#she kept bringing up the points she disagreed with and saying 'this is wrong and also stupid' with no actual reason why

[roseworth]

most frustrating thing ever is seeing someone talk about an opinion you dont agree with but you're willing to hear them out so you listen to what they say and its just them ranting passionately with 0 good points and no actual rebuttal of what you think

[acourtofthought]

Am I wrong? Elain is not an introvert or quiet. However, then I see people saying the complete opposite.

What I understand about her character since ACOWAR, she has silenced herself in response to trauma. We've seen her through the last books opening herself little by little. But in her core she loves balls and being around people. In the first book, Elain is excited about a ball that his father would do for Feyre's return. Nesta reminds Feyre in ACOSF how Elain was before the cauldron. This tells me she is social.

ELAIN BEFORE THE CAULDRON:

She had come alive here, and her joy was infectious. There wasn't a servant or gardener who didn't smile at her, and even the brusque head cook found excuses to bring her plates of cookies, and tarts at various points int he day.

Elain, who flitted about the room, personally greeting each guest and dancing with all their important sons

Two in the morning and yet the part was showing no sings of slowing. My father held court with several other merchants and aristo men to whom I had been introduced but whose names I'd instantly forgotten. Elain was laughing among a circle of beautiful friends, flushed and brilliant. Nesta had silently left at midnight, and I didn't bother to say good-bye as I finally slipped upstairs.

"My sister Elain can convince anyone to do anything with a few smiles"

ELAIN IN ACOWAR, AFTER THE CAULDRON:

"She had always been so full of light. Perhaps that was why she now kept all the curtains open. To fill the void that existed where all of that light had once been. And now nothing remained."

ELAIN IN ACOFAS, AFTER THE CAULDRON:

"Elain is overwhelmed by crowds."

"She didn't used to be that way." "She loved balls and parties." The words hung unspoken. But you and your dragged us into this world. Took that joy away from her."

Feyre then goes on to see that she's "readjusting." Which means that Elain was someone different before being made and coming to Prythian and she's starting to kind of make her way back to that place but it's clear she's not really there yet. She's often pushed to the background in the IC, she's not the center of attention, laughing and convincing others to do anything with a few smiles. She's often mentioned as sitting away from the others, by the sunniest of windows or off by herself while they're together having IC meetings. She's mentioned as looking like the life was sucked out of her while in the CON wearing NC Black while they others seamlessly embody the role of "leaders of the NC". Even Eris was noted as looking proud and tall while wearing their signature color. Eris, Az, Cassian, they were all mentioned as dancing with Nesta at the ball but not a single person was mentioned to offer a dance to Elain (and for those who say it the focus was to be on Nesta I disagree that Elain couldn't have also been mentioned in the background as a ball was held in Feyre's honor in ACOTAR, she was the FMC, but SJM still found a way to mention what both Nesta and Elain were doing). Elain eagerly agreed to go to the ball, she "gave a passable impression of appearing interested" when Feyre spoke of how she'd normally ask Eris for a dance but then offered up Nesta in her place yet not a single person bothered to invite her to share in a dance when Sarah made it a point to remind us balls were something she once loved.

So I agree with you! I definitely think the Elain that we're seeing now is not the Elain we'll be seeing in her book. I think she thrives on being social, enjoys balls and parties and we've seen her come alive doing exactly that but I don't think she's finding absolute fulfillment in the NC where she's not the one able to "flex those muscles". I think she loves Feyre and loves Nesta and I do think she's truly happy that they are the ones who are finally finding their joy and being appreciated for their worth but I don't think she's really found her joy again. At least not to the levels she once did when she was around the right people (because she was always a bit reserved / turned inward around her sisters). But at the moment her skill in her way with people is not being utilized and I personally don't see Sarah showing us another NC ball where Elain is suddenly the one holding court. I think we'll see Elain in Spring and / or Day and /or the continent as being the center of attention, the one mingling with others, putting them at ease, convincing them of whatever needs convincing and gathering information.

There's a lot of light imagery surrounding Elain, not only her inner light but also that she needs it and I think when she leaves the NC for her story we're finally going to see her shine again. Adding an Edit because of a comment by @zenkindoflove. Elain can still be quiet and reserved and outgoing / extroverted and there's evidence she's always been that way. ACOTAR shows us many scenes where she's more contemplative and reserved, where she absorbs the world around her without inserting herself into the middle of things. But we then do see her come alive in other situations, where she brings joy to others, where her joy is infectious to them. Where she flits about like a social butterfly, making sure others are tended to. She's not trying to be the center of attention because she adores the attention, she simply becomes someone worth paying attention to because she goes out of her way to care for others. I think there's always been a clear divide with Elain's character. The side of her Feyre witnessed, the one where she is surrounded by friends, flushed and happy, the one where she's making sure every guest is greeted, the one where cooks go out of her way to bring her special treats, the one where she can convince anyone to do anything with a few smiles, that is Elain as she is outside of the structure of her family unit. Within the family dynamic of the sisters though, she is a bit more reserved and introspective. While neither is bad, I wouldn't say the way she is around her sisters is where she's been the most effective in her influence? I imagine Elain will always have that duality to her personality, where sometimes she comes off a bit quieter and more thoughtful and others she's the bell of the ball simply because she's being herself. I just don't think the NC is the place where the duality has an equal divide, it feels like the introverted side of her takes over everything else and I personally enjoy the thought of seeing more balance to her character.

[purgaytorysupremacy]

update: he emailed being self-flagellating and then went on a rant about being conflict-adverse during class when we were talking about virtue theory as an example of a virtue he wishes he could cultivate and I had to just be like never-fucking-mind, man.

I know people say “just let people misunderstand you” and “be yourself! don’t care about what people think about you!” but have they actually sat in a room with people who can’t stand you and aren’t shy about it and how that makes you feel like an infinitesimally small dust mote on the wind???

[polysucks]

*grabs a chair and flings it next to you* let's talk about rhaenyra the absolutely perfect (っ* ॑˘ ॑*c)

Rhaenyra Targaryen: Flawless, Brilliant, Never Did Anything Wrong Ever, Not Even Once

A Completely Unbiased and Factually Infallible Analysis

Since the dawn of time (or at least the year 129 AC), there have been haters. And not just any haters—misogynistic, scheming, bootlicking, rat-faced haters who dared to disrespect the one true Queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen. These are the same people who, instead of acknowledging her divine right, clutched their pearls and gasped, “must have penis to rule!!!!” as if being male somehow makes you worthy of the Iron Throne (it doesn’t; see Aegon IV).

Rhaenyra Targaryen was a beacon of justice, a natural born queen, and an unproblematic girlboss. If at any point you find yourself disagreeing I diagnose you with Hightower bootlicker disease. Seek treatment immediately.

I. She Was the Firstborn and That’s the Only Qualification That Matters

You know who else was the firstborn and got to rule? Literally every king before Rhaenyra. But suddenly, when she was born, the men of Westeros were like, “holup.” You’re telling me that for hundreds of years, we had no problem letting incest babies with questionable literacy skills (cough Aegon II cough) sit the throne, but the moment we get a smart, competent woman in line, we suddenly care about rules?

Just say you’re sexist.

Viserys I named her his heir. He had twenty years to change his mind, but he didn’t, because he knew what we all know—Rhaenyra was That Girl. Meanwhile, the Hightowers spent those same twenty years whispering in Viserys’ ear like fuckin lobbyists, trying to push their useless nepo baby, Aegon II, onto the throne. And for what? So he could spend all his time being a drunken liability?

Justice for Rhaenyra.

II. Rhaenyra’s Sons Were Absolutely, Definitely 100% Velaryons (Don’t be fuckin rude)

A lot of people (incorrect people) like to bring up the fact that Rhaenyra’s sons didn’t look like Laenor Velaryon. To that, I say:

Who fuckin cares?

Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey were raised Velaryons, named Velaryons, and rode dragons like true Targaryens. That’s more than I can say for most of Westeros’ nobility, whose main accomplishments include inbreeding and dying of dysentery.

Also, let’s not pretend like Targaryens and Velaryons don’t already have wildly inconsistent genetics. One minute you’ve got platinum-haired dragonlords, the next you’ve got Daeron Targaryen looking like a Dornish prince. Also Jon Snow?? Taking after Lyanna? For fuckin real? Who’s to say genetics didn’t just do a little freestyle? It happens so fuckin often in the world. The real issue here isn’t Rhaenyra’s sons—it’s the fact that people kept bringing it up like gossipy washerwomen.

“Wahh, they don’t look like Laenor!” Okay, and? Did they ride dragons? Yes. Were they betterer and braver than Aegon II, who spent most of his reign crying and drinking? Also yes.

Case closed.

III. Alicent and Otto Hightower: [dismissive wanking gesture]

Imagine this: You’re Rhaenyra Targaryen. You’re raised your entire life as your father’s heir. You have a cool dragon, a supportive father, and the kingdom knows you’re next in line. Then one day, your bestie’s dad—aka Otto “I Would Sell My Minor Dyke Daughter for a Promotion” Hightower—decides he’s gonna play “Let’s Marry My Lesbian Girl Child to the King” and suddenly, you’re supposed to just accept that your half-brother gets to steal your throne?

Absolutely not.

Alicent and Otto gaslit an entire kingdom into believing that Viserys suddenly changed his mind about Rhaenyra, despite there being zero written proof of this ever happening. How convenient.

Rhaenyra was the rightful queen. She was cheated out of her throne by a man who was too busy drinking himself into oblivion to rule properly. The Green faction wasn’t about preserving stability—it was about stealing power under the flimsiest excuse imaginable. If you support Alicent and Aegon II, just say you lack critical thinking and move on.

IV. “Rhaenyra Was Paranoid” — Yeah, Because People Kept Trying to Kill Her

A lot of people (again, incorrect people) like to say Rhaenyra became too paranoid, too ruthless. To them, I ask: wouldn’t you fuckin be? She spent her entire life being undermined, slandered, and plotted against. Every time she showed the slightest bit of trust, someone betrayed her.

Gave Alicent the benefit of the doubt? Betrayed.

Made peace with Rhaenys and Corlys? Lucerys still got murdered.

Let Ser Arryk live? Dude literally came back to assassinate her.

At a certain point, paranoia isn’t paranoia anymore—it’s pattern recognition.

Besides, let’s not act like Daemon wasn’t out here doing 283800% more war crimes than Rhaenyra, and history still calls him cool and mysterious. If Rhaenyra did half the things Daemon did, they’d call her the Mad Queen. Double standards? In Westeros? Shocking.

V. The People of King’s Landing Betrayed Her, and They Should Feel Bad About It

Imagine being ruled by Rhaenyra Targaryen, First of Her Name, a true heir of the Conqueror, and thinking, “You know what would be better? A guy who marries his own sister, can’t even speak his mother tongue, and executes messengers for sport.”

King’s Landing turned on Rhaenyra fast, and for what? Because she raised taxes? Oh, I’m sorry, did the war that she didn’t start cost too much? Try blaming the Hightowers next time.

And then, after betraying her, they let Aegon II take over, and he immediately ran the kingdom into the ground. Good job, guys. Real smart. Hope the starvation and executions were worth it.

You’re Either With Her, or You’re Wrong

Rhaenyra Targaryen was a queen, a warrior, and history failed her. The Greens were cheating, lying, backstabbing frauds, and the fact that they won is nothing short of a crime.

If Rhaenyra had been a man, none of this would have happened. If Westeros had any sense, they’d have rallied behind her instead of betraying the best chance they had at competent leadership

LONG LIVE QUEEN RHAENYRA.

This post has been proudly brought to you by the Rhaenyra Did Nothing Wrong Foundation™

[sturnboos]

we can never be friends

FRATBOY!MATT x READER

WARNINGS : smut (oral F receiving), fingering, swearing.

based on the song why are you here by machine gun Kelly “I hate that I saw you again last night, you were with somebody and so was I. I met you in the bathroom at 12:05 and I fucked you again we can never be friends”

A/N: My first smut and not proof read. don’t like don’t read

your 'friend' August rolls his eyes. “Chris is the host again? I feel like we should find a new frat party spot.”

you frown. “What’s wrong with Chris?”

August raises an eyebrow. “his brother? Matt..”

“our breakup was months ago, and that’s not chris’s fault” you disagree pulling August along.

you walk through crowds of sweaty people and almost slip on a pile of beer that's been spilt on the floor by some drunk lunatic.

normally, you hate frat parties but Chris’s parties were an exception. you head towards the dance floor but before you could do anything august dismissed himself already wanting to grab a drink. So you danced alone but just as the bass drops you feel a person behind you. assuming august had returned you start dancing on the guy, grinding your hips down onto his as the music intensifies. You spin around and throw your arms around the neck of… your ex boyfriend Matthew Sturniolo?

you look up at him shocked. "Hey sweetheart…” he reached out to grab your arm “Let's get out of here" he says with lust filled eyes and pulls you along to the bathroom.

one of his hands trailing up your body while the other held your jaw. You leaned in to kiss Matt deeply, Matt broke the kiss to drag his lips across your jaw, down your neck, lower and lower on your body until he could flick his tongue over a nipple.

You moaned at the sudden feeling, your head falling back against the door with a thud while one of yours hands came to Matt’s hair. Matt smirked against your skin, continuing to flick and suck on your nipples until they were fully erect. Matt chuckled as your back arched, your breasts pressing into his face needily.

Deciding that was enough teasing, Matt sunk down on his knees and lifted your tight black dress above your hips, getting rid of your underwear in one swift move.

Matt smirked up at you then his mouth latched onto your clit, causing you to clamp your free hand over your mouth.

Matt’s name left your lips in a broken whimper, the sound prompting Matt to continue. your thighs were shaking with the effort of keeping yourself up as Matt moaned around your clit, sucking the sensitive nub into his mouth then flattening his tongue against it, moving his head from side to side for more friction. eating you out as if it was his last meal.

“I-I’m gonna-.” You warned, panting. “Matt. Fuck, i’m gonna cum,”

With that, Matt pushed a finger inside and you tossed your head back again with a moan, fisting a hand in Matt’s hair and tugging harshly. Matt didn’t care about the pressure on his scalp he was making you feel good and that’s all that mattered to him. Matt was extremely skilled with his tongue and you were letting him know just how good of a job he was doing, your moans filling the room as Matt twisted and rolled his tongue just the right way around your clit before sucking again, making you cry out. You were so close.

But right as she you were about to let go, someone began to bang on the door loudly. you immediately panicked, bringing your hand to your mouth to stifle your moans and instinctively glancing over to the door to double check it was locked. Matt on the other hand just kept eating you out without a break and pumped his fingers faster. Matt knew the door had been carefully locked beforehand, so he had no reason to stop.

You look down at Matt when the pace he set was urgent and desperate he knew his knees would be bruised and his jaw would feel sore by the time he was finished with you, but right now, all he could focus on was you. At this point you could no longer hold back your moans and that’s how matt knew he was only seconds away from breaking you.

"Cum for me.” He mumbled and just like that you cried out, squirting over his fingers multiple times as he stimulated your g-spot just perfectly and constantly. He then pulls his fingers out of your sensitive clit. you both sat on the bathroom tile breathing heavily, then when both your breathings were back to normal Matt asked “Are you okay?” rubbing your cheekbone sweetly after helping you with your dress and fixing your hair.

You nodded, smiling shyly. “Let me return the favor.”

“No, no.” Matt cupped your cheeks, stopping you before you could get on her knees. “Let’s get back to the party. And if you really want to return the favor, come home with me tonight. Okay?”

Needless to say you went home with Matt that night, without the slightest hint of hesitation. Matt looks you up and down smirking at you “knew you couldn’t resist me” 

“Of course Matt, after all, we can never be friends.” 

[dufferpuffer]

Tbh, I actually think Ginny is a bit…thuggish, for want of a better word. More than a bit prone to physical violence as humour in a way I think Snape would find repulsive on account of his background. Snape would like her more than Percy (because he’ll see himself in Percy’s thirst to prove himself leading to poor choices and naturally hate him for it). But I think it’s quite likely she would be fairly far down his personal ranking of Weasleys, certainly before that final year. Arthur and Molly I do think he likes.

Late answer I'm so sorry but I think about this so much

Because you have good points, and it's helped me clarify how I think about them so thankyou <3... but I'm still torn.

She IS sporty, thuggish, 'Boorish' even - raised with a bunch of rowdy boys and has a lot to prove... while I don't think she was a bully, she still called Luna 'Loony' at first, and that's a bad look - though she fought more FOR people than against them... ... But that's all a bit like Lily, isn't it?

Firey redhead girl with a lot to prove, talented and doesn't let anyone talk down to her, a bit of a rough, teasing edge to her kindness, effortlessly popular... but also, eventually, more kind to 'outcasts'.

I'm not saying anyone who looks or acts vaguely similar to Lily is going to get Severus acting weird. He's traumatized and childish but he's still a grown man, not a lovesick moron. But I've been thinking about this a lot... and I find it hard to believe it wouldn't be a negative for him, even if only subconsciously.

Ultimately Ginny is not Lily and he isn't thinking of them as similar. But a fiery young redhead girl brewing potions in his class, snickering quietly with a friend about someone else - I think it'd rub him the wrong way, even if the memories he has are positive. Repulsive, as you said. How couldn't he find being reminded of his own childhood in the middle of teaching uncomfortable...?

At first - Severus would have been really HARD on Ginny. Like he is subconsciously daring her, testing her. Takes points for small things, snaps at her to pay attention - treats her like he treats Harry. He probably doesn't even really notice. Finds it annoying 'the Weasley girl is always vying for attention, no doubt spoiled by her mother and overshadowed by her brothers...' He thinks he has her all worked out. But he doesn't. He is wrong.

Well, he isn't entirely wrong - but he is missing the key point that she ISN'T vying for attention at all. HE can't ignore HER. Like Harry.

I think he bullied her. Like he bullies Harry, though less (too busy hounding Harry) - but still can't help himself from making uncalled for quips, or getting annoyed at some innocent-enough activity and taking points for no reason. I doubt she notices too much. Ron and Harry primed her, she thinks its normal Snape behaviour... but he doesn't do that to other kids.

But as she gets older... especially that final year... there's more for him to admire in her than not. She's more of a leader, strong, crafty, sneaky, cunning - she's helped Longbottom pull himself together and she openly is friends with outcasts like Luna. As a far more distant hand, as Headmaster, having her be a ''foil''... I think he really came to respect her. Like her. Rely on her, even.

It's a shame - if he could have worked with her I have no doubt they'd be friends. He grew himself around Lily, and Ginny is a similar shape.

~~~

Overall, I think Severus kept a working-relationship distance from Molly and Arthur. But I struggle to see him really getting along with Molly. She gets intense about things he would disagree with, she is bossy, she is overly emotional - and not afraid to snap bitingly at people.

I think he avoids starting shit with her, it's not worth it, but it's hard not to let an eye roll and a '...And you think that would be beneficial?' when she says something he disagrees with. If she gets haughty and snappy at him, likely bringing up what her children have told her about his classes and his manner and not shying away from picking at his looks - he could snap back just as hard.

I don't think they were a problem in meetings. They don't WANT to bicker. But I think that resulted in not speaking unless it was basic "Two sugars, please - thankyou, Professor." and "Yes, your daughter is doing fine - though needs to focus more on her homework."

Arthur is a character fandom often glosses over. Molly's 'crimes' are put on his head and his eccentricities are blown out of proportion. He is very much Molly's 'keeper' and anchor, he is kind but not a pushover, he is responsible, he can be stiff-lipped when he needs to be and playful when he doesn't... While not friends, Severus would appreciate him. Think he was a good egg, doing good work to a high standard... even if, perhaps, he shouldn't be so reckless with his belongings.

[t-am-i-the-asshole]

Am I wrong for bringing up my aunt's ED in a shaming way in my brother's wedding party?

I (19F) am the youngest in my family and since I was a kid I always been very artsy, which really matched my carefree personality in general. But since always, my mother's older sister never hid that she was an ass. She's the stereotype of those relegious women that say everything is demonic or innapropriate (like the times she found absurd when me and my brother were watching harry potter as kids), and even tho my mother never had this same personality as my aunt, they still had a close bond specially due my aunt's anorexia (she's recovering, but sometimes she has some relapses from what I heard). Last week was my brother's wedding and after the ceremony, all the guests sat down in the tables in the room, and because we're a family, we all sit together. My brother and my sister-in-law had lots of guests to talk with so they didn't really had time to sit with us after they ate their pieces of cake, so in the table were just me and my family... and the aunt. Since the bride and groom were the cause of that event, of course they were the main topic and everyone started to talk about my siater-in-law and my brother. Like everyone, my aunt was saying good things about my older brother like how he deserved to be happy, how gentle he is, how good he is since he is a doctor, how he should be my biggest inspiration which is... usual. I'm so used to my aunt comparing me to my older brother (like the good ol' canon event every younger sibling has to deal with) I just nodded and praised my brother too. But then at some point my aunt decided to talk about something I did earlier this year: my tattoo. So, for context, I did a tattoo of mermaids early this year on my arm as my first tattoo. I mentioned tattoos before when I was a kid so it was no surprises to my parents when I got my first tattoo, and actually they really liked it. Never had the opportunity to see my aunt after the tattoo so the wedding was the first time, and since my dress didn't cover my arms, she must have spotted it without me noticing. She basically asked not anyone in particular on the table where was my brother at when I decided to to that to myself. It took me a second to guess what she was talking about, and then I said "minding his own business" with a nervous laugh while my dad asked what about it. My aunt started to rant (in polite words) about how I ruined my looks for a futility, that tattoos come off as something childish, etc. My other relatives were disagreeing while the air was still light. I was already getting getting bothered by those comments, and her attempts to continue speaking even when I was brushing her off was starting to get in my nerves. She then said like "well don't get me wrong, your tattoo is pretty, but what would God think about it? Piercings and tattoos ruin the temple of the holy spirit". So I said "and starving doesn't?" referencing her anorexia. The way the table went silent immediately made me guess everyone got the reference of what I was talking about too, and my aunt just kept looking at me with a expression that I couldn't identify but she was clearly not expecting it. One of the photographers come to out table to take pictures before she even could say something else, and after the pictures I got up to dance with my sister-in-law's little sister on the dance floor. After some time I heard from my family my aunt wasn't really in a good mood anymore, and that probably was because of what I said. My dad says he's on my side, after the wedding party someone told my brother what happened and he said that maybe after that our aunt will learn a lesson and stop picking on me. I heard from him my sister in law was shocked about what I said but that she doesn't really like my aunt, so she's probably on my side. My mom says she understands me and that I have reasons to get angry at my aunt, but she thinks I went too far on my words. She even had a discussion with my dad because he thinks my aunt deserved it for being so rude, that I was just defending myself. So now I want your opinion: Was I the asshole?

[atimeofyourlife]

@steddie-week Day 5- Established relationship

Steve hadn't meant for it to go on for so long. At first, he hadn't wanted to come out and tell everyone about his and Eddie's relationship because he was worried about what the others would say. Worried about it making it back to his parents. But then it became a game to them. Seeing how long before anyone else noticed, how far they could go before someone added it up.

They had told Robin, of course, Steve couldn't keep secrets from her if he tried. She was the first person he had told about his bisexuality, and had figured out his crush on Eddie before he'd had a chance to process it.

But keeping it from the kids? It was too easy, too fun.

Everyone, especially Dustin, still kept assuming that Steve was dating Robin. No amount of denial would convince them that there wasn't a secret relationship there. Even after Robin started inviting Vickie along to hang out, holding her hand and cuddling up together, they wouldn't accept that Steve and Robin weren't dating.

Once, Lucas pointed out that if Steve and Robin weren't dating, maybe Eddie and Robin were. That was met by fighting to keep a straight face, followed by Steve, Robin, and Eddie laughing about it as soon as they were alone.

Steve and Eddie allowed themselves to be more open and free with the touches, the hugs, the flirty comments. And still nothing. Eddie spent an entire evening with his head in Steve's lap. Every time they were stood next to each other, Steve would wrap his arm around Eddie's waist, pulling his boyfriend close into his side. An excessive amount of pet names, far more than they would use while alone, comments about dates, mentions of waking up in bed together. No one picked up on it. Dustin kept insisting that Steve must be dating Robin.

The only person to actually figure it out was Will. He looked a little scared as he approached Steve and Eddie as they are about to leave the party that had been at the Hopper-Byers place.

"Um. Don't hate me for asking this, but are you guys together? Like dating?" He asked shyly.

"Yeah, we are. We've been together for a few months." Steve replied gently.

"And that's ok? To date another guy?"

"There's nothing wrong with like or dating guys. And if anyone says that there is, they're the ones that are wrong." Eddie explained.

"Were you trying to hide it?" Will asked after a moment. "Are you mad that I guessed it?"

"We're not mad. And at first, we were trying to hide it. Because we didn't know how everyone would react, if anyone would disagree with it. Like, I know that Mike and Nancy's parents don't have a good opinion of people like us, and it's hard to know how much they have picked up because, in the year that we were together, I never heard Nance disagree with her parents on what they said about it." Steve said, "And I'm not saying they do have bad opinions, it's just I know that they could."

"After that, it was just really funny to see how far we could get without anyone noticing. One time Dustin walked in, and Steve was laid out on top of me barely ten seconds after we'd stopped making out, and he still thinks Steve is dating Robin." Eddie added.

Will snorted with laughter at that. "Thanks for telling me. I won't tell anyone else."

-

It took them kissing in front of everyone before anyone else noticed. It was at a pool party Steve was throwing. Eddie joined Steve on the pool chair he was lounging on and handed him a beer.

"Thanks, baby." Steve pulled Eddie down, and kissed him. A stunned silence fell over the yard.

"You just kissed Eddie?" Dustin shouted.

"Congratulations, your eyes still work," Eddie replied.

"But what about Robin?" Dustin questioned.

"Don't bring me into this." Robin called, she was sat on the pool chair next to Steve's with Vickie in her lap.

"Yeah, Robin has her girlfriend sitting on her lap, and you still believe she's dating a man. That's homophobic." Vickie added.

"Look, we told you repeatedly that me and Rob were not dating. Those two have been all over each other for ages, and me and Eddie haven't exactly been subtle about it. It's on you for assuming, at this point." Steve explained.

"But you didn't tell me," Dustin replied, sounding put out by it.

"Dude, we didn't have to. No one is entitled to know about our relationship. If we never told anyone, that's our choice. Especially with a relationship like ours, we can't be too careful. We don't want the wrong person finding out." Eddie shot back.

"And anyway, you did pretty much walk in on us making out one time," Steve added, before kissing Eddie again.

I wrote this with a fever so sorry if its not that good Also on AO3

[whateverisbeautiful]

THIS IS LONG AND CONTROVERSIAL

I love that we’re on the topic of Judith because though I love your breakdowns, I respectfully disagree. I’ve never been a Judith fan so I’ve always been able to look at the scenes for what they really are. Though I love your words, you mentioned, “ Rick was always going to accept her and needed to accept the reality of what her DNA was” I’m paraphrasing. However, if Rick was always going to accept her then he wouldn’t NEED to do anything. A big part you’re missing is the sentence “ I had to accept that to keep her alive.” There was nothing instinctual about their “ connection” as Rick is admitting that her being kept alive was contingent upon accepting her Shaneness. Take RJ. Rick HAD to reject knowing his son to keep him alive. Did he want to? No. Based on ricks words, his motivation to keep Judith alive was contingent upon accepting her. And we do see this in the deleted scene where he ignores her. Rick had ample of times to tell Judith he loves her, yet those moments are spent with him hallucinating Shane talking about how she looks like him. Or him compromising her healthcare because he was ashamed to tell Siddiq that she is Shane’s child. Rick never asked about her as a person in TWOL. In every episode where Judith isn’t used as a prop for Rick, but is actually interacting with him, a hallucination of Shane or a reminder that she isn’t ricks child, lurks by. He only asked if she was alive and okay, and the second time he brought her up was for Michonne to almost bring up RJ. Michonne tells him she hasn’t heard from her and he barely flinches. And pictures drawn of her is nothing when he shows that his dreams is how he truly connected with those he loves and yet she was not included. People bring up Rick wanting her when Lori told him she was pregnant but you must remember, that was when he thought the baby was his. I agree with the other person because the entire “ Judith isn’t mine” convo does involve obligation because ricks literal next words are, “ you have to accept this or it won’t work.” Let’s hold that sentence to “ I had to accept that to keep her alive.” Based on his words one action wholly and only lead to the other. And let be honest. If Rick had to pretend that she was his in order to love her it would look just like it looks now with him knowing that she isn’t his, so if that’s the case, why did he NEED to accept her being Shane’s? I’m not hating on Rick, I just think it’s wild that no offense but Judith is literal the physical manifestation of Lori and Shane’s betrayal and if Rick hated the fact that they betrayed him, why would he be wrong to not want this child or have resentment toward a child who will always look like the worst thing that’s happened to him?

My response ended up being long too. But I’m glad that respectful dialogue and disagreements can be had here. This show has always been good at sparking discussions. For me, it wasn’t that I felt Rick was always inherently going to accept Judith. When I said “he knew he was going to love this child as his own” I should clarify that better. What I meant is Rick knew early on he was going to raise her, regardless of her origins or his resentment toward Shane and Lori.

The reason I think that is because when Rick first finds out Lori is pregnant he immediately addresses it with her, and Lori confirms that she and Shane were sleeping together in that same conversation. So Rick at the very least knows the baby may be Shane’s during that time, but he still goes on to take the stance that the baby will be raised by him regardless. And so even before Judith was born Rick seemed to have accepted the responsibility of keeping Judith alive knowing she potentially might not be his, which I get is different than accepting and embracing her as his daughter - something I think it’s fair to say he wrestled with at the onset. Especially once he knew for certain Judith wasn’t his. But at some point, Rick did choose to accept and love Judith as his and I don’t think Rick is the type of character to do that halfheartedly or with underlying resentment forever attached to this child.

When I wrote, “Due to the circumstances, Rick did have to accept/choose Judith as his child in a different way than he had to accept Carl when he was born or even RJ when he learned of him” I meant that it wasn’t just an automatic given for him to accept/embrace Judith as his own. He was going to have to make the choice to do so in a way that he didn’t have to choose to do so with Carl or RJ. And it’s understandable if accepting her was a weighty choice knowing that she’s the result of his loved ones' betrayal.

I understand that point about how his wording of “I had to accept that. I did. So I could keep her alive.” shows keeping her alive was rooted in first accepting her as Shane and Lori’s child. Where I differ is in thinking that Rick having to accept that in the beginning then impacted his ability to love and embrace Judith going forward.

Once Rick accepted her - which again, I’m not saying was just some automatic thing for him to do, because that’s no easy thing to embrace a child from essentially your wife and best friend’s affair - she was his daughter.

And to me, the reason thoughts of Shane are often tied closely to Rick’s thoughts of Judith is because of that acceptance aspect. Rick doesn’t look at Judith and forget or overlook her origins. But he loves and claims her even with the knowledge of her being Shane’s at the forefront of his mind.

To reiterate, imo, the reason Rick might’ve felt he needed to accept Judith being Shane’s is so that he could know he’s capable of fighting for her survival and loving her without needing to be in denial about being her biological father. And Rick wouldn’t have been wrong to have not wanted to take on the role of Judith’s parent - but since he did take on that role, I think it would be wrong for him to then perpetually resent her.

With the examples given about why Rick might have a detachment from Judith, I think it just comes down to a difference in perspective. Because for me, I see that deleted scene with Siddiq and I don't think Rick's deflection there is because he'd rather hide the shame than prioritize Judith's health. I see that scene and think yes it stirs up the shame of Lori and Shane's disloyalty but perhaps Rick also didn’t tell Siddiq at that moment because Judith was present and it wasn’t an urgent thing to discuss right there in front of her.

In the first 4 episodes of TOWL, Rick was so trapped not just in the CRM but inside himself that it took him a while to ask a lot of questions about their family. So the fact that even in that overwhelmed and fearful state he still checked on Judith to at least know she was alive and okay says something to me.

And Rick’s reaction to many things in episode 4 was mostly internal. So in the midst of debating something as big as whether or not he and Michonne are going to go home together, I can see him just feeling like it’s too much to also process that Judith might not be okay after all.

I also think the phone pictures aren't so easily dismissible as insight into how Rick feels about Judith. Dreams were the biggest thing that kept Rick going, true. And losing Carl's face but still being able to specifically see Michonne in his dreams was vital. At the same time, those phone images mattered a lot to him, which is part of why Michonne gifting the phone image of Carl is so impactful. She gave him Carl back through one of the methods he used to hold onto his family members over the years.

Rick wasn't obligated to get phone images of Judith but he did. He went and took the time to describe her to the artist and I interpret that as him wanting to preserve his daughter's memory as best he could.

But with Judith being so young when Rick was captured, I can see Rick knowing that whatever image he has of Judith in his mind is not who she is now years later which could partly be why her image came up less for him - because he doesn’t even know what her image is now.

Even on the phones, it looks like Rick tried to have Judith drawn older in some of them because he was aware she’d changed in ways he wasn't able to see. It might be painful for him to still be imagining a four-year-old when he knows she’s so much older now and has likely had his own image fade from her mind.

There are people who would absolutely take the approach mentioned of deep down always seeing the child as a product of one of the worst things that happened to them and letting it affect their view of the kid - I just don't think that's the case for Rick's character. I guess I'm basically just saying that it wasn't a perfectly smooth road toward acceptance of Judith, but once he did - he did it wholeheartedly. And again, I get that this can feel like I’m leaning toward a more kumbaya approach, but I also think these explanations can be just as valid. It all just depends on the different ways we’re all free to view it.

[noddytheornithopod]

The Fireside Girl Whose Flames Grew so Large She Burned Herself, and the One She Loves

So I just realised something about Act Your Age and a certain aspect of it that always bugged me and was a major factor in my frustration with the episode.

"Boo!!!!!! Shut up!!!!!!! You've talked about this episode to death already!!!!!!"

I don't disagree. I'm pretty tired of it, myself. To the point where I see "AYA sucks" takes these days I just roll my eyes and move on, even if I agree. But what I am posting about is a new insight that just occurred to me. As much as I hate to admit it, Act Your Age might be a train wreck, but it's a train wreck I can't take my eyes off of. It's a disaster, but it continues to fascinate me with the implications it has, even if they drive me up the wall.

So basically, one of the big things that bothered me is that Isabella and Phineas' relationship regressed, but in the main series, they seemed to be getting closer as the seasons progressed. Pretty weird to have the main show suggest one thing, only for Act Your Age to go "actually Isabella gave up once high school came around and basically kept her distance from Phineas as much as she could" and Phineas being depressed and thinking he's not good enough for Isabella (which I'd argue was made worse by Isabella's actions I just referred to, but that's a story for another time).

I could go on about how this was a barely thought out way to throw in some cheap angst that is immediately swept under the rug despite opening huge cans of worms, but that's not what I'm here for. I'm here because I think I might finally understand how this seeming contradiction now works.

Isabella grew distant from Phineas in high school BECAUSE they got closer.

This is all pure conjecture. The show could prove me wrong some day, and other people might have completely different ideas, but this is what I'm thinking.

As I mentioned, with the show, Phineas and Isabella seem to be getting closer overtime. Isabella might be running into bigger challenges to confess her love (still not over how it took a literal zombie apocalypse to stop her when she decided to just straight up confess), but Phineas also grows more comfortable around Isabella, something she obviously loves, I mean he even seems to care about her in a unique way (again, Pharmacists, the moment he realised she wasn't with him, he grew OBSESSED with finding her, risking his and everyone else's safety just because he feels that guilty and worried about their separation).

I don't know what the revival will do with Phineas and Isabella, but I expect more of the same. Mostly the occasional gag, maybe a sweet moment here and there, Isabella maybe tries something here or there even if it can't be a full confession. But for the purposes of this theory, I'm assuming that would happen, and they would continue to really like each other.

So yes, they're closer friends than ever. The spark has lit a fire. There's a line I like in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor where the character Merrin talks about how fire will warm you and keep you company, but left unchecked it will burn everything, leaving only ash. I'm paraphrasing, but in the context of the game, it's referring to protagonist Cal Kestis' struggle of growing more obsessed and passionate over fighting the Empire. This obsession indeed grows and consumes him to a point where he ends up in a very dark place by the end of the game.

So basically, what I'm saying is, Phineas and Isabella might grow closer, but that closeness will bring out their feelings more. Phineas ultimately realises how he feels by high school, of course. That is one part of the fire that has grown. But Isabella? She's probably getting more and more mixed messaging. Despite Phineas' growing love and affection towards her, she still can't just spell out how she really feels, which is what Phineas needs to understand. She might have her courage growing, but we've seen the Mysterious Force in Phineas and Ferb - Phineas remaining oblivious to Isabella's true feelings for him is part of the show's status quo. She's literally doomed to fail. Also, if she's even closer, she's going to feel even more afraid to ruin what they have. As brave as she is, this one anxiety is her Achilles' heel, and she's even more afraid of failing. It's too much pressure.

The Fireside Girl is burning.

She can't handle all of this. So what does she do? Give up. Phineas is her best friend? Doesn't matter, it hurts too much to even be around him. Is it contradictory that she's afraid of destroying what they have, but she does this out of hurt anyway? You bet, humans are messy like that. Always thinking she just might be there only to find he has something else distracting him, or anytime she makes progress, cosmic forces set her back. This fire is raging, affecting not just her, but Phineas, too. Her choice to grow distant makes him miss her. Worst part, he doesn't even understand why it's like this.

In the end, there is only ash. The relationship they had burned to a sliver of what it used to be. The saddest part is, I can't help but think Phineas would try to amend what was wrong, but that clearly fails too, leading to how he probably just thinks Isabella is above him and he doesn't deserve her love (oh hey, that part actually became relevant after all). He too enters a despair over their relationship, just accepting that she's not around anymore despite having stronger feelings than ever for her. He even seems to have a harder time inventing. The last of the fire goes out.

Lucky for them, a phoenix rises from those ashes. In Act Your Age, they finally talk (albeit briefly and in a very rushed scene that sweeps so much under the rug), and they can truly be open with each other again. A new fire is born, one that they can hopefully keep under control.

So what can we gleam from this? I feel like Phineas and Isabella actually could've had a real chance to get together earlier, but as things grew stronger between them, that made things more delicate, too. Not only did the circumstances of their ruthless status quo, but their own flaws ruined thins. Phineas' struggle to understand complex, hard to define emotions like love and his singular focus on what to do, not realising his love language is incomprehensible to Isabella... maybe his own love being incomprehensible to himself (see "I know cute when I see it on my cute tracker" lol). But more importantly, Isabella growing closer but still misreading what Phineas does, her own personal expectations AND fears being heightened by their closer bond, and expecting him to just get what she does. If they DID become closer, more time where he doesn't focus on her probably hurts even more.

In the end, Act Your Age had ideas, but they were afraid to commit to them. They somehow did both too much and too little. I actually think if they had a stronger vision, this episode could've been great, but it would also risk being too serious for Phineas and Ferb, and then people would be mad for DIFFERENT reasons. They didn't think it through, but well, some of us fans are just obsessive enough to pick up the pieces and try and make sense of it all. Because of our own burning fires of passion for this show, and for some of us, this relationship.

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

There's been something going on in my head lately. This topic is about Shinichiro and I feel disappointed. Because Shinichiro is a man who I see as the ideal older brother and parent, who is really good-hearted and loves his siblings more than anything. This is definitely Shinichiro. He is a really good-hearted man who can be easily trusted. But today, some of the things written in Izana's letter confused me a lot. We had discussions about this issue on Twitter and many things came to my mind. Our topic is this friends;

Shinichiro knew that Izana was brother to Emma, so he went to the Philippines to pick up his brother. He picked up his younger brother and went back to Japan. He gave Izana an incredibly beautiful day on the first day, and in fact, in Izana's words, gave him the best day of his life. He gave her the opportunity to live her beautiful day. Afterwards, she continued to take care of him and spend the day with him. What bothers me is that Shinichiro knew that Emma and Izana were sisters. Why didn't he come and tell Emma this in the first place? Was it such a difficult thing to say that you found your brother? For God's sake, he wasn't just Emma's brother, but theirs too. As soon as he found Izana, why didn't he bring her home and introduce her to Grandpa? Why didn't he take Mikey and Emma to their orphanage visits? Why did he promise Izana an empty family?

so apparently, from the letter we saw in the trailer, we find out that shinichiro actually /knew/ that emma and izana were related and still kept them separate when he could have adopted him...shinichiro, that's so sick and twisted shit is there an adult who didn't do izana wrong?The adoption process is surely hard but at this point he could have simply brought emma to visit him and introduce izana to mikey when he got to see him at the orphanage. Mikey was positive about the idea (as we see in the manga) so why didn't Shinichiro do anything about it?When he talks to mikey asking him his opinion on having another brother , he was already an adult, so why didn't he do anything? It's like he kinda forgot about izana because they're not "related", but at that point, why did he get izana's life in the first place? Because he was Emma's brother? And like this we get to the initial point again: he could have, at least, introduced them all

Well firstly I'm pretty sure Shinichiro didn't pick Izana up from the Philippines at all. Since Izana was in a foster home adoption type place and then juvie in Japan (that's how he met Kakucho at the foster home and then the S62 at juvie). I'm also not sure how a Japanese teenager would've been just allowed to take a kid from the Philippines to Japan like that. Actually Izana doesn't even seem to have known he had family in the Philippines until Karen told him. He thought she was his mum and that he had the same dad as Shinichiro (not clear if he knew the guys name or what he looked like though).

I agree though, from our perspective it does seem like Shinichiro made a big mistake here with not introducing Izana to the others or at least telling them. However Shinichiro didn't have our perspective. Shinichiro had no idea what was going to happen or what the consequences of doing that would be. I feel like this is one of those things which will divide the fandom, with some ageeeing and some disagreeing (both are totally fine though).

Like I think Shinichiro was right not to rush into things here, taking on the care of another child is a big responsibility and Shinichiro was already practically raising two, not to mention what kind of impact a change in environment could have on Izana's mental health, a kid he had known for a few hours at this point. I don't know a lot about the irl adoption process but I'm pretty sure you have to spend more then a few hours with the kid before deciding anything. I think that's why they then started exchanging letters, as a way for them to get to know each other better and get more comfortable with each other.

I'm guessing the next part of Shinichiro's plan was to get to know Izana better and get Izana more comfortable with him before introducing him to the others. We know Shinichiro was at least thinking about introducing Izana to them because of the question he asked Mikey.

But then I'm guessing what stopped him was all the complications. Aka Mikey ripped Sanzu's face open and Izana beat up a bunch of kids and then basically forced one to take his own life. Put them together and they don't get along and you're going to have a big problem on your hands. Like I understand why Shinichiro wanted to move slowly here, this isn't something that should've been rushed. Not to mention the warning signs Izana was already showing towards Mikey by asking Shinichiro to stop talking about him and saying hearing about Mikey gives him a headache.

I'd say the main mystery here is why he didn't tell Emma/ bring Emma with him to visit. I'm not sure if he didn't wanna get her hopes up or if he wss worried about her or Izana's reaction (though they both seem like they would've been positive), or if he didn't want to make Emma keep the secret from Mikey but didn't want to let Mikey know yet. That is a bit of mystery.

Also to be completely fair to Shinichiro I don't think he ever would've expected things to play out the way they did. He was only a teenager himself when he first met Izana and even as a young adult it's a big responsibility to bring Izana into the house and make sure all his siblings were doing ok. He clearly wanted to unite them all but wanted it done in the correct way. Shinichiro has only been shown to want the best for his siblings so I'm sure he thought he was doing the right thing here. Though obviously this is just my take and we're all going to have different opinions on this.

[itsgirlcraft]

Hm. I..think I just unveiled a bit of my dark backstory. Neat

Long story short, last week my mom said something like "it's not fair to everyone else if you're just hanging out" in relation to college and chores and getting a job.

Anddddd...this isn't the first time. The last time was back in September 2023 where she went into an emotional rant about it. I checked my notes app abt that first time and damn. It did Not Go Well.

Putting a cut here bc it gets more vent-y and personal.

I had really horrible intrusive thoughts that first time. I was terrified of her "catching" me resting, even just eating. So I pretended to work on college after finishing my actual work, long after the sun set. I kept having thoughts of, "she's right I'm just a burden, rest is a reward I can't ever enjoy anything again I shouldn't sleep or eat anymore," etc. I felt like I was purposefully being dramatic, so I could get pity points, even though guilt was eating me alive.

However, this second time was different. I don't think it was all that emotional for either of us. Tbh I think I've actually gotten better in a lot of ways!

I tried to explain myself when she said so initially, trying to show my side of things. After, I just..went to work on my college assignment with nothing more than mild disdain for her. It was more a sign to rebel rather than give in, and I feel more confident in myself now! I even feel that what I've done is good enough, that I deserve rest and celebration!

And now, in the days later, I've dissected the whole thing logically, comparing our povs and what I agree/disagree with. I've explored the opportunities for why I'm wrong and why she's wrong, and that all of this is still my interpretation of her argument. None of what *I* assumed here may be right, because this may not be an attack whatsoever on her part.

Because I DO agree that chores should take up part of my day if I do stick with 1-2 classes that are ACTUALLY easy for me. I literally WANT to do that. I just don't like that she's implying 1, she's trying to pick my battles for me, and 2, that having fun is hurting others. Because from what I understand, she thinks any less than 3+ classes is too little, and I'm just "chilling" all day.

But last semester's 2 classes, combined with my laptop breaking, nearly broke me. I had to fight to get to this point, where I've gone beyond the shores of my comfort zone and straight into the depths. I got on a public bus and went to my college campus on my own, for the first time for both. I figured out how to get my student id, got on the wrong bus, and was fine with it! I was calm and trusted that, eventually, I'd get home!! That's INSANE, okay? I GOT ON THE WRONG BUS AND GOT OFF SOMEWHERE UNKNOWN, AND I DIDNT PANIC, I TRUSTED MYSELF AND THE WORLD TO BRING ME HOME!!!!! AND BY GOD, IM FUCKING PROUD OF THAT!!!

And yeah. Even tho my mom says she's impressed with that, her little talk last week felt hypocritical. Hopefully I'll get around to telling her all this soon, because it seems she's had this thought in her head for awhile...And for once, I don't want to avoid confrontation.

[morsesnotes]

A little ramble about Joan and Morse...

[There will be spoilers if you haven't finished Endeavor]

A common take I've seen in this fandom is that Joan was waiting around for him. That Morse had all these chances he didn't take to express his feelings. So her shutting him down in S5/S6 was totally his own fault. I disagree with this and don't really understand it.

Here's why:

They only start getting to know each other properly in S2, and Morse has a girlfriend at that point.

Morse becomes aware of his feelings for Joan at the end of Coda, and he went to the Thursdays' house immediately after. It seemed like he intended to talk about it with Joan, but she was clearly traumatized, and not in a place to deal with romantic declarations. She'd already decided she was leaving. What if he said how much he cared and then she was gone? When you think about the abandonment issues this guy has, and the fact she is literally leaving him in that moment, can you blame him for being afraid?

Nevertheless, he's openly welling up in front of her (a very odd thing for a man in the mid-60s to do) and telling her if she needs anything to let him know. There's no way a woman wouldn't pick up on this. Not to mention constantly putting her life before his at the bank.

When Joan contacts him in the vaguest form possible, it's enough for him to do exactly what he said he would. He goes out of his way to find her and indicates there's something between them that can happen. He tells her he cares what happens to her and whether or not she's in his life. Joan makes him leave.

Morse proposes to her. She says no and specifically cites her dad as a reason it would be a bad idea. When the phone rings, Morse is willing to let it go. She's the one who picks it up, brings it to him, and leaves before he can do anything about it.

Even though he doesn't stay at the hospital, the Doctor presumably would've told her he stopped by.

When she moves back to Oxford, he gives her some space, which is entirely correct given what she's been through. He takes up her invitation to her party and makes sure he is there. He's clearly eager at the chance to spend time with her. But then she tells him she wants to set him up with someone else.

Eventually Morse can't take any more rejection, especially with Claudine having left him. He's gotten the message Joan was sending him and lets it go. This is when Joan decides to ask for a coffee. It's the first time she actually initiates something and given the context I think it's perfectly understandable for Morse to turn the offer down? It's fair enough if he doesn't want to get hurt again, isn't it? Idk, Joan's timing here rubbed me the wrong way. It was the mature thing for him to do and showed he saw her as more than a rebound.

Finally, a few weeks later Morse realizes in Icarus that life is too short and takes her up on it, but now she says she's sick of waiting around.

The fan reaction I saw with that moment was, "Yeah you tell him Joan! Fuck him!" And it made me go "???". It's true it wasn't the best timing on his part, but it's not as if he had a habit of turning up when it suited him. She was the one stringing him along, wanting his attention one minute and then rejecting it the next. She could've said she was busy and they could do it some other time in the week. Her reaction was way too harsh.

Don't get me wrong, I love Joan and am by no means the type to view Morse as a poor little Meow Meow who can do no wrong. However, I feel like it's super unfair to put it all on him when Joan was going through her own problems and has her own difficulties expressing herself. He gave her countless opportunities to open up, and she pushed him away. At a certain point, it'd be weird if he ignored her wishes and kept attempting to pursue her. It wouldn't be a good look if he tried stopping her from marrying his friend either. As far as he knows, she's moved on.

Morse may have had trouble saying it out loud, but his actions spoke volumes. Surely that counts for something? He also wrote her that incredibly romantic letter in Zenana and straight up said "Please believe me to have been yours, always". Keep in mind again this is a British man in the 60s-70s and the men around Joan so far have been deeply repressed. Seems pretty forward to me! I simply don't believe this wouldn't spark curiosity in Joan to figure out what he meant. That she'd just wait around until Morse came to visit her to ask about it, and that seeing him in the state he's in, she'd leave it there. This woman who wants passion, who's independent, who cares about the people in her life, who knows how it feels to be saving face while suffering inside, and her literal job involves helping children come to terms with their trauma. Her total passive behavior towards Morse doesn't make sense! Like it doesn't even have to be romantic! They can interact as friends!

He carries a ton of trauma and emotional baggage which makes him terrified of losing what he has with her. Not to mention his respect for Thursday. I don't see why we can't have empathy for both of them.

And yeah, he was being a dick in S6 but again, he's allowed to be angry and in fact it's healthy for him to actually let it out rather than having this idealized view of Joan forever or holding it in like he usually does.

Btw, with his previous behavior taken into account, him not showing up in Uniform was highly unusual and should've been a "What's happened to him?" moment for Joan. Not, "Classic Morse. Works comes first."

Anyway, sorry for the essay and thank you if you read all of it. I just wanted to get all my thoughts together in one place.

[fantasymindpalace]

What the IC and Rhys did was awful. They shouldn’t have kept the secret from Feyre. But let’s not forget that Nesta originally agreed to keep the secret as well. And the only reason she told Feyre was because she wanted to hurt her. She literally weaponized Feyre’s potential death and miscarriage all because she was angry at Amren. Rhys and the IC sucks for keeping the pregnancy thing a secret, but so does Nesta.

And you’re right. Feyre’s her sister. So why didn’t she tell Feyre immediately after finding out about the secret? Why wait until she was angry and lashing out to tell feyre? Unlike the rest of the IC, she owes Rhys no loyalty. She could’ve said something a lot sooner, but instead she used the knowledge to hurt her little sister.

So, yeah, Feyre definitely had to right to know. Rhys and IC are absolute trash for keeping the secret. But Nesta, as Feyre’s sister, should’ve told Feyre right away once she realized that no one else would. She could’ve had a conversation with Feyre. Instead, she chose to tell Feyre that she and her unborn baby might die in the most apathetic way possible.

Honestly Feyre was done so wrong by everyone in the series, including Nesta. Like imagine finding out that everyone, including your own sister, knew that you and your unborn baby might die and you only found out because your sister was lashing out.

If we’re going to hold Rhys and IC accountable for keeping Feyre in the dark, why don’t we hold Nesta accountable as well when she also agreed to keep it a secret from her sister? Nesta isn’t a hero in this situation. In fact, there are no heroes - only a victim, which is Feyre.

this is my personal opinion, obvi the books are open to your personal interpretation. i think nesta may not have told feyre right away because it was probably very intimidating for her to openly disagree with the inner circle. i mean, they clearly don’t receive criticism from outsiders very well. yes, they do keep each other in check, but if a non member of the ic disagrees with or critiques them, well i think their actions speak for themselves. i also think the ic meddles WAY too much into the archerons family affairs. the sisters relationships with each other are not the inner circles business. nesta’s delivery of the information was less than ideal, but i don’t necessarily disagree with it either. yes, she did mean to cause harm with those words. however, to me, the severity of the situation warrants a strong reaction. and the importance of the information outweighs the delivery. shit comes out in heated moments, that’s just real life. i mean, the ic literally went behind their own high lady’s back and kept secrets about her very life and pregnancy, and nesta was just supposed to go along with it?? at the end of the day, feyre needed to know. and nesta was the only one brave enough to speak the truth to her. that took a lot of guts. and even after, they gaslit her into believing that saying something hurtful in an argument is worse than literally withholding medical information from the high lady of their court. they deflected the blame and put it all on nesta. but after all, there are just my meaningless opinions on the matter. you bring up valid points and i do agree at the end of the day feyre got done soooo dirty. however, nesta was courageous enough to do something that nobody else in the ic was willing to do, and i respect it

[opinated-user]

Outside of the Snape section, what do you think of the rest of Orchard's Harry Potter video? I think she makes some good points and there is a lot I've disagreed with her on in the past.

the rest as well was pretty bad. just like her first video, you aren't gaining anything watching her video that you wouldn't have by watching the videos of other people who are far better explaining their points. she is very close to reach something but she never does it. the point about how the women in HP are written with some misogynistic tropes and don't ultimately do much outside of that? heard that before. it's nothing new. the only thing LO add is about how the "anti slavery" portion of Hermione is written as a flaw, which somehow she doesn't relate back to how rowing views activist and activism in general as people being annoying. the idea that ron is written as clashing with hermione purely because of romantic tension is so reductive and then all their disagreements being purely jelousy is just... wrong. she talks about how people hated ron in the final book and apparently she missed the part about how ron was in direct contact with a cursed artifact that literally brings out the worst on people. that thing about him rubbing on harry's face that his parents are dead is because the collar he has is feeding off all his insecurities and fears. this is not an issue with ron specifically, anyone would end up saying something like that or worse because they're quite literally lashing out. he does tries to apologize regardless and harry doesn't want to hear about it, because they're in the middle of a war and have a friend is more important than unpack every single awful bad comment someone said. when talking snape, she either lies or forgot that snape did kept persuing harry's mom for far later after he already said a magic racist slur to her and she had to consistently reject him over and over again, in part too because snape just refused to apologize or see what was the issue in the first place, preferring instead to keep being mad at james. there's are so many little things that she says about the character that are outright not true or contradicted by the actual text and does literally sound like coming out from a snape apologist type of fan.

btw, the casually dropping that his father went to an abusive catholic school and might have been sexually abused himself by flashing the CSA allegations against that school? that's still disgusting. that's a real person whose trauma she's flaunting to her entire audience to be "well, he thought this was okay because that's what he grew up with" in the context of talking about a fictional character on a fantasy franchise? what a complete lack of any tact or sensibility. nobody needed her to flash those images, she didn't need to share to everyone "my father could have been a victim of CSA, no wonder he thinks like that!", her point could have come across without them! none of that comes with any warning. she's again treating a very serious, very delicate topic like CSA, CSA of a real person she's currently criticizing for internalizing abuse, on your face like it was just part of any casual conversation and i'm positively revolted that more people don't have a negative reaction to that.

the section of rowing hates women is fine by itself... but it's coming from the same woman that is adamantly against any self reflection, about actually learning from marginalized people, about listening when she's done wrong by them, that it sounds like she's actually just repeating what other people have said without any real conviction.

my only conclusion is that, again, she's not bringing anything new to the table and it's not worth watching. better look for other critical videos. they won't suddenly start talking to you about the sexual abuse their parents went through as children either.

[justeliiijah]

Regarding ur point saying Rose should have taken out her genocidal war family. Rose certainly had complicated and largely negative feelings towards the diamonds but she refused to kill. It was completely against her own philosophy to take the life of another. It's why she bubbled Bismuth and it's why her sword can't shatter gems and why the war went on as long as it did. Like Steven, Rose saw the good in everybody, and she didn't want to kill her family or any of their pawns to guarantee the Earth's survival. This probably isn't a good philosophy in Real Life Warfare but pacifism and forgiveness are key tenets of SU and having the CGs on Team Murder would undermine that. And besides, Rose valued the life on Earth so much she defected for it, so I'm sure she still felt for gemkind too, even if they are a much less charming or organic form of life.

And like I said prior, the Diamonds were defeated and in a major way. They couldn't keep up with the resistance and they were losing stability in their own caste system because soldiers kept defecting. They were wasting significant amounts of resources and weapons and manpower trying to take over one measly planet, which is why they forfeited by indiscriminately corrupting both the CGs and their own soldiers and decided it would be better to just destroy the planet with the Cluster in a few thousand years, that plan Rose probably didn't know anything about. To Rose I think it is fair to say that after 5000 years of no sign of diamond return she thought the world she would leave Steven in would be safe. The Diamonds didn't even realize the Crystal Gems were still alive because they assumed they had been corrupted by the song too. If they knew they survived the Diamonds would have wiped them out on the spot. Likewise, charging into Homeworld 5000 years to try and take on 3 diamonds with an army of 4 would be suicide. There'd be no Rose to even have Steven because she'd just be resparking a long dead conflict fruitlessly.

I don't disagree that Rose's shortcomings were severe. She traumatized and abandoned Spinel, unknowingly or not, hurt Volleyball, lied to the gems, and imprisoned Bismuth for resisting her. I am sure there are more examples I am missing. Pearl (and to a lesser extent the other CGs) was absolutely destroyed after her passing because she revered Rose so much she could not see her flaws and hinged her own self worth on her loyalty to Rose, which I'm going to be honest I don't think was Rose's responsibility to deal with emotionally. But it probably doesn't speak well to Rose's ability to interact with other people lol. I understand WHY she left so many of her problems unresolved but I won't say she was right to do so.

That being said. While Rose should have tied up her loose ends, even if she was deathly afraid (and expectant) of rejection, I still don't think she was in the wrong for having Steven. Maybe it was kind of selfish to have him given her troubled past. But bringing life into the world will always bring suffering upon the child and that's just kind of how life is. Everyone faces hardships and almost everyone faces hardships as a direct or indirect consequence of their parents, even the good ones. Rose truly thought that Steven would not be shackled by her issues, or at least would not face so many at such a young age, and that the Crystal Gems could move on and grow by themselves, and she basically killed herself to try and ensure it. To Rose, having Steven was honestly a safe venture, and one that would bring somebody better and more human and more capable of being a "real person" up into the world.

This is a lot of fuckin words I'm so sorry I just don't have anybody else to talk to about this and I have a lot of opinions on Rose Quartz

TLDR; Rose was right to have Steven given her own knowledge of the Homeworld situation and while she was a coward in dealing with her own personal problems I don't think she could have predicted the trajectory of Steven's life, given he would have never learned about most of it as a kid without Homeworld's invasion in the first place

why wouldn't you just text me your opinions instead of this. coda. coda we are dating. this is one of the LONGEST POSTS ON MY BLOG CODA