#but i have opinions

[local-redhead-bookworm]

So I was having a conversation with a classmate yesterday, and we wound up talking about House of the Dragon. She was Team Black, I was (technically) Team Green because I prefer the characters for that team. The conversation ended civilly, but essentially, my classmate didn’t care for Alicent because, in her opinion, Alicent accepted and perpetuated the patriarchy instead of fighting against it.

But that’s the thing that makes Alicent so interesting and tragic to me. She has spent her whole life doing as she was told. Obeying her father and her husband, producing heirs for the Targaryen line. Following the faith of the Seven. Never complaining. Never fighting back. She does her duty to her king, her children, her country, and her faith. And yet, she sees Rhaenyra getting away with anything she wants.

Rhaenyra never experiences consequences for harming others or putting herself in unnecessarily risky situations. And yes, Rhaenyra absolutely shouldn’t be held to a different standard than male rulers are. But the fact is, she still experiences an insane amount of privilege as a princess. She repeatedly flirts with Daemon in spite of everyone warning her to stay away from him. She goes off on her own during Aegon’s nameday celebration and nearly gets herself killed. She orders Criston to sleep with her when he can not truly turn her down. She goes so far as to accuse a 10-year-old of treason when he states that her children are illegitimate, which is objectively true. A leader that calls anyone who opposes them a traitor is not a just leader. She isn’t a good fit for the crown.

I’m not Team Green. Aegon isn’t any more fit to rule than Rhaenyra is. But I do think that Alicent demonstrates actual skill for leadership. She feels a strong duty for her people, tries to make peace, takes charge when Viserys dies, and is brave enough to step between her son and a dragon. She’s not without her flaws, I will concede that. But I genuinely believe that, out of all the characters in the show, Alicent is the most fit to rule.

#hotd #house of the dragon #alicent hightower #I have stayed out of HOTD recently #and all of this has probably been said before #but I have opinions

[six-costume-refs]

Meg’s Parr skirt moodboard

#elisabeth has opinions #too overwhelmed for anything but snark today #but I have opinions #six the musical

[rainypebble07]

It's silly because Mike Wheeler's Guide to the Undead is my favorite fic that I've ever written (I believe it's my best work writing-wise) and somehow it has fewer hits than all my other fics. Even IWABT (Rewritten), which just came out and already surpassed it.

Idk what I need to do to get you guys to read this fic.

It's super cute because it takes place right after season 1, but here's the thing. The premise of the fic is that Will actually died in the Upside Down, but then Mike is at his grave and witnesses him come back to life as a zombie. It's LITERAL ZOMBIE BOY.

Mike helps him becuse they need to figure out what's going on, but they can't tell the adults bc they'll tell the lab, so it's super pre-byler-blyer (miwi?) and so adorable and heartwarming but also kind of angst but also sweet and Nancy and Mike interact a lot and Dustin and Lucas are there and everything.

Other reasons you should read it:

There's a scene where they have a heart-to-heart while sitting on top of a crypt in a foggy graveyard

it has a very happy ending

Dustin hating on Ted Wheeler

Troy Walsh gets what he deserves

NANCY AND MIKE SIBLING INTERACTIONS I REPEAT!

Dr. Owens shows up???

It could technically happen and not change the rest of the stranger things plot

Jonathan and Mike solidarity at Will's funeral???

It's from Mike's POV, but it's young Mike so it's ok

Multiple people told me it was one of the best fics they've ever read

Like, idk what else to say other than it is my pride and joy and I have no idea why all my other fics have so many more hits than it! I love it and I think it deserves so much more hype than a lot of my other fics.

Okay, that's the end of my PSA... but if you were intrigued... maybe give it a chance?

#byler fanfic #ao3 fanfic #ao3 #byler #stranger things #fanfic #will byers #mike wheeler #zombie will #miwi #that was long #but I have opinions #seriously #i've always been so confused #all my other fics have more than 1000 hits #and this one does not #And it's arguably my best work #so idk #try it for me

[cynthia39100]

Merlin rewatch -- S1E7: The Gates of Avalon

The timing of Arthur's enchantment

The timing at which Arthur started to be enchanted is so vague in this episode... Did Sophia charm him somehow from the start? Did the failed attempt in the woods still partially affect him? Was he only enchanted when his eyes turned red?

It's very important as to whether Arthur's behaviour in this episode could be excused by enchantment or was just OOC.

For me, I think Sophia's enchantment started the next day Sophia stayed in Camelot, which means in that scene where Arthur asked Merlin to cover for him, he was not entirely himself.

Evidences:

Gaius’ and Merlin’s conversation after the first stock scene seemed to suggest Arthur’s behaviour (neglecting his patrol duty) wasn’t normal. Gaius questioned it even before Merlin told him it was Arthur's idea instead of Merlin being self-sacrificing.

In the commentary they said there was a deleted scene in which Sophia attempted the enchantment on her first night at Camelot, which meant that at the point Arthur asked Merlin to cover for him he at least was partially affected.

It's arguable that since Sophia failed at enchanting Arthur the deleted first and the second time we saw in the episode, he was still himself. But Bradley did say in the commentary that he showed the gradual enchantment effect by squinting his eyes. And he already looked a bit enchanted before we first saw Sophia chant the spell. (fully-enchanted face on the right for referece)

Arthur looked more dazed when he asked Merlin to cover for him the second time, after the interrupted enchantment session, proving that an incomplete enchantment still affected him. There was also one shot where his face was hidden in the shadow. Making him look suspicious.

In conclusion, Arthur was enchanted since the first night Sophia set foot in the castle of Camelot and thus became reckless and ignorant of his duty.

(If only they didn't put that final gag there for no reason other than a laugh and sabotaging Arhur's character...)

Next -> [other episodes]

#It's probably not that important #don't know if anyone care #but I have opinions #merlin rewatch 2024 #bbc merlin #rewatch: the gates of avalon #arthur pendragon

[kittykatcar]

#i dont know jack shit about filming #but i have opinions #poll #dutch angle #split diopter

[sanjiafsincedayone]

I got a good ask, but I am scared it will draw negative ship war type of attention. 😬 On the other hand that kind of attention seems almost impossible to avoid regardless... 😅

My opinion on Sanji and Nami in Wano is the only safe part of that ask. For now I will say I think we actually got a lot of good and interesting things in Wano, though not a lot. And probably not as forward and positive looking as many moments we got in WCI. Still, considering the very action heavy arc I am glad for what we did get, big and small. 😘

#hmmm #i am tempted #but I have opinions #sanji x nami #sanami #sanji #nami #manga #one piece

[ask-calico-jack]

drug recs for a first time drug doer? I've drunk alcohol obviously but never done anything harder.

Other than booze which I love, Rhino Horn is definitely my favorite. Helps me get shit done but is also fun. But it's not like that for everybody. Eddie basically only does it when he's in a mood and Mary doesn't fuck with it at all, she's more of a stoner than a tweaker. Weeds fun every once in a while. I don't really like opium because you just sit around and nod off. You feel really happy but you don't do much and I like to be doing shit. Can't have a coconut war on opium, and it's a bit of a waste of medical supplies anyway. I basically only do it if there's nothing else on the boat. Mushrooms are great for an afternoon, kinda like weed in that it's for a special occasion where you want to sit around and giggle at stupid shit. You know if you mix mushrooms with lemon juice it dissolves em a little bit and it doesn't last as long but it hits you way harder.

#drugs #that lemon thing is real its called lemon teching #ooc: anyway im about to drop the real shit on you anon #first of all dont do meth. especially if you have adhd. the high to side effects ratio is completely not worth it #coke can be fun but not worth the price tag. doing someone else's coke is great #now all drugs have personalities but uppers and downers are like regular people and hallucinogens are like mythical creatures #mushrooms are a satyr of some kind casting spells to seduce your brain #and lsd is a lovecraftian monstrosity (affectionate) #the big thing with hallucinogens is you have to not be afraid of them or the trip will go bad #self fulfilling prophecy type shit #ideally you should also go in pretty secure in your sense of self because they will fuck with you #that said its a life changing experience i love it so much #ghb is good but watch out if you go overboard you will fall asleep and the night will be a bust #also always test and Do Not Inject #you can back out if you smoke it snort it or eat it but injecting it youre done #I know youre not actually interested in drug recommendations and are just giving jack the chance to say insane shit #but i have opinions #misc asks

[mygirljunhee]

The whiplash I got going from warrior/power/no mercy to crash/stop it...

#i'm gonna rank bap songs later instead of flooding the dash #but I Have Opinions #and i can't be stopped #bap #addy.txt

[bonivers]

every semester i can only either A) rewatch a show or b) watch a sitcom and rn i have dived back into s2 of himym and it’s sooo annoying to see ted and robin together. it is criminal that they end up together

#just got to swarkles ‘holy crap you’re beautiful’ scene and yeah them i can see together #is this a great show? no. no i don’t even think i enjoy it if i’m being real. it’s just something to put on #as background noise #but i have opinions #allana rants

[knamil]

i have so many more opinions about pride and prejudice than would be immediately obvious based on literally anything i have ever said previously.

#i forget if i had a shitpost tag #i'm not in the fandom #i know nothing of it #but i have opinions

[moonwoodcollective]

I'm just a product of my raisin' I say hell yeah and yeehaw

#teen-a-day #day 6: redneck #Sawyer Abernathy #ts4 #sims 4 #ts4 portrait #so like i said before i randomized like prompts for each sims appearance #and literally wound up with this #blue hair and pronouns redneck #im laughing my ass off #heavily inspired by my childhood i was raised in a redneck community #im very not redneck #but i have opinions #i went feral over this prompt fr

[bkwrm523]

Tonight, on Kitty Investigations Discord

internet pubby pictures (actual doggo puppies) in one room, and in the other I get drunk and have an angry rant about the tactics of some of the D&D classes

#i respect those who disagree with me #ur all valid #but I have opinions #chatroom shenanigans

[trans-cuchulainn]

i do think there is a degree to which certain kinds of Instagram activists have convinced themselves that traumatising themselves in solidarity is a useful form of activism. "I'm having nightmares and crying so much I want to be sick because of all these videos of dying children but I can't look away while people are getting hurt" I mean don't you think you'd be able to help more if you weren't having nightmares and crying all the time?? don't you think this is a one-way trip to burnout? don't you think maybe increasing the amount of trauma going around is counterproductive? I dunno bro there's something to be said for bearing witness but there comes a point where you gotta look hard at yourself and go "am I helping, or am I just making myself suffer so I don't feel guilty for not suffering while somebody else is experiencing bad shit"

#and they try to drag other people down with them #BUDDY I AM NOT USEFUL IF I'M HAVING A PANIC ATTACK #vicarious trauma is not like. a useful form of solidarity. in my opinion #personal

[noahskahan]

i didn’t finish listening to the album cause i had lab class but im on my home and will do a little rank after I finish ❤️

#does anyone cares????? NO #but i have opinions

[sunshinem0ths]

club meshis

#that one post that was like kabru and laios r in their 20s they should have been at the club !! got me thinking #i have explanations for all of these btw #also was gonna add some minor characters but i didnt have strong opinions abt all of them so i just left them out #dunmeshi #delicous in dungeon #dungeon meshi #marcille donato #senshi #falin touden #laios touden #izutsumi #shuro #kabru of utaya #mithrun of kerensil #namari #chilchuk tims #thistle

[deep-space-netwerk]

So Venus is my favorite planet in the solar system - everything about it is just so weird.

It has this extraordinarily dense atmosphere that by all accounts shouldn't exist - Venus is close enough to the sun (and therefore hot enough) that the atmosphere should have literally evaporated away, just like Mercury's. We think Earth manages to keep its atmosphere by virtue of our magnetic field, but Venus doesn't even have that going for it. While Venus is probably volcanically active, it definitely doesn't have an internal magnetic dynamo, so whatever form of volcanism it has going on is very different from ours. And, it spins backwards! For some reason!!

But, for as many mysteries as Venus has, the United States really hasn't spent much time investigating it. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, sent no less than 16 probes to Venus between 1961 and 1984 as part of the Venera program - most of them looked like this!

The Soviet Union had a very different approach to space than the United States. NASA missions are typically extremely risk averse, and the spacecraft we launch are generally very expensive one-offs that have only one chance to succeed or fail.

It's lead to some really amazing science, but to put it into perspective, the Mars Opportunity rover only had to survive on Mars for 90 days for the mission to be declared a complete success. That thing lasted 15 years. I love the Opportunity rover as much as any self-respecting NASA engineer, but how much extra time and money did we spend that we didn't technically "need" to for it to last 60x longer than required?

Anyway, all to say, the Soviet Union took a more incremental approach, where failures were far less devastating. The Venera 9 through 14 probes were designed to land on the surface of Venus, and survive long enough to take a picture with two cameras - not an easy task, but a fairly straightforward goal compared to NASA standards. They had…mixed results.

Venera 9 managed to take a picture with one camera, but the other one's lens cap didn't deploy.

Venera 10 also managed to take a picture with one camera, but again the other lens cap didn't deploy.

Venera 11 took no pictures - neither lens cap deployed this time.

Venera 12 also took no pictures - because again, neither lens cap deployed.

Lotta problems with lens caps.

For Venera 13 and 14, in addition to the cameras they sent a device to sample the Venusian "soil". Upon landing, the arm was supposed to swing down and analyze the surface it touched - it was a simple mechanism that couldn't be re-deployed or adjusted after the first go.

This time, both lens caps FINALLY ejected perfectly, and we were treated to these marvelous, eerie pictures of the Venus landscape:

However, when the Venera 14 soil sampler arm deployed, instead of sampling the Venus surface, it managed to swing down and land perfectly on….an ejected lens cap.

#space #space history #venus #NASA #Venera #spost #I will talk all day about venus #ask me about venus floating sky cities #unpopular opinion venus > mars #this is probably my favorite space history story #the surface of venus is made of lens caps #don't try to tell me the universe doesn't have a sense of humor #well #I guess its more that people have a sense of humor and we happen to live in the universe