#idk what the other countries in the uks opinions are though

[rebelsandtherest]

ok so i’m going to preface this ask by saying that the name alfred is given to the first born males on my dads side, so it’s a name near and dear to my heart, that said, there’s an angle i’ve never (or in all likelihood missed) seen between alfred and arthur. and i crave your opinions.

growing up i knew that the name alfred became popular in the victorian period since the english started looking into history and saw king alfred and decided he was pretty great. so i wonder how arthur felt, to see and hear his estranged sons name so often. of course he’s glad that his country’s putting some respect on king alfred, but i can see him calling someone named alfred by their last name to avoid saying it out loud. “alfred, lord tennyson.” “who?” “lord tennyson.” “not a fan.” the man’s conflicted and petty.

or it could be the opposite, it could remind him why he chose the name to begin with. imagine him overhearing a man in a pub proudly boasting about how fast his little alfie is growing, showing off a picture he keeps of the lad. and arthur can’t help but smile to himself and feel a wee bit envious. a few situations like that, and he’s tentatively writing formal letters that go unanswered. a few decades and a great rapprochement later he can finally say alfred out loud without tasting bile.

or he could be so far up his own ass that he doesn’t even notice the trend in names. idk. definitely drunkenly hums ‘what’s it all about (alfie)’ in the 60s.

Ooooh man this is a good question! Thanks for sending in the ask.

This became an immensely long reply with a bad history lesson included (because I'm relying on my ADHD memory and hoping it doesn't scramble itself between my brain and the keyboard), so... sorry about the length.

Anyway.

I think the Victorian revival of "Alfred" as a name would have affected Arthur in a few ways, but within his context, I imagine that those moments would be relative sporadic.

So a few things:

First: The name itself is Anglo Saxon—the original ash (Æ) was replaced with an A to fit contemporary English spelling, and it would have been pronounced a little different obviously, but it is remarkably unchanged for an early medieval name over 1000 years old. So Arthur is probably used to hearing the name at least once in a blue moon, and I doubt anyone was much confused when he gave the name—even if it wasn't in vogue at the time—to his firstborn.

Second: The Victorian age for Arthur was absolutely chock-full of wars, particularly wars overseas. Victoria was called empress for a reason, because she had a penchant for stealing other people's land and sovereignty. So whether Arthur was enthused by the nonstop action or not (I'd wager he was, most of the time), he was incredibly preoccupied and probably didn't have time to mope about his son, so if the name ever made Arthur think about Alfred, it would be a short-lived reverie.

Third: The Victorian era was a historically interesting time for UK-US international relations. Your average USA citizen probably didn't spare much thought for English subjects an ocean away, but, on the whole, white Americans remained enamored with England as the "mother land", were keen on trans-Atlantic commerce, and eager to prove themselves as equals to their allies in Europe. This didn't exactly work.

Even so, Britain and the USA continued to host a bizarre mix of cultural proximity and mutual contempt. Bad blood had gone stale by the beginning of Victoria's reign, but stale blood bred an enduring sense of pettiness, especially on the British side. Though the two nations' diplomatic and economic relationships were strong and well-maintained, events like the USA's rather embarrassing showing at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London were devoured by the British public in a feeding frenzy of schadenfreude that solidified a kind of national desire to dunk on Americans whenever possible.

While Brits still relish dunking on Americans, the early Victorian need to put America down as an economic and cultural peer began to shift, at least in some ways, in the second half of the 19th century. The American Civil War devastated the English economy, particularly of the northern half of the country which depended immensely on American cotton to fuel its textile industry. The entire war, its fallout, and notably the end of slavery in the USA, were all topics that British citizens would have seen daily in their newspapers, a source of interest and immense anxiety. By this point, Britain as a whole had forcibly been made aware of how, like it or not, the state of the USA's government and economy affected their daily life in ways too large to ignore.

Whilst America quite literally murdered itself over the problems it'd decided to ignore for a century, Britain and Europe were all deep in the industrial revolution—hell, it started in England, hence the textile mills. England and the young German Confederation were both heavy hitters in the game, and improvements to seafaring technology as well as Britain's relentless expansion across the globe was continuously bringing in new wares from all around the world for European industrialists to copy and mass produce. European trade and industrial competition was booming.

Meanwhile, America remained intensely focused on itself, and understandably so. With the absolute disaster of Reconstruction, westward expansion, industrial revolution, and lest we forget, a bloody parade of genocides and land wars, the USA had plenty to be worried about within its own (expanding) borders. It was not isolationist in the true sense, but was not exactly competing for European attention at the same levels at it had earlier in the century.

However, when the USA eventually gathered itself to take more of an international presence, it would do so in a way that would take the entire world by storm. The sheer speed, size, and production volume of American industries began to challenge their European competitors. If you were white and well-connected or just immensely lucky, this was the age when the American Dream was born. The US military had undergone immense expansion since the Civil War, and they went from having a young navy only just big enough to form a blockade to having a navy large enough to send a top-of-the-line fleet around the world with literally no other purpose but to flex in front of their allies (and enemies) not even 50 years later.

.....This has been a very long winded way to explain that, while the Victorian Era was the heyday of Arthur's imperialist dreams and victories, it was also the very nascent stages of Alfred coming into his own and more or less forcing himself back into dear old dad's life. Coming hot on the heels of Victoria, The American Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, and the Great Rapprochement were all just around the corner. These shifts of history—to say nothing of the quickly-approaching storm clouds of World War—would bring father and son back together and force them to mend their relationship, at least as much as they could.

I think, in the early Victorian age, when 'Alfred' came into vogue after so many centuries, a part of Arthur would hear it with a sinking feeling in his gut, because he was certainly old enough to have seen the future on the horizon. Maybe it wasn't clear, or concrete, maybe he couldn't put it into words. But he would know, in some instinctual sense, that Alfred's star was rising in more ways than one, and that he'd would need to brace himself and his empire for whatever came next. So sometimes, when he heard the name, some indistinct prophecies would flash before his mind's eye, filling him with ominous dread that he couldn't have named.

Sometimes, if he'd been drinking or just in a sentimental mood, he would hear the name and reminisce on both the King Ælfred, and the golden son who bore his name. He would wax poetic about his firstborn and all that he'd accomplished in his life—daring even, perhaps for the first time in his life, to praise Alfred's tenacity, conviction, and strength during his fight for independence. He would of course be mortified by the drunken memory the next day.

Sometimes, it takes him off guard and he turns his head, fully expecting Alfred himself—a toddler, a child, a teenager, a young man—to step through the door and greet him. It lasts only moments, and the empty feeling that follows usually sends Arthur directly into some mentally or physically taxing task, to avoid uncomfortable emotions.

But I think more than anything, the re-emergence of the name would make Arthur feel old. So very, very old, when he continuously, despite repeated embarrassments, pronounces the name in the way he learned as a boy, with the long-i ash sound that his people forgot to pronounce somewhere along the last century or ten. The very same pronunciation mistake he couldn't seem to stop making all those years ago, when Alfred was small, still learning English and fully convinced a boy could have two versions of a name.

The same pronunciation that, even today, would make Alfred's head twitch up, looking for his father.

#long post #sorry for the long read if you made it to the end you have my gratitude #hws england #hws america #bad history lesson rofl sorry #please someone correct my history if you need to

[0mega-x]

What place do nations take in their government and in relation to their people ?

I don't know if the canon has ever talked about it. I imagine it is similar to the role of the British royal family in the UK. I can only see it as such if they're not supposed to have power over their leaders.

They are technically not political power, they're supposed to be apolitical. They are a symbolic body, but unlike the BRF in the UK, you can't ever get rid of them, so in every country's history they would probably have a set role defined by the government or the people.

Nations can't disobey leaders, and while they are mostly expected to not expose their ideas, they kind of can't go against any leaders either.

Back in history, they may have had more political power. Maybe it was accepted for them to directly influence their leader, and even hold power if they are incapacitated. But gradually (or brutally, in Russia and France's cases), they lost it. People hold their experiences to a certain level of respect, but they want their nation to be apolitical. However, leaders will call on their nations' past experiences and therefore their opinions to make some decisions.

For the government, a nation is a sign of the vitality of their country. The nation is fine ? So is the country, then ! What ? Nuances ? Where ? A leader can withhold information from their nations because they know it would spark opposition with them, leader to some being taken by surprise by others mentioning state secrets they weren't aware of.

(But then, what would be the use of royalty in a world where the nation holds that role already? Idk)

How would the Nation be as a public figure ?

Depending on the government (tho every single one will do so), the nation's life is controlled to a certain point and protected. A government wouldn't want to see their nation in a controversy. So in terms of private life, a government could go from letting them be "wild" (in their relationships e.g.) to forbid them from doing anything. See it as companies and KPOP idols. Some companies will let the idols be as long as they don't get caught, others will outright kick the idol out of a group for getting caught in rumours or a relationship.

On the topics of relationships, let's take England and Portugal for example (Porteng shipper here, hii). I feel like though it's obvious to many that their relationship exists, the government doesn't want people talking about it too much out of fear it can impact foreign relations. Therefore, it will sometimes cover up rumours about, let's say, England and Portugal being caught on a date. I can see British tabloids completely talking about something else (maybe diverting the attention to the royal family) to avoid the subject.

Now for the people. People would mostly hold their nations to a higher standard than anyone else. It's hard to picture how long your country would have been alive, after all. You'd think they'd be all-wise, then you'd strip them of their humanity, their feelings, without even realising it. They know that in the eyes of many, they're only a perfect figure that everyone looks up to. Which is why relationships can also be hard. Also, imagine being followed by noisy people on the street. Stressful.

So what would nations do in their free time?

Sports or cultural activities. Sounds cliché, I know.

With their ancientness, they would be considered a useful source for historians and even linguists. They often get questions from those about their experiences or what they remember of a language. Maybe they even participate in language conservation, because they remember it and how it sounds. They can recreate the way the old form of a language was pronounced for linguists.

They practise sports. I imagine for the sporty ones if their country is hosting the Olympic Games they will definitely appear in the videos [cues in Francis fencing for Paris 2024]

Oooh, also just visit each other and all. Maybe they get pensions from their government each month. In that case, they're usually allowed to visit others.

#hetalia #hetalia headcanons #mes blogs #really random thing i did before school osijfsi don't worry if it doesn't make sense i just want distraction from school

[lesbianyosano]

what do you think bsd is trying to say about war? do you have any other thoughts about political themes present in the story?

oh i have,,, thoughts,, for sure. also these are more loose threads that have been floating around in my head more than a concrete thesis so sorry if they dont make much sense as a whole

one thing i think is crucial to discussing bsd as a political story is to look at which countries' authors asagiri choses to include in the story.

obviously the main cast is japanese, but the other prominent characters come from usa and russia, and if you also take in characters from the light novels or ones, who have been foreshadowed to be important (like agatha), france and the uk come to mind. those are all states with imperialist past/present, and while there are none morally pure countries this specific selection is still pretty intense all things considered. many of the authors included in bsd were also involved politically one way or another (most had been active during the first half of the 20th century, and wrote about war one way or another)

the imperialism isnt really touched upon, unfortunately so, but ( and maybe this is just me being hopeful) i like to think its less about asagiri not seeing it and more about him not wanting to open another sensitive topic in an already complicated work of fiction.

ultimately i'd say bsd is anti-war. that's the most prevailing political theme, and one that has been slowly revealing itself and becoming more prominent the further we go into the story. worth noting is how elements that could've (and maybe should have) been shown as explicitly political avoided this framing in earlier parts of the story (fukuzawa's old profession, kunikida's ideals), but ig there's still time for that. the anti-war sentiment ties back to a lot of the works that the abilities are named after, esp in the agency. no longer human, thou shalt not die, the makioka sisters (tanizaki's light snow) are all prime examples (and kunikida's ability could technically be put under this too depending on how you look at it, since his war journalism is what made him a prominent literary figure). even if some of the authors had some questionable opinion's irl, the parts that asagiri choses to include always come back to the horrors of war.

decay of angels is another thing, given it's named after mishima's last novel, one that he left to his publisher on the same day he started a coup trying to restore the emperor of japan and commited seppuku. there was a theory i saw a while back that said bram wasnt actually a doa member, and the 5th person is yet to be revealed, and it'd be really interesting if we got mishima in bsd but he's still to this day a pretty polarizing figure (understandably so) and im not sure if asagiri would want to take that step, since it'd be a point of no return in terms of explicit politics in the story. and he's been pretty timid with that i mean look at the way he handles police brutality (cops in yokohama being portrayed as incompetent yet ultimately good people, jouno going from prime example of someone knowingly abusing their power to apparently caring abt the innocents, and this is obv a different, more complicated topic so uhh idk maybe ill talk abt it some other time adgsfgagd). idk it just seems like he's afraid to really push the ideas forwards, keeps them palatable to the general public although idk if this is a concious choice or not. im willing to give asagiri the benefit of the doubt bc of how he handles fukuchi though. people hate him bc??? idk he's not a twink and he killed someone ig but personally i adore him, goofy aah guy imo. it'd be easy to write him off as just an autoritarian crazy guy who wants to take control of the world for unspecified "greater good" but the arguments he makes are generally pretty compelling! and not just to readers, we see atsushi questioning the way world works and government's role after listening to fukuchi explain himself. its fukuchi's methods that are questionable not the ultimate goal of state abolition. and we still dont really know what his ultimate reason for doing all this is, just that he claims it's not revenge on fukuzawa, so im curious how this is going to get handled.

and the last thing is the brief anticapitalism theme in the guild arc but again, its like asagiri gave up on it before it became too prominent. fitzgerald is the ultimate capitalist and we see this esp in relation to steinbeck, whose dislikes list finansists in the enligh translation and capitalists in the polish one (no idea what is listed in japanese exactly). but fitzgerald is ultimately sort of redemed, with his (and poe's) wealth treated as a gag rather than a human rights violation

those are all the things that have been ping ponging around in my head and i hope this is in any way at least a little bit understandable. there are some things here that deserve a post of their own but id have to reread at least the last few arcs to talk about them in depth.

#also sorry this took so long i need to get better at answering things #theres still one more thing in my ask box thats been there for so so long god #ask #i should. try to reread stuff abt fitzgerald and jouno...

[joysmercer]

what countries do you think the anubis residents live in post-grad? i keep seeing people saying all of them go to uni in america but that seems unrealistic.

mara, willow, and alfie would stay. i can't think of any reason why they'd leave except if they got a scholarship or something, and given the tor fiasco i doubt willow (or alfie) would qualify and mara's too practical for all that (expenses would still be A Lot) when oxbridge are right in her backyard.

kt and eddie would go home. neither have a real reason to stay in the uk and i think they'd both miss their family. although i can see kt taking on a job (photographer?) that allows her to travel so often that she doesn't really have a permanent place she actually lives in lol. eddie probably goes back to the uk on occasion with patricia.

patricia would go to the us. she doesn't seem particularly close with her family—at least enough to want to stay close to them for the next three years—and i think she'd like the adventure, plus eddie (and nina and amber, canonically, and kt) would be there too. she probably comes back for visits, though.

joy and jerome, as much as i would love for them to live next door to p/e as adults, they would probably stay in the uk, again because they have no real reason to leave. when they earn enough money via jerome becoming a big-shot businessman and/or joy repeatedly being invited to organize the met gala or something, they buy a second home near wherever patricia and eddie happen to be and plan their (business) trips around holidays whenever possible :)

mick, I think, would go to the us for uni on a full-ride D1 scholarship (I'm thinking UCLA for soccer). he qualifies for the olympics/fifa/world champs/whatever at some point during those four years. I can see him staying on after and having a successful college coaching career, but around his early-30s he'll make the move back home (either the uk or australia idk).

fabian would stay in the uk for uni. he studies abroad somewhere in new england for a semester (idk is that a thing in the uk?) or does a 1-year masters at an ivy or something just to see what the hype is about, but i don't see him moving permanently for the same reason as most of the others on this list.

nina is obviously in the us at the end of her senior year and i don't think she'll ever go back to the uk willingly, although she does find herself dragged there far too often (in her opinion) either by amber, a vengeful god, or her publicist (who doesn't understand why she's so averse to promoting her latest potentially-blockbuster movie in the country it's set in).

amber is also at fashion school in nyc during season 3, which she presumably continues in for uni, although maybe she drops out once her designs take off. I can see her moving to the us permanently (mostly because that's where nina is) but traveling around the world for work frequently. she and joy switch-off organizing anubis reunions every other year-ish, and she goes back home (with a somewhat-reluctant nina in tow) for those.

#asks #anon #what a fun question ty!! #house of anubis

[taikanyohou]

hey faiza i feel weird sending u this but ive followed u for quite a while now and the more u share ur inner thoughts the more my appreciation for how intelligent u are grows? like i said, i know this is odd, but ure smart, eloquent and very expressive when it comes down to sharing your opinions on specific subjects (regardless of whether i agree with them or not). anyway, u dont have to answer i just wanted to say this, thats all!

hiiii anon!!!

AHHHHH no no please don't feel weird!! thank you so much for this!!!! idk at 27 it feels like i still havent Lived a lot even though .... when i write it down, i Have?? and my opinions change a lot all the time and at first i wasnt cool with that, i used to feel very ... urm. hypocritical?? of myself?? or not true to myself. but overtime i've learnt that Living actually Does Do That To You. you gain new experiences and perspectives and learn a little more about yourself and so your opinions on things change too. and thats a Good Thing!

and i dont wanna censor myself anymore ig? i feel like ive spent a lot of my life doing that. i am who i am and i am what ive lived through and its not all been good but its not all been bad and its not all been wise but its not all been dumb but hey, we're here now! of course i can either choose to regret some things, or i can choose to say yeah i lived through that and it didnt work out or go well and its only bc i lived through it that i know that now, so i choose that view instead. and im also done with censoring and hiding and shying away from who /i/ am too. and once i used to be Very Frustrated bc i used to feel like i was too much and too many things and liked too much and too many things. how can i be muslim that wears the hijaab AND desi (and not Just desi but BOTH indian AND pakistani which is its own huge dilemma fhshxisjdjsj) AND queer AND a woman WHILST being born and living in the uk. how does all that even FIT into one human?? how can i like So Many Things that sometimes contradict each other?? for example how can i Love Sports and be so sporty and yet be an asian muslim girl bc that just doesnt work in our culture?? or so i THOUGHT it didnt bc thats what i was told as a kid, until i was like no something isnt right here bc at 11 i Loved my judo and football classes at school and then i saw amir khan, a british pakistani boxer from the same town as i am, win an olympic gold medal for our country when he was just 17, and i was like ... see?? it isnt weird. and even now i love working out and lifting weights, no matter how much my ammi looks at me and thinks "you're a Desi Girl though watching sports is one thing but you being into it and actively doing it is just Weird but ur my daughter and at 27 i cant tell you what to do". so sometimes, you have to be the one to break the mould, ig.

but. yeah. the more i immersed myself with things that look like me and feel like me and reflect who i am, the more i was like, yeah ... i Can be all these things and thats cool, man. if that makes me complicated and Too Much, i just dont care anymore. and its work to search for those things that look and feel and reflect you, but thats what makes you appreciate every facet of yourself. that yeah, its hard to find, but thats what makes it so special, bc its rare. and when you start finding a community of people that like those things too, for their own reasons, you're like ... yeah, there's gotta be something that connects us in why i like this thing along with so many other people too.

and like even now i havent figured out my maximum yet, but there's so much fun in knowing that i'll carry on learning more about myself, the more i live.

#faiza answers #ahhhh anon THANK YOU!!!! 🧡🧡🧡

[gettin-bi-bi-bi]

Hi!:) (I'm pretty sure I only like women now but this has been the blog that I've come to for advice for 5 years so I hope it's okay that I ask this here?)

I'm a 20y/o woman and I just got a summer job at the womens undergarment section of a fancy mall/store (a bit like Harrods but not *that* expensive and not in the UK). I wouldn't have taken the job since being queer in that section might be a bit wrong but it’s one of the only ones that would take me for such a short time and the pay is pretty good+it'll look good on my CV and I'd like to work at their decor section next summer so I thought whatever.

It's chill to just put away lingerie and swimsuits etc. but yesterday a woman asked me for my opinion between two lingerie sets on her. Idk why it hadn't occurred to me that I'd have to do that at my job and I tried to be like 'idk if you really want to?' But it's a part of my job so obviously I had to. I didn't take it weirdly or sexually or anything, just told her my opinion and got her some different pieces in different sizes (tbh I'm just jealous that she bought the last set in my size from this sale) and the customer was happy that I helped her.

The problem is that it made me really uncomfortable because I felt that I was being a creep. I mean I wasn't, I didn't stare or act weird but it just feels wrong that I was there and she didn't know I'm a lesbian or anything. I don't want to make anyone else uncomfortable or make them feel preyed on but I can't quit the job and "well actually I like women and I felt like a creep" sounds like I was actually being a creep if I quit the job for that reason. But now I'm worried that a coworker realises I'm queer and I'll be treated differently or something bad would happen to the store's reputation or something (my country is progressive so I probably won't get fired). Now I'm just hyperaware of doing or saying or looking like anything that might make me look queer. Thankfully after completing my training next week I'll mostly be just working the cash register, but it still won't eliminate the problem. I don't know what should I do? I'm just feeling lost and super stressed and I can't remember the last time I wanted to be straight but that's all that's in my head rn.

Sorry for the long ask and thanks for helping<3

Hi anon

I'm not going to say this is not an issue at all because I understand your discomfort is a very real thing and obviously sadly homophobia is still an issue even in relatively 'progressive' cultures and portraying queer people as 'predatory' is still a thing that happens a lot unfortunately and this all seems to have contributed to your stress over this issue, plus of course I can't predict how your co-workers might behave towards you if they do find out that you're queer (I would hope though their reaction would be largely positive). But people aren't actually inherently predatory just because of their orientation (whether that's some variety of queer or straight); nobody's orientation makes them inherently unfit or 'inappropriate' to work in a particular job, and nobody is obligated to have to state their sexuality to both their employers and also every other person they come into contact with, like customers for example, in order to work out whether or not it's 'appropriate' for them to be working in a particular job.

To use straight men as an example here, whatever the radfems like to claim about men, straight men still are not inherently predatory just for being men or men who are attracted to women; every straight man who's working in a shop or other job where he comes into close contact with women is not going to be automatically 'taking advantage' of them in some way. So why should anyone who's lesbian/gay or bisexual or whatever be any different? I mean this following statement in the best possible way, anon: So you're a woman who likes women, so what? That doesn't make you some kind of pervert. Also you're probably not going to be attracted to every or even most of the woman you encounter and even if you do happen to find some female customers really attractive that doesn't mean you're going to be weird about it and act on that attraction. Thoughts are not actions/behaviours. Also I will point out that straight women aren't inherently incapable of being horrible towards other women; while they may not be attracted to women in the way you are, straight women can still do or say things that could make female customers feel deeply uncomfortable or upset, by making derogatory comments about something like their weight or appearance for example. Being queer doesn't make you working in this role 'wrong' and other women being straight doesn't automatically make them really great salespeople who can do no wrong towards customers.

I think maybe if this is an issue which is genuinely making you really uncomfortable then perhaps you need to discuss that with your employer because I'm sure there are plenty of people who would be uncomfortable with a situation like this whether it's for reasons like yours or religious reasons or something else and if it's something you're really not comfortable with then perhaps there may be some way around that like maybe moving into a different role or something. But I do feel like that's not actually necessary and you're probably just overthinking this a lot when this is something that's probably not really a big deal to most of the people you will come into contact with and probably still wouldn't be even if you went round wearing a big badge announcing you're a lesbian to everyone you come into contact with. No it wouldn't be appropriate to start ogling a customer or making really personal comments about their appearance or sexual comments or anything like that but you haven't done that. Those are actions, not thoughts; they are things you have control over and because you know doing things like that would be wrong even if you did find a customer 'hot' you would choose not to do those.

All you have done is what was appropriate for the job and context you were in, giving advice primarily about the products you're selling because the customer asked for that. The customer was comfortable with this and happy with the service you provided. You actually said it yourself, you weren't a creep; the customer was happy. It's all fine. It really sounds like you did well here and you have nothing to worry about. Also seeing underwear, while yes it's a thing that can be very personal and intimate, realistically it's not that big of a deal because however much lingerie may be linked to sex, realistically it's just pieces of clothing, they're not sexual items in themselves; what makes lingerie 'sexy' is the context it's put in. Just selling lingerie in a clothes shop; even commenting when asked on which size or style fits a person better, that's just business, not something sexual, regardless of the sexual orientation of everyone concerned.

Also, remember that not every customer is actually going to be a straight woman. I think a lot of your worry over this is perhaps you feeling as if you're completely alone in this, the only queer person in the entire store, maybe even in the entire area. Meanwhile you're probably thinking every single co-worker and every single customer you'll come into contact with will be straight, and that is very very unlikely to be true. Being queer may still be the minority but it's still very common. Some of these customers you encounter will probably be lesbians or bi or some other variety of queer themselves and probably some of your co-workers are too and even if you never actually find out who is queer, that doesn't mean you're totally alone and isolated; some of those people you encounter probably do totally understand you and your fears far more than you realise.

Anyway as this seems to be something that's quite a new experience to you, interacting with customers in this particular way, hopefully it will seem like less of a big issue if it happens again (which it may not if you're going to be moving to the cash register soon anyway). Perhaps to some degree it's simply that the situation is very new to you that's made you so stressed about it so the longer you work in this job the less stressed you'll be by it. Try not to overthink it so much though because I promise you, just being queer doesn't make you (or anyone) predatory or 'wrong' for this type of job.

Tiger

[leqclerc]

oh no don't get me wrong i do love a good slow song, but idk there are just too many of them for me this year😅

Portugal is defo in the top five for me too though!! I really like how it builds up and she has a really nice voice!!

Also i literally cannot believe that Finland made it?!?!?! like what. i was so shocked when they announced them😅

Omg i liked Italy 2020 better than almost any entry this year. The semis was my first time hearing it and i was so captived by it and yeah the crowd was just absolutely incredible with this one😭

Im kinda uncertain about Brividi ngl. like sometimes im like omg this is the best and then when i hear it again and im like meh. But I always thought Mahmood was robbed when he didn't win with Soldi so definitely gonna cheer for him and Blanco!!

omg you're so right! Cyprus was giving me major The Birth of Venus (the painting) vibes and yeah i can totally see the Secret Combination vibes too!!

and omg spaceman and number two????😶 that song wouldn't even be in my top ten if i had to make a list lol like it really is such a generic song... a part of me is always like hope England gets zero again cause that would be kinda funny. like i felt really bad for artists last year but getting literally no points is kinda funny😅

Omg hello again 👀

That was me with Australia in semi final 2 🙈 Didn't like it tbh. Switzerland (Idk if this is an unpopular opinion because it was a ballad but I much preferred Tout l'Univers last year) and Armenia are also pretty meh for me this year (Armenia sounds like a female spin on Mumford & Sons or something). Finland's just okay for me. Like, the comparisons to It (the horror movie) are pretty funny jsjdf But it didn't blow me away or anything 🤔

Yesssss, right? Diodato my beloved <3

Omg I feel you with Brividi though... when I first listened to it after they won Sanremo I didn't like it... then I started listening to it more in the build up to the ESC and started warming to it. So it's definitely a song I've flip-flopped on as well ajsdj I still think Soldi > Brividi but eh. Though - and I feel like this is ~controversial but - I am an Arcade truther 🙈😭 It got overplayed to hell since then but I did like it.

Right??? Justice for Cyprus tbh 😭

THIS!! Like it's good but it's also so generic mainstream radio-ish that I was honestly shocked to see it rated so highly and predicted to podium. Especially considering UK's string of low-point finishes over the last few years...🤭 Apparently the guy became like a TikTok sensation after singing cover songs in lockdown or something? Can't believe we're living in an era where there's a TikTok to ESC pipeline but I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later 😭 Anyway it's a decent entry, better than some of the other stuff they've competed with recently, but 2nd place? Idk :/

Also, someone else pointed this out to me, but there's a lot of English-language songs in the running this year. Which I guess is an interesting ~trend shift considering all top 3 songs last year were non-English.

I generally tend to at least kind of like the winning song in the end, even if it wasn't my favourite. I think the only exception in recent years is Portugal in 2017. I literally never listened to that song again once the final was over which is rare for me jsdfj 🙈

I think countries like Ukraine and Italy have shined the most when they lean into their own culture and language. Like, Ukraine's English-language entries (2018, 2019) have been very meh pop mainstream BUT whenever they send something more folksy with actual Ukrainian roots they tend to shine - Jamala in 2016, GO_A last year. I think all of Italy's entries for almost a decade have been in Italian and good for them!!!! (2016's entry was like 90% in Italian and I really loved that song too). Italy's entries in general have been consistently so high-quality recently and I'm glad it finally paid dividends last year!!

#replies #anonymous #so glad you're back eurovision anon!!! ❤️❤️ #also in a similar vein i absolutely believe for example ireland would break their string of non-success #if they just leaned into their roots and sent something folksy with a modern twist #hell maybe even sing it in irish #i mean riverdance exploded in popularity after they performed during the interval in 1994 #generic pop songs are not it :/ #eurovision #music tag #.longpost

[djsherriff-responses]

sending an ask because i believe i know what server you're talking about but you can privately answer this--

if it IS the one I'm thinking of... i was very... 😬 at how many minors were in here-- i understand there's reasons Why for that but. i was expecting an older audience for a very explicitly 18+ show. i also found some of the rules to be very strange? very... 'expecting online discourse' for... what i was expecting to be a more mature environment.

from my experience starting a discord server isn't actually all that bad! the hardest part is putting your foot down early on-- which can be nerve wracking but in the end worth it. id suggest thinking on what kind of people you want to vibe with and also extremely early on putting what is and isn't allowed with a caveat that you can adjust rules as needed.

you can also set it that people have to ask for invites so you can screen who comes in. I've also found good experiences in servers where channels are locked until members ate approved or have read the rules-- for me that tends to prevent trouble makers from coming in.

I think in some countries it’s rated 15+ (that’s what the rating is in the UK) so I wasn’t too shocked about the teenagers being in but it did put me on edge

ESPECIALLY considering the stuff that goes on in the show, kinda hard to discuss the themes of exploitation and the very in your face sexual nature of the show when high schoolers are in chat and for the situation to not get uncomfortable. No one actually did talk about sex in chat to be very clear, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t want a space to talk about that and make sex jokes without fear of some poor teen bearing witness to it

That’s why I just decided to just make public posts instead, a lot less creepy if a kid stumbled upon my posts clearly tagged “not safe for kids” by chance that they can than block/filter out than an adult purposely discussing that topic one on one in a private chat room with them, you know?

I already talked about that one rayfrog comic before so you can see what my opinions are, but when people started talking about it in the server I was really looking forward to criticising it and discussing it with others but than people went “oh this person’s making morally wrong art” and like, that was a massive red flag to me

I don’t know the artist so I can’t make judgement on who they are as a person but combined with some other stuff I seen , it made me feel extremely worried that if I said the “wrong thing” someone would pull some weird art I’ve publicly made and try framing me as “making morally wrong art”

As of now I haven’t any problems with anyone from there personally as everyone treated me kindly, but I didn’t feel comfortable staying there for long

About the discord but ummmm idk I’m not exactly the leader type person and I sometimes just not even bother with chats even when I was in the server as well another few I’ve been in before. I do appreciate the encouragement and advice though, so thank you for that even if I won’t put it to practice

#ask me #asks #not safe for kids #Not gonna lie though I am super curious how the discord reacted to the fact Alex groomed Dolph or if that’s a banned topic? #I am a huge believer in not censoring art but also not censoring criticism of art

[heloisedaphnebrightmore]

please don’t apologize!!! one of my best friends does that a lot too, she just reappeared after being MIA for a month so just imagine me waving my hand dismissively at your worries

oh i don’t take this list too seriously tough hahaha i’m a helplessly methodical person, i love lists and order and spreadsheets so i try to have a TBR but if a book on my shelf stares at me too hard I drop the list and I go at it or if somebody recommends me a book and I feel its calling, I rush to amazon (which is what happened with ‘everything i know about love’).

you GOTTA do a celebration when you reach 1000!! not like on tumblr like in real life, idk like buy a bottle of your favorite expensive wine or a perfect comfy loveseat to match your shelf or some other self indulgent shit that preferably involves confetti being thrown around. you’re your spreadsheet scares the bejesus out of me hahaha not because of the book quantity but because it’s such a complex layout!!! i sure as hell don’t have the excel skills to do it – wish I had though)

so that may be kinda serendipitous or i’m just too wrapped up in my own head buuuut i’m gonna start a publishing MA course soon!!

I was lucky the woman who managed my flat spoke English and helped me and my friend when we needed it but yeah Budapest has loads of international students who all face the same issue. Also, this may be a touchy issue so if you don’t wanna dive into it I get it, but how do you feel about politics in your home country? Is it a topic you try to avoid because you left or it gets under your skin nonetheless?

i don’t mind i mean i’m on anon and countries are big so…… (tough europe is pretty small in one train ride you’ve seen it all) i’m moving to the UK actually

uhhhh yeah the silence thing is something i’ve never seen before as well and that’s at least one props to SJM hahaha

Az has a tough façade but he’s a big softie (my favorite kinda guy) underneath it all – kinda like you he too looks like he wants to unalive people – and yeah I’m diving into the account you suggested right freaking now!!!

you should!!!! Get them out of your shelf now!!!!! Look, the first book has one POV only, the older sister, the second book has one as well, the younger one, only the third has two though it’s more focused on the younger sister. it’s probably on my top 3 favorite fantasy series so i highly recommend it

exactly!!! i like trash talk like on the hating game (i have a lot of critiques about this book if I take off the rose colored glasses) when it’s funny and sometimes childish and petty but there’s some amount of respect there and sometimes even admiration for your rival. And those silly misunderstandings, like A and B are C’s best friends but they are jealous of each other are fun as well. The worst subtrope in my honest opinion is the bully falling in love with the victim or vice versa.

ohhh that!!! People whose brain is a smart little cookie don’t judge people on what they read, I mean, if you see me on the subway holding a book whose title is ‘how to kill your family’ and you think I’m trying to kill my family, you’re a straight up idiot who doesn’t understand the concept of escapism. And books in general. Have fun with your dark fantasy novels babe, I bet they’re hot as hell, read one (promises and pomegranates) and wanna dive deeper into that pool (neon gods is on my radar, have you read it?)

I mean........ i’ve only admitted that to three people but yeah I do. I want a partner and kids and a house and a cat, I’ve always wanted that – though after a terrifying child-birth video my sex ed teacher showed us I’m pretty sure I’m gonna go with adoption when it comes to the kids phase. And I don’t take marriage that seriously I guess. The commitment I do, the partnership and monogamy of it all, but the till-death-do-us-part part that comes with the ceremony I don’t. I want the party, big, small, intimate, whatever, but for me it’s not this moment that makes up a marriage. There’s also the thing that since I was little I’ve kinda known I would end up alone (oh those daddy issues) so I guess I just think if I ever manage to find someone who wants me at the same time as I want them I’m lucky enough no matter how long it takes. There’s a Brazilian poet who once wrote, may love be eternal while it lasts, and I believe in that wholeheartedly. I wanna grow old by someone’s side, be them my first love or that cute 70-year-old I met at yoga for pensioners’ class on a sunder morning. Maybe I’m trying to say I don’t believe in one soulmate or one true love…… it’s just all so chaotic. And the taking-someone’s-name thing rubs me the wrong way too, i can’t see myself doing this. What i can see myself doing is being with a guy who growls “mine” in my ear hehe ~goodreads anon

Hahah my kind of people xD It's a very bad habit to forget to reply to people because I get immersed in something but sometimes I just do. Not always!

Woah, I just read back this whole message that I wrote and I have to say you caught me in a very intense moment. Please grab a seat and a cup of tea or coffee because I was spilling some passionate monologues below. Not gonna lie, it's a solid novella xD I'd also like to warn you of my swearing and cussing :D

Lol, that's me every time TikTok recommends me books. Like there are so many books, it's impossible to buy and read them all xD *awkwardly laughs with an empty wallet*

Oh, I definitely will celebrate. I'll go to Waterstones, Piccadilly, London (Europe's largest bookstore, 6 floors of goodies <3) and buy even more books xD Nah, but for real, I'll probably celebrate somehow, maybe by buying a new shelf because it's getting quite full. Back in the day I could turn my books to have the front facing me, but I don't have enough space to do that anymore :D Wine is a no though. Whilst I love it, it makes me extremely sleepy without being able to sleep xD

Honestly, I was working in an office before so excel became my life for years. I picked up a couple of things from there and google and youtube. To be fair it's not difficult, you just have to add a background photo, insert some shapes and adjust their sizes, link hyperlinks to where you need them and add some formulas. It's all done after that :)

Publishing is a goodie, I love it too, but at the same time it's very hard to get into a good company and many times they don't even look at your qualifications they only look for experience with any kind of book related job. Librarian, book seller etc. It's very weird if you ask me, but not a bad thing.

Let me leave the Hungarian part for last, because that's gonna be a very very very long rant and I'd like to ask you to grab a second cup of coffee or a tea to survive it xD

Oh you are coming over here?! I hope you will love it :D You defo need to visit Waterstones, Piccadilly if you ever come to London. It's amazing! They even have a little instagram corner which was like a garden aesthetic before and now it's Heartstopper related :)

Okay, if only the third book is dual pov, then I don't mind. It sounds better because by then I'll have more knowledge on the characters. First I have to get through this stupid Restore me (Book 4 of Shatter me) and then I'll put that series on hold. I put it down for the 4th time already. 4th! I'll never finish it xD Is there romance in Caraval? How important is it in the story if at all? I'm a very romance and character focused reader so I need me some info xD

"The worst subtrope in my honest opinion is the bully falling in love with the victim or vice versa."

No! I can't agree with that, I'm sorry! xD I personally love that if the series goes on longer and we see a redemption arc and/or character development. I don't excuse bullies, don't get me wrong, but seeing them improve themselves and then fall in love (NO INSTALOVE or standalones) is quite satisfying to me. Like how they are trying to fight their feelings because they hated each other. Though I only like these when there was no physical torture only like hurtful words and then later on the LI is ACTUALLY remorseful and although he fights it, he tries to make up for what he had done. Once again, redemption arc or character development. I'm a romance and character focused reader so me likey xD

Oh, please, so many people don't understand escapism. I actually had to unfollow a really popular BookToker because whilst they read Fantasy, YA, NA, Contemporary and Historical romance, so everything I like, the way they explained that readers of dark romance are r*pe apologists and romanticise domestic ab*se was the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. How dare someone judge another for first of all reading a fictional story, secondly enjoying something that doesn't harm anyone, thirdly questioning how they cope with whatever possible trauma they might have gone through and then lastly shame anyone for enjoying a goddamn book. Like should I go back and shame them for enjoying spice with a blue alien? Or the fact that in one of their favourite romance books the LI kidnapped the FMC? So kidnapping is okay for them? Isn't that also dark romance? Like the sheer stupidity of all these judgmental people makes me so mad. Like I don't judge you, nor do I give a flying heck about what you read, so why do you feel the need to judge me? Are you bored maybe? You should think about picking up some activity and buy a new personality because this just didn't pass the vibe check. Khm, sorry, got a little passionate about it xD

Oh dear, Neon Gods? Book 1 is an average read.

BUT! BUT! BUT!

ELECTRIC IDOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Yes, this is me screaming!)

ELECTRIC IDOL! BOOK 2 OF NEON GODS! OH MY GOD! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! IT'S LIKE THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE TWO MAIN CHARACTERS SWALLOWS YOU! IT'S THE PERIODIC TABLE FROM A TO Z. PERFECTION!

Okay, I feel better. So, yes, Neon Gods was a 3/5 for me, but Electric Idol was a solid 5/5. The plot is not some brain-twister so don't expect much on that front, but the chemistry, the tension, the witty comebacks, the banter, THE CHEMISTRY, yeah, it was very good. Excuse my SLIGHTLY passionate outburst. I'm alright xD

Here are my Goodreads reviews on Electric Idol and Neon Gods. Feel free to read them, they're spoiler free. :)

It's perfectly fine to want marriage, children, cat, dogs, house or whatever you imagine as a family, it's not something you should feel bad about for admitting. Some people want it, some people don't and that's the beauty of it. We all want different things.

I feel you on the 'end up alone' part. I mean people don't even want to communicate anymore and relationships have become so difficult with all these, seeing each other, dating, situationship, casual dating, casual relationship, exclusive relationship and what not, that at this point people don't even know what they are doing. A couple of years ago, I was dating a guy for 11 months when he told me he was still not ready for a relationship. B*tch, you know where the door is, disrespectfully, walk yourself out! Besides, with how men behave nowadays, no surprise that noone, regardless or gender or sexuality, wants to date them. I'm saying this from a heterosexual point of view, but the 'your place is in the kitchen' comment is so outdated. Like don't you dare degrade my worth to a kitchen when you can't even do as much as I can.

To be honest, Hungary in general is a touchy subject, but I don't mind talking about it. Before I get into politics though, let me explain something.

I left because I don't like Hungarians. I have wanted to move to the UK since I was 14 and soon I wore my parents down enough to actually move. Hungary is beautiful, but the people are rude af. Now Hungarians can come and bash me for it, but honestly it's a disgrace what people in retail, hospitality or healthcare get away with, both employees and customers. I'm not a patient person, but when I go out, I always behave in the most respectful ways because I had been working in customer service before and I know how customers can be. But the sheer disrespect people get away with disgusts me. One of my parents' friend talked to a waiter in such a disgusting manner, that I actually had to stand up, walk up to the waiter and apologise myself, because I literally couldn't handle the sheer disrespect. I CAN NOT stand this kind of behaviour. And this is just a very minor issue. It gets so much worse.

Besides each time I travel to Hungary, I get so depressed that I can't f*cking move. A month ago when I flew back, my mother had to fly after me 3 days later, mind you I'm a 28 years old woman, I'm not a child, because at one point I called my mother 25 times a day telling her how f*cking suffocating the country is. I had to stay because I was getting my teeth done. It would have cost me £20,000 in the UK whilst it cost me £1,000 in Hungary, I had no choice but to stay, but I fell into such a horrible depression that I don't wish on anyone, not even my enemies. This is a reoccurring situation each time I travel there so I don't go unless I must.

Regarding politics. Have you seen who runs that country? A freaking moron who apparently studied in England, but can't for the life of him have a meeting without a translator. A man who preaches the unimportance of EU only to beg for money from EU. A man who keeps saying that he is loyal to the EU only to become bffs with a country that is killing innocents. Nah! I know this is the dark side of politics, I partially study this after all, but I still believe that the only reason he is still in his position is because Hungary doesn't have a good opposition, noone is better, besides even if they were, the sheep follow him anyway. But the funny thing is that he isn't stupid though. He knows what he is doing and he plays his hand right. He builds on people's stupidity. Keeping them uninformed and misinformed. It's key knowledge that the opposition can't even go on the Hungarian national tv only to another free to view channel. Though luckily the Hungarian national tv is not very popular anyway. The idiots who follow him like stupid sheep are the one who are still keeping him in his position for long enough to sell all public places, like the freaking Lake Balaton to all his bodies and make them private. A freaking lake! How dare he? Well, he dares, because Hungarians complain about everything but before the election they magically forget about all their sufferings. Whether they vote for him or he cheats (because we've seen evidence) it doesn't matter. It's a freaking joke, if you ask me. And in what other country do they have a minister in charge of the Prime Minister's Office, instead of the Prime Minister being charge of his own office? Excuse me, but Hungarian politics is the dumbest, the silliest, the most moronic political system I've ever had the unpleasure of knowing. I hope this sums up my feelings. :)

I would also like to apologise for making you read through this, I might have been in a bit of an intense state xD

#Heloise's inbox #goodreads anon

[ssuckitlosers]

Random UK Brothers Headcanons:

The UK brothers are all toxically competitive with each other and especially with England.

All of their competitions end in some kind of argument and there’s always a lot of cheating accusations (and while there is usually cheating, it’s rarely who’s getting accused/what they’re getting accused of.)

Whenever Arthur’s winning, his brothers will work together to ensure he loses too- which unsurprisingly results in another argument.

Arthur’s the definition of a bad winner though. Whenever he wins a game it will usually result in a physical fight because his boasting is so intolerable.

Like they all boast when they win but I feel like Arthur just exudes that infuriating arrogance.

I also feel like Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are pretty good sports usually. And I imagine other nations being shocked at how toxically competitive they get when they’re all together.

Whereas I think most other nations either know or expect Arthur to be a bit of a bad sport lol.

#hetalia #hws england #hws northern ireland #hws scotland #hws wales #I may be a bit bias ngl #in Scotland we support 2 teams- Scotland and any team that’s against England 😂😂 #I felt too bad to include them actively rooting against Arthur though #idk what the other countries in the uks opinions are though #alistair kirkland #arthur kirkland #dylan kirkland #connor kirkland #hws uk bros #oh lmaoooooo I meant to post this hours ago and just left it in my drafts 💀 #jusstadraft

[fascinationex]

drunk opinion on wtf the rest of EU wizards are doing during 2 dark 2 voldie: the endgame

A DRUNK OPINION HAS BEEN SOLICITED. alright.

So I think this is regarded as overwhelmingly a problem of the British Isles.

... Although we don't really know about, eg., Ireland, I guess, so maybe I should say a UK problem? but then talking about the difference between "the british isles" and "the uk" even is assuming that geopolitics is 1:1 across muggle and wizarding societies, which isn't really assured... i am leaving that thought there. We will call it "a UK problem" as the story overwhelmingly takes place in England and Scotland. ONWARDS.

Anyway, in a previous conversation @misfitmccoward has pointed out that the Quidditch World Cup is an international event, and it's attacked by terrorists in 1994, which is well publicised.

So even though I think it's definitely regarded as like a civil war in which European wizards and witches ought not to intervene, I think there's probably like, the international confederation of wizards quidditch committee is probably like 'CAUTION AGAINST GAMES IN THE UK', and probably there's travel advice suggesting you stay the hell out of the UK (but no true ban because Fleur is there during canon and doesn't seem to have had any difficulties).

So what they're not doing is intervening.

What they are doing:

- reporting, with varying accuracy, on events in the UK. Because it's the wizarding world, I bet they could have some humorously advanced incompetence here.

- enjoying the use of family-friendly flying carpets imported from various Asian countries.

- hemming and hawing over long opinion pieces from wizards and witches who write that, actually, there's two sides to the conflict and shouldn't both of them get a voice? have you heard about the Knights of Wulpurgis? Maybe muggleborn witches and wizards do steal the magic of proper magical people, actually?

- being both a bit sympathetic and a lot annoyed at UK refugee muggleborns showing up with their entire families like 'hello, my great great grandmother was Spanish, let me in, I must leave the UK right now immediately.'

- idk i'm sorry Europe is big and it's hard to say what all the European witches and wizards were doing at this time, other than heavily side-eyeing the UK for having the same civil war 15 years after the last time, probably. didn't last very long did u m8.

#drunk opinions solicited #ask #anon #hp #no offence but i'm bad at knowing which parts of the british isles fall under what name and government on a regular day so #here we are #nervous laughter

[heavenknowsffs]

alright folks here's my eurovision song ratings

Germany - wtf? so random 0/10

Lithuania - perfect for the original theme of eurovision which was "make fun of other countries" but the song is catchy 2/10

Russia - language points! awesome lyrics feminist bop 10/10

Australia - powerpuff girls in 2021 gay vibes but also child vibes cool visuals 4/10

Ireland - bland pop song 0/10

Cyprus - miley cyrus but in another country speaking spanish and english (WARNING for a lot of flashes in the official video) 5/10

Norway - bit sad, also on theme with previous eurovision vibes 2/10

Slovenia - this song is about castiel supernatural 6/10

North Macedonia - the gay man that saved us all 7/10

Croatia - 1/3 language points. bland because it's not entirely in croatian, the chorus is cool. visuals... pretty cool 7/10 (should be in croatian)

Belgium - weird af what y'all on? but also men ain't shit so 5/10

Isr*el - free palestine. the irony of the name of this song..... won't even comment on this one

Romania - billie eilish vibes but only visually? nice message in the lyrics 6/10

Azerbaijan - immaculate vibes, language points!! and yeah let's gooo 9/10

Ukraine - DUDE! YES. language points! the lyrics are so cool and the concept too 10/10

Malta - hot girl shit LET'S GOOOO lizzo vibes 8/10

San Marino - *beyonce gif* Flo Rida??? ana malhoa vibes (WARNING for flashes at the beginning, official music video) 7/10

Estonia - too straight and not even in their language. tony carreira of estonia 1/10

Czech Republic - 1/10 of language points, the video has a lot of movie references but i personally didn't like it that much 2/10

Greece - dude don't ride a horse like that (i fell off a horse yesterday this triggered me) i was too distracted by this flying horse to pay attention but it seemed it was going to be political and then wasn't so :/ 1/10

Austria - "amen i guess" ?? i'm not catholic sorry 2/10

Poland??? i don't know bitch - horrible song, looks like one of the brit entries 0/10

Moldova - it's about sex, weird af visuals, perfect for the old eurovision theme i miss making fun of other countries. they had the psy dance move as well. idk tik tok dance vibes. my friend says it gave him meghan trainor vibes (song) 3/10

Iceland (?) - also perfect for the old eurovision theme. power rangers who? little big vibes (if you don't know little big they had that weird song for russia last year). the lyrics are about love but the video is power ranger themed 4/10

Serbia - also about sex, pretty cool tho. language points! pretty girls (but that's a theme in every song ;) ) i think it's fun because it's not in english (WARNING for flashes in the official video) 7/10

Bulgaria - pretty song and has a sweet message at the end 6/10

Georgia - i though it was gonna be a cover of dream a little dream of me. needless to say i was disappointed. the guy looks portuguese af 2/10

Albania - powerful voice. language points! also religious but very pretty even though i didn't understand the lyrics all that well 8/10

Portugal - listen. i have a lot of opinions because this is my country but LISTEN. i will never forgive them for not bringing a song in portuguese (and there were good ones) BUT after hearing every song and deliberating i do believe we have one of the top 5 songs 10/10 (also thanks spanish hermanitos for the love in the comments i see you <3)

Finland - finland you have my love. this song is too good for eurovision, sadly i don't think it will go far but it's on my top 3. i do hope it wins or is at least in the running for winning! (i also thought this about our salvador sobral and we won so ;) we never know do we?) 11/10

Latvia - great voice but the background voice is super annoying. there's a lot of diversity in the video and it was a nice message 6/10

Switzerland - (WARNING for car accidents in the official video) depressing af, the video doesn't fit the song lyrics imo. language points! the video is beautiful 5/10

Denmark - super weird and i think it's about sex, there's no video so yeah it's a normal dance song for me. language points! 5/10

France - cute lyrics i loved the way they relate to the video, it's pretty. language points! 6/10

The Netherlands - it's cool but not my fave. the video is pretty too and i loved the dances 6/10

Italy - ITALYYYYY OH MY FUCKING GODDDDDDD. this is my favourite the bissexuals stay winning <3 the song, the lyrics, the video, language points!, all perfect, even heard it twice 20/10 (minor warning for the end of the video it has some stuff involving eyes and bugs)

Spain - so sweet and language points! fernando daniel vibes 8/10

UK - didn't even get through half of the song and went back to finland's song, don't talk to me 0/10

overall my faves are italy, finland and portugal followed closely by russia and malta. overall in the videos lesbians stay winning it's all pretty girls 😭😭

#if y'all want more in depth just ask but this was for fun #eurovision #eurovision week #eurovision 2021 #americans dni

[thirstybtsthoughts]

this is such a weird ask but it's late so idc. I wonder if the guys are showers or growers 🤔 it started out as a thirsty thought, wondering what they looked like but it turned into genuinely scientific curiosity.

theories say that it has to do with climate and your ancestors, so if your ancestors were from a really hot place, their dicks would usually look bigger to regulate body temperature (same with lips, larger, thicker lips mean they're that way to deal with heat). These are called showers. Growers, however, are common in people from colder climates because they have to keep everything close to help contain heat within the body, so they enlarge significantly when aroused. This means that if your ancestors were from South Arabia and you and your parents were born in Canada, then you might inherit their dick safety measures.

However, South Korea is pretty closed off to other cultures and people from other countries. It's more common now but it's safe to say that at least up to the guys' generation, it'd be pretty hard to find a lot of diversity in their family trees. So one could argue that their penis size is ideal for someone in their current location might need. Now, Korea has some strong weather changes all year round. Autumn and Spring are like 5 weeks each and Summer and Winter the rest of the year, and these two can be quite extreme.

So all in all, with all that we've discussed so far, what kind of dick technology would these guys have? If I had to take a stab, I would say that maybe growers are more common in South Korea. From what I've researched, the general consensus is that it tends to be a colder area. Now I'm not about to google freaking "South Korea dick size and anatomy average?" to get my answer so I'm just going with maybe Bangtan are all growers but idk.

I don't even know what I'm doing here anymore, but I guess the next step would be to ask what are your opinions on the members? Just because I went all high school health teacher here does not mean you have to say "hello dear comrade, I quite enjoyed reading your small essay about the history of reproductive organs. Pardon me if I overstep my boundaries but I do believe, with all the information that we have gathered thus far, that the gentlemen in question appear to fit this category." You can go "hehe, Tae's a shower, Jimin's a grower, fight me on this"

tbh this all started because I was thinking about what all of them would look like, but I got derailed quite a bit from what you can see, so I wanted your opinions on the matter since I can't seem to make up my own.

Firstly I am SO sorry for how long it took me to answer this. I know you sent it quite a while ago and have probably forgotten all about it but here I am answering it now, finally! 🥺

So, I think you’re kinda right, I don’t know much about the South Korean climate, but it does appear to be more on the colder side, though they are closer to the equator compared to the UK, so they at least must have much warmer summers than we do (it’s my only comparison for climate 😂).

Anyway, I’m just gonna make this easy for myself to answer judging by the way their crotch areas look and what we’ve seen.

Showers: Tae

Growers: Everyone else

There. 😁

#asks #anon #bts #Anonymous

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Theres suddenly a lot of napoleon hate in the tag and idk what to do.. I’m interested in him and all but he did a lot of rly bad shit. I don want to pester you but do you know a way i can like.. come to terms woth those thoughts because its unhealthy to just rip from a hyperfixation

ah yeah that comes and goes. I don’t track, or go into, the Napoleon tags for that reason. 

I’ve addressed this before to another anon a year or so ago, maybe more, but at the end of the day you have to understand that Napoleon was human. He did bad things, he did good things. He could be a dick, he could be warm and generous. Because he is a multi-facsted human being living, and ruling, in a complex time. (All times are complex, but you know what I mean.) (Also, there are times when you can’t really apply modern expectations of behavior or morality to the past. Or, I mean, you can. But it won’t get you very far. I think tumblr struggles with this, sometimes.)

I don’t have an answer for how you should reconcile the contradictory life he lead. That is up to you to figure out. Sometimes you just have to sit with, and acknowledge, the bad. Because it isn’t going away. 

But also don’t become all consumed on one side (he’s the anti-christ/evil/the worst thing ever) or the other (saint who can do no wrong). Finding a balanced, nuanced understanding of him is key. 

And to that end, I recommend getting off Tumblr. Tumblr does not like nuance or context. It does not like understanding the world people are born into, the events that impacted their lives, the fact that they are human and so have deep flaws - as we all do. 

What I do recommend? Reading lots. Avoid Alan Schom and Phillip Dwyer (my two nemesis, though they are unaware of this). I only point you to biographies as a means to provide you with an overview of his life. But all biographers are flawed, all have their biases. And biography as a historical format is ... well I’ve strong views on it. But if you’re keying in on one person for fixation reasons, it’s a good starting point. Zamoyski’s alright. I have some critiques of his work but he’s as fine as any for a starting point. Steven Englund’s Napoleon: A Political Life is probably the best I’ve read. 

But once you’re done with that, read what original documents you can (memoirs, diaries, letters, accounts, newspapers), but read them critically. Know that memoirists all had a spin. Letters were written with an understanding that they could be read publicly - if at least to other family members. The concept of privacy was different at that time. 

Also, very importantly, read broadly about the life and times of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Read about the French Revolution, Napoleon was 20 when it began and it had a profound impact on him. Read about culture and society at the time - in France, in Corsica, Italy, the UK. Read about religion, about science and literature of the late 18th and early 19th century. Napoleon was not a religious man but his Catholic childhood informed, if subconsciously, many of his world views. Especially his understand of a woman’s place in the world. It’s a deeply Mediterranean Catholic understanding. Read about friendship and the homo-social nature of Napoleonic relationships in France (Napoleonic Friendship is great for this). Read about the revival of the classics (which, when covering the French Revolution, should be addressed). 

It’s one of those things, that to come to understand someone. To reconcile their incredible bad with their incredible good, you need to know the world they were operating in. The life they led. The information they had to hand. The relationships that informed and influenced them. 

E.g.: Napoleon and Josephine fought famously over money. Why? Josephine had a compulsive spending habit that I think is a bit of a response to the Revolution and her experiences therein. Napoleon watched his father fritter away what little money the family had gambling, drinking, whoring, ill-thought out business ventures etc. (his mother, according to one apocryphal story, used to send him down to the docks to spy on his father and report back how much he lost). He also went through incredible poverty in his early 20s as the sole bread-winner for his entire family. Des Mazis has some moving memories about this time and how messed up Napoleon was about feeling like he was failing everyone. 

These two people have strong responses to money because of the things they’ve lived through. Entirely understandable responses. But they are responses that are in conflict, so of course they fought over it. 

Context matters. 

Some of the things he did are not going to be comfortable to think about. And that’s ok. That’s part of studying history. Witnessing events and actions that are uncomfortable, that are horrible. But also, as a historian, your role is to understand. By all means look at the decisions he made and say: that was a terrible thing to do. But also look at decisions he made that were good. Like, I don’t know how else to put this than to say: he was complex, he made mistakes, he was cruel in some of his policies, he was also capable of great kindness and generosity and goodness of spirit. He did France great good and he did her great harm. As all rulers do to their countries. 

He did the people he loved great harm and great good. He hurt them and helped them. As we all do to the people in our lives that we care about. 

I wish you the best on this. 

My only truly dear, and earnest advice is: get off Tumblr. Do not take your history from this website. Do your own research. Form your own opinions. 

Thank you for the kind ask!

#napoleon #napoleon bonaparte #ask #repyl #anon #history

[rolaana2]

Huge fucking vent (literally just talking to myself lol I don’t wanna cry anymore so I’ll write instead)

So it’s always been my dream to go to uni in the UK (preferably london). Mostly because I wanna be completely away from my family. I wanna do shit that would disappoint them. They’re religious asf and I wanna drink and smoke weed and do drugs and date around and hook up with people and live alone and barely eat and be bisexual without fear of persecution. But of course I tell my mom it’s bc of the quality of education and job opportunities and all of that (which is also true). But I’ve always wanted to study abroad. That’s been my dream ever since i started middle school.

My dads been against it from the beginning but he doesn’t even live in the same country so Idc what he says. My mom’s been supportive, until now. Now she’s forcing me to go back to my third world country and study there and stay with family and I finally gave in. I’m so sad I haven’t stopped crying. I can’t run away because I don’t have any money and the country I’m in rn doesn’t allow minors to work. Plus, I pay for a lot of my own shit already with a very limited allowance.

I’ve been telling everyone I’m studying abroad, and I’m running away if my parents say no, and everyone’s been like “woah that’s crazy but you can totally do it” and now I don’t think I can.

I mean, with the little amount I have saved, I can only afford a flight ticket. I can’t afford a visa, and even if I did get a visa, it would probably be a tourist/visit visa, not a student/resident. I won’t be able to afford uni, let alone a place to stay. It’s not realistic for me to run away.

When I say third world country, I might be exaggerating. I mean, it’s just an overpopulated, slightly below average country (economy wise) and education there is great and all, but idk.

I negotiated with my mom, I’d only be okay with living there if I get to stay in a dorm and I get a car, and she agreed. I’ll also get a job. She says I can travel when I finish undergrad.

Plus, the money I have saved rn is worth way more in my home country than in the UK. It’s about £4500 in my country, but £200GBP in the UK. Obviously I’d be more comfortable in my home country.

And even though I’m very distant from my family, they’re still super well off and with their support I could ACTUALLY afford to study AND have fun. The uni I’m planning on going to has study abroad programs too.

The people in the country are super fun and chill and friendly, there’s parties and weed and alcohol and everything. Being bisexual might be illegal and I’m not entirely sure how the people there might react to me being bi, or if there would be any bi women there in the first place, but I guess we’ll see. There’s international students there too.

Also, one concern I have is that the country’s food is literally ALL carbs and fats. Almond milk is £50 and I love almond milk. Healthy food & low cal food is super expensive, and isn’t available either. There’s no Walden farms, halo top, alpro, etc. But I know loads of uni students there are BIG on fitness and all have gym memberships and stuff.

I’m trying to make it seem cool and fun but I feel like a failure. Ive given up on my dreams and I’m just accepting it. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s definitely not ideal. I spent so long planning everything, I literally memorized the London map. I was counting on going to the UK, I couldn’t be around my family. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that one day I was leaving and wouldn’t have to talk to them as much, but now I’m not. Now they’re always gonna be around. Even my extended family, I’ve never felt like I was part of them. My cousins were so close and I was always an outsider. They all have married conservative parents and live in big fancy houses and went to fancy schools and I live w my single mom in an average apartment and go to a shitty school. Plus my mom’s the only one in the family that dresses the way she wants, got divorced, etc so they’ve formed their opinions. My dad was barely around. I only saw him in the summers, and mostly on weekends. My mom is a whole other story that I don’t like getting into and I’m completely traumatized and will probably have serious issues forever. I can’t even connect with the country itself. The culture, language, traditions, entertainment, all of it. They’d probably call me white washed and I don’t even live in a “white” country.

Im trying to be happy about it. I’m trying to be excited about it. But giving up like that feels so awful, and giving my parents the satisfaction of winning? I hate it. I mean, after everything they’ve done. After all the fights and arguments and days I’ve spent crying screaming and wishing I didn’t live there or wishing I had different parents. This was my only goal. My only goal was to study abroad, and now I don’t have that and I feel like such a huge fucking failure. My mom is ecstatic and she thinks I’m excited because I’m talking about it a lot and planning everything out, but I’m not.

Idk if I should be feeling defeated, or be realistic, get all the financial support I can from my parents, negotiate my independence, make the best of the situation, get a job and save up till I can travel and live alone after undergrad. I know it’s not the end of the world, and it’s just 4 years, but Idk anymore.

#ana #anarecix #anor3xia #ana advice #ed #anaaamiaaa #not pro ana just using the tag #anam*a

[wholesomereb]

it’s been a couple of days (4 i think) and I’m all better now uwu 

The irrational thoughts are gone and although HECK do I wish I pursued skating for the last 15 years I realised I most likely wouldn’t have had dealt with childhood stuff/perfectionism/competitiveness/wouldn’t have done it for the fun of it/developed my passion for it healthily

Mainly because up until last year I have always struggled with pursuing things without it getting out of hand in the sense of it having to be 10/10

I would’ve likely developed an ED sooner and retained it for much longer/never had given it up, as even now I still cling onto some beliefs from the past (I still lowkey believe I don’t need to get rid of my perfectionism, so I’m not out of the woods yet, but I know it’s harmful and I try to work against it daily). 

I would’ve likely had a BRILLIANT social life (my old friendship groups are all living the life) but?? I likely would’ve stayed an ass. I’m currently working my way back to being an ass, but in a nicer way. I definitely want my self confidence back to approach people and exist?? confidently and to be at least partially as  opinionated as before.

I would’ve retained the all-or-nothing thinking though, because of the rigid education system and living with my father xd I’d be going all in, 24/7 and would’ve likely burned out quite fast (although I barely felt any pressure the first 11 years from what I remember, but then again, rose tinted glasses, eh). It definitely does eat away, especially at a child.

All-or-nothing thinking was my bane when it came to the UK and at first it kinda??? kept me afloat. It was easy doing better, because the expectations were lower. I still ended up miserable though, as I ended up comparing my education level with those back at home and then I hit a certain point at which I did not care about catching up and also lost my standing in the UK (jeez, 6 years ago now) and I just... stopped caring about being perfect in everything I do and gave up on everything??? Ofc this was coupled with intense trauma but y’know, idk I likely would’ve still had it rough even without it

Idk if it was the depression or just my personality in general, but I actively remember not knowing how to do things for the fun of it. I always had to be better than others. If I wasn’t on top of everyone around, that was game over. I ended up quitting chess because I couldn’t find new people to beat. I also quit other things because I wasn’t doing well enough to beat others, deeming them as “stupid”. Any entertainment I classed as a waste of time and would ACTIVELY shit on it (incl anime, boo me). Needing to be the best came to ice skating too. I enjoyed it but not if I couldn’t outperform everyone around me, which is shitty honestly

I went for one skate approx 5 years ago in my home country where a really big chunk of boys do ice hockey and a huge chunk of girls did figure skating, and the friendship groups are mega mixed. Seeing them all skate so well made me so envious and upset and also self-conscious. It’s an ugly way to feel. I both pity and feel sad for that version of myself. I didn’t wanna step out on ice on any of my visits back home again (not that I had an opportunity). 

 In the last year I’ve gone to tremendous lengths in recovery and have grown exponentially (thanks to all the anime boys supporting me in my journey).

I remember watching Haikyuu!! and thinking “How can Hinata be sO CONFIDENT AND NOT BE PUT DOWN BY COMPETITION??? THATS PURE FEAR, I COULD NEVER” (cue to me giving up about 6 years ago because I realised I cannot do it all and hardly pursued anything head on since)

but now??? oh my god stepping out on ice I was dreading those feelings would come flooding back and i’d feel like a wet sock just like I did 5 years ago. Instead?? PURE JOY WATCHING MY BABIES BE GOOD AND DO SO SO FRICKING WELL (yes, I adopted all the skaters in the rink and I refuse to think of them as anything but my children tyvm)

I literally spent the entire session grinning and trying to do the things they did. Watching their moves, realising that thIS IS WHAT I WANT TO BE LIKE and I will GET THERE but NOT??? In a competitive way??? Like... They’re doing something AWESOME?? I want to learn the awesome thing too for MYSELF??? not to look cool, no.. just because I wanT TO??? AAAA

AND I TOO DID BRILLIANT??? DESPITE BARELY BEING OUT ON ICE MY ENTIRE LIFE, HERE I WAS, DOING BRILLIANT??

Some peeps stood out more than others. I could definitely tell who wasn’t just doing it for the fun of it and it made me so darn happy to see them train towards getting better. PURE inspiration

Idk,my perspective shifted so much over the last twelve months. You know that step ladder that goes I can’t do it->I want to do it ->I’ll try to do it->I did it (some steps omitted)? That stuff is legit. I shot up from one end to the other in just a year and BOY DOES IT FEEL GOOD

I’ve still got a lot of stuff to work on/sort within myself, but I’d like to think I’ve put my biggest yikesies to rest. As much as I like to glamorise my life back in my home country, I would’ve likely grown up to be a very angry, selfish, and perhaps even bitter individual, who’d use people just to get what they want. It doesn’t sound like a bad strat, but it’s just so cold, and lonely, and not at all how i want to be in the long term

#tbh i have a lot of respect for people that don't use people per se #but know how to get what they want and fully commit to it?? #apparently that's called narcissism though #idk #i couldnt do it #which #you'll judge me for the following bc it's irrelevant #is why i respect sex workers- they are able to tolerate people that they want nothing to do with just to get what they want #that's the grossest thing I've experienced personally. if I cannot stand someone's company #i literally need to get away and cannot fake it (something I want to work on). Them guys however? Absolute champs #I wish I had the self restraint and the mental capability to deal with that sort of work #definitely something I'm trying to incorporate into my personality. sadly means turning a blind eye to a LOT of problematic stuff #and giggling along. A bit like #Georgia?? From Ginny and Georgia. I wan't the ability to be a stronk peep #I don't act out on emotions excessively but I still can't help but to shut people down immediately for problematic stuff #idk this side rant needs to go xd #personal #i want to be better #and i'll get there #These 15 years weren't wasted #i've been learning and growing #i still feel behind which is dumb #there's no such thing. I just know I'm not where i want to be personality #and attitude and belief wise and that I've still a long way to go and it feels like everyone's at the finish line already #but it's irrational- so we're good