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krakensdottir · 9 months

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Also something really important I want to point out about Aziraphale's religious trauma.

It's often framed as him being directly abused by Heaven, generally emotionally. And while I don't doubt he's been belittled at points - probably not by Gabriel, the iconic exemplar of the Toxic Positivity boss, but we know how Michael and Uriel etc. can be - it also seems like he's received quite a lot of praise and has generally managed to pull off the appearance of being A Good Angel, or at least a satisfactory one. I don't think, and this is controversial, but I don't think Heaven was usually overtly hard on him.

Because that's not how this kind of cult mentality usually operates. Instead, it teaches you to abuse yourself. Your overseers don't have to directly hurt or insult you if you're so ingrained with fear of failure by the culture you were brought up in that you constantly question yourself as not good enough.

It's not as... satisfying, I guess? As an external abuser being the main issue. But it's a lot more real. At least to me, because I suffered so much anxiety over being 'good' when I was a kid, and it wasn't from direct abuse. It was absorbed from the culture I was surrounded by. I picked it up by osmosis from society at large, and it tormented me. I worried, I doubted, there was a time I literally feared going to Hell. And I wasn't raised strongly religious. My mother certainly treated me as a Good Kid, and never gave even the suggestion that I wasn't. But I felt that way anyway. And it tore me apart. Because internalizing that shit makes it so much harder to fight.

And to be clear at this point, I am not saying Heaven isn't abusive. I just think the nature of its abuse is more subtle and insidious than it's often given credit for. And - this is even harder to accept, but it's true, and it's important - it's not just abusive to Az. All the angels are victims of it. Yes, even Gabriel. The moment he, one of the most powerful forces in Heaven, steps out of line, we see that no one is exempt. Never even mind Muriel, who is literally on the lowest rung of the Heavenly ladder and has probably never been told they're worth anything beyond being, you know, an angel, so at least you're better than humans and demons.

It's a contrast with Crowley, who has long since accepted most (not all, there are definitely some deep issues remaining, but they're nothing like Aziraphale's) of his internal doubts and struggles. His fears are almost entirely external. He doesn't beat himself up if he fucks up. He doesn't have to. There are people happy to beat him up for him. So when things go really bad for him, his instinct is to run. To get out of the way of harm as much as possible.

The fact that Aziraphale is harder on himself than anyone else could be is a vital part of his character. He self-punishes. He self-criticizes. He feels awful every time he breaks the rules in the slightest, even though he isn't usually caught at it. Crowley can find some safety in solitude if he keeps his wits sharp and his head down. Aziraphale can't, because he carries Heaven's conditioning with him at all times. He doesn't need oversight, it doesn't take external threats to keep him in line. You don't need direct threats when literally everyone in your celestial workplace has seen firsthand the consequences of rebellion.

I don't know if I'm making sense here. Again, this is informed by personal experience and I can't claim to be unbiased. But I see so much internalization with Aziraphale. He literally can't even accept praise without being nervous as hell, and I don't think it's fear of punishment or ridicule that's his primary motivation. He simply cannot ever be good enough for himself.

That's how they get you.

Anyway, I think it's why his reaction to disaster is the opposite to Crowley's, why he feels he has to turn and face it and somehow avert the horror (or, alternatively, find some way to reconcile it in his head and accept it - because let's be real, that's often what happens) rather than get himself away. He's less afraid of failing his superiors than he is of failing himself. And God, who is, objectively, the biggest abuser in the entire story.

#go s2 spoilers #good omens meta #aziraphale #this internalized stuff hurts so much #and it's SO much harder to shake than other forms of trauma #breaking free from heaven isn't just not easy - it's impossible until he finally accepts that HE isn't a failure for not fixing everything #and that's the part of him that crowley can't wrap his head around #tl;dr heaven's culture is abusive to all its angels and they manifest it in different ways #and aziraphale takes it harder than any other we've seen

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weebsinstash · 5 months

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Can you make pretty please write some yandere thragg headcannons

Sure can! (Also some minor spoilers with a like more mild spoiler that's in an image so like, it's censored but poorly so, yeah just a warning!)

- first and foremost to give some very minor future spoilers, there is something you have to understand: even by Viltrumite standards Thragg is considered Way Too Hardcore and there are men like Conquest who are even worse, more shortsighted, and bloodthirstier than him. There ARE Viltrumites who think their society is way too unfeeling and heartless and they DO want to love and be normal and have loving families but this is a... a society with an ancient culture with traditions that are being upheld by force that keep the general Viltrumite populace living in misery and Thragg is a huge enforcer of this unhappy lifestyle. Like shit in one of the newest episodes of Invincible a bunch of Viltrumites rocked up to Mark and beat the absolute shit out of him and Kregg (eyepatch guy) was like "yeah you survived getting the shit beat out of you which proves you're strong and worthy of your viltrumire heritage, so I'm drafting you into the Viltrum army, do what we say or we'll beat the shit out of you" AND THATS ONE OF THE GOOD VILTRUMITES. Like literally Viltrum society is terrifying and once you start learning the lengths with which they enforce their beliefs and rules you'll see why Nolan was like, trying to force Mark to be like him; you resist and they DEMOLISH YOU. Nolan was and still is TERRIFIED of Viltrum and rightfully so

- a yandere thragg is quite literally a character who does not know affection or how to display or receive it in any way whatsoever because his entrenchment in the "traditional viltrumite mindset" and his own greed for power and absolute control makes him incredibly impersonal. Like I'm serious even with the like magical yandere cooties that make him finally understand what love or obsession is, he will literally have to learn the ropes of caring for you as another person and this is a man who has been taught empathy and kindness make you weak so like. Yeah. Like we're talking about a guy who at some point is gonna watch his hybrid children literally splatter as he throws them, literally throws them, at enemies too strong for them and then blames his kids for not being stronger, like. Thragg is a monster and there's no ifs ands or buts about it

-the most romantic this man can come up with is walking straight up to you and telling you "I want to mate" to your face and having gifts made for you from planets he's conquered or things he's killed and that's the best he's got. He doesn't understand the more emotional psychological side of love but he at least understands that sex is something mates do and that it's a bonding experience between you and him and it's a physical pleasure, vulnerability thing. Mated animals have sex and human mates have sex so the two of you are going to have sex alright? He also won't admit it but like. Holding you after sex or letting you rest against him afterwards is the closest you'll get to cuddling because like. He's not gonna ask to cuddle with you just for the sake of cuddling. And even if he ever wanted to (the desire grows with time lol), he would just sit down beside you and pull you into his lap, he wouldn't ask your permission

-like seriously you'll be in bed and it's like 2 am and you'll be woken up by him suddenly rolling you over without any sort of warning, "i want to mate" and that's just. It. You get to lie there as he folds you like a pretzel

-this man fucks just to cum and I think the only way he could be a good lover is if he's big with stamina and you'll reach orgasm through sheer overstimulation and time dedicated because, you want me to believe this man knows foreplay? You think Thragg can eat ass? Please. I feel like in the depths of. Yandereness he would develop a taste for giving oral but like I'm, I'm pretty positive you would be the first ever person he's done that to

- thragg showing affection is like. You're taken along with him to where he works and you walk into the room and he's just absolutely soaked in blood and there's some sort of creature being dismantled in front of him and he turns to you, "this creature has a carapace that can be crafted into fine armor. does its color please you" "y-yes?" "Very well. We shall have a matching set ready by the evening and then we shall mate" "o-ok... thank you Grand Regent" "begone, this area is not safe for you, return to the central hall and await my return" "ok, sure, yeah... I mean, yes Grand Regent"

- yes, even as his mate you'll be calling him his title all the time, although I imagine once he starts really "softening up" he'll demand you call him his name or even "husband" and not doing so and using his title on purpose in defiance will anger him

-absolutely convinced I shit you not that Viltrumites have a duality of "their photos/shrines of you have you either looking as soft and harmless and helpless as possible or they have entire collages of you looking absolutely pissed or doing violent shit" and I'm convinced Thragg would find you being angry hot. Idk. I feel like it's entirely contextual. You give HIM too much lip, he may have to physically punish you, but maybe you get furious at someone else and start tearing into them, even wanting to fight? Obviously depending on context he'll encourage you to tear that person to shreds

- I'm stuck on whether he's a "will watch you get your ass beaten because he wants you to toughen up/fight your own fights" or "if anyone scratches you they're paste" kind of guys. Like can you imagine some, tenured centuries old Viltrumite manages to just absolute piss you off and you're yelling and screaming and swinging on them (maybe you're a human, hybrid, Viltrumite yourself, whatever) and they're just. Forced to stand there and take it. Because the SECOND they so much as GRAB YOU, there's the Grand Regent to absolutely beat their ass. You could almost kill them and Thragg is like goading you on but if they BRUISE YOU like, that's it, it's so one-sided

-I'm just saying, like. Nolan literally used Mark to tear apart an entire subway car of people and was casually offing humans left and right because his status as an almost immortal alien has made him kind of indifferent to other forms of life so like. What the fuck would Thragg do to a Reader who just got their powers and didn't want to work for the Empire or be part of it or even be around him. You cannot convince me this man wouldn't kill so many people directly in front of you. Or even just as a human yourself. Imagine him just tearing through tons of other people because he's trying to scare you onto line. I mean. Nolan was literally ripping people's heads and faces off and tearing out chunks of their body with their bare hands. These people casually break each other's bones and CAN SURVIVE DISEMBOWLING EACH OTHER like. You cannot tell me Thragg wouldn't just literally tear a human in half right in front of you like a kid with a butterfly.

- Thragg is absolutely on that "goes from being extremely distant and nonverbal to all but spending every second of the day with you and gets agitated if you're in a different room for too long" yandere pipeline. This man goes from not knowing how to properly hold a conversation with you to Oh My God If You Don't Sit In My Lap During My War Council Meeting I Will Be SUCH A Bitch About It

Can we like. Can we like talk about THIS

Did he like. Did HE decide this. Is this a Thraxan custom without his input amd this is just a thing the monarch gets. I mean. Comic readers know this man gets MAD pussy for the sake of breeding but like. Is this HIS harem. Did HE build this. Did he tell them to dress like this or is this a Thraxan tradition and he's just like so unbothered by the ass and tiddies. Is this just so people can tell these are His Designated Hoes. Like. Is he secretly being horny on main and pretending he's not a perv or was this done for him and he's just like meh. Yandere Thragg who absolutely HAS to dress you up in custom Viltrum wear or armor or cloaks that match his own, like literally him decking you in armor or like a nicely padded flightsuit is like his version of, giving you lingerie or publicly marking you idk. Like is seeing you covered in sweat and blood just as hot as a normal person would find like, nudes. Lmao

- LASTLY I'm sorry long post. I know I said something conflicting earlier in a different context but. Oh my gosh this man would be THE WORST but also dedicated yandere father. Oh my fucking god. Helicopter parent. Let's just say if you're shooting the shots, you can impregnate as many creatures as you want but if you're the one capable of being pregnant he doesn't want to let you do SHIT because he doesn't want his baby carrying inferior spawn or having a risky pregnancy. Like seriously you could be his son and fucking like as many fucked up weird looking aliens and impregnating all the chicks you want and Thragg doesn't care, and as his daughter it's "father when will I be allowed to date, I came of age over a century ago" "quiet, I have yet to find a suitable mate for you, just continue being obedient and accompany me on this mission" "yes father...."

I can't even imagine like. Being his kid and being powerless, or like temporarily powerless. You have one of those manhwa level neglected childhoods and you grow into a depressed husk and suddenly your powers appear and you're naturally gifted and like above average in everything and Thragg wants to suddenly bond with you and you just look right through him like you wouldn't care if he suddenly dropped dead right in front of you. Someone disrespected you and you just take it because you still remember running up to your father as a child and being shoved away amd he literally doesn't even understand why you have no respect for yourself so he then tries to smother you to make up for lost time

Idk. I'm caught between multiple ideas because I like the idea of Thragg going "oh so you're fragile and powerless? You're literally never leaving my side ever again, if something wants to harm you they'll have to kill me first" and this extends to you just having no life of your own. Maybe he forces you to be a clerk or something for him, papers and desk work and whatnot, something that keeps you safe and close and if you get so much as a sniffle there's an entire array of royal doctors to treat you

That being said, daughter, son, wife, husband, partner, whatever, you're not getting away from this guy. The only things capable of hurting him are essentially alien technology, Viltrumite strength, being a species stronger than a Viltrumite, magic, like... he's invulnerable, he's invincible, he's way too strong, way too fast, and way too mean. He'll keep you on your toes and he'll casually pop heads in front of you like it's talking about the weather if it keeps you in line. If he wants you to be his soldier, you'll be his soldier. If he wants you to be his personal guard, you will be. His mate? No objections need be considered. He's always taken what he wants - that's how he was raised and what his society encourages - and that means acquiring you and absorbing you into his life is no different

#yandere x reader #yandere invincible #sinprompts #yandere stuff

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auncyen · 4 days

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Same anon with the mira and bonnie ask, lobed your response but felt weird to just put it in w/o a question so if you don’t mind:

what do you think siffrin’s life was like before joining the party? Could be pre- or post- forgotten island. Idk to me its fascinating bc they were loved in some measure (cloak, jokingly running away bc of veggies) and are p in touch with their culture when they remember it, but at the same time siffrin’s mindset is pretty unhealthy. Like even before looping/during act 2 loops, they seemed unconcerned about serious bodily harm and death that would happen to them + just seems to have. A very strange relationship with people feeling sad instead of happy around them? Idk i just don’t think that’s from just the memory loss.

See I think kid Siffrin was pretty happy. As Isabeau notes whoever gave them the cloak and hat must have really loved them. When Siffrin recounts running away it's in a carefree way--he knew he could give his parents a scare and it'd go down as "just a prank". Basically their home life was really good. There are questions I have about the island's beliefs / values that might be troublesome, but I don't really think that sort of thing grates on a kid with a happy home life too much. (And also as a little note the only glimpse we get into the island's beliefs/values are through Siffrin and King, two individuals who cannot recall those things completely and are very traumatized, so like. Should probably take a grain of salt on how they portray the beliefs anyway.)

Post-island I admittedly read a LOT into how Siffrin finds Vaugarde's openness weird and had kept their hair dyed up until a few months pre-game.

In his experience, other countries are not as welcoming. So I imagine their teenage years were probably pretty lonely. This isn't to say other countries were completely awful--he obviously enjoyed Poteria's plays!--but they were juuust old enough where few would assume just by looking at them "uh, you're on your own, do you need help?" If they stayed long enough in a spot for people to figure out something was wrong it'd invite questions like "where are you from", "where are your parents", basically questions that'd make Siffrin's head hurt and probably lead to them cutting off the interaction if the other person doesn't walk away first because they're put off or alarmed by Siffrin's reactions. Basically, there probably WERE well-meaning attempts to help Siffrin. They backfired because people didn't know what was wrong with Siffrin (Siffrin didn't know what was wrong with Siffrin). Siffrin probably beat himself up for it when he knew the other person was trying to help and he was just too "broken". As a teenager he probably stayed longest in places where adults assumed he was a runaway that didn't want to talk about it and maybe helped him out in a more "hands-off" way--"hey, run this errand for me and I'll give you dinner and a roof for the night". Which, great! Because Siffrin finds a way to get by. But it doesn't deal with any of the emotional issues festering inside.

I also feel like, while this may be a bit dark for the fantasy setting, Siffrin probably got targeted at times for being a young traveler on their own. I mean I also headcanon that Siffrin was very good at escaping dicey situations, partially because they'd start Wish Crafting unconsciously if they were really scared, so they were never seriously harmed. But they weren't good experiences to have!

I also kind of headcanon that pre-canon with not knowing who they are like--they loved plays. But also, like. I can see them at times hurting when they think about plays, how they'd be portrayed in a play. No true name, no past, no home, no relations. At best they're the jester who mocks a King gone wrong and makes the audience laugh. At worst they're a side character killed off-stage in a tragedy, barely important enough to devote two lines to. What kind of play would have a protagonist with zero emotional stake in anything?

They try to be the jester, at least. Sometimes, when he's feeling brave enough. It tends to fizzle pretty quickly. (And then he meets someone who doubles over laughing at a bad pun.)

So yeah I feel like Siffrin pretty much mastered the art of getting by and also as in this post actually being pretty good at fighting pre-canon, but socially well. They can ask directions in at least half a dozen languages but can't be honest about how they're feeling or what's going on with them in a single blinding one. Then they meet a group that's in desperate need of another fighter and 2 of them are Vaugardians who are willing to accept Siffrin's eccentricities as just part of them and not ask questions and Odile's pragmatic enough to not rock the boat unnecessarily. I pretty much do view the group as being the first chance Siffrin remembers getting to bond with people without it going south by them wanting to know their background. Of course he loves them. Of course it doesn't really matter what happens to him, who's going to miss him?? They have homes and families and friends. They're the real heroes. He's just supporting cast.

...So yeah tl;dr pre-island vanishing I think Siffrin's life was just fine. post-island was an incredible amount of loneliness and the Universe putting his brain in a blender and idly hitting the pulse button every so often. This is not even getting into experiencing the physical side of puberty while not knowing who you are or who to ask for help, which, yikes.

#siffrin #in stars and time #in stars and time spoilers

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tfp-is-my-lifeblood-lol · 8 months

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Tfp Autobots' Reactions to Pokemon Go

Optimus: He'll allow you/the kids to play, but he's concerned. He'll say: "I do not advise traversing unfamiliar locations without looking up from your electronic device...nor do I advise the inhumane capture of helpless living creatures, fictional, or otherwise. But, since this pass-time is a part of human culture, I respect your desire to play."

Optimus wouldn't chose a Pokemon Go team, either. He would say: "As a former inhabitant of Cybertron, I know better than to engage in factions, for they have the capacity to bring once peaceful civilizations into chaos."

Ratchet: He's not amused:

"If I hear ONE more mention of 'catching Pokemon,' by the Allstark, I am going to lose my mind."

However, one day, you decide to give him a plushie of Wigglytuff (The Pokemon that Nurse Joy has), since he's a medic. He rolls his eyes, but secretly appreciates it deeply. He keeps the Wigglytuff on his desk while he works.

If he were to pick a team, he'd be Team Instinct, which Miko would relentlessly mock him for:

Miko: "Team Instinct? Lame alert."

Bumblebee: Regularly plays Pokemon Go with Raf. They've got almost every single Pokemon, and beat every gym (well...there MAY have been hacking involved with the gym thing). Bee would find a Pokemon near where Ratchet is working (a digital one, not the plushie). He'd buzz, run over excitedly, and point it out to Raf. Of course, Ratchet would shout: "I'm TRYING to WORK, over here!"

Bee would probably join Raf on Team Mystic.

Arcee: Relentlessly makes fun of Jack for bumping into trees.

Tries to play herself, out of curiosity, and bumps into a tree.

Jack: "Did you just bump into a tree?"

Arcee: "Let's not talk about it."

Overall, she'd just make snarky comments while watching everyone else play. She's on Team Valor.

Bulkhead: He and Miko are super competitive against Jack and Raf.

They have a blast catching Pokemon, but Bulkhead's still very protective of Miko.

Bulkhead: "Miko, be careful. Stay by me. Some people who play this game accidentally find...dead bodies." *shudder*

Miko: "Dead bodies? Sw-eet!"

Team Valor, of course.

Wheeljack: Totally encourages Miko.

All the Wreckers play together and they're all Team Valor.

Wheeljack doesn't understand why using actual grenades won't help them take over gyms.

He doesn't really like the cute little Pokemon. He'd rather have a real fight. However, he thinks all the exploring is good Wrecker training for Miko.

Smokescreen:

Obsessed with it.

Seriously, who's idea was it to show him this game? Jack, you fool!

Team Prime will be on a sensitive mission, and Smokescreen will be like: "GUYS, LOOK WHAT I FOUND!"

Arcee will rush over, thinking Smokescreen found a Cybertronian relic, or something.

Smokescreen: "A SHINY Charmander! HOW COOL IS THAT?"

And then Arcee would beat the scrap out of him.

He's on Team Valor, because Moltres is cool.

Ultra Magnus:

He's like: "What is a Pok-e-mon?"

Miko helps him catch one.

He's like: "I do not understand."

And Miko's like: "Awwww!"

Soon, the kids notice gym's are being taken by Ultra Magnus (whose username is, rather uncreatively, just "Ultra Magnus"). Apparently he's on Team Mystic, so Miko walks up to Ultra Magnus, like: "Aww, you're picking RAF'S team?"

To which Ultra Magnus says: "...there are Teams?"

At least he's surprisingly good at it, considering he has no clue what he's doing.

#tfp headcanons #pokemon go #Smokescreen is a literal gremlin #Raf has the power of God and anime on his side #transformers prime headcanons #tfp #transformers prime #tfp bulkhead #tfp optimus prime #tfp arcee #tfp ratchet #tfp ultra magnus #tfp smokescreen #tfp bumblebee #tfp wheeljack #tfp autobots #tfp miko #tfp jack #tfp raf

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hajimeshoe · 2 years

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I've had this one on my mind for too damn long!

I see a lot of fem!s/o headcanons where she's defended, but hardly any where she defends herself or likes to play rough!

So I'm asking!

Could you do a Jamil, Leona, The Leech twins, and Kalim with a tall(6'0) fem!s/o who's pretty docile and soft with a smart mouth. *I mean the insulting kind of smart mouth*.

She doesn't know her own strength when she play fights and accidentally hurts people sometimes. She's very kind to others as long as she likes them.

Now, in the event that she is physically provoked into a fight, she wails on her aggressor, and she won't stop until she's satisfied with the damage dealt, or until she's pulled off. And she's strong, so people have a hard time.

How would they calm her down from her anger, and how would they stop the fight?

I- Shiba, I struggled with this one - half of these guys are the “Would murder someone for the slightest misstep” Squad 😃 It honestly was fun to write tho

Leona

You and Leona would be insulting eachother CONSTANTLY. Like, I can picture this as an “on again, off again” relationship

And you two scrap allllll the time - when he’s not half-asleep

So when you’re going ham on this other student

Leona would sit there watching for a bit

You’re his herbivore, he knows you can defend yourself

He'd blame the other person for pissing you off, honestly

And he is wayyy too lazy to get involved

But, as per his culture (Which raises them with a healthy dose of respect women juice) he has to get involved

Now, you may be tall, but so is Leona

So it's not an issue for him to walk over and drag you off, kicking, screaming and insulting him the entire way (Out of all of them, Leona is the only one I can picture having no issues dragging you around)

"Calm down, Herbivore, we're taking a nap"

“No tf we aren’t!! I have a murder to commit! 🤬”

Cue Leona literally wrapping himself around you like a koala to keep you from trying to run back and finish shit - he already has Ruggie using his unique magic to humiliate them for a couple of days

Jamil

He's a babysitter for Kalim, he's a babysitter for his girlfriend - he never does get a moment of peace, does he?

He does love you're smart mouth, and how creative you can get with insults but...

The second he see's you beating the fuck out of this student, he just facepalms and sighs.

"Kalim, stay!"

Left Kalim to make his way toward you

A single mom who works two jobs, who loves his kids and never stops

It doesn't matter if you're taller or not, he'll end this quickly and get you and Kalim both somewhere neither of you can continue to cause issues

He interrogated a random student to figure out what happened. Somebody had insulted you?

When Jamil fails to pull you off, he just gives up and uses magic

Bro literally just grabs your face with one hand (like a disobedient child) and forces you to look in his eyes so he can hypnotize you

And he hypnotized the other person to stay there

Once he has you nice and compliant, he’ll have you walking to Scarabia so he can hole you up in his room

(One week later - You: Jamil, what happened to that student I beat up? Jamil:… Jamil: I should probably drop the hypnosis before they die)

(He has his hands full with you and Kalim, he can’t honestly give a damn about other peoples health 😭)

Kalim

One word: Panic.

Yes, you're taller than him. Yes, you're stronger. He still panics because he doesn't want you getting into fights

It takes him, Jamil and three other students from Scarabia to de-escalate the fight by separating you two

Afterwards, you have an impromptu therapy session complete with cuddles, your favourite movies, snacks, ice cream, chocolate - he is literally rich with no sense of impulse control, you say the word and it's yours

(Baby already had Jamil overblot, he isn't risking it happening to you)

Jade

First things first, you and Jade 100% have competitions where you insult eachother to see who ends up crying first

It's normally him

He'd actually like to see who would win in a fight - you or Floyd

But he knows one or both of you will get carried away and be mortal enemies the rest of your lives if that happens

So when he sees you beating up some guy? He’ll blackmail him jnto admitting what he did wrong later (you may or may not end up with the guy as you new slave)

For now, he recruits Floyd to help him frag you off of they guy and back down to Octavinelle

The trip takes double the amount of time that it should given they’re both over 6foot tall merpeople

But you are deceptively strong for a normally fairly docile person (He and Floyd had to use all of their combined strength and still struggled)

Once he has you safely in Octavinelle, I feel like he’d calm you down by - hear me out, even if you think it’s out of character - letting you take your anger out on him

He’s certain he can take it, and he trusts you won’t do any permanent damage.

He loves you, what can I say?

Will he end up in the infirmary for a week? Yes. Does he care? Definitely. But in his mind, it’s still worth it.

Floyd

He will sit there eating popcorn

Until it starts to bore him

Then he's in a bad mood and just wants to go

His pride? It takes a huge hit when he can't just drag you off by himself and - surprise, surprise - his mood worsens even more

Now he's pissed off and has some pride issues

I’d say watch your back in case he attempts to a) squeeze you to death or b) drown you, but I gotta feeling you’ll be A-O-K

He ends up needing reinforcements to grab you, but who? Some of the poor, poor freshies he’s managed to scare into helping him grab you

How does he calm you down? He tries (Keyword: TRIED) to beat your ass

Now, now, it may seem counterproductive, but hey - it works

You got to beat up two people, and now your boyfriend is in the infirmary in one of the worst moods Jade has seen him in, but you’re calm and that’s all that matters 😌

#twisted wonderland #twst #leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #twst headcanons #floyd leech #jade leech #floyd leech x reader #jade leech x reader #jamil viper #jamil viper x reader #kalim al asim #kalim x reader

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gattmammon · 2 months

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I am literally SO TIRED of Westerners in all social media but also in the destiel meme here the comments are full of "why are they so ass backwards? Didn't they invent homosexuality lmfao" "lol what took them so long" shut up! You don't even know that orthodoxy exists. Also I saw the tag "I thought Mediterraneans approved of mlm affection" boy am I going to blow you your mind that men kissing each other on the cheek and saying I love you is normal here but gay sex is thought as an anomaly against nature. Anyway so many western progressives are so smug.

Djdjfjfjfjfjfur like. Literally. Im gonna make this about italy because ive seen this a l9t about italy as well but the fact that we sometimes get a breakthrough international artist cishet man who wears makeup does not mean thats the norm anymore than lil nas x's existence means glitter is the norm for American black men.

The fact that italian soccer fans full on jump on each other after a goal or cry openly when their team wins does not mean that they would not beat the SHIT of any kid in their vicinity who does not perform gender correctly. Like the whole "men cannot have feelings or touch each other" thing is a Puritan/Protestant neurosis that they project without realising. Gender performance looks different but that doesn't mean that it isn't strictly enforced. I know kids who stopped washing after doing sports because the other kids on their team called them gay for wanting to not smell. I remember this whole lithany by a Southern Italian author of things that get you called a slur in his culture which included "not putting super spicy pepper oil on your pizza" and "using an hair-dryer". And yet tons of people just accepted idk James Somerton talking about how Italy was full of gay men longing for nothing more than banging British kids on the grand tour... But it was just taken at face value until someone actually sat down and considered his pattern of making up shit on the whole.

And like. As usual Greece gets a whole lot of this as well only even worse because people usually have some notion of the Catholic Church and the Italian middle ages being a thing but the Orthodox Church straight up does not exist in their mind. Like Greece went from Ancient to Today in some sort of time capsule I guess. And that's not even touching the misconceptions about ancient Greece as yaoi paradise

#sorry for making this about italy but like. the amount of stuff ive seen #answered

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real-jaune-isms · 10 months

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Green Haired Swordsman Meets Green-eyed Monster

*In the days following the Raid on Onigashima, Luffy and Zoro were nearly comatose from their exertion and wounds. Now, after a week, Zoro just woke up and was greeted with a sight he hadn't expected.*

Zoro: My head... damn I need some booze. Robin:I can get you some in just a minute. Zoro: Wh- Robin, the hell are you doing here? Where are the others? Robin: Luffy woke up about an hour ago and ran off, and the rest of our nakama had follow after him to make sure he didn't destroy anything in his search for food. Zoro: Heh... yeah, that sounds like him. Still doesn't answer why you stayed, though. Robin: *clears her throat and looks away* Well, someone had to make sure you weren't alone whenever you woke up, and to explain the situation so you didn't wander around in confusion. And I... drew the short straw. Zoro: Well then, I guess I appreciate the courtesy. So what situation needs explaining? Luffy beat Kaido, obviously, but what else happened? Robin: *smiles at how immediately confident Zoro is in their victory* Well, the two of you have been passed out from your wounds for a week, and in that time Momonosuke-sama revealed his presence to the country and declared himself the Shogun. I almost didn't believe what I was seeing, but it seems Shinobu-chan used her power to age him up by 20 years. Fuhuhuhu~ Zoro: Ah, so the brat reclaimed his clan's place on top. Good for him I guess, hopefully Kin'emon and the others can help him get a handle on that. The age thing sounds wild, but I did see him flying around as a full sized dragon so that tracks. Anything else? Robin: Um... yes, actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about, Zoro-kun. I suppose you mentioned it in passing before the raid but... you spent some time with Momonosuke-sama's sister, didn't you? Zoro: Hmm? Ah, yeah, I was with Hiyori for a couple days. Robin: *eyes narrowed and glowering a bit* Yes, and it must have been quite an eventful period. When she heard you were incapacitated, she insisted on coming to see you. She begged Chopper to let her help with your treatment, and more than a few times tried to nestle beside you for comfort. You two must have... bonded quite a bit... for her to be so close and caring towards you. Zoro: Yeah, you could probably say that. She let me claim Enma after that weapons bandit took Shusui, I saved her from Kid's first mate while he was running around as that serial killer, we slept together... Robin: I'm sorry, you did what?!?! With a woman you knew for less than a week?? I know I've been coy and playful in the past, but I didn't realize you'd find someone else this quickly. Zoro: The hell do you mean? We just- oh for the love of... I mean we shared a bed, and I didn't even ask for it. We were in a shack in Ringo, which was pretty damn cold, and she was helping treat a nasty stab wound I got from Kid's buddy. I was trying to get some rest to help it heal, and I guess while I slept she draped her coat over me for a blanket and then went to sleep next to me to share body heat. We had that kid with the big eyes who laughed a lot with us too, and nothing lewd happened. I mean, she offered me her body, but I wasn't interested in that. Robin: Oh... I see. I'm sorry for getting so... worked up. I guess I just... Zoro: Thought I'd gotten laid with the first girl that offered? That's the pervy cook's thing. Robin: Well she is the Oiran of the Flower Capital. Zoro: Ah, so she's a professional at seduction and I'd be in an elite crowd for getting with her. I'm not into having sex for the glory. Robin: But this is the country your family descends from! Surely it reminded you of home, and you might have felt something special in the prospect of a woman who shares your culture?? *She's growing more exasperated, and hating the words even as she says them because they're justifying why he should be with another woman* Zoro: I never cared much about my village being founded by a Wano samurai, and I'm happy with the culture I'm part of now, being a pirate. Why do you actually care so much about this? Robin: Because clearly she loves you!! Zoro: *Sigh* Robin, I know she does. And it's flattering, she's a very pretty woman, but she's just not my type.

#one piece #roronoa zoro #nico robin #zorobin #zoro x robin #Robin is jealous #fluff angst and jealousy #ship fluff #kozuki hiyori #post-wano #wano arc #wano kuni

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waddlesizsleepy · 5 months

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linus headcannons for all grown up style peanuts au/fanfic which takes place during the summer of 1964 btw if you're confused by dates or anything

i don't have a title for it yet but in my head i'm just calling it "sprouts" cuz- cuz- peanuts are seeds- and that dude from rugrats calls the kids sprouts or whatever- and peanuts is also a term of endearment for kids-

ok whatever

hcs and unfinished and mistake ridden art under the cut

preliminary sketch for time skip linus design purely because i liked how it came out

bio from my notes:

---

Linus Van Pelt:

16. b. October 15, 1947

Charlie Brown’s closest friend. Despite his intelligence, he's rather naive and blasé about studying. Puberty has turned him into a lanky hairy beatnik, the only thing more important to him then scripture is the model kits he buys every year.

---

effectively an adult at this point (well not legally, still got 5 more years before that) his childish obsessions have been replaced with other childish obsessions

thumb sucking? replaced with pencil chewing.

blanket obsession? replaced with model kits.

patting birds? well... he actually still does that. just don't tell lucy.

still hella religious, unsurprisingly, his ingrained acceptingness and deeply repressed aggression make it hard for him to fully be integrated into beat culture. leaving his identity in something of a limbo.

despite, or maybe because of, the fact that he does the bare minimum of self care (autism amiright) there's still a bizarre amount of girls crushing on him. including sally, who still has not given up despite linus making it clear that 1. he's not interested 2. he's too old for her

---

that's all for character shit rn because- SPOILERS. >:[[[

gonna get into some concepts and ideas

listen- i've have not been in the peanuts fandom for that long but i'm already noticing a lot of trends in fan content that i personally view as inaccurate, especially with linus.

and i ain't saying your interoperation is wrong if it's not like mine, im saying that with characters, fans tend to exaggerate certain parts of their personality cough ed edd n eddy fans cough while ignoring more nuanced and contradictory parts of their personality

basically my goal with this interpretation of linus was to have his flaws at the forefront.

1. it's not talked about a lot but i feel like an important part of linus' character is that despite being very mild mannered, and more mature in some regards, he's just as aggressive and sarcastic as lucy

2. i feel like this will be controversial but he is full of himself. i do not know how else to describe this personality trait of his. he has audacity.

3. he's sheltered.

i said this before but it's pretty clear that the van pelts are very religious and as the most obviously neurodivergent of his siblings (i think rerun is also autistic and lucy could possibly, but she also is very much a stereotypical neurotypical little girl so idk) i think it's more then likely that he feels some distance from the rest of them, especially after rerun is born and ESPECIALLY after he gets diagnosed, because make no mistake, as a white male in the 60s who has all the telltale signs of autism, he is 1000% going to be diagnosed when he's still a minor

BUT- that doesn't mean he has life experience which is what a lotta people forget. marginalization does not equal experience. especially for white men. he's intelligent sure, but that doesn't mean mature. he's childish and most likely will remain that way until he falls on hard times, and being a boomer, who knows if he will.

also i think that it's interesting how much prominence his glasses get in fan media even tho he barely wears them. so i made him farsighted. he either just clips them on his shirt or wears em on his head :]

i cant believe i just wrote all that about a fictional 6 year old from the 50s jesus christ.

#i'm looking thru queue #peanuts #linus van pelt #everybody's talkin' at iz...#I see you in the morning (Iz) ART STAR-#rambles

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sukunasdirtylaugh · 2 years

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A Brief Analysis on Gojo's Astrological Chart Plus the Type of Partner He'd Need

A/N: I am basing this off of their sun, moon, rising, etc... The goal is to find a partner that can help them grow and/or compliment their character. we'll see!

Disclaimer: I am not a professional reader. I only do astrology for fun. Nothing grand lol so enjoy my analysis on the honored one.

Gojo's Introduction-

Assuming he was born in Tokyo, this makes him a Sagittarius sun, Pisces Moon, and Capricorn Venus. Let's take a small look into his relationships with people. He has his 3rd house in Gemini (Mental activity, learning, communication) and I think it's really funny because Nanami has his Venus in Gemini so I think the reason why he puts up with him is because he can understand his form of communication (its a Gemini Venus thing).

Now, his 5th house (romance, children, fun) is literally in Leo. He's extravagant, big, and loves to draw attention to his partners and make others feel special. He is kind, protective, and straightforward. Family wise, they desire balance and harmony (hence his possible want to raise megumi *cries*). Overall, he can be pretty dreamy in his emotions (moon in Pisces- 12th house). He's able to sit in his own sadness. He tries to be reserved about his emotions so as to not bother. At his best, he can be gentle and decisive, however at his worst he can be impulsive and stubborn.

What kind of partner they'd need:

Straight off the go, he'd need someone to stabilize his water moon. Potentially an Earth moon (preferably Taurus) here to compliment his Earth Venus. He will best fit with someone who can rationally ground him all while having patience. A partner who is able to travel with him would be ideal since his Mercury is in Sagittarius, he'll want to venture out (he's able to stay home and play chess, but not for too long). Plus, traveling helps him mentally ease so it’s almost like therapy. His love for travel may result in him learning a new language (bonus points if he has an s/o that speaks another language! He'll love to get to know about your language/culture).

Regarding love, his Venus in Capricorn makes him a traditional partner who deep down values loyalty and stability. One thing to note is that they do NOT like to get into a relationship unless they know the other person is interested. So again, a patient partner is what he'd need. Ideally, they need a partner who will reassure them. Someone who can sit through and put up with his walls all while showing some emotional vulnerability.

it sucks to say, but it's like a showdown. "You show me first, then I'll show you" kind of energy. This could be his fear of vulnerability since he doesn't want to be the only one giving more in the picture. So you’d have to be okay with making first moves here and there. (Poor baby just needs reassurance).

Also- I read his Chiron and I'm sobbing. It says, "(unhealing children)... may compensate by creating their own big family, by constantly dealing with the past, or by deciding to never become parents in order to never cause pain to their children."

Speaking of children, I feel he may be very hesitant on kids. While he did raise Megumi, having children of his own nearly scares him. Descendants of Gojo Satoru, the honored one? He'll think it twice since he won't want children being born under such a title that will eventually weigh them down. However, I do see a possibility of hope. If his partner helps him raise Megumi, or in the case that he sees that she's a teacher or works with kids then maybe... maybe there is hope.

One of the biggest reasons why he could have fallen for you was your nurturing personality. You looked out for Megumi when he couldn't. You packed him a lunch before a mission that made his heart warm. Sure, he could have stopped at a station to buy food, but it doesn't beat the thought that you were considerate enough to think about him.

I see his partner being one of two. 1). They are nurturing, patient, loving, but independent. They bring a sense of home and security to Gojo. It’s like- while he brings the physical safety, chaotic energy, and monetary support, you put the nurture in love; creating this safe space where he can settle down and be Satoru Gojo (not Gojo Satoru).

This partner would have to also keep up with his witty comebacks. He’s like this water current- you have to keep up with him or else he’ll feel like you’re not interested in him. So if you’re active in conversation (big love language for Geminis), he’s yours.

Partner 2). would have to challenge his beliefs, his witt, but at the same time share some common ground. Maybe they’re a bit ‘stuck up’ like Nanami (you know what I mean) but they’re very good at observing others. This partner has to be able to call out Gojo when needed, leveling him.

Additionally, I seem him 1,000% with a partner that also had to grow up too fast. Someone who can share his loss of childhood. A real relationship where these two are healing their inner child(ren) is ideal. Preferably when Gojo is the one pushing that partner to relax and simply enjoy life.

a/n: I have more things to add, but I'll leave this out here for people to freeky add what they think and what their interpretations are.

Let me know what character you'd like to hear from next!

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zypria · 8 months

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Atla The Rift comic sucks part 1

Comparing apples and zucchinis

The past vs future, change vs tradition is very interesting dilemma to explore. And they've chosen two good representatives for each side - Aang, the last of his kind and the avatar vs Toph who refuses to be bound, creates new style of bending utilizing modern structure, does what she wants really. Secondary are acolytes vs factory, same thing. And my God do they suck at pitting these two against each other. Both of these sides take everything in the world and go me. Like those Katara touches necklace memes "lets eat. my mother used to eat". Connecting things that have very little to do each other just so we can have a conflict. misunderstanding but it's unintentional. They just lost the ability to make comprehensive parallels.

100+ year old ritual = bad parenting

Rituals are rooted in tradition. We do them because they are symbolic, we do what we do because that's how it's done. We honor our roots, ancestors etc etc

The phrase triggers unhappy memories for Toph, particularly of her restrictive childhood. Fair enough. But. Some of these aren't even "tradition", her parents were just like that. "This is how it's done" is no logical response to "why can't I play with other kids". There have to be rich kids with friends out there. Blind kids with friends. This is solely Beifong issue. I despise forced parallels

The following statement is just incorrect:

He didn't forget (although 100+ years are justifiable excuse). He was 10 and wasn't paying attention in the first place, figured there is plenty more festivals to remember. It wasn't celebrated because the peeps are dead. A genocide if you will. The world wouldn't end even if there were no humans around, doesn't mean we should just cease all cultural activities

Also it was ESTABLISHED that we're doing this for AANG. You know, our beloved friend the last Airbender? He wants to honor his long gone culture for a special day. Also also past avatar has something important to say, what if something happens (and something ALWAYS happens)

Instead of addressing any of this Aang goes the air nomad philosophy route. just WHY? These are not insults just for the sake of insulting, they have opposing views and should talk about it maybe. Were not even in the place to have change vs tradition argument, we're just having a field trip atm. Simple "this is really important for me and I want to share this day with my found family" solves everything but noooo. Zen mode, it will sort itself out, I'm not actively getting involved (man. this is TOPH. you should know better. rock beats airbender etc etc)

Toph is mean just to be mean. Not the cuddliest character but when did she go around insulting your every move? Especially since they didn't really ask her to do anything. You don't have to actively participate, why are you complaining in every panel? OOC behavior just to keep that gaang rift nice and divided

I can't spend 30 seconds to explain why we're about to be pulverized but I can do ancient history 101

he doesn't deny this! why. to have aang vs toph and co that's why. the most pointless fight in existence. because we have time for that apparently

the spirit is just asshole in the end

I'm not pulling caps for this. Yangchen did everything to keep her promise, not her fault Sozin happened. And let's not forget people ran away in all directions from fire nation for a century, why wouldn't they inhabit this nice empty land? The spirit was angry about his friend's demise (turns out she did that herself and is very chill. And can manifest freely too). Spirit does not ask for balance in any way, shape or form, humans must die so that I can have this land to stare at. What if some spirits decided to reside in Ba Sing Se, we destroy entire city? I thought that refinery screwing nature was going to be the big plot point but nope. Cabbage restaurant -gone. Houses - gone. You can't even walk here, disrespectful, gtfo. Extreme situation that calls for stupid resolution - spirit dead. Although looking back I can find some appreciation for not managing to tie everything nicely, cookie cutter avatar style. But imagine how much better it would've been if conflicts were well written in the first place

We got another festival so all is well?

#atla #avatar the last airbender #atla comics #atla critical #aang #toph

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thatforgottenbasilisk · 4 months

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Beat the Dead Horse (You'll Get Red White and Blue Confetti)

fandom: marvel

word count: 3521

(AO3)

Some people say that you die the same way you're born. They extrapolate this point to different ends- alone, the more sheltered or depressed folk say; screaming and covered in someone else's blood, say those with a bit more humor, or else those who've lived violent lives; surrounded by loved ones, say all the civilians who have never and will never go to war, who hope to die old instead of young.

Steve doesn't agree with any of them. He was born on July 4th, amid fireworks and celebrations in the still heat of Brooklyn, with both his parents there and already full of love, just a few short years before his Pops passed on, and quite a few more years before Ma joined him. Now, he's sitting alone in the cockpit of a plane hundreds of miles from Brooklyn- but fast closing that gap- in the sharp cold of midwinter. His closest loved ones are only reachable over radio, not that he wants any of them here with him.

Peggy stays with him to the end. He can still hear her voice as the jet hits the water, and he knows that his own radio cutting out on her end must feel something like the tiny breeze he felt against his hand as Bucky just barely missed it; it must feel like finding out about the 107th when he was still just a dancing monkey for good old Uncle Sam; it must feel like other things, too, but Steve can't really think around the burning cold of the water all around him, flooding the whole jet and swallowing him whole.

---

"Steve Rogers was an American hero, there's no doubt about that. He lives on in comic books and archived propaganda films, in childhood memories and history books alike. Captain America is, some say, more myth than man by now; there has even been some debate on whether or not Steve Rogers's transformation under Dr. Erskine's formula was exaggerated in government propaganda (Rich, 1967), or whether there was even a successful test of the Super Soldier serum that took place at all (Waters & Meyer, 1966); some more contemporary and less mainstream authors have even questioned if Steve Rogers was a real person at all, or merely a government prop to aid in the propaganda effort during a time when morale was at a low (Bouchard & Wright, 1971).

Despite these debates, it cannot be overstated the impact that both Captain America's life and loss meant to the American populace, both during the war and even having a substantial ripple effect to the modern day. How many high schoolers are currently writing essays in their English classes about how this author or that poet uses him as a symbol for war, peace, or hope itself? Depending on which books they're reading, it may even be all three at once; and yet, at the same time, how many television advertisements have you seen today that feature Steve Rogers in support of this or that product, his likeness Xeroxed straight from the comic books for the occasion? The man is everywhere. He lives and breathes in your living room, at your kitchen table, on the radio waves and air waves alike.

It can make you wonder, sometimes, if you love him or hate him. He did nothing to most people who are living now, didn't murder any grandfathers- at least, no grandfathers that anybody would be proud to talk about- and yet you can hear the kids and the talk radio men chattering about him, about his legacy, about how backwards America is because of it. How he's gone from 'hero' to propaganda machine for the more Conservative folk, how he represents all that's wrong with the world today, how he stands up for nothing but racism and war and staying in 1955 for everybody's lives ad infinitum.

It's absurd. It's ahistorical. It's shaping modern culture as we know it."

- Richard Elliot, "A Second Transformation of Steve Rogers," February 1973.

---

The light is bright enough to be seen even through his closed eyelids.

He's not sure of when, exactly, he becomes aware of this fact. For all he knows, the light's always been bright, and he's just closer to the surface than he thought he would end up.

Is he dead? He doesn't even feel particularly awake, so that's not an unrealistic possibility. Maybe he's floating in front of the gates of Heaven, though he honestly feels more like he's lying on an Army cot more than floating anywhere. He'd thought that clouds, especially the Holy kind, would be a bit softer, but maybe there's some divine meaning behind it. There's a divine meaning behind everything, that's what his Ma used to say, and he's not about to question her or her faith now.

It's a long moment before it actually occurs to him to open his eyes and start tuning into the world around him. Everything is syrupy and slow, like it's just a bit too early on a winter morning and he's trying to think through the fog that's accumulated on the horizon and over the river. He feels like his brain's a car engine that's in dire need of oil, and the second he opens his eyes is when a mechanic finally pops open the hood of the car.

The lights are too bright, almost like they're pumping too much electricity into them at once. How much power is this building using? It can't be as much as the lights alone imply, because the bedding and the room both insist that this is nothing more than a military hospital- and they wouldn't waste money on the lights when they could be using that same money for more weapons. He jumps up off the bed, because something isn't right, and either something's happened or he's being played for a fool, probably both.

He looks out the window to see New York, from a few floors up, but it doesn't smell of the usual factory smoke and he can't hear any cars or people on the ground. The skyline looks too flat, and the window is situated such that he can't look down at the city, just at the windowsill. The only sounds that he can hear are coming from the radio, which is tuned to a baseball game that he idly listens to for a few moments as he steps back from the window and towards the bed.

After a moment, he realizes that the game sounds familiar; he remembers sneaking into it with Bucky just before he was drafted, sitting in the back of the stands with a terrible view but a view nonetheless, because they'd both gotten the day off from their respective jobs- Bucky at the docks, and himself at the local grocer's- and they figured it was a decent way to spend the day. He wouldn't forget that game even if they'd cut his head open and plucked the memory out of him.

Somebody's definitely trying to play him for a fool, but before he can think of what to do about it, the door to the room opens. In walks a woman, her tie done up all wrong, and all that he can do is demand answers for where he is, who's taken him, what's happened.

She denies everything, tells him that he's in a military hospital, and he truly commends the Germans on being able to fake American accents so well. Did they recruit a real American, he wonders? No, they couldn't have, because if this woman was truly American, she'd know how to tie her tie in the way that American women are supposed to. She looks like a man tied her necktie, so not American.

He's sick of this already. If he's being taken prisoner, at least respect him enough to tell him that instead of doing a stupid song and dance routine of trying to trick him into thinking he's safe. He moves past the woman and starts running for an escape, barely paying attention to the kind of compound they've put him in, only that there are a lot of windows and a lot of people in black suits. He runs out, hoping against hope that there will be backup, somewhere, or at least some kind of information on where he is and who's found him.

It feels like five seconds and five years before he stops. It's the middle of a busy street, with cars that look like Howard Stark personally engineered each and every one of them, while the buildings climb higher than any he's ever imagined. They're covered in screens, with what looks like hundreds of different colored film reels being projected on every one.

... It's still the same Manhattan, the man he later learns is Fury tells him. Just seventy years after you left it.

---

"Ronald Reagan's economic system is unsustainable, as stated far earlier than this publication by far better economists than I. Since I am not an economist, I feel that I should instead apply my own expertise to our current climate: American Nationalism is now higher than it's been since 1956, and that's not a coincidence.

Ronald Reagan, now famously having played a minimal role in the film, "Captain America: Siberian Takeover" (Russo & Russo, 1954), has become a symbol for both the American Right and America itself- though in a capacity greater than that of the acting President. His liberal use of Steve Rogers' likeness in his campaign makes his platform obvious to those who have studied the man in depth: he's practically synonymous with the caricature "Uncle Sam," and in a time of dwindling faith in the government and in America as a whole, in a time of disillusionment with the establishment, here he- and, by extension, Reagan- is to save the day against the Communists instead of against the Nazis.

So he wins the election, and all of a sudden everything is prosperous and the economy is booming. Everyone's buying cars, everyone's buying houses, everyone's buying everything and the 80's are already a time of hedonism and plenty mere months after his election. Captain America wins again, at least until this bubble pops and we all swing back the other way on the political pendulum."

- Megan Oher, "Reaganomics, Nationalism, and Captain America," December 1983.

---

It only takes two weeks before they need him again.

Two weeks to mourn everyone he's ever met. Two weeks to acclimate to the peace he was assured that he would have, only for it to be torn away.

He didn't miss the military.

---

TOM: Is that- is that the real Captain America? Fighting the Chitauri, there in the video, you see that?

KATIE: I do see it, Tom. I'd heard that they found his body about a month ago, but nothing on if he was actually alive all this time. We'd have heard, we're the number one source of information in New York, there's no way we could have missed this.

TOM: Well, either we did, or they managed to clone him. How long does it take to grow a man in a test tube?

KATIE: More than a month, I think.

TOM: Probably. But modern science is a wonder!

KATIE: I think they might have just figured out the serum from his body and given it to someone else, decked that guy out in costume instead. Seems less time-consuming than an entire clone, and besides, wouldn't a clone of Steve Rogers wind up like the pre-serum guy? He was shorter than me and scrawnier than you!

TOM: Yeah, unless it went into his DNA, they'd waste their money on a clone... the serum sounds about right. Unless it's just a really buff guy they found at some gym.

KATIE: He swears he doesn't do steroids or anything.

[STUDIO LAUGHTER]

TOM: Oh, no, of course not. Totally legit, just as strong as Captain America but completely naturally.

KATIE: Of course, of course.

- Transcript of the talk show, "Ragging On with Katie and Tom," Season 7, Episode 6; October 2012.

---

There's a press conference afterwards.

There are actually several press conferences afterwards, but they all blend together after a while, all the same information to different people and phrased in different ways. Yes, the Avengers are under SHIELD jurisdiction, or Yes, Loki is contained and there is no danger of him coming back and wreaking more havoc on New York or anywhere else.

There are also the fun ones, the ones that he'd thought were public information up until now.

Are you the real Steve Rogers? is a common one. He considers, for half a second the first time, lying and telling them No. He knows that if he's honest he'll never have a moment's peace again, he can never drop the act of Captain America, he'll always be beholden to upholding this title that's grown far larger than he could have ever imagined. His name is in history books, his costume worn by every actor who managed to claw their way into it both on Broadway and in the cinemas, every moment of his life before 1945 dissected and consumed by everyone who's gone through any American History class. He could shuck that weight off right now, he could pretend to be just the latest in a long line of actors and liars alike.

The temptation only lasts for a fraction of a moment, though, and then he remembers himself. Yes, he says, then and every time thereafter. I am Steve Rogers.

---

REPORTER: What is your opinion on Steve Rogers coming back to life out of the ice?

MELANIE: Well, um, I don't- I don't think I like it very much.

REPORTER: And why is that?

MELANIE: I mean, the last time things were so much about Steve Rogers, it was 9/11 and everybody started hating anybody who wasn't the same shade as printer paper, or- or dressed just slightly too masculine or slightly too feminine. Everyone was scared of everyone, and that was already going to happen after all this alien business, but I think the man himself coming back just makes it all worse.

REPORTER: So you think he shouldn't have been unearthed at all? Just left to rot?

MELANIE: I mean- I mean, he's still a person, and of course he deserves to live and all that, I just wish it weren't so public. I wish he just... didn't do all those press conferences, or helped out in New York but not in costume, or lied and said he wasn't really Captain America. It's not even his fault, he didn't even do anything, he's a product of his time and everybody putting his face all over everything doesn't help, but I wish that he wasn't the biggest signal that me and my friends all need to find somewhere to hide. I wish his face wasn't a sign that someone's going to start committing hate crimes against me, or worse.

- Interview Transcript, "Channel 9 News, Chicago," January 2013.

---

Steve doesn't understand why people seem so wary of him.

It's not the same kinds of people that used to be wary of him; instead, it seems to be reversed, with polite society welcoming him with open arms while the people on the outskirts skitter away like rats from a cat. When did it change? Even in 1945, it wasn't this bad, because he still easily got the trust of all the Howling Commandos- though, that might have been aided by his reckless rescue of all of them from Hydra.

Still, the Commandos had thought of him as one of them, an outcast from the military and society same as the rest of them.

Tony says the reason can be found online- or, more accurately, he'd said, Google it, I'm not explaining a half century of history when Wikipedia can do it better. So, here he is, typing away at a computer and routinely forgetting that he can backspace and correct his typos, only to remember when the machine spits back strange answers to his searches.

Everybody seems to think he's someone he's not. Everything he's getting back is telling him that Captain America is nationalism in a nutshell, which was true when he was filming all those propaganda movies and punching Hitler from California to France, but nationalism's come to mean something different now. Nationalism now means racism, means fear, means hate; and, again, it didn't not mean those things seventy years ago, but it's all the more apparent now that this is what he, as a person, has been reduced to.

It all comes back to the root problem: he's not a person anymore, not really, and now there's almost nobody who knows that anymore. There's nobody who hasn't grown up hearing about him, there's nobody around who he can just be any other man with rather than Steve Rogers, Captain America, and all the baggage that that entails. There's nobody he can talk to about Bucky, how they used to be something that wasn't quite best friends and was more along the lines of what he was on his way to being with Peggy after they'd ended that; there's nobody he can talk to about Peggy, either, and she's her own kind of legend, too, untouchable just like him.

Everybody thinks he's someone who would hate people like himself, which is ironic and at least a little bit funny. He thinks Tony would laugh at it, if he didn't hate Steve from the start of all this. Still, he's the one of all of them best acquainted with the future and how to make people think in the ways he wants them to think from a public relations perspective; if Steve wants people to stop associating him with that kind of regressive hatred, Tony is the best man for him to call, and he doesn't hate him so much as to give him bad advice on purpose.

Would people stop thinking that I hate minorities if I tell them that Bucky and I used to go out? may not have been the best thing for Steve to open that phone call with, though.

After quite a bit of coughing on Tony's end of the line, followed by an aggressive line of questions that inadvertently reveal quite a bit about what stories Howard chose to pass along versus what he chose to omit, Steve has his answer of Yes, but the PR people will hate you forever if you don't talk to them about it first. Steve is of the opinion that many PR people would rather he not say anything about that, and it's not really something he feels like bringing up, considering that they'd both broken it off long before he met Peggy or had the serum, but it does seem like an easier bomb to drop on everyone than the other option of insisting that he doesn't agree with the way his image has been used for the past seventy years and very slowly winning people over with that. He'd rather set the record straight immediately.

There isn't an opportunity for a while, and in that time, he finds the word bisexual and thinks he likes it quite a bit- and then he thinks of the irony in the knowledge that many people think he'd hate anyone who likes that word, too. He has to say something soon; immigrants are afraid, every kind of minority is afraid, and the conservative politicians are having the same heyday they've been having for months.

Finally, finally, there's a press conference scheduled by Tony, one that he doesn't tell anyone the purpose of, and for that Steve is eternally grateful. He thinks he's starting to bridge the gap that Howard built between them, constructed of distorted memories and insistence that Steve would have supported this or that when in all reality he wouldn't.

I am Steve Rogers, he says, mirroring the first thing he ever said to this particular public, far removed from his own public in his own time. I am Steve Rogers, and my mother was an immigrant to this country. I am Steve Rogers, and I am bisexual. These things are not congruent with the things that many politicians say that I am, or say that I support. I keep having words put in my mouth, and I am here today to stop it. I do love my country, but I do not love the things that my country has done in my name. I do not support the hatred or the oppressive agenda that my country has used my name to further. Thank you.

Reporters are practically screaming over each other, trying to get their questions answered. The lights are brighter than they've ever been, with camera flashes blinding him better than any fluorescents ever could.

Steve was born again the moment he woke up alone in that too-bright room in SHIELD a few short months ago. Now, in this too-bright room full of a cacophony from far too many people, he's killed something that's been alive far longer than he ever was.

#my writing #marvel #captain america #steve rogers

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ilovescaredysquirrel2 · 8 months

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Elemental wasn't as bad as I thought but I still hate Disney

Okay, so i watched Elemental and it wasn't as bad as I thought but I still hate Disney and I think it's a good decision to boycott Disney plus. The pirated versions have just as good quality as Disney plus, and Disney is making a lot of bad decisions. Elemental was actually way better than I thought, I absolutely loved the characters (except Clod) and it wasn't as bad as I thought though. I thought it was gonna be a terrible Zootopia-like story but it wasn't. The only complaint was Clod being in love with Ember when he's a literal child... like, the whole kid having a crush on adult trope is so disgusting in family movies. Especially coming from Disney, and we know their p*dophilia from the past. (The age gaps between the princesses and princes in classic movies, and showing Colleen Ballinger in Ralph Wrecks the internet, and they still decided to make a child have a crush on a grown women? gross!) At least Ember didn't like him back but idk why people think a little kid having a crush on an adult is "cute" because it's not. They did it in Disney channel shows as well and as a kid I had no idea how weird it was. I still give Elemental maybe a 6/10

Okay, so I'm going to mostly talk about Disney's past racism and their new show "Primos" and why they'll never learn! I'm a white American so no one's gonna listen to me but if you're ethnic group they're making fun of, YOU SHOULD PROTEST! Boycott Disney plus, cancel your subscription, write complaint emails/letters to them, do EVERYTHING you can to let them know that Primos is a terrible show and that it should have never been greenlit and that they can't make money off of that crap! I'm not Hispanic or Latino, but I heard a lot of Hispanic and Latino people were offended at the show Primos. Again, please take my word for it and DO NOT get Disney plus if you don't have it and if you do have it, boycott it somehow. We gotta file complaints, too! Just, DO SOMETHING TO STOP THEM FROM RELEASING THIS SHOW! They've been bad enough over the years with the racism (early Mickey mouse cartoons) and now they're going back to the 1920s again because Primos is just as racist as they used to be.

So yeah, you heard me annoying little rants and you know how I feel about Disney. There's only like 12 movies I like from them out of... like 1000? As for the Disney channel sitcoms and cartoons, most of those I enjoy. Hannah Montana, Good Luck Charlie, Liv & Maddie, Suite life, A.N.T farm, Austin & Ally, Raven, you name it! All those shows were so fun! My favorite cartoons were Jungle Junction and Fish Hooks but Phineas and Ferb was cool too. I'm also starting to get into the new show called Kiff, about a squirrel (but it doesn't beat Scaredy Squirrel). As much as I hate Disney, I don't want to ignore the good kids shows they've had over the years, like from my era, the 2000s. I hate most of their old movies and I really think the new cartoon Primos makes Disney channel look bad. Encanto and Coco represented the culture so well, why couldn't Primos do the same? Anyway, there was my rant. Please comment or reblog if you have anything to say

#my rants #my rant #mad at disney #my thoughts

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teamfreewill2pointo · 7 months

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I'm not picking at you, but I strongly disagree with how you and some other parasocial fans try to depict Jensen's childhood. He has said that he had a great childhood, playing outside all of the time, playing sports, surrounded by his brother and sister and extended family. He has listed his Dad as his hero in many articles. He was allowed to purchase a car prior to turning 16, which many parents would have never allowed, so independence was encouraged. Yes his family was religious, so what? Yes his mother made him eat his vegetables, 99% of Mom's did back in the 80"s, not child abuse. The punishment by the belt grosses me out, but again, in Texas, in the 80"s that was the standard. Jensen mentions spankings in school, which was also the standard then. This man grew up in a family that he is very proud of, as he has said multiple times. Don't demean his childhood because it doesn't fit into your personal box of what a perfect childhood should be. I suspect that Jared's was actually quite similar. They both seem to be well adjusted, happy men who have personally grown with the times. Their parents did OK. Respect.

It's weird that you disagree with me, when I basically said this.

As I said before, I'm from a very similar culture, and my dad was very similar to Jensen's dad, although my dad wasn't as homophobic as Jensen's dad. I am very familiar with how Christian conservatives are raised, because it's how I was raised.

You can think you had a great childhood, love your father, feel loved by your father, and acknowledge that your father had traits of toxic masculinity that had to be unlearned in adulthood.

You can have a wonderful relationship with your parents, and love them, and feel loved by them, but still think that it was wrong for them to beat you with instruments.

You can think your dad was a great dad, but still think that when someone passes out after being knocked in the head, they should be checked out by a doctor.

There are still spankings in schools! People still spank their kids! Jensen and I do not, because we have learned how to be better than our parents. I don't get why so many of y'all are so eager to defend beating children.

Jensen and I have unlearned a lot of the toxic masculinity with which we have been raised. We have learned to be more progressive than our conservative Christian parents. This doesn't mean that we don't love them or feel loved by them. You can love somebody and still think that they screwed up.

It's not black and white. I feel like some of you take this approach to characters and people. You can criticize characters and people without painting them as villains. I can say Alan Ackles should not have beaten any of his children, and that's not making him a villain, or trying to woobify Jensen, especially since Jensen doesn't see it that way!

I think it's so weird how a lot of you are trying to justify or excuse Alan Ackles's behavior. I was beaten by my parents. It wasn't okay. I look back at my childhood fondly and miss my dad every single day. I still love my parents and I feel loved by my parents, just like Jensen.

So why are you coming in here, and accusing me of demeaning his childhood? Why are you making the assumption that I think he should have had a perfect childhood? Why are you defending beating kids?

The reason that all of this matters is because J2 were put in conditions that were physically and emotionally punishing. They had father figures on set who used to yell and throw things and engage in behavior that is abusive, just like hitting people.

Because they grew up in an environment that was abusive, they did not speak up or speak out when put in many of these circumstances because they had no idea how things could be different. That's just how the industry was run. You were put in a room that was set on fire. You were put in a room with a ton of bees and treated as if you were a pansy for not wanting to be in that room. You were made to crawl on glass and cut yourself.

You would wake up at 245am to get on a phone call to air live on the East Coast, then at 4am, do Midwest promotions, etc, going through 4 timezones. Then you would go to set and work 18 hour daysn outside in the rain at night.

[And if you couldn't handle such a punishing schedule and started to have an emotional breakdown because of it, you were yelled at and basically forced to go to work.]

The thing is, to not acknowledge all of what they went through, is to deny what amazing people they are. Jared could have absorbed all of that as just normal and part of the industry, the way that so many other show runners do, but he deliberately set out to create a set culture that is not abusive. Jensen could be one of the many parents who spanks their kids.

They strove to be better. If you ignore or minimize the abuse that they went through, you're not acknowledging how much strength it takes to go down a different path.

#alan ackles #jensen ackles #jared padalecki

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sweetpeaches666 · 1 year

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I just discovered your shape shifting Ben AU. A couple things I'd like to say:

1) THE BIRTHDAY AND CHRISTMAS GIFTS MUST BE INSANE

2) Ben must live hell on Father's Day

3) Good thing he barely knows any street kid, otherwise he'll definitely win the "my dad can beat up your dad" game

4) I am so curious about Malware. He's one of my faves and I wonder if due to the Omnitrix being an Azmuth creation, he'd think of Ben as sorta his brother (I see lots of dads but the siblings must be equally as damaging in number).

5) I wonder how long it took for some villains to realize they went from planning invasions and planetary destructions to planning weekend trips with their kid.

6) This is likely unlikely, but I imagine if someone tried to sow discord into Ben's life, they'd say he can't have faith in the "dads" he got, because "it's obvious they're only around because of him being a shape shifter that could be useful to them". Ben building an identity crisis, insecurities leading him to force himself to stay human for weeks, to see if they'd really be that shallow or if they'd still care if he didn't have his powers.

I haven't posted about Shape Shifting Ben in a while, but I'm happy to know you like it.

Yes. Birthdays and Christmas gifts are insane, and usually being from the cultures of Ben's many fathers.

Father's Day is definitely hell for Ben and his human parents since Ben's villain fathers come by.

Ben has been sheltered for the first ten years of his life, so of course he wouldn't know any street kids. That, and the last thing Ben wants is to sent someone to the hospital.

Malware is absolutely jealous of Ben since Azimuth has publicly acknowledge Ben as his son. Ben, however, actually cares about Malware and does want to help his older brother.

The villain dads still want Ben to join them of taking over the universe, but they do consider it as a father/son bonding active while caring for Ben in their own evil way.

Actually, Ben has faith in his fathers who are good guys since he knows he can trust them. The fathers who are bad guys are the ones who Ben doesn't completely trust. Ben also already knows that his villain fathers only became part of his life once they realized he has the power of every creature in the universe. It doesn't help that the villain dads actually want Ben to let go of his human side since they believe it makes him weak.

#ben 10 #ben 10 original series #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 au #shape shifting ben #ben tennyson #carl tennyson #sandra tennyson #ben 10 malware #azmuth #ask

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thesinglesjukebox · 11 days

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ARIANA GRANDE - "WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)

youtube

Not a Robyn cover?...

[6.47]

Hannah Jocelyn: This is “Dancing On My Own (Ariana’s Version)," so the floor is pretty high. It’s honestly so close to being a masterpiece on the level of “Into You” but it's undone by the Robyn-shaped elephant in the room and some truly bizarre chorus phrasing. "Pre-e-e-tend" is not that many syllables! The original isn’t perfect; the chorus has little to no impact because it’s nearly the same arrangement as the verse. And yet, this remake has its own issues: the backing vocals are so absurdly loud they overwhelm the synths and the actual lead (maybe an attempt at Dolby Atmos-style depth), and when the Aris disappear we’re just left with empty space — not negative space, empty space. You have a whole orchestra at the end, use it! The lyrics are definitely not as memorable as “DOMO”, either; that song endures for its universal sentiment as much as its melody, and this is most interesting if you’re invested in Ariana Grande's life. She is giving it her all, particularly with a soaring bridge straight out of Ellie Goulding's Halcyon, but between this track and its inspiration, I’m not sure this is the song I’m taking home. [6]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I abjured this sort of thing when Georgia brought it to me; I cannot quite resist Ari's own offering to the same extent (it has an actual hook, at least), but it still feels slightly hackish to make this sort of song in 2024. We simply must have some better way to convey the complex cocktail of melancholy and defeated joy that accompanies remembrances of loves just slightly out of reach than doing Body Talk cosplay, right? It's been more than a decade! There are kids starting high school this fall who were born after "Dancing on My Own" came out! Let the past die; abandon the sophistipop trappings of this stagnant cultural moment; keep the bit where you say "silence" and then the beat stops, it's cute! [5]

Tim de Reuse: A catchy, flattened synthpop preset that never reaches for greatness or shows any restraint trudges along with all the emotion of an industrial process. For every moment of insight there is an Ariana-ism ("At least I look this good?" Come on, how is that relevant?) that flicks us away again. Paint-by-numbers unremarkable — and yet, somewhere in the glossy chorus there is the imprint of something truly pathetic; nothing in her delivery of "wait until you like me again" implies that things are ever going to get better, and for a moment the dullness congeals into something. We get a true, insistent flash of the horror of anhedonia, the dead-behind-the-eyes dread of a lonely weekend, the sisyphean task of rewiring yourself to no longer want. I don't know if it's deliberate. But it's compelling, strange, sad. [7]

Mark Sinker: Ariana has a kind of implacable wax-figure dizziness which is probably what I do think makes for good music, even when it distresses me a bit in people. [8]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: A Robyn track with none of the pathos, "we can't be friends (wait for your love)" is all shallow signification. Grande's voice is too airy to be emotive, and she delivers every line with too much consideration for phrasing. Strangely, it doesn't seem like she even cares what she's saying, though though. And even the beat seems vacant. [4]

Alfred Soto: In another demonstration of her newfound fealty to mild sentiments set to milder beats, Ariana Grande scratch-coos through a closing door that she leaves open at the last second. "You cling to your paper and pens" still stands out on the twentieth play — is it this kind of weirdness that redeems her boy? [6]

Michael Hong: The line about papers and pens is funny — strange enough to make you believe it's specific without actually being much of anything. Not contracts and whatever the hell a real estate agent does because maybe Grande couldn't figure out how to fit that into song or maybe, like me, she just doesn't know. All throughout "we can't be friends," she hangs on this idea of herself being misunderstood: "I didn't think you'd understand me" or "you got me misunderstood." She craves the feeling of being understood, liked, and loved, without reciprocity in her mind. Perhaps that's why sitting in her car right outside the club doesn't feel like a revelation but a reminder of the vacancy that needs to be filled in. To that end, the strobe synth is a comfort, a sharp first breath away from the noise, a couple minutes of pleasure before the loneliness settles in. [7]

Anna Suiter: Even if I had a huge crush on Elijah Wood as a teenager, I never actually watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Now I think I don't have to. [7]

Jackie Powell: When assessing the chart performance for both of Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine singles, Chris Molanphy astutely compared the general public’s response to Grande’s "Yes, And?" to Taylor Swift’s "Look What You Made Me Do." He explained that both singles didn’t last on the charts or in the cultural zeitgeist because they weren’t relatable to listeners. To complete the comparison, “we can't be friends (wait for your love)” has the potential of Swift’s “Delicate,” which was also produced by Max Martin and achieved incremental "narrative changing" success. The recipe is there: "we can't be friends" is more introspective, vulnerable and polysemous than its predecessor. The track, heavily influenced by Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own,” is less catty than Grande's last single; it reveals that she has the capacity to express and perform complex emotions. An issue I take with Grande as an artist is her struggle to lean into her performance, connect with her audience, and emote; she’s often just focused on how she sounds technically. (This is yet another reason why I believe she was miscast in Wicked.) She often struggles telling her story compellingly when she performs live. On “we can't be friends,” however, there’s more of an effort to make the listener internalize the sadness and the longing. Her enunciation helps. When Grande performed “we can't be friends” live for the first time on SNL, she was stiff and awkward and refused to look at the camera with open eyes — a trend during most of her live performances — until the final chorus, which seemed like a turning point for the track as SNL seemed like one for her career. Is this a preview of what’s to come this November in Oz? We’ll have to wait and see. [8]

Leah Isobel: Yes, Ariana, I also think "Dancing On My Own" is a great song! [7]

Nortey Dowuona: I hope Davide Rossi has made back his money, because if I get credit for playing the violin, viola, and cello and have most of my work drowned out by Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh’s limp, ED drums and only get 26 seconds of my hard arrangement to play, I’m going to be pissed. Oh, and if I hear it and it’s bad, I'm disavowing it completely. [3]

Katherine St. Asaph: Everyone thinks this sounds like "Dancing on My Own." They are wrong. What this sounds like is a "Hang With Me" chimera: the synths of Robyn's track with the uncathartic energy of Paola Bruna's original. For this reason, and others that don't need elaborating here, I can't remember the last time I was so disappointed by a song. [5]

Ian Mathers: I mean, genuine kudos to Grande for making a kind of passive aggressive breakup song with the press (and/or stans?) so genuinely affecting. I hope those crazy kids can make it work. [7]

Taylor Alatorre: On paper, an anthem about a "break-up with the media" seems too-cute-by-half, a way of trying to hijack our neural pathways in order to smuggle in sympathy for one of the most inherently unapproachable pop star problems. But if "we can't be friends" is nothing other than an attempt at manipulation, of getting the listener on Ariana's side, it isn't any more underhanded than all the little manipulations we use on each other on a daily basis. In fact, it's surprisingly candid. There's some diagetic honesty in her trying to critic-proof her message by attaching it to a more blatantly Robyn-derived template than anything Carly Rae's ever put out, a move that expresses deference more than defiance. And the telegraphed moment of silence, though I laughed the first time I heard it, is a nice way of actualizing the meditative, acceptance-focused vibe while also, through the piped-in urban ambience, hinting at the unsettled feelings that still lie beneath. The grandiose strings of the finale, which in other contexts might ring false, are here used to show just how seriously Ariana takes all of this -- a head-held-high defense of her own confessions of dependence and neediness. There will always be room for songs that admit we actually do care what the haters think of us. [8]

Isabel Cole: Ariana at her most ethereal and Max at his most shimmering and sparkly make this aggressively me-bait, and that’s before the Robyn-reminiscent closer in which the synths fade to let the strings swell send us out. The track is just stupidly gorgeous, a lush soundscape made up of parts meticulously arranged exactly as they should be, each piece necessary, none of it overplayed. Ariana delivers her lines with almost no affect at all, steadfastly refusing to differentiate the lines in tone or intensity, which would normally be a deficit but in this case allows her voice to simply take its rightful place as one of many lovely noises making something wonderful; I like that her high note in the bridge is a little weak, a pleasant jolt of humanness in the midst of this impeccable construction. The lyrics are irrelevant, both because she could not sound less invested in them (compliment) and because every time that warm bass kicks in the language centers of my brain shut down to better appreciate details like that first descending synth line that kicks in partway through the first verse or the twinkling effect in the bridge; having looked them up, I have to say there are worse strategies for dealing with the haters than offering them the aural equivalent of a warm bath dotted with rose petals. [9]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#ariana grande #music #pop #pop music #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

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