#but would be interested to hear other opinions

[honeyhour]

“pfft, whatever. i’ll still know that you’re looking and that’s all that matters to me. just be careful you don’t do that awkward thing of accidentally liking a photo from a few years ago or it’ll give away just how interested you really are.” not that she would mind, but it’s something she would absolutely use as further ammunition against him and they both know it. if it helps, she’s perfectly fine with admitting that his own profile will be closely examined once she has the chance. there’s no shame in it. “nah, not quite. there are some other words i would use to describe her before i got to that one.” it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear that none of them would be particularly flattering either. jesper has heard more honest opinions about her sister than anyone else ever has — but she really doesn’t want to think about cora right now. there are more pressing matters at hand, like the pink hue that slowly starts to spread into her cheeks that she’s hoping she can blame on the chill of the night air. unfortunately, she already knows the chances of him letting that lie slide are low. “if i did… do you know anybody you think might be up to the task? it’s a fairly big role to fill, but i’m trusting your judgement.”

"i never said it was! oh... you know what? just because you said that, i'll make sure not to follow you." out of spite? playfully so. he merely didn't want to give into the satisfaction that her assumption wasn't entirely baseless. does she know that she's nice to look at? from the perspective of her sister's boyfriend especially? surely she knows she shouldn't be baiting him like this, knowing that jesper's had his eye on her since before they shared that kiss. "i can just tell." he can't, just wants to rile her up because he has a good time of it. his eyes narrow, smirk crawling from ear to ear. "i thought you knew by now that i'm probably the most presumptuous person you'll ever meet. unless you're saving that spot for your sister." another joke, one he hopes isn't entirely tasteful given este's feeling about the aforementioned. the very same who should be at the forefront of his mind, the person he misses the most, yet every time his eyes meet este's... he's entirely lost in them. she's the only one he sees. "i know you didn't." words come out confidently, his hand coming up to gently thumb the plump curve of her lower lip. "someone so starved of attention.... of course you want someone to call you a 'good girl' for all the things you do, don't you?"

[writingwithciara]

across the hall; part 7 -quinn hughes-

summary: y/n moves in across the hall from quinn and in an emergency, she leaves her five-year old daughter in his care

word count: 1.3k

pairing: quinn hughes x reader, toxic ex-boyfriend x reader

notes: i apologize for andy. he's a horrible person but it's needed. no good story is complete without a conflict 😅

things had suddenly gotten weird, but interesting in y/n's life.

she and andy began dating again in secret & for so many reasons, it was wrong. the main reason being their messed up past. but part of her felt it was wrong because of quinn.

it didn't feel right to hide something so monumental from the one person she told everything to. she spent all week wondering how he would react when he found out, mainly questioning if he would be angry, upset or disappointed. or perhaps even all three.

so when quinn came home, it became even more difficult. she had promised she'd spend the day with him when he got back but how was she going to do that without telling him about her new relationship?

early the next morning, y/n and abby met quinn in the garage. he helped abby into her seat and y/n felt something tugging at her heart. they got in their own seats and quinn began to drive.

"we watched the game the other night. i'm so proud of how you played, quinn."

"thanks. i knew you'd be watching so i tried to play my best."

"you're a great player, honestly. you didn't need to try too hard."

"thanks again. not sure why but your opinion means a lot to me."

"same." y/n looked at him and smiled.

"so what else did you guys do while i was gone?"

"i spent a lot of time with bella. she's great. i love her." abby grinned as she watched the scenery outside her window.

"yeah. she's pretty great." quinn smiled and turned towards y/n. "did you have to work a lot?"

"um, no. i had dates."

"dates? as in plural?"

"yeah."

"who was it? anyone i know?"

"no. met him while i was working." y/n looked out the window.

"oh. what an odd place to meet someone." quinn chuckled lightly and kept his eyes on the road, trying his best to hide the hurt on his face.

while they were on the road, his teammates had convinced him that y/n had feelings for him and they proceeded to convince him to ask her out on a date when they got back. but hearing this was like a hard blow to his heart and ego.

his teammates were wrong and he hated how it was making him feel. he didn't think he would be able to have feelings for someone since his last girlfriend broke his heart.

but regardless of his unreciprocated feelings, he still cared about y/n and considered her to be his best friend. he would still do anything for her.

y/n looked over at quinn in time to see what she assumed was a flash of hurt on his face. the guilt started eating away at her. everything felt off and she hated it

the first place they went was the restaurant they always went to when it was the three of them. the wait staff always assumed they were a family and they never corrected them.

but today was different. after three people commented on how cute their family was, quinn corrected them.

"actually, we are not together. she's just my neighbor."

"oh. i'm so sorry." the waitress pulled out her pad of paper and took their order. while she was gone, quinn helped abby with the maze of the placemat. y/n smiled at the sight.

an hour later, quinn was pulling into a parking spot in the lot of his favorite mini golf place that also doubled as an arcade. y/n climbed out and by the time she made it around the car, quinn already had abby out and was holding onto her hand. he was perfect & y/n nearly hated him for the way she was starting to feel.

"what should we do first? mini golf or the arcade?"

"mini golf!!" abby cheered and began tugging on quinn's hand. he chuckled and followed her. after he paid, he turned to y/n.

"you coming?"

"what? oh. yeah. i'm right behind you, quinn." y/n shook her head and followed her daughter towards the first hole. she watched as quinn taught abby how to play the game. turns out, she was a natural and didn't need much help. she even started a friendly competition with quinn.

y/n felt her heart swelling with joy over what she was witnessing. something andy would never do with abby. not because she wasn't giving him an opportunity to do so. but because he genuinely would not be caught dead making a fool of himself.

it was the main reason why she was starting to regret her decision to date him. and it was the reason why she found herself falling for quinn instead.

later that night, they were walking up the stairs to their apartment. quinn was carrying a sleeping abby and any other man y/n knew would've been complaining. but not him. he was special.

"today was the most fun i've had outside of hockey in a really long time. thank you."

"it was my pleasure quinn." y/n smiled when they reached their floor. "abby really loves spending time with you."

"i love spending time with her too. she's a great kid." quinn glanced at the sleeping girl in his arms and smiled. "you did a good job raising her."

"thanks. it was difficult but i figured it out."

"well i'm not surprised. you're a smart woman, y/n." they reached their apartments and quinn gently handed abby over. she didn't wake up as he opened y/n's door for her. he followed her inside and waited for her to get abby to bed.

when she came out a few minutes later, she grabbed two glasses and poured a little bit of wine in each before handing quinn one.

"thanks." he took a sip and smiled. "i missed you while i was away, you know??"

"oh." she looked at him. "i actually missed you too. kinda hard knowing that you weren't across the hall to talk to when i had a decision to make. and trust me, i faced a few tough ones."

"really? like what?"

"the guy i've been seeing. i wasn't sure when we started going out and i wanted nothing more than to talk to you. maybe you could've talked me out of it."

"yeah, maybe." he downed the rest of the wine in his glass and smiled. "who is it?"

"promise you won't hate me?"

"i could never hate you." he placed his hand on her arm. "you can tell me anything. i would never judge you."

"okay. um...it's andy."

"andy? as in your ex & father of your daughter? the one who hurt you in multiple ways?"

"the very same." y/n could sense the judgement in his voice so she avoided his gaze just as he dropped his hand from his spot on her arm. "i knew you wouldn't like it. that's why i didn't want to tell you."

"it's not that i don't like it. it's just that i don't understand why you would want to start dating the guy you had to fly across the country to get away from." quinn stood abruptly, causing y/n to flinch. "he hurt you, y/n or are you forgetting that?"

"i'm aware of my past with that man. and i promised myself i wouldn't let my guard down until i saw some actual change that could be permanent. and that's what he did, quinn." she sighed. "i'm aware that it may have been a terrible decision but i'm not the type of person who can hurt someone. and i like giving people the benefit of the doubt. maybe he really has changed."

"yeah. maybe." he looked at the door. "i should probably go."

"quinn, i-"

"i'll see you tomorrow."

before she could respond, he was already out the door. she knew it was a bad idea to tell him.

----------

tags: @alwaysclassyeagle @justagingerliving @marroonwitch @hwalllllllelujah

[moonymonn]

How have I not noticed this earlier?

I really want to hear people's opinions on this because I haven't seen anyone discuss this. At the end of season two, Qiao Ling gains Li Tianxi's power and also gains her memories. Somewhere at the end of the episode, it is revealed to us that Qiao Ling now knows about some of Lu Guang's thoughts and memories because previously, Li Tianxi had looked at Lu Guang's picture because they wanted to find him. That way, she also saw some of his memories and thoughts. This confirms that Li Tianxi might've not only been scared because she saw Lu Guang getting hurt by Li Tianchen, but also because of what she saw in his memories.

And so this makes me wonder, what exactly did she see? We know she saw Cheng Xiaoshi's death because at the end of season two, Qiao Ling questions what she had saw when Li Tianxi's memories had transferred to her (which is Cheng Xiaoshi dying in Lu Guang's arms). But what she saw something else? Something even more terrifying?

Would be interesting to hear other people's thoughts about this.

[lastofthewardens]

i know i should respect other people’s opinions but

probably (but unconfirmed) spoilers for born again below

i get so tired of hearing some of these stupid arguments about what this new show is doing to foggy.

“it’s never happened before, that makes it interesting!”

“where are the stakes in a fake death? if he dies he should stay dead.”

“they had to build stakes!”

“it’ll be interesting for matt’s character.”

“he died in the comics so it’s fine!”

like none of these people make any sense to me. just because it’s something ‘new’ doesn’t make it good. foggy being dead, EVER but especially in episode one, isn’t a good thing for the show. none of the other characters are or should be interchangeable with foggy nelson. by having him immediately gone, the show loses a dynamic it can never replicate, the show loses a bunch of stories they could’ve adapted, matt loses a relationship that can’t be filled by any of the other characters, one that makes the daredevil world much richer by being there. the “who cares if they kill foggy as long as the story is good” people drive me fucking crazy man. i’d never agree with that anyway because almost any daredevil story would be objectively worse without him but they’re also not thinking long term at all. this decision already sucks, but long term, this decision sucks even more.

and the stakes stuff is like.. i’m pretty sure most of the people who fought for this show to come back did not want it like this. why should foggy nelson, the most important side character in daredevil history, die on the altar of building stakes anyway? are they such horrible writers that the only way to build stakes is killing a main character? i even saw one of these ‘stakes’ people saying that the original show could’ve killed him too, they thought he was going to die multiple times in season 3 apparently, and it’s like … okay??? so you’re admitting the original show created stakes without killing off either foggy or karen? wow it’s almost like good writers can create stakes without losing lore important characters! i don’t believe the original show would’ve killed foggy ever. but also despite what has been said, this show isn’t even one that needed to come back with a big death to get people talking. this show would’ve been wildly successful just by existing off the original show’s reputation.

and then the whole thing about dying in the comics. these people definitely haven’t picked up a comic book in their life lol. they’re always referring to zd*rsky, and they always dishonestly leave out the fact that it was obviously not going to stick and it didn’t. like really? yeah foggy was totally going to be left in hell, for sure. not to mention that by the time you find out he died this gets resolved by him being saved from hell by matt literally i think five issues later??? in wildly dramatic fashion. so foggy ‘dying in the comics’ is just a completely dishonest framing of events. because it’s like yes but also basically no.

also like.. sure it might be interesting to see a matt who thinks foggy is dead. you can do that without ACTUAL DEATH???? the idea that it has to be real to be interesting is stupid. brubaker did this super well without permanent loss. i don’t know why we need it to be worse than that for it to be interesting.

idk maybe i’m crazy, but i’m so tired of these types of comments. matt is my favorite character, it’s his show, but he isn’t the only character that matters, and matt as a character needs foggy anyway. not any other character in his place. foggy nelson.

whatever. people watching this show seem to care way too much about the wrong things.

[acourtofthought]

Already sent this too another blog but I want to hear your opinion too. I just listened to an ACOTAR podcast with SJM’s friend in it( The one that wears glasses and usually does interviews with her) and they were talking about possible endgames for Elain in the podcast.

They said they don’t think with the way the books are going that Lucien and Elain will end up together. One of them even said that before she had an active elucien blog on tumblr, but she too agreed that she doesn’t think elucien will happen after their scenes in SF and FAS.

And when they were talking about the endgames for Elain they mentioned Eris and another character, I think tarquin or something. But they were both strong on the possibility of Eris which was crazy to me then. However, thinking about it now and considering how Eris, out of no where, suddenly played a huge role in ACOSF, and SJM hinting that he is about to get the Rhys treatment I am worried.

Especially with the way SJM was giddy talking about writing Eris in SF interviews and then mentioning that she’s planning stuff for Mor Azriel and Elain but never Lucien, and the set up for the renaming books, being two couples and one novella. Plus they both agree that elriel isn’t happening, and they think gwynriel is a huge possibility. I am just thinking that if gwynriel happens and Lucien doesn’t end up with Elain that rules out a book for him and that makes me so sad because IMO I think out of all the remaining characters he deserves a book the most. 😭😭 if Lucien doesn’t get a book it would break my heart.

Sorry for the long ask.

Hi there! I think Steph and Ava are a riot when they're together on their podcast. I also think it's possible Steph may know more than she lets on within her podcast. With that said, though, I often do not buy the theories Steph and Ava have come up with / talked about because there have been a few times where their knowledge of what actually happened in the books is lacking. And no shade to them, they are both extremely busy with many other things and SJM is not the only author the read / talk about. I don't think they obsess over all things SJM the way we do in the fandom (a good thing since Steph is friends with Sarah, you want a friend - not necessarily a fan girl). However, when Ava said she couldn't even remember that Elain stabbed the king and Steph said she thinks Sarah is going to write a throuple for Lucien and that he's got so much story to tell but she's not sure how we're going to get to that until he and Elain settle their bond, it did have me questioning them as a true resource of what to expect. Listen, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Lucien and I'm so excited for his story but even I know that Lucien is not taking center stage to Elain. It's an odd take to think that Lucien's got this big arc ahead of him but the only small pesky thing standing in the way of that is Elain needing to break their bond and once that's done we can move forward with him. At this point, I do have to question anyone thinking Gwynriel is 120% endgame while also believing Elain and Lucien are probably not happening. I actually don't remember them saying Eris or Tarquin are romantic possibilities for Elain but I don't think there's anything to support those statements even if they did. Eris is showing remorse for the state of his relationship with Lucien, I definitely don't see him ending up with his mate. Also, there are zero hints that Elain would end up in the Autumn Court. As far as Tarquin, Elain has literally never met him and I've got no idea what plot people are coming up with for her to meet and then fall in love with him. Sarah did talk of how she discussed what plans she had for Elain, and for Mor, and for Az. And while she didn't mention Lucien in that moment she also didn't mention a female romantic interest for Mor or a romantic interest for Az either. To me, it sort of sounds like Sarah was discussing the "lead" character for a book or spin-off while leaving the love interest a surprise. Honestly, I think the absence of Lucien's name and absence of people discussing the Elucien bond is more telling than if they were being mentioned in conversation together. Elain and Lucien had the most shocking mating bond reveals of any of Sarah's series yet I'm supposed to believe they and their bond rarely come up in any of the more recent interviews Sarah has done? It's one of the bigger unresolved plot-points to date yet it's supposed to be realistic that she's never getting questions on "What will Elain do about her bond?" "Is Lucien getting frustrated by their situation?" "Will Elain ever get to know Lucien?" I remember someone asking something before the novella came out and her response was like, "you might get answers about Elain and her bond" yet all we got was her suddenly ignoring Lucien (and no E/riel lurkers, that is not actually a true decision since Nesta began ignoring Cassian in the same book) but still not rejecting him almost two years later which means the question STILL exists to all readers.

That Elain and Lucien's names are NEVER mentioned in her interviews when they do share a bond makes me think it's intentional on her part, where she said they're off the table during discussions. Which does make sense because if you're going to mate two characters, which seems like an obvious "they're ending up together" setup, it's a smart move to have Elain ignoring him in the book and completely shut down the conversation surrounding them outside of it so it will read as more of a surprise to some. Definitely to many E/riels who are convinced we're delusional to believe Elain and Lucien could still happen.

[mzannthropy]

Anne of the Island Book Club Chapter 28

A good one today!

Not only have I titled a post on my photography blog after this chapter, I have also quoted Anne and Marilla's exchange about June in the said blog post. It is indeed a pretty month, saying this as someone who has been doing photography for 13 years. Anyway.

Aunt Atossa croaks; as was to be expected, nobody shed any tears. Mrs Lynde says "The Elisha Wrights are thankful to be rid of her"--Mrs Elisha Wright was one of those women who visited Anne the day before her departure for Redmond to tell her college will be bad for her. I wonder if this was just a woman who turned bitter from having to have such an unpleasant person as Aunt Atossa? Mrs Lynde is a better person than me bc I would not have pitied Aunt Atossa. She chose to be like that, stupid name or not.

Davy is so funny. "Milty said his mother said Aunt Atossa would be sure to rise up in her coffin and say sarcastic things to the folks that come to see her buried. But Marilla said she didn’t." Did he believe it would happen? He'd certainly want to know.

I like people to have a little nonsense about them.

A good line from Anne! You've got have a bit of a nonsense, sometimes. Reminds of when Matthew told Anne to keep some romance, when she swore off it after her Elaine incident.

The fact that in her childhood Diana wanted to marry a bad man so that she could reform him makes me laugh in view of our current times' 'I can fix him' meme. I have zero opinion on Fred Wright owing to his zero characterisation. I don't think he ever had a line of dialogue... did he?

Now I'm coming to one of the lines in this book that have stayed with me ever since I read it for the first time.

I wouldn’t want to marry anybody who was wicked, but I think I’d like it if he��could be wicked and wouldn’t.

You have to have a dark side so that nobody will mess with you. At the beginning of The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes is a young man, naive and idealistic and you want to shout at him: "watch out for the snakes!" So yes, one should marry a good man, but one who could be wicked if circumstances arose.

Reading this chapter today, it occurred to me that Avonleans would find out about Anne refusing Gilbert eventually. At Redmond, people had to know, bc everybody would have noticed their relationship had changed. (Especially after she met Roy and he started to hang out with Christine.) And this would easily travel to Avonlea. Sure, Gilbert has spent two summer holidays in a row in Kingsport, but he would have been home for Christmas of Junior year and everyone would have noticed he is not visiting Green Gables anymore. It doesn't take a Miss Marple to guess. I mean, the narrative tells us that Moody Spurgeon's mum spread the news that Anne had a new beau, so logically, Gilbert is not her 'beau' any longer.

Also like. Okay. Anne told Miss Lavendar that Gilbert wanted to be more than friends but she didn't. But Marilla had to hear it from the local gossip...? Was Anne afraid to confide in her adoptive mother?

Lol at Mrs Rachel losing her faith in the Providence.

I can't say I relate to Anne's feelings about Diana getting married (I've never really had close friends and I moved to another country at the age of 22 so didn't go through the seeing your peers get married and start families thing anyway) but like Anne, I can imagine it. I've been listening to the book The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins, who also touches on friendships. It's completely normal for childhood friends drift apart once they reach young adulthood and it's nothing personal. It's just life. And it's really the theme of this instalment of Anne series.

Btw I find it interesting that Mrs Barry insisted that Diana won't marry until she is 21. We're not given the reason why, but it worked for Diana and Fred bc in that time, they got to know each other well.

[the-himawari]

A3! Usui Masumi - Translation [SSR] MANKAI Treasure (2/3)

*Please read disclaimer on blog

---

Masumi: …He’s here.

Banri: Hey. That was quicker than I thought. Even if you figured out that keyword, I wasn’t sure whether you’d remember that event with me.

Masumi: …I just happened to remember it. That’s all.

Banri: I mean, that conversation we had was pretty unusual considerin’ our relationship back then.

*flashback starts*

Masumi: (I came here hoping to kill some time before my classes in the afternoon… but nothing catches my eye.) (The movies that work in terms of the time are… a cheesy, over the top action flick and an animated children’s movie.) (…“Love starts with the afterschool bell”… Is this a romcom based off a shoujo manga with an idol as the lead?) (It’s not a genre I typically watch myself, but maybe something like this is fine once in a while…) “They Day I Meet Love”…? (I missed out on watching this one. …I’ll go with this.)

*walks over*

Banri: Masumi?

Masumi: …Banri.

Banri: I was gonna go see a play, but it got cancelled. I came here to watch somethin’, but nothing’s popping out at me.

Masumi: …You can say I’m in a similar boat.

Banri: What’re you gonna watch?

Masumi: “The Day I Meet Love”. It’s a romance movie you’d have no interest in.

Banri: I see. It looks like this film starts screenin’ this week. But it’s in the smallest theatre and it barely has any time slots.

Masumi: It was originally an independent film and by the time I found out about it, it was already over. But it recently won an international film award, so I guess that’s why they’re showing it again.

Banri: Mhm. “This is the day my life changed forever”, huh… Aight. I’mma go with this too.

Masumi: …

Banri: Hey, don’t make such an obviously disgusted face. I‘m not gonna choose the seat next to you, ‘kay?

-pause-

Masumi: …That’s what he said, yet why is he beside me on the other side of the aisle?

Banri: It's a coincidence so let’s just leave it. Alright, it’s startin’.

-pause-

Movie protagonist: “People love to talk about things like fated encounters and your destined partner, but I don’t believe any of that.” “I mean, come on. That's so unrealistic. If you believe that, then you’re just running away from reality.” “…That’s what I thought. Until that day.” “I ran away to a countryside town in the middle of nowhere and I met her.” “In that moment, I knew it was fate.” “This isn’t an escape from reality— This is the story of the day my life changes forever.”

-pause-

Banri: …I thought it was just another typical love story at first. But I liked the pretty visuals and the fitting soundtrack.

Masumi: …

Banri: Masumi?

Masumi: …I’m going to go buy a pamphlet. Bye.

*walks away*

Banri: …

-pause-

Staff: I’m so sorry. We only had a limited stock of the pamphlets for this work and they’re already sold out…

Masumi: …

-pause-

Banri: Did they run out?

Masumi: …Were you waiting for me?

Banri: Since we watched the movie together, I wanted to hear your thoughts too. Like I mentioned earlier, I was more impressed by the visuals and the music rather than the story. I mean, it ended with the two of them never getting to see each other again, right? Yet the opening narration and catchphrase said, “this is the day my life changes forever”. To me, it just seemed like a tragic story about a man whose life was ruined by himself. That’s why I wanted to ask you about your opinion. Since you went to buy a pamphlet, that must mean you liked it, right?

Masumi: … I don’t think it’s a tragic story. Even if only the protagonist's life was changed by that love, he seemed happy. He might have been waiting for that kind of love somewhere in his heart.

Banri: I see.

Masumi: Besides… he said that was the day his life changed. He never said it was the day his love ended. I’m sure he’s not going to give up. I think that’s why he said it changed forever.

Banri: …Is that right?

*flashback ends*

Banri: I was genuinely interested to see whether Masumi and I would have different perspectives watchin’ the same movie since he’s in love and I have no interest in that sorta stuff… And I thought you were a real straightforward guy. I also thought that while I wouldn’t necessarily say I respect you, I should learn a bit from you. If I were to compare us to that movie, I guess I’d prolly be the protagonist before he met his partner, and Masumi would be the protagonist after he met her?

Masumi: …Gross. …I can’t imagine you being in love. But it’s too bad you don’t know what it’s like. Even just as an actor.

Banri: Well, I guess I can’t argue with that.

Masumi: Maybe one day, a day will come when you understand it too. Maybe you’ve already encountered the one but just haven’t realized it yet.

Banri: You think so?

Masumi: I don’t know. And I don’t care. But I won’t forgive you if it’s Director. Never realize that.

Banri: Haha. Of course he went there. Ah, I almost forgot. Happy birthday, Masumi.

Masumi: …It’s the pamphlet I couldn’t buy back then… “The Day I Meet Love” —愛に出会う。* “This is the day my life changes forever.” —これは僕の人生が永遠に変わった日。

Banri: Those words are perfect for you.

Masumi: …Yeah, maybe. Thanks for this.

Banri: No prob.

---

*He’s saying the same phrases in Japanese after, so I decided to keep the original line rather than repeat it twice in English.

previous | next

[amewinterswriting]

I'm worried about 'streaming services as sole means of consumption of media' for a lot of reasons, but I just recently realised what exactly that means for minors.

Like, they can't legally enter a contract with a streaming service and they probably won't have a card to pay for it anyway. So (I'm guessing) most kids are stuck using the family account for whatever services their parents have chosen.

Which means that they probably don't get an opinion on what services are available to them. If they want to watch a show that's only on Amazon or Disney but parents are only willing to pay for Netflix, they're shit out of luck.

It also means kids will self-censor what they choose to watch, if their parents can check their history at any time. The fear of potentially being monitored at any time would have discouraged me from watching shows I wanted to - and I'm not even talking about age inappropriate shows (like a ten year old watching something rated R) or something that goes against a strict upbringing (like queer topics in a conservative family). Just shows that my family would see as 'weird' (anime, art films, anything remotely abstract) or 'childish' (cartoons) or perhaps even documentaries about topics I found interesting that they might become concerned about (like mental health).

When I was under 18, I always had the option of buying films/TV shows with my own money on physical media, or if a friend had it I could borrow it (we were also pretty good at internet piracy, as generations go...) so I could pretty privately source anything I wanted to watch (though I did have to do my fair share of sneaking around to watch anything on terrestrial TV). And it wasn't even that I wanted to watch anything all that controversial or shocking - I just wanted some privacy over the things I enjoyed and the safety to try something - even if it turned out to be hot garbage - without having to defend my choices to anyone else.

And I think there's probably a point here about purity culture - if you're used to having to defend your media consumption to an authority figure, you learn to make only the pure, unproblematic choices to make them easier to defend. Or you get good at preempting the argument and lead with 'yes, I know this has problems in it, but...' And when you see other people enjoying the 'icky' media, you fall into that role of making them justify themselves to you, because that's become normalised to you.

(Could this partly explain the success of Twitch/Youtube/TikTok, etc? A free entertainment source with no easy 'monitoring' of what has been watched?)

[quezzzs]

IMO: I don't hate North. I understand that violence is her coping method / defense mechanism because all her time being active, she's been used for nothing but sex. It would make sense for her to hate humans and why she acts the way she is because that's what she was exposed to. She was made and used for sex and nobody would ever want to go through that shit. Violence is what she turns to since no human she has ever met before has showed her any kindness or respect. North's character is really interesting to get into but I don't see a lot of people who are willing to do a deep analysis on her character without a biased view(from the feed i get). I like exploring these topics about characters and I wish the game were to actually make her stay just a platonic companion and have her own importance instead of just being love interest devoted to Markus. Realistically, she would definitely not get herself into any relationship anytime soon and would definitely need a lot of time to heal. If I wanted to change anything about her, I would rather have her be Markus' bestie since they can both balance each other out in their perspectives on humans and to consider both sides. Although it definitely would be hard to convince her, she's still willing to listen at least.

tl:dr - i like north and i wouldve wanted her and markus to stay just friends

[foxesandrabbits]

Not only Kevin's entire future with Exy, his one purpose, was crushed alongside his hand, but also, for a moment, his life was on the line too. And he was so scared, he spoke and plead in every language he knew, in hopes anyone would help him, and how soul crashing it must’ve been to know that no one would.

He asked Jean for help, not really understanding that he was damning them both by speaking french in front of Riko because that moment was it- he was going to die. But they both had their hands tied, not having full freedom to actually act the way they wanted. And how devastating is that? Asking for help, and not receiving it. Watching the person you love the most hurt, and not being able to help them. Both their lives at stake, both unable to do something about it.

At that moment, I think, was when Kevin fully recognized that no matter how Jean felt about him (even when Kevin made him break the rules, like teaching him french), there was always going to be a wall between them in the form of a raven. How he truly learned that Jean wouldn’t go with him that night even if he asked, why he used him, because he knew Jean couldn't allow himself to do it willingly, knowing he was betraying the Moriyamas, their cuts ran too deep for that to happen.

And oh, to see Jean for the first time since Renee rescued him must’ve been so excruciating, “bottomless guilt”, how easy was to be back in the nest tending each other's wounds, and how much he didn't want that to happen ever again.

Once Kevin learned how to trust himself, how to be a little less afraid, how to convince himself that there was more to life that what he had been taught, he truly saw Jean, this person that would have done anything for him, at one point.

Kevin couldn’t rescue Jean once, but he wasn’t going to let that happen again, so he made sure to give Jean the best chance he could find so he could have the same hope the foxes had given him. Even if it was without him.

[bellamyblakru]

i will never understand how some people can actively shit on something they know someone loves and finds joy in right in front of them. how can you hate something that makes someone else happy in this absolutely fucked world in front of them.

its the passive aggression for no reason i will never ever understand or do to others. if you have a passion, fucking LIVE it. if nothing else, passion gets us through every shitty day, and i will always support it.

have passion in spite of those who hate.

[classymassy]

Sometimes I wonder how lord of the flies would’ve went with an older boy on the island, say 16-17? Still not old enough to make fully mature decisions, but more mature than the 6-12 year olds. Would he have automatically been the leader bc of his age? Would he have been able to maintain peace? Or would he eventually loose control of the boys and be turned against like Ralph was?

[onehellofakathy]

Natlan was bad…but not Inazuma bad… I feel like the journey was worth it, but most of the characters sucked, and the one(s) who didnt fucking died… I liked all the war sections, and I did cry, but this didn’t please or satisfy me the way Fontaine or Sumeru did. It’s going above Inazuma, in second-to-last place for worst Archon quest. Maybe Snezhnaya will be better and BRING BACK THE DOCTOR TURN UPPP

[invizigothx]

ok my one opinion about ofmd fandom that i will voice is that i really don't care for it when the crew gets infantalized. i can see where people get the idea that the crew are like children bc a) Stede literally says he's like a father in episode 1 and b) they do crafts and enjoy hearing stories read to them. but personally I find that depictions of them as childlike, incapable, or dependent on stede/ed to be really patronizing and uninteresting. we know they're all fairly skilled adults. also, not that ~ historical accuracy ~ matters, but one person reading something outloud for a group is the standard practice anywhere there's limited literacy knowledge or materials (ie only one copy of the newspaper in the village or w/e). so yeah Stede reading to the crew is intentionally portrayed to be similar to a father reading to his kids before they go to sleep. And also adults reading to other adults is a common thing in our world and doesn't have to be interpreted to mean that the listener is less intelligent, sophisticated, capable, etc. and so it irritates me to continually see the "story time" moment extrapolated into a larger or overarching adult/child dynamic.

[solarwreathe]

Yet another Yiga poll!

(sidenote i'll never get over how they pose like a boyband)

points for 1:

it balances out their advantages in combat, and i think limitations create more fun ways to think around it.

it would explain why, despite having such seemingly overpowered abilities, they're still lurking in the shadows, targeting lone unarmed travellers instead of attacking any settlements (even ones with very few fighters to defend themselves.)

points for 2:

plenty of sheikah have been shown to use runes without needing talisman. what makes their teleportation/illusions any different?

think of the trees!

[hassianlovebot]

i've seen some people talk about einar's romance dialogue and how it feels offputting and rude to him but i'm gonna be honest,,, i never really saw it that way?

like i do agree that the player's dialogue options Suck compared to the other romances. something about it just feels really childish and definitely not as,,, "serious" or even committed as the other romance dialogue options. that being said, it never felt patronizing toward him.

to me, it feels like the player is just. being human. while einar is being galdur. the player doesn't get mad at him for not understanding certain jokes or not showing affection in the same way. and einar doesn't get uncomfortable with the player being human, making human jokes, or showing human affection. they're just Being Human and sharing their humanness with einar. which einar, while not always understanding of it, is completely used to and Does understand and enjoy it later on in the 3-4 levels. not that he didn't enjoy it before, but once you get closer to him, he Does understand more of the jokes and even joins in on certain ones (like the catch one!).

idk man it just always felt like the player and einar are just sharing their perspectives, personalities, and culture with each other. and of course there is the chocolate thing where he says he doesn't need it and the player has to learn what he actually wants from the relationship (ie spending time together). and there are still jokes that he ends up taking seriously, which yknow, that's kind of what i meant when i said the player's options often feel very childish compared to other ones. but it just never came off as patronizing to me, especially since einar repeatedly says that he enjoys spending time with the player and engaging in their "togetherness".

like to me it always felt like he enjoys learning about new things, even if he doesn't want to participate. like at the maji market when he says that while he doesn't understand the hotpot game, watching it fills him with "oneness". he enjoys learning about human and majiri culture and seeing them just be themselves! none of his dialogue implies that he's uncomfortable with the way the player shows affection (there Is something to be said about the dialogue options only ever showing one form of it,,, but tbf they can't put in 50+ options to cover the minutia of human brains lol)

idk i want to be clear im not shitting on anyone else's opinion on this!!! there's room for all perspectives here. i just wanted to share! i've seen SO many people say that romancing einar feels patronizing and like. i've just never seen it that way ! and it always confuses me when i see it akjhgd tbf i think some people are also neurodivergent (same lol) and don't appreciate the dialogue options that einar doesn't understand because in real life it Does feel patronizing when someone does it on purpose even knowing you won't get it. but for me, einar being galdur and not a neurodivergent human/majiri is an important distinction. he shows multiple times that he enjoys learning about human cultures and perspectives, that he enjoys talking to the player even when they don't understand each other, and that he's capable of understanding the player's jokes and sarcasm once explained to him. he Likes that they're different !

einar seems to enjoy the player acting "human" with him because he gets to learn about them! and he wouldn't want them stifle their true personality just to please him! einar is alllll about being true to yourself, your beliefs, your oneness, etc. he wants the player to understand him and his affection, but he also wants to understand the player's personality and affection. he wants them to share each other's "quirks". and don't get me wrong, i do wish there was more we could do to share in his way of affection (especially if his way is our way,,, like i'm Not flirty or jokey like that irl at all and i'd love to have more options where it really is just "hi i enjoy parallel playing with you :)))" lol) and that the dialogue options were less jokey or at least more affectionate/serious but idk,,, i think for me, i've just always seen einar as someone who wants to know and appreciate everything about the player, even the things he doesn't Immediately understand. he wants the player to explain things and share their culture with him SO bad