#context MATTERS

[legogradstudent]

Peeking outside his conference hotel room, the grad student evades awkward encounters with other attendees.

[fellthemarvelous]

Fandom acting like Aziraphale is the Bad Guy for asking Crowley to become an angel again is something else. I'm not arguing that offering to turn him into an angel again was the right thing to do, but CONTEXT MATTERS!!

Things Crowley has canonically said about his fall:

"I never asked to be a demon. I was just minding my own business one day and then… Oh, lookie here, it’s Lucifer and the guys. Oh, hey, the food hadn’t been that good lately. I didn’t have anything on for the rest of that afternoon. Next thing, I’m doing a million-light-year freestyle dive into a pool of boiling sulphur." (Aziraphale appeared to Crowley right after he said this so it's not outside of the realm of possibility that he found Crowley by following his voice in the first place.)

"I didn't mean to fall. I just hung around the wrong people."

"I didn't really fall. I just, you know, sauntered vaguely downwards." (Crowley says this to Aziraphale in the same scene he asks for holy water.)

Crowley was turned into a demon against his will.

Crowley hates being a demon too. It makes sense that Aziraphale would mistakenly believe that Crowley might accept the idea of becoming an angel again if what we were witnessing was Aziraphale being honest with Crowley in the final fifteen.

Again, I'm not saying he was right to ask that of Crowley, but let's not just decide that Aziraphale is a Bad Person for asking when he's witnessed ways in which Crowley has suffered as a demon.

There is indeed a lesson to be learned here, but why bring a little more context into the situation when it's just easier to villainize Aziraphale, am I right?

Yes, he was wrong to ask Crowley to become an angel again because it's not what Crowley wants. No, he's not a monster for offering. This is seriously all because of their stunning inability to communicate what it is they actually want.

Aziraphale has to break free from whatever hold Heaven still has on him, but he doesn't deserve to be treated like the Bad Guy.

It is entirely possible to criticize Aziraphale's actions without painting him as a monstrous abusive prick.

[news4dzhozhar]

[aprill-99]

I love the characters whose perceptions of their own powers and abilities and personalities are all completely fucked by their own context.

Prince Zuko for example: The guy goes around like “wow is me. I am such a failure of a Fire Bender” for three whole seasons of television.

Babe, no. It’s just that the only 3 people on the entire planet who are better at it than you all live in your house.

Obi-Wan Kenobi only thinks he’s a less powerful Jedi because his constant companions are essentially the demigod descendants of an Eldritch Horror running the galaxy. Everyone knows else, including the Eldritch Horror Spawn, think you’re in the top 10 to ever live.

I could go on, but the main point is that I live for the moments when a character who is constantly down on themselves off-handed mentions something the other characters know to be near impossible and have their Elle Woods moment when questioned.

“What, like it’s hard?”

Yes, yes my guys, gals, and non-binary folk. Yes it is hard.

You’ve just trained yourself to think that you had to succeed at everything right up to the lines of the impossible and perfect because you spent a lifetime watching very particular people calmly go skipping right over it.

You are now hyper-competent and should maybe look in to getting some therapy before we all inevitably turn to you to survive the on-coming End of Days.

[skuttlesstrawberry]

“No, no, this is normal. Do you hear my voice? None of this is weird.”

Like Wolfman Anne pointed out, normal is a VERY different concept inside NSBU. Great reminder, Brennan. Context matters!

[fandom-hoarder]

reading some of the tags in the emma discourse poll is so mindblowing, and not in a good way. i feel like I'm entering an alternate reality reading this shit

God, you want Dean to have an apple pie life so bad it makes you look stupid.

"Kill the monster that wants to be good" DID YOU FUCKING WATCH IT???? She was LYINGGGG. She was manipulating him. Sam had been listening to it already!

When Sam and Dean argue about it in the car, it's not primarily about whether she should've died, but about whether Dean could've done it (and also that Dean might've LET himself be killed because of his current post-Bobby emotions, plus foreshadowing the finale by telling Dean, "Don't get killed.")

The main theme right now is how both of them are dealing with their grief, and though the comparison to Amy IS made, that's more for Dean's benefit than Sam's defense. Sam doesn't need defense.

This one in particular gets drowned for being stupid.

Maybe he should've, actually! If they all want to kill him, definitely. Idc, that's like the premise of the show, dude. They kill things that want to kill people, especially each other. Idk what to tell you.🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[gegengestalt]

It's always "I can see the sun, but even if I cannot see the sun, I know that it exists. And to know that the sun is there - that is living." but never the fact that some paragraphs after that, the character starts to fret over the possibility of not having his girl in his life, and contemplates crushing his own skull with a hammer.

[wassupnye]

Killing your downright evil, power-hungry, monster of an aunt ❌

Killing the bitch that married your man✅

[homosociallyyours]

Re my post, you just reblogged. It is definitely more general so i didn't want to add the context thats on my mind right now but ita about chappell roan speaking about her thoughts on elections and the way its been reduced to this rage bait where everywhere you'll just see that she said "both sides are bad" (which, where's the lie anyway) and people are saying this is her being a republican or centrist or whatever and questioning if she's actually a lesbian (wtf?). Idk, it's not even something that a lot of people are even aware of is happening unless your algorithm on some social platform catches it but its just disturbing. Anyway, the actual context if what she's said is not even easy to find in all that chatter but its from here: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/sep/20/fame-is-like-going-through-puberty-chappell-roan-on-sexuality-superstardom-and-the-joy-of-drag

and i believe the entire article as well as some of her previous statements and the stuff she has done are all equally important to get the bigger picture of where shes coming from even for people who don't agree with her. I just don't understand the need to pick and choose specific things about someone, especially a celebrity. Also i have a lot of other thoughts on putting such importance on what a celebrities' politics are anyway but thats not relevant here.

(You can reply publicly or privately, whichever is better for you! Also hii hope you are well <3)

Hiiii!! Thank you for the link and the context (ha!) -- it's frustrating that people are reacting in that way :/ but not surprising, of course, because people do love to misinterpret things 🙄 I agree with her completely too so it's extra frustrating. I can't get hyped on partisan politics and I'm not gonna pretend to be super into Harris just bc I hate the dude she's up against. BUT i will always ALWAYS tell people to actually look up the issues and politicians that are going on at state and local levels and get invested in THAT bc it's the best way to actually push for change. Big things need lots of smaller actions to happen, not one magical push.

Thank you again, friend!!

[i-am-trans-gwender]

It's really annoying when people bring up one thing they like by putting down another. I don't mean to show the right and wrong way to do something but instead "Less popular thing is way better than more popular thing. Ain't I so smart."

Extra annoyance points if they have little to nothing in common.

Like people saying "Hazbin Hotel is better than Disney" even though one is a line of kid friendly movies while the other is a single adult animated series. The only similarity is that it's a musical about a princess. (which isn't even true for all Disney movies).

On the other hand you have people saying shit like "Hazbin is mid, Lackadaisy is better." even though the one thing they have in common is being adult animated series.

It be like saying "The Aquabats Super Show is better than The Sopranos." even though the only similarity is that there medium.

[onlyonelifetolive2019]

Edit from @tolecover on TikTok

I think to understand Matty and where he’s coming from you need to listen to full quotes and look for the intent/context of what he’s talking about or what a “bit” is supposed to be about. Matty has been talking a lot about his opposition to toxic masculinity. This is just another example.

[lightshiningforth]

[news4dzhozhar]

[eldritch-spouse]

Why wrap your arms around a pole when you could instead wrap your arms around me, Livious?

Livius stares at you like you're particularly unintelligent, blinking.

" You... You- You were the one who TIED MY ARMS?! "

[oseytorvan]

“Astrid didn't feel any attraction to Hiccup until he became useful to the tribe” (c) an Eretstrid fan

That's what I love about most fans of non–canon couples httyd - when you ask why they like their couple, the first thing they answer is: “actually, I've never liked Hiccstrid because...”. 

A war is raging on Berk – a lot of fire-breathing, flying reptiles attack the village, destroying crops, stealing cattle and leaving the Vikings without a roof over their heads.

What distinguishes Astrid from her peers is that she knows how to prioritize. Now, when her tribe is on the verge of starvation and utter chaos, Astrid chooses the welfare of the people, not her own. She doesn't need languid looks, she doesn't need butterflies in her stomach and serenades under the window, she doesn't need any of this. All Astrid Hofferson wants at the moment is the well–being of her tribe. So, it's not surprising that Astrid didn't consider Hiccup as an option. There is nothing surprising in the fact that Astrid did not consider anyone as an option.  

For example, let's put Eret in this setting. It may seem that Astrid might well be interested in him – he is a tall, attractive man, he has all the qualities necessary for a Viking, and he also acts against dragons. But there is one caveat: Eret works for Drago – for a madman who almost killed the Chief of the Hooligans. Eret does not care about anyone's well-being, he catches dragons solely for the sake of his own prosperity, he grovels before the enemy of Berk. This is enough to make Eret unattractive in the eyes of a girl focused on protecting her tribe. Don't believe those who say that context doesn't matter, because context matters.  

Okay, that's sorted out. Let's fast forward a bit to when the Vikings began to live in harmony with the dragons. Astrid can relax – now that the village is not in danger, she can think about herself. Astrid has always been and remains a warrior, but now she has much more time and opportunities for self-realization. Astrid tries her hand at dragon training, trains with Gromgilda and helps ensure comfortable coexistence between Vikings and dragons. 

And that's when Astrid really pays attention to Hiccup. Over time, she begins to be interested in him not as a person who stands for the future of her tribe, not as a good companion, but as a person. Their priorities coincide – they create a new world based on harmony between Vikings and dragons. Teamwork gradually turns into a strong friendship, and at some point Astrid pays attention to what is happening between them. Something deeper than camaraderie, friendship, or superficial infatuation. She points out that her relationship with Hiccup has never been completely platonic, that there is a mutual attraction between them. 

Also, I want you to understand that I have nothing against those who consider Eret and Astrid a great couple. I just want to say that there is nothing wrong with the fact that Hiccup and Astrid's attraction to each other did not arise at the snap of their fingers. Each couple develops individually, and most future lovers do not initially assume that they will be in love with each other. 

[fandom-hoarder]

Important context: Sam left Dean stranded without a vehicle when Leviathans were after them and he doesn't know if Sam is having a psychotic break with Lucifer in the driver's seat off on a case by himself!

Read abuse in that punch, sure; this family does emotions with their fists, Dean especially---but Dean also broke Sam out of hallucination with injury, so this is in line with that and Dean's reactionary nature. He's been worried sick about Sam, too.

Sam recently told Dean he's having trouble differentiating hallucination from reality! He visibly checked out before Dean sent him to the store!

Dean tried calling him and it went straight to voicemail. He turned off his GPS!

"You steal my car, you get punched," is Winchester for 'you scared me to death and for what, here you are fine'. And while that doesn't excuse punching your brother in the head and laying him flat, especially when you know he's recently had a seizure, it's really annoying when all of this gets boiled down to: Dean is abusive and controlling and excludes Sam from everything and doesn't care about him having his own life.

A lot of deep reading going on, whilst removing a ton of context. :/

Also, the car IS Dean's. It might be home for both, and they might technically share it, but it's Dean's. That's been canon since s1. It's not abusive for Dean to call it his. Be fucking for real.