#rachel was raised by a lawyer but shes fucked up for different reasons i think

[menderash]

david animorphs is the way that he is, an entitled, privileged child who was raised to inherently believe some people are worth less than others, bc he was raised by a cop. ms applegate does not miss.

#jake was raised in a religious jewish household #rachel was raised by a lawyer but shes fucked up for different reasons i think #marco was raised as the brown child of a white single father in poverty #cassie is gestures at her whole domestic life. dope. #and ax IS a military brat and nepotism baby who benefits from his culture's fascism #BUT hes autistic and a freak so it kinda evens out. #i was gonna say HIS MOM IS A POET AND HIS DAD IS AN ANDALITE MINORITY but then i remembered thats cav's fanfiction and not canon

[bastillewolf]

Midnight In Sheffield (I)

Pairing: Alex Turner/Reader

Summary: When a soon-to-be-wedded insomniac author heads back home to visit her parents, she comes across the likes of a mysterious musician on her sleepless escapade in the AM.

Notes: Not sure if this is going to work out, but I’ve made the creative decision to write a series of Alex Turner fanfics, going down each album and all most likely lightly based off movies. Like the Grand Tranquility Hotel from the Grand Budapest Hotel, this one is based off Midnight In Paris. No need to have seen either movies to read these fics. It won’t take place around the same time, as Sheffield has been through some stuff in the early 1900s. I will keep it all a bit old-school themed, but just won’t name a specific era, so you can take your own spin on it. I’m not familiar with Sheffield at all, never been there, so I’ll keep locations vague and add the Paris theme a bit in there. Hope you tag along for the ride, and let’s have one for the road.

Let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list!

Chapter I - AM

“I don’t see how this could be more important to you than meeting my parents,” she grumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow she had planted her face in. The sheets of the bed were soft and had a pristine white colour, much to her dismay. The entire hotel room was much too extravagant to her liking, but it was Mark who insisted on paying extra to make their stay most comfortable.

“Please don’t be difficult now, sweetheart,” her fiancée replied, as he set one of his neatly folded trousers in the dresser on the shelf next to where his ironed shirts hung. “You know how much it means to me to be able to see James and Rachel again after all these years. I’m sure your parents will understand. If not, I’ll beg for their forgiveness.” He dramatically bent down to his knee, as if to gallantly portray his apology, making her roll her eyes.

“That wouldn’t be the first thing you’d have to apologize for. First of all, you’re going to have to tell my dad why you didn’t ask for his permission to marry me-“

“You already said yes!”

She shot him a look. “And secondly, you’re going to have to explain to my mum why you didn’t want to stay at their home. I think she would’ve been very happy to play hostess to the man who’s going to marry her daughter in a few.”

He crawled on top of the bed, his curly brown hair hanging over his face as he hovered above her and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be sure to make up for it. Now, please get changed. We’re having lunch.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s going to be at that ritzy restaurant we went to last time. I’m still not over the way that waiter felt the need to explain everything to me like a five-year-old whilst pointing everything out with his little finger.”

“Well, you can’t speak French, darling. I think he tried his best at explaining the menu to you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Just, please stop drooling on the pillow and put on something nice. For me?”

Seeing the convincing puppy look on his face, she gave in with a sigh and a very loud slurping noise as she lifted her head from the pillow, making Mark huff.

 Meeting with James and Rachel wasn’t the worst thing in the world, because she didn’t see them very often and they were overall nice people. At least, if you didn’t count every time James tried to be the smartass of the group by giving some random fact about anything and everything they came across, or if you ignored the way Rachel was evidently very flirty and touchy with Mark, or if you turned your head away every time the couple made those wretched kissing noises as they shared what should be an intimate moment.

What Mark had with Rachel was something she could never come between, something she also shared with many good friends of her own. They were the type who would always share that bond with you, no matter how long you hadn’t seen each other, and she could only be happy that Mark still had friends like that.

His work as a lawyer didn’t allow for him to make all that many mates, as most try to stab him in the back just to be able to get that promotion they wanted. He’d often come home with his head hung low after days like that, when loneliness took over the pride he had of his usually exhilarating job.

And thus, as she watched Rachel hug him extra tight, she kept her mouth shut. It was for the best, and it was only one afternoon she had to endure.

But she vowed to herself to not let it happen at her wedding. That was her day. Fuck Mark and fuck Rachel. She wasn’t going to be left alone dancing with James, who seemed to be known for having two left feet, by her own husband. But that was something she’d have to worry about in the future.

Her worries now were trying to translate a French menu without asking a waiter, deciding which fork to use, and refraining from telling James to shut up about the painting that hung behind him, of which he was giving an entirely unnecessarily intricate description.

“As you can see, the painter made sure the flag of the boat is standing diagonal to the man in the front, to make the artwork a treat for the eye with this interesting form of composition. It makes the scene all the more dramatic, wouldn’t you agree?”

Mark and Rachel hummed thoughtfully, but both were looking at the painting as if it was some Professor Layton puzzle they had yet to solve.

“What do you think?” James turned to her directly, catching her off guard. James usually wasn’t one to ask others for their opinion, so she could only guess it was an attempt to test her bare knowledge on the subject to make himself look like the smarter one.

“I think you said it all, James,” she decided to answer with, “I’m afraid I haven’t thought about art in that way since my classes in school. As of now, I have more important things to worry about than what the composition in a painting is like.”

It was low of her, she knew that, but someone needed to teach him a lesson.

“Ah,” James said, seemingly unfazed by her subtle insult, “Now that you mention it, how’s your book coming along?”

She sighed. Of course, he was going to play that card. She could’ve seen it coming.

Being a published writer of a few mediocre novels she’d written back in school, she was still in search for her new muse, and things were getting a bit desperate, to say the least. She had absolutely no idea what her next story was going to be about, finding everything in her life to be inexplicably boring and explicitly dull.

Not so much to say she wasn’t happy. No, she liked being with Mark. But she couldn’t say her life was a real adventure with him, or anyone for that matter. They lived in an apartment in the big city, where Mark had his day job and she her comfortable bed. He’d come home and she would’ve cooked – whatever attempt it was each time – and cleaned, and perhaps even written down a page or two only to never look at it again.

“Oh, you know. It’s getting there,” she lied, “Inspiration is lacking a bit these days, unfortunately.”

“I’ve always found inspiration to be a bit of a myth,” James said thoughtfully, “Why is it exactly that one particular thing that’s so inexplicable yet so necessary to create something? It seems a bit… I don’t know, like an excuse for some writers. I’ve heard many talk about it seriously, and many call it pure laziness. But then again, I wouldn’t really know much of the matter.”

There was the comeback.

She smiled tightly. “No, you wouldn’t. I can agree that some writers use it as an excuse to hide their laziness, as I find that a lot of characters write their own stories as soon as you sit down and start typing. However, inspiration is indeed something vague, and could be considered a writer’s virtue or downfall. It’s however you approach the subject, and however you try to deal with it or rationalize it as an artist.”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t have even mentioned it. I wouldn’t know much about it, since I’m only an art consultant, after all.” He threw his hands up degradingly.

Fucker.

“Oh, come on, let’s not be so childish. All of our work is equally as important, as long as we’re happy doing it,” Rachel intervened, before raising her glass, “Here’s a toast to inspiration and art!”

Though she was relieved the argument was over and the attention drawn away from her, she couldn’t help but feel that familiar itch from the downgrading undertone in Rachel’s voice. Call it jealousy if you might, but she wasn’t one to let something like that slip from her mind, however many years may pass.

“So, if I may be so bold to ask,” Rachel continued, and the writer had almost collected her guts to blatantly reply with a ‘no’ when the woman was already speaking again, “What are your plans after the wedding? Are you moving? Already thinking about having kids? No pressure, of course.” She laughed with a pitch so high it nearly shattered the wineglass she was bringing to her lips to pieces.

“Oh, she always gets a bit icky talking about having kids,” Mark chuckled, “But if it were up to her, we’d be moving to some remote village in the outskirts of France, living in a tiny apartment until we grow old and turn to dust.”

She shrugged at her fiancée, “Doesn’t sound all that bad to me.”

“That’s because you came up with it.”

“Don’t you want to be closer to your friends?” Rachel asked, “Why move to the middle of nowhere, when you have everything out here?”

“I don’t know. I guess because of the peace and quiet. A simple life, with the bare necessities.”

“I wouldn’t have protested if it wasn’t for my job,” Mark added, which was a blatant lie. She’d heard him cut off her dream many times over for many different reasons. “Unfortunately, my French isn’t good enough to be a lawyer, and certainly not in the outskirts somewhere.”

“I thought you barely spoke a word of French, anyway?” James asked her.

“I know, but I would learn it there. It would be a part of the adventure.”

He snorted, “I’m sorry darling, but adventure is for children. It’s time to grow out of that. Perhaps you should find something you like in a proper job.”

 She’d prompted to walk back to the hotel, through the rain, as Mark, James and Rachel – mostly Mark – had tried to convince her to share a cab with them. But no way in hell would she spend another unnecessary moment with that couple, and Mark knew better than to follow her out, for she would only be walking too quickly for him, and he would have quietly trailed after her the whole way back.

So, when she finally reached the building, he allowed her to soak in the tub for a few hours before finally approaching her.

“He has a point, you know.”

The look she gave him was an evident warning, yet he still had the guts to continue. “I’m not saying you should stop writing. I know that’s your passion. But, I’m asking you to maybe find something that could come close to that in the meantime, at least until you find something to write about. And perhaps, after we get married-“ he kissed her wrinkly palm, “-we could afford ourselves a nice vacation cot somewhere in the outskirts of France, and we could visit it as often as we’d like.”

She pursed her lips, turning her eyes away from his pensively. “I’m not sure your job would allow that. Your vacation days would be limited, and my desires to go on a holiday always growing.”

He smiled gently. “I’m sure we could work it out after I get that promotion.”

She looked at him, her eyes slightly glossy. “I just don’t want to feel like I’m giving up.”

“You’re not giving up, sweetheart. You’re only taking measures to be able to do the things you like, and when things are going well you can set your priorities straight. It’s the better thing to do.”

Her mind might be relieved to hear this solution, but her gut remained ridden with unease.

 “Mark? Are you coming?” she called out, her hand hovering over the doorknob of their room.

“I’ll be right after you!” she heard him say, “Work is phoning me, you go ahead. I’ll take the next cab.”

“Alright, but don’t be too long!”

 They were supposed to meet with their parents that evening to share the big news, but after hugs were shared and multiple cups of tea were had, Mark still hadn’t shown. She was beginning to grow worried when he didn’t pick up his phone, and even went as far as to step outside to frantically see if the connection was better.

After eight missed calls, she finally reached him.

“Can you believe it?” she heard him slur, “I stepped into the same cab as James! We’re at the pub, you should come join!”

Hearing faint noises of protest from others on the other end of the line, she quickly grew more and more bothered. “Mark, we were supposed to see my parents tonight.”

“Oh, we can see them again tomorrow! I figured you needed some catching up to do.”

“You could’ve joined in on that catching up, as they’ve barely seen you three times over the past four years we’ve been together.”

“Please don’t be like that sweetheart, you know I adore your parents. In fact, I’ll come over right now if that’s what you-“

“No,” she quickly cut him off, not being able to stand the mental sight of her parents having to deal with her drunk fiancée. “You know what, have fun. I’ll stay at my parents’ for the night.”

“Sounds like fun! Call me-“

She’d hung up the phone before he could finish his sentence, and had dropped to her knees as she felt her bottom lip tremble. Not wanting to alert the neighbours, she quickly forced her numb legs to work again and strode in the direction of town, a walking route she usually took whenever she was upset when she was young. She sent a quick text to her mum, telling her she’d meet again with them tomorrow and explain what happened. She really couldn’t be bothered right now.

Tears streamed down her face at the thought that her feet were so unwilling to go back to face her parents, who she’d have to disappoint yet again with a disappearing soon-to-be son-in-law. It wasn’t that she couldn’t tell her parents about her problems, it was the thought of disappointing them once again with a mistake she was making.

A horrible, horrible mistake.

She was no longer aware of which way she’d gone, as all shops around her seemed unfamiliar, yet she could’ve sworn she hadn’t messed up any turns in her route.

Wherever she was though, was a beautifully quaint, with antique streetlights and a cobbled road. Shop windows held curtains made from white lace, and showed off vintage clothes and items for a real bargain.

Must be one of those vintage sales, she figured, as her eyes grazed along cars with brands that were so old she couldn’t remember the names of them. Stores like these must attract the more interesting people with vehicles like those.

It was when she saw a polished and brand-new-looking typewriter in one of the windows, she paused. Above it, she saw her own reflection; a puffy reddened face stained with an ongoing array of tears.

“I really hope you’re not crying because you want that typewriter so awfully bad,” a voice spoke.

She whipped around, coming face to face with a man who was giving her a kind look. His eyes were hazel, matching the brown suit he wore, and his head shaved to a buzzcut. He had sharp features, and still looked awfully British.

“I- Uh… No, I’m not,” she stuttered, trying to wipe the waterworks away with her sleeve.

The man then held out a folded cotton handkerchief to her, along with a smile as an attempt to cheer her up. She gratefully accepted both.

“Not any bloke I’d need to beat up, is there?”

She laughed blubberingly, “I don’t think that would be the solution to my problems, but thank you.”

“Thank god,” he huffed, “Because to be quite honest, I can’t throw a punch for the life of me. I would’ve had to ask one of my mates to do it for me, and cheer him on as he’d won my own fight.”

“I don’t think that would count as your fight,” she chuckled.

“Defending a lady’s honour is always my fight,” he replied. He shook his head, “Apologies for the rudeness, miss. Haven’t even properly introduced myself. I’m Miles.”

She gave him her own name, “and it’s nice to meet you, Miles. May I ask what you’re doing about this late?”

He gave her a strange look, “Why, it’s the perfect hour, why wouldn’t I be about? The night has only just started, and one of my close mates is preforming in the pub nearby. Want to join?”

She only took a moment to hesitate, before wilfully agreeing. “Sure.”

#Arctic Monkeys #Alex Turner #Alex Turner x Reader #Matt Helders #Miles Kane #TLSP #The Last Shadow Puppets #Nick O'Malley #AM #TBHC #Jamie Cook #Wpsiatwin #Humbug #Suck It And See #Fanfiction

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 3x07-- The One Where Diane and Liz Topple Democracy

Yes I’m still writing these

“Admit it. You like having me here. I mean, you didn’t think you would. But then, gradually, you realize that Blum is like a shot in the arm,” Blum tells the viewers. I mean, the partners. But he’s definitely talking to the viewers. See, we are supposed to ENJOY him. We’re supposed to find his terribleness cute and endearing. We’re supposed to be captivated by him. Here’s the thing: I’m not. I just want him to go away and stop being loud, which is how I have felt from the second he first opened his mouth. And when he was silent and I didn’t know how loud he’d be? I still wanted him to go away.

Does Blum work better than most of the past attempts at Blum-like figures? Yes. He’s leaps and bounds better! Is he still an annoying ass pest? HELL FUCKING YES.

Blum compliments the partners on being “clean” and “articulate” because he’s racist and wants everyone to know it. It’s cute!! So cute and charming!!

Why are the partners having an end of the year meeting? Is it the end of their fiscal year? Is it December? I want to know.

Blum attributes a Machiavelli quote to Martin Luther King Jr, which is actually kind of hilarious. Even if I don’t like him I can appreciate when they write him well.

Blum decides he’s joining the firm and the partners ask for time to confer. Marissa is still wasting her time following him around.

Liz calls Blum a cancer and says they need to get rid of him. I agree! Adrian is on board, but wants to delay him. I’m sure that’s going to end well.

Lucca is singing Baby Shark again, which means it’s going to be stuck in my head for another day. Diane comes into her office with a task. Because Lucca’s on hold with the Sweeney divorce, and she has NO OTHER BUSINESS IN THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT  SHE MANAGES, Lucca also gets Blum duty. So now Marissa AND Lucca, two of the firm’s best employees, are stuck dealing with his bullshit. A+ management, RBL.

Is there NO OTHER EMPLOYEE at this firm that can do this task? “We had four associates on it. He sent them out on errands,” Diane explains. What the fuck? Did you not prepare them to deal with him? You gave him a staff, observed him doing no work for three weeks, and were just like, sure, associates, go run errands for Roland Blum!? What kind of management is that?! Surely there is someone at this firm other than Lucca who can ensure that lawyers do lawyering.

“Blum is seductive. We need an adult in the room,” Diane says. I don’t know which concerns me more: the fact that Diane is only just now realizing they needed to manage this problem or the fact that Diane doesn’t think any of her employees are capable of acting like adults. If that’s true, that’s also a management problem, and YIKES.

Julius is a horrible liar.

Is Blum talking to himself this week’s soliloquy? If so, kinda meh.

Rachelle has brought Liz and Diane a class action about vote rigging in 2016. Isn’t Rachelle’s job something in strategy? Shouldn’t she be distancing herself from this case and making sure it seems like she’s never met Liz or Diane?

Yes, the episode just answered it for me. Rachelle is a pollster. This seems dangerous. I also feel like Liz and Diane haven’t really made an independent choice since they started working with Rachelle.

Rachelle acts like this case is for real and not a set up. I understand that she’s effective, but she’s done so many cagey things in just a few episodes that I would cut all ties. You met her through a literal con artist, first of all. And beyond that, do you really think someone who’s going to force clients upon you to further their agenda and mess with the dynamics at your firm is not also going to give up your names if and when things get rough?

I may say this again later, but what I dislike most about this episode is that the stakes are so high, and they’re so real-world. Diane and Liz aren’t debating the ethics of voter fraud in the abstract. They’re committing a federal crime.

Lucca deals with Blum by… doing work. Blum’s “associate”-- actor Gary Carr, playing himself-- assists her. Lucca doesn’t realize he’s an actor and puts him to work. He clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing (because he’s not a lawyer).

Case stuff happens. Diane is instructed by Rachelle to ask for the software architecture, but she doesn’t find this suspicious. I know I do. Does the client usually get to tell the lawyer what evidence to request? Seems weird to me.

After court, Diane and Liz ask Rachelle why she needs the software. Uh, after they asked for it in court they ask her why she needs it? They didn’t think it was actually relevant and thought the request was suspicious and went along? Also, PRETTY DAMN OBVIOUS THAT ONE REASON TO WANT THE ARCHITECTURE OF A SOFTWARE IS TO HACK IT.

Lucca tells Diane that Gary Carr is doing good work. What? Taking it seriously I get, but good work? Good enough that Lucca would recommend Carr to Diane? All we’ve seen him do as a “lawyer” is misidentify a piece of evidence that Lucca just had to glance at to understand.

As Lucca walks from her office to Blum’s, she overhears some associates talking about Gary Carr. See, he’s an actor and he was on Downton Abbey, a show I never watched more than a few episodes of. Lucca clearly hasn’t either. Are any of these associates really weirded out by Maia’s presence at the firm? Wasn’t she on Downton too?

Lucca confronts Gary about lying and asks him to wait in reception. There’s some awkwardness/sexual tension (the Kings’ favorite way to show sexual tension is having people be exceedingly awkward around each other) as he leaves. This plot is fun and fine, but I’d love for Lucca to get something more substantive.

Book Club meets again and Polly suggests hacking the voting machines. Diane and Liz are stunned. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Diane says, and… credits!

Book Club’s gotten pretty big. Diane’s completely against vote rigging and everyone else (except Liz) is like BUT WINNING IS MORE IMPORTANT. Polly decides to frame it as a “correction” for gerrymandering and voter intimidation. This is a more convincing argument. But it is not an argument for why Diane or Liz would risk their lives and careers for this.

Diane and Liz talk, away from the group, and Liz makes a fantastic point: “You know there are counties right now where black people are so terrorized that they can’t even show up at polls? Look, in Georgia, in 2018, a bus filled with black senior citizens was stopped by the police so they wouldn’t be allowed to vote. 53,000 voter registrations of black voters were held up by the Georgia Secretary of State. Diane, you don’t [know]. Look, we share a lot of things, but we do not share histories. I have a college friend who was kicked off the voter rolls in Ohio. And my uncle was denied the right to vote in the last election in Wisconsin. I mean, at some point, these stories become more than just anecdotes. They’re something bigger. This democracy you talk about, this doesn’t exist for a lot of us. It didn’t exist for my grandparents, it didn’t exist for my parents, and it is slowly being taken away from me.” Diane interjects that they should fight it in the courts. “The courts. The courts that overturned the Civil Rights Voting Act in 2013? So, excuse me if I just need a moment to reflect on this unique possibility. One person hits a few buttons and suddenly black voters are re-enfranchised. That means something very different to me than it does to you.”

WOW. I had to write out that whole speech because it’s great. It calls attention to a very important real world issue (if you want to learn more about voter suppression, I highly recommend One Person, No Vote by Carol Anderson). It doesn’t convince me for a second that hacking the voting machines is the right approach, but it’s enough that I understand where Liz is coming from and why Diane’s idealistic speeches don’t sway her.

Even if I don’t think this speech does a good job of making me understand why Liz is willing to jeopardize her career (tbh I have a bit of trouble believing Liz would be drawn to Book Club in the first place), it’s so good as an explanation of voter suppression I don’t really care.

Rachelle is a master manipulator. She decides to add an amendment to their plan-- only enough votes to offset disenfranchisement of black and Latino voters will be changed. Uh huh. I don’t buy it. And even if it’s true, this is so clearly manipulative it’s ridiculous. What about Rachelle is so trustworthy Liz would risk her career to help her?!

I’m stuck on this, I know, but I can’t see Liz making these choices, no matter how good the arguments or how noble the cause.

The group votes and things don’t go Diane’s way… but she acts like now that they’ve voted, she has no choice but to break the law. I don’t understand. Why is her allegiance to this group when she (and Liz) are the ones who would be most directly responsible for leaking the software architecture?

“You signed on for this. The ends justify the means, so don’t get all outraged that we’re willing to follow through,” Rachelle tells Diane. This sounds a lot like the “we’re defense attorneys, therefore we have to represent Lemond Bishop” logic I hate so much.

Oh goodie, it’s the weird scene in which I thought Lucca was going to start masturbating, and a Good Fight Short about Downton Abbey. This plotline does nothing for me. When I say I want Lucca plotlines, I don’t mean I want weird romances. I mean I want to see Lucca making friends, raising her child, and navigating the workplace.

I will take all the Lucca plots I can get but please, something with substance next time!

Blum is mad and sniffing around Reddick’s sexual harassment issues. Should’ve just gone public when you had the chance, partners.

Adrian physically attacks Blum, which is… a way to handle this. Go away, Blum. Adrian also decides to go after Blum’s illegal courtroom tactics.

Have I mentioned that I love Liz’s office bathroom?

Adrian suggests threatening Blum and Liz responds “that’s like threatening a bull with a red flag.” If it weren’t for the fact that she’s done nothing to prevent him from infiltrating her firm, I would say Liz has by far the best reactions to Blum.

“We knew this day would come, Liz,” Adrian explains, referring to the day when the allegations against Carl Reddick would surface. Well if you knew that WHY WOULD YOU PAY OFF THE WOMEN AND MAKE IT LOOK WORSE FOR YOURSELF???

They managed to write a Lucca plot I don’t feel like recapping. That’s really amazing.

I care even less since I know how it ends.

Diane insists on being the one to argue for obtaining the software architecture, since she’s a lawyer and it’s her job. She gives a passionate speech that’s about the sanctity of the vote but it’s really, of course, her argument against voter fraud. The irony!

I don’t get why Diane continues to tie herself to this!!! None of this plot makes sense to me from a character POV!!! Well, except the part where Diane gets so angry she follows a con woman to a resistance group. That makes complete sense.

Diane distances herself from the group AFTER arguing in court for the architecture? Okay. Sure. So noble.

Here’s the best part of this Lucca-dates-Gary-Carr plot: Marissa recognizes him from The Deuce and not Downton Abbey, which is a little detail that’s verrrrryyyyyy Marissa.

Hey, it’s the subpoena guy! (Yes, I care more about that than watching Blum get a tattoo.)

RBL wants to get Blum disbarred. I want him to be disbarred too, so he can become irrelevant and go away.

Jay finds a Republican hack in the software architecture. Gasp!

Blum starts screaming and banging on windows and everyone ignores him. This scene is an accurate representation of how I feel about Blum. The louder he is, the less I care about him.

Will never be a fan of three way call split screens.

WHY ARE Y’ALL TALKING ABOUT HACKING VOTING MACHINES ON THE PHONE!? Y’all are smart enough to know how to hack a voting machine but not smart enough to think of burner phones?

And why hasn’t Polly already found this malware?

And why do I care?

Rachelle calls Liz “Diane” over the phone. Liz is making Diane’s arguments, but I think it’s telling Rachelle sees them as almost interchangeable obstacles. She doesn’t really care if she’s talking to Diane and Liz, as long as she’s talking to a lawyer who will get her the software architecture and argue her case.

I do not understand Jay’s testimony in court. One, why is Jay testifying instead of a computer science expert? Two, why do his political leanings matter if he could point at an actual section of code?

So this plotline can receive more consistent development than Lucca Quinn herself, Lucca offers to let Gary Carr shadow her.

This episode is a exhausting. I didn’t like it the first time and I am having trouble getting through it. Every supporting character who shows up makes me think, “ugh.”

Oh! This is the scene with the random unnecessary nudity! If she was going to be topless in this scene why even bother with having her cover up after sex? Either don’t show it or go all in. Now I’m nitpicking a thing that usually doesn’t annoy me.

Oh and THIS scene, with Adrian and Diane’s terribly thought through confrontation of the judge! You don’t have to be a genius to know this was the wrong approach. Diane doesn’t even know Adrian’s reasoning for believing there’s judicial bribery.

How many damn times can we do this, “these are REAL LAWYERS, not TV LAWYERS” bit? I’m sick of it. Also, Lucca doesn’t like TV? Boo.

Diane and Liz don’t win their case. Which is a win for Rachelle.

Now Diane’s ALL IN!!!!! On vote rigging and wants to push the button to make it happen. Whatever.

Well, that’s over. I really have three more of these to write?

[comic-movieheroesranked]

Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2005) Final Part

Another year, another ranking of our favorite comic book characters to grace the movie screen! This year we have the debut of several movies including: Aeon Flux, Batman Begins, Constantine, Fantastic Four, and Sin City; a spin-off movie centered on Elektra; and the final installment to an outer space trilogy, Star Wars: Episode Three-Revenge of the Sith! Here’s TOP 25!

*SPOILERS FOR ALL THE MOVIES HIGHLIGHTED ABOVE*

25. Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow (Batman Begins)

"There's nothing to fear but fear itself!"

The second-class criminal that becomes a threat to Batman in a new way. Even though Bruce trained his body physically to withstand anything, he had no preparation to deal with Scarecrow's fear toxin, an attack on the mind. It's Scarecrows toxin that threatens to destory all of Gotham via terrified citizens but it's clear he's not the one pulling the strings. When the toxin starts infecting people, Scarecrow goes on a terror spree until Rachel shuts him down with a taser to the face.

24. Satan (Constantine)

"Looks like someone doesn't have your back anymore."

Don't quite understand why Satan's feet are dipped in black paint all the time but this man is P-E-T-T-Y. John brings him in to save the day (it took me a minute to wrap that around my head too) and that's kinda what he does. He stops his son from trying to overthrow him and take over Earth and he puts the smack down on Gabriel. He really wants John in hell though so before he goes to heaven he brings him back to life so he could sin again because the man is what? PETTY!

23. Hartigan (Sin City)

"An old man dies. A young woman lives. A fair trade."

Hartigan is what I wanted Marv to be. Doing what needs to be done and stopping the bad guy because it's the right thing to do, not because he got great sex. He dedicated to stopping the pervs that keep going after Nancy and asks for nothing in return, he even turns down sex, which proves he isn't a perv either! I don't really think he had to go kill himself but he looked like he wasn't going to last long anyway so at least he went out nobly.

22. Abby Miller (Elektra)

"I don't respond well to authority and I don't take bullshit."

Abby is that annoying little sister you never had. As soon as she meets Elektra she wants to be just like her. She wants to learn how to kill, she wants to use sais, and she also wears her hair the same way. Turns out she's the "Treasure" which is a big deal for both sides. She knows how to fight with a fancy chain and her witty banter with Elektra is adorable so I definitely was happy when she was saved.

21. Rachel Dawes (Batman Begins)

"But it's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you."

I like Rachel and she is a huge reason as to why Batman exists. She knows Gotham is falling apart and she decides to help save it in her own way: the courtroom. She becomes a great lawyer in the DA and won't back down when criminals try to scare her. She also lets Bruce know the huge difference between vengeance and justice and shows Bruce that fighting for the greater good is better than just fighting for yourself. I think this is also why she finds out his identity by the end of the film while most romantic interests like Mary Jane haven't found out their heroes identities until the sequels.

20. Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Fantastic Four)

"I found a broken gasket from space."

Mr. Fantastic is the most boring out of the Fantastic Four, in my opinion. His flexible powers are really handy and make him near indestructible as long as you don't freeze him, but that's kinda it? He's mainly valued for his brains and it's the only thing he relied on when the team went up against Dr. Doom. Seriously, all he did was bark orders while Sue, Johnny, and Ben did all the heavy lifting.

19. Mace Windu (Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith)

"May the Force be with us all."

Mace Windu is a boss. He knows how to shut shit down and if Anakin hadn't been a total back stabber (or hand slicer, really), none of the problems they're facing would've been a thing. Instead, Mace gets betrayed and killed by twp people he considered allies.

18. Gabriel (Constantine)

"You're fucked."

I kinda see Grabriel's frustrations in the film. Why should rapists go to heaven just because they repent? Like where's the justice in that? Do I think all humans need to prove their goodness by having Satan's son bring Armageddon to Earth? Absolutely not. Gabriel definitely goes a little insane and because he tries to help Satan Jr., God takes away his wings and makes him human.

17. Sithandra (Aeon Flux)

"You taught me a lot more than that."

Sithandra is a rebel and Aeon's best friend. She had a cool surgery done that replaced her feet with two extra hands. Her loyalty to Aeon is tested when it seems Aeon betrayed the rebels but their friendship prevails as she leads a team of rebels to protect Aeon and Trevor from Oren. Too bad she runs out of bullets just as Oren sends a missile her way, killing her in front of Aeon.

16. Chas Kramer (Constantine)

"You were right, John. It's not like in the books."

I was so angry when Chas died! Like here we have this young kid that just wants to help and actually does help in a huge way. At first all he does is drive John around in a taxi and fails miserably to get into Midnite's club, but turns out he really did his reading. When John couldn't muster up the chant to stop Satan Jr.'s birth, Chas came in and saved the day. And then he died, very brutally.

15. Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith)

"You underestimate my power!"

Anakin is the type of person who will literally do every shitty thing possible and then still try to make himself the victim. Like how can you justify calling the Jedi evil when you're out here killing children? He even admits he wants all the power in the world to Padme but still tries to act like the Jedi are selfish when Obi-Wan confronts him. Wack! I'm glad he burned to a crisp and I straight up GIGGLED when he got his legs sliced off (Obi-Wan literally told him not to and he does it anyway). He SOMEHOW survives and is transformed into the dangerous Darth Vader that fans of the series have come to know him by.

14. Gail (Sin City)

"Always and never."

I knew I was going to like Gail as soon as she listed tying people up in chairs as one of her specialties. She seems to be the leader of the prostitutes that run Old Town and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. I think she actually prefers it, which is why I think its accurate that Dwight dubbed her as "Valkyrie." Only thing off about her, for me, was her relationship with Dwight. I mean it seemed obvious she was into him from the get go but I kinda hoped they didn't end up together.

13. Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Fantastic Four)

"I can't believe I'm doing this again!"

Sue is still in love with Richard but since he isn't willing to courageously take their relationship to where it needed to go, she ended it and tried to move on with the douchebag known as Victor. After the space storm she learns she can not only turn invisible, but she can also create force fields. She spends most her time figuring out where she stands with Richard in their new lives as superheroes but when it comes down to the fighting she's quick and ready to get her hands dirty. Was the proposal a bit rushed at the end? Maybe, but it's clear her and Richard were meant for each other so positive vibes to them.

12. Alfred (Batman Begins)

"What is the point of all those push-ups if you can't even lift a bloody log?"

Alfred is way more than just Bruce Wayne's butler. After his parents are killed he basically takes responsibility over him and raises him. Now that Bruce is a grown adult and bringing the Batman to life, Alfred starts going on his own secret reason. While Ra's Al Ghul is teaching Bruce how to become a legend, something that will never die, Alfred is doing whatever he can to make sure Bruce doesn't lose his humanity. He keeps wanting him to enjoy life and embrace who he is when he isn't wearing the cowl.

11. Aeon Flux (Aeon Flux)

"We're meant to die, that's what makes anything about us matter."

Aeon is the best assassin working with the rebels. After the government kills her sister she's the one they send to take down their leader, Trevor Goodchild. Turns out he's actually good and used to be married to Aeon before the whole world fell apart. She has some really neat gadgets like tiny marbles that explode, shiny egg looking things that disrupt all technology, and she can make her eye pupil grow so she can see if someone spiked her drink. Plus she can do a bunch of flips and knows how to use a gun. It turns out she was meant to destroy everything about the society she lived in and lead it's people to the world outside, one they thought was a wasteland but turned out to be rich with nature and plant life.

10. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: Epidsode III-Revenge of the Sith)

"You were the chosen one!"

Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn't as condescending as he was in the last film so that was nice. In fact I think he was very much on his way to seeing Anakin as his true equal until Anakin decided to turn to the Dark Side. His infamous speech to Anakin after he's forced to take him down is pretty sad, he really cared about the other dude and it sucks to see someone you care about ruin themselves like Anakin did.

9. Dwight (Sin City)

"I'm Shellie's new boyfriend and I'm out of my mind."

So he starts off his chapter in a relationship with Shellie, fighting for her honor and then ends his chapter in a relationship with Gail, shooting down all his enemies. Besides him being a bit of a player, he was actually my favorite hero in all the stories. He's not ridiculously unbeatable like Marv and has more of a personalty than Hartigan. He actually admits to needing help from Gail and Miho to stop his enemies. He's obviously pretty smart because he's able to come up with plans left and right once things keep getting shittier which is also nice because I feel like everyone else just goes about things guns ablazing. He does to, but I like that he has back up plans.

8. Elektra (Elektra)

"I died once."

Back from the dead, Elektra has turned into a deadly assassin with no emotion or attachments to anyone. To save her from this dark path, Stick has her tricked into protecting Abby from the Hand, a bunch of evil assassins. She takes care of them no problem, like it seems like she's afraid but when she faces them she pretty much kills them all with no problems. Despite the movie being kinda lame it was so good to finally see Elektra in her red outfit kicking ass with her pair of sai. Like most characters in the Daredevil universe, her tv counterpart ends up being a better version, but unlike the others I would go on record to say that movie Elektra wasn't bad, she was just decent.

7. Yoda (Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith)

"At an end your rule is, and not short enough was it."

Yoda is my favorite and only because he really knows how to throw down when he needs to. Like some people try to talk the bad guy into seeing the error of his ways. Nope, not Yoda. He literally always just shows up and is like "So, we're fighting." Except, he mixes up his speech while he does it. His fight against the Emperor was epic and he totally won until the other got to his safety net of soldiers. Still, Yoda accepted failure with grace and decided to leave into exile.

6. Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Fantastic Four)

"Flame on!"

I feel like Johnny represents a lot of us in a situation where we discover we have powers and basically lose our minds because we've decided we're going to be superheroes. Like he changes their outfits, gives them their superhero names and basically creates the brand that is Fantastic Four because he's so excited to be a superhero. His fire/flying abilities definitely help feed the flame that is his confidence as he skyrockets to celebrity status via extreme sports and indulges in the pleasures of his female fans. Still, when it's time to actually be hero, he's there and ready to take on Doom, using his Super Nova heat to melt the metal man away.

5. Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul (Batman Begins)

"If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them and stab them in the heart."

Ra's Al Ghul is the leader of the League of Shadows, a clan that serves their own justice against those who break the law. Wanting to take down Gotham, the international city of crime, he ends up training the city's prince, Bruce Wayne. Using the death of Wayne's parents as a tool, Al Ghul ends up basically creating the Batman. He's the one that really drills into Bruce's head that he won't fix anything as just a single man. Of course, his methods of justice are radical, to say the least, and it ends up putting him at odds with the new Dark Knight. This ends up being a classic battle of student vs teacher, with Wayne eventually outsmarting Al Ghul at the end.

4. John Constantine (Constantine)

"Gods a kid with an ant farm, lady. He's not planning anything."

My new aesthetic is John Constantine giving Satan the middle finger as he's ascending into heaven. I'm familiar of the character in the comics but I think I only know about the current magic-based one instead of the religious one they tried to portray in the movies. His goal is simple: get ins God's good graces so he doesn't get sent to hell. He doesn't accomplish this by defeating demons like he does throughout the whole movie, or by even stopping the birth of Satan's son, but by giving up his chance at life to spare one girl from a tortuous eternity in hell. He still doesn't end up in Heaven, but now he has a clean slate to live life right.

3. Ben Grimm/The Thing (Fantastic Four)

"It's clobberin' time!"

Ben definitely got the short end of the stick when it came to abilities. Sure he now has super strength but his new rock appearance has people, including his now EX-fiance, running away screaming. What's worse is that, unlike the others, Ben can't even turn it off or on, he's just stuck that way. So I totally get the depressed state he's in when he thinks Richard isn't trying to help him and appreciate so much that despite all that he's still loyal and quickly takes on the Thing again to help his friends go up against Doctor Doom and put a stop to him. In the end he does find happiness with Alicia and his witty banter with Johnny was one of the best parts of the film.

2. Miho (Sin City)

*Silently kills everyone*

Miho is the best damn thing about this entire movie. Each freaking story is about a man saving a helpless girl in some way, shape, or form and Miho just defies all that nonsense. She's a prostitute by day, assassin by night and she literally always gets shit done. She kills a car full of assholes all by herself and saves Dwight's ass several times during the chapter. She can handle several weapons including samurai swords, ninja stars, and a bow and arrow. I'm positive she could go toe to toe with every other character in this film and still come out on top, YES I'm even including Marv because his slow ass wouldn't even see her coming.

1. Bruce Wayne/Batman (Batman Begins)

"Bats frighten me. It's time my enemies shared my dread."

This is the first time we really get an in depth look at how Bruce Wayne becomes the Batman, Gotham's protector. The loss of his parents give him the anger, but its the teachings of Ra's Al Ghul as well as the advice from those close to him that give him the tools to truly serve justice in a city that knows no meaning of the word. It's a hard task getting the police on his side as he tries to rid the city of its most powerful criminals like Falcone and Scarecrow. There's even a personal struggle of keeping the bat separate from the man, as his romance with Rachel won't go any further unless he gives up the costume. Odds are he won't be giving it up soon after he investigates this new enemy that we all know very well. This film was a great birth to one of the most iconic super heroes in comics and one that finally gets DC rolling on it's feet.

#batman begins #sin city #fantastic four #constantine #star wars #episode iii #revenge of the sith #aeon flux #elektra #bruce wayne #batman #miho #the thing #ben grimm #john constantine #ras al ghul #johnny storm #human torch #yoda #dwight #obi wan kenobi #alfred pennyworth #sue storm #invisible woman #gail #Anakin Skywalker #darth vader #chas kramer #sithandra #gabriel

[newagesispage]

                                                                        OCTOBER 2017

 *****The beautiful dino, Sue will be moved to her own gallery in Chicago’s field museum. New to her long fixed spot will be a cast of patagotitan mayorum, the biggest dinosaur ever found.

*****Richard Thomas is selling his NY midtown coop for $2,995,000 and is located at 7th Ave. and w. 58th.

*****California is waiting for Jerry Brown to sign a bill that bans puppy mills.

*****WWF has released wild tigers back into Kazakhstan. Scimitar horned oryx were released into the Sahara desert and indigo snakes were reintroduced into Florida.

*****Toys “R” Us has filed for bankruptcy.

*****Tom Price, health and human services secretary, has resigned after hic charter flight scandal.

*****After 50 years Rolling Stone may be up for sale.

*****Doc Martin is back on Acorn for series 8.

*****As social media has been telling us, we don’t need a border wall. Tourism is down about $37 billion. Thanks Trump!

*****Trump supporters don’t seem to like him fraternizing with the Dems and waffling on DACA. They have been burning their red hats but scary clown already got the money for selling them so what does he care. Anne Coulter wonders if there is anybody left who does not want Trump impeached.** Some states are suing over DACA.

*****”Holes separate men and women.”- Billy Connolly

*****The dreamer program has been signed away. The Deferred Action for Children’s Arrival has been handed to congress for 6 months to deal with. The administration says it violates the rule of law.

*****The Peoria Blues and Heritage fest went off without a hitch. The weather was perfect and we should all be looking at the Jamiah Rogers band, these guys are fucking awesome. John Butler checked them out before his own set and was great with his fans.

*****Bill Withers has his first solo record since 1985 with a cover of (You’ve been quite a doll) Raggedy Ann.

*****In this country, a woman dies every 2 hours of cervical cancer because of improper health care.

*****Can I just say that I do not want to see reporters in the middle of hurricanes. Can they just stay safe in a room and fix a camera outside? I would much rather see different angles of the storm and see no people out there.  It was often impossible to hear then anyway.  The communication between the studio and location was fucked up and did not help anyway. It also seemed like they showed an awful lot of Shell stations. JS

*****An estimated 70 million Americans saw the fake Russian ads during the campaign.  No impact??

*****The Stones are on their No Filter tour in Europe and they brought out ‘Dancin with Mr. D’ which hasn’t been played live since 1973.

*****Trumps lawyers seem to want Jared out.

*****Steve Bannon’s Great Great Grandfather was an immigrant from Ireland who needed no papers to get in this country.

*****Montgomery , Alabama is going to open a Museum of lynching.  There is a wall lined with jars of dirt that were collected from sites of lynching’s from around the country.  Very powerful.

*****Thanks Trump administration for removing references to ‘LGBTQ’ youth from a federal program for victims of sex trafficking. It also eliminates funding to international groups that provide abortions. This comes from mostly evangelical lobbyists who are reporting that they are having more discussions  with this administration than they ever had with any President.

*****Vanity Fair has their best dressed list out which includes Harry Styles, Rihanna, Solange, Jack Schlossberg, Justin Trudeau, Janelle Monae, Dev Patel, Cate Blanchett, Zoe Kravitz, Ruth Negga, and Donald Glover. The hall of fame mentioned Lauren Hutton, Jeremy irons and Prince Phillip.

*****More police brutality against the black man with the subduing of the Seahawks Michael Bennett for no apparent reason.

*****Leslie Van Houten has again been granted parole. As last year she is waiting out the 120 days to get the word from Gov. Jerry Brown.

*****Lovin’ Greg Garcia’s The Guest book on TBS. What is not to love about seeing Charles Robinson and Carly Jibson again.  It made my day to see guest Orson Bean!!

*****The U.S. office of government ethics has changed a policy that will now allow lobbyists to donate to staffers legal defense funds.

*****Cameras have taken the first pictures of white giraffes in Kenya.

*****The Simpsons will be going to New Orleans this season!

*****The Middle is starting its last season. We will miss U!

*****Jay Pharoah has a new show on Showtime. White Famous is loosely based on the life of Jamie Foxx who is the executive producer.

*****John Davis Washington, son of Denzel may head the cast of Black Klansman. Spike Lee will direct and Jordan Peele will produce the true story of an African American who in 1978 infiltrated the KKK. Ron Stallworth used phones and his own writing to communicate with the organization. When he had to appear in person he sent a white officer in his place. They were able to sometimes sabotage cross burnings and other activities.

*****IT just had the biggest horror movie opening ever. The acting is quite nice for chapter 1 but the ending a bit long.

*****Netflix is bringing a delicious doc : Jim and Andy  The great beyond featuring a very special contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton. Spike Jonze is producing with the hundred  hours of footage from Man on the Moon. ** Other new docs on the way look at Eric Clapton, Grace Jones and Sammy Davis Jr. It is the first time that Kim Novak will talk on camera about dating Sammy.

*****September 16 brought the Juggalos march on Washington. They have been bringing awareness about their gang designation and the harm that it has caused. The running man with a hatchet is considered a gang symbol and gives cops probable cause to search. The FBI labeled Juggalos a hybrid gang in 2011. Also marching were some of the alt right calling their march the mother of all rallies but it only produced about 500 people.

*****Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin requested use of a government jet for his honeymoon and he later withdrew that request.

*****Finally there was a confirmation from a charity that Trump claims to have given to after the Hurricanes. Direct relief received 25 thou. ** There have still been no charities that received money from the inauguration fund.

*****WGN is bringing us a new show called Bellevue.

*****Howard Buffett will be the new Sheriff of Macon county in Illinois. His father Warren had donated millions to the area.

*****Prophets of Rage are here to raise awareness with members of Cypress Hill, Rage against the Machine and Public Enemy.

*****LA summer Olympics in 2028?!

*****Sean Spicer landed on Jimmy Kimmel. Wow.. What a kiss ass whiny bitch. He tried hard to stay in Trumps good graces with compliments for the Pres and constant berating of the press. He reminded me of a ventriloquist dummy with a hand up his ass.** His cameo at the Emmy’s did not go over very well either.

***** Model Monroe Bergdorf was fired by L’oreal because of her anti- racist remarks.  She has now been hired by Illamasqua.

*****Boycott Dragon Dumps! Don’t pay your bill on time and the owner dumps garbage on your lawn.

*****It looks like Trevor Noah will stay with the Daily show until at least 2022.

*****James Woods used his twitter account to try and shame a movie about a gay romance between a 17 year old and a 24 year old. Amber Tamblyn tweeted that Woods had hit on her for real when she was only 16.

*****Scientists are trying to bring back the chelonoidis elephantopus Galopagos turtles. 80 blood samples of modern day island turtles have genetic traces of the lost species. Even though they have been extinct for 160 years, scientists think they can reproduce though not to 100%. Could they reverse the negative effects that humans cause in the environment?

***** Why do bullies feel the need to use the art of artists who want nothing to do with them? It is like using ‘You can’t always get what you want’ for Trump when there are plenty of artists who agree with you that would love for you to use their art. Now Universal music and American recordings had to send a cease and desist letter to the white supremacist site Stormfront to stop using Johnny Cash’s version of ‘I won’t back down.’ The host blames the Jews.

*****Tru tv will bring us At home with Amy Sedaris.

*****North Dakota paleontologists have been uncovering so many bones that they are inviting the public to help.  It sounds like a dream come true.

*****Paul Newman is Jake Gyllenhaal’s Godfather. JS

*****St. Louis exploded into protest with yet another acquittal of a police officer after the shooting of a black man, Anthony Lamar Smith. Peoria, Il is also dealing with the shooting of an alleged bank robber who was shot 18 times.

*****The NFL is standing together in solidarity for equality and scary clown is sniping at them like a bitch. Our leader would not know respect and maturity if it bit him in the ass.** The Packers asked their fans to stand arm in arm with them on their Thursday night game with the Bears. Respect to Aaron Rodgers and the guys for speaking out before the game on equality. Some ‘fans’ are burning their Packer stuff. ..  Why do these Trump supporters always want to burn everything? Do they have any idea how racist and ridiculous that looks?

*****Veep is going to bring us their last season while Julia is battling breast cancer. Joe Biden tweeted that us Veeps must stick together to show his support.

*****The Emmy’s with Stephen Colbert have come and gone. My best dressed were Ellie Kemper, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, Leslie Jones, Matthew Rhys, Claire Foy, Evan Rachel Wood ,Gabrielle Union, Donald Glover, Emmy Rossum, Zoe Kravitz, Nicole Kidman and Julia- Louis Dreyfus. My worst dressed were Uzo Aduba, Debra Messing, Anna Farris, Tracee Ellis Ross and Prianka Chopra. I love Sarah Paulson and the back of her dress was great but …?? There was so much black fabric which was awesome. Was it mourning for the earthquake and hurricane victims or just a general sadness for the country?  Whatever the reason.. hooray black!!**Also happy that hairstyles were mostly long and loose.** I was happy to see Laura Dern win for supporting actress in a limited series or movie. ** The Handmaids tale won for show, directing and writing , for Anne Dowd who looked more shocked and appreciative than I have ever seen and Elisabeth Moss. ** I was happy for Alec Baldwin for best supporting actor but was really routing for Louie Anderson. ** When the noms came out, I could not imagine anything beating out FEUD but everything did. ** The girls from 9 to 5 stole the show with their mention of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot. ** Donald Glover won for directing and acting. **Alexander Skarsgard won which gave he and his brother quite a week. ** John Oliver won two and he again flew in his whole staff. ** Julia- Louis Dreyfus has now won the most Emmys for the same character in the same show. Veep got best comedy.**It was a wonderful moment when Carol Burnett and Norman Lear came out but DeNiro looked so disinterested.** Cicely Tyson has often been described as a bit of a diva and seemed a bit out of it on the broadcast but her counterpart saved the day.** So sad that Bob Odenkirk did not win but kudos to sterling K. Brown. They seemed to play him off too quickly while Nicole Kidman and big little lies had all the time in the world.

*****Bobby Moynihan stars in the new  ‘Me Myself and I’ on CBS.

*****Word is that the Trump campaign is asking supporters to contribute money to build the wall.

*****Can we pay a little more attention to Puerto Rico? Why is the Pres giving them grief? Things were tough enough before the devastation. Puerto Rico has no bankruptcy and running a business is so costly there. Companies there must buy American which we don’t have to do.  Forty percent of residents don’t have insurance. So many of the supplies sent to help are just sitting there in San Juan.

*****Angela Merkel has won a 4th term as German chancellor.

*****Singapore got their first female President, Halimah Yacob. She was the only candidate.

*****There was a settlement in a lawsuit against Club Cabaret. Dancers sued to be employees instead of individual contractors. The dancers won a million and cost of legal fees.

*****Art Garfunkel has a memoir/diary/ book of musings out called ‘What is it all but luminous.’

*****The personal account of Ted Cruz hit ‘like’ on a porn site on 9/11. He calls it a mistake by a staffer. A college roommate of Cruz said that he was not surprised.

*****After a tweet from the Pres about hitting Hil with a golf ball, Stephen King tweeted: Thinks hitting a woman with a golf ball and knocking her down is funny. Myself, I think it indicates a severely fucked up mind.

*****Brooklyn 99 is back and funnier than ever with the same great cast and opening.

*****Bill Maher and Jimmy Kimmel are rated number 1 of tv personalities based on Facebook, Instagram, twitter et al.

*****R.I.P Richard Anderson, Walter Becker, Don Williams, David Tang, Troy Gentry, Murray Lerner, Mexico’s earthquake victims, those lost to hurricane Irma, Frank Vincent, Len Wein, Grant Hart, Harry Dean Stanton, Michelle Rounds, Bonnie Angelo, Hugh Hefner, Jake La Motta, Eddie Russell Jr., Edith Windsor, Tony Booth and Monty Hall.

ȅ

[c-rankin93]

SHE'S NO YOU - Ch.11

A/N: I think it's time to add a few overprotective men into the mix. How do you think they will react when they find out what has been happening to their little sister? --- CHAPTER ELEVEN: OFFICE DRAMA --- RAE POV: For the sake of my clarity, the events in my life have now been placed in different categories. I needed to separate the good from the bad, the love from the hate, and remember every event happened at different stages in my life. I had to stop remembering when my son came home to tell me about Olivia and Finn. Or everytime Finn called me a Bitch and a shit mother, when my ex-husband came to mind. These things- these fucking vivid memories start to haunt me the second my mind starts to think of Finn! So like I said, for the sake of my clarity, I've decided to cut the bullshit I'm playing with myself. Forget the crap, that made me a depressed single mother and move forward in my life. Finn deserved better. He treated me like his Queen for 12 years of my life. Never once breaking a promise, or loving me any less then he said he did. He was true, and for that when I think of him from now on I will remember that instead. My next change in life started with a handsome Australian, who for some reason blew into my life and turned it upside down at a time when I was broken. Never pushing a relationship with me, only hinting with a smile. That perfect smile. Even now he acts more like a friend then a lover, and I think the reason for that is me. I guess he worked out how sheltered I am, how incredibly awkward my social side really is. I friend zoned him hard, with a side of sex and kisses. And he was fine being there, because I was there with him. Im so sorry Gregory. He's made me very happy for the past year. Never once getting mad when I said 'no' to meeting up or him coming over. I should know, I used the 'Kids exhausted me out' speech a hundred times. I felt like a red hot escargot at a silly French buffet. I loved them both. Some more then others, but there was love there! I know Finn won't give up on me, it's not in his nature. He will fight, and I will resist but ultimately I feared without a doubt he was going to come out victorious. I need to speak with Greg. He needed to know what's going on in my head before I can decide anything. It's not fair for him, he must know how much I still love Finn, so I know that this conversation was going to eat him alive. I just don't know if I could tell him about my infidelity just yet. I wouldn't be able to handle his heart break, even if he deserves my honesty... *ringing* I was brought out of my poor me rant by the sound of my office phone. I didn't have the chance to answer it, because suddenly my office door was thrown open. The panel glass window in the door shattered on impacted when it hit my bookcase. Glass scattered across the light grey floor boards, but the person who created the mess didn't give a damn about that. No, by the fire that burnt in her eyes told a different story. She was out for blood, and it was blood that would satisfy her cravings. I didn't even have the chance to speak before she went off the rails. "YOU FUCKING BITCH!!" Her voice no doubt echoing through the whole office. People began to turn and point, and I couldn't help but wonder how much this was going to effect my job. "YOU DESTROYED EVERYTHING!" She continued to yell on deaf ears. How dare she storm in here and accuse me of shit, when she was the problem to begin with. I wasn't going to snoop to her low and cuss her out in my office, I was going to be mature about this. I didn't want my credibility tarnished over a Prada-wearing blow up doll ready to pounce. "Stop right there Olivia!" I hissed, standing from my chair to lean over my desk. "You have no right to come into this office, break my door just so you can be petty! You fucked up on your own accord. You destroyed my marriage all because YOU wanted too. The only bitch in this room is you, so leave before you embarrass yourself any further." "You think your all that, don't you?" Olivia sneered moving closer to my desk. The only sound that could be heard was the crunching of glass beneath her feet, the office had gone deathly quiet. "You and those fucking children of yours always had a way to worming your way into Finn and I's relationship! You just couldn't handle the fact your side of the bed was still warm when he fucked me!" My blood curdled thinking about what she had just said. I can't forget my clarity. I can't forget what I had been drilling into my head all morning. I wasn't going to allow myself to hurt because of her words. "Don't you ever talk about my children like that! Attack me for all I care, but never EVER speak about my children. Your a nasty person Olivia and it's not my fault Finn has caught up on your lies! To bad it took him this long, and unfortunately I blame myself! I should of talked to him before I filed for divorce, before all this shit happened." "... Because of you my child won't have its father" she said suddenly. Olivia's voice was as soft as silk for once, but you couldn't miss the hatred laced between. "What?" "I said because of you my child won't have its father in its life!" She slammed her hands on my desk knocking off the array of photos I had spread around. "Your pregnant?" Olivia and I turned towards the voice that came from my office entry. I was shocked to see both Gregory and Chloe standing there, plus the two burly security guards behind them. Chloe's face was a contrast of my anger, she was ready to lunge at the person who had rudely interrupted my peace. I just hoped she didn't. Gregory on the other hand was as white as a ghost, I guess he couldn't believe what was currently going on in my office. There was something behind his words though when he asked if she was pregnant, shock maybe. But why would he even care? His eyes kept flicking around the room, but instead of landing on me, they stopped at Olivia. "Yes I am Gregory! And because of her, I'll be raising this child by myself! " "How far along are you?" He asked hesitantly. "I don't know, a couple of months maybe. But that doesn't really matter now does it!" She turned to face me again. "You'll regret this! All of this! You should of just kept your mouth shut, you slut! Then we would of been happy!" "How about you kindly remove yourself from my office right now!" I spoke through the pain. Finn was going to be a dad again, my children were going to have another sibling. I knew that everything would be too good to be true. This was just another obstacle Finn and I had to face. But I don't think i was ready to hear another child call my love, dad. "Fuck that! How about I assist!" Chloe fumed. Grabbing Olivia's arm she yanked her away from me just as she was going to hit me. Her hand collided with air, but barely inches away from my face. Chloe threw Olivia's body towards the security guards, barely missing a still stunned Greg who remained rooted in his spot. "My lawyers will be in contact with your over the mess you have created today! You are no longer to step foot in this building, if you do you will be charged for trespassing! This is my property, and my FRIEND you are destroying right now. I will have you arrested and you can bet your next boob job on that! Get her out of here" she dismissed Olivia with a wave of her hand and moved over to me. Olivia didn't go easy, she decided to make a scene all the way out of the building kicking and screaming. My name constantly at the tip of her tongue. I was just glad I could no longer see her face. Chloe's arms wrapped tightly around me, and finally my defences fell. I broke. My tears would of been freely running down my face if it wasn't for Chloe's dress constantly soaking them up. "Finns going to be a dad again" I whispered into her ear. Sobs effecting the quality of my speech, but I knew she understood when she pulled me closer. "You don't know that babe. That baby could have a million different father's for all we know. That's if she is even pregnant. Don't jump to conclusions Rae, you did it once and look how that turned out." She smiled rubbing the extra tears from my face. I had totally forgotten Greg was still in the room until I heard the telltale signs of glass being stepped on. I looked over to see him moving towards us slowly. I let him pulled me into a hug, and I held on for dear life whilst he soothed me. 'I'm sorry Gregory' I thought. "Don't worry about her Rae, whatever she said isn't true, Ohkay?" I nodded. "Remember your better then her in so many different ways and I'm so sorry." "Sorry?" I questioned slightly confused. "You don't deserve to go through any of this." Was all he said before leaving a tender kiss on my forehead. Again my office phone started to ring, just as the air between us became awkward. I kissed Gregory on the lips lightly and dashed over to the phone before it rang out. "Hello, Rae speaking" "So, Raymond decides to finally answer her phone!" Chuckled the voice on the other end. My face automatically splitting into a broad grin. "Mark.." I teased. My brother had given me that nickname when I was 4 and decided I wanted to be called Rae not Rachel. Growing up with 3 older brothers was challenging, but so rewarding. I hadn't talked to Mark in over a month, I knew he had been busy filming in Austria. "Sorry little sister but your stuck with it. Call it an extended parting gift for when the devil finally drags me to hell" he laughed. "Whatever." I grumbled. "Anyway, how are you? I've missed out weekly phone calls!" "Well I've been great. I finished filming last Friday and decided it was time to come say hello." "Hello? What do you mean?" "I'm in the city Rae. Currently looking at the stupid photos mom shoved in my face. I swear we need to buy that woman a tripod, 80% of them are blurred." Mark chuckled. "Your here! Seriously!" Mark hadn't visited for over a year because of his crazy work schedule and even that one was a flying visit. I hoped he was staying for more then 5 hours this time. "Yupp" he popped the 'p'. "And I wouldn't of come without a little surprise either." I was confused when the phone line went fuzzy. I could barely hear the muffled sounds coming from the other side. "Aunt Rae-Rae?" A little voice whispered over the phone. Tears welled up on my eyes, his voice was just so sweet. "Yes Parker..." I whispered back ignoring the surprised faces of Chloe and Greg. "I've missed you" I laughed at my nephew, he was too sweet for his own good. He had always been wiser beyond his years. Julian had raised him well under the circumstances he faced. "I've missed you too my special little man. Is your daddy there?" I asked Parker. My grin hadn't subsided and I don't think it will anytime soon. "Ahh Rae-Rae! A little birdy who doesn't by the name of mom told us your in need of your big Brothers. And you know us, we don't like to disappoint." "Thank you Julian! I've missed you guys so much!" "And I, you little sister. Shall I tell mom you will be over soon, or are you busy with work?" Julian asked hesitantly. I looked at Chloe not saying anything, but she just smiled and nodded anyway. She already knew what I was going to say. "No, no I'm not busy. I'll pick up the kids early and we will be there soon!" We said our goodbyes, then I hung up the phone. For a moment I had forgotten what had happened. That was until my eyes landed on the broken glass. "Don't worry about the mess Rae, I'll have it cleaned up. And for me, please take tomorrow off as well. Your team can complete the Fitzgerald project, and you just enjoy your brothers finally being home. Gregory, I'll see you another time" she nodded at Gregory, then gave me a solid hug. Chloe left the room, obviously so Gregory and I could talk. "I'm sorry I know we were meant to go out for lunch" I said softly, running a hand up his arm. "Hey, don't feel bad. I know how much you've missed them. We'll have tea just you and I tomorrow night when Finn has the children." He smiled. "Ohkay dinner sounds perfect. It's time we sat down and talk."  -- A/N: I quickly re-read this whilst folding my laundry lol hopefully I haven't missed anything. @lily-pop-2 @i-dream-of-emus @luly310 @l88cym @arathewallflower @milymargot @milllott @tinakegg @hey1tskat1e @eveerez @mmfdfanfic @lurkernolonger

#MMFD #my mad fat diary #my mad fat diary fan fic #fiction #Rae #fan fic writing

[gwynne-fics]

YD x Rachel, QR, 56. ~~~missing QR and SL, as always!

lucky

He’s irritated that Rachel just sent a text and didn’t call him directly. He’s out of the country, working on a resort hotel and its property in Thailand, when it comes, but he really wants to be called when problems arise at school with the kids.

So-Young got into another fight. This time Min-Jae was involved, too. It’s unclear who started it but she definitely finished it. The other girl has a few broken fingers. I’ve scheduled a meeting with the school, their teachers, and the parents of the other girl the morning you get back. I haven’t paid for anything yet. Tell me what you want to do.

Young-Do closes his eyes and tells Hyun-Shik to rearrange his schedule so he can talk to Rachel now. He briefly wonders if his father cared enough to call anyone when he got in fights in middle school. 

She answers on the third ring. “What does she say is the reason for the fight? Why did Min-Jae get involved? Was someone bullying Eun-Chae?”

“Eun-Chae wasn’t at school. It was after hours and he happened upon it. I think the girls were trying to jump So-Young into their gang. She won’t talk about it with me. She is very angry at Min-Jae and so he’s not saying much either.”

Young-Do ran his hand over his mouth and tried not to swear. He was glad his children had a good relationship but sometimes they were too loyal to the other. “If they’re trying to jump her in, it means she’s bullying the girls in the gang and they want her to stop.”

“I thought the person being jumped in had to want to be in the gang.”

He snorted and remembered the punks that tried to jump him in during the year between middle school and high school. He hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet but had a reputation already. “Not always. She only hurt one girl?”

“Min-Jae said there were more. They were wearing Jeguk uniforms.” Rachel paused. “I know you want to handle this differently than your father did. That’s why I haven’t involved lawyers or money yet. Go Nam-Il is quietly gathering evidence about this girl and what might have happened. The fight happened in a CCTV blindspot.”

“Put So-Young on the phone.” 

There was some shuffling and he tried to keep his temper down. He did not want his children to go through what he did. He would feel guilt and shame at the most random moments. He would get wrapped up in a thought spiral where he went through the names of his victims. He constantly questioned himself during negotiations. He struggled not to involve himself in Joon-Young’s life in a poor attempt to make it better. He nearly killed a person and he did not let himself forget it.

“Appa?”

“I would like to hear what happened from you. I will believe whatever you tell me but if you lie and I learn about it, our next conversation will be very uncomfortable. I will stop training you in judo, both at the school and at home. The national competitions will stop. Judo is meant to protect not to harm for your own amusement. Let me be very clear, So-Young. Those are the consequences if you lie to me. They are separate from the consequences from what happened when you broke a girl’s fingers. Please tell me what happened.”

So-Young was quiet for a moment. “Two weeks ago, I stopped a member of Jeguk’s girl gang from picking on one of the boys from the special needs school that Eun-Chae sometimes goes to for extra study. I just got in her face until she left and then Min-Jae, Eun-Chae, and I walked the boy to the bus. She told the gang boss and she came to beat me up for messing with her girls. She probably has a tweaked elbow. They started badmouthing Eun-Chae today and Min-Jae...I stopped him from getting into a fight and then the girls jumped me. I ended the fight and they ran away. I didn’t let Hae-Young go and broke her fingers when she poked me in the forehead.”

Young-Do had to find a chair to sit in as his knees went weak. So-Young wasn’t a bully. She wasn’t like him. She was a good person. He had no doubt she was telling the truth. Fuck, he was so lucky with his kids. Sending them to good, but middle-class schools saved them from becoming…him and Rachel.

“I’m sorry if my reaction put you on the defensive,” he said hoarsely. “Why didn’t you just explain this to your mother?”

“Omma grounded Min-Jae for three weeks for his last fight. He had to use the bus, lost his phone, and wasn’t allowed to play any games. He wasn’t allowed to see Eun-Chae after school and had to study all the time at Omma’s office. He was really bored, Appa. I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t want to lose my car or phone. Jae-Hee-unni is making another video and I want to watch it when it drops.”

Young-Do raised his eyes to the ceiling and almost started laughing at So-Young’s priorities. “Alright. Explain what happened to your mother and then have her call me so we can discuss what we’re going to do.”

“Yes, Appa.”

#p-l-u-m-s #quiet reconnection