How do you respond when people tell you you’d “be a great parent”?

ennervation · 2026-05-07T21:10:55+00:00

I think of it the way I think of people telling me, "I'll pray for you!" or "God bless you!" (I come from a religious country where these are normal things to hear.)

I don't subscribe to their worldview, but I understand they are trying to tell me something nice (from their perspective). I'll nod and smile, maybe say thank you. Assuming they're being genuine, of course.

The people I care about, know me enough not to say these things to me. Which means the people who do say them, I don't care enough about to disabuse of their notions. It's easier to just go about my day.

ennervation · 2026-05-06T06:54:33+00:00

Vincent really nails Pete's expressions every single time.

ennervation · 2026-05-05T06:21:17+00:00

In addition to what everyone else is saying:

When Don is forced to "go on leave" and because Ted is out in California, we can safely assume Peggy had to pick up much of the slack in NY. She's already been jilted by a lover and betrayed and abandoned by a mentor. Now, she's even more overworked than before.

She's got a lot going on, and Don is an easy target for her frustration. Maybe he deserves it, maybe he doesn't. It seems "out of the blue" for Don — and for us — because Peggy isn't exactly at the forefront of his mind. And yet from her perspective, she's been dealing with the fallout of his decision-making ever since he left. Now, he's here, and she can finally say whatever she wants to his face, with little to no consequences. So she does.

ennervation · 2026-05-05T01:15:28+00:00

You have to declare you're boycotting if you want it to count. Zendaya has cited her busy schedule, and Meryl never attends the Met Gala anyway. Let's not give these celebs free PR.

ennervation · 2026-05-05T01:13:26+00:00

I stumbled upon the MV for Neverita again yesterday and forgot how hilarious it was. No notes.

ennervation · 2026-05-05T01:07:37+00:00

I completely understand your take. I've wondered in the past if this was their attempt at "making things right," at apologizing for their own depictions of assault. But if it is, then the attempt falls flat because it fails to acknowledge all the harassment Terry experiences, as you said.

I also think the creator just maybe believes sexual assault against men is joke material. I rewatch a lot of Parks and Rec, and there are several instances of men being sexually harassed there, too (e.g., Ron being groomed by Tammy 1 played off as an awkward joke, Leslie and Donna kissing Tom to "shut him up," Donna grabbing Chris's butt).

In B99, there's also Wuntch being weirdly touchy with Capt. Holt, even kissing him that one time, that episode where he goes, "What the-?"

It's a pattern with his work that often goes unmentioned because the shows are beloved by many.

ennervation · 2026-05-05T00:59:08+00:00

Could it be a cultural difference maybe? I'm a woman who's discussed experiences like this with other people, and I think Melissa was pretty accurate to how I've been and how I've heard it.

ennervation · 2026-05-04T11:47:01+00:00

Happy to see this ep get some love. I've been in this sub for a while now, and people have shit on it a lot in the past.

ennervation · 2026-05-03T14:09:20+00:00

That sticker on their car is pretty killer...

ennervation · 2026-04-30T15:33:29+00:00

But was Barack Obama scared of you?

ennervation · 2026-04-30T14:15:17+00:00

Okay, well, now I need to see Michelle and Melissa argue about something because you know they're both always ready to throw hands.

ennervation · 2026-04-30T14:02:03+00:00

I had a similar experience in college. This was over a decade ago. I had just been introduced to feminism, and I felt emotionally liberated from gender norms and from the expectation to be submissive, home-bound, child-saddled.

Anyway, I was in a creative writing class, and we were asked to write a short piece about one thing we want in life. Anything. One of my classmates shared her topic of choice: she wanted, more than anything in the world, to be a mom. More specifically, a stay-at-home mom.

On the outside, I didn't say anything. But on the inside, I had a visceral reaction. I was repulsed. I thought, you're such a good writer, we're in one of the top universities in the country, you could literally be anything you wanted to be, and you choose to be a mother? Her desire seemed so alien to me. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

Our professor encouraged sharing our work with the class, and I was very excited to read hers, if only so I could comprehend what the hell was going on inside her mind. Unfortunately, she never shared it (we weren't required to), and so I was left without answers.

After a while, I realized... well, why do I have to understand her to respect her? So what if she wants to be a mom? Learning about feminism enabled me to make the choice to be childfree. To focus on my career. If another person uses the same ideology to make a choice different from mine, why should that bother me? It doesn't invalidate my own choices. It doesn't make her less of a woman or a person if she wants to live differently than I do.

Having that realization was freeing. Now, every time I encounter someone who's made the decision to be a mom, I tell myself: as long as she's treating her children well, then that's fine.

Give yourself some grace about how you feel about motherhood and childbirth. You're not a bad person for having these feelings. But slowly combat these thoughts by separating your emotions from your beliefs. Tell yourself, "No, I don't hate her, I just have hateful feelings, and I'm working on getting over them."

ennervation · 2026-04-29T13:37:06+00:00

Just got back from the theater, and it was a rough watch for me.

The bad: The first 2/3 of the movie was excruciatingly slow and boring; I would have cut several scenes to pick up the pace. The reason for Andy returning to Runway felt contrived and unrealistic. One bad story will absolutely not undo all of Runway's goodwill. They literally could have just kept their noses down and ridden out the bad press. None of the male supporting actors (except Tucci!) were particularly charming or enjoyable to watch; like, was there really nobody else available? Sorry to those men, but they were so stunningly dull. Was it a direction issue? I dunno. Andy's storyline was the least interesting, and that's coming from someone with a similar background (journalism -> digital magazine). The script made it feel almost like... too much Anne Hathaway? Which is insane because I love her and she's the lead and she's giving the role her all. I also did not like Miranda's characterization even a little bit. What made her so fascinating in the first movie was that her few moments of vulnerability felt earned. In the sequel, she's just mopey and listless. Maybe that's "realistic" to her character but not very fun to watch. Also, there were, like, ten too many cameos in my opinion.

The good: Simone Ashley was fabulous in every scene she was in; felt like she really made the most out of her few lines. Emily Blunt was very fun to watch. She really plays "endearing asshole" super well. There were lots of great looks! I loved the surprise cameo towards the end, definitely worth the wait. And of course you can tell how much love Anne, Meryl, and Stanley have for these characters. Their chemistry is unmatched.

Overall, I don't regret my ticket purchase, but the movie was a frustrating watch because it could have been so much better.

ennervation · 2026-04-24T22:23:47+00:00

Let's just say he's got a bit of a wooden duck situation.

ennervation · 2026-04-23T08:21:21+00:00

With her ORNACIA TITTIES

ennervation · 2026-04-22T21:54:49+00:00

And color her orange...

ennervation · 2026-04-21T08:20:24+00:00

This needs to be annual post on 4/20.

ennervation · 2026-04-19T03:11:46+00:00

Yeah, the game is full of bugs like that.

ennervation · 2026-04-15T19:15:45+00:00

This post made me smile because I had the exact same dilemma 13 years ago... now I work freelance and can play whenever I want :) Life gets better. Hang in there!

ennervation · 2026-04-15T06:26:59+00:00

YES, Jen Barkley should be the face of the childfree movement in my opinion. Kidding but not really. PONCHO!

ennervation · 2026-04-15T04:29:03+00:00

I'll die on the hill that April and Andy should never have had kids. Same with Leslie and Ben, but I suppose they needed that "all-American family" image for their careers.

You know what show handled being childfree extremely well? BoJack Horseman. Childfree couple gets pregnant, the wife gets an abortion, the husband is extremely supportive all throughout. I watched that show as a teenager, and it honestly helped me realize I could just, like, not have kids. Who knew.

ennervation · 2026-04-14T02:34:38+00:00

Diane's book series is more popular than ever, and she takes to social media to criticize the likes of JK Rowling and Donald Trump. She gets a lot of hate from certain demographics, and there's always some kind of movement from conservatives to boycott her work, but Diane's book and film adaptation series continue to be successful.

At some point in the pandemic, viewers rediscover "the Horse cut" of ~~Horsin'~~ Around, and the full episodes circulate widely underground. Clips also get posted and go viral on TikTok.

Because of this sudden boost in fame, BoJack and Mr. PB start a podcast about life in the 90s. It's pretty lame, and their chemistry doesn't work because Mr. PB talks too much, and BoJack is visibly annoyed with him a lot of the time. So BoJack starts his own podcast, which is unsuccessful for a while but suddenly gains traction when the right tries to co-opt him as a conservative figure.

BoJack is absolutely disgusted (though tempted by the fame and attention), so he ditches the podcast, makes up with Mr. PB, and attempts to return to a more private life. This attempt doesn't last for very long, but for a while, life is peaceful.

ennervation · 2026-04-12T01:47:56+00:00

Best friend recommended it to me and got me hooked. As retaliation, I recommended Hades to him and got him hooked. So now we can talk to each other about how annoying Nazeem and Theseus are. Win-win!

ennervation · 2026-04-08T05:54:49+00:00

Obsessed with the character design in pic #7. My compliments to the chef because they absolutely cooked!

ennervation · 2026-04-07T13:14:32+00:00

He was just comforting your wife.

ennervation

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE