You spoke about bystanderism in your arc thoughts. What do you think about the contrast between Taylor engaging in anti-bystanderism to save Charlotte and then letting the Merchant bleed to death? I personally think it’s a sign of how she’ll act to do what she thinks is right but is willing to be ruthless if it’s an enemy.

It’s a very fitting contrast that highlights something I’ve been pointing out about Taylor since Agitation: She can be quite cruel if she thinks it justified somehow.

It would be hypocritical of me to judge her for her actions regarding Thomas, but this is a consistent character trait that I quite enjoy.

Not so much an ask as a comment, but I feel compelled to tell you that dog handling is not one of WIldbow’s many talents. Pushing the dog down to ‘show your dominance’ is actually a very harmful and wrongheaded training method. (feel free to ignore, it just puts my shoulders up around my ears to see it passed on uncritically :P)

Ouch, yeah, that does sound bad when you put it like this.

…I feel like it’s worth noting that it’s a lot like how Rachel herself was raised, too.

So now that you know the Nine are recruiting (and how they recruit), any guesses as to who else might be a nominee?

Hookwolf. I’m almost certain. The dude’s brutal as hell, with more murders on his file than Weld remembers seeing on anyone who wasn’t already in the Birdcage (though as I mentioned back when that was established, that’s partially because he keeps escaping the transport to it). Also, if we get to see him and Bitch interacting at the test, that ought to be interesting.

Other than him… maybe Night? I don’t know.

The eyes are a direct hole to the brain and Siberian definitely stuck her fingers in deep enough to scramble that.

Hm, yeah, I guess so. RIP.

This chapter is only five days after the Wards find the bodies the Nine left, but they were apparently there for some time before they did those murders.

Ah. Yeah, I thought that might be the case… Seems they’re fairly decent at staying low.

“Maybe she’s recruiting.” Let’s go to the Ding Board for that one… Donnnng!

Hehe 😛

Every once in a blue moon, I do get something right 😉

I love that in this chapter we finally get to see Rachel’s struggles with human expressions and social nuances, if she is going for a quick interaction, she just has to eye-ball every single expression and go with whatever paints a picture where she can make herself look stronger, which means, lots of hostility where there is none

Yeah… It ain’t easy.

In the moment that Rachel screams, from the way the phrase is written, with the verbs being “screamed” instead of “had screamed”, it is highly likely that she is screaming in the present about remembering her past, the wounds are so fresh it almost physically hurts her to think about it. Also, from Interlude Doggo: “Take care of your fucking child”. And lastly, there is another, quite plausible, reason Rachel might have not included Aisha in her train of thought

Hm, perhaps.

Also, yes, that quote really takes on a bit more meaning with this context.