#except for rachel. screw her.

[bucketbender]

HOA is the best game in the whole Dark Anthology Pictures series.

It just has so much the other games don’t have. Like ogres, it has layers. So many details for each character (like the « was Joey dead ? » post ? This shit is brilliant guys, please never stop investigating), the game gives them time to breathe, to exist outside of the horror, to be actual people instead of puppets that move around and react to stuff. Every relationship (even the love triangle, which pisses me off most of the time) feels genuine and earned.

For instance, just take the Checkpoint discussion scene. I know, out of all of them, I chose the most impactful one in the whole game. But there’s just so much to say about it.

First of all, the fact that Jason said this to Salim of all people. Salim. That random Iraqi soldier who almost shot him at the beginning and who he kept on threatening the whole game. The enemy of his state. The enemy of his enemy. I mean, we could be led to believe he would share such deep thoughts with his "official" best friend in the army, right ? Not to mention that Nick was there as well : out of all people, if there’s one person he should talk to this about, it’s him. But no. Every time Nick mentions the checkpoint, Jason shoots him down. He can have one moment to admit that this incident did mess with his head, saying that if they die down here, maybe that’s what they deserve, but that’s it. He refuses to talk about this any longer. Why should he ? It’s done. It’s over. They fucked up. Dwelling on it won’t make things right.

But then, after spending roughly two hours making his way down the place with Salim, slowly getting to know the human being behind the Iraqi, learning about his personal life that Salim isn’t afraid to share, his son, the only reason he fights, even as a single parent, how proud he is of him, how Salim just wishes he would stop stealing. How much he misses him. Only when Salim asks him if his conscience is clear, if he has anything weighing on his soul, now that they’ve reached the end of the world. Only then does Jason finally crack.

There’s just so much going on on screen. His voice wavering and breaking. The way he interrupts himself and Salim has to gently say « Tell me » to give him enough courage. The way he hesitates as the guilt of making the call weighs on him : « I order… I ordered her to stop, loud and clear ». The way he feels like he has to justify the way he called for the woman, to Salim and to himself, that he wasn’t really in the wrong for ordering Nick to shoot her. The way he just spills out that he joined the army out of desperation because his life was going nowhere. The way he laughs humorlessly at Salim’s try to make him feel better : « We all have our reasons, they don’t have to be profound ». The way he tells him how miserable and pathetic he was, stoned enough to only hear about the towers after a week later. The way he admits he has no idea what he’s even doing here, in the catacombs as well as in the army.

Salim assures to him that right now, in his life, he’s doing something worthy, something good : « You’re serving your country ». But Jason just summarizes this whole situation in a single thought : this woman had her whole life ahead of her, and they just took it all away with a bullet ; « I mean, what the fuck ? ».

But then Salim gives him a new goal, a present goal : hurt the vampires. Make these abominations pay for everything they’ve done. And Jason approves. Yeah, these things did try to kill them, didn’t they ? and they will pay for it. And you know what else ? « Start believing, Salim. We’re gonna get out of here and see the sun again ». And then, the Oorah scene. Jason just completely accepted Salim as one of his pack. (You see the meme « [BLANK] will now die for you » ? Yep that’s Jason).

In Nick, Jason has a friend. A great friend, even. Maybe a best friend. A brother in arms. A member of his pack. They often talk together and joke lightly. It’s obvious that they’re close. They are sincere towards each other, but there’s still this "toxic masculinity" thing going on with them. Jason not wanting to talk about his feelings // checkpoint, Nick telling Rachel if he dies down there, at least he would make things clear and go down « like a man », Jason calling Salim a pussy for not wanting to touch a freaking fossilized vampire, etc.

In Salim, he has a confident. The man’s a father, and a particularly reluctant solider. He didn’t want to serve in the army, he never had a choice in the matter. Salim has a perspective far larger than his, and Jason comes to understand this. This isn’t about the war. This isn’t about the Americans he’s trapped with underground. This is about going back to the surface to hold his son and celebrate his birthday. When everyone around him remains fixated on their war, Salim never loses sight of his own goal.

« Seeing the sun again » isn’t just literally. They were going to get out to find their purposes.

[allthegothihopgirls]

the girls' reaction to finding out that whilst they've all been on (questionable) adventures of self-discovery, dick has managed to land himself in jail, and national television:

donna: the huff and the "you've gotta be fucking kidding me" said it all. as soon as she found out, it became her problem too. dick is the only cause of donna's 'my circus my monkeys' moments.

kory: still trying to figure out if she's in a dream or not. shit gets crazier by the second. i think she's also finally processing that the tv static was the reason she ended up there. she's just a couple steps behind.

dawn: the little shake of her head i can't. she's definitely having a mother moment. she's just like 'well yeah we left you, but that was supposed to be for a period of self-reflection dude??? not for you to go to jail????" she's also totally realising that dick is literally the only person on earth that could pull this shit, ever.

rachel: 100% shock, mainly because she's been having visions of dick again, and is just finding out this is why. also just the whole dick being in jail thing, she thought SHE was the one having issues. out of all of them she knows dick the least too, they all knew he had the capabilities for this, but it's completely new to her.

[thek1ngtalks]

Okay so that TNE fic I promised IS still being written and as proof here's a few snippets from the 4.6K words I have written so far

For anyone interested, here's the original two sentences I wrote that inspired all of this:

There's a number on his watch that leads to nowhere. Suho's gotten in the habit of texting it throughout his day.

Today, it texted back.

For like, actual specifics, check tags

[maraczeks]

the flatshare thread pt 1

[genericpuff]

oh boy it's that time again

when rachel posts 'video progress' of her work and we proceed to dissect it like a frog in 9th grade science class

like ok first the caption of "is persephone the chicken and hades the egg" makes no fucking sense except to anyone who overthinks it and goes "wait is that a reference to the popularly-perpetuated version of the myth where persephone went down to the underworld willingly and hades didn't actually exist???" because if it is ima scream lmao

but MORE IMPORTANTLY-

Here's the transcript of what she's saying in the video:

"I think I've always wanted to write Hades' and Persephone's story because obviously I really like them. It's like very much a chicken and egg situation because I think in the beginning I thought that I was going to use a very abstract black and white style, and I realized it wasn't very enticing or fun for me, um... and I started drawing these very like vibrant characters and as I drew them I understood more about the story the more that I explored the art style, um and I guess an example of that is, y'know, Persephone is like a very bright color um, and the Underworld, is a very dark dark blue, and so when she says she really sticks out so it's just environmental uh processes like that that really helped inspire the direction of the story."

(despite her expanding on the "chicken and the egg" bit it still doesn't make sense imo lmao)

But what we're seeing isn't S1 LO, it's actually from S3 of LO:

But um... you notice anything interesting about the screenshot I just showed you?

That literally looks NOTHING like what we see in the final panel. At the VERY least I think this goes to show how overcooked it becomes in post-production, when they add the canvas layer and hypersaturate the shit out of the colors, but even the blending technique just isn't matching up?

A lot of what she's doing in this video also feels very... non-existent, like she's brushing her pen around but very little is happening so it feels more like her just putting down random brush strokes to try and make it seem put-together but really she's just kind of pushing colors around and/or doing nothing. Especially when, again, what she's painting here looks nothing like the final picture (so at best it's a lot of wasted work??)

And knowing what we know about the assistants drawing the characters separately so that Rachel can rearrange them in the final episode layout... I don't wanna call foul play here, but this feels like yet another attempt on Rachel's behalf to make her process seem more involved than it is by simply redrawing a scene for the performative aspect of it all. It's like the "sketches" in the books looking way too 'clean' for the final product and giving the impression that she just sketched over the final panels to make them look pretty enough for print.

I also wanna mention that for some reason she's drawing this on her iPad when she owns a Cintiq. It could be because she was drawing this while abroad in the US for her conventions last fall, but despite clearly being ahead of schedule, she still wound up drawing the final episode the night of-

Oh yeah and btw there are like a million clipping layers for what looks like just a simple drawing of Demeter. And this lines up with our previous theories about her using like 128549021809 layers for literally one character.

And aside from all that her commentary, as always, is very nothingburger, just a bunch of word salad. Like she's literally trying to explain LO's color theory as "well Persephone is bright pink and the Underworld is dark blue so she sticks out! That's all you need to know!"

IDK, I'm not coming to any sort of ironclad conclusion based off this one video, but it does feel like yet another desperate attempt to prove that she does work on LO and doesn't just leave it all to her assistants to do at the last minute. But like... she's kind of screwed in that argument either way, because even if she draws the majority of panels in LO, that just further proves the argument that she's stopped trying.

[hersterical]

We all know Lisa from lis 1. Max’s plant that you may or may not water. Just a fun little ‘this action will have consequences’ jump scare, right?

It WAS until Before the Storm where we get a similar choice in Chloe’s room. Except if you choose to water it then Chloe will water it with a can of soda, figuring it’s better than nothing, killing the plant. On the surface this might seem to support Chloe’s insecurity that she expresses during her and Rachel’s argument in the junkyard where Chloe expresses that she only ever hurts people she cares about and screws everything up. That’s probably how Chloe sees it. But that’s not how I see it. How I see it is that in order to properly nurture something, you need to use the right method. Like how in the junkyard and Rachel’s room Chloe learns that the best way to comfort Rachel is to give her space and just be there for her, which goes against Chloe’s instincts. Something that might seem good in the moment is actually harmful in the long run. This reminds me of Chloe’s dream/vision of William when he talks about how the intense and destructive beauty of fire (Rachel) can blind you to the calmer and consistent beauty of the stars (Max) (this is not about a ship war, I swear. That’s just the messaging that I feel like the game is trying to tell us).

Chloe and Rachel’s relationship is not the healthiest. They did need each other for a time, and we see in the comics that there is a timeline where they end up having an amazing relationship, but it was pretty clear that in our canon timeline the longer their friendship/situationship lasted the more harmful it was becoming. Something that seemed good at first but in the long run would metaphorically kill them. If Rachel wasn’t killed then their whole relationship probably would’ve went up in flames.

Now we come back to Max. She’s the stars. She waters Lisa with water. She and Chloe are what each other needs in the long run. They’re what each other needs to live and thrive

[thebiggerbear]

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - Rachel Gatina Prompt Response

Summary: Rachel, who has never spoken to you before, approaches you to ask for a favor. Despite what Bevin said, Rachel decides that she has to gauge this whole "being into girls" thing properly. And she's picked you to help her with that. ...Lucky you.

Pairing: Rachel Gatina x Female!Reader

A/N: Prompt from @creativepromptsforwriting (#941). I started quite a few scenarios for Rachel's response to this prompt but none of them felt right until this scenario popped into my head. I tried to keep this as 2000's as possible. Hope this is okay.

Both characters are over eighteen.

This is meant to take place right after the Bevin and Rachel bathroom scene in 4x13.

Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine.

Warnings: mention of implied sex; internalized homophobia (I hope that's the correct term)

Word Count: 3757

Taglist: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187; @rieleatiel

Rachel Taglist: @nancymcl

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that."

Soldier Boy version ✨ Beau version ✨ Dean version ✨ Jenny version ✨ Jason version ✨ Tom version ✨ CJ version ✨ Anael version ✨ Alec version ✨ SDV Leah version

You were just getting your books out of your locker when someone suddenly appeared next to you. You glanced over to see a familiar redhead smirking at you. You rolled your eyes and went back to your locker. “What do you want?”

Rachel Gatina had been the new girl at Tree Hill High who was giving Brooke Davis a run for her money and her non-exclusive boyfriend. Now, she was besties with Brooke and constantly toggling between mean girl and party girl. Either way, she had never been very nice to you or anyone else (except Mouth) who wasn’t in the “cool cliques”. 

“Can’t one senior come over to say hello to her fellow senior?”

“When said senior has never spoken a word to this fellow senior? Then no.” You slammed your locker shut and moved past her to head to class.

“I’m speaking to you now.” She was keeping pace with you, great.

“Oh, well then let me put my entire day on hold since Queen Rachel is speaking to me.” You turned a glare on her. 

“Not queen, just…maybe a little royalty.”

You rolled your eyes again and kept moving. You were going to be late for AP Lit and you did not want to be late for that class. Mr. Barton had a rule that he enforced with an iron fist: one minute late, no class for you. He would lock the door and not unlock it again until the class was over. 

“As it so happens, I need a favor.” She was still following you.

“Oh, imagine that. A favor.” You still didn’t stop. 

“Oh, come on. For someone I’ve never spoken a word to before, you’re being awfully harsh, don’t you think?” She wasn’t wrong. The truth was that she intimidated you a little bit. And that was your go to when it came to intimidation: pushback and biting sarcasm.

“I’m late for class,” you threw at her. “And if I don’t hurry, I’ll be—”

She grabbed your hand and yanked you off to the side, right into the girls’ bathroom.

“What the— Rachel, what are you doing? I’m about to be locked out of class.” You hurried towards the door but she blocked you. “Rachel,” you growled. “The bell is about to—”

The bell rang before you could finish your sentence. You had now officially been marked absent from Mr. Barton’s class and you were locked out. Great. You were screwed.

“So you miss one class, big deal. It’s not like you’re flunking.”

You crossed your arms and sighed. “How would you know that?”

“I asked around. I make it my business to know. Now, about that favor.”

“That you made me miss one of my most important classes for.”

She laid a hand on your shoulder. “Don’t worry. Just tell Barton you had a girl emergency. He’ll offer you a make-up paper before you can get out the word ‘tampon’. Besides, it’s not like you’ll be lying to him exactly. This is a girl emergency.” She smiled, placing her hand on her hip.

You walked over to the gross looking tampon dispensing machine and gestured to it. “If you needed one, it’s right here. Are you out of quarters?”

She smirked and flicked her hair back. “I like you. It’s a shame we didn’t talk before this. I get the feeling we could have been friends.”

“A cheerleader hanging out with a loner? Yes, I can definitely see that.”

“You call yourself a loner?” She laughed. “You’re far from it from what I’ve heard.”

You narrowed your eyes at her. “And your emergency is?”

She pressed her lips together and sat on one of the sinks, swinging her legs back and forth as she settled. “I’m not sure how to ask this without sounding…you know, gay, so I’m just going to ask.”

Your heart started to pound at the word ‘gay’. Oh no.

“Will you kiss me?”

Your eyes widened and your heart stopped altogether. Was she for real? 

She gave you an encouraging smile. “It’s just to see if something Bevin said is true or not.”

“Bevin?”

“Yeah. We had class together last period and we had to do this stupid assignment together. She said this thing and now I can’t get it out of my head.”

“So let me see if I’ve got this right. Bevin said something to you in class during an assignment you both were working on together and that had you finding me, who you’ve never spoken to before, to push me into the bathroom with you to ask me to kiss you but not wanting it to sound gay. To see if what Bevin said is true or not.”

Rachel shrugged. “More or less. Yeah.”

“Right.” You immediately began opening stall doors, seeing no one was in here thankfully. You then began checking underneath the sinks, the bathroom mirrors, anywhere a recording device of some kind could be installed. 

“What are you doing?” She asked when you quickly looked under her sink. “I said a kiss not…that.” 

“Wouldn’t you be so lucky,” you snapped. “I’m looking for recording devices of some kind. Someone hidden in here who’s going to jump out and let me know I’m on Punk’d or Candid Camera or something. Maybe you’ve got a couple of the cheerleaders hiding somewhere with a camera to take a picture. Maybe Brooke and a couple of jocks are just waiting outside the door to laugh and spread rumors.”

Rachel crossed her arms. “You are way too paranoid, you know that?”

You shrugged. “Can’t be too safe, especially when it comes to high school. Especially this high school.”

“I’ll have you know that most guys would be dying for the chance if I gave it to them. if I asked them to kiss me, they would already be over here, all over me.”

“I’m not a guy in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Of course I noticed, that’s why I asked.”

“So, you’re just looking for any girl to kiss you. Is that it?” Lucky you.

“Not just any girl. You.”

“Why me?”

“I’ve heard the rumors.”

You tensed up. “What rumors?”

She leaned forward. “You know. And I know you’re into me, even if you won’t admit it.”

She was right; you weren’t going to admit it. “Right, right. Question, how did you fit through the door just now with that massive ego of yours?”

“That’s not the only thing of mine that’s massive.” As if to illustrate her point, she leaned forward a little more until you could see straight down her cleavage. Well, she certainly wasn’t lying.

“Alright, first off, those rumors aren’t true. Secondly, let’s say I do this for you. What do I get in return?”

“This is a favor, not a deal,” she scoffed.

“How long would this have to be for?”

She shot you a look and sat up. “Wow, talk about giving a girl a complex. Is the idea of kissing me really that horrible for you?”

“I didn’t say that. I’m merely trying to determine what I’m going to be asking in trade.”

“Now, it’s a trade.” She huffed a laugh in disbelief. A moment later, she glanced over at you. “Five seconds. No more, no less.”

“Okay then, what I want in return is this: you never tell anyone about this.”

“That’s what you want in return?”

“Yep. I want your word that you won’t whisper a word of this to anyone. When you go away to college and you’re experimenting or whatever, sure you can mention that one kiss in the girls’ bathroom one time, but not here in Tree Hill. Never here in Tree Hill. Or to anyone from here and that includes Brooke. Deal?”

She gave you a nod. “Deal.”

“Alright.” Now you were feeling nervous and self-conscious. “So do I, uh, just come over there or do you come over here or do we meet in the middle or—”

“Just come over here,” she ordered, impatience coloring her tone.

“Okay,” you muttered, moving over to her. 

Rachel studied you and you began to feel like an exhibit in a museum or something. “So, we doing this or—”

“Shut up.” She cupped your face and leaned in, pressing her lips to yours. 

You were sort of having a little meltdown in your brain right then. Rachel Gatina was kissing you. The beautiful, cocky, queen of mean, sexy cheerleader Rachel Gatina was kissing you. Ever since she’d arrived, she had been turning heads, even yours. You never had the courage to approach her or say hello to her, even at a party the two of you were at. Especially since she didn’t seem all that nice. Never mind the whole cliques thing, Rachel had been right; there were rumors going around about you. Most of the girls on Rachel’s side of the hallway so to speak avoided you like the Plague and only acknowledged your existence to make fun of you or gossip about you if somehow the rumors got a second wind (which you made sure they never did, not from you anyway). 

But Rachel was beautiful although personality wise, she wasn’t exactly your type. Though she did prove to be a lot smarter than she let on. You may have asked around yourself, overheard a few things. Plus, you had it on pretty good authority that she may have been the one to cause the whole time capsule business which then led to— You didn’t want to think about that. Now or ever quite honestly. Besides, Mouth had made you promise to keep it to yourself about the capsule. It was obvious that even Mouth had a crush on her. 

You counted down the seconds in your head as you enjoyed the softness of her lips against yours, the smell of her perfume, the feeling of her hands on your face. When you reached the end, you went to pull back but she tugged you back in. Not only did she keep you there but she deepened the kiss. You could have sworn you felt the edge of her tongue against your lower lip.

You continued counting in your head and by 27, Rachel finally let you go. You took a step back and watched as she held her fingers up to her lips, staring at you. Then she did the last thing you expected (or if you were being honest, you totally expected it). She laughed out, “Oh my God.”

There it was. You waited for the joke, for Brooke to pop out of a stall that she mysteriously appeared into and begin laughing and pointing, for the whole school to start filing into the bathroom, one by one, to join in the merriment. “Yeah, that’s usually the reaction I get,” you muttered, wiping your lips with your fingers.

“No, not you. I mean…Bevin was right.” She laughed again, seeming almost pleasantly surprised.

And there was the joke. “Great. Glad she was. Now, if I can be set free from this Bathroom Bastille, that would be awesome. Thanks for the laughs.” You gave her a peace sign and began to walk towards the door. You fully expected to find some cheerleaders or Bevin or Brooke on the other side of it.

“Hey! Hold up a second.” She jumped down from the sink and grabbed your shirt sleeve to stop you. “You don’t have to act like kissing me was such a revolting thing for you to do that you’re now relieved it’s over. You really do know how to give a girl a complex.”

“I know how to give a girl a complex? You’re laughing after you kissed me. What about that doesn’t give a girl a complex?”

She nodded, sticking her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “True. I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you.”

You arched a brow over at her.

“Scout’s honor.” She stuck two fingers up in a gesture that you were pretty sure they didn’t use in the Scouts but you kept that observation to yourself. 

“Then what were you laughing at?”

She looked uncomfortable then and you had to wonder if she had been telling you the truth just now. “That Bevin was right. …And not.”

“Right about what?”

She bit at her lip. “Okay, here’s the thing. I don’t know you just like you don’t know me. So if I tell you this, you can’t tell anyone at all. Even if they’re not from Tree Hill. Like ever. Got it?”

So, she also had a secret that she didn’t want getting out. You could understand that. You held up your fingers in the actual Scout’s honor sign. “Got it.”

Rachel looked uncomfortable again but her discomfort also seemed to be tainted by a little sadness. “I was telling Bevin that I never really feel anything with the guys I sleep with.” Ah, you knew where this was going. “I mean, I got this new body and everything but it didn’t change anything. Except for how they looked at me.” She bit at her bottom lip again which you were starting to see may be a nervous gesture on her part. “So, Bevin said she always wondered what it would be like to be a guy, checking out chicks. And I said that might be my problem, maybe I was into girls.”

You kept your face carefully neutral but inside you were half-shocked, and half-not so shocked. 

“She kissed me on the spot which totally took me by surprise, and asked if I felt anything. I told her I didn’t because I really didn’t. She said if I was into girls then I would’ve felt something because she’s a great kisser and I’d be into her.” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at that one. Maybe Bevin was a great kisser like she boasted but that wasn’t exactly how it worked. You would know.

“And you weren’t?”

“No,” she snapped. “I like Bevin well enough but no. The class ended and that was it. But then it got me thinking.”

“Ah. You thought you’d go to one of the girls rumored to be gay in this school and ask her to kiss you, you know just to make sure.”

“Well, not to put too fine a point on it but yeah.”

You snorted. “Well?”

“Well?”

“Did you feel anything?”

She looked uncertain for a moment so you figured the answer would be no. But then she surprisingly took a step closer to you, giving you a hint of a smile that was absent of her usual cockiness. “Yeah, actually.”

“So according to Bevin’s vast array of knowledge in these matters, you must be into girls then. Mazel Tov. I’ll see you around, Rachel.” You turned to leave, eager to put this whole thing behind you, when she gently grabbed your arm. 

You sighed and turned back. “I did what you asked. I don’t get why—”

Rachel leaned in, kissing you again. 

When she broke away, your brows drew together. “Uh…?”

“Did you feel anything?”

Hell yeah, you did. You felt that down to your toes. But you weren’t about to tell her that. “I, um… It’s really hard to tell. I might need further exploration on the subject.”

She let you go and gave you a look. “Really?”

“Yep. As a matter of fact, I’m going to go find another cheerleader and shove her into a bathroom to make out with her so I can find out. Great idea, Rach. Thanks. Later.” You went to leave when she grabbed you again.

Smiling at you, she pulled you closer. “Shut up.” She kissed you then and you couldn’t help but kiss her back.

You glanced up when you heard the bell ring again, signaling you needed to get to your next class. You groaned and it wasn’t because Rachel’s lips were attached to your neck. You both were currently in a stall with her in your lap (because she refused to get her clothes dirty sitting on a gross toilet seat though she was slightly taller than you with the heels she was sporting, which made positioning awkward at times) and you literally had been making out now for most of the period. 

“I need to get to my next class.”

“Skip it,” she breathed before kissing you again.

“I can’t skip it,” you panted. “I already missed one class while you’re having your gay awakening.” 

She pulled back, scowling at you. “I’m not gay.”

You inclined your head at her sitting in your lap. 

She shoved her hair behind her ear. “That doesn’t mean I’m gay. I’m just…trying new things.” She gave you a bright smile. “Besides, if I was gay, don’t you think I would have enjoyed kissing Bevin?”

“Yeah, that’s not how that works.”

“And you would know.”

“Says the girl who’s currently sitting on my lap and has been trying to convince me to meet her at her house later so she can get me into bed.”

She wrapped her arms around her neck. “Come on, it’ll be fun. Brooke won’t be there if that’s what you’re worried about. She has a date tonight. And I need to find out if those rumors are true.” She leaned in to place a kiss to the corner of your mouth.

“I hate those rumors,” you muttered.

“Why? They’re not true?”

“What do you think?”

She thought about it for a moment. “Good point. So is it or is it not true that you and Donna DiLorenzo went all the way in the eighth grade at summer camp?”

You couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Summer camp? How cliche.”

“So they’re not true then?”

You shook your head. “No. Donna and I were just friends. And I never went to summer camp.”

She shrugged. “Fair enough. But obviously, the other part of the rumor is true.” She smirked and ran a finger along your jaw.

“That I’m a raging lesbian who’s always on the prowl for girls? No. Sorry to disappoint but your friend Brooke made all of that up.”

She didn’t say anything to that. How could she? “But if you’re making out with me, then—”

“I like both guys and girls. That’s the real truth. Which goes without saying, is to be kept secret along with this whole little makeout session and what you told me earlier. It all goes into the vault, for life. Got it?”

She nodded, that cocky smirk making a reappearance. “So I really can’t convince you to come by tonight once Brooke leaves?”

You heard the bell again and you let out a huge groan. “That’s two classes now.”

“You have me on your lap, asking you to come to my house later so we can continue this, and you’re worried about class?” She actually seemed insulted.

“Yes. Because I don’t need the absences which will turn into zeros when they realize I’m cutting.”

Rachel studied you for a moment and flicked her hair back, holding onto you. “Well, since you don’t have to rush off now. Care to feel me up?”

You arched your brows in disbelief, silently asking if she was serious, to which she only smiled wider. “I hate you,” you muttered.

“You certainly have a weird way of showing that.” She ground into you and interlocked her fingers at the back of your neck, grinning. “Come on. You know you want to. They’re a hell of a lot bigger than Donna DiLorenzo’s,” she teased.

“Like I said, I hate you, and I wouldn’t know.”

“You’ve had your hands on my ass for the last half hour. While I’m flattered, don’t you want to feel what my other attributes feel like?”

“You mean holding onto your ass to keep you from falling? You’re welcome.”

“Come on.” She reached down and began to lower the straps of her tank top, her jacket having been hung up on the back of the door long ago. 

You stopped her. “If I agree to drop by your house later, can we stop this ridiculous conversation in its tracks?”

She shrugged, moving her straps back into place. “I wouldn’t call it ridiculous but sure. Brooke’s date is picking her up around 8:00. Why don’t you swing by around 8:30?”

Your jaw tightened. “If this turns out to be some elaborate prank with cameras and people popping out and Brooke, I swear, I will go nuclear on your secrets. The vault won’t be able to withstand the heat of that explosion.”

“You are so incredibly paranoid but got it, loud and clear. For the record, I wasn’t inviting you over as a prank. I’m not Brooke,” she finished in a whisper. She then cleared her throat. “As it turns out, I am inviting you over to watch a movie.”

“Awww. You’re going to show me your Girls Gone Wild collection? How sweet.” 

She swatted your shoulder. “Shut up. I’m talking about that movie The Grudge. Have you seen it?”

You shook your head. “Didn’t really want to if I’m honest.”

Her smile grew. “Perfect.” She leaned in and kissed you, chuckling into your mouth when she moved your hands from her ass to her breasts. 

You squeezed them for good measure and muttered to her lips, “There. Very nice. Happy now?”

“Not yet.” She launched herself at you, kissing you deeply. You barely heard someone knocking on the bathroom door for the fourth time since this whole thing started, and you had stopped counting the seconds in your head long ago. Rachel Gatina was making out with you and she was inviting you over to her house later to “watch a movie”. There was no way in hell you were passing that up or paying attention to anything else (even if you had been dying to see The Grudge since you missed it while it was in theaters). You had missed two classes for Rachel’s experiment, after all.

That made you pull back for a moment. “I can’t miss another class, though.”

She nodded, panting. “You agreed to come over later so, yeah. I got it. But you still have forty five minutes.” She gave you that wicked smirk again before moving back in.

You moved your hands back to her ass and she moaned into your mouth though you could feel the smirk against your lips right before. You didn’t know Bevin Prince very well but damn if you weren’t going to send her some kind of gift basket as a thank you.

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[madametamma]

This is going to sound strange, but I am fascinated with weak villains.  Not badly written villains mind you, I’m talking about villains who are dumb loser weaklings.  The kinds who are just lucky enough to be in a good position to get their way, and just good enough of a manipulator (not even close to what one would call a master manipulator) to scheme their way through trouble.

Ozai from ATLA, who compared to everyone else in his family  can’t do shit. He was just born into the royal family and that’s why anyone follows him. It wasn’t even his plan to steal the throne from his brother. It was his wife’s. 

Miles Brons from Glass Onion only has one thing going for him and that’s his money. He’s so bad at everything he tries to do on his own that he almost has people convinced he’s not the killer simply because there’s no way the mystery could be that obvious. He couldn’t possibly be that sloppy. Except he is.

The Lannisters pre-season 7 of game of thrones. When they’re alone they constantly talk about just how fucked they are. How easy it would be for so many people to take them down. They have the seat at the top but they’re always holding onto it by threads that keep getting cut over time though missteps and ego.

Rachel from the tower of god comic who is painfully aware of how pitifully average at best she is in a world of incredibly powerful people. The only thing going for her is that she’s genre savvy enough to play the part of the mysterious, plucky heroine to get people intrigued and interested in helping her and then throwing them under the bus when they’re not useful to her anymore. If that fails (and it’s a coin flip on whether or not it does) she gets by by just happening to have something she can use to make a deal with more powerful baddies.

For one thing, I think making your villain this way is much more difficult to write than just your standard powerful big boss. They’re always so close to finally losing it all, you know their defeat is right there in sight and you want them to fail but something snatches it away from them at the last moment. We’re never sure what or when exactly their house of cards will topple. But it’s so cathartic when it does because they never had any business being such a threat in the first place.

I also think that about how realistic these types of people are. The shit heads who are only in the positions they’re in not due to being the smartest or best but due to luck, and just having so little compassion and integrity to do anything that benefits them, screw everything/everyone else. Once you know how to spot their tactics, you see them for what they are.  I like calling them out for what they are.

[mattzerella-sticks]

discretionary funds (pre-Bruce/Barry, Nightwing POV)

G, 1.5k, (ao3 link)

Dearest Richard,

In the event of my death, I have named you the sole beneficiary to my estate. I know that you will spend the money wisely. However, I do have one request as to where a portion of these funds may go. For the longest time, I have been paying a select group of people to laugh at your father's jokes so that he may believe he has a decent sense of humor. To my knowledge, he is not aware. And I ask that it remains that way. Enclosed you will find a list of people who have agreed to the terms of service along with what I usually paid out to them.

With warm regards, Alfred

Dick had been doing his best to honor Alfred's request. When Bruce relayed an anecdote to him that, he claimed, Barry found hilarious, Dick suspected that Barry - who hadn't been on the list - was one of the many people Alfred had been paying off. He didn't expect Barry to turn down his money when the time came for Dick to pay.

           Dick had been taking meetings all around the tower that day. If he had stationed himself in one section, in one room, behind a desk for every single exchange he would get nothing accomplished. Instead, Dick texted each appointment his whereabouts whenever they had shifted and let them come to him. He was halfway up the bar when Barry arrived.

           “Sorry I’m late,” Barry said, “there was this whole bank robbery thing, with the Tricksters.” He waved his hand around flippantly. “I won’t bore you with the details.”

           Dick finished his rep and then released his grip on the bar. He smiled at the other man, grabbing for a nearby towel and patting dry the swathes of richly tanned skin that hadn’t been sopped by the thin, blue muscle tank he wore. “No problem.” Dick dragged it along the sinewy lines of his arms and across his chest. Then, he looped the terrycloth over her neck and pulled it taut with both hands. “Wally warned me something like that might happen. So I added leeway to account for Barry Standard Time.”

           “Barry Standard Time…” Barry had only been inside the gym for a minute, but he already began to sweat. He tugged at the collar of his button-down, prying a button loose and pulling the knot of his tie down. Dick liked exercising in high temperatures. “I hate how that’s a thing.”

           “Want to stop making it a thing? Show up on time more.”

           “Is that why you called me here?”

           “No, definitely not for that.” Dick nodded for Barry to follow him as they walked towards Dick’s duffle bag.

           He whipped the towel into the bag and snagged the checkbook he’d left on top before it slid to the floor. Dick wasn’t able to save the pen. Luckily someone else could. The telltale whooshing of a speedster’s run breezed past him and tickled the hairs at his neck. He turned and saw Barry fiddling with the pen he’d been using throughout all his meetings. Barry tilted it in one direction, watching the whale slowly drift through goo. He reversed course. The whale tumbled backwards. Gar had gotten it for him during a weekend with Rachel in San Diego.

           Barry offered Dick the pen. “What’s with the checkbook for?”

           “For picking up where Alfred left off.”

           “Come again?”

           Dick took his pen from Barry and flipped it open to where he’d already written his name. “How much did he usually offer you?”

           His pen hovered over the tiny rectangle as he waited for Barry to throw out a number. Except he never did.

           He glanced up from his checks to see Barry staring at him, confusion screwing with his features. His brows were drawn tightly together, creasing the ridge between them. His nose had scrunched, and his bottom lip jutted forward in an extreme pout. “Offer me what?” he asked, “What did… you think Alfred owed me?”

           Dick tapped the check. A tiny blue dot marred its surface. “Your fee.”

           “My fee for… what, exactly?”

           “For laughing at Bruce’s jokes?”

           “What are you talking about?”

           “You –“ Dick studied the other man for any cracks in his façade, to ensure he wasn’t being messed with. There wasn’t any. His shock was genuine. He folded his checkbook closed and pointed at Barry with it. “You mean to tell me you hadn’t any idea this was happening?”

           Barry shrugged. “Not a clue.”

           “But you…” Dick poked him with the edge of his checkbook. “You laugh at Bruce’s jokes.”

           “Because they’re funny.” Lightning sparked around the edges of Barry’s eyes, his brain working overtime as it put the pieces together. “Wait, are you suggesting Alfred used to pay people to laugh at Bruce’s jokes?”

           When Barry said it like that, plainly, it did sound pretty absurd. Dick, himself, had a similar opinion after Alfred tasked him with continuing this duty conditional to him receiving his inheritance. But there was a list of names in his checking log, and another that he hadn’t even talked to yet whose names were scratched onto checks he still held onto, that thought the whole operation ordinary.

           Maybe, when he noticed Barry’s name left off the list Alfred included, Dick should have realized he wasn’t forgotten by mistake.

           “How long?”

           “How long what?”

           “How long had Alfred been paying people?”

           Dick cringed as he remembered what Alfred had typed in his confession, the answer getting caught in his throat as he tried to voice it. Dick coughed. It tumbled out and laid, depressingly, at their feet. “Since the Justice League was formed.”

           “Since the –“ Barry’s eyes went wide. “He’s been paying people for that long?” He pulled on his tie while he spoke, causing the knot to grow smaller and smaller. “And people take these bribes? They – they –“

           “They’re not all bribes.” Dick mentioned, flicking open the cover of his checkbook. “I mean, some people – like Hal and O’Brien – sure, those are straight up bribes. But Clark, Diana… they had me cut my checks out to different charities. And Wally told me he’s been putting the checks into the twins’ college funds like all the others.”

           “Wally’s been getting paid to laugh at Bruce’s jokes, too?” Barry gaped at Dick. “How far down does this go?”

           “You… aren’t going to like the answer to that.”

           Barry’s astonishment faded soon enough, replaced with a sense of indignance. “Bruce doesn’t know about this, does he?”

           “I mean…” Dick scratched at his chin with the pen. He briefly considered Bruce was aware of what Alfred had done for him. But then he recalled a conversation he had shared with Alfred from years before, during a time when Dick and Bruce lived under the same roof. Dick was a bit annoyed with Bruce for some perceived slights. Alfred reminded Dick that sons rarely know about the things their fathers do for them. Bruce was as surprised as Dick had been when he learned that Dick was the sole beneficiary to Alfred’s estate in his will. He would bet that there were more things neither of them knew about the man, too. “If he knew, do you think I’d be here handing out checks?”

           “Why are you doing this anyway?” Barry asked. “Why not tell him what Alfred had been doing all these years?”

           “Because…” Dick broke his contest with Barry and looked elsewhere, his gaze landing on a few weights stacked in a pyramid. “Don’t you think that’d hurt? If he found out his friends were being paid to laugh at his jokes? You know him. He’d start wondering what else they were being paid to agree with, listen to, et cetera et cetera.”

           “I also know he’d appreciate his friends – his family – being honest with him.”

           “Hey, none of us kids are on the list,” Dick told him. “Besides, it looks like there are people who think he’s actually, genuinely funny.” His stare had flickered back to Barry, pinning him there with its intensity.

           Barry squirmed uncomfortably while trapped underneath it. “I can’t be the only one, though.”

           “Well… in terms of heroes you are.” Dick folded his arms as he ran through the list in his head for the umpteenth time. “He also paid a few civilians, too. Lucius. Dent, back when he was on the level. A few other Wayne employees and high society folk. Don’t ever remember seeing Julie Madison’s name crop up… or Sasha… Selina was on there, for a bit, but she asked Alfred to stop including her at some point.” There were pieces of a puzzle being clearly laid out on the table that Dick couldn’t quite fit together in a way that satisfied him. “And, well, Ghost-Maker surfaced after Alfred’s death… but I don’t think he’d need the money either given how much of it he has.”

           Whatever picture Dick had been trying to see, Barry must have gotten a full glimpse of it. His mouth formed a taut line as his lips pressed flat against each other, and his cheeks tinged the faintest bit of red. “That’s… hmm – that’s interesting.” Barry pulled his wrist forward, as if to check the time. Dick noticed that it was the wrist that wasn’t wearing a watch. “I’ve got to go.”

           “You do?”

           “I have a meeting back in Central that I – that I don’t want to be late to.” Barry regained his composure somewhat, despite his gaze still being unable to meet Dick’s. “I… I won’t tell Bruce about this. But maybe talk with some of the folks you do pay and figure out why they don’t find his jokes funny or… if the money’s even worth it?”

           Dick figured it was worth a shot. “I’ll try.”

           “Thank you.”

           Barry zoomed away from Dick in his next blink without saying goodbye. Dick wasn’t offended. Rather, it added to his theory that there might be a common link that all the people who found Bruce funny shared. If he figured out what that was, he could share it with the heroes and end Alfred’s series of payments for good.

           He started examining what he already knew about the small circle of those that found Bruce funny as he waited for his next appointment to find him.

[about-faces]

Congratulations on your Top 22-list! Sheesh, I've been gone for a month and I feel like I've missed like half a life in the meantime. Anyway, reading through the list was a hoot. There was a surprising amount of RECENT comics as well on that list, and far up in the list too! Which leads me to a question about a story that DIDN'T make the cut, one that I was surprised didn't get a mention even at the bottom half of the list: Nightwing: The Great Leap. What made that one fall through the top 22?

Thanks, man! I was also surprised by how much recent stuff I included, but dang, it's really been a surprising last few year for good Two-Face content! When I first tried doing a Top 22 list five or six years ago, it was almost entirely older content. With potential exceptions like Peter Tomasi's work, including The Great Leap.

In fact, that story is a perfect example of why I was so riddled with indecision about how to compile this list. Before this year, I would have included Tomasi's The Big Burn and Ugly Heart (the New 52 stories) together as "one" story, but I could easily have also included The Great Leap as a kind of "trilogy" of Tomasi's particular take on Harvey, but that seemed like cheating.

The problem with all three stories is that they are all very mixed bags. Some absolutely fantastic Harvey content, combined with flaws from both Tomasi and DC editorial screwing around with things. For The Great Leap specifically, I didn't include it because of a few factors.

1.) Carol Birmingham. She was clearly made as a bland Rachel Dawes stand-in at Gilda's expense, and I have never liked Harvey having an emotional affair with her--and even LOVING her--more than Gilda. The fact that Tomasi forgot to make her a distinct character in her own right instead of just a damsel didn't help any.

2.) I hate how the story seems to be crafting a complicated, conflicted Harvey, then abandons it all in the third act to turn him into a supervillain maniac who shows no regrets nor torment over what he went through. ESPECIALLY since Harvey arguably succeeded in saving Carol from himself (by getting Nightwing's help in the first place), which could have been tragically bittersweet if Tomasi had wanted it to be.

3.) Nightwing's "No, Harvey, YOU let him win!" Dick's whole attitude towards Harvey makes perfect sense, including his callous disregard for Harvey's mental illness, but the way the narrative fully supports Dick's assertions by the end--despite everything we've seen--still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

There was a time when the pickins were slimmer for good Two-Face content that this could have still made the list. But now we're lucky enough to not have to settle for mostly mixed-bags. Hell, we're right in the middle of two potential all-time great Two-Face sagas: "Gotham Nocturne" in Tec and Batman: The Audio Adventures. It's been an exciting time! Even the mixed bags are more interesting to me than The Great Leap, like his oddball role in Priest's Deathstroke and his team-up with Jason Todd in Task Force Z. And when it comes to Tomasi, I'd still sooner include The Big Burn/Ugly Heart over TGL at this point.

I really look forward to revising the list in the coming years, to see which choices I made in 2022 have aged well and which haven't, not to mention what other new stuff might make the cut!

[trulyobscurity]

Glee (for the send me a show ask)

The first character I fell in love with:

That’s definitely a tie between Brittany and Santana! I still remember it pretty well - I had just joined tumblr in April 2011 and had started to see Brittana gifs everywhere (it was after Sexy but before Rumours I think) I immediately became obsessed with knowing who these adorable cheerleaders were (should have realised then and there I was gay lmao), started watching the show for them and ended up being consumed by all of it💕

The character who is my ‘baby’:

When I tell you that I will put my life on the line for Brittany S Pierce, that is a cold hard fact😌

I don’t think Brittany gets the recognition and love she truly deserves by the wider fandom and anyone who sees her as just the ‘dumb blonde’…it will be an on site fight where I will in fact win

The character who I do not understand:

Basically any of the Glee project characters (all except the powerhouse that is Unique/Alex🙌🏻) Like can someone honestly tell me that if Rory was completely removed from the plot of Season three, that anything would significantly change?? lmao Also I don’t remember much of season 4 (forced amnesia to forget it lmao) but Ryder/Blake can choke😌

I just don’t understand why they did all that and I’m only thankful for it because it brought us the talents of Alex Newall

The character that I think the show ruined:

Most of them?😅 like honestly, I think the show suffered a bit from ‘too many characters’ syndrome so there were characters who got forgotten about, got reduced to one stereotypical trait, or just got screwed over because the writers didn’t know what to do with them

One I think could have been so much more is Quinn. She was a pivotal part of season 1 and then as soon as she had her baby it was like the writers were at a loss, and by season 3 were throwing the most batshit, yet short lived, stories at her to see what would stick?? I think if they really stuck with one thing and had a long term vision for her, she could have continued to be a major player for the whole series

The most attractive male and female character:

I’m gonna say Santana (almost tied with Brittany, but I see myself in her too much so it gets weird for me lmao) because…it’s Santana, duh😌 she is just…if I could place blame on my lesbianism anywhere, it would be on Santana Lopez’s shoulders lmao

And I may be a lesbian but I still know that if there’s a chance I wasn’t, Sam Evans could get it lmao

The character death that was the worst for me:

I don’t wanna say too much because it was also a real life death, but obviously the Quarterback episode about Finn is still a really difficult watch😢

The character that is the most like me:

Oh Brittany 100%🥰 I’ve always seen myself in her in many ways. Maybe it’s fact we share the neurodivergence idk lmao

I just really relate to a majority of Brittany’s personality traits, so it makes her even more of a special character to me💕

The character I think the writer(s) love:

Like Santana said in season 3, episode 4: “this year it’s going to be the Blaine and Rachel show”👀 You cannot convince me that those two weren’t the writers golden children

The character that I just want to be happy:

I mean, as a Brittana supporter before anything, I have to say all I want is for Brittany and Santana to be the happiest married couple🥰 I want them to still be married, with their own home (maybe with a kid or two as well) and completely smashing it in their respective careers💕

My four favourite characters, past or present:

Brittany, Santana, Kurt, and Mercedes💕 (shoutout to Quinn, Unique, and Sam though, I love them a lot too🥰)

My four least favourite characters, past or present:

Blaine, Puck, Will, and Artie I guess? Purely just because I either never cared for any of their storylines or they actively started to grate on me as the show went on😌

[inlovewith-icecream]

officially joining team anti finn - top 5 times you wanted to punch finn? 🥰

(hope you don't mind the negativity)

I don’t seek to be negative then it’s Finn and I’m in.

1. Outing Santana

Inexcusably horrific. Everyone about it. The fact that he did it, the way he proved he learned nothing from Theatrically, the entirety of IKAG being about himself, (down to the reason why he cares about her; because she was his first even though she’s gay and clearly that couldn’t have been and enjoyable experience for her), the things that he chose to say, public or not. She’s a cruel bully and not just telling it how it is, she can dish it out but can’t take it in, valid things to throw in her face, not she’s scared her gf doesn’t love her and she’s a coward for not coming out. Nope. This is when I did the 180 and accepted that Finn was not good.

2. Assaulting Quinn at Prom

The girl is not obligated to tell you she can walk (1) step with assistance, and even if she was you absolutely do not pull her out of her wheelchair and potentially damage her further! What the hell? ‘YoU’Re sTIlL tHE sAMe PERson-’ yeah the girl who went through a teenage pregnancy, got kicked out, paralysed and more wants a plastic crown at a high school dance. So cruel 🙄.

3. Beating up Brody

Gah, out of every way to handle this scenario, this was the appropriate way??? No! Tell Rachel, give Santana advice on how to (appropriately) handle the situation, maybe lecture him for putting Rachel at risk of STD’s, not beat him up for being a sex worker!!! Also additional mini rant but Santana was so fucked up for the way she went about this and I love San and Pezberry but Rachel should’ve slapped and kicked her ass out again.

4. Calling Robin a slur

Yay! What do we love? Blatant regression, from the guy who specifically said he wouldn’t and even seemed shocked by the idea of using that word! We also love only apologising for forgiveness and retracting that apology right afterwards! Screw that mother for being upset you called her baby a slur! Woo hoo!

5. Getting Quinn kicked out

Nope. Nopity nope nope nope. I though S1 Finn was great when I started watching and this always made me shocked. Fuck everyone except Quinn in this episode. Fuck Kurt, Fuck Quinn’s parents, Fuck Quinn’s dad especially, Fuck Finn Hudson.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

A Rachel simp too why am I even surprised

Going to assume this is about Rachel Duncan. Anyone who's been around when I go to bat for Merula knows what's coming next. To the uninitiated, brace yourselves. Unabashed Rachel defense incoming.

Now I admit, she's done horrible things. Like when she stole Beth's identity. Or when she stood by and watched her friend suffocate as punishment for a crime she did not commit. Like when she shot Helena in the chest. Like when she murdered a ton of her own sisters on the orders of the Prolethians. Or even the time she put a pencil in Rachel's brain.

...Do you see my point?

The Sisters pretty much all do terrible things at some point during the show. (Except Cosima, she is a cinnamon roll and Delphine does not deserve her. I said what I said.) You can argue that Rachel's crimes are more numerous than the other clones, but that's probably because she's on the other side of the conflict, and we're seeing things from the perspective of the main heroes. I know, I know, Neolution is evil, and after all, it was Rachel's choice to join them. Oh wait, no it wasn't. Not at all. She was raised by them. They are a cult, and Season 5 spells this out about directly. Rachel frequently shows the same tendency as most Neolutionists to put their loyalty to "science" (read: eugenics) above human life. But that's because, again, she was indoctrinated as a child and brainwashed. Which resulted in her dealing with her situation in the worst way possible.

From a young age, she was taught to see herself as a string of numbers. As a subject. As property. The older she got, the clearer that was made to her. Rachel may be power-hungry, but her lust for power is nothing more than a desire for autonomy. In her mind, it's the only way forward. Despite being "Pro-Clone" she has not been raised without knowing human compassion. It's worse than that. She was given a taste of it with her parents (who are both terrible people but I could make a full post about each of them so let's stay on topic) before being taken by Neolution where she was forced to adapt if she wanted to survive. But everyone she knew or cared about, or was even allied with, betrayed her at some point.

Ethan Duncan, her father, took his own life and made her watch. His last words? "You don't deserve me anymore." Yeah, all kinds of fuck him. Aldous Leekie, who she once trusted enough that she considered him a father figure, constantly went behind her back and it was during one of his examinations that he refused to share her results and told her "You're not exempt from the experiment." Susan abandoned her when she was little, gave her to Neolution, and even when they were reunited, the way she treated her was despicable. It was textbook emotional abuse. I know I'm supposed to think of Rachel as the villain when she stabs Susan, but this act immediately followed the line "I regret creating you." She also stabbed Sarah in the leg in the same scene but...again, Sarah put a pencil in her brain. I'd say they're even. Oh, then there was Delphine, who tortured Rachel for information when she could barely speak. (This is unrelated but. Fuck Delphine. She is such a creep.) Let's not forget Westmoreland, who took advantage of her, lied to her, all while still objectifying her as property and spying on her through the eye-cam. The only person Rachel cared about who didn't stab her in the back? Kira. Because of this, I refuse to believe Rachel ever wanted Kira hurt or would have let it happen on her watch.

I still don't see how the word "simp" applies here but...y'know what, screw it. I'd have coffee with her. She'd probably stab me in the neck with an icepick in the middle of the night, but I'd still have coffee with her. Just consider me a full Rachel Duncan simp. Hey, as long as we're talking about her dating life, Ferdinand is a fucking creep who does not love her at all, he's just got some disturbing obsession with her that is possessive and violent. ("Who's a dirty clone" made me want to hurl, and I only wish Delphine hadn't stopped Sarah from finishing him off.) His obsession includes strangling Rachel, and pretending that Mika is Rachel while he's murdering her, in some sick, twisted form of venting his aggression at Rachel. It is messed up and I despise Ferdinand. But Rachel genuinely thinks that he is the only person who ever loved her and I just want to scream. No. No no no.

I'm still mad that Rachel was barred from Clone Club when all was said and done. It goes against the entire spirit of what Clone Club was supposed to be about, especially since they still let Helena be a part of it back in Season 2, despite her crimes. The gang would never have defeated Neolution without Rachel's help. She rescued Kira, betrayed Westmoreland and put a huge target on her back in the process. For crying out loud, she cut out her own eye to stop him from monitoring her. She betrayed Ferdinand (The "only person who ever loved her," don't forget) and warned Siobhan when he survived. She provided information on all of the other clones. And excuse me, after all that, Felix just gets to unilaterally decide that she can't come in? Screw that, why aren't the actual Sisters consulted? Or Kira? I feel like this should be put to a vote at the very least. I know Sarah will never forgive Rachel, but Rachel seems to have put the whole pencil incident behind her, so...that kind of makes her the bigger person here, just saying. Even if the writers wanted Rachel to go her own way, they didn't have to Felix slam the door in her face before she'd even knocked.

Rachel may be a villain, but that's because she's a victim of her circumstances. She didn't ask to be a clone, she didn't ask to be raised by her creators and groomed to suppress any empathetic urges. Her upbringing turned her into some strange, contradictory blend of slave and slave master, and it probably gave her a boatload of identity issues and self esteem issues. It took time for her to figure all of that out, and considering that she was constantly under the surveillance of Neolution, that's totally understandable. She didn't have any counter-examples apart from Sarah's gang, who were framed as enemies from the moment they met. Just consider for a moment, that Rachel was subjected to the fate that Sarah fought tooth and nail to protect Kira from. But no, Rachel had to live that life. But above all...she suffered for her crimes. She suffered so much. She spent two entire seasons learning to speak and walk again. She had to watch her father kill himself. Sarah and the others were willing to open their hearts to Helena, so why not Rachel?

[that-bookworm-guy]

UK People Only

Books For Sale (Part 2 out of 2) Part 1 Here

I need space in my tiny bedroom (for more books) and some spare cash (Possibly for more books once the bills are sorted).

These are also available on my instagram (that_bookworm_guy) I just need to clear as many as I can ASAP. I'm open to sensible offers as well as bundles. P&P is £3 for up to 2kg of books. Prices aren't including postage.

Books in Order:

Wild Embers - Nikita Gill (£4)

the sun and her flowers - rupi kaur (£4)

milk and honey - rupi kaur (£4)

Pillow Thoughts - Courtney Peppernell (£4)

It Never Rains - Roger McGough (£3)

Helium - Rudy Francisco (£5)

It's Kind of a Funny Story - Ned Vizzini (£4)

Young Sherlock Holmes Fire Storm - Andrew Lane (Hardback ) (£3)

Sherlock Holmes Riddles (HB) (£2)

How to Think like Sherlock - Daniel Smith (HB) (£2)

The Case of the Disappearing Detective - Anthony Read (£1)

Neither One Nor The Other - Dolores Faust (£2)

The Turn of The Screw - Henry James (£1.50)

Alex Approximately - Jenn Bennett (£2)

Hunted - E.W. Browne (£1)

Detective Pikachu (£3)

Reflections from Waterford's Woods - Jess Scutella & Roland Rosewood (£1)

Serpent & Dove - Shelby Mahurin (£5)

The 5th Wave - Rick Yancey (HB) (£5)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne (£1)

When the Wind Blows - James Patterson (£1)

Symptoms of Being Human - Jeff Garvin (£3)

The Other Boy - M.G. Hennessey (HB) (£3)

This Book is Gay - (Juno) Dawson (£2)

Odd One Out - Nic Stone ( £3)

Carry On - Rainbow Rowell (£4)

FreakBoy - Kristin Elizabeth Clark (£3)

They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera (£3)

Michel-Michelle - Margo Gorman (£1)

A.N.T.I. D.O.T.E. - Malorie Blackman (£3)

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (£3)

Another Place - Matthew Crow (£3)

Antigoddess - Kendare Blake (£3)

The Island - C.L. Taylor (£3)

The Light Between Worlds - Laura Weymouth (£3)

The Stuff of Nightmares - Malorie Blackman (£1.50)

Nightfall - Jake Halpern, Peter Kujawinski (£3)

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness (£3)

The Box of Demons - Daniel Whelan (£3)

The Hit - Melvin Burgess (£3)

White Crow - Marcus Sedgwick (£3)

The Twisted Tree - Rachel Burge (£3)

Playlist for the Dead - Michelle Falkoff (£3)

Montacule House - Lucy Jago (£3)

Hannibal - Thomas Harris (HB) (£3)

Silent Witness - Richard North Patterson (HB) (£3)

Oblivion - Anthony Horowitz (HB) (£5)

Origin of Species - Charles Darwin (HB) (£6)

Exile - Richard North Patterson (HB) (£4)

Slide 7 Pay whatever you want for any book

50. Adulthood is a Myth - Sarah Andersen (£4) 51. The City of Ember Graphic Novel - Jeanne DuPrau (£4) 52. Zombie! The Adventure is Yours (HB) (£6) 53. Vampire Knight book 1-4 - Matsuri Hino (£5) 54. The City of Ember Series, books 1-4 (Complete) - Jeanne DuPrau (£5)

Money to be sent via paypal, I can't ship to anywhere except the UK as I'll have to do Royal Mail pick up due to not being able to get to a post office. DMs me to buy anything, or contact me on instagram where I am most of the time.

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

13. Maroon by Taylor Swift Picked by an IG follower 

*You can still submit requests for my gg spotify wrapped series, just send me a number!*

They hadn’t meant to stay up all night. Really, the morning sun was an unwelcome guest, ending their night together before it was meant to. Its light filtering in through the curtains, casting a red glow on the room was the first indicator that so much time had passed. That glow provided enough light to start to notice other signs, like how much the incense on the shelf had burned. 

The pair rose from their spots on the carpet. When Matt returned, he found Rachel at his shelf, cleaning incense off from in front of his vinyl records. “You didn’t have to do that,” he told her. 

Rachel looked his way with a smile. He held a mug of coffee out to her that she gratefully accepted. With his now free hand, he took hers and led her back over to the couch. Instead of sitting on it, he pulled her back into their positions on the floor, their backs against the front. 

Matt looked around the living room, assessing the moderate disarray. “How’d we end up on the floor, anyway?” He asked. 

“Mm,” Rachel finished a sip of her coffee before setting it down. She reached up behind the arm of the couch and produced an empty bottle. “Your roommates, cheap-ass, screw top rosé,” she said, passing him the bottle. “That’s how.” 

Matt chuckled as he inspected the bottle. “Thanks, Joe,” he said. Setting the bottle on the table, he reached over to take Rachel’s outstretched legs and place them over his lap instead.  

Rachel giggled at the action. “Was I not close enough to you already?” 

“No, you weren’t actually,” Matt confirmed, teasingly. “Thanks for asking.” 

Rachel laughed, again, going back for her coffee. Matt kept his eyes on her, absently tracing patterns on her legs. At least it was absently until it tickled, drawing more laughter from her. She kicked at him, lightly. They both had to adapt to be gentler after one instance when Rachel gave Matt a concussion with a single kick to the head. 

Matt switched tactics, letting her legs go and reaching for her arms. He pulled them both to their feet. “Come on,” he said, softly. “Dance with me.” 

“There’s not even music playing,” Rachel told him. But still, she went, letting him spin them around in the early morning glow. Matt moved them both effortlessly on the wooden floors since Rachel was wearing a pair of his large socks. 

That had been in New York. The time they had spent there was short lived, but it was full of good memories like that. 

It also happened to be where they met.  

Rachel would never forget the first time she saw Matt. Or the first time he saw her. And how, after they had carefully danced around one another for an entire evening when they were finally introduced, Matt had bumped into her. Which they could have easily recovered from except Matt was a red wine drinker. And Rachel had worn white to the event. 

It was as good an opening as any, Rachel realized. Matthew Morgan was all over her mind like her wine-stained dress she couldn’t wear anymore. He was very apologetic, offering to get it cleaned, but that burgundy never coming out. It wasn’t helping that he was as handsome and sincere as he was while fussing over her. Rachel could feel the blood rush to her face when he’d first placed his hands on her. When she looked up to his face, though, he seemed to be a matching shade of scarlet; their reputations as agents be damned. 

They had gotten to be together so freely in New York. Rachel grew to call the place, and Matthew, home. It was when they left that the serenity they had been living in shattered. Their lives could be so taxing and, as much as they tried to bear it together, sometimes they just couldn’t. Rachel came home one too many nights to Matthew on the couch, head in his hands, and she knew he was sobbing. All she could do was sit with him in the silence that left them feeling blind. It wasn’t just them as individuals anymore; their relationship was like a third person to navigate. There was a period of time when they both fell victim to losing sight of it. It scared Rachel. Weren’t that the way things always ended? 

One day she’d come home, and Matt wasn’t on the couch. She’d looked for him and found that he was standing in the hallway that led from the living and kitchen area to their room. He’d looked so tired there, hollow-eyed in the hall. He looked from her to their dining table where Rachel noticed a vase of flowers was. 

She found herself smiling. “Carnations?” she asked. 

Matt’s brow furrowed as he finally approached her. He looked from Rachel to the flowers, as if they had betrayed him. “Are they? I thought-,” 

“I love them,” Rachel said, closing the space between them and pressing her lips to his. “I love you.” she reassured. 

It was a running joke after that. Carnations instead of roses. It was a good reflection of them, they decided. Two people with the best of intentions just doing their best. So what, Matt had gotten it wrong? Flowers were flowers as far as Rachel was concerned. 

Abigail came to visit the next day. “I take it you and Matt worked things out,” she commented. 

“You make it sound like we were breaking up. It was a rough patch professionally, we’re fine,” Rachel told her. Maybe it had been a tad defensive, but it was true. “Anyway, what makes you say that?” 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Abby said, rolling her eyes. “The ruby red mark on your collarbone?” 

Rachel’s eyes widened as she looked down and then into the mirror. Crap. Abby was right. That was going to need cover up before they went anywhere. 

When she looked away from the mark, she caught her sister's smirk in the mirror. “Happy for you,” she told her. 

“Oh, shut up.” 

It was easy to get caught up in her memories of Matt. Especially in her sleep. It did, however, make for some awkward wake up calls. When he had first gone MIA, for example, waking up felt like losing him all over again. She wanted to cling to dancing in New York more than she had since before Cammie was born. It had become more bearable but still. 

But still- 

“Rachel,” a familiar voice said. “Rachel,” it repeated, more sternly. She felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her eyes. There was her office in the Gallagher Academy with a concerned Joe Solomon looking at her. “Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine, Joseph.” She assured him. She raised her arm to check her watch and found it to be midafternoon. Granted, that was a weird hour for her to be taking a nap, so she understood his slight worry. “I didn’t sleep well last night. Guess it caught up to me.” Joe nodded and she looked him over, lazily. “Did you need something?” 

Joe offered her a soft smile. “Just dropping some things off for you. I’ll leave them on your desk.” 

Rachel went to move and take them, but Joe was already going to her desk, leaving her on her couch. He turned to go but then paused, doing a double take. Rachel followed his gaze to an empty bottle of rosé on her shelf. The empty bottle of rosé. Not that Joe realized that. “I’ve never seen you drink rosé,” he mused, out loud. 

“I don’t,” Rachel responded. 

Joe nodded. Something unspoken but not unwelcome lingered in the air between them. In the words they didn’t say. “I’ll see you later,” he said in farewell. She just nodded and let him go, hearing the click of the door shutting. 

She sat up, deciding she’d spent enough time on the couch. As she did, the blanket she’d had draped over herself fell into her lap. Except, upon inspection, it wasn’t a blanket. It was one of Matt’s old flannels. The memory of that morning in his apartment came back as she glanced from the shirt to the bottle. Talk about waking up with his memory over her. Smiling, she held the shirt to herself as she got up. Back to business. 

[ashleypureheart22]

I was frustrated with how they screwed over Topaz in Thor: Ragnarok by killing her. However, based on the redemptions I have seen in media (except maybe Sunset Shimmer’s from Equestria Girls, which came out of absolute nowhere), redemptions usually need to have something that makes the redemption worth it, mainly a tragic reason the character is the way they are. The examples I can pull out of my head are pictured below:

Topaz, on the other hand, did not have a sad motive for her actions or a tragic backstory. She was basically like a Stormtrooper, a mook who is supposed to be seen as unsympathetic. Plus, read this page from a Marvel book:

As you can see, most of the points made about Topaz on this page are negative, like how she lacks empathy for those who are less important than her and how she uses the melt stick to enforce the rules. The Melt Stick, for those unaware, does this to people:

And I think they couldn’t have added Topaz to the Revengers. There would have been way too many characters on the Revengers, as well as Korg and Loki, to focus on. Topaz would have served no purpose to the story, and it would confuse the audience if she just randomly was like “I’m sorry for trying to kill you” like Sunset Shimmer did in Equestria Girls. Plus, villains don’t usually get redeemed in the MCU. It’s rare for that to happen.

What I mean by all this is fingers crossed we do get a redeemable Rachel House villain….

(And to think I used to want an ending where Hela causes the apocalypse, which would have been the result of Thor dying or being trapped on Sakaar forever…I know better now!)