#gen z is doing god’s work by setting boundaries

[peridotsarelongterm]

For as much as social anxiety sucks, the self-awareness is a nice silver lining.

I may not be able to public speak or even go to a party without a mini-breakdown, but at least I can read a room and know when to keep my mouth shut.

[joesalw]

You really can't write this shit lmao...

TS's friend group consists of Miss 'idc about genocide and continue to employ a bloodthirsty zionist CEO for my makeup brand' and Cara D who's great grandfather created the Black and Tans which is a terrorist organisation that killed Irish people during the Irish War of Independence. A group that also sent their people to kill Palestinians in favor of establishing the state of Israel. Last night these 3 went to Ramy Youssef's (who Taylor probably met at the "Poor Things" premiere) comedy show in NYC and 100% of the proceeds would go to the Gaza relief fund. The thing is, Selena and Taylor are getting all the credit and praise for Ramy's activism. I've been a fan of her work for the past 10 years and her recent activities have turned me off of her completely. The turning point was that pathetic TIME interview.

I've always thought of her as this well-read individual who can masterfully express herself whether it would be public speaking or writing but I couldn't help but cringe while reading that article. She tries too hard to appeal to gen z and younger millennial crowd when she herself is practically pushing 40 atp. I feel like all of her 'intelligence' came from being around Joe Alwyn who's a notorious bookworm. The fact that she describes her Rep era as 'goth-punk' was the first strike, the 2016 hate train as a ' career death' was the 2nd and the whole patriarchy delusion she went into just hit the final nail in the coffin and I was like 'nope, not doing this shit anymore'.

I know that swifties have been comparing her to Beyonce lately saying things like 'well, Taylor writes her songs' or 'Beyonce can't read' and talking about how she doesn't give interviews so people don't know that she's dumb. And as a comparison I've found her Harper's Bazaar interview that she gave when she turned 40. And good God, I've slept on this woman for way too long. In the interview she talks about building her work ethic from an early age. The dedication of her life's decades (First decade was dedicated to dreaming, the teens were about the grind, the 20s were about building a strong foundation for her career and establishing her legacy, the 30s were about starting her family and prioritizing her own life over her career). She started her own management company at 27, in 2013 she started her charity foundation in which she helps hurricane relief, education, supporting minorities businesses, families with housing needs, water crises, pediatric health care and pandemic relief. She talks about expanding her business ventures beyond music industry, talks about setting boundaries in the world of celebrity culture, about her friends being a group of strong independent women, about the importance of mental health. She also says that she's most inspired by her parents ("My mother has always been my Queen and still is. She has always been so strong and is filled with humanity", "No matter how tired she was, she was always professional, loving, and nurturing."; "My father constantly encouraged me to write my own songs and create my own vision. He is the reason I wrote and produced at such a young age."). That woman is so well-spoken and genuine you can't help but feel warm while reading it and she doesn't feel the need of throwing unnecessary 'smart people' words to seem that way.

Reading Taylor's "Person of the Year" profile and Beyonce's 'Entering 40s' interview were completely different experiences. And as a result, one of them lost a fan and the other gained one. I wish Tree Paine would stop Taylor from giving these interviews because everytime she does, she comes across as tone-deaf, out of touch, mentally stuck overgrown teenager, try-hard bratty diva who can't stand being not the only one praised.

Anyway, I'd recommend to read the full interview and watching her new film. I've watched it yesterday and got the urge of turning my life around. That lady is truly such a light.

Taylor's friend list also includes 'Mr. and Mrs. plantation with slave cabins on the property wedding', 'a sex offender and a SA apologist as the newest addition', 'Ms. "I assaulted my own sister", ' an insecure and whiny music producer who likes to stir drama on Taylor's behalf'. And not to mention that she's dated a nazi this year and her newest flavour of the month is a fatphobic jock with a double digit iq, her father is also an avid republican voter. I think the people she surrounds herself with tell about her more than she does herself.

And concluding with two cents about Joe Alwyn. I'm glad she's out of his life. While I was a swiftie I've watched his interviews and he always came across as a very gentle, calm, well-spoken and a bit introverted man. And she's... well, her. I also think that she'd held him back in her job in regards of producers and directors not wanting their work to be overshadowed by 'Taylor's BF is in this' articles. I'm hoping he does more projects in the future or maybe dips his toes in writing and directing something because clearly he's a talented writer.

Sorry for the long rant, had to get it out of my system <3

I love reading your rants, keep it coming. they are so on point.

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

No, It's Definitely Funny

Prompt: Can I request a second part to "Let's Call It Funny" where Bucky, Sam, Steve, and Peter unite forces to confuse and concern all the other avengers (with at least one instance where two or all of them respond to something by pretending to jump off a building?) Love you! -Auggie

Does it count as being back on my bullshit if I never left?

Read on Ao3 Part 1

Warnings: none, unless you need a warning for gen z humor

Pairings: it's still found family hours

Word Count: 2259

Peter’s gonna be honest, he may or may not have some competition for the funniest person in the Tower right now.

Because let’s look at the list here:

Traumatized? Everybody and their private jet’s worth of vintage and designer baggage needs therapy.

Queer? If you think Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, or Sam Wilson is straight, you need to tell them everything they’ve ever done to make you think they’re straight so they can stop doing it immediately.

Superhero? Yeah, okay, shush, now you’re being stupid.

Neurodivergent? Have you seen the way these men behave? Definitely the model of Perfectly Normal Person™, what on earth are you talking about, absolutely 100% Normal™.

The only things he’s still got going for him that the others don’t are high-schooler and trans. That’s not a lot when it comes to the fact that hey, two of them are from the Great Depression—let’s be honest, they’re the OGs when it comes to fatalistic humor—and they’ve all got years of practice.

Sure, Peter’s got some trauma-given raw talent, but it’s not refined by years and years of throwing yourself off of buildings and out of planes to avoid having conversations about your emotions.

The day Aunt Nat dropped all of SHIELD’s files on the Internet and Peter found out that Steve yeeted himself out of a plane—without a parachute!—to avoid Nat’s prodding about getting a date was the best day of his fucking life.

“Don’t you go stealing my moves there, kid,” Steve had scolded playfully, winking over the rim of his mug.

“Try and stop me, I dare you.”

“And this is why,” Tony had sighed, looking every bit his 79 years—“Hey!”—as he watches this interaction go down, “you have a parachute built into your suit.”

“I’ll just wear my old one, don’t worry about it.”

“That heinous thing that’s just a cut-up old hoodie and goggles? Peter, no, that thing is being held together with safety pins and hope!”

“I mean, me too, so it’s fine.”

“Peter!”

“Also, like, it’s the one I almost got crushed to death in, so it’s got the emotional trauma seasoning already.”

“Wait—“ Bucky had sat up— “you almost got crushed to death by a building? Sheesh, kid, you’re really flirting with the reaper, huh.”

“It wasn’t so bad, I had training from the years and years of carrying the weight of my sins crawling on my back.”

“At least ask Death for his number next time, he’s not returning my calls.”

“Sergeant, I swear to God—“

“Actually, Death uses they/them pronouns, I asked when I met them last weekend.”

“What the fuck did you do last weekend?”

“Really? Oh cool, well, can you get their number for me? We had a date back in ’45 that they missed.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem.”

“Tony, why are you screaming? Not keeping dates is a very serious matter.”

“Trust me, I speak from experience, Tony, it’s not a good habit to get into.”

“You should respect your elders and not scream while we’re talking to you, mister.”

“All of you shut the fuck up.”

See? On one hand, it’s great to have more partners in this venture of making Tony’s hair turn grey—he’s that age, it’s bound to happen any time soon now— “One more crack about my age, kid, I swear.” — but on the other hand, Peter is seriously losing his massive lead on funniest person in the Tower.

The other thing he’s worried about is Sam’s ability to make it so the others can’t actually worry about him.

Because—listen, Sam Wilson is a fucking national treasure and all you fuckers better acknowledge that. It’s no secret that the Captains take turns going out with the shield, all of them answer to ‘Captain America’ because that’s what they are, but no one—and Peter will never say this under threat of death because he does not need any more of the Steve Rogers’ Puppy Dog Eyes™, thank you very much—no one does it better than Sam.

And that means that Sam fucking Wilson can turn a fatalistic, self-deprecating joke into a motivational speech that doesn’t feel disingenuous or cliché at all and everyone is too busy processing the philosophical revelations they’re having to scold him for his, frankly, outstanding sense of humor.

It’s not fair and Peter can’t do it.

He tried. Once.

Didn’t go very well.

No, he’s not gonna talk about it, let’s just move on.

Sam has offered to catch him a couple of times when he gets himself a little too deep into the Mamma Spider™ or Iron Dad™ trap of feeeelings, and he gratefully scoots out of the way when Sam sits down next to him and just makes another joke.

Sam is also a fantastic role model for the brand of ‘I’m going to the store and only have twenty bucks, stop asking for your will to live back’ jokes.

“Hey, Pete!”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s go, bodega run.”

“Can we pick up some hopes and dreams, too, all of those got scribbled out in fat red Sharpie yesterday.”

“I said bodega run, not Court of Miracles run.”

“But Sam~”

“Listen, kid, if you manage to find your hopes and dreams in this bodega, keep an eye out for your childhood innocence, that might be on the next shelf over.”

“Deal.”

“Do you two need some more therapy appointments?”

“Only got fifteen bucks, man.”

“I’m literally a billionaire!”

Peter eagerly studies under this pinnacle of humor and keeps his worries to himself.

Because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and Peter’s sense of humor is wonderful, but he is a tad intimidated by the amount of variety the others have got going for them.

“You’re a fucking terror, Spider-ling, that’s what you are.”

“Not true! I was ‘a pleasure to have in class.’”

“Oh, is that why you’re taking ‘Little Shit’ lessons from Barnes and Rogers?”

“And Sam! Don’t forget Captain Wilson, he is an invaluable part of this team. I’m surprised at your ignorance.”

“Pete—no, that’s not—“

“I’m ashamed for you, Mr. Stark.”

“Listen here you little shit—“

Anyway…

Steve and Bucky have a habit of telling these like, really awful jokes that have Peter in stitches for half an hour. It’s not fair and he doesn’t get why they’re so funny because they aren’t, and yet here he is, laughing anyway.

It’s probably some combination of Steve’s perfected innocent face that he wears when he has to do interviews and Bucky’s habit of not giving a single solitary fuck. But they’re able to make the worst jokes with completely serious expressions and it’s not fair.

“Hey, can you guys come help me with something?”

“Sure, Peter,” Steve says instantly, bounding over with his 95-year-old Golden Retriever energy as Bucky trails behind him like a cat that’s sitting in your lap because he wants to, not because he likes you or anything, “what’s up?”

“I have a history project on WWII due tomorrow and I haven’t started it yet.”

Bucky snorts, taking a swig of coffee and sitting down on the floor. Which, same. “You got your eulogy planned?”

“Drafted, sighed, notarized, but Aunt May said no so I gotta do this.”

“Well, if Aunt May says no then I guess that’s that.”

Tony, from far away in another part of the Tower, has a sickening feeling that May Parker has once again proven that she is the most powerful parent and there’s nothing he can do about it.

“I, um,” Peter mumbles, fidgeting with his pen, “I want to be respectful of your boundaries, and if you don’t want to talk about anything then—“

Because it’s one thing for someone to make jokes about their trauma and another for someone else to go poking and prodding at it.

“Hey,” Steve interrupts softly, nudging him with his knee, “first off, thank you for saying that and we appreciate your respect, but we got you. You worry about enough, sweetheart, let us take care of ourselves.”

Peter gives him a look.

“When it comes to this,” Steve amends, having the decency to look a little sheepish, “we’ll take care of ourselves.”

Bucky scoffs. “Uh-huh.”

“We will, Buck.”

“My therapist will be real happy to hear that.” He looks up at Peter and winks. “Besides, what good is our trauma if we don’t pin it up and display it for good grades?”

Peter huffs, the joke undercut a little by the way Bucky knocks his foot against Peter’s and Steve’s arm stretches over the couch behind him.

Peter has to resist the urge to lean his head onto Steve’s shoulder, because then Steve’s hand will come up and ruffle his hair and Peter’s eyes will droop slowly closed as he loses himself in the warmth and safety of Steve’s embrace and then Steve will lean down to press a kiss to his temple and—

Right. Homework.

“What’s it on specifically,” Bucky asks, clearly spotting the temptation on Peter’s end, “home front? Overseas? Time period?”

“Uh, it’s an analysis of total war.”

“Like, how much of the country was devoted to the war effort?”

“Yeah, basically. It’s talking about how the Nazi War Machine made their war total and how that extends to a lot of other countries, but also about the reasons why the war was fought—“

They delve into a conversation about total war, Peter pointing out how Italy’s motivation for territory keeps it from being a total war on their part, Bucky speaking to how the different dynamics worked in various countries and the fallout, Steve bringing up how much of the home front was devoted to bringing attention to the war being fought overseas. Then, of course, as is inevitable, they devolve into storytelling.

Peter’s notebook—with notes! He did his job!—is set aside as he gives in to the need to let Steve cuddle him on the couch. Come on, the man is warm and big and gives good hugs, how is he supposed to not? Bucky sprawls out on the floor, leaning back on his hands as he smiles fondly.

“You know,” he remarks casually, “I fought a Nazi in my pajamas once.”

Peter blinks sleepily. “Wait, really?”

“Yeah, though how he got in my pajamas, I have no idea.”

Peter snorts. Then he giggles. Then he’s collapsing into Steve’s side, positively sobbing with laughter.

It’s not funny.

It’s really not that funny.

But here he is, fucking dying, and he doesn’t even have the wherewithal to welcome the sweet embrace of oblivion.

“Okay, note to self,” Bucky murmurs when he’s calmed down a little, wiping away tears, “sleepy spider likes corny jokes.”

“Just don’t break our baby spider, Buck, Momma Spider would kill you in cold blood.”

“Listen, if Natasha Romanoff kills me, don’t prosecute. That’s on me.”

Peter can’t do corny jokes. He really can’t. He just sounds like he’s a recording so old it’s unintelligible and it’s bad. He has a reputation to maintain here!

However, there is one sense of humor that Peter is very eager to learn and adopt, and hey, it might actually be Iron Dad™ Approved!

It’s a rookie mistake, asking Bucky Barnes for a hand, but in his defense, Peter was left unsupervised and was distracted.

“Hey, Bucky, can you give me a hand?”

“Sure thing, Peter.”

Something nudges his arm and he looks down. It’s Bucky’s metal arm, bumping up against his elbow.

It’s a cheap joke. It’s bad. It does not deserve Peter’s laughter.

He snorts anyway.

“That’s on me,” he says after a second, “you know what, that’s my fault.”

“What, is this not what you meant?”

“No, no, you’re fine.” Peter scruffs a hand through his hair. He looks down at the prosthetic again. “Well, that’s disarming.”

Now it’s Bucky’s turn to snort. “You gotta hand it to me, though, it’s a good joke.”

Oh, it’s on.

“No, no, of course, I understand. You really can’t let an opportunity like that slip through your fingers.”

Steve chokes on his next sip of coffee. “Stop making the kid shoulder the burden of making puns with you.”

Sam raises an eyebrow. “Don’t palm this off on someone else, Steve, you’re as bad as he is.”

“Oh, it’s not that bad.” Peter shrugs. “You just gotta knuckle-down and find the right one.”

“Do you have any idea how many times I’ve had to reach for puns?” Bucky hefts his arm.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb and say a lot.”

“Jeez, Pete, good one.”

“What, are you not finding them humerus?”

Sam’s gone, Steve shortly after. Bucky just grins proudly at him.

Then there’s a massive thunk from behind them. Peter turns around to see Tony slamming his forehead into the counter.

“You are all going to kill me,” he mutters, glaring up at them, “all three of you.”

“Oh, come on, Mr. Stark, Captain Barnes would never hurt you.”

Tony raises a skeptical eyebrow.

“After all,” Peter grins, gesturing to Bucky who is doing a very good innocent face—he must’ve been taking notes from Steve— “look at him, he’s completely armless.”

“Peter Benjamin Parker—“

Okay, so maybe it’s not Iron Dad™ Approved.

Oh, well.

[doux-amer]

Thoughts on the different boroughs of nyc? Thoughts on christmas movies? Thoughts on into the spiderverse??

Oops. I rambled on in my response to the first question so I put that under a cut, and I’ll answer the next two here:

Christmas movies - I don’t have a strong feeling about them either way? I don’t hate them, but I don’t love them either although I guess around Christmastime, I do want to put on a Christmas movie and get in the mood. I have some favorites. Also, you need to include one or two movies at the very least that take place during or mention Christmas but don’t actually have anything to do with the holiday in your top Christmas movies list or else it’s invalid. Like…Die Hard (which I haven’t watched to this day. SORRY. I’m lazy)? Iron Man 3? KKBB? Something? 

Into the Spider-verse - SO GOOD. I’ve been waiting for it to come out ever since they released the trailer because I’ve never seen animation so fresh, innovative, and fun before. I love how much they pushed the boundaries and went to new places animation-wise, I loveeee the character designs, I love the colors, I love everything. I’m so happy we got a Miles movie because I wanted Miles to be in a movie and well, I wanted him to be in the MCU because did we need another white Peter Parker? NO. We literally had 3 in the past 15 years. At least make him not white. He’s not representative of a nerd from Queens anymore. Anyway. Miles. MY SON(SHINE). HE CAN BE FULL-OUT AFROLATINO? Not just black? Like????? AFROLATINOS EXIST. LOVE THAT REP. LOVE HIS PARENTS. His dad is a big goof and embarrasses his son, but I love that he can show feelings and cry. And I was ambivalent about Gwen showing up, but I loved her!! She felt like a real girl (ugh sorry, I have :/ feelings about Spider Gwen as a concept and I was afraid she’d be written in a “what a man thinks is a cool but relatable girl” way). I love the other spiders. I can’t believe I finally care about Peter Parker, but I got emo over blondie (did you know he was nicknamed RIPeter by the art team lol?) dying and I was so fond of Peanut Butter Parker. I mean, Peter B. Parker. But uh….I have a hugeee soft spot for reluctant mentor/dad/older brother figures who take young kids under their wing especially if they’re hot messes so this was a very unsurprising turn of events. REALLY enjoyed Doc Ock and Kingpin which is not…something I expected. I liked Spider Ham too which…same thing. I never cared for him before. I didn’t care for Peni Parker the way she was depicted in the movie. :////// Yay, Asian/anime stereotypes. Yikes. :/// She’s not even like that in the comics so it’s a puzzling decision. I’m looking forward to the trailer. OH, UNCLE AARON. :( Um. The music! SO GODDAMN GOOD OH MY GOD. The post-credits scene which made me laugh out loud, but this entire movie made me laugh out loud which is rare. Cute, heartfelt, and just. THE ANIMATION IS SO GODDAMN GOOD. I’M LOSING MY MIND.

Boroughs under the cut:

Bronx - no one goes to the Bronx if they’re not from the Bronx unless they’re going to the zoo or Yankee Stadium, they work in the food/produce business, or want seafood in the boroughs. Also, the Bronx has gotten safer over the past few decades, but to be honest, one of the first things that’ll come to a native’s mind when they think of the Bronx aside from the zoo and the Yankees is crime/safety lol. :x Like…all us kids who grew up in the boroughs, especially before the 2000s/2010s (idk what Gen Z kids think of the Bronx? But this is 100% the case with older generations) think of it as the dangerous/shady borough if we had to pick one. But idk, mainly you think of it as that borough that’s far away that you don’t go to except for the reasons stated above and I’m like, “Oh yeah, I know a bunch of people who live/grew up/work there.”

Brooklyn - Damn, I don’t remember what my thoughts on Brooklyn were as a kid because now it’s like “GENTRIFICATION!!!! GENTRIFICATION!!! HIPSTERS! WHITE PEOPLE DISPLACING EVERYONE!” The place where everyone in their 20s live when they move here or move out of their parents’ house. Where the parties are at, I guess, except I don’t go. That or “the place where all my friends who are POC are from if they’re not from Queens” lol. I get too lazy to go deep into Brooklyn, but there are some good places to go to! I just haven’t explored it much. Oh, Steve Rogers now. That’s been a thing for years because I’m Steve trash. :))))

Manhattan - Dirty, stinky, nasty, and rat- and pigeon-infested, but it’s home. So much stuff to do, see, and go to! So many great restaurants! So many museums! If you’re a cinephile and bookworm, you’re happy. Whatever you’re in the mood for, there’ll always be a place that’ll fit your mood. Peaceful, airy areas? Busy, lively ones? Historic places? Skyscrapers everywhere? Every neighborhood has its own personality. I lovelovelove all the architecture. It tells the history of the city, and there are just all these different styles from different eras next to each other. Every time I leave, I’m wowed by how quiet and chill it is and don’t miss it and then I come back, as soon as I see a glimpse of the city or I set foot in it, I’m like “OH MY GOD???? I MISSED YOU.” There are a few things that I think of when I think of what the city means to me, and this is one of them; it captures the essence of what it means and feels like to be a New Yorker (and I’m not afraid to admit that I cried reading it, but that might also have been because I read it on 9/11 a few years back and yesyesyes, it explains everything).

Queens - Home! Birthplace. HM OKAY, I’M REVEALING TOO MUCH. But yes, this is absolutely unsurprising considering I’m Asian lmao. Where the Asians are at. Where the best Asian food is at because eh lol Manhattan’s food ranges from whatever to good with some stellar restaurants, but there’s a plethora of cheap authentic eats in Queens. White Peter Parker makes me mad as a Queens native even if it makes sense for Forest Hills fdofidhfioshf. I ranted about it a few years ago on here along with some facts about Queens’s diversity because fun fact: it’s the most diverse place in the world per capita!!! You have no idea how many non-English speakers Queens has and the sheer number of foreign languages represented here. The number of immigrants!!!! “UGLY” BUT I LOVE IT BECAUSE THAT MEANS TRANSPLANTS FORGET QUEENS EXISTS AND I’D LIKE TO KEEP IT THAT WAY (also, transplants have weird thoughts about Queens unless they’re Asian themselves and sometimes even if they are). GET AWAY. I’m mad about Amazon. GTFO. 

Staten Island - dumpster of NY. That’s legit the first thing that pops into any New Yorker’s mind both in a literal and figurative sense because that’s literally where the world’s largest landfill was located until several years ago. Figurative because uh…sorry, but who goes to Staten Island? I try not to go there and I don’t even remember the times I’ve been there. People who live there know Staten Island is trash lmao. Also, this is the whitest borough and I mean that literally too. Also the borough that votes Republican all the goddamn time and voted for Trump although we switched it to blue during the midterms (wow????). FEHIFHWOHFIWEA everyone from the other boroughs looks down on Staten Island a lot and that’s nevah gonna change!