#i have a feeling my predictions are wrong

[moonstruckme]

Omg 8k! I’m so happy for you love! May I request hot cocoa for poly wolfstar with the prompt “new years party” or “baking together”? (whichever one you choose!)

Thank you lovely!

poly!wolfstar x fem!reader ♡ 728 words

“Well, what are we supposed to give them? Crackers?” 

“I don’t see what would be so wrong with crackers,” says Remus, sounding already weary and increasingly vexed. 

“Only crackers, though?” Sirius is in a restless mood, his excitement for tonight’s party mounting and the volume of his voice along with it. “I just don’t see how it can be possible that there aren’t any grapes left anywhere in town. Was there a grape plague I didn’t know about?” 

“They were sold out. I don’t know what to tell you. Crackers will be just as good.” 

“That’s a completely different food group, darling!” 

“Sirius,” you call, hoping to spare Remus from further irritation (and thus spare Sirius from the consequences), “can you come tell me if this looks alright?” 

You’ve strung lights all across the ceiling of the sitting room, strands of blue and white overlapping and casting the whole space in their glow. Sirius’ eyes seem to glimmer as he comes in, admiring your handiwork. He’s in his outfit for the party already, though you’re both waiting until later to do your makeup together. You’ve got plenty of time; it’s only just getting dark outside, and no one is expected to arrive until at least eight. 

“This looks amazing, sweetheart,” he says, audibly relaxing. “It’s perfect; you’ve done beautifully.” 

“You don’t think it’s too dim in here?” you joke. 

Sirius grins as he walks over. You’re a couple of feet taller than him on your step stool, but he doesn’t seem to mind, touching his lips to your navel while his hands hold the backs of your thighs. You predict him and set your hands on his shoulders, sucking in a breath when he pulls you away from the step, lowering you down. 

“How’d you manage it?” he asks, looking back up at the lights while his hand runs absently up and down the dip of your spine. A few of the white strands wink in and out, twinkling above you like stars. “I can’t even see any of the hooks.” 

“They’re in there,” you tell him. It had taken you a while to figure out how to hide them well, but the abundance of lights ended up covering for you in the end. You take a piece of Sirius’ hair between your fingers, admiring the blue sheen on it. “Baby?” 

“Hm?” 

You press a kiss to his lips, gentle and loving. “Keep in mind that you’re the one who forgot we’d need food until the last minute,” you tell him sweetly. 

Sirius pouts. “Why do I have to remember everything?” 

“Because you’re the only one of us who wanted to have a party.”

“You said,” Remus recounts as he comes in, still sounding vexed but fond around the eyes, “and I quote, I’ll take care of everything.” 

“Doesn’t bloody sound like me,” Sirius mutters. His hand is still moving affectionately over your back, though. 

“Dove.” Remus graces you with a smile, ignoring your sulky boyfriend. “The lights look lovely.” 

“Thank you,” you say, squeezing Sirius’ shoulder before pulling yourself from his arms. You take Remus’ hands and look up at him with your sweetest, most imploring eyes. “Can I ask you for a favor, please?” 

Remus narrows his eyes at you like he knows what you’re about, but his lips twitch as he holds your fingers. “Hm?” 

“You know that trifle you make for Easter?” You wait for him to nod. “If I went to the store and got the stuff, do you think you might be able to make it again tonight?” 

You look to Sirius. “That’d be good, right? It might go nicely with the champagne.” 

Sirius grins at you. “Brilliant girl. I’m remembering now why we keep you around.” 

You turn back towards Remus. You can feel the power of Sirius’ pleading look adding to yours from behind you. After a long moment, your boyfriend capitulates with a sigh and a kiss to your head. 

“Alright. I’ll make you a list.” 

“Thank you, my love,” Sirius says, saccharine sweet. 

“This party is more trouble than it’s worth.” Remus turns, too slowly to conceal his smile. “If anyone tries to make me sing karaoke, I’ll shut the whole thing down before midnight.” 

Sirius’ expression looks crushed. “But—” 

“Shh.” You pat his shoulder, watching Remus go. “James’ll harass him once he gets here. Pick your battles.” 

[frodothefair]

The United States of Fanfiction vs. Project 2025

Hello, friends!

I happen to be passionate about free speech, and fandom in particular, and since I've been seeing a number of posts to the tune of "Project 2025 is going to ban (and potentially criminalize) fanfiction," I’ve decided to take a deep dive into the issue over the last 24 hours. I’ve done a decent amount of research between other tasks, and I've asked my spouse – who is more politically aware than I am – to explain an embarrassing number of things to me like I'm five. The following is a result of my efforts, and it pertains to Project 2025 as it may affect freedom of speech as well as fandom.

This is not a diagnostic, or a clairvoyant look. I will get some things wrong, and so will anyone else who attempts to predict the future. But feel free to conversate with me, correct me, and contribute your own takes.

The tl/dr version of this article is as follows:

Project 2025 is an ethos and a "wish list" put out by a conservative think tank. It is not a law, a bill, or any kind of concrete action.

No content will become illegal that isn't already.

The IS a concrete law called KOSA that's been making its way through the federal legislature for the last 2-3 years. It is meant to require for-profit platforms (aka not AO3, but yes Tumblr) to funnel certain "harmful" content away from their users who are minors. If you support free speech and the actual safety of kids online, you should OPPOSE this bill. That is a concrete thing you can do. But again, no content is suddenly being outlawed or banned.

For those who want to know more, without further ado... Brace yourselves, this is going to be long.

Unsurprisingly, there seems to be a decent amount of misinformation on this issue.

I'll say right off the bat -- Project 2025 is a huge problem and it is scary, because it aims to dismantle a lot of the freedoms and government structures we take for granted. 

But here is what Project 2025 ISN'T.

It is NOT a law, and it is NOT a bill. 

Rather, it is a broad, 900-page "wish list" put out by an ultra-conservative think tank called The Heritage Foundation, which has existed since the 80's. A lot of actual conservatives consider it frankly crazy. 

There are a number of staff from Trump's first administration who have joined The Heritage Foundation over the past several years. At least one of those people, Trump has hired back. Outside of that, he has gone back and forth about his views on Project 2025, as he does on most things. 

Now, what are think tanks? They're exactly what they sound like. They think. And they put out really long documents aimed at influencing policymaking. They do not actually make the policies, but they aspire to carve their ideological pathways into the minds of those who do.

Now, how are laws actually made? Laws are proposed in the House of Representatives or the senate. By representatives and senators. They then take a really long time and a lot of back and forth to pass. The president, his cabinet, and various other stakeholders such as think tanks and lobbyists (people with lots of money who make it their business to hassle lawmakers) can influence the legislative process. Then, once laws get passed after much trial and tribulation, they may get challenged in various courts as unconstitutional. Trump in particular can influence the legislative process by appointing judges who will make decisions aligning with his ideology. (Think what he has done to the Supreme Court).

Now, back to Project 2025, the section everyone in fandom seems to be worried about runs as follows:

"Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children, for instance, is not a political Gordian knot inextricably binding up disparate claims about free speech, property rights, sexual liberation, and child welfare. It has no claim to First Amendment protection. Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women. Their product is as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime. Pornography should be outlawed. The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered."

Take note of the language. Its tone is that of incendiary rhetoric, not law. It tells its readers (which it assumes are Trump loyalists) that the end-goal is a total crackdown on pornography – whatever it decides that is. But these pie-in-the-sky discursive acrobatics simply don’t land. They are a what without any semblance of a how. And while that vagueness is inherently terrifying (because a lack of firm definitions always suits those in power), please do not lose sight of the fact that the Project 2025 lays out Napoleonic plans without any hint at how they will be accomplished. 

Law, and actual legal documents go into excruciating detail as to who, what, when, where, and how will be affected. They make at least some attempt to describe what is and isn’t under a law's jurisdiction. 

While Project 2025 indeed sets an frightening ethos, it does not give a blueprint. What is lost in the terrifying vision it proposes is how hard it would be to implement their ideas on the mass scale they are proposing.

That being said, we absolutely need to be vigilant for any initiatives that align with those views. Because chances are, if we do nothing, the freedoms will erode gradually, similar to a "frog in the pot" phenomenon, where the temperature goes up one degree at a time until the frog is cooked. 

There are concrete things to worry about. And some of them are lost in the blinding Mercury effect that is Project 2025. One of them in particular already has a head start.

I am talking of course about KOSA (the Kids Online Safety Act), which is making its way through the federal legislature and has been... for the last 2-3 years. Many people have identified it as a "Censorship Bill in Disguise" that mandates for-profit websites to "protect" their underage users from certain "harmful" material. 

What does this mean in practice? That is tech companies are aware that a user is a minor (there is some info floating around that this will be done by government ID's, but that's not actually written into the law), then they will be required to funnel certain material away from them. ***Specifically, algorithms and other design elements will not be allowed to suggest certain content to minors, though that content will still be hostable and searchable.***

The obvious problem is that what's "harmful" may be broadly defined, and there is concern that kids will not be able to access information about LBGTQ+, mental health, reproductive rights, etc. 

But again, here's what NOT happening. Unlike the language of Project 2025, nothing is being criminalized for creators. In other words, no, you will not go to jail for writing fanfiction, and fanfiction will not be illegal, no matter what it’s about. Nothing that is of an "adult" nature will actually be illegal that isn't already. The law is a mandate on the tech companies to funnel it away from their underage users. ***Importantly, they are not required to delete or "block" any content -- they just can't suggest it or push it to underage users via algorithms or other "design features." Of course, this is easier said than done, and the tech companies may in fact short-circuit compliance by changing their TOS to avoid hosting certain material to begin with, and they may still delete content, and no, none of this is good or even "not that bad," but this does not translate to an automatic, blanket ban.***

Critically, as the proposed KOSA law is written now, nonprofits like AO3 are exempt. But tumblr is not, tiktok is not, instagram is not. So fandom will be affected, but not universally.

(That is, AO3 is exempt for now. There is a bill in progress called HR 9495 that would allow the government to strip organizations of their nonprofit status without any due process - that's scary too).

But here's the other thing. KOSA has been around since 2022, and it keeps getting blocked and rewritten in Congress. It was endorsed by Joe Biden himself -- way before Trump, before Project 2025, before all of it! In the most recent session of the House of Representatives, it stalled again before the House went on recess for the election. There is a decent amount of opposition to KOSA from the tech lobby (unsurprising) as well as from Republicans themselves, who fear that it will block kids from seeing anti-abortion rhetoric (ironic).

However, the KOSA example gives an idea of how slow the legislative bodies are to get things done. It also highlights the difference between Project 2025's extremist and incendiary language, and what is actually happening and how it happens.

So: what can we do?

The most concrete thing you can do right now is to work to stop KOSA. Part of the reason why it didn’t pass the first two times was because people protested. To this end, you may call your representatives, email them, write to them, protest peacefully if you want to. This bill is actually dangerous, and a wolf in sheep's clothing, because "protect the children" is always an easy sell to someone who's not looking closely. And you can click here to fill out a form opposing it: https://www.stopkosa.com/ 

But there is more!

KEEP CREATING!! We are all fundamentally creative people. Creativity awakens the senses. We will not find victory by being numb and leaving creative energy on the table. So draw. Compose. Hit publish. Hit send. And hit one another up when you’re feeling down, or when you think that your friends might need a good hello. And to my fellow writers, KEEP DYING! KEEP WRITING IT DOWN! (That’s the words of CK Williams, by the way). We are the multitude, and the more we make our voices heard the harder it is for those who would silence us to pretend it will be easy.

I’ll leave you with a few quotes from a famously bizarre French philosopher whose works Mr. Nisilë and I I ran into in college. His name was Gilles Deleuze, and he very much believed that corrupted power only works when the people on the bottom give up by giving way.

“A concept is a brick. It can be used to build a courthouse of reason. Or it can be thrown through the window.”

“If you're trapped in the dream of the Other, you're f-cked.”

“Bring something incomprehensible into the world!”

“Writing has nothing to do with meaning. It has to do with land-surveying and cartography, including the mapping of countries yet to come.”

@possiblyreallyme (You wanted to get tagged, I believe?)

[foolish-rat]

Commentary on RTTE S1 Ep 13 Total Nightmare

This is one of my favorite episodes in the show and I don’t see enough people talking about it.

Ruff: And so the drama begins...

Tuff: One man, one dragon, one leg, vs one rapidly closing dome.

Guys, I love the twins so much. They have a new hyperfixation every other day and it’s amazing. Also, Tuff, you ain’t gotta do my boy Hiccup like that 😭

Tuff: 'Twas once a drill, then it became a game, now it is theater!

Ruff: Let the drama unfold!

Ruff’s little pose here. I love her so so so much

Tuff: I'll wager he loses an eye.

Ruff: Haha! On the contrary, i predict act one, scene one will conclude with the loss of a gallbladder.

Tuff: Or perhaps a leg, what say you, young Hiccup?

Again with the leg jokes. Me personally, I wouldn’t take that level of disrespect.

The whole scene with Snotlout racing is just him getting hit with branches. How is my man not concussed, bro got a skull made of gronckle iron 💀 Also, he 100% could’ve made that if he didn’t spend 5 seconds shouting at Hookfang

Hookfang refusing the fish and then throwing not only the fish but Snotlout as well 😭

Snotlout: Ow, hey, everybody saw that right?

Tuff: Yes we did, my friend and it was delightful.

Tuff… 😭

Snotlout: No I mean Hookfang, he's acting weird.

Fishlegs: How's that?

Snotlout: Well, he didn't listen to me during the race, he ran away, he just spit fish in my face, and threw me against the wall!

The wall in question:

Also Fishlegs, why are you smiling

Hookfang slamming his head against the roof multiple times, I’m not entirely sure what the plan was there. Like, I feel like that was probably the least productive thing he could’ve done.

Snotlout’s face here. This is probably how the other riders see him

Hookfang was put in time out. Free my man, he ain’t do nothing wrong 🗣️

Snotlout: Hey! Hookfang, you feeling better? Who wants tuna for breakfast?

That is NOT a tuna, also why is it so big???

Snotlout: Great. I accept your offer to help in the search. Come on, Toothless. Up, bud! Fly, bud! Do something, bud!

Hiccup really does call Toothless bud a lot. It means a lot to me that the other riders notice this as well.

Toothless is so done with Snotlout

Snotlout: This place again? This is where I found him last time.

Why wasn’t that the first place he checked???

Astrid: Look! There is another Monstrous Nightmare!

Hiccup: That's not just another Monstrous Nightmare. That's a female Monstrous Nightmare.

You can tell because she is pink and pink is a girl color

Snotlout: A female Monstrous Nightmare? Now it all makes sense. My dragon has a way with the ladies! Must have picked up a few pointers from his master.

Astrid: I doubt it. She's not dry heaving.

L rizz from Snotlout

Snotlout try not to get injured challenge: impossible

Fishlegs: it means that meeting this female has reawakened his primal instincts. And he’s returning to the wild.

Fishlegs successfully predicting the third movie.

Fishlegs: It's nature, Snotlout. You can't fight it.

Snotlout: Watch me.

Ate that line up

Hiccup: It's a scary idea, huh? That one of our dragons might just one day go back to the wild? You'd never do that to me, would you bud? I didn't think so.

Uh…

Snotlout: Primal instincts, Thor's butt! My primal instinct is to get my dragon back.

Another banger line

Snotlout: Hi, Girl Hookfang! I see, you already got my boy bringing dinner for you. Big step.

He’s jealous

He got hit in the face with an eel. Real talk, I wanna know how this man is still alive. This is gonna be a long rant analyzing the effect of an injury in a kids tv show, skip ahead if you don’t want to read this part.

There are 3 different things that determine the severity of the shock and the resulting injury; the amount of voltage, the duration of the shock, and path of the shock through the body. Unfortunately, Snotlout did not have a single thing going well for him and managed to have the worst luck in all 3 areas. Electricity is extremely dangerous. 120 volts going through the human body for only 2 seconds is enough to cause death. Electric eels can produce charges on average from 450-600 volts of electricity. Some have been recorded to produce up to 860 volts. For comparison, outlets only use 120 volts. The duration of the shock effects how severe the injury is. Unsurprisingly, the longer the shock, the greater the injury. Snotlout was electrocuted for about 3-5 seconds which is a pretty long time, especially since a single shock from an eel is enough to cause significant pain or immobilize their prey. An important thing to note is that the eel is on land. Without water to disperse some of the shock, it would be stronger and more direct. He was hit in the face, and the eel landed on his chest, where it continuously shocked him for 3-5 seconds. Currents through the heart or nervous system are most dangerous. A shock to the head will cause your nervous system to be damaged. A shock to the chest is incredibly dangerous as it gives direct access to the body’s most vital organs. He managed to get shocked in the two worst places to get shocked.

Long story short, I have no idea how this mf is alive.

Snotlout: I have had enough of you, Hookfang! It's time to choose, her or me.

Genuinely sobbing

Tuff: Classic romantic comedy paradigm. Boy gets dragon, boy loses dragon, dragon falls asleep, boy eats, boy falls asleep, dragon eats.

What is he going on about???

Snotlout: I give up. If being with her makes Hookfang happy, I guess I should be happy for him, too. Ugh. If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go lay down for a few... weeks.

🥺

Hiccup: We've gotta get him back in the saddle right away.

Hiccup, not everyone solves their problems by working

Snotlout: Too small, too slow, two heads.

This is genuinely one of my favorite jokes in the entire series.

Hiccup: What are you saying?

Snotlout: I'm saying that if I can't fly Hookfang, I don't want to fly any dragon.

Astrid: How can you be a dragon rider and not ride a dragon?

Snotlout: You were always the smart one, Astrid.

🥺

Snotlout: Quitting, that's right. ✨I shall be a dragon rider no more✨

Why did he say it like that-

Tuff: Time to call in the understudy.

Ruff: Hey Fishlegs, how's your Snotlout?

immediately looking for a replacement 💀

Hiccup: Oh, come on Snotlout, you're just hurting now, that's all. Give it some time.

Snotlout: No, Hiccup, my mind is made up. I'm going to say goodbye to Hookfang, and then sail back to Berk for good. It's over.

genuinely heartbreaking

Astrid: You wanna tell us what's going on here?

Fishlegs: It looks like two male dragons fighting over a female.

Ruff: Yeah, I've heard male Vikings do it too, but I've personally never seen it.

Give it a few years, Ruff

Hiccup: Get him, Snotlout! You guys can do this.

Astrid: Hey, be careful. He's pretty nasty.

Snotlout: Whatever happens to us, promise me you'll protect those eggs.

Hiccup: We will.

🥺

Astrid: He's crazy.

Hiccup: He's Snotlout.

Astrid: True.

Couldn’t have put it better myself

The evil smirk. Bro got a diabolical scheme

Snotlout: And to think I saved them. Okay, okay! We saved them. We saved them. Snotlout, Hookfang! Oi! Oi! Oi!

Love that he’s chanting both of their names.

Hiccup: Uh, what's wrong with you two?

Ruff: Nothing.

Tuff: You just don't see enough happy endings these days. Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi! Oi!

The twins are so dramatic, I love them so much

Okay that’s it 💕

[broppythegoat]

okay so these are my predictions/hopes for act 3. if some of these are unrealistic it’s because those are my hopes not my predictions 😍

also there are spoilers for act 2 in this, just to warn you!!

1. CAITVI HAPPY ENDING. vi and caitlyn still have a LOT to talk about and sort through and there will be a lot of ANGST and TEARS before they can get there, but i really hope they can end up happily together. i’ve been watching this show for years and i think that they are such amazing lesbian representation and if they went through all of that JUST for them to not even end up together would be really sucky. so i really hope they don’t go that route but who knows, it is arcane. and arcane…. makes me suffer.

2. jinx is probably gonna die. i don’t want this to happen AT ALL (in fact it will make me cry) but it does make sense to her character. and also arcane just hates me and wants me to be miserable. as long as jinx IS jinx, i don’t think she can be happy. i think she could’ve been alive and well had isha not died. but she did sooooo. i think we are about to experience the craziest jinx crash out known to man i fear. i think jinx may sacrifice herself but ermmmm idk. let’s see what happens.

3. sevika will die. i just have that feeling. and also jinx can NOT be happy and all of her parental figures around her die soooo it would make sense for sevika to die as well. and im pretty sure (correct me if im wrong) that sevika’s voice actress said something along the lines of “she is loyal til the end” yeah just go ahead and say she’s cooked. BUT ALSO i want sevika to be confirmed as a lesbian thank you very much.

i really don’t have much else to say but let me know if you have any cool hopes or predictions cause i wanna hear em

[bigalockwood]

Okay fun idea to predict the surprise songs: put Taylor’s entire catalog on shuffle and then put in the tags which two songs come up first that are neither part of her usual setlist nor been played before on b-stage for the eras tour! Whoever gets it right gets to brag!

[buddiebitch]

WHY are BT shippers so vehemently against actually analyzing the symbolism and choices made for this show?

i mean i saw multiple people saying we were overthinking the vertigo poster. they were saying that it was weird to assume that Buck would fill the pining best friend role that Midge did in the original movie??? (haven’t seen the movie, i just read a few synopses)

i’m sorry, so you agree that he put Ryan Guzman in the main character and Devin Kelley as the love interest because they’ll fill those roles in the storyline, but we’re overthinking when we point out what role he put Oliver Stark in?

or when i bring up the possible symbolism of Tommy always calling him Evan, the only response i get from BT stans is “well he would tell him if he didn’t like it” or “i think it’s because he was introduced that way and that’s why” or even “i think he probably likes that Tommy calls him Evan” (all real responses i saw) and it’s like, yeah that’s cool, those are great headcanons for you, but that actually isn’t what i was talking about. nothing wrong with having a headcanon, but it doesn’t explain anything about the show or answer any of my questions.

i mean in s4 he corrected his PARENTS and told them his name was Buck, and in s6 it was used to emphasize the strangeness of his coma dream, how everyone was calling him Evan, the whole show him being called Evan has almost always been used to emphasize that someone doesn’t know him very well, how are y’all convinced that it’ll mean something different this time? i get that some people think it’s supposed to be growth, that he’s cool with being called his first name, but if that’s the goal it definitely isn’t reading that way to me.

like i wish i could see things through the same lens as these people so it could make sense to me, i just don’t get how you can willfully ignore SO many hints just so you can ship what you want.

no hate to the ship or the shippers obviously, i’m just baffled by the lengths they’ll go to in order to convince themselves that plot device man is endgame for Buck.

[jackwhiteprophetic]

What if S8 opens with Fire Marshall Bobby, and everyone keeps being like "pleassse don't sue us this time" and teasing Buck about it

[thebluemallet]

Just a thought, but...

what if we got a trailer for season 3 on April 8th?

You know...Penelope's canonical birthday?

Bridgerton's pattern for season 1 and 2 has been trailer releases roughly 6 and 2 weeks before the premiere date, but I could see them breaking this pattern and releasing the trailer on April 8th--5 weeks before the premiere date.

[stardustdiiving]

How evil is arlecchino and what is she cooking

As of 4.2, I’m really curious what they’re planning with Arlecchino as a character, especially as a villain/antagonist/morally dubious character, and how far/which direction they may go with that

Intuitively my impression is we’ll see her do something way more “villainous” than she presents herself as being for majority of Fontaine’s AQ in front of us right—(which isn’t a surprise given that, you know, Arlecchino nor the House of Hearth have never been presented as 110% ethical LOL) but I find myself not being in complete agreement with most analysis or speculation threads I see about Arlecchino’s morality and the like, level of sinister people seem to ascribe to her.

Idk how to put it, especially in regards to her children I do agree they are not a wholesome found family, that Arlecchino is not above pulling strings or using them for her own ulterior motives, but I kind of hesitate on the idea she only cares about the Hearth children as a means to the end/things she can control and there’s nothing else going on with her characterization wise there. I’m not saying that impression seems remotely unreasonable or unfounded, but just that it feels there’s something intentionally missing in how we are supposed to conceptualize her as a person

My main reasoning for this hunch is the fact they have not elaborated on Arlecchino and the previous Knave—who Arlecchino is stated to have taken over the position from by force. The extra tidbits I think about are that 1) Arlecchino was previously an orphan in the Hearth 2) the previous Knave is described as way, way crueler to the children of than Heart than Arlecchino was from when she took control of the House

Often, people’s major indicators that the House of the Hearth is kind of super fucked up are the NPCs we meet in world quests who are part of it and clearly suffering. But one thing I haven’t ever seen people mention w this that i think is a very interesting detail is, in The Very Special Fortune Slip Inazuma worldquest, where we stop this House of Hearth guy (Efim Snezhevich) from manufacturing tension between Watasumi/the Shogunate to restart the war with his other Hearth subordinates, at the end of the quest we get this dialogue that reveals he had been acting under the previous Knave’s directives:

It’s also mentioned he’s employing this plan in an attempt to “rebuild the prestige of the Knave” following Signora’s death, iirc? Now, see, the dialogue itself says that this is “assuming our captive is telling the truth” so who knows what’s really going on, but I find this a really odd/interesting thing to highlight. I’m a bit fuzzy on other world quests with Hearth members, and am not saying none of them were acting and subsequently being treated poorly by our Arlecchino, but like, this gives me a lot of questions especially when paired with implications this previous Knave seemed to be way worse

Like, what drove Arlecchino to take over? How unexpected and controversial was this within the House? Assuming the above information is all true it definitely says something this guy went rogue and acted on what the previous Knave would want and didn’t think our Arlecchino would greenlight it, which does feel consistent with the previous Knave being described as basically worse & crueler than our Arlecchino. It also makes me question how much house of hearth things we’ve seen outside the main story are the work of our Arlecchino or if there’s a bigger divide of loyalty. Heck, I could be wrong but it doesn’t even seem like we know if the previous Knave is dead or not

This isn’t me saying Arlecchino couldn’t possibly be treating hearth children worse than she wants us to know, especially ones who aren’t her “favorites” the way the fontaine trio seem to be, but I really don’t feel sure about making a solid conclusion of her exact level of malice the way ppl r generally understanding it rn when it feels there’s going to be more about her. Just the idea of she, as a Hearth child, clashed with the previous leader who was known for being cruel, overtook their position and took on less harsh methods of leading that made at least some members with more power/possible closer proximity to the previous Knave go rogue and try to commit atrocities in the previous Knave’s name…I feel this leaves a lot of room to suggest there’s more going on with how Arlecchino is as a person

I don’t mind if she’s just very evil and deceptive bc if she totally had me fall for thinking she was less evil than she actually was that’s fun tbh. But I feel people suggest that’s all her character could be with no degree of like, “sympatheticness” or deep grey morality and that if her character did go there it would be automatically poor writing and genshin walking back on making a truly evil woman when IDK. I feel you can claim at this point they have left it open ended and it’s never been completely confirmed she’s pure evil. Also sometimes I just get a hunch and feel cautiously confident in Genshin executing certain characters well. Not all characters, just certain ones. Especially given Fontaine’s character writing being very good and a character like Lyney feeling very solid to me when any development with Arlecchino would likely involve him and his siblings as well, I honestly feel open to the idea of Arlecchino being satisfyingly written to be both villainous/morally dubious but “sympathetic/likable as a person” in ways outside of just her ruthlessness if that makes sense

If I’m wrong/they drop the ball with it more than I anticipate I’ll eat my hat but I am pretty excited about her character and which way they decide to go with it. I will say the only potential impression I have of where they’ll go with her has been wondering if it will go in a “cycles of abuse” direction—I’d be surprised if they ever elaborated on Arlecchino’s character especially in how she feels about things and her also growing up as an exploited child of the hearth wasn’t relevant

[brick-van-dyke]

If there's one thing I've respectively noticed from Zionists and defenders of Israeli war crimes, it's that every source, argument and potential avenue to explore each explanation is riddled with cherry picking, moving the goalposts and mental gymnastics to explain why their conclusions, which typically are barely even related to the sources they use, somehow overshadow literal reality and what we see with our own eyes.

While scrolling, one example I came across was the repetitive misrepresentation of BLM, antifa and quotes from Martin Luther King Jr, as well as statistics, scholarly journal articles and government website information. These are all good sources, yet every single time they're mangled completely until the only possible "interpretation" of any of them is "well Israel is right to defend itself after shorting rockets beforehand because the retaliation was brutal and all Arabs are bad by default therefore". As if any of these sources are even about individual exceptions of Israel versus hatred towards Arabs.

I think what I find most absurd, as someone in the middle of their own studies, is how every bit of critical thinking and logic goes out the window as they do every single thing possible to do what professors worldwide say NOT to do when evaluating sources. It's like watching a race to see who can tangle and misconstrue scientific information to fit their world view the fastest. Then said people say "um actually I studied at university before so it's actually not wrong that I'm doing this exact this everyone is warned not to do because I have a permit". Ignorance I can forgive, but willful and arrogant manipulation? That's another thing entirely.

[peterth3parker]

all i know is that if steve dies and they spin it through a bullshit stancy lens, i will go rabid

[fideidefenswhore]

the downfall and execution of a tudor queen (2023) / the boleyns: a scandalous family (2021) / the king's pearl: henry viii and his daughter mary (2017), melita thomas / anne boleyn (tv miniseries 2021) / the mirror and the light (2024) / elizabeth (1998)

[my-current-obsession]

I am taking note of every single villager who honestly suggests that Micah's half-monster status might have given his chosen bride cold feet and led to her running away and they are ALL dropping several positions in my internal character ranking.

[lab-gr0wn-lambs]

[frogs-in3-hills]

i think i have not had many substantial observations about worm in my liveblogs despite being 3/4 of the way through because my main goal thus far has not been to experience worm, or even necessarily enjoy worm, but to finish worm. so i have decided there is only one way to solve this problem. once i finish worm i am going to start over and read worm all over again

[alldayeveryday-candycandycandy]

Kinda curious why you think "Dave" isn't an Afton?

Aftons didn't even exist until after FNAF World.

Foxy is Phone Guy's favorite, not Michael's (he seems like more of a Bear Guy).

"Purple Guy" in FNAF 4 would've looked different and appeared in the house in some way if he was connected to CC. I strongly believe PG was intended to be just an Easter Egg of sorts to scare the audience.

In fact, iirc there's nothing in the game that suggests that CC was related to anyone working there. There's lots of Frights stories about kids that just hang out at Freddy's daily, and CC lives nearby. It's probably one of the reasons his house is mapped in SL (like William also stalked and kidnapped the kid from Midnight Motorist's ending).

The guidebook feels more like "Dave" reaching out to Michael/Mike as a stranger instead of blaming Michael for his death. We can see this copied in the movie, since everyone likes parallels so much.