Quote by Dancing_Doll
I think the carved 'W' signs are signalling the new "Bad Guys" on the horizon... assumably some renegade psychos that will challenge the Alexandria Safe Zone and want to take it for themselves.

This would technically allow Rick to be 'right' about everything he screams about in the last episode (Alexandria is not secure, there are bad people who will want to take it from you, we have to prepare etc.). If they do punish Rick for his totally unhinged outburst, the arrival of a new threat would be what the show would need to allow Rick to redeem himself among the group... and pretty much come out as the 'I told you so' Hero.

Also - there was this foreboding graffiti written on the wall inside Noah's demolished community ('Wolves Not Far').... plus they found that truck of half-chopped 'W'-carved walkers just outside the broken walls there - so it seems like whoever wrecked that community likes to make their mark, maybe to intimidate and scare people first, and then take what they want. It would make sense that a relatively sheltered community like Noah's, and even Alexandria, would be seen as soft pickings filled with people that are easy to scare into submission.

Quote by Dancing_Doll
Nope - let's break it down:

"He left his best mate for dead." - Technically what else could he have done. Rick was hooked up to machines in the hospital. Machines failed. He seemed pretty dead. And zombies were coming. At least he pushed the hospital bed in front of the door to block them out. If he was really evil, he wouldn't have bothered. He probably wouldn't have even bothered checking on his BFF either when the world was basically going to hell. So really - let's be honest here - he was a true friend against all odds.

"He fucked his wife." - Ok, yeah... sorta tacky. But he was obviously very in love with Lori. It wasn't just to get laid. As far as he was concerned her husband was dead and here he was - willing to take on a single mother with a kid (a total liability in an apocalypse). So really - he was essentially protecting Rick's family when Rick couldn't. :)

"He murdered one of his group so he could get away." - Technically he'd only just met Otis a few hours earlier - not like they had some longstanding relationship. And, if he hadn't done it, they both would have died. And then Carl would have died too - poor innocent little Carl, whom Otis had negligently shot earlier that day. So really - he saved a little boy. He's a bit of a hero, really. :)

I know there was that whole 'trying to kill Rick' bit later on at the farm, but love and PTSD will make ya do crazy things.

I do love wearing my rose-colored Shane Goggles sometimes.

Quote by Dancing_Doll
Funny thing if the show had started out from the beginning with the Alexandria people as the "main group" and then they'd let in Rick's gang as newbies with the hopes of 'strengthening them' and continuing on with running Pleasantville, imagine how viewers would be reacting to many of those characters... They're all becoming kind of unhinged, ready to 'take over' or lay down new laws. Technically Gabriel isn't all that far off - it's just that our longterm solidarity with the main characters and their backstory makes him the bad guy now.

It certainly makes you appreciate Shane a lot more. He was kind of Apocalypse-evolved beyond his years. I miss that character.

Quote by Dancing_Doll
That seriously felt like one of the most traumatic episodes in a really long time. On so many different levels. Damn.

All I know is - Nicolas. Must. Die. Like was anyone else wishing Abraham had gone on that run so he could've let the fists fly longer than Glenn did? That scene. I actually had to look away.

And WTF with Gabriel???

There's been so much character evolution over the last few episodes. Even Rick and Carol are feeling a little more complicated than I gave them credit for.

Also - how come nobody ever gets a mercy shot on this show? Like I know it's less dramatic, but that would be the first thing I'd establish in the zombie apocalypse. If it looks like my number is up, do me like Dale before you run away.

Quote by Dani
So many people use the "I've been hurt" or "I have [insert issue(s) here]" line to excuse their emotional instability/immaturity. And when called on it, they'll revert to "I told you I had issues when we met."

We all have our baggage that we inevitably take out on the next person that comes along. But having issues shouldn't excuse you from owning up to your bullshit and trying to work through your issues instead of reveling in the fact that you have said issues and expecting whoever's with you to just make due.

It's one thing to say "I have issues, and sometimes I act like a total piece of shit...but I'm working on it." It's an entirely different thing to say, "I have issues, and sometimes I act like a total piece of shit...deal with it."

I can appreciate the fact that people can be hurt many times in many ways, but using that hurt as a weapon to be manipulative, dismissive, abusive, or just plain unwilling to be a person worthy of being with is not cool.

Quote by Coco
Yada yada yada! I know the difference, told you I just got lazy and knew that some wonderful mod would help me out and YOU did, Thank you!!!

Quote by MorganHawke
From Phil Phantom’s: “Guide to Writing Good Trash"
-- I know, you hate to think of your writing as trash, but if done well, others will. If done poorly, your magnificent creation is just crap, shit, or garbage. Excellent trash can rise to the level of good shit, but you and your good shit will never be studied in English Lit. As for riches, sure, but it helps if you are wealthy when you start.

Guide to Punctuating for the Reading Impaired

Okay, so you wan'na rite reel good.

Good use of punctuation is key to effective communication, even in trash, especially in trash. You may think trash is easy to write, but trash is the most difficult to write well. When you write about sex, passion, erotic feelings, and powerful emotions, you are taking on a major communication challenge. When you add scenery and a large cast of characters, you are taking on a writing challenge that makes "Moby Dick" look like a fishing trip to Lake Wannapoopoo.

Melville hardly needed any punctuation until they caught up with the whale. Mark Twain, in fact, used no punctuation. After his editor chastised him for this, Twain sent in a page full of periods, commas, colons, semi-colons and such with the following note:

"Here is the punctuation marks you wanted put them where you want them"

I can make punctuation easy for you. Simply imagine that all of your readers suffer from a condition called Myopic Un-Mitigated Balance of biLateral Equilibrium (MUMBLE). They move their lips when they read.

Actually, they silently speak what they read. They need punctuation in order to breathe properly. Long paragraphs of run-on sentences cause them to pass out. Please consider these unfortunates when you write. Although writing without punctuation or proper capitalization is no reflection on a person's intelligence or education, doing so is inconsiderate of people who suffer from mumbleopia. They knew nothing about mumbleopia in Twain's day. He had an excuse; we don't. MUMBLErs (as they prefer to be called) suffer in silent neglect.

Guide to Punctuating for the Reading Impaired

ALL CAPS is like shouting. Writing in all caps causes swelling of the inner ear which presses on the cerebral cortex, leading to a loss of bladder and rectal control. Avoid using all caps for more than a few words in a row, even during explosive orgasms.

PERIODS allow a MUMBLEr to breathe. Sprinkle a few in each paragraph. Mumbleopiacs don't care where, but after each complete thought is generally a good idea.
-- (Note: Follow a period with a sentence or paragraph that starts with a capital letter. MUMBLErs breathe out on the period and breathe in when they see the capital letter.)

COMMAS don't give time to breathe, but do give the lips a rest. Severe lip injury can result from long sentences with no commas. On the other hand, overuse of commas is the leading cause of stuttering in mumbleopiacs.
-- (Note: You probably had a teacher who advised (as a rule of thumb) place a comma where a natural pause seems right. That teacher didn't write trash, or good trash. Commas have a purpose. Commas separate items in a series, phrases in a series, an introductory phrase, a parenthetical expression, nice-to-know shit you don't really need, or a person being addressed. You don't just slap them where you feel like it or omit them where they are needed. We all need commas to make sense out of a complex sentence in a crazy, mixed-up, tumble-down world.)

SEMI-COLONS are better than commas for easing lip fatigue but do not allow for the taking of a breath. Use them sparingly to separate short sentences that beat the same drum.

DASHES signal a pause - so mumbleopiacs take advantage and snatch a dash of oxygen.

HYPHENS join words to make a combo word, like "that no-pussy-eating wimp." Also ex-this, ex-that. MUMBLErs seem to be ambivalent toward the hyphen.

ELLIPSES MARKS (...) are like speed bumps on a page. In proper English usage, they signal omitted (or skipped) material, but they make a MUMBLEr's head rapidly bounce three times. Never get carried away with those dots as speed-reading mumbleopiacs have lost contact lenses and jarred fillings loose when they hit multiple periods, ie: ....................
-- (Note: Grammar pinheads get all twisted when you use their precious ellipses dots as indicators of long periods of silence. In our field of literature, we need this tool as sex often involves long periods of silence. Mouths are often occupied and the writer has to wait. Most will keep tapping the dot key while waiting the suckers out. Readers of trash, shit, crap, and garbage have learned to ignore three dots as meaning omitted material, because fuck and suck stories don't omit anything.)

COLONS introduce lists of shit. MUMBLErs and proctologists know to take a deep breath when they see a colon.

EXCLAMATION POINTS raise the eyebrows of mumbleopiacs but do no lasting harm unless repeated after every statement or used in multiples. Overuse of EPs can lead to nervous brow twitching. Multiple EPs (!!!!!!) have caused the eyebrows of some mumbleopiacs to migrate to the top of the head.
-- (Note: Here, again, we give the pinheads fits with our multiple EPs. Fuck 'em. If that is your style, go for it. Me, I prefer to go to CAPS when the hubby walks in and finds the wife in bed with her mom. I think "WOW!" is better than "Wow!!!!! and WOW!!!!!! should be reserved for those times when you catch your wife and mother in a threesome with Bigfoot.")

QUESTION MARKS wrinkle the brow and bring the eyebrows down and in. Question marks should never be sandwiched between two EP sentences! Never leave a question unanswered. The answer allows the individual to slap the forehead and re-align the eyebrows (note that hyphen).

PARENTHESIS If something isn't all that important, (nice to know stuff, but you can live without it,) put it inside a set of parenthesis. In long sentences, a MUMBLEr who is running out of breath knows he can jump over this part in a pinch.

APOSTROPHIES thrill a MUMBLEr as they know you are omitting letters, words, and sometimes, bunches of words. For instance, "them" can be shortened to "'em," and spitting can be spittin', and in words that show possession, ie: "Mary's ball" replaces "the ball that belongs to Mary." Thrill a mumbleopiac; use apostrophes.

QUOTATION MARKS also thrill mumbleopiacs as they signify a speaker speaking. Very often, they are familiar with the speaker and can simply inject, "blah, blah, blah," or "yadah, yadah, yadah," and move right along.

And finally, a word on PARAGRAPHS.

Every new speaker gets his or her own paragraph, even if all he or she has to say is, "Huh?" Try to keep paragraphs short and sweet. Lump all of your (character's) related thoughts into one paragraph and start a new one when you get another thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Note from Morgan ~
Every new speakers' ACTIONS go in the same paragraph as their DIALOGUE. I have seen one too many lines of dialogue 'stranded', just hanging out all by its lonesome, staring at the action done by that speaker in the very next paragraph. Take pity on your poor Dialogue and put it with its Actions.

One other thing; if John licks Mary's nipples and Mary moans... John's licking and Mary's moaning do NOT go in the Same Sentence! They don't go in the same Paragraph either!

John wriggled his tongue across Mary's nipples.

Mary moaned, and gasped. "Oh God! That is so good!" She grabbed his head to pull him closer.

John yelped. "Hey, watch the hair!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paragraph breaks allow MUMBLErs to go to the bathroom. This also helps those who read from a scrolling monitor.

And another thing. Hit the return key twice following each paragraph. That places white space between paragraphs. Do not indent or tab. Keep it clean; keep it tight; just like pussy. (Note the use of the semi-colon with short sentences, and this don't-really-need-to-know shit I placed in parenthesis along with a combo word I made using the hyphens.)

Thank you for your attention.

From Phil Phantom’s: “Guide to Writing Good Trash"
Copyright Phil Phantom (C) 2003

May he rest in peace.

Quote by sprite


I love you, Will - Marry me?

Quote by sprite
I'm in - working on it now - anyone have a good rhyme for "gas chamber"?