#anon review

[celtic-crossbow]

Hello, its me again, the ‘’long ask anon’’ i should totally stop being na anon, i’m too chatty to only show up once in a while, but being the kind of insane anon that shows up from time to time just to ramble is my true calling.

First off i’d like to thank you for being so sweet, i’m glad you enjoyed my feedback to this degree and took time to answer my questions, i really enjoy knowing your thought process in the creation of this fic and what it might become in the future. Anyway, onto your answer.

I totally agree with you on the importance of wintertime for the group, i think its really a shame how they didn’t show us any of it, though its understandable why they didn’t show us its like, come on, winter is prime apocalypse time, even normal winter is tough as we see in the comics. But here’s the thing, Rick in the comics doesn’t really grapple with Lori’s pregnancy at all like we see Daryl do in this fic, and i think its brilliant, sure everyone else is getting it rough too but reader and Daryl are in a constant state of worry, which makes the joyful moments that much more intimate and special and its portrayed perfectly, i get the sense that in the beginning Daryl deals very well with the negative stuff, but really doesn’t know how to behave during the good times (Like Birdie’s first kick etc.) and yea, that’s the essence of Daryl, a great caretaker, kind of self sabotages tho. Poor guy.

And omg i had no idea babies were capable of that sort of stuff, like recognizing who is who even in the womb?! Kind of amazing, i can barely recognize people through phone calls nowadays lol, and the fact you based it on your own little thumper? Ugh i could die from the cuteness.

And Merle, oh well, i know he hasn’t done anything in the story and i have the sense that he will ( leave birdie alone!!!) but wherever he is i hope he’s getting his ass beat right this instant, excited for him to show up tho! He better not start messing up Daryl’s head!!! Or he’ll suffer the consequences!!! I know our reader would not let it slide. :).

And about Lori, i’m still obsessed with the Lori Reader duo, recently rewatched season 2 which has, so many Lori scenes, So many, and it only makes me like her even more in the BT universe, and you really hit the nail on the head with your interpretation of her, she truly is mainly motivated by fear but strongly adheres to her sense of right and wrong. I also love her offering Daryl advice, the fact that most of the interactions between these two in the show are hostile never sat right with me and i’m glad that she is a trustworthy figure to Daryl, enough for him to take her advice to make our reader feel better. It really is sad that the burden she carries is not the baby (ITS RICK!) and that she tries to seek in others what she can’t have is tragic, but very noble in my opinion.

Carol is our perfect angel, best cheerleader ever, she’s Always there for backup even while she is working through her pain, i imagine her pregnancy wasn’t easy on her (cause Ed) and she wouldn’t want to see any other woman struggle with it, the fact that even in the show she tries to learn from Hershel about medicine to help Lori, and sticks next to her Always, and when Hershel is out of comission starts training her C-section technique thinking of Lori, Carol has Always deserved the world honestly. And she is such a great friend in the fic as well, one thing about her is that she really has the reader’s back no matter what, so sweet.

About chapter 30

After Reading it over and over for like an hour i can say, I’M OBSESSED. Daryl??? So cute??? Omg the fluff had me rotating in my room like a rotisserie chicken , You’ve done it again, It really shows that at this time Daryl is aprehensive, but still so in love with Birdie from moment one, that the first thing he does after making sure everything is ok is to make himself presentable for his daughter,OMGGGG, that he doesn’t really want her to see all of him yet and has to trust that his little Bird will accept him as he is (and she Always will!!) is just peak fluff to me, but also sad that it makes me think that he’s Always been afraid of his father, so much so that he believed it would be the first thing she would feel towards him too. I’m enjoying the hell out of the scenes of them both just hanging out and being cute with her and seeing as Daryl gains more confidence as the chapter progresses, when he realizes Birdie loves him as well, when they both hold onto each other, maybe i’m wrong but in my interpretation that’s when Daryl gained the confidence he needed to think of a name for her (who knows, maybe i’m dead wrong, but that’s how i interpreted his silence) And Carol too, being emotional over Birdie makes me wanna scream, what a bittersweet moment it must have been for her, i just know she’ll be the best aunt ever.

This chapter has really entered a new territory of Daryl’s development in my eyes, now that he is so passionate about birdie, he’s already trying to show service for her and reader in a way, i just know that serving his Family and making sure they are happy will be so good for him in the long term, he’s got it all to be happy now. And i’m eating it up.

Anyway, a Thousand words again who would’ve though, no objective analysis this time, just rambling non-stop, being an overly-chatty anon is my true calling fr.

The fact that some random person out there in the world can write more than a Thousand words about your work must make any author proud tho, so i sincerely hope its the same for you, from what i’ve read through it seems you’ve been having a few Hard days, so i hope to make it even a little better with my feedback and appreciation, better days will come for all of us even if the world is an ugly place right now, we still have beautiful things to look foward to and to keep working towards.

About the fanart i cited in the last text, it does indeed exist. Now it does .      

                              https://imgur.com/a/t9VdHC4

Since my last ask i’ve challenged myself to have it more or less ready by the time the next chapter was here, and though its not anything impressive i took a little of my day to work on it every day, i hope you enjoy knowing that ( and since copying and pasting a link from any anon is not safe, i recomment pasting it to VirusTotal if you feel the need, and i don't really know if the anon mode just gets rid of them completely, if yes let me know and i'll find another way to get it to you after i get over my embarrassment)

Bye bye <3

Okay! As you saw, I got a little distracted from doing this. Also, if my post affected you negatively in any way, I'd like to apologize to you too. It was in poor taste regardless of my intentions. I am so sorry. I really wish we could have seen more about their survival. What we saw, they were always on foot and barely had food. Well, we will get to that soon. Daryl is scared shitless but there's just that bond that was formed while reader was pregnant. That's his baby girl. And he's already wrapped around that tiny finger. I absolutely cannot WAIT to bring Merle into the mix. It might be a little different as far as timeline but it will be at the prison. So we have a ways to go. But it will be interesting. Oh, the plans I have!

Lori will play a more pivotal role in the next couple of chapters. Daryl is going hunting. Reader is alone with Birdie. "HELP!" I feel like Lori would have gotten along with Daryl if she didn't have so much on her plate and could really see him. Yeah, he could be an asshole but he was hiding behind his walls, deflecting. She just had way too much going on, no time to offer that chance. Well, goddamnit, I'm giving her that chance. I want to delve into the problems with her and Rick a little more too, with reader involved. Daryl is going to be a helicopter parent, absolutely no doubt. I think he will be more in tune with her feelings and how to handle them because he didn't have that growing up. He'll know the cues of anger or sadness. And she's his daughter. -squeal- I can't wait to write more of daddy Daryl and little Birdie.

I'm not sure if you noticed but at first, it was always reader suggesting the names and he stayed quiet other than to say nah. But every time he had Birdie, she had her little bird blanket. However, he's going to give an explanation of her name in the next chapter. He was too damn sleepy in this one, lol. Carol is my warrior queen! Forever and always! There will be a bond there that is unlike any other. Not just because of losing Sophia but because Carol has found best friends in Daryl (well, it's a work in progress, lol ) and reader. So Birdie is a product of two of the most important people in her life. She will absolutely fight tooth and nail, savagely to protect her.

I need to be careful or I'm going to spoil so much! But I love getting the chance to talk about it like this! Just to explore the thought process and where it's headed without too much detail, I hope.

OKAY. THAT ART. OMFG. I screeched, even half asleep! When I woke up properly, I was just in awe. It is SO beautiful and I would love to add it to the series Masterlist and share if you are comfortable with that. I mean I realize the link is right up there but I want it to be seen every single time someone goes to see the chapters. I cannot say thank you enough for that. It is GORGEOUS. Perfect. And captures them so well. My three favorite things are reader with the vest and that belly, Daryl holding onto her leg, and Caryl hovering in the background! But I also LOVE that you included the truck! Everything about it is just perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect! My heart was just so full. Thank you so much. 🩵🩵🩵🩵

[blorbocedes]

i'm curious whether you're hot.

I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I’ll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial masque which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion. There is an idea of Blorbocedes. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity. Something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there.

[stuckinapril]

I love Tumblr because nothing matters here truly. There are no influencers. Having followers doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a site where people post their sporadic thoughts and rb pretty pictures. Anyone who thinks any of this matters is woefully missing the point

[sincerelyhannibal]

[vg-bird-reviews]

Psychonauts 1 seagull owo

0/5

what the fuck

[good-pokemon-center-reviews]

So pokemon center is relisting their sitting cuties at a higher price, causing old cuties to lose all of their previous reviews. I recommend going through any of the sold out listings, because I have a feeling once they're back in stock the reviews will also disappear :(

this is my library of alexandria

[ebonysplendor]

Do you have a review of The Kid At The Back?

O_O;

Pfft...of course I do! What? You thought I just had it downloaded and in my "Play Later" stash for the past 2 - 3 months with the full intention of playing it and writing a review, just for it to never happen? Of course not~! Just to prove it to you, I will insert the entire thing right here, no links needed! And no, it's not because I didn't have it written until now, so don't think that! ANYWAYS.

TL;DR: I'm not worried about if this man is at the back. My question and only concern is can he hit it from the back?

Game Link: https://fantasia-kittcat.itch.io/the-kid-at-the-back-demo

Notable Features: Yandere LI, Custom Pronouns, Self-Insert (first and last name), Two LIs, 1+ Hour Long Demo Spiciness: 2/5 or 5/5 -- It depends on which version you get. If you get the regular degular free version, it'll be more innocent with some flirtiness here and there. If you pay for the NSFW version, it'll be way more sinful and the way that the Gods intended it to be. LI Red Flags: 4/5 -- Breaking-and-entering, possessive, drugged us, lack of consent; the usual stuff, but I can fix him

Wanna know more? Pfft, not if you aren't in the 18+ club you don't. Yes, that's even with nothing explicit popping off in the demo. So go on, get away. Oh? You're at least 18? Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's get into it!

...Okay, so I may or may not have completely lied about having this review written, but I mean, so what?! I'm making the review now, aren't I?! Cut a girl some slack!

Lol actually, all jokes aside, this gave me the push that I needed to go on and get it done. I've honestly been meaning to play this game for a hot minute now, but other things caught my immediate attention, and this kept getting pushed further and further back. All that matters now is that I've finally played it, I'm making the review, and we are here together as a squad.

Now, with that being said...

I find it extremely disrespectful that I waited so long to play this masterpiece; what was I thinking?

The story, so far, has me in an absolute chokehold, and I absolutely hate that it's only the demo because I want to know now. I am all over this story right now, and the dev is going all the way in with no remorse.

Not to mention, the LI -- or at least the one that I'm simping for, because there's two this time -- is just so damned good looking. What's even more attractive is that he doesn't play into the whole edge lord stereotype like some people we know. He's actually a pretty sweet guy so far! He has psycho tendencies, for sure, but a sweet guy overall!

Just as a side note, I have always had the weakest spot for a guy in alt/goth/emo/grunge -- all of that -- fashion. Like, the attraction that I have is ungodly, and I just...like, it's disrespectful how attractive I find them. Now, I want you to imagine our yandere LI...but with tattoos. When I tell you that I'd be ruined?!

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch.

When I say ready to submit?! When I say ready to turn into the absolute best baby girl?

*Ahem*

Okay, now that I've got my degeneracy out a little bit, I'm going to start giving you a summary of the game so that you can be as absolutely geeked -- and in love with this man -- as much as I am. The game is really good, and like I said, the story is damned interesting thus far. Anyways, I'm going to stop yapping so I can start telling you about the game. Like always, I am going to tell you as much about the game as possible without ruining the game itself. That being said, let's finally get into it.

So boom.

Literature class is over, and we're getting our anime protagonist on. We're dramatically looking out the window thinking about how it's going to rain, and how it was super unfortunate that we hadn't brought an umbrella. ... Damn.

...Okay, well anyways! Now that we've had our main character complex solidified, we get up, and one of the members of the squad inquire about lunch before another one comes up behind them. Now, we aren't too worried about them anymore because we're looking at him.

Jericho "Crowe" Ichabod.

Classroom representative, close friend, and an absolute snack. While he has an anime antagonist aesthetic to him, he has the vibe of the supporting character and love interest of the anime protag, ya feel me? Like, we are feeling this man.

After we're done thinking about how much we simp over this man on the low, we respectfully reject the offer to go to lunch and instead hit the library, anticipating that addictive smell of books and coffee. Besides, we've got a paper to work on, so why not? We get our stuff, and we head in that direction.

Now, everyone knows about having unassigned assigned spaces, right? You know that whole thing when you get so used to sitting in a particular seat, or having a certain parking spot, or always studying in a particular room, so you just always gravitate towards it and kind've make this unsaid claim on it? Well, we have an unassigned assigned seat by this window in the library, and some bitch took it right as we were going towards it. How are we supposed to feed into our main character syndrome, if we don't have the window seat?

Whatever though. We're lowkey pissy about it, but we decided to let the kid have their moment. Everyone deserves their own episode, ya feel? We go find another seat.

Since this is the library and all, we start browsing the shelves to find a book for a little leisure reading. Was this the initial choice? No, but we weren't really trying to involuntarily focus on the fact that we got stuck sitting around all the gossiping "peaked-in-high-school" students. Shout out to that bitch who took our seat earlier. Your mom's a hoe, and I hope someone punches you in the face. Either that or you get in a knife fight. Either is good, just don't sit in my damned unassigned assigned seat anymore.

It gets worse though, because we can't even look for a book in peace. There's this loud ass thud from the book shelf right next to us, and whoever knocked into it hit it hard enough that some of the books almost came off the shelf. Of course, we've got to investigate the cause of this, so we try to catch a peek through a gap on the bookshelf and...it's honestly typical.

Remember when I told you about the "peaked-in-high-school" students? Well, we found another set on the other side of the bookshelf. These two students were harassing this other student for, what sounds like, no apparent reason. The situation escalates pretty quickly before one of the bullies absolutely knocks that other student's shit in. We just kind've wince because, damn that's tough...but, meh, it's not our business. The other bully then proceeds to pull out a pocket knife. Well, damn, I guess it's our business...

We jump in.

Lol don't get it twisted, though. We didn't do much, but we did do enough to get them to go away, which mattered more than anything because this guy was definitely about to end up in a hospital bed.

We help this poor, unfortunate soul up, and...gah damn, he's tall. Lol imagine my 5'2.5 -- 5'3 on a good day -- self helping this 6ft tall man up. Sheeeeeeeeesh. He should've curb stomped their asses, because he's gotta be rocking at least a size 14 shoe.

Anyways, I guess he kind've said "fuck us" though, because we were like "Nurse's office?" and he was like "Nah" and just straight dipped out after that. No "thank you", no nothin', and-- wait.

THIS BITCH WAS THE ONE SITTING IN OUR UNASSIGNED ASSIGNED SEAT. We know this, because he went and got his stuff from over there and then bolted out of the library! Well, that explained the punch to the face and the pocket knife. Honestly? Good look, universe.

Okay, okay, okay, enough jokes; let's get on with the rest of the story (kinda because avoiding huge spoilers).

We leave the library, too, after some more time goes by, and guess who's in our next class...

The bitch that stole our seat The guy from the library. Huh...never noticed him before this point, but that's probably because he sits at the very back of the room.

He must've noticed us, too, though, because when we make eye contact, he get's all flustered in the face and looks away.

Now, admittedly, after that encounter in the library, we're kind've curious about this kid, and, again, it's dope how the universe works sometimes because, for this class, we need a partner, and wouldn't you know it?

We don't have a partner, he doesn't have a partner, so we do as the Gods intended and pair up.

Contrary to how he looks, he actually isn't the tsundere of our cast.

He -- his name is Solivan Brugmansia, by the way; he likes to be called sunny Sol -- is actually a pretty okay dude!

He's not that stereotypical emo boy edgelord or that arrogant hard ass that thinks the people around him are idiots. He's actually pretty nice and legit doesn't mind our company; he's even open to seeing us outside of class just to casually hang out and talk. He's also pretty -- very, extremely... -- damned attractive, if you don't mind me throwing that in. Something else that I wanna throw in is that -- you remember when I mentioned that he rushed out without saying "thank you"? -- he said "thank you" and really appreciated us jumping in to help him.

Pretty grateful that he didn't make it to the knife fight portion of our threat. I would've never made that threat if I knew he was going to be this sweet of a guy.

Anyways, class gets out, we exchange numbers, and make mentions of hanging out in the future before parting ways for the day. We get back home, text some of our friends and the new bae, and eventually go to sleep for the next day to roll around.

As mentioned, the next day rolls around, and we're with the squad making lunch plans. While this is going on, we find new bae in the crowd of students in the hallway. Naturally, we call him over, but in hindsight, this was not the brightest idea. We didn't really account for the fact that OG bae and new bae were going to catch a bad vibe from each other.

And boi, did they catch a bad vibe. More accurately, they caught a "you're competition" vibe.

At this point they're sizing each other up, and it's like, please don't do that, because I'll take you both...then again, I am leaning more towards one than the other.

But it might get bad depending on whoever we pick, and we've definitely got to pick.

I have got to give the fattest shout out to whoever sent that anon message in, because they've pushed me to stand on business and play this game, and it was so worth it.

Honestly, where do I even start with this? The art style, the bae, the plot -- dear Gods the plot. I am so invested in this story! You'll understand once you play it for yourself, but it's like...what is going on?! What is going on behind closed doors? Why are things starting to get not so black and white? Like, I am extremely suspicious of the things that are going on in this game. Like, the dev(s) didn't have to go in on the art style and the story like that. Speaking of the art style...

Y'all know that I have a thing for the way that games look, and baby, I am in love. I love this whole "comic book" vibe that this game has going on. Like, I just love the shadows behind the characters and their designs and how they're written and just -- I honestly can't give you a clear depiction of how much I love the art style or exactly what about it I love, but I love it. I just love the style of this game, how it looks, and how it flows.

Anyways, I think this game is definitely worth it, and shit, based on what I managed to dig up and research, those $5 to unlock the sin is worth it. Not even because the CGs or the scenes that were made exclusively for the degenerates were revolutionary or anything, but because I really feel that this is going to be a great damned visual novel once it's complete, and it is so deserving of that monetary support. The amount of work that has already gone into this game in its demo stage is impressive, and I am super excited to see what else is in store. Like, I'm really trying to see what day 3 is about at this point, and I'm trying to get to the part where Sol starts clapping these cheeks. I will do a lot more than just research the NSFW scenes, I'm going to drop some cash to experience that firsthand. BRING ON THE OTHER 5 DAYS. MY BODY IS READY FOR IT!

But seriously, when is Sol going to start hitting it from the back...? And no, I ain't scratching it out this time! Y'all know what it is at this point! You know full well that I am a degenerate.

Lol okay, anyways, all jokes aside, that's it from me.

Like I said, I'm really excited for this full game to drop, and I will gladly spend the money for it whenever that time comes. That being said, I definitely recommend it. If you want the NSFW version, you do have to spend a minimum of $5 to unlock it; however, if you're low on cash, you're still able to play, but it'll be the SFW version -- both are really good either way, so don't let that deter you.

I'll go ahead and put a link for it right here so that you can head on over and get in on this amazingness. As I always like to remind people to do, once you get to the dev's page, leave them that ever warm "Yo, this shit is fire..." to give them some verbal validation, and if you're feeling really fancy, drop some financial validation, too. Either way, definitely play this game because it is good and so worth the (minimum) hour of playthrough.

Welp, that's all from me, friends! As always, please remember to drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

The Kid at the Back (DEMO)

[dailytomlinson]

“With pure pop, Louis Tomlinson warmed up the cold night in Líniers”

[is-the-post-reliable]

the dogs talking with buttons thing is pretty controversial. many people compare it to koko the gorilla, nim chimpsky, clever hans, etc. afaik there's no scientific backing for the "talking dogs" not being a matter of anthropomorphising combined with basic operant conditioning (push button + receive food)

i appreciate that you were just fact-checking the specific reblogged claim about dogs *understanding* words, but i wanted to poke at the green "reliable" rating on a dog speech button post!

oh this is a totally valid point that didn't occur to me until reading this. I have a bad habit of assuming that some stuff is obvious to everyone, when it's only obvious if you are knowledgeable on the subject. I was aware that it was a subject of debate with no strong evidence that it was a real phenomenon, and assumed that it was the rest of the information that the request was for

Thanks for pointing this out, I will edit the post to make it clearer!

[blorbocedes]

best account on this app literally every post makes me laugh !!

me having a mental breakdown: I think I am unloveable 😞😞😞

my anons: 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 banger another one ‼️

[destinyc1020]

X

Okay....I am SAT!!

I LOVE roles that actors do when you don't know whether you should hate them or not....I even love the roles where you end up hating an actor that you actually really love! 😅 It means they're doing a d*mn good acting job! 👏🏾

This film sounds like it's going to give us whiplash, and I personally can't wait! I LIVE for the drama! 🤭

[sincerelyhannibal]

[torukmaktoskxawng]

pls tell us your opinion on Frontiers of Pandora when you get the chance. I bought it on sale, and have seen mixed reviews about it 🙏🏻

I'm glad you asked because I was about to share this small piece of the game. No technical spoilers:

(So'lek aside, I like Nor as well. This scene made my heart melt)

It's a beautiful game!! I preordered it, and due to jobs and the holidays, I haven't been able to play it very much (the scene above is close to where I left off today lol and that's not very far) but so far I love it!

I think so far, the only thing that's frustrating to me are the controls. To me, remembering controls is a struggle, but I haven't been much of a gamer until recently when I got a gaming pc, so I'm a bit of a newbie.

I've also been way too distracted while playing the game 🤣 there's so much to see and learn that I forget I'm in the middle of a mission unless I stumble into it. I'm too busy exploring.

We all know Pandora at night is beautiful, and the game reflects that! I can't stop looking around at everything at night.

Another thing I'm bummed about is the romance. You can't romance the characters 😭 If I had a choice, I would've jumped So'lek's bones so fast, especially after the most recent gift he handed me 👀 (won't specify due to spoilers)

To some gamers like my brother, FoP is too much like Horizon Zero Dawn (but for some people, that's all the more reason to play it!). And for someone who's never played HZD, it's a whole new game/concept to me so I don't have much to criticize/compare!

If you haven't played it, give it a chance! I also advise using it as a filler for the wait for the next Avatar movie in 2024 👍 we must consume as many crumbs as possible to quench our hunger and thirst

[good-pokemon-center-reviews]

how does one get blocked by the Pokemon Center Webbed Site????

i couldn’t tell you 😭😭 90% of the time it’s bc you’re “clicking faster than a normal human” which is quite a bold thing to say considering the fact that pokemon is the Autism Game. this time though i was blocked immediately without even doing anything which is really weird. if it doesn’t let me in soon i’ll have to contact customer support 🥹

[askmovieslate]

Wh...

What are you even talking about?

Anon.

Anon look, I know we've had our rough times, but I want to think we're sensible individuals, so I'm not asking this to make fun of you. But seriously.

Anon. Are you OK?

[howlsmovinglibrary]

You mentioned in the tags of a recent post what you’d change about Funny Story to make it a different book. Would you mind elaborating on what you meant by that? I’m curious!

hey anon, thank you for being a massive enabler bc this has in fact been my special topic for the last 48hrs.

I want to state off the bat that I still gave this book 4.75 stars. I really, really enjoyed it. That being said, I'd literally rewrite the entire thing to get it to 5.

Answer under the cut to avoid spoilers! (also shout out to @eldritchcow bc these ideas are not formed alone but through a series of ranting voice notes lmfao)

The premise of Funny Story is that two exes move in with each other after their partners run away together - the main character, Daphne, has her wedding cancelled as a result, and Miles, the love interest, also gets a pretty crap deal bc his girlfriend literally breaks up with him via A NOTE ON THE KITCHEN COUNTERTOP, before running off on holiday with another man (after they hook up AT HIS BACHELOR PARTY. DAPHNE AND MILES DESERVED TO DO VIOLENCE). Miles and Daphne move in together, a series of circumstances means that Daphne tells her ex they are now dating, and that Miles will be her plus to the NEW WEDDING that they have been INVITED TO.

Personally, I think this - two exes move in, fake date, develop feelings - is such a juicy set up for a novel, that it could carry the whole plot. But at about the halfway mark, a bunch of other stuff - family drama, friendship drama - is bought in for the third act conflict. The exes and all their drama fades to the background, and its no longer about this Very Juicy Set Up, which I think is a shame. I think that the premise could've carried the entire plot and that there was no need to bring in additional conflict... except that Emily Henry is known for adding conflicts outside of romance to her novels (creating well-rounded, 'feminist' characters - I'm not being mean, that is just the perception of it and what she is known for) and that this is thus more brand appropriate. By the same logic, it is 'less feminist' of me to argue that the book should've been more about the romance.

But it should've been more about the romance.

If I rewrote/re-edited this book, I would do the following.

Make Daphne and Miles be messier people. These two characters behave like FUCKING SAINTS, while their exes are awfully and affably evil. I've had multiple friends say that Daphne should've hit Peter (her ex) with a car. I don't necessarily think that would've been the way, but I think she should've made much more spiteful decisions. I think Henry is very concerned in stressing that these are Two Very Goody and Utterly Blameless main characters, but I think they should've gotten a little spite as a treat, actually.

And the spite they should've gotten as a treat is - fucking each other.

As is the way with romance books, there are certain 'acceptable thresholds' for smut/romance scenes. So I get it, I really do. But Daphne and Miles only bang once it's a healthy decision... and I'll be honest, it would've been sexier if they had had sex in an unhealthy place. (for the people who've read the book: kiss at the drunk night out with Gil, sex at the truck or before the truck, then Sex With Real Feelings at the point where they actually have sex)

If they had had sex out of spite/petty revenge first, then the entire plot of the book could've been around 'catching feelings' and this would still have been a totally valid character arc. I would've liked to have seen more questionable decisions that are still somewhat about the exes - more of the 'are we doing this for them or for ourselves?' conflict which is microdosed at the midway point - and then feelings developing, and then making the 'no I actually really like you so we can't do this for the wrong reasons anymore' be the final sex scene before the third act conflict

Two things would be vastly improved by this change: 1. a weird scene where Miles sees Daphne in her former wedding dress, and they really should've fucked? but they don't? because that would be the tiniest bit weird??? (like, slightly weird and messy, in such the smallest way, but I think it was sanitised down for that reason) 2. the fact that their exes break up and call-off their wedding off screen. Have them break up at the rehearsal dinner that Miles/Daphne are attending, actually. Then you have your third act conflict.

The third act conflict of Funny Story is insane, convoluted, and unrelated to the story, IMO. Is it still well written? YES. Emily Henry, you will always be famous. But my favourite parts of it were 1. both Miles and Daphne get caught in their exes' orbit as they break up, and this causes them both to doubt their relationship (shout out to Miles having such low self esteem that he automatically thinks they're back together, I understand you king) 2. Daphne fucks up a promise she made to a friend (but bc she's not allowed to be a bad person - see the first point - it's for totally understandable reasons), leading her to wonder if she's just become part of another couple, where she's swapped one man and his house for another man, and his house. I personally think that these VERY MINOR FOOTNOTES in what is ACTUALLY the third act conflict... are a third act conflict in and of themselves. And... if we go back to what I said about Emily Henry being known for Feminism™, the second part of that is a totally valid trope/feminist critique to dig into in depth that would, if given time to breathe, be 'on brand'.

In this book, Miles drives 2hrs to try and get Daphne's shitty dad to come back to her. Where is this energy, for Peter? I think, Miles should've punched Peter, as a treat. And Petra should've had more scenes, so that she actually had a personality beyond 'being hot'.

I think we should've had a messy wedding scene. Daphne and Miles are each others plus ones, but they never get to attend bc the wedding is called off. But that wedding?!!! or that rehearsal dinner?!!! IS THAT NOT THE STUFF THAT THIRD AT CONFLICTS DREAM OF???

TLDR - I think Funny Story should've had more sex, and been more about the romance premise and the kind of fucked up, messy choices and weird feelings that premise engendered. I think the third act should've been connected to pre-existing conflicts, instead of creating new ones. I think Miles and Daphne could've had a little revenge, as a treat. They should've allowed to be sexy and weird about it.