. And yet she knew, in the way that you know when a storm is going to turn into a gully-washer just by looking, that the man in front of her was going to make her evening so much worse.

Like Clockwork, Basil let himself be led into the establishment, both and neither following the waves of people who went on in their own little worlds, and just following wherever his legs would take him. Mindless. Aimless. He realized some time ago that the more he tried to take control of where he was going, the farther he seemed from it. So he settled with just ending up somewhere, and tonight it would be right in the middle of Coffee Plus. He liked it; sitting there in silence, allowing himself to simply exist. As if he were running out of time, just like everyone else. And, like clockwork, his peace under the warm light would be cut short, drowned by a shadow. Tonight’s shadow was a woman he did not know; she looked at him with want and ownership, and usually he did not mind, but those two things didn’t feel right on her. When she spoke, as if she had known him her whole life, Basil didn’t give her an answer she liked, so she raised her voice until the chatter around them stopped to listen. Then she put her hand on him, and he just wanted her gone. The next thing he knew, he was already on his feet, with his hand wrapped around her wrist so tightly that the skin around it turned white. And then he smiled, “I don’t even know who you are, and I don’t care to know,” with a voice so cold and cruel that she had backed away. Tomorrow, they’d whisper that he broke a lover’s heart, and perhaps that was how it seemed. But he just stood there as she left, and breathed a sigh of relief, as if a bug he disliked flew out the window on its own.

Debbie had moved on to discussing the centerpieces, flower and fruit arrangements that sounded pretty generic, and Morgan was scoping the rest of the cafe to find someone, anyone else, to give her attention. She recognized one of her old students fidgeting in the back of the line, then working up the nerve to approach a young man, the one Morgan got the not-so-good-vibes. She watched, waiting for a chance to wave and hopefully get her student to rescue her from Debbie (and her mole, which Debbie insisted had developed empathic powers). But it wasn’t even a minute before Morgan realized that this wasn’t going to happen either. Her student (Caroline? Casey? Cara?) screamed at him. How could you, she said. You’ve been everything to me.

I don’t even know who you are, and I don’t care to know.

Morgan watched her student leave and the cruel, impassivity of the man, already back in his own world and business. Her temper flared. If the young woman had made a mistake, why couldn’t he just say so? Wasn’t it obvious how excited she’d been? Morgan shook her head and muttered out her coffee order to the barista. “Extra large latte, triple espresso,” she muttered. She saw a question forming on the barista’s face as the girl took in her five feet and two inches in height. No one that small should be having that much caffeine. “It’s been a day,” Morgan said shortly. She added a cherry danish and paid, stomping off to wait near the young man’s table. She watched him from the corner of her eye, waiting to catch some sign of regret. At last, she couldn’t keep it in any longer. “Did you really have to be so cruel to that girl?” She asked. “It looked like an honest mistake. Not something worth manhandling someone for.”

Something in the back of his mind scolded him for his harsh response, that Cloud wouldn’t like it if he knew Basil had turned a fan-- if the woman who had just left was considered one-- away like that. But the voice was small and unsure, and the bigger part of him had already moved on from the encounter altogether. Or, he would have, if only someone else didn’t remind him. This new person was different altogether; Basil easily towered over her, but he had a feeling her spirit was anything but. There was exhaustion, like everyone else in the world, and an anger that felt like it was waiting to boil over. And he seemed to be the cause. “Cruel?” He repeated, as if it was a concept he was entirely innocent of. He leaned against the table, crossing his arms over his chest, and made a face that was as much of mockery as it was of genuine curiosity. “Was that cruel?”

He didn’t do it on purpose; both the past encounter and the one unfolding in front of him now. He thought about it for a moment, but the more he tried to rationalize if maybe he responded too harshly, the more her face vanished from his mind and a voice that felt like nails on a chalkboard remained. And Basil was having a hard time feeling remorse over something like that. Instead, he smiles, coming to a conclusion. “I guess it was,” He said, and turned his attention back to the woman in front of him. “Did you know her? Sorry, I’ll be more careful when it comes to honest mistakes.” But the thought, and any attempts to be any kinder in the future, had already disappeared just as quickly as they were said.

Morgan stiffened with indignation. “Of course that was cruel,” she said, as if it were obvious. “You can’t seriously tell me you grabbed her that way un-intentionally. Or that you couldn’t think of a nicer way to explain she was mistaken or caught you at a bad time!” She exhaled slowly. Somehow his knowing that this was a matter of sticking up for someone she knew personally made her angrier. What did it matter? Shouldn’t he be more considerate no matter who was watching or who the people around him did or didn’t know? (Of course, she found it easier to treat strangers dispassionately. Of course they were easier to hate, easier to not-care for. But that didn’t mean she went around lashing out in the middle of Coffee Plus or laying her hands on them.) “As it happened, she’s one of my former students,” Morgan grumbled. “But that shouldn’t make a difference. Why would you go out of your way to be like that?” As she said this, she folded her arms over her chest, determined to find some way to teach him a lesson. A sliced finger floating in his pastry or his next refill might jar him out if his apathy, and maybe he’d see how much he liked being picked on by strangers.

It was enviable, really, just how people were quick to defend someone else, to take their grievances as their own. But while Basil found it an entertaining sight, he didn’t really understand why. It was understandable if they were lovers, or family-- but it was clear to him that the two women that had intruded in his night did not mean much to each other, and the one in front of him now didn’t understand the situation the way he did. It was fun to watch her act like she did. “Then, I won’t tell you,” He replied, nonchalant. “But, you know, if you were watching as closely as you thought you were, you wouldn’t be taking your frustrations out on me. Because I’ve been minding my own business, both then and now.” Then, in a lower voice, he trailed off: “The two of you, on the other hand...”

Around them, the people had listened with one ear, regarding the prolonged confrontations too awkward to watch directly. But he knew they were listening, and that they knew that, sure, he may have done something wrong, but he definitely didn’t start it. He didn’t go looking for trouble; it just always seemed to find him, and he only came along. Willingly. Every fucking time. Basil straightens. “Now,” he said, taking his mug and making his way to get a fresh cup, but not before giving her a smile. Charming and business-like, the way the information desk staff would. “If there isn’t anything else, I think they have your coffee ready.”

“I know she initiated, but…” Morgan forced herself to stop short. She was wasting her opportunity by pushing this. “You’re right,” she sighed, slipping her hand into her coat pocket as discreetly as possible. Thumbing open her knife and slicing off her middle finger was easy enough. She clenched her jaw and swallowed the whimper of pain that crept up her throat. A new one grew back almost instantly and she was able to withdraw her hand and take the man’s coffee cup without showing off any gooey zombie gore. “I feel biased, obviously. I just know she’s someone who tries to be a good person, is all. Let me cover your refill for making such a weird night out of things.” She pulled with more of her zombie strength than usual to get it free and let the severed finger slip out of her sleeve and into the mug. When the mug was full, it might just float straight to the top.

Nobody ever taught Basil that he shouldn’t be taking candy from strangers and, really, she was insisting. He wasn’t one to say no. So even though he had the vaguest inkling that there was something wrong, and that the woman’s change of attitude was too sudden and uncharacteristic, he let her do as she pleased. “Let’s hope, for both of us, that you’re serious,” he said. A vague little threat, though he didn’t really plan on doing much. What was the worst she could do? With that, he smiled, and took his hands off the mug to let her take it. “If you insist, then I’ll take you up on that. I’d like to put this behind us, too.”

Morgan gestured for the barista to top up the mug and gave her best smile to the young man. “Oh, me?” She laughed, almost giving herself away with her wry grin. “I’m always serious. You know, everything is just a learning experience, right? Even the good stuff. And there’s always an opportunity to make things better one way or another, right?” The coffee was returned and in went the finger. It floated, a little obvious, and the goo that came from her instead of blood formed an odd film over the surface. Morgan had to take out one of those plastic stirring sticks and give it a twirl before passing it back. She could see the tip of her severed finger just bobbing up at the surface. But surely, surely, this rando wouldn’t guess that zombies were real or how their limbs worked. Honestly, as she handed the man the cup, she felt almost excited to find out what he would think of the surprise when he noticed it.

She was a bad liar. Every fiber of his body knew it was suspicious, but it was one thing to know and another to act, and Basil was never good at the latter. So he simply nodded. “Sure,” he said, just wanting her to get on with it. He should’ve stopped her, but as he watched her retreating figure, his drink in tow, he was kept silent by his growing curiosity to see it all play out. When she returned with no evident alterations to his drink, he was sure that the worst she could do was give him scalding coffee, or put too much or too little sugar, and he knew he deserved at least that much. But as he brought the mug to his lips, he realized how wrong he was. The smell of decay mixing with the aroma. The grease-like film that settled at the surface. The lone finger stained dark-brown with coffee, floating inside the mug. And Basil’s growing annoyance and amusement, the more he stared at the mug in distaste. In a way, she was more than he expected.

When he couldn’t take it anymore, he set the mug down with an audible clatter. “How petty,” he laughed. Basil stood to face her, lips pressed into a small, threatening smile, more of a mockery than anything else. “Are you a fucking child?”

Morgan held the man’s gaze. As far as she was concerned, she had faced much, much worse than some angry asshole. “What’s wrong?” She asked innocently. “Don’t you like it?” He had a cruel smile and a steely gaze that spoke of arrogance. Did this sort of thing happen to him often? He didn’t seem phased at all by the undead gore, just pissed. Or maybe he thought it was fake. Humans were weird, and kind of stupid, like that. Morgan glanced down at the mug, and her floating finger. “How did that get in there?” She said, pitching her voice high with false innocence. “Child? Tragically, no. But are you? Because it’s not the greatest feeling, huh? Having someone take out their shit on you for no reason.” She gave him a glare of her own, undaunted, maybe recklessly so. “Maybe you should think about that.” She gave a little shrug and turned as if to leave.

Instead of answering, Basil simply listened to her “explain”, watched her feign innocence without a single shred of regret. It was alright; it made it easier for him to hold onto his irritation, to remember the inconvenience she had caused him that night. But, he didn’t budge, letting her turn her back on him, as if she was proud to have gotten the last say. And when she did, Basil turned his attention back to the finger, fishing it out of the mug and turning it over his hand. Only then did he realize how realistic it was, right down to the fingerprints. He scoffed, “I see how it is.” Maybe she had planned the entire thing meticulously. “Projecting your issues on me and pretending you’re on some moral high ground feeds your ego. It’s alright, I get it.” He had said it for her to hear, and with so much amusement, like he had caught on a joke late. But he knew there was something he was missing; so he discreetly pocketed the finger, a small souvenir of his encounter, to ponder on until he found out what it was. And when he did, he’d be sure to return the favor.

[michelles-garden-of-evil]

Episode 43 Review: Curiouser and Curiouser

{ YouTube: 1 | 2 | 3 }

{ Full Synopses/Recaps: Debby Graham | Bryan Gruszka }

Maljardin, an isle of mystery. Much remains unknown on Jean Paul Desmond’s isolated island, including the locations of the conjure doll, silver pin, and the missing cyanide, the contents of the final week of Dr. Menkin’s missing notes, and the true cause of death of Jean Paul’s beloved wife Erica. Now that a mysterious black rabbit has appeared on the island which has known no wildlife for three hundred years, new mysteries arise, including one that literally surrounds that rabbit’s neck.

In Ian Martin’s original timeline, this would be the point where the Reverend Matt Dawson exorcised Raxl and Quito’s writing box (although whether that would have revealed the Conjure Man’s also mysterious original message is anyone’s guess), but executive meddling required him to negate that timeline and write about the Rabbit of Evil instead. Come, let’s follow the black rabbit into the increasingly bizarre rabbit hole that is mid-Maljardin-era Strange Paradise.

A minute and a half in, and Cosette Lee is already in top form. Chew that scenery, Cosy!

We open with a recap of the séance from a week and a half ago, courtesy of Raxl and Jean Paul. Raxl gives us the great line above comparing the falling chandelier to “a fist of the devil,” which she delivers beautifully. She connects the falling chandelier to the rabbit who just appeared--or, as she calls it, "this THING that mocks the problem!"

This is Jean Paul’s concerned face.

When she reminds him that the black rabbit appeared out of nowhere on the island which previously harbored no wild animals, he looks increasingly concerned. Whereas in yesterday's episode, he dismissed her claims as superstition and the rabbit as a harmless animal that probably came over on the boat, now he appears willing to think them over. At least that’s how it appears in this part of the scene, although it’s also possible that he’s just worried about Raxl’s sanity. Raxl may be melodramatic and she may sometimes go to extremes in her efforts to protect her home from THE DEVIL JACQUES ELOI DES MONDES, but she is arguably saner than you are, Jean Paul.

"Oh, master, believe me!" she begs. "This…thing, this…thing in the form of an animal is a manifestation of evil!"

“Evil, in your eyes, Raxl,” corrects Jean Paul, or so he thinks.

“Not only mine. Look at Quito. He has eyes, too. He knows. Oh, master, believe me! This black rabbit is an emissary of DEATH!”

Jean Paul continues his mansplaining.

Oh, Jean Paul! To think, I had so much hope for you! I guess that, even after repeated possessions, Dr. Menkin's mysterious death, a leaking capsule, a falling chandelier, and all the things that have happened to Holly, you still refuse to believe in "superstition." You know that, down in Hell, Jacques is kicking back in his peacock chair, gloating about this again:

Jacques: “Jean Paul, what was that again about your IQ of 187?” *evil laugh*

"Then how could it be on Maljardin?" she asks.

"The supply boat, perhaps," he repeats from last episode. "Holly Marshall had no trouble in hiding herself in order to get over here. Surely a small animal like this would be even less likely to be noticed." It sounds plausible, but it’s still doubtful that the rabbit would have lasted so long after the supply boat returned to Maljardin without eating some poisonous plant and dying. I doubt that Quito leaves fresh produce just lying around on the boat.

"If you want to, believe that," replies Raxl, "but I believe it is possessed by EVIL!"

"Raxl, it seems that you are the one who is possessed by fear.”

"It seems the Devil is possessing us all, quietly, cunningly, and each day just a little more," she says, before leaving for the crypt. Quito follows behind, carrying the rabbit, who is just as enthusiastic as it was last episode about being part of one of Canada's first domestically-produced soaps. The way it squirms trying to escape from Quito’s arms in the crypt scene is priceless:

ROFLMAO

Meanwhile, Jean Paul argues with Jacques about the rabbit. Jacques agrees with Raxl on the rabbit's supernatural origins, which further angers Jean Paul. He asks him why he wants to convince him of that, and Jacques gives this cryptic reply: "Big beings have little beings on their backs to spite them, and little beings have smaller beings, and so on, ad infinitum."

"Now, perhaps Raxl is right," Jean Paul muses. "Now just what is in your mind?"

"Perhaps you'll find out at the séance," Jacques teases. He goes on to suggest to him that perhaps Erica did not want to be frozen in the "ridiculous" cryonics capsule. Jean Paul gets all defensive in response and accuses him of trying to break their pact. "Isn't it about time that you delivered her back to me?" he demands.

"We'll find out at the next séance," says Jacques, and Jean Paul demands that he not attend. Jacques implies that there may not be another séance (but why not?), and Jean Paul flips out on him:

FEAR the finger of DOOM!

The acting from both Colin and Cosette in this episode is so over-the-top that it’s somewhere in outer space.

And then...

The Reverend Matt Dawson walks in on him arguing with Jacques and thinks that he was talking to himself.

How does Jean Paul respond? Why, by gaslighting him, of course! “It’s hard to imagine that a man of the cloth would lose control so easily,” he says as though Matt were the one with a screw loose. Now, isn’t that charming?

Matt warns Jean Paul that the people on Maljardin--himself included--are looking for an escape. "We are not children, and we are not completely powerless," he tells Jean Paul. "We will find a way to cut the knots that bind us here."

He also says that his faith, which was challenged when he arrived on the island, is returning. Jean Paul uses this as another opportunity to gaslight him: “You are not regaining your faith. You are merely losing your faculties.” One would think that was a Jacques line, but it’s not. There’s neither a shot of the portrait disappearing, nor any Jean Paul headache faces followed by Jacques’ beringed hand grabbing his face, nor is Fox-C grinning psychotically like Jacques would probably do while saying that. It’s Jean Paul at his most unpleasant.

“On Maljardin, only I speak,” he continues. “Others listen.” It’s like he’s determined to be as much of an asshole as possible in this episode. Bless his heart.

But all the despotic orders in the world won’t shut the Reverend up. “Now I know why I came to Maljardin,” he replies, and it’s not to stalk a twenty-year-old teenager. “It was my destiny to be a force of good among all the evil here.”

“A savior?” Jean Paul asks.

“Perhaps,” he replies. “Is there one here who needs saving from himself?”

Sometimes I wonder if Reverend Dawson was intended to be the real hero of SP.

Raxl and Quito enter the Not-So-Hidden Temple of the Serpent with the rabbit. She pleads and begs for the Serpent to give her answers about the Rabbit of Evil, calling the adorable animal a “monster.” This scene is classic Raxl and belongs on any list of Raxl’s best scenes. Here are my two favorite lines from it:

Raxl: "Speak to me, Great One, for the sake of my master and his beloved visitors and for all the spirits in this house who are roasting on the spit of the fire of evil. OPEN YOUR SPEECH TO MY UNDERSTANDING!"

"Quito, TAKE THIS EVIL THING! Its foulness has stilled temporarily the voice of the Great Serpent!"

But it doesn’t stilt the Serpent for long. The mysterious locket at the beginning of this review appears around its neck, where it wasn’t before. When Raxl touches it, it stains her hand with blood.

Meanwhile, in Jean Paul’s hidden monitor room...

Jean Paul: "Erica, my darling, I wonder how you will find me when at last we are together again? I fear the strain of all this has made me hard and cynical. The Reverend is good, twice the man he was when he first arrived. If only he could see the rightness of my cause, he would make such an ally for my purposes." [You’re deluding yourself, Jean Paul. You have zero chance of convincing Matt that your cryonics scheme is anything but blasphemy.]

"Some serve me, to their honor and reward. Some cross me--to their death!"

*reading Teleprompter* "No one understands. There is an inner circle, my love, and it is big enough for just the two of us."

Jean Paul: "My darling, the second séance is very close at hand. The Conjure Woman recovers and this time nothing will stop us!"

*more obvious Teleprompter reading* "You will come, you will speak, and at last for the first time, for just a little while, you and I will be together."

He’s so cute! <3

Like the previous episode, it’s obvious that they rushed this one even in comparison to the others, because of how often Fox-C reads the Teleprompter. I’ve noticed that he does so more often starting during this week of the show and increasingly until Cornelius Crane takes over writing the show--which won’t be for another two weeks--before slowly petering out until Desmond Hall. I see this as a measure of how hastily an episode was slapped together, although I could be making assumptions.

Anyway, Raxl asks Quito if he noticed the bloody locket before, and he shakes his head. “I am right!” exclaims Raxl about her belief that the rabbit was a demon. She follows this up by asking the Serpent, “Where did it come from?” and we cut to the camera panning over the cryonics capsule:

Obvious foreshadowing is obvious.

Quito leaves the temple to find Matt and Holly sneaking into the crypt, and chases them back up to the Great Hall. Holly demands to know where the rabbit is and Raxl (who enters just then) announces that it ran away!

“Discovered something, didn’t you?” Matt asks Raxl. He asks if she found the doll and pin or the week of missing notes, to which she answers no and no. “For Heaven’s sake, what? Another demon?”

Just as baffled as I am that a Christian minister like him doesn’t believe in demons, she accuses him of mocking her. He accuses her of turning irrational, which means that Jean Paul’s “everyone is irrational but me” delusion must be rubbing off on him. Holly accuses Raxl of having already killed the rabbit.

“Foolishness! Madness!” Raxl shouts. “I tell you that-”

Matt interrupts to point to the rabbit, who, despite its tall ears, is somehow able to sleep through this argument. Must have selective hearing.

Holly grabs the rabbit and Raxl starts screaming for her to hand it over. “IT IS EVIL! IT MUST BE KILLED!” she cries as Matt restrains her. “IT MUST BE DESTROYED BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!” Fortunately for Holly (but unfortunately for Raxl), Jean Paul hears the commotion and comes downstairs to take the rabbit from them.

When he does, we hear the sound of a small object dropping. He leans over to pick it up and reveals the strangest detail so far in this mystery:

Jean Paul: "This locket…" Raxl: "Yes, master, I-" Jean Paul: *more pained* "This locket…was…Erica's!"

Everyone’s jaw drops--which we see in a series of close-ups of all five human actors in this episode--and the music swells. After commercial, Raxl tearfully reveals that Jean Paul gave Erica the locket on her birthday, and tells Jean Paul and the others that she knows that the locket was not around the rabbit’s neck until after she called upon the Serpent. Holly accuses her of being superstitious, and they get into a fight where Raxl tells Holly that she and her fellow Christians don’t understand the spirit world and Holly calls Raxl’s beliefs “mumbo-jumbo.” Matt also accuses Raxl of lying about how the locket appeared “so that we would believe in spirits and demons.” I know that not all Christian denominations believe in the literal existence of spirits and demons, but it’s still odd hearing the Reverend deny their existence.

Raxl calls him a fool, too, and says once again that the rabbit must be killed. She and Holly are about to go back to arguing when Jean Paul cries out, “YOU ARE ALL WRONG!” And then we have yet another shocking revelation: Erica was wearing the locket upon her death, and still when she was entombed in the cryonics capsule!

Somehow he’s able to get the rabbit to hold still for a few minutes, even with all the shouting in the final scene.

In case anyone’s wondering why this entry took so long, it’s because I’ve also been working on a couple posts reviewing Ian Martin’s entire period headwriting this show. That’s what I plan to do at the end of each arc or at the end of each writer’s stint on the show (with the exception of those writers who only wrote a few episodes, like James Elward, Joe Caldwell, and the team of Ron Chudley and George Salverson). You can expect my two-part review of Ian Martin’s SP shortly after my review of Episode 44, which may also be slightly delayed because of it.

Coming up next: Ian Martin’s final episode, the much-anticipated second séance and its shocking conclusion.

{<- Previous: Episode 42   ||   Next: Episode 44 ->}

[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

Real Lion

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” Matthew 5:1NLT

Three percent of America’s population is homeless. A problem for our country for centuries— Mother told about the 1930’s soup kitchens in all the cities during the Great Depression. Homelessness hinges on many things. People who have lost everything for drugs or alcohol use, gambling, PTSD- war-terrors, failed marriages, downsized jobs; over-indebted, COVID job losses, reduced  hours; underpaid working with rising prices; children propelled into homelessness.

Many Christians joined homelessness spiritually, through hope deferred, hopelessness, and desperation in life situations. Have we forgotten Whose we are and where our permanent home is? We must realize— we’ve not been abandoned. There are times when God allows a season of hopelessness to bring us to hope. Say what? God doesn’t cause the hopeless situations. Satan is always the worker of evil and hopelessness in our lives. Jesus desires to turn it around and bring a redemptive purpose— “…to give you a future and a hope” Jeremiah 29:11ESV. The Lion of Judah roars over us to drive away the enemy.

No matter what life throws at us, good or bad, don’t blame God. John 10:10 names our enemy ‘thief,’ who’s always lurking nearby to try to steal our hope. 1Peter 5:8AMP “be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around LIKE a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour,” (emphasis  mine). He sounds horribly fierce and frightening, but Jesus rendered him defeated on the cross.

The real Lion is Jesus. Revelation 5:5KJV “…one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David…” He is for us, not against us. Regardless of how things look.

Right now my family is fighting the fake lion on four major fronts. Hopelessness tries to take over our minds and spirits. This isn’t my first battle to the finish. “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2Corinthians 12:11NIV Often daily, I declare to God, ‘HELP.’  We have His Word, and the Lion. I’m letting the Lion rise up inside me.

When hopelessness starts, it comes as a negative thought. Battle proven— Immediately, we must cast down every negative imagination. Do let it gain more foothold than a passing thought, (see 2Corinthians 10:3-5). Give discouragement no place in your mind, renew the mind Romans 12:2. We must always remember— God not only gives us hope for tomorrow but strength for today, (see Isaiah 41:10).

Isaiah 55:10-11NLT “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.  It is the same with My word. I send it out, and it always  produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” God’s Word spoken out of our mouths has sufficient power within each word to accomplish our desire. Unbeknownst to us, we’re activating angels through God’s Word on our behalf.

One struggle we have is: politics bring feelings of homelessness, hopelessness, and hope deferred to overwhelm you. May we allow the real Lion to roar over our lives today. Allow His Word to come out of your mouth. Jesus brings victory cutting that fake “like a lion” into pieces, if we will believe. It’s your choice. You choose.

PRAYER: Papa God, seasons of hopelessness do come, but not from You. Help us understand it’s the fake lion trying to defeat us. Roar, please, and help us to roar too, over the overwhelming feelings. May we rise up with Your Words in our mouths rather than quaking in fear, in the name of Jesus Christ, I pray.

by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2021 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional as author. Thank you.

[chnat0wn]

Black Irises

Relationship: Alfie Solomons/Original Female Character

Summary: Deborah meets her sweet, jewish boy she used to know. He is different now. He is a man. He changed when she left him. War changed him.

Alfie Solomons has a few rules. One of them says that no one is allowed to touch or even get near to his woman. Even though Deborah isn't his anymore, he still considers her his own property. 

tags: [young love, meeting after years, aggressive partner, angst and comfort]

AO3 LINK

00. The Beach

Deborah entered the building, which from the very beginning was the purpose of her journey. She caught Polly and Ada's attention. They were inside when she decided to disturb their peace in an extremely rapid way. She was breathing heavily and deeply, feeling the familiar, inevitable burning in her chest. The women watched her - they knew exactly why she came.

“Where is he?” she asked without hesitation. She only needed a few deeper breaths. Without waiting for any answer, she moved quickly to Tommy's office. She opened the door, using a little more force than she intended. The room was empty. “Where the fuck is he?”

Ada stood in the entrance to her older brother's office. She looked at Deborah and took a deep breath. She didn't say a word, instead she pursed her lips and followed Deborah, who was looking for one of the books in the desk. She counted on getting any information about the current location of Thomas Shelby as if she expected him to record the exact date and place of the planned revenge.

“Where are they, Ada?” she wailed desperately. She ran her fingers through her hair in a purely nervous gesture, and once again looked around the room. She hoped that Tommy would be at her side any minute, that she would be able to talk to him. “I know what Alfie did. I also know that he should be punished for this. But not this way, Ada. Not this way...” she spoke uncontrollably, having more and more problems with breathing. “He is a good man. Each of us has moments of weakness, don’t we? He just wanted... he had to find a way to...”

“Out of the pan and into the fire.” Ada interjected. “First, you believed that this fucking Italian-tyrant could change. That he'll stop beating the shit out of you.” she folded her arms and shook her head in disbelief. “Now you hope you can change Solomons. You justify everything he did. At least you try to justify that he agreed to kill Tommy.”

“He had no choice.” she protested, dropping her hands. They fell involuntarily. She knew that if she would stay here and have a senseless conversation with Ada, she wouldn't be able to do anything, she would lose her precious time.

“Sure, he had not.” she snorted. “I have helped you many times. Because you are my friend and I love you like my own sister. But I don't know if I can put my real family above your happiness. Which, by the way, you probably won't get. Not with someone like Solomons.”

Deborah's eyes welled up with tears. It happened often when she was falling into pieces, which was not a sign of weakness. Most often she cried when the pain was unbearable. Never out of helplessness, but now - completely involuntarily - she made an exception. At the thought of Tommy getting rid of Alfie at any moment, a mixture of negative feelings filled her to the brim. A mixture of negative feelings that she couldn't take with calmness.

Ada noticed a change on Deborah's face. At first she saw the uneasiness in her eyes. Now she could see the pain that distorted her smooth, pale visage.

“Listen, Debby. I don't know where he is. He rarely tells me about his destinations.” she said reproachfully. She could no longer look at how Deborah was falling apart from the overwhelming feeling, under the pressure from Ada.

“Formby Beach.” Polly interjected. The woman appeared out of nowhere. Although Deborah was aware that Polly is nearby, she was surprised by her sudden presence. She glanced at the smoldering cigarette, then at Polly's face. An expression of worry pierced her face. “You better be hurry. Tommy set off about ten minutes ago. And I don't think that anything will stop him from what he intends.” she said and brought the cigarette back to her mouth.

“Oh, God. Thank you so much, Pol.” Deborah approached the woman quickly, wrapped her arms around her neck, then laid a quick kiss on her cheek. Then, she left the building and bumped into Arthur. She looked at him, frowning.

“Good day, Debby girl!” he shouted.

“Not now, Arthur.”

 * 

“Ishmael” Deborah touched the man's forearm and pointed to a distant point. The view of the beach caused a piercing heat have through her body. She also saw three silhouettes – Tommy, Alfie and Cyril. “Stop the car.” she asked, and before Ishmael extinguished the engine, she opened the door. She fell out of the car and rushed roughly towards the beach. The weather seemed perfect – a light breeze blew the neck and cheeks of Deborah, and the high placed sun cast pleasantly warm rays. The sky was extremely blue and the sea exceptionally calm. She would stop, give more attention to everything that was around her if it was not for the task she gave herself. Tommy has chosen a beautiful day undoubtedly. Or that day favored his intentions. 

Tommy was aiming for Alfie. The weapon outlet was at the height of Alfie's face. Tommy was hesitating, which the casual person would not be able to see. Because Tommy didn't hesitate like other people; he didn't show uncertainty, he didn't consider the pros and cons. He was appeared determined, as someone who had already made the decision. But he delayed carrying out the task assigned to him by himself. Seeing all this, Deborah almost made a pitiful moan. At first she couldn't bring herself to make any sound, no matter how much she wanted to prevent Alfie from upcoming judgment. She heard that they were talking – if the conversation consisted of Alfie's one–sided monologue – but she couldn't catch specific words, the meaning of the speech. She was too far away, the blood was too loud in her ears.

“Stop it!” she screamed, realizing that it would be all over before she gets to the right place. “Put down the gun, Tommy. Please!” she added in one breath. She was in the habit of asking instead of ordering. Alfie often admonished her that she should be a bit tougher if she wants to survive. That she should treat men a bit harder.

They both looked at her. Alfie's face expressed surprise and horror Deborah had never seen before. Tommy looked indifferent, though she was able to see the movement of his jaw as he pursed his lips in dissatisfaction. She stood at the point between Alfie and Tommy. She brushed individual strands of hair from her face, breathing heavily. She stared at Tommy – she expected that he could use the moment of inattention and settle the matter as it should. She looked at Alfie, however.

“You shouldn't fucking be 'ere, right? You shouldn't get involved in 'his.” Alfie drawled. He was clearly offended by the fact that someone interrupted him with such an intimate experience as his own death.

“Shush!” she turned to him, raising her finger.

Deborah looked at Tommy again. She came to him slowly. The sand made it difficult to move, not to mention stepping up – she was shaking on her feet as the shoes were sinking in the soft, golden surface. She was like a child who was just learning how to walk. Besides, she felt unimaginably tired. She stepped up in front of Tommy, never taking her eyes off his face.

“Don’t do it.” she whispered pleadingly. “He deserved it after all he did. Except that I don't have a goddamn idea why he did it...” she glanced at Alfie with reproach, then returned to Tommy. “Let him live. Not for himself, but for me. For Benjamin.” she smiled crookedly, though her eyes filled with tears. After a moment, one of them ran down her cheek. “Otherwise, shoot me too.” she nodded decisively. 

Tommy looked away from Alfie and slowly moved it to Deborah. He hadn't been making exceptions, even if a woman asked him to do otherwise. If he had to avenge a family member or other important case, he was unstoppable. He didn't accept arguments or prayers. Still, something in Deborah's face meant that he would be able to consider it all again.

“Mphm... We can be together forever.” Alfie interjected. He was strangely calm, unmoved by the whole situation. “Somewhere else. In a better place. In Olam ha–ba.”

Deborah turned slowly and looked at him with a pain that didn't accompany her even when she was with her previous husband. She didn't understand his attitude. She didn't accept the words he said. She didn't believe he could talk to her that way. She didn't believe that he thought he could convince her this way. She looked at him with a distinct grief, as if she was angry with him. Alfie was close to looking away. But then he would show his weakness.

“You, sweetie” Alfie pointed at her. “you have yer fucking, perfect ending, eh?” he said. “Let me have mine. This 's exactly as I wanted it to be. You can leave, right. No need to watch.”

“You can't be serious.” she shook her head. She pursed her lips and looked away only for a moment. She looked at the sky over her head, closed her eyes and let the warm rays fall on her face, drowning in the golden light of the sun to gain strength. She looked at Alfie again. She sniffed and walked over to him, traveling twice as long as to Tommy. She stepped in front of a silhouette emitting extraordinary power, in front of the silhouette which she always felt safe with. Familiar warmth beat out of Alfie's body. The warmth she wanted to remember. That's why she approached him a few extra inches and placed her hands on his stomach, sliding them under the flap of his thick coat. Alfie raised his hand to her face. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, and then he wiped another tear that fell down her face.

“Don’t say that. Don't do such a thing to me.” she whispered. Alfie looked at her with complete understanding. However, Deborah wasn't able to understand how he could be so calm. She knew why, since he chose such an end for himself. But she didn't know how he was managing it. “Don't do this to us.”

“Yeah. Our Benji.” he gasped expressionlessly. “He'll understand it.” he answered in the same tone as before. Deborah frowned with disbelief. “He's a big boy. And you acting like a little girl, aren't you?”

Alfie looked away and thrust his gaze into Tommy's face. As if he expected he would do what he came for. Deborah followed his glance, then raised her hands to his face and forced him to look at her. Only now did she notice the difficulty with which he looked into her eyes. He never had that big problem with it. He was usually self–confident, crushing her with his power, a hard, dominant gaze. It came naturally, he never wanted her to feel worse than him. But she felt that she should worship him. Go to her knees and pray to her own Lord and Savior, who Alfie was to her.

“Maybe he'll understand.” she replied, taking the same indifferent calm. She looked down just to gather her thoughts. She had to wonder if she should reveal a theory that had been bouncing off the walls of her mind for a long time. It was like a biting insect reminding her of its presence. “You can't take a father away from the children. Do you understand me, Alfie?” she asked, looking him in the eye again.

Alfie opened his eyes wider, frowned and raised his chin a bit, looking at Deborah from a different angle. He had never thought that he would be able to feel so many conflicting emotions. He wasn't stupid and he thought he knew what Deborah was talking about. Out of fear, he didn't allow himself this thought. If he was not mistaken, and Deborah's words were quite obvious, he was not ready for what was waiting for him.

“Fuck me...” he took a deep breath through his slightly parted lips. He raised his hands and covered Deborah's hands with them. He has always admired her beauty. For him, she was a rare masterpiece, the most precious gemstone. He was grateful that he had met her again, that he could be with her. But now he couldn't tell if he felt any happiness. He pursed his mouth, making one of the lip disappear somewhere under his mustache. He squeezed his eyelids as if some unidentified, exceptionally loud and troublesome noise disturbed his thoughts. Deborah saw a single, wet trail run through Alfie's cheek. He took an uneven breath and dropped to his knees, sliding his hands down Deborah's body. He buried his face in her stomach and embraced her, clinging her like a last resort. Deborah slipped her fingers into his hair and breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s all right, Alfie. It's over now.” she said quietly. “Everything will be fine.”

Alfie didn't believe her words. He knew that it has been better back then. And they probably never will be happier than they used to be. Their best times have passed, and attempts to come to terms with this thought have ended in failure. He couldn't see the future. And he didn't feel convinced about the positives of life, even when Deborah was with him. He felt even worse with the thought that once again he must bring her into the world that surrounded him. Such delicate, seemingly weak woman in his dangerous reality. He didn't want to think about raising children in this conditions. He knew what happened to Grace Shelby.

“We'll move to Margate. Just like in your visions.” she smiled slightly. She leaned over and kissed the top of Alfie's head. She glanced at Tommy, who was watching them. “You'll never see him again. He will never hurt your family. You have my word. Just let us go.”

It was said that Thomas Shelby had softened. Maybe they were right. Maybe he was less brutal, but he never lost his cunning and skill to solve problems. And this time he could see another way out of the situation.

“If he dares to threaten my family again, I will kill him. Without blinking. Understood?” he said, not even trying conviction. He just looked at Deborah, and he gave her no choice but to believe his words.

[peterstanslizzie]

Re-watching Lizzie Mcguire: Episode 1.29 (The Courtship of Miranda Sanchez)

Now it’s time for Miranda to be crushing on somebody

- Let’s get down to business; Miranda has a crush on someone besides Ethan Craft. His name is Ryan Adams and Miranda really started to notice him after watching him give an apparently amazing monologue during drama class. 

Before watching this episode, I didn’t actually recall this show having a Ryan lol

- Lizzie is ecstatic for Miranda but Gordo, the debbie downer isn’t keen on listening to Miranda swoon over Ryan. He is more interested about a monster truck roundup that’s coming to their town. And before Miranda could continue to talk about her admiration for Ryan, Gordo gets up and leaves the table to find some guys to hang out with.

- That’s what I’ve been saying in so many of my reviews! Gordo needs to find his own group of male friends. I’m getting sick of him complaining about having to listen to Lizzie and Miranda talk about girl topics. Anyways, the opening scene ends with Lizzie telling Miranda that she’s going to try her best to get her and Ryan together. 

Miranda Umms

- It’s breakfast time and both Lizzie and Matt are eating cereal together. Matt starts annoying Lizzie by purposely staring at her and making a sort of ‘choking on his food’ noise whenever she tries to eat her food. Ugh, why must he already annoy me so early on in the episode?

- In school, Miranda is preparing herself to go up to Ryan to talk to him and Lizzie’s helping her out. Miranda looks really cute with that colourful hat of hers (I so want one btw). Also, we get this iconic moment:

I would like to think that Hilary did her own stunts because it really looks like she got hit by that locker door. 

- Ryan arrives ‘conveniently’ after that mishap and Miranda starts stumbling on her words because she’s so nervous. She sounds just like how Lizzie would act around Ethan. 

There’s a lot of teeth showing in this picture

- Luckily for Miranda, Lizzie got up in time to save her friend from further embarrassment and told Ryan everything that Miranda wanted to say to him about his performance in drama class. That was such an awkward moment and I’m sure Ryan felt extremely awkward as well. So he left lol. 

- Miranda couldn’t believe what just happened because she’s usually cool, calm and collected around other people. However, she offended Lizzie by telling Lizzie she doesn’t get nervous unlike her. Ouch, Miranda. I hope you realise what you’re saying there. 

Gordo, I Thought You Were Going To Find Guys Your Age To Buddy Up With?

- Gordo finds Matt in the Mcguires’ backyard doing something strange as usual and they start talking about Matt’s friends not being able to hang out with him today as well as Gordo not liking to be around Lizzie and Miranda whenever they talk about boys. 

- They suddenly make the connection that they’re both interested in the monster truck roundup thingy, which tells us that they’re into the same kind of thing. They then agree to hang out. So, Gordo prefers to befriend Lizzie’s pesky younger brother Matt instead of the other boys in middle school. 

- Wouldn’t it be better if he finds guy friends who goes to the same school as him? That way, if he feels sick of Lizzie and Miranda, he can just hang out with his guy friends at another table. Problem solved.

But I guess it’s cute how Matt see Gordo as an older brother he never had

How To Talk To Ryan 101

- In Lizzie’s room, Lizzie is coaching Miranda on how to have a nice conversion with Ryan without getting nervous. To be more specific, she’s role-playing as Ryan and asking Miranda questions as him. 

And judging from Miranda’s expression, she isn’t so believable as him 

- Lizzie comes up with another strategy to talk to Ryan and that is to write down a script of everything Miranda should say to him. Miranda tells Lizzie that she’s bad at memorising but Lizzie’s says she’ll make it short. Lizzie is such a good friend for doing all of this to help her friend. 

- The next day in school, Gordo asks Lizzie about Miranda and this surprises Lizzie because she thought he wasn’t interested in their girl talk. Lizzie also passes him a message from Matt about the monster truck rally being postponed. Lizzie doesn’t like the idea that he and Matt are starting to hang out with each other. In fact, she finds it creepy. You and me both Lizzie. 

- Miranda comes back from speaking to Ryan and it was a success! She and Ryan are going to have lunch together the next day and Ryan even told her she has nice eyes. Gordo hears Lizzie saying that she’s glad she wrote down what Miranda should say and he just couldn’t believe it. 

Gordo saying “You wrote down what she should say?” for the third time really triggered Lizzie and Miranda; Especially Miranda.

- Anyways, Miranda now wants Lizzie to actually be close to Miranda during her date so that she can tell her what to say to him. This sounds like a bad idea but since Lizzie doesn’t want to let her friend down, she agrees to her plan. Things are about to go south, I can feel it. 

Lizzie The Ultimate Wing-woman

- We see Gordo and Matt playing basketball with a hacky sack (aka hacky basket?) in the backyard. And we then cut to a montage showing the two of them having fun doing random things together like riding scooters, playing with hula hoops and playing football. 

I wonder whose house was it that Gordo broke their window?

- Miranda’s lunch date with Ryan is about to commence and poor Lizzie is hiding in a trash so that she can help guide her best friend in secrecy. The fact that Lizzie volunteered to hide in a trash can shows me this girl down to do anything to help her friends out. I wouldn’t be caught doing such a thing, but that’s why I love Lizzie lol

Why on Earth does Miranda needs to be coached to the point where it seems like her brain has lost all its functioning?

- She’s literally repeating everything Lizzie’s saying verbatim; She even said “Ouch!” when Lizzie gets stung by a bee/wasp and she even made the same sounds as Lizzie when she was going to sneeze. I’ll admit, that was hilarious!

Unfortunately, Lizzie’s sneeze caused her to tumble over in the trash can, revealing herself to Ryan in the process

- Ryan is freaked out from what he just witnessed and he ditches Miranda (as he should). Miranda also starts freaking out and begins to question herself. In turn, she also ditches poor Lizzie, who is still stuck in a trash can! Miranda!!!! Is she this oblivious? 

Betrayal

- Lizzie asks Gordo if he has spoken to Miranda since she thinks that Miranda is now mad at her. Gordo, who seems to dislike talking about this whole Miranda and Ryan situation (but I think he secretly does) suggests to Lizzie to talk to Ryan instead. 

- I really don’t understand why Gordo says he doesn’t like talking about these kind of things when he clearly is able to give good advice. Relationship discussions aren’t girly; I really don’t like that stereotype. I mean, I do think that boys talk about relationships, maybe not as much but they still talk about it with one another.

- Matt comes into the living room and persuades Gordo who was about to head home to look at pictures of a cheese house on his computer. Gordo takes a huge interest to this and agrees to hang out with Matt a little longer. 

- The next day at school, Lizzie approaches Ryan to explain to him what happened the other day. However, plot twist! Ryan thinks that the reason Lizzie was spying on their date is because Lizzie likes him. Well that is so not the case!

He even had his arm around her. Too bad Miranda just so happened to be there the moment he quickly asks her out to the Digital Bean after school. This causes Miranda to think that he actually asked Lizzie out on a date. 

- Miranda is now mad at Lizzie for thinking that she had betrayed her. Miranda needs to learn how to stop accusing other people without knowing the facts. Because this isn’t the first time it happened. Remember the ‘I Do, I Don’t’ episode when Miranda accuses Lizzie of being jealous of her being paired with Ethan for their social studies class presentation. 

- Meanwhile, Gordo is starting to miss hanging out with Lizzie and Miranda after playing hacky basket with Matt for 5 hours. Really!? Five whole hours just playing that? I salute them lol. Anyways, he tells Matt that he needs to hang out with his own friends again and surprisingly, Matt takes this very well. I mean, Gordo pretty much straight up told him he just wants to hang out with Matt only on occasion from now on. I would’ve been offended. 

Ryan’s Not So Nice

- Lizzie brings along Miranda to the Digital Bean to help clarify what just happened between her and Ryan. Miranda doesn’t seem up for it and tries to leave once she spots Ryan. But Ryan makes an offensive remark by saying that Miranda doesn’t have to do the talking for Lizzie since he STILL thinks Lizzie likes him and she’s just shy to approach him herself. And I thought Miranda was bad at reading cues; This guy takes the cake. 

Miranda finally sees the truth

- Miranda realises that the Ryan she saw in drama class was just a facade because the real Ryan is a straight up jerk who thinks that every girl in the grade has a crush on him and that he is the greatest actor in the world. 

I would have poured his drink on his head if I were them

- Lizzie and Miranda make amends and they agree to never let a guy come between their friendship. Yea, I’m sure that wouldn’t last lol

The episode ends with the Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo laying on the lawn watching the stars. Gordo is glad to be hanging out with his best friends again. Me too! So he’d better not complain he has no guy friends to hang out with.

Overall Thoughts

- I’ll start with the positives. I appreciate the writers putting a spotlight on Miranda’s so-called ‘love life’ and providing her with her own crush in this episode. Although it only lasted for one episode, it was interesting to see how she navigates herself through approaching boys and going on dates. And we find out that she’s a complete mess when it comes to talking to boys she has crushes on. 

-  Another positive I took away from this episode is giving Matt an older male figure to look up to besides his father and that is Gordo. Their dynamic is really laid back and chill. And I notice here more than in previous episodes that they have a lot of similarities and shared interests. But what I don’t appreciate is how Gordo suddenly makes a decision to stop hanging out with Matt almost completely. He doesn’t even want to hang out with him on the weekends. That was pretty random. There’s this thing called balance; I thought he liked Matt?

- I also don’t like how Miranda made the same mistake as she did before by accusing Lizzie of something she didn’t do at all. Miranda is always coming to conclusions based on how she feels when the moment first occurs without processing all the details. It’s kinda annoying and it just creates unnecessary drama. 

[greene-rph]

Amo Album Sentence Starters

I APOLOGIZE IF YOU FEEL SOMETHING.

i saw you staring out of your own abyss again

don't be afraid to be scared

i apologise if you feel something

MANTRA.

do you wanna start a cult with me?

I need a purpose

before the truth will set you free it'll piss you off

could I have your attention, please?

what were you thinking?

i know this doesn't make a lot of sense

all I'm asking for's a little bit of faith

NIHILIST BLUES.

you were in my dream last night

too afraid to taste your conscience

I'm terrified I can't get out

please, don't follow

IN THE DARK.

I've done it again

I know I'm getting warm 'cause I feel so cold

I'm looking on the bright side now

none of this is real

I think we need to talk like now

jesus christ, you're so damn cold

don't you know you've lost control?

forget about the things you think I know

no secrets, you can't keep me in the dark

guess my fairy tale has a few plot holes

I'm not looking for salvation

WONDERFUL LIFE.

I read a fun fact about the brain and how it starts to deteriorate when we get to 27 or thereabouts

you can’t sit there unless you’re righteous

I feel all numb now, is that a feeling?

nobody cares if I’m dead or alive

debbie downer, what’s your problem?

it’s all gone wrong!

one day this might hurt me less

everybody knows I’m still down

OUCH.

I always knew this was gonna end in tears

I know I said you could drag me through hell

I hoped you wouldn’t fuck the devil

MEDICINE.

some people are a lot like clouds, you know 'cause life's so much brighter when they go

but I never dished the dirt, just held my breath while you dragged me through the mud

I don't know why I tried to save you 'cause I can't save you from yourself

all you give a shit about is everybody else

why don't you deal with it?

I think it's time to stop

watch me take the wheel like you, not feel like you, act like nothing's real like you

I'm sorry for this

it might sting a bit

but you won't admit

why don't you get a grip?

you can't keep going on and on and on and on like this

you need a taste of your own medicine

SUGAR, HONEY, ICE AND TEA.

I think we're too close for comfort

I'm sorry, it's over

I don't know if I can figure it out

don't move a muscle

the situation is in control

who the hell died and made you the king?

WHY YOU GOTTA KICK ME WHEN I’M DOWN?

ain't you got some place to be?

was hoping the suspense would kill you

come on and give me your expert opinion

what the fuck have I done?

they said ‘we just want your blood’.

so come on and take a shot

don't let the fact that you know nothing stop you talking now

why you gotta kick me when I'm down?

why you tryna put me in the ground?

it's all in good fun

don't say it's coming from love

what doesn't kill me, well, it better run like hell

you better run like hell

remember this line that you crossed

there's no turning back now

oh god, what the fuck have you done?

FRESH BRUISES.

don't you try to fuck with me

don't you hide your love

MOTHER TONGUE.

I didn't see it coming

I never really had much faith

I'll never forget

it's hard to explain

I feel you're lonely

no amount of words could ever find a way to make sense of this

I'm in trouble

HEAVY METAL.

I woke up in a warehouse

just minding my own meltdown

it's now or never

you wanna live forever?

you know what we want, you should give it to us

it's now or never, but there's no pressure

I'm afraid you don't love me anymore

all I wanna know, do you love me anymore?

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY.

I'll see you at the gates when it gets dark

I don’t know what to say

wish I told you this before it got too dark

where do you start when you know it has to end?

I can die, but I can't break

you can rule, I won't obey