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justinspoliticalcorner · 13 days

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Zack Beauchamp at Vox:

The New York Times once described Tucker Carlson’s Fox News hour as “the most racist show in the history of cable news.” In the past week, allegations of bigotry involving his new show on X have come from a rather different corner: his fellow conservatives. The fight started April 9, when Carlson published a friendly interview with Palestinian pastor Munther Isaac. The pastor — who has reportedly praised the “strength” of the October 7 attackers — argued that Israel is no friend to Christians: It bombs them in Gaza, represses them in the West Bank, and restricts their ability to proselytize inside Israel proper. The interview went viral, receiving over 30,000 reposts so far. Erick Erickson, a prominent radio host and former Carlson ally, spoke for many on the right when he labeled Tucker a “pro-Hamas” ally of “the antisemites on college campuses, and the terrorist-supporting progressives of the American left.” Carlson has, according to Erickson, become “willing to use his platform and formerly earned trust and reputation to persuade the easily manipulated to believe the lies he used to rail against.”

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) wrote a blistering post on X that attempted to banish Carlson from the conservative movement entirely. “Tucker’s MO is simple: defend America’s enemies and attack America’s allies. There isn’t an objective bone left in that washed up news host’s body,” Crenshaw wrote. “Tucker will eventually fade into nothingness, because his veneer of faux intellectualism is quickly falling apart and revealing who he truly is: a cowardly, know-nothing elitist who is full of shit.” While Erickson and Crenshaw are seen as more establishment-friendly voices nowadays, the outrage at Carlson was shared even by some in the right’s Trumpier corners: Even the sorts of people who oppose Ukraine aid laid into the former Fox host after the Isaac interview. Only an openly antisemitic fringe of the conservative movement — the so-called Groypers — seem to be gleeful, believing that pitting Israel against Christians can bring old-school European Jew hatred to contemporary America.

“It’s waking people up. It’s making people aware of the fundamentals — which is first and foremost that Jews are not Christians,” said Nick Fuentes, the leading voice of the Groypers. “Once you get into those basics, you can start to build upon that and get to where we are.” So is what Carlson suggests about Israel and Christians accurate? And what does the right-wing backlash against him say about the state of the conservative movement today? Broadly, I think there are basically three key answers to these questions:

It’s true that Palestinian Christians are suffering, though it’s largely because they are Palestinians rather than because they are Christians. Carlson’s message, however, does less to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinians than to pit Jews against Christians.

In trying to excommunicate Carlson, conservatives are pretending that he’s changed — but he’s really the same guy he always has been. The antisemitic and otherwise bigoted things he said on Fox were far worse than anything in the Isaac interview and received only a fraction of the internal right-wing condemnation.

Carlson is exploiting legitimate criticism of Israel to fan the flames of Christian antisemitism, which has become a growing problem on the right even as much public attention recently has focused on the left wing.

Israel doesn’t persecute Christians, but it does oppress Palestinians

Christians are a small minority inside Israel — about 2 percent of the total population. But this mostly Arab group’s numbers are growing, and they tend to do better than their Muslim peers in socioeconomic terms. A 2021 report from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics found that Israeli Christians were more likely to get a college degree and less likely to be on welfare attainment than Muslims and even Jews. Israeli law guarantees formal freedom of religion, and there are no legal restrictions on Christian worship. There is some restriction on missionary activity, but that typically only affects travel visas for foreigners rather than Christians living in Israel. No one in the country has been prosecuted for missionary activity. That’s not to say Israeli Christians have no problems. Jewish extremists occasionally harass Christians in Jerusalem, and there are tensions surrounding the city’s holy sites. Danny Seidemann, a leading expert on Jerusalem, has warned that settler plans for the city threaten the historic Christian presence there. But this, per Seidemann, is less a reflection of hostility toward Christians per se than it is a reflection of the generalized settler goal to control all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

But while the Israeli state does not officially discriminate against Israeli Christians, it does oppress Palestinians — and Palestinian Christians suffer along with their Muslim brethren. From churches bombed in Gaza to Israel’s “security barrier” cutting right through Bethlehem, Palestinian Christians experience Israeli occupation the same way that other Palestinians do: as violence and unfreedom. “The major threat to Christian communities and institutions is dismissiveness. They’re not seen,” Seidemann writes. “What’s seen are Palestinians and Arabs who are always suspected terrorists.” Most of Isaac’s comments in the Carlson interview were focused on explaining how the general cruelty of the occupation hurts Palestinian Christians. But Carlson’s additions — such as saying Israel is “blowing up churches and killing Christians” — go a bit further. He suggests that Israel is targeting Christians as a class, and that the Jewish state is fundamentally hostile to Christianity.

[...] From openly espousing the “great replacement” conspiracy theory to suggesting that immigrants to the United States are dirty and diseased to peddling the same sort of antisemitic lies that motivated the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting, Carlson consistently worked to make some of the most dangerous fringe ideas in American politics palatable to mainstream Republicans. This flirtation with antisemitism isn’t a break from Carlson’s longstanding persona but an extension of it.

The internal conservative discourse on Carlson is thus both substantively and psychologically revealing. Substantively, it shows that the right is willing to forgive or downplay antisemitism unless it’s somehow linked to criticism of Israel — in which case there’s a zero-tolerance policy. Psychologically, it shows there is a powerful need to reconcile conservatives’ previous love of Carlson with the reality of who he is, requiring implausible contortions about his changing radically after leaving Fox.

[...]

The right’s growing antisemitism problem

In the past few years, the Groypers have looked more influential than many on the more mainstream right seem to appreciate. In 2022, Nick Fuentes finagled an invite to Mar-a-Lago and had dinner with Donald Trump. More recently, popular podcaster Candace Owens has outed herself as a Groyper-adjacent antisemite. While this turn led to her departure from the right-wing Daily Wire, it also showed how much the movement has made inroads on the broader right. During the Owens saga, Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing sat down for a conversation with Fuentes that was streamed on X. Speaking to a man he had once called “a wicked little s**t with evil ideas,″ Boreing praised Fuentes as a “most talented” and “very funny” broadcaster — and invited him to be a guest on a Daily Wire show. There’s a lot of evidence that right-wing antisemitism is rising. While much attention has been paid (rightly) to left-wing antisemitism after October 7, academic research suggests that antisemitic attitudes are disproportionately concentrated among right-wing young adults. Right-wing extremists are responsible for nearly all of the deadly attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in recent years. Trump’s own rhetoric has long been rife with antisemitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories.

Tucker Carlson, like Candace Owens, has learned that criticizing Israel in right-wing media spaces comes at a great cost. Even before his recent interview with Palestinian pastor Munther Isaac, Carlson has pushed antisemitic tropes.

#Candace Owens #Israel/Hamas War #Israel/Palestine Conflict #Palestine #Antisemitism #Groypers #Erick Erickson #Dan Crenshaw #Munther Isaac #Tucker Carlson Network #Tucker Carlson Uncensored #Nick Fuentes

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 7 months

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USA today,by Rex Huppke.

Hello, I am a House Republican. As America hurtles toward a government shutdown, I and my fellow GOP colleagues would like to say that, in our defense, we really didn’t know “governing” would be one of our job requirements.

It sounds like an un-fun activity and, as we’ve made abundantly clear via myriad tweets and Fox News appearances, we think government is bad and we want nothing do with it, except for the parts where we get to yell into TV cameras and share devastating Hunter Biden memes. Those parts are great!

On Thursday, we made it impossible for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – who we voted into power but also hate and now want to remove – to advance a military funding bill that usually passes with bipartisan support. It’s the second time in a row we did that! Why? Mainly for the lulz, but also because we kind of want the government to shut down so former President Donald Trump will like us and so we can look tougher when we’re yelling into the TV cameras.

We're Republicans, of course we want to shut the government down

McCarthy responded to our unwillingness to behave like a sane governing body and engage even remotely with the opposing party by saying: “This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down.”

A new concept?!? Has he been asleep for the last few years?

When will Congress care?

We are ALL about burning the whole place down. We’re pretty sure Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Andy Biggs of Arizona recently got matching “BURN THE WHOLE PLACE DOWN” tattoos on their necks.

Hang on, we just got a sick new Hunter Biden meme we have to post. It says, “Who’s your daddy? Oh, never mind, he’s out to lunch!” Classic. This is why the people elected us.

Anyhoo, we used to be pretty pro-military and stuff – and we’ll still say we are if there’s a TV camera around – but the truth is we aren’t doing jack on the military funding or any other funding until the DEMONcrats agree to cut all the spending we don’t like, defund the FBI and the DOJ, stop all Trump investigations and give us everything we want.

And what is it we want? Hah! Nice try. Answering that question sounds a lot like governing, and we didn’t get into this business to dirty our hands with that kind of nonsense.

McCarthy responded to our patriotic recalcitrance Thursday by sending us home for the weekend rather than keeping us around to do dumb things like “work toward a feasible agreement to prevent the U.S. government from shutting down,” “search for compromise and put forth policy proposals that might improve the average American’s life” or “act like adults and not a collection of feral cats fighting over an empty tuna can.”

Time is running out – and a government shutdown seems inevitable

We have until the end of next week to pretend we’re going to do something before eventually failing in the most clownish and embarrassing way possible, and we feel certain we’re up to the task.

Will hundreds of thousands of federal workers be sent home without paychecks? Sure! Did the last government shutdown in 2019 cost the country $3 billion in economic activity? Heck yeah! Could national parks shut down and research at the National Institutes of Health come to a halt? You betcha!

And do we care one iota about any of that? Nah. As long as Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida can go on “Hannity” and flex his forehead muscles while yelling something that doesn’t mean anything, we’re right where we want to be – in government, but not governing.

Enjoy the shutdown, suckers. We’ve got memes to post.”

#free-dumb caucus #House Republicans #corrupt GOP #incompetent GOP #McCarthy #government shutdown #USA today #Rex Huppke

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keanureevesisbae · 3 years

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sugar sugar - the proposal

Summary: For their second year anniversary, Henry and Becky are going to Rome, Italy to celebrate.

Sugar Daddy!Henry Cavill x Becky Kim (asian OFC)

Warnings: Slight Daddy kink

Wordcount: 2.5k

A/N: GUESS WHO’S GETTING MARRIED??? OUR FAVORITE COUPLE

Masterlist // Sugar Sugar Masterlist // Sugar Sugar the wedding Masterlist //

September 23rd 8 p.m.

The sun in shining, the birds are chirping and the soft breeze brushes through my hair. This is Rome in September and I know that if I said to Henry I would want to go here every September, he’d arrange it for us.

Just like he did now, Henry would arrange the most beautiful presidential suite with a balcony, a jacuzzi and the softest bed you’ve ever slept on. Sometimes I’m afraid I’m getting too spoiled, but when I express my fears to him, he simply leans down, gives me a kiss and tells me I deserve it and should enjoy it.

To spend our second year anniversary in a city like Rome, is something I never imagined. I actually never imagined that I would ever spend an anniversary with someone. Not because I don’t have any faith in Henry and me, but more because I never thought I’d be in a loving relationship, long enough to spend these types of anniversaries together.

The two of us decided that the day we met, would be our anniversary date.

September 23rd. Two years ago we met. Two years ago he changed my life forever and I changed his.

Henry holds my hand tightly in his. ‘I love you,’ he says, kissing the back of my hand.

I chuckle. ‘I love you too, honey. It’s been two years since we’ve met.’

‘Yeah,’ he says, ‘time flew by.’

‘It sure did,’ I say to him.

‘Not only have I gained the best archivist Midnight ever had, but I also got a beautiful girlfriend and I can now say that I’m the boyfriend of a New York Times Bestselling Author with an extra book deal.’

Even after we spend so much time together and we know each other so well, I still blush around him when he hands out compliments like that. ‘That’s so sweet,’ I say. ‘Where are we going?’

‘A nice place I rented. It’s I think a few minutes from here.’

‘You rented an entire place?’ I ask him.

‘Just one floor,’ he says with a shit eating grin on his face, the one he has recently discovered when he shamelessly flaunts his wealth in my face. I want to roll my eyes, but seeing Henry this confident and cocky and happy, makes me laugh as well.

After our first anniversary, a lot changed for the two of us. I still work in the archives, but mostly because I liked it there and it gave me plenty of time to not only work on my first book, but also on my second one. The following February, two weeks before my birthday, my book got released and not long after that, I reached the number three on the New York Times Bestselling list. My book reached number three! My debut novel. It’s unbelievable. It’s all thanks to the magnificent job Roger and his team has been doing to advertise my book to the public. I was never on Instagram, because I didn’t have a phone that would allow it and when I met Henry, I didn’t really think about it anymore. But now, I’m officially on Instagram and while it’s a bit weird, I still really enjoy to see the beautiful fan art and the stories of the readers about what my book did to them personally.

I moved out of my first apartment, since I was hanging around Henry’s place most of the time anyway. I mean, his place has the private gym and we added a sauna to it, because he didn’t forget my joke from a while ago. My pink and pastel influences are shattered around his place now and in his home office, we placed another desk, so we could work together.

Yes, we are that type of couple.

Despite our age gap, I barely notice it in our day to day life. He is in such good shape for someone who is only two years away from hitting fifty and he is really up to date with trends and technology. I mean, call me digital illiterate, because he had to show me how Instagram worked. I don’t want to say he’s old (because it’s obvious he is older than me), but I thought that eventually I would notice the difference in age.

I don’t.

It’s just that sometimes he says something about his grayish hairs, how he isn’t in the best shape anymore and how he needs to watch his food, after a check up. Honestly, I don’t see his “bad” shape. I only fall more and more in love with him. Besides, the second he becomes a complete silver fox, is also the second I will jump him every chance I get.

‘Thank you for taking me to Rome,’ I say. ‘I can’t wait to travel to even more countries with you. I’m such a lucky woman. All those beautiful places in the world, right at my finger tips. Isn’t that amazing?’

‘It sure is.’

‘Is there a place in the world you want to see?’

‘Well, as long as you are there with me, I’d love any place. Besides, I did my fair share of traveling, I’ve seen a lot. It doesn’t matter to me.’

‘You don’t mind that I’m awfully inexperienced with traveling?’

He scoffs. ‘No, of course not. It makes the experience even better. That way I can show you all the beautiful places in the world and see your surprised face.’

We walk into a restaurant and the waiter escorts us to the elevator. We go up and we actually get out on the roof. My mouth falls open, before I squeal. ‘Honey, this is fantastic.’ I give him a kiss and the two of us walk towards the table. He helps me in my seat, before he sits across from me. He pours in some wine for me.

‘You like it?’ he asks.

‘Of course. Everything you arrange for me I love.’ I look over my shoulder, to see the waiter has left. ‘I love what you do for me, daddy.’

He bites his lip. ‘I’m going to sound like a broken record, baby girl, but I love it when you call me like that.’

‘I know.’ I look around, admiring the view and say: ‘Thank you for arranging this for us.’

‘I want the best for my baby girl,’ he says with a smile. ‘Only the best.’ He holds out his hand and I place mine in it. ‘You know, I sometimes can’t believe I actually met you.’

‘Why not?’

‘Well, when I signed up, I only did it because I didn’t want to be alone anymore. Never in a million years I expected myself falling head over heels with you, when the two of us were only supposed to have a sugar daddy/baby thing. But you were just amazing, kind and caring. Beautiful, considerate and funny. I remember when I first laid my eyes on you. I thought to myself: this could actually be it. This could be the woman I’ll fall for and for me to love endlessly.’

That… Is so sweet.

‘I kept thinking about every pro and con. While our personalities matched, you were a lot younger than I were. While I finally had someone who I can give the life she deserves, there is a possibility she’ll never see me as more than just a sugar daddy. It was difficult, because you were more than a sugar baby to me, though I tried to deny that multiple times. The relief I felt when you and I… That we have what we have. That you stayed when I needed you and vice versa.’

I smile. ‘Of course I did, silly. I have never felt this about someone ever before nor will I ever feel about this about anyone.’

Henry nods. ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you,’ he says. ‘I want us to build a future together. I want to buy a house with you, have a dog and tons of kids with you, though it has to be an even number. But before we do that, there is just one thing I need to ask you.’

Henry gets up from the chair, searches his pocket and I see he has a blush pink velvet box in his hand.

Is this what I think it is?

‘My sweet Becky,’ he says, sitting down on one knee, ‘it’d be such an honor if you would become my wife, that you are gonna be mrs. Cavill. Baby girl, will you marry me?’

He reveals such a delicate and beautiful ring to me.

Maybe, maybe, I’m experiencing some shock. I knew that Henry would propose to me one day, he literally told me so many times that he’d propose, but now that it’s happening, I just can’t believe it.

‘Really?’

He smiles. ‘Really, my love. There is no one else in the world I’d want to spend the rest of my life with. You are the only one. My only one.’

I place my shaking hand in front of my lips. ‘Yes,’ I whisper. ‘Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes. I want to marry you, Henry.’

He takes the ring from the little box, before gently sliding it on my finger. I look at it for a few seconds, before I wrap my arms around his shoulders.

‘We’re engaged?’ I ask him.

‘Yes, baby, we’re engaged.’

I press my lips on his, as tears of joy and happiness drip down my face. I’m gonna get married.

‘Oh yeah, our Becky is engaged!’ I look over my shoulder to see Genevieve, Viola, Noah and Greg rushing up to me and is that Gino I see, with Peter from the boutique?

‘Show me the ring,’ Viola says and I hold out my hand.

Noah lets out a whistle. ‘Damn, mister Cavill.’

Gino gives me a big hug and two kisses on my cheeks. ‘Congratulations, darling.’

I can’t believe Henry flew out our friends to Italy, but it totally seems like something he would do. I bet he arranged a private jet for them and the best hotel.

‘We’re getting married,’ Genevieve shouts.

‘Technically, sweetheart,’ Greg says, ‘it’s Becky that is getting married.’

Genevieve rolls her eyes. ‘Well, Viola and I are gonna be bridesmaids and we’re going to plan a wedding. The ring is absolutely beautiful. Really, Henry, you need to help out Greg when he wants to propose to me.’

Henry chuckles, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. ‘I’ll help him out when the time is right, Gen.’ He kisses my temple and says: ‘How about we celebrate?’

✤ ✤ ✤

I keep staring at my ring, mainly because it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and it’s mine. While Henry’s checking the locks, I’m already in bed. This ring still takes my breath away. It’s gorgeous and I bet it was expensive.

‘There she is,’ Henry says, as he walks in the bedroom in just his boxers. ‘My beautiful fiancée.’

‘I am sure it’ll take awhile before I get used to that,’ I say.

Henry steps underneath the covers and ushers me over. ‘But you’ll always be my baby girl,’ he says. ‘Even when you become my wife.’

I hum in content, as I nestle myself against him, in his strong embrace. ‘Just like you’ll always be my daddy,’ I whisper. I place my head on his thick arm, so I can look up at him and still stare at his handsome face. ‘We need to start planning a wedding. When do you want to get married?’

‘I don’t mind,’ he says. ‘We could even elope.’

‘We’re never going to elope,’ I say. ‘Don’t you ever say that again. I deserve a wedding. Back in juvie, both times, I’d envision myself getting married, buying a house, having a family and growing older with someone. I owe it to teen Becky to have a fantastic wedding.’

He chuckles. ‘Okay, we will not elope. What did you think about back then?’

‘A spring wedding outside,’ I say, ‘with pink blossom trees around us. A tent or a large cabin or something where we’ll get married and afterwards, people can dance, eat and talk to each other. A Photo Booth for people to make pictures on. Disposable camera’s on the tables and a photographer. My friends and their family are there, your friends. I want it to be intimate, but not too small, like maybe fifty to seventy people. I want a wedding dress on the tighter side, but I have never tried on wedding dresses, so I might be surprised. But I want to dress to have little illusion sleeves, a veil and a hairband with diamonds.’

Henry nods in approval. ‘Sounds lovely and that can all be arranged. What do you want me to wear?’

‘Champagne colored suit,’ I say. ‘The bridesmaids dresses could be in a pastel color. Okay, who am I kidding? I want those dresses to be pink.’

‘Of course.’ He lets out a content sigh. ‘We can arrange all sorts of things. Whatever you want for the wedding, it’s yours.’

‘And I want the date and each other’s names engraved in the inside of the ring.’

‘I love that.’ Henry gives me a kiss on my forehead. ‘A lot to plan, but also a lot to look forward to. I cannot wait to call you my wife.’

‘Oh, me neither. And then after that, we can start our life together as a married couple.’

‘At least four kids, right?’ Henry jokes.

‘At least,’ I say in all seriousness.

‘Why don’t you want an uneven number?’

I scrunch up my nose. ‘Because I come from a family of uneven number. I don’t want that. I know, it’s stupid, but…’

‘It’s not stupid, it’s understandable,’ he says. ‘So, for imaginary sake, let’s say you and I have five kids.’

‘Damn.’

‘Imaginary sake, baby girl, remember that,’ he snickers. ‘And then we have twins, making it seven.’

‘We’ll go for the eighth,’ I say to him. ‘Really, Henry.’

He laughs. ‘Wow, you’re quite something.’

‘You’re up for it?’

‘With you? Of course. I can’t wait to have multiple mini you’s and me’s running around to place.’ He pulls me closer and says: ‘You’ll be an amazing mother, I just know it.’

‘And you’ll be an amazing dad.’ I circle my finger around his chest. ‘Would you mind if I stopped working as your archivist and become a stay at home mom, who also writes?’

He shakes his head. ‘Of course I don’t mind. Whatever you want, I support you.’

‘You don’t think it’s weird?’

He frowns. ‘Why would I think it’s weird? Honestly, baby girl, if you wanted to become a career woman, I’d support it. If you want to become a stay at home mom, I also support it. No matter what you do, I’m your biggest supporter and fan.’ He gives me a sweet peck on my lips. ‘Don’t you worry about those things, okay?’

‘Okay,’ I whisper, already a bit more at ease. ‘You know, it has always been my dream to become a mother.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah,’ I say. ‘It’s just that I figured I’d never meet someone who I wanted kids with. With the dysfunctional family I’m from, I wanted a partner who I could trust and rely on. And that partner is you, Henry. My future husband.’

✤ ✤ ✤

#henry cavill #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x oc #henry cavill x asian ofc #henry cavill x becky kim #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill fandom #sugar daddy!henry cavill #sugar sugar #sugar sugar the wedding #becky kim

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aerialflight · 3 years

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Fic Rec (it's been too long and I read a whole lot of fics)

I've read so many fics these past couple of months and my need to share them to the world has seized me by the throat. Please enjoy and support these fanfic writers! They are the best. XD

[Naruto]

Nine-Tailed Foxes are Dead by RowlettLesbian

Ship: Shikamaru/Naruto

For Konoha, it's been one month since the preliminary Chunin exams. For Naruto, it's been six. And he wasn't in Konoha.

At the end of his ordeal, Naruto walks into the Chunin Exam finals without his left arm.

Shikamaru is very concerned. And, eventually, very precious to Naruto as they work together to solve the mysteries of Konoha and bring kindness to the Shinobi world, one adventure at a time.

(I would die for this fic. I know the summary sounds doom and gloom but IT'S NOT. This fic made me fucking cry, I don't think I've ever read a fic that characterized Naruto so right. He's so full of hope and love and develops into the best version of himself and I'm so HERE FOR IT. And it's not just Naruto, Shikamaru is absolutely amazing here along with Kakashi and surprise surprise Ino, I can't BELIEVE it took me this long to stumble across this fic. Also THE WORLDBUILDING IS TO DIE FOR!!! And the plot! Is! So! Interesting! Just, everything about this fic is just amazing so please PLEASE read this!!!)

The End of the Uchiha by RowlettLesbian

Ship: Naruto/Sasuke

“I promise, little electric spirit of this shrine,” he whispered into the soft dirt and fallen leaves, “I will never gain the eyes. I will never pass them on. And I will make sure the eyes end in my brother, so that they can’t hurt anybody anymore. I will be the last Uchiha, and see to the end of the Copy-Wheel Clan. Then all of the hatred here can stop, and my family can rest peacefully. I promise, little shrine.”

Sasuke is more than his brother thinks he is. He's more than any Uchiha has ever been. He will kill his brother, but it will not be vengeance.

It will be mercy.

(Same author as the one above, they are the gift that keeps on giving. Seriously, HOW did I NEVER FIND THESE FICS before now??? One of life's greatest mysteries. The author's sense of humor is so on point here along with the atmospheric writing that's so vivid in the mind. Their writing style is so recognizable to me now and makes me fall into the world they're creating, it's stunning. Sasuke here makes me want to hug him and the idea of him living like a feral ghibli character has me LIVING. Check the tags of the fic, all of it is true, hand to god. Please give all of the author's fics a shot, it's a rabbit hole I'm thankful I fell into!)

mil fantasmas (gritan en calma) by LegaciesandMemories

Post-Tsukuyomi, something in Uchiha Sasuke's mind shatters. The same night, Yamanaka Ino falls asleep and doesn't wake up for 15 days.

---

In which Ino and Sasuke both wake from the aftermath of the Uchiha Massacre with the ability to see ghosts, and no one is prepared for the fallout.

(This fic has arrested my curiosity and eagerness to know what will happen next. These poor kids need so many hugs and Ino is getting the spotlight she deserves. I am so excited for this fic and what it has in store! Please read! XD)

Lichtenberg Figures by Asteroid_Duck (JustThatOneGirl1815)

Name: Kakashi Hatake Rank: Jounin Status: Missing Nin Missing Since: June 15th, 271 AD Note: Flee on Sight . . . Haburashi looked his team in the eyes— three, fresh out of the Academy genin— and resolved to teach them as best as he could. And right now, his lesson was simple: “Stay. Away. From. Kakashi. Hatake.”

(Dimension travel fic with a slice of Kakashi being an absolute troll and dealing with the shitty hand he's been dealt with. Seriously, the man has the worst luck in all of Konoha. Also, the mystery of the other Kakashi's history has me leaning by the edge of my seat, I need to know.)

The Governess by Ysmirel

Ship: Kakashi/OFC

"“What,” he finally asked, “is so funny?”

Ibara bit her lower lip to keep the chuckles in, still smiling and making absolutely no effort to get more space between them, seemingly perfectly at ease within reach of a trained shinobi. Her self-control wasn't all that good, as she ended up snorting and was overcame once again by another fit of laughter. “I just- It's just-” She struggled to speak, trying to catch her breath and wiping away tears of mirth with the hand that wasn't still holding onto his vest. Finally, she looked him in the eye and said, with a smile that was all teeth and without a hint of her previous drunken stupor, “and who's going to believe you?”

As he stood there, stunned by her words and change in demeanor, he realized with dawning horror that she was right."

In which Kakashi finds himself at the other end of the troll shtick, and he doesn't appreciate it all that much.

(It's so hard to find self-insert fics with a fresh concept these days, especially in the naruto fandom. Not that I don't enjoy and devour a lot of self insert fics like it's going out of style, but it's just so nice to find something new and shiny and really damn good. I'm so pumped for this fic and how it's going to develop so please join me in rooting for this fic!)

half a league (until the valley of death) by SpectersShadow117

Kakashi can think of no reason for Sasuke's inexplicable and drastic change in behavior. He doesn't like the desperate, haunted gleam in his student's eyes, and he also doesn't like the nagging feeling that he's missing something very important. Aka: Future Sasuke goes to Past Sasuke and gives him a reality check with Specific Intentions, but as with most Uchiha, his methods leave much to be desired. (Featuring: Childhood trauma FTW, Konoha's shitty care of orphans, and absolutely no one having a fun time.)

(Sasuke wanting to change the future out of complete and utter spite has me LIVING. Sasuke is such a Mess here and the twist on the time travel premise is so good and the kid is so Traumatized and Desperate and Not Having A Good Time. Naruto and Sakura developing as better ninjas and Kakashi trying his best makes me want to scream. Also, how Sasuke thinks about Itachi makes me want to cackle. I am 100% down for this. I am rooting for this kid, go get them! XD)

[Harry Potter]

fruit loops in time (circle around me) by justprompts

Ships: Harry/Draco, Remus/Sirius

"This is Crabbe, and Goyle," the blonde boy says, pointing at the two boys next to him. "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Ma - "

Ron laughs, and Malfoy immediately bristles.

"Think my name's funny, do you?" Malfoy says, angrily. "No need to ask yours - "

"You're honestly so cute," Ron interrupts, yet again, shaking his head. "So tiny. And so angry, all the time. It's adorable."

Alternatively Ron Weasley, Time Traveller Extraordinaire, is stuck in the same seven year Hogwarts Loop, repeating the same thing over and over again. Naturally, he's so done with everything.

(This is the greatest hp fic I've ever read. I LOVE RON WEASLEY and by the time you read this fic SO WILL YOU!! This is the fic I WISH I have the ability to write. I read this entire fic aloud to my brother and we spent literal hours howling and talking about how utterly insane and incredible this fic is, it's amazing. This is hands down my favorite Ron Weasley. You Can Pry This Fic From My Cold Dead Fingers.)

[Boku no Hero Academia]

Kacchan's Cult by Ourliazo

Pro Hero Ground Zero is attacked, originally meant to be de-aged out of existence by a desperate villain but is instead launched into his 14-year-old self.

But Katsuki is a fucking pro so whatever, time to fuck up someone's day. And sure, maybe he's only one man, but that's why he conscripts the entirety of the UA student body into tearing down some criminal empires.

(It's time travel, crack, and Bakugou being his usual explody, competent self. What more in life do you want? Seriously though, please read. I'm obsessed with this fic and having a Good Time!)

Cleaning Crew; Teaching Kids to Value their Safety, for Fun and Profit by Reavv

Takenaka Hideo is a thirty-two year old, in mild desperation for money, who has just been hired as a new janitor for UA's support staff. He has a quirk that lets him find lost objects, a liaison with the police because of it, and desperate desire for competent co-workers.

Oh, and he's already lived a previous life, in a world where quirks and heroes didn't even exist.

Not a big deal, though. It's not like you ever see the janitor playing a big part in action movies. He's here to get paid, and that's it.

On the opposite side of the equation, class 1-A has to wonder at the new UA cryptid that always seems to show up when things are on fire, and who keeps trying to convince them to let the adults handle the fire extinguisher.

(A great deal of fun packed into one fic. That is how I title this fic and nothing will change my mind! Hideo just wants to quietly do his job and not get in the way. I Relate. Please read!)

Poltergeist by WriterGreenReads

Class 1-A is haunted.

Well, not really.

I AM dead, though.

World's friendliest poltergeist, at your service.

(I don't know how I got so sucked into OC fics, but I found some fantastic fics along the way so I have no regrets. The author really tries to push the premise and I just love all the interactions and dynamics that form as the fic gets further in. And the OC character and all the hijinks they get up to cracks me up! At the same time, it's pretty heartwarming and it's practically a friendships galore fic! Definitely recommend it!)

invincible by supercrunch for Engrin

Ship: Bakugou/Midoriya

This is the way the world works: the sun rises in the east. The strong come out on top. Bakugou Katsuki rockets through life like a comet and Midoriya Izuku stumbles after. If he believed in such things Katsuki would say it was written in the stars. That some god of war had looked at him and said this one. That he’d been passed along a line to get his blessings – genius, willpower, fearless ambition – and dropped off on earth.

Then, of course, there is the question of Deku. The spitfire runt. Deku, no matter what the world does to him, never stops hoping.

Until, of course, he eventually does.

(Katsuki broke him. Snapped him in half like a twig and now has to scramble to put Deku back together. “We can do this, Deku," he says slowly. "There are so many mysteries that never got put to bed. Criminals roaming around looking to hurt people and you and me, we can fix that.”

There’s a long pause. The comforter slips a little off Deku’s skinny shoulders and drowns him. “You mean like a team?”

In that split second, Katsuki makes a decision he’s never even considered. He swallows his pride. “Yeah, Deku. We’d be a team.”)

(If there was any other way canon could've gone, this is the story I would've wanted. It's perfect.)

Inadvertent Wilderness Therapy by Cacid

Following an unfortunate encounter with a teleporter on the last day of internships, Bakugou Katsuki and Hakamata Tsunagu spend some quality time in northern Canada.

In no particular order they will: build ugly survival shelters, stalk rabbits, run from polar bears, reflect on the chemical composition of trees, insult each other, and complain about krumholtz.

(THESE TWO. TOGETHER. IN THE WILDERNESS. IN FUCKING CANADA OF ALL PLACES. I still can't believe this fic actually exists and just how INVESTED I became in their relationship. Blue Jeanist instantly became my favorite ranked hero with this fic alone. HIS SENSE OF HUMOR IS TERRIBLE, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH FNIEWOPAF. BAKUGOU DOES TOO. IT'S FUCKING INCREDIBLE. *incoherent screeching into the wild*)

[Stranger Things]

Baci D'aria by RabbitDarling

“Love is worth the sum of itself, and nothing more.” ― Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic

Steve learned a lot at his Aunt's side before she passed but his favourite thing she taught him was baci d'aria; special little spells that you created from the heart and put into the food you shared.

In opening his heart and gifts to those around him Steve slowly finds himself a family in a way he never thought he'd get to experience. One by One he collects pre-teens to trail in his wake like ducklings and Steve can't even refute it by the time he realizes what has happened.

(This fic is so soft and Steve is just collecting people and winning them over with his magical food (literally). I am always a sucker for heartwarming, good for the soul fics so if you want to make yourself hungry and feel all warm and gooey inside, read this!)

(Don't Fear) The Reaper by TeaFourTwo

Ship: Steve/Billy

He looks down at the blood on his hands and on the floor and wonders why the memory hasn’t broken yet, why he isn’t back in Starcourt mall with control of his body again, wonders if he's even still alive at all. Is this hell then? Or perhaps purgatory? It certainly isn’t heaven, that’s for sure. None of this makes any sense…but then what's new—nothing in Billy’s life makes sense anymore.

Billy laughs then, loud and long and unhinged. It's the only sound in the whole house, and it bounces off the walls like a fucked up echo, like the world is laughing with him.

“Jesus christ you’re insane…” It’s Max’s voice and it’s shaking. It only makes Billy laugh harder, because Max has it all wrong. Billy isn’t crazy, it’s the rest of the world that’s insane.

Billy dies a hero of sorts. He wakes up back in his bed on Saturday morning, the third of November, 1984...nearly nine months earlier.

(Billy is stuck in a time loop and it's slowly driving him crazy. And the fic shows just how much influence Billy did have in the plot and how doomed the world is without him in it. Great character exploration with Billy's character and all the ways he's so messy and human. Definitely recommend it!)

[Knives Out]

The Road Less Traveled By by UisceOneLove

Ship: Marta/Ransom

If Harlan wants to leave Ransom to be on his own, fine. He'll show him just what Ransom Drysdale is capable of.

or, where Ransom chooses to prove his abilities through means of the non-homicidal variety and finds himself becoming exactly what Harlan was hoping he would.

(I found this fic out of sheer chance and god, Ransom is just, so fascinating to me as a character. Marta of course is the Best here and I will forever stan her. Seriously, this is such a good fic! Please read!)

[Haikyuu!!]

Sky Full of Stars by grilledsquids

The Hinatas are twins. They're practically identical.

But while Shouyou seeks out Karasuno's volleyball team to become the next Little Giant, Natsu is scouted to to play soccer for Shiratorizawa. While Shouyou sets his eyes on playing volleyball at the highest level possible, his sister wonders how much longer she can play soccer... and if it's worth it to keep going.

A Natsu-centric story featuring: Shiratorizawa VBC shenanigans, too many soccer OCs, mild teenage drama, a little bit of plot, and Semi Eita not knowing what a period is.

(It's just!! So cute and wholesome!!! The Shiratorizawa volleyball team is so fleshed out along with the OC characters for the girl's soccer team and I swear, it's been a long while since I've laughed this much at the sheer shenanigans that happen in a fic. It's surprisingly hard to find good gen fics in this fandom so finding this gem made me so happy! If you want a fic that brings a smile to your face, read this!!)

like water by speakingincode

Ship: Oikawa/Kageyama

“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi says, and when Tooru looks at him, he can read My best friend’s an idiot off the crease of his eyebrows. “Are you telling me you spent the last three years weirdly obsessed with Kageyama – I still remember the time you made us play him on a dumb whim, you know – and now you’re at his beck and call? Are you okay? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I’m— I’m not at his beck and call! I said no last week. It’s… It’s like you said. I get bored easily. I saw him at the park a couple weeks after they played Nationals and called him a perfect little tyrant, and he pestered me into spending time with him after,” Tooru says. “I’m not a monster, Iwa-chan. If he wants the company of his cool, handsome ex-upperclassman that badly, who am I to begrudge him?”

Or: Oikawa doesn't know why Kageyama keeps asking to meet him on Saturdays. He also doesn't know why he keeps saying yes.

(The fact this fic is canon-compliant and covers post-canon too makes me want to shout to the heavens. Fucking incredible! One of the best Oikakage fics ever and it's a crime how it's not at the top of the ship tag. Please please read!!)

twist into your shape by kakkoweeb

Ship: Oikawa/Kageyama

The only thing better than sweets were sweets containing paper that told you whether your future would be good or bad--or in Kageyama and Oikawa's case, paper that somehow caused you to live inside each other's bodies.

(Everyone probably already read this fic but it needs to be said, you need to read this fic. How these two try and manage each other's lives and slowly start to care about one another is so beautiful and sincere and I am ready to wrestle anyone to the floor and comply them into reading this fic. Doesn't matter if you like the ship, you will become a fan if you read it, I promise. Please please read!!)

Take the Long Road Home by pepperfield

Ship: Kuroo/Sawamura

When Azumane Asahi goes missing before his engagement meeting with Kozume Kenma, what other option is there but for Daichi to impersonate his brother and fake his way through a first date with Asahi's fiance?

Okay, let's be realistic - there were probably at least four other options.

Unfortunately, Tetsurou couldn't come up with any of them either, so now he's here flirting with Kenma's future husband while trying to keep his web of deceit from collapsing.

It's going to be an eventful day.

(I got obsessed with this ship alongside Oikakage and SO WILL YOU. THE POTENTIAL. THE BANTER. THE FACT THEY'RE BOTH DORKS AND THE FIC HAS IDENTITY SHENANIGANS DANCING ALL OVER IT!! I had so much fun reading this and these two are MEANT TO BE FENIWPAF. If you don't see the potential of this ship, you will now.)

a misunderstanding a day keeps the boyfriend away by bartallen for betuls

Ship: Kuroo/Sawamura

Kuroo doesn’t fall in love hard and fast like many others do – he falls slowly, and very very softly. Most of the times he doesn’t even realise he’s in love with someone until it’s too late.

(Kuroo is the dumbest man alive and I've never related to someone so hard in my life. God help me.)

You like me. by roseknight

Ship: Daishou/Kuroo

Kuroo nearly lived a Daishou-free life, and sometimes he looked back and wondered how much better and how much worse that would've been.

(I didn't even know who Daishou was until I read this fic and now I can't unsee the potential this ship has. I'm a ruined woman and I regret NOTHING.)

Kings of the Road, Kings of the Universe by EzzyDean

Eight magical captains, one bus, an entire summer (and country) waiting for them.

What could possibly go wrong?

(The magic of friendship meets the magic of a summer road trip meets pure magic.)

(CAPTAIN SQUAD IS THE BEST SQUAD SOMEBODY PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SEND ME SOME CAPTAIN SQUAD FICS I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS SQUAD IT'S A PROBLEM AAAAHHHHHH!)

宿縁 : See You Soon by MissKiraBlue

Ship: Oikawa/Kageyama

Upon arriving at the train station of death, an impure soul is granted a second chance at life against his will. Reincarnating into the body of Kageyama Tobio, a 15-year-old boy who recently committed suicide. Tobio's soul will depart at death and the soul needs to slip in to replace it. If the soul's reformation succeeds, he’ll reenter the cycle of rebirth and regain the right to be reborn. He will have three months to accomplish this task.

“Even though you had enough of life,” the soul whispered into the void of the room, “you were still afraid to hurt your hands, Tobio.”

Afraid of giving himself a scar, if he survived.

He touched his pulse and grasped life and couldn’t help but pity Kageyama Tobio.

"You wanted to die and now I’m here making you live again," he whispered into the night.

(I'm not even exaggerating when I say out of all the fics in this entire goddamn, too long list, this is the fic I'm anticipating and heart eyeing the most. It's only starting, but I already cried on chapter fucking 2, the power of this fic, holy shit. The author also wrote the hq time loop Every Tomorrows series, which I have an undying love for and am full on praying for the day it updates, so you KNOW this fic will be just as good. (Anybody who hasn't read this series, where the hell have you been?? Read it!!) Just, everything about this fic hurts me and something in my chest just aches when I read this fic. Go into it blind with an open heart and I swear to you, it's going to change your life. I'm already calling it. Seriously though, please please read!)

[Crossover]

Learning to Fly by Asteroid_Duck (JustThatOneGirl1815)

Fandoms: Boku no Hero Academia, Naruto

The number three hero is a walking (well, flying) contradiction in every sense of the word. This includes his teaching skills. Why had Tokoyami agreed to this internship again? Oh right. He’d thought he was actually going to learn something. …….remind him to never be so optimistic again. . . . OR, Kakashi Hatake is reincarnated as the pro hero, Hawks. Tokoyami Fumikage suffers as a result.

(The reincarnation fic I never thought I needed and it's so good!! I've never really paid attention to Tokoyami and this fic sent me headfirst into loving him. Their dynamic is so interesting and I just love how their relationship develops. Also, Kakashi trolling the poor kid made me cackle, it's great! Definitely recommend it!)

Si Vis Pacem by athenoot

Fandoms: Boku no Hero Academia, John Wick

Everything has a price. That's what John has always known and will forever remember, even in death.

Which is pretty ironic considering his current circumstance.

Instead of a grown, scarred, weary body belonging to a man as cruel and broken as him, he's inhabiting a younger, smaller, unblemished one belonging to a child with strangely colored hair, and is living in what seems to be a superhuman society.

Well. May it never be said that John isn't a strategist. He can live with this. Maybe.

(Somewhere out there in the universe, he's certain he could hear the laughter of his enemies from beyond the grave.)

Or: John Wick is reincarnated as Midoriya Izuku. The world should probably watch its back.

(This should be one of the crackiest fics I've read in a while, but it's taken so seriously and I'm so HERE FOR THIS. John Wick being John Wick in a world of quirks and heroes is the GREATEST, honestly, he's so badass. Bakugou, I feel for you, you must be so fucking confused lol. Bakugou trying his best to be a good friend is one of the best things about this fic. Trust me, this fic will make your day, promise!)

A Girl's Mind is a Dangerous Place by clenastia

Fandoms: Naruto, Fairy Tail

Natsu wakes up in Sakura's body. It only gets worse from there. Also known as: In Which Natsu has No Idea what to do with Boobs.

(I binged this in two fucking days, I couldn't put it down. This fic reminded me why I liked fairy tail when I was younger and why Natsu is honestly such a great protagonist, god. And the fic does that thing, you know, the Thing where when two worlds collide, the characters struggle to acclimate and adapt to a completely another world with different rules and mindsets against their own. This fic is seriously one of the best when it comes to that aspect, it's incredible. I am going absolutely feral over here for this fic to update, I'm waiting in the wings, ready to pounce like a tiger, all the metaphors man. For the love of god, read this fic.)

Give me a landscape made of obstacles by Melise

Fandoms: Naruto, Natsume's Book of Friends

Kakashi Hatake isn’t who he says he is.

Because the truth is that he’s actually a youkai in disguise, a wolf spirit named Madara who stumbled across the Hatake clan during the Warring States Period. Intrigued by the shinobi he saw, he’d proposed a temporary alliance in which he would offer the clan protection in exchange for their teachings.

Decades later, Madara is surprised to find himself inadvertently summoned to Konoha by the last living member of the Hatake clan. Sakumo Hatake, who is mourning the recent deaths of his wife and stillborn child, doesn’t want to be alone anymore. So with his permission, Madara takes the place of Sakumo’s deceased son in order to watch over the last Hatake.

(Fusion in which the youkai of Natsume’s Book of Friends all exist in the Naruto world. No knowledge of Natsume’s Book of Friends required).

(Before this fic, I only had a very vague idea of what Natsume's Book of Friends was, and honestly, I still don't know much about it. But I didn't really need to know to get into this fic. I love the worldbuilding and the relationships Kakashi forms, both supernatural and mortal. I love how Kakashi's inhumane ways affect others around him, whether to stress them out or become used to the strange. You can go straight into this fic without knowing anything and absolutely still have a fantastic time. I definitely recommend this so please read!)

#Fanfiction #AO3 #Fic Rec #Fic Rec List #Naruto #Harry Potter #Boku no Hero Academia #Stranger Things #Knives Out #Haikyuu!!#Crossover #John Wick #Fairy Tail #Natsume's Book of Friends

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votederpycausemufins · 2 years

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It's finals week here so I am going aaaaaaaaaaaaa but hey here's a chapter. pls send validation so i can get through my finals

hermit tommy au made by @petrichormeraki

Astrid was glad that she was both wearing a mask and that Grian was staring at the comm so he couldn’t see the panicked look on her face. Fortunately, there seemed to be a slight scuffle on the comm as Vee tried to take it back, and Flora also returned with her comm. “Hey, I’m back with the videos. Is Vee still there?”

“Sort of? Grian answered. “Vee’s friend is upset about something to do with his dad.”

“Oh, Vee, are you getting another sibling?”

“No. Uh, m-maybe? I d-dunno if it counts or not.”

“Absolutely not! Now what about-”

There was a thunk on the other end of the line. “I w-want the videos.”

“Alright then.” And Flora messed with her comm before a voice came from whatever video was playing. Grian didn’t know what it was about, but whoever was in the videos seemed to be calming Vee with their voice, until eventually, Vee thanked Astrid and Flora before finally hanging up. Also apparently because someone new had arrived to help with her getting somewhere. “Well stay safe. And that’s a message from the both of us.”

When the call ended and Astrid put her comm away, Grian looked between the two other teens for some explanation. “Right. You’re always confused.” Flora said, causing Grian to give her the stink eye. “Well it’s true. Well, that was Astrid’s sister Vee. She’s got a really bad fear of most mobs, even peaceful ones or… hybrids.”

“But, you’re very clearly a hybrid. What does she do around you?” Grian asked. He wasn’t exactly a pro at hybrids and anything with them, even if he was one himself, but seeing as how Flora’s face was literally a fox’s and she was always dealing with a big poofy tail, it was extremely hard to mistake her for anything else or try to hide it.

“She kinda… doesn’t. I’ve only really met her once, and that was with their dad using magic to disguise me.”

“Sorry if this gets off track for a moment, there’s of course other stuff I’d like to know and ask, but first, uh… magic?”

Astrid nodded, and then a moment later, in an aura of blue, white headphones appeared over Astrid’s ears, the earpads decorated with a sort of spiral symbol that to Grian vaguely resembled an ear. ‘Magic.’

“Astrid and Vee’s dad is like Grifter… and I guess you too. They’re this race of magic users called Listeners. While you can’t actually be born a Listener or anything, other Listeners can train people to become new Listeners, which is what their dad did for Astrid and Vee. They’re both still in training, but as you can see, Astrid’s doing pretty well.”

“That’s really cool!” Grian exclaimed. “Well, even though I shouldn’t, Grifter thinks I’ve got a bit of magic I can train with, which could really help me if I can get back to my own time and maybe change a few things.”

“Just don’t do anything to mess us up.” Flora warned jokingly. “Now, what else do you want to know?”

“Uh, is it okay to ask why Vee’s so scared of mobs?”

Flora glanced to Astrid, who shrugged and then signed what seemed like an unrelated answer. ‘Vee and I are adopted.’

“Wait, you are? How does that fit into this?”

“Astrid’s brother was a piece of shit and their birth parents kinda ditched them ages ago. Vee’s, on the other hand, well, her dad wasn’t around much, so she stuck with her mom. And her mom essentially ran a zoo or something else with a lot of animals. Stuff as simple as a pet bird or cat all the way up to horses, panthers, even some fucking dinosaurs! And while they took care of the animals pretty well, it wasn’t the same for Vee, who essentially got punished by getting shoved in with some of the other animals, even if they were hostile towards her.”

Grian winced. He was terrified enough of rabbits just from Sa- a certain someone being a hybrid, but to get tortured by animals of all kinds, no wonder she had been freaked out so badly. “So, I’m guessing she’s not a hybrid, nor is your dad.”

‘Nah, our dad is a human. And Vee is okay with hybrids of certain kinds. Especially ones that have traits they can hide like you can, or ones not associated with bad memories, like my dad’s friend Ely-’ Astrid paused to spell the name out. ‘-who’s a cyclops.’

“Alright, good to know.” Grian nodded, before Flora piped up once more.

“But, she does have a pet of her own, it’s a moss ball named Cardamom. I have seen pictures and he is adorable. Here, Astrid show him some pictures.”

Astrid rolled her eyes behind her mask where no one could see, but then pulled her comm out and swiped through, bringing up a few pictures of a moss ball in a terrarium tank. ‘She started with just a large potion bottle, but thought he would get too cramped. Now it’s pretty much too big for just one, but she refuses to get another.”

Grian laughed at that, swiping through the pictures, before pausing and looking back over to Flora. “One last question for now. What were those recordings?”

Flora looked to Astrid for her to give the answer, only for her to shake her head. ‘No. He’s got to be a level three friend for my traumatic backstory.’

“Aww, but Astrid! What is a level three friend if not someone who will kidnap a toddler with you for a prank?”

Astrid didn’t look convinced at first, but finally relented after a few minutes where Grian just stared at the other teens awkwardly. ‘Fine, and you can be the one to tell him.’

“Yes!” Flora cheered, then grabbed Grian’s wrist as well as Astrid’s hand before dragging them to a better part of the room so they could sit down. “Alright, the simple answer to your question is those were recordings of Astrid.”

“But she was talking.” Grian said, causing Astrid to flip him off.

‘I wasn’t always mute, bitch.’

“Oh.”

“Yeah, that’s where the long version comes in.” Flora started to explain, before getting a look from Astrid. “Okay medium version. So you know how your dad is kind of the embodiment of death? Or one of them at least.” Flora paused for Grian to nod. “Well, seeing as how you were stuck wherever, you didn’t know there’s a phrase to essentially summon him. It only really works for certain people, but before you- or future you was admin, it was Astrid’s brother. He was worried about you dad messing with him and his plans, so he kinda… cut out the vocal chords of anyone related to him in some way.”

Grian choked on air at the statement, not helped by Flora having rushed through the sentence and him needing a few extra seconds to process it. “He what?!”

Flora nodded, taking a moment to center herself again. “He got to my dad, my grandma, Theseus, Euro, and even my mom. You didn’t live here at the time, so you were fine.”

“O-okay… but how does that relate to those videos?” Grian asked, trying not to picture what had probably happened.

“Well, when Astrid was offered by her dad to do magic, she wanted some way to fix us. With her just starting out, she couldn’t really do much, but she found an old spell and used that. Because of her skill level and the spell being old, it took a while for her to get it right, but just when she was getting close to having it ready, you showed up and fixed it yourself. My family’s all fixed up, but because of that, Astrid’s spell couldn’t finish or something, so until then, she kinda can’t talk.”

Grian nodded. “And we can’t just…” he was going to continue by saying they couldn’t just make someone need the spell used, but then he looked up. “I’m sorry, who fixed it instead of Astrid?”

“Future you?” Flora said, though in a confused tone. “What, did you not want me not telling my girlfriend? Sorry, but that’s where I cross the line.”

‘You already knew?’ Astrid signed, glad she didn’t need to hide everything.

“Uh, yeah. He told me when I nearly killed him from chopping up my forest.” Flora explained, making Astrid glare at Grian through her mask.

“Oh yeah. I did do that, didn’t I?” Grian said, thinking it over.

‘You’re an idiot.’ Astrid replied, along with a slap to really get the point across.

“That… does not look good.” Phil spoke up as he and the others saw smoke ahead. At first, the group had tried holing up in Phil’s castle to think of a plan before just running into things, but after already being locked up in a cell, changing scenery didn’t change things up. Before long, Xannes was causing some arguments, mainly with Mumbo, who was the most concerned from being separated from Grum again. So after everyone was snuck out of the castle, they went in the direction of the other kingdom.

Seeing the smoke made the group speed up, weapons ready. On the way there were various people in armors of either black and red, or silver and pink. People in both sorts of armor attacked them as well as each other, which didn’t help with various concerns and worries. And then they actually reached the gate.

“So Phil.” Doc spoke up. “I think we might have some trouble getting everyone else together.” And the hybrid pointed up to a banner hanging from the gate with a pink skull and crossbones.

“What are you-” And Phil looked where Doc was pointing to see the flag before needing to stab someone in black. “Oh that’s fucking great.”

“Well, I’m sure that means the others are okay.” Mumbo spoke up, barely dodging someone who attempted to attack him from behind. “I mean, I doubt he would let them get hurt, right?”

“Well, up until five seconds ago, I was perfectly fine being at war with him. Plus you were stuck in my dungeon or whatever without me knowing who you were. Paul could be under the same situation.”

“Well! How about some good news?” Xannes shouted. “I think we don’t have to deal with half of these guys. Some of them are actually listening to me for some reason.” And just as EX said, the warriors in black were listening to any orders he was giving them. “No clue if that’s actually good in the long run, but I really don’t fucking care right now.”

“Can you get them to get us a clear path into the kingdom?” Xisuma asked, getting a response from his brother in the form of the warriors making the requested path.

Inside the kingdom was just as chaotic as outside. People were running about with any of the silver guards focused on those in black armor as opposed to Phil and the others. Mumbo and Xisuma both helped out with getting people to safety, even if they weren’t actually real, while Doc and Phil along with EX’s help got them a path towards the castle.

When the group had reached a courtyard that was halfway to the castle, they were stopped by lightning striking near some of the warriors Xannes was ordering around, causing them to go into a bit of a frenzy. The commotion managed to separate everyone, only Doc and Phil knowing enough of where they were to keep most of their bearings about them, Phil most of all since he was able to fly out of the mess.

Once he was in the air, Phil looked around, hoping to quickly find the others and pull them up, possibly landing them on a roof. But instead, the avian’s eyes landed on someone both pink and back, specifically- “Techno!”

The piglin hybrid looked up before knocking a silver guard out and leaving Phil room to land. “Phil, you doing okay?”

“Well I’m apparently in a war with my brother.”

“So you’re saying-” Techno was stopped by another silver guard that he knocked to their feet. “-that all of these guys are supposed to be working for Paul?”

“Well the ones with the pink sheep kingdom logo on their armor.” Phil clarified, ducking to dodge a stray arrow. “The guys in black are a different story, though I assume you know that from you wearing their armor.”

“Well duh, you gave me this.” Techno answered, leaving Phil a bit confused.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, but Techno could barely answer when a few more guards showed up. In the middle of fighting them, Phil grabbed Techno before carrying him up to the roof of a nearby church. “Alright, tell me what the fuck is going on mate.”

Wilbur and Grum were holed up in a library, using the bookshelves as barricades from the fighting outside. Though it wasn’t as loud as before, Grum still had some sort of alarm going off, which Wilbur was doing his best to muffle to keep anyone from coming after the noise and subsequently them.

They had gotten warning from Nancy before the prison blew up enough to disable the redstone keeping everyone trapped. Techno was able to pull Tommy out of his cell and Wilbur carried Grum out of theirs before they met up with Phil. He was glad to see everyone was alright and then handed out some armor and weapons to everyone, and everyone included the other prisoners as well.

The first of the other prisoners was Nancy, who was handed what seemed to be a wand. She used it to give herself a cloak matching the armor Phil was giving out, though with gold accents of her own at the hems. The second was a balding man with a beard, who took a bow and armor that started off unenchanted, but seemed to enchant itself as he took it. The last was an avian that ignored an offered chestplate, but took plenty of daggers.

When Phil turned to the others, Techno gladly took the offered armor and weapons, Tommy doing the same and Wilbur blindly grabbed some things as he tried to figure out why Grum still seemed panicked. Before long, everyone was moving past what was a very broken wall. Techno said something about finding the others as Tommy raced off, Techno following behind leaving Wilbur and Grum alone.

Grum was still giving off some sort of alarm, so Wilbur just picked the bot up and ran to the nearest building that didn’t have people essentially surrounding it. He took them upstairs and set Grum down to make some sort of barrier, and that’s where they were now, barricaded in a library.

“Grum, please. What’s going on?” Wilbur asked, worried about the kid. “Is this related to the fighting? Is there something about it that’s causing a problem?” But Grum doesn’t answer, which just gets him upset. “Okay, how about this then. You keep making that alarm, and I bet the thing that set it off in the first place will come over here to track down what’s making that sound and shut you up.”

That seems to work as Grum is finally quiet and Wilbur can finally hear himself think again. “Okay, that’s better. Now what was that all about?”

Grum doesn’t answer verbally. Instead, he’s suddenly clinging tightly to Wilbur. “I… I know it’s not supposed to be real…”

“Okay kid, we just dealt with your nightmare, and we’ve escaped from prison even though part of your issue was getting trapped.” Wilbur pauses, realizing he’s sounding a bit too harsh. “I don’t understand. What’s so bad about getting out?”

Wil nearly misses the words that Grum says next, but the quietness of the words and the fear that surrounds them is enough to make a shiver go up his spine. “He’s out too.”

Doc isn’t sure how many people he’s slain by the time he finally gets a chance to breathe. The armor he was given is already pretty damaged, but with him being on the castle steps right now, he’s pretty sure he can make it. That is, if Paul is even in the castle right now with all this fighting. Doc knows the other Mindcracker wasn’t really the type to hide away from a battle, especially with others potentially in danger. And who knew how much that factor was increased by this being the kingdom Paul was in charge of.

Just as Doc is going for the door into the castle, he spots someone else in black armor and grabs his bow. He holds the drawn string without firing, though, as he actually recognizes the face of the person wearing the armor. “Tommy.”

“Oh fuck thank goodness.” Tommy says, relaxing a bit, though Doc still has his bow drawn and ready to fire. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Phil’s dungeon.” Doc replies, and then his natural eye is narrowing as one of the other black garbed warriors is moving closer to Tommy. “Behind you!”

Tommy whirls around, sword out and ready to attack, but he stops upon seeing the other person. “No, hey, this guy is with us. He helped us get out of the dungeon we were stuck in. Said his name is Markus.”

The name makes Doc’s eye snap wide open and he fires the bow, immediately loading and firing a second before grabbing Tommy and pulling the teen behind him. “How the hell are you here?”

“Nice to see you too Doc.” The person speaks, getting another arrow shot at him.

“Woah, woah, Doc, what’s going on?” Tommy’s asking, trying to move to Doc’s side to look the hybrid in the eye, but Doc blocks him from getting even a pixel forward.

“You lucked out with having someone so young to lie to.” Doc says to Markus, completely ignoring Tommy.

“Well now, whose fault is that?” The armored man asks, taking a step forward. “Now while I would love to stay and chat, there’s someone I really need to find.”

Doc’s next response is a hiss that makes Tommy worry the hybrid is about to explode. “As long as I’m around, you’re not getting near anyone, Notch.”

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guesst · 3 years

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some of the best fantasy au fics for bnha that i've read

i decided to make a fic rec list of one of my favourite aus/fusions. mostly midoriya-centric, there are some crossovers (with hp), and a lot of different ways in which the authors have taken them - so it could be Quirks, ghosts, outright fantasy aus, spirits, witches etc etc. there isn't a specific order and there aren't a tonne (these are the ones i could find buried in my bookmarks lol), but the ones on the list are all really well written i love them.

i've tried adding relevant information, the summary (shortened if it's pretty long) and just. adding some random tags that may be important. not all of them though. obviously this is not a complete list and there will most definitely be more fics out there, if there are some really good fics that you know that aren't on this list, feel free to tell me, i'd love to read them!!!

i hope someone enjoys these!

Faith Becomes You by SugaSuga

oneshot | gen dfo, quirkless midoriya summary 'There's a tiny shrine in Musutafu that's overgrown with kudzu vines between Izuku's apartment and his middle-school. There may very well still be a god inside it. There may be nothing but the myth of a man from when Quirks were first emerging. Izuku hides in its walls for a while and ends up tending to the forgotten shrine. All good deeds have their impact, don't they?'

Of Mythos and Men by Oceanbreeze7

oneshot | gen spirit animal au, kinda summary (shortened) 'When he was young, Midoriya always wondered what his mythos would be. The matching half to his quirk, the ancestry of its power. Mythos were strange things, not linked genetically like quirks seemed to be. [...] Midoriya hadn't met his mythos. Even in UA. (In his dreams, something called to him, 'Chase me!')'

what a lion cannot manage by LadyLiterature

multichapter | ongoing | f/m, m/m kitsune au, female izuku, future bakudeku summary (shortened) 'She wants to be a hero. Wants to save everyone she meets and even the people she hasn’t. [...] A smart fox avoids fights. A smart fox does not seek them out. A smart fox does not fight for everyone. A smart fox, when they absolutely must, only fights for themselves and what is theirs and nothing else. Izumi, for all that she tries to be, is not a good fox.'

My Magic Academia by Kiterou

series | oneshots and multichapter | ongoing | gen HP crossover, wizard midoriya, platonic bkdk, some ocs summary (shortened) ' [...] In which Midoriya Inko is a witch and Izuku a wizard and even after 150 years of quirks taking over the world, Izuku still couldn't tell Kacchan that he isn't worthless and that he still could become a hero all on his own.'

A Lonely Windchime Makes No Sound by Musecookie

multichapter | ongoing | multi reader/shinso, total fantasy au, very wholesome summary (shortened) ' [...] You enjoy visiting your slightly creepy local library. When you accidentally befriend the elusive owner's familiar, he begins to appear more and more when you visit. You don't really mind, and he doesn't seem to hate you, even when the two of you become tied up in each other's fate as you pursue the secret to reviving a magical species of flower. Soft Strangers to Friends to Lovers type beat with lots of fluff and naps! Sleepy cuddles included.'

The grapes of friendship by Gentrychild

oneshot | gen crack, dfo, vampire izuku summary 'Izuku, a dhampir hiding his real identity as he goes to UA, the best wizard school in the country, spends the day with his friends. None of them are aware of it.'

Yesterday Upon the Stair by PitViperofDoom

multichapter | complete | gen less supernatural, izu's quirk lets him see ghosts, he still has ofa summary (shortened) 'Midoriya Izuku has always been written off as weird. As if it's not bad enough to be the quirkless weakling, he has to be the weird quirkless weakling on top of it. But truthfully, the "weird" part is the only part that's accurate. He's determined not to be a weakling, and in spite of what it says on paper, he's not actually quirkless [...] Not that anyone would believe it if he told them.'

sum of all (and by them driven) by Elemental

series | multichapter | ongoing | gen dadzawa, spirits give quirks, izu sees these spirits series summary 'Quirks aren't what you think they are.' first part summary (shortened) 'Midoriya Izuku is medically quirkless, not technically homeless, perpetually exhausted and doing his damned best despite it all. He also sees spirits, which might be cool if not for the fact that a) no one else does, b) they really don't like him very much, and c) he's pretty sure the heroes now think he's a villain working for the League [...]'

The Struggles of a Modern-Day Vampire by miraculousemily47

oneshot | gen crack, 1-a shenanigans, vampire midoriya summary 'After Midoriya Izuku is turned into a vampire towards the end of his first year at U.A., he decides he wants to tell his classmates about his condition. The only problem is that he can't physically say the words, and his classmates are fucking idiots.'

Lights in the Dark by FrostKitten

series | oneshots | ongoing | gen supernatural au, izuku can see demons etc, quirkless/magic au summary (of first part) 'Midoriya Izuku, like most young kids, knows there are monsters. They live in closets, under beds, and occasionally in the park. As he grows older, his friends stop seeing them...but he still does.'

Hand in Unlovable Hand by jumbletea

series | oneshots | ongoing | gen vampire midoriya (and aizawa), dadzawa, toga n dabi n mido being siblings summary 'A collection of stories surrounding a not-quite-human Izuku and everyone he meets along the way.'

Simply Superstitious by CryCaladrius

multichapter | ongoing | gen lots of folklore and yokai and stuff, 'quirkless' magic user izuku, decent dad hisashi too summary (shortened) 'Izuku Midoriya’s father is a Hou-ou — a Japanese phoenix. For some reason, this means yokai have a standing invitation to pester Izuku with their existence. Birds assemble choirs for his birthday. If there’s no cedar leaf under the welcome mat, the amazake babaa that lives two apartments over will be knocking on their door by evening. His yokai-purifying excursions get mistaken for vigilantism far too often. [...]'

Cuckoo Bird (anonymous author)

multichapter | ongoing/maybe discontinued | gen it may be discontinued but theres lots of fae folklore, deku is a changeling, deals etc, plus some platonic shindeku building up?? summary 'There's something off about Midoriya Izuku. (change·ling /ˈCHānjliNG/ noun a child believed to have been secretly substituted by fairies for the parents' real child in infancy.)'

tread softly as you go by IceEckos12

oneshot | gen if you read any fae au please let it be this! has faeries but mido is not one summary 'Humans used to be good at the old ways. They used to know how to bait the trap, to spin a web of words and lies that would ensnare even the most wily. Humans used to be able to twist deceptions around knots of iron and turn them into weapons of power. They forgot a long, long time ago. A boy unwittingly makes a deal with one of the fae, severing his ties to humanity. However, he finds that the fae world is far more strange and complex than he ever could have imagined.'

Hell is just a shoujo manga by supercrunch

multichapter | complete | f/m fantasy au, bakudeku, fem!izuku, isekai, dekusquad stuff, also some iidachako summary (shortened) 'Izuku wakes up crushed under a statue, trapped in the body of a princess who doesn't exist. Turns out she's a demon, which is weird. What's even weirder is the déjà vu that surrounds Kamino palace, reminding her of the events of this one manga she used to love. [...] But that's probably just a coincidence. [...] The problem here, obviously, is that Izuku's the demon princess. Ergo, she's a villain. And that means she's going to die at the end of this manga. Again.'

hold your breath as you cross by cassiopeia721

oneshot | gen dadzawa, another 'quirks are from spirits au' (expect more of those actually), mido is sad :( summary 'As the bridge between the world of guardian spirits and the quirk users who are blessed by them, Izuku's duty is to clean up the mess his predecessor left. It's taken what feels like an eternity worth of work, but Izuku's finally finished, and he's ready to rest at last. Unfortunately, the pro heroes who just watched him take down the Scourge of Kamino have no intention of letting him just wander off, and he finds himself stuck in an interrogation room with a bunch of humans who he's sure will never believe a word he says.'

To See with Eyes Unclouded by CrazySatan

series | oneshots | ongoing | gen witch au, witch midoriya, quirkless mido, bkg is not a good friend series summary 'Midoriya Izuku is a witch. A powerful witch. And even though he doesn't have a quirk, and magic doesn't Work Like That, Izuku ends up a hero. Somehow.'

Demons and Darkness by wolfsrainrules

series | oneshots | ongoing | gen dadzawa, shinso and mido and bkg are becoming friends, they can see monsters/spirits/bad things summary of first part 'Izuku has believed in the things that go bump in the night since he was small. That means he can see them, and almost everyone he knows....can't. So he decides he's going to be the shield humanity needs, no matter what. Eventually, he finds others that See too.'

know what i've made by the marks on my hands by simkjrs

multichapter | ongoing/maybe discontinued | gen dadzawa, quirk spirit au (this inspired most of the others on this list), also eri summary (shortened) 'Midoriya Izuku just wants to lead a quiet, peaceful life. This is foiled by the fact that a) he can see spirits, b) his good nature demands that he help anyone he sees in trouble, and c) he, by all rights, should not exist. [...]'

Izuku haunts class 1-A by Artistic-Gamer

series or multichapter whichever floats your boat | incomplete (hiatus) | other there are some triggering themes! such as suicide, blood, body disfigurement! please take care of yourself and avoid reading if this will hurt you! in other news: so much dadzawa, so much friendship, hurt mido summary (of first part) 'Class 1-A is rumored to be haunted, only the residents are aware it’s more than just a rumor..'

U.A's Resident Ghost by BeyondTheClouds777

multichapter | ongoing/maybe discontinued | gen ghost midoriya, dadzawa, friendships!!!! summary 'There is a ghost at U.A. Not haunting U.A. Not even hanging out at U.A. There is a ghost. Enrolled. As a student of U.A. And it's just Shouta's luck that he has everything to do with it.'

and now, the weather by xylophones

oneshot | gen CRACK, paranormal/ghost hunters au, dekusquad stuff summary 'Izuku runs a fictional horror radio show. Because ghosts aren’t real. Right? (“Holy shit, ghosts are real,” Izuku whispers. Then, with the smugness of a sixteen-year-old who just won a decade long bet, “I knew it! Kacchan owes me five hundred yen!” “Midoriya,” Todoroki sighs, “this ghost is trying to kill us.”)'

U.A Unsolved by handcrusher(ameliafromafairytale)

oneshot | gen (it's a fic of a fic, so if you've read yesterday upon the stair then you'll understand better) izuku can see ghosts thats his quirk summary ' "Hey there, ghosts," Midoriya says, "it's me, ya boy." The dorms are haunted. Shenanigans ensue.'

The Haunting of Class 1-A by BritishRobutt

multichapter | ongoing/maybe discontinued | n/a ghost midoriya, vigilante au, crack, the ghost bit is izu's quirk summary 'Everyone always told Izuku he couldn't be a hero, so when he dies and discovers his quirk, he becomes a vigilante out of spite. Whoops. After becoming Spectre, Japan's most wanted vigilante, Izuku realizes he can just fulfill his dreams of going to the top heroic school- after all, who can physically stop him from attending UA when he's a literal ghost?'

Caged by SternStunde

oneshot | gen tododeku, fantasy au (todo is a dragon, mido is a princess), genderbent deku (fem deku) summary 'Then she held up one of the books and smiled. "Want to learn an ancient language with me?" She was kind of a nerd, and she really hoped the dragon was too.'

Magic Runs Deep by draconicschinx

multichapter | ongoing/probably discontinued | gen mido has a quirk and he can see mythical creatures. summary '"Midoriya Izuku has always been good at making friends. Not human ones, really, but they are good friends nonetheless. " Izuku can see and talk to and interact with mythical creatures. It's not exactly the quirk he was hoping for, but he's going to use it to help humans and his non-human friends all the same.'

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sevenkittensinatrenchcoat · 3 years

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The Broadway Revival Doesn’t Get Comedy

Here’s another long essay hating on the Broadway Revival. I promise that this will be the last one of these, because I think I’ve summed up all the problems I have with it by this point.

The title of this essay isn’t universally true. There is good comedy in the Broadway Revival. But, most of it comes from the actors improvising. When it comes to the comic relief numbers of the show, the changes in choreography and staging, and even in plot in one case, generally fail to understand how the jokes in the numbers work.

Now, I know that explaining the joke makes it less funny, but in order to explain why the 2016 comedy doesn’t work, I’ll have to explain why older versions do. Why is the 1998 film funny, and why are bootlegs/pro-shots of earlier productions funny, in places where 2016 falls flat?

To begin with, you might be wondering, “in a show full of strange nonsense and little concrete plot, what would you call a comic relief number?”. There are plenty of numbers in the show that have a comedic tone to them that I don’t consider comic relief numbers. The Rum Tum Tugger is usually full of comedic bits, for example, but it’s not a comic relief number. Why? Because it does something other than be funny and lighten the mood. It’s a song all about a major character who’s just appeared. Apart form Chorus Tugger in the opening, who usually doesn’t stand out much, we haven’t seen Tugger yet. After the cats leave after The Naming of Cats, we don’t see him again until his own number, where he interrupts the party to tell us what he’s all about. Tugger, as a character, is introduced as high-energy and a troublemaker, which leads to comedy, so the song has comedic moments, but it’s not purely a comic relief number.

Most songs in Cats are like this. They’re songs about what makes a character tick, and because these characters are onstage for most of the show, it’s good to let the audience get to know them. But, there are a few numbers in the show that don’t introduce characters and don’t advance the plot. They’re just entertaining little skits that don’t fit anywhere else. These are the comic relief numbers.

In a full production of Cats, in which no songs are cut, there are three comic relief numbers: Bustopher Jones, The Pekes and the Pollicles, and Growltiger’s Last Stand. The first one might be confusing. Bustopher Jones introduces a character. Shouldn’t it count as one of the character songs like The Rum Tum Tugger? The difference is that, while Tugger sticks around and plays a role in other events of the show, Bustopher is only present for his number. He shows up, there’s a song, and then he leaves and is never seen again. This makes the number into something of a non-sequiter.

Gus the Theatre Cat also revolves around a character who’s really only there for his own song. In productions that cut Growltiger, this is all you see of him. But, Gus the Theatre Cat isn’t a comic relief number because it’s one of the few songs that doesn’t have a comedic tone. There are jokes here and there, and in most stage productions the character of Gus is more comedic than he is in the 1998 film, but the song has a softer tone, no dancing, and Gus eventually leaves in tears. Though the 1998 film stands out in this regard, even in other productions, this is not a comic relief number.

Another thing you’ll notice is that Bustopher Jones, The Pekes and the Pollicles, and Growltiger all come after more serious, less energetic numbers. Grizabella the Glamor Cat and Gus the Theatre Cat are both quite sad, and the play basically changes the subject to lighten the mood. Old Deuteronomy isn’t sad, but it’s slow and more serious. When the tone of the show starts to get serious, a comic relief number is added to lighten the mood. The pattern breaks with Macavity, with the song followed by a fight, to show that the stakes have been raised and things are getting serious. Mister Mistoffelees comes along as a more upbeat number, but the change in tone here is pretty much a plot point. Everything seems bleak and then Tugger starts this number to give everyone hope. Mistoffelees restores power after the light goes out as part of this shift. We were at our literal darkest moment and now there’s a spark of hope.

So, now that we know what numbers are comic relief numbers, it’s time to go into how and why they work, or how and why they don’t when things go wrong. Since the Broadway Revival cuts Growltiger, I’ll focus more on the other two, but the new version of The Pekes and the Pollicles borrows from Growltiger, so the stuff that was borrowed will also have to be discussed. But, before we get into all that messy business, let’s take a look at Bustopher Jones:

Bustopher Jones:

Most of the comedy in Bustopher Jones, though there are a few simple fat jokes in there, comes from how other characters react to Bustopher. Bustopher keeps an air of dignity about him as he formally greets everyone and discusses his clubs. He’s not the joke here. This is a song of Amusing Background Events. With the queens, you have Jenny’s crush on Bustopher and Bombalurina clearly not getting it but trying to be polite about it and not kinkshame Jenny over it. With the toms, you have the kittens getting over-excited and the older cats, desperate to impress Bustopher, rushing to stop them from making a scene, making a scene themselves in the process.

In particular, there are three characters to watch in this number who provide the best comedy: Mistoffelees, Skimbleshanks, and Munkustrap. Two out of the three of them, which two depends on the production, will go into fanboy mode, often competing for Bustopher’s attention. Broadway-based productions tend to have Misto and Skimble compete for Bustopher’s attention, while London-based productions, such as the 1998 film, tend to put more focus on Munkustrap. He barely contains his excitement and is shown to be Not So Above It All, though he’s usually more level-headed than whichever cat, Misto or Skimble, he’s being contrasted with.

Basically, the joke is that Bustopher is considered super-important, despite not having a clear place in the tribe’s hierarchy, and everyone goes nuts trying to impress him, get his attention, and make sure that everything is perfect and nothing goes wrong. This joke works best when Bustopher is actually pretty laid-back and everyone’s freaking out over nothing.

The 2016 version doesn’t get this. You do see characters scrambling around, trying to make sure everything’s perfect, and get Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer as far away from Bustopher as possible, but, at the moment when it’s the most important to get this right, it fails.

The biggest problem with the number is Bustopher’s solo. It’s performed well enough, like most of this production. That’s not the problem. There are two main problems: a staging problem and a writing problem. The staging problem is where the above explanation comes in: When Bustopher sings his solo, no one gathers near him. In other productions, a group of toms gather around Bustopher where they hang on his every word, try to get his attention, and try to look important in front of the others. There’s always one, Misto, Skimble, or, more rarely, Munkustrap, who tries to stand way too close. But, 2016 Bustopher is given plenty of room to just stand there and face the audience. No one seems to be paying that much attention to what he’s saying.

There’s also a problem with how the solo is edited and the break that follows it. The problem isn’t that Bustopher’s solo is shortened. Lots of productions do that. The problem is in what’s cut.

The full solo consists of four quatrains: sets of four lines. The second and fourth lines rhyme with each other, so each quatrain ends on a rhyme: rules and Schools, Blimp’s and shrimps, bones and Drones, Glutton and mutton.

The original Broadway run of the show, and many other productions copying it, the second and third quatrains are cut. You go from Joint Superior Schools to “If I’m seen in a hurry”. The 2016 version cuts the first and second quatrains, only including the second half of the solo. The problem with this is that it cuts the first quatrain.

Cutting directly to the third quatrain is musically awkward, because there’s no build-up to this point in the song that’s song loudly with a choir backing it up. But, when it comes to the joke that’s being told in the solo, cutting the first quatrain removes the set-up and changes what the joke is. With the first quatrain, the solo is about the various clubs Bustopher goes to. Starting at the third quatrain, the joke is mainly a list of foods that Bustopher likes, even though the clubs are mentioned.

The first quatrain is the only portion of the solo to not mention food at all. It’s all about the social etiquette of gentlemens clubs. A gentleman in the early 20th century wasn’t supposed to belong to more than one club. So, in order to go to eight or nine, as Bustopher does, one would have to make sure that the clubs didn’t meet too close together, so that someone from one club might see them at another. It’s part of his strategy in going from club to club: he imitates the etiquette of the humans on the surface, while actually breaking all the rules behind their backs.

But, the point is, Bustopher is listing the various clubs he’s managed to get food from. He’s sort of cheating them all, though I doubt they’d care that a cat was frequenting more than one club. Going to different clubs that are located far enough apart that people from club A are unlikely to walk past the meeting place of club B is quite a feat and it takes a lot of skill to pull off. Bustopher knows what clubs he can do this with and what food he can get from them. If he wants seafood, he goes to the Stage and Screen. If he wants curry, he can go to the Siamese or the Glutton. Foxes is too close to one of his other clubs for him to go there, but he can get fresh meat of the same quality at Blimp’s.

The first quatrain sets up and explains the joke. Without this set-up, the joke becomes one about gluttony, making it more of a fat joke than it is when the first quatrain is included. To make matters even worse, the 2016 choreography adds this instrumental break where the cats put together a restaurant for Bustopher and give him various foods, doubling down on the joke being purely about Bustopher’s gluttony, not how he messes with high society. It’s still a joke and people might still find it funny, but it’s not the same joke and comes very close to being “it’s funny cuz he fat”.

The entire point of the number is that Bustopher’s weight is part of why he’s celebrated. He’s fat because he’s clever, managing to trick a bunch of rich humans into giving him fancy food off of their own plates. Because he looks like he’s wearing a tuxedo and spats at all times, the gentlemen at the clubs see him as fitting in, even though he’s most likely a stray. If he had an owner who was feeding him, he wouldn’t have developed this whole routine for getting food. The people who probably wouldn’t give food to a homeless human, seeing it as “feeding strays”, will literally feed a stray just for looking like he belongs. It combines two things that cats tend to love: food and messing with stupid humans.

So, the lack of emphasis on how other characters react to Bustopher and the reason why they react that way weakens the joke. But, to give credit where credit is due, I do like how they double down on Bustopher being Tugger for older women but have Jellylorum seem to be just as into him as Jenny is.

The Pekes and the Pollicles:

Here’s where the Broadway Revival goes completely off the rails. Both The Pekes and the Pollicles and Growltiger are often cut from productions to save time. They’re both “play within a play” scenes, which can be a bit confusing in a show that rarely ever uses dialogue to introduce the numbers. The Pekes and the Pollicles in particular seems to come out of nowhere. “Yay! Old Deuteronomy is here! Now let’s make fun of dogs!”

So, the Broadway Revival, like every production, had to decide what to do with these numbers. Would it keep them? Cut one of them? Cut both of them? But, for some reason, they invented a new option: Combine the two.

2016 Pekes and Pollicles isn’t The Pekes and the Pollicles. It’s a combination of The Pekes and the Pollicles and Growltiger’s Last Stand. The song is moved to where Growltiger is normally done and parts of the melody are mixed in. The Rumpus Cat, as a character, is equated to Growltiger as a character Gus played back in the day. This is where the trouble starts.

Now, I’ll once again stop to give credit where credit is due: The 2016 opening to The Pekes and the Pollicles is really sweet, with Old Deuteronomy encouraging Gus to play the Rumpus Cat one more time. Growltiger is basically a dream sequence of Gus flashing back to when he played Growltiger. Getting to see him actually relive his glory days one last time is nice. If they used this opening for Growltiger instead of The Pekes and the Pollicles, it would’ve been a good addition to the number.

So, Growltiger and The Pekes and the Pollicles are both plays within a play. Why not combine them? Well, the main problem is that The Rumpus Cat is not Growltiger.

Now, a lot of people hate Growltiger’s Last Stand and I’m not going to act like it’s some kind of masterpiece. I personally find the number to be sort of middle-of-the-road. If you see it more than once, the shock value of the cringey Asian stereotypes starts to wear off and, with a few exceptions, the number feels kind of dull. Andrew Lloyd Webber himself said that he was never really pleased with how Growltiger turned out and the London Revival rewrite might be worse than the original, at least musically. But, I’ve seen a few productions of Growltiger that I thought were kind of funny, usually by taking the racial stuff and sort of saying, “We know it’s bad and we can’t make it better, so we’ll just make it worse” and playing it up to the point of absurdity, like a parody of the sort of Yellow Peril stereotypes the song includes. I’ll also give credit to the Tecklenburg non-replica keeping the Siamese in silhouette behind a sheet.

When I say “The Rumpus Cat is not Growltiger”, I mean that how the two characters work comedically is completely different. You can’t just swap one for the other without rewriting the comedy of the entire number to match.

You’ll notice that Growltiger is in the title of Growltiger’s Last Stand. The song centers around Growltiger as the main character. The Pekes and the Pollicles includes the Rumpus Cat in the full title, but said title is so long that you rarely ever hear the song called that. The Rumpus Cat plays a key role in the story, but he shows up later on. The song isn’t about him. He’s not onstage for most of it.

This means that the comedy surrounding Growltiger and the comedy surrounding the Rumpus Cat work completely differently. The comedy of Growltiger is the comedy of Growltiger’s Last Stand. It all revolves around him. This is a joke based on a wacky character. The joke in The Pekes and the Pollicles isn’t about a single wacky character. It’s about a play where everything that could go wrong does with Munkustrap acting as the straight man. He’s the only one taking this seriously, perhaps a bit too seriously. The Rumpus Cat is just another thing that goes wrong. He’s funny, but so is everyone else who calls attention to themselves throughout the number.

Putting Gus as the Rumpus Cat into the Pekes and Pollicles is performing the number but with the joke from Growltiger. The Rumpus Cat enters the story too late for this to work, so Gus spends most of the number onstage, sharing the narrator role with Munkustrap. Furthermore, in order to include Rumpus Catified versions of Growltiger’s jokes, pretty much every memorable joke from The Pekes and the Pollicles is cut. Nothing goes wrong with the rest of the cast. The first Peke and Pollicle say their lines correctly. The March of the Pollicles and the Scottish Pollicles are cut, removing all the gags there, including Tugger playing the bagpipes at such a fitting moment that only Munkustrap is upset at first.

The fact that nobody messes up is especially weird in this version, because it’s spontaneous. Old Deuteronomy decides that Gus should get to play the Rumpus Cat again and everyone just automatically knows their role in the play. The Pekes and the Pollicles is a show Munkustrap put together for Old Deuteronomy. He had everything planned out. There were rehearsals. But, nobody showed up to rehearsals and nothing goes according to plan. If the play were spontaneous and everyone messed up, it wouldn’t be as funny, because that’s what you’d expect. Nobody had time to learn what to do, so they don’t do it right.

Instead of having the comedy come from the cast of the play messing up, the comedy is about how over-the-top Gus is. He’s narrating now, so why is Munkustrap even there? He does sort of play the straight man to Gus’ antics, but, because Munkustrap isn’t in charge here, he can’t show as much frustration. He can only awkwardly question things and be ignored. The worst case of this is with the “heathen Chinese” line. Most modern productions replace “heathen” with a less offensive word. It almost always feels a bit forced, but it works well enough. Some productions just leave the line as is, which makes it seem like they don’t care, but it doesn’t make the problem any worse. 2016 instead decides to call attention to how bad the line is by having Munkustrap question it, with the line being the older Gus’ fault. Not only does this make Gus less likable, it doesn’t actually solve the problem. The song can’t stop to acknowledge it, so, even though Munkustrap questions it, he still says the line anyway, making the whole thing a waste of time. They should’ve either changed the line or left it alone. But, they basically tried to have it both ways.

Trying to have it both ways is the fatal flaw of the number. They could’ve cut Growltiger like the 1998 film did. If you hadn’t seen any production of the show before seeing the 1998 film, you’d never guess that there was supposed to be a song between Gus and Skimbleshanks. It can be easily edited out. They also could’ve kept Growltiger and used redesigned, less stereotypical costumes for the Siamese, like the Vienna Revival did. It wouldn’t solve everything, but an effort would’ve been made. But, by combining Growltiger with another number, they both did and didn’t cut the number. Instead, the messed with and weakened The Pekes and the Pollicles so they could reference Growltiger without actually performing it.

The places were Growltiger’s melody is used for lines in The Pekes and the Pollicles feel forced, because those words weren’t written for that tune. That basically sums up the whole problem. One song was combined with another in a way that felt forced and awkward, because the elements of the two numbers weren’t meant to go together.

In conclusion, I think the Broadway Revival’s comedic downfall came from a sort of indecisiveness. They wanted to keep things the same but also change them, possibly not even knowing what they wanted to change them into, only that they wanted to change them. They wanted to shorten Bustopher’s solo, but not the way it’d been done before. They wanted to cut Growltiger, but not in the way it’d been done before. They wanted to do Cats, but not in the way it’d been done before.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to try new things. This could’ve been the template for an interesting non-replica if they really committed to doing things in a different way. But, they got stuck in between, wanting to be different, but not wanting to be too different. So, they tried to fix what wasn’t broken and sell it as New and Improved. This paved the way for the 2019 film to do the same, but with even worse comedy and without the advantage of the numbers being performed well by a devoted cast who knew what they were doing.

TLDR: 2016 messes with comedic numbers in ways that weaken them. It makes Bustopher Jones more completely about gluttony and tries to combine The Pekes and the Pollicles with Growltiger, failing both.

#bustopher jones #gus the theatre cat #the pekes and the pollicles #growltiger #cats 2016 #taking comedy too seriously tbh #do the thing or don't #you can't have it both ways

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onyxiana-is-obsessed · 4 years

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Masterlist

Hiya! Here’s a masterlist of all my writing! All of the pictures of the characters were found on google and I edited the text on there!

Mission Complete - You were tasked with killing the number 1 hero Deku. It’s about time you finally complete your mission; Angsty.

Follow You - Soulmate AU where your soulmate’s name is written on your arm in the color of their hair. You don’t live in Japan, but your Japanese friend helps you read the name on your arm and even helps you seek out your soulmate. Turns out, he’s the number 1 pro hero in Japan; Fluffy.

Come Back - You and Izuku have been dating for seven months but he suddenly becomes distant and he finally breaks you for the villain that’s been targeting you; Heavy angst.

The Bunny and the Fox - You’ve spotted a cute little bunny and you love to tease him.

Hero - The world is so cold and lonely, sometimes it’s quiet. Too quiet. But your husband’s not going to sit by and let you go at this alone. Let him be your hero. Comfort fic; angsty with fluff.

Dating Izuku Midoriya - Headcanons of dating your favorite green bean!

Pretty - Your sister is so much prettier than you and in an attempt to look more like her you change up your life. Izuku picks up on it extremely quickly and is determined to let you know just how beautiful he thinks you are.

A Chance Encounter - Izuku gets hurt and has to take refuge on your balcony. When you find him, you’re quick to help him. He most definitely takes note of all the Deku merch you have in your bedroom. You finally get to meet your favorite hero. FLUFFY

Serenade - You have a huge crush on Deku but you’re worried he’s not interested in you since you don’t seem like his type. You decided to perform at the festival and he just can’t take his eyes off of you.

Where He Likes To Kiss You - He loves to kiss you! He’ll shower you with them, but what’s his favorite spot? Fluff

When Somone Flirts with You - Someone’s bothering you and your boyfriend isn’t going to stand by and just let them mess with you.

Reader with a ram Quirk

KiriDeku x Reader - You three take a trip to the beach where some people bother you. Cue your heroes to the rescue! FLUFFY!

Stolen - You get kidnapped and Deku’s determined to save you, no matter what. However, the villain offers you a deal you simply can’t refuse.

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

To Fall for the King - You are first born royal of (k/n) and king Izuku from Toral has proposed to you. The marriage is simply to unite your two kingdoms but not long after, you find yourself falling for the stoic king.

Blessing of the Goddess - King Izuku’s got a day off and he runs into you, a strange girl just playing with butterflies. What are you hiding?

Rarity - Poly Relationship with Deku & Todoroki

Found You - Soulmate AU where you feel a tug in the direction of your soulmate if they’re in danger. During a villain attack, Bakugou feels a very powerful tug; Fluff.

Love Letters - You’re in love with Bakugou, but you can’t bring yourself to confess. So, instead, you write little love letters to him and keep them at home in a folder to help ease your feelings. Except, you managed to drop one and Bakugou gets his hands on it.

Hints - Bakugou’s dying to know your quirk and you’ve been lying to him about having one. But he figures out the truth eventually; fluff.

Attraction - You and Katsuki are extremely competitive, however, one day he realizes he doesn’t actually hate you.

Where He Likes To Kiss You - He loves to kiss you! He’ll shower you with them, but what’s his favorite spot? Fluff

Everything I Love About You - Your sister is so much prettier than you and in an attempt to look more like her you change up your life. Katsuki picks up on it extremely quickly and is determined to let you know just how beautiful he thinks you are.

When Somone Flirts with You - Someone’s bothering you and your boyfriend isn’t going to stand by and just let them mess with you.

Reader with a ram Quirk

Resurrection (TodoBaku x Reader) - Soulmate AU; your soulmate’s name is written on your wrist. You, Bakugou, and Todoroki are the lucky three with two names on your wrists. You refused to come to them, until the universe took charge; angsty with fluff.

Protect (TamaSuki x Reader) - Someone insults Suki and Tama in front of you and you try to ignore it. But when they hit you first, you two end up in a bad fight that Tamaki and Katsuki stumble upon; fluff.

Loss of a Loved One (BakuToshi x Reader) - It’s been a year since your grandmother passed away and you try desperately to hide your pain. But your boyfriends won’t let that slide.

Reader with Venom for a Quirk - You lie to your husband and tell him your quirkless, but during a date your secret is revealed.

Katsuki Bakugou with an s/o who’s a detective!

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

You’re Alive - Soulmate AU where whatever you write on your skin appears on your soulmate’s. Todoroki’s been trying for years to reach you and eventually comes to the sad conclusion you died. Until, he saw words on his wrist, he didn’t write; fluff.

Late Night Trip - You're hungry late at night! So you and your husband take a trip to the store! PURE FLUFF!!

Where He Likes To Kiss You - He loves to kiss you! He’ll shower you with them, but what’s his favorite spot? Fluff

Injuries - You and your boyfriend finally get a chance to spend time together, however, on the little date you run into a villain.

When Somone Flirts with You - Someone’s bothering you and your boyfriend isn’t going to stand by and just let them mess with you.

Reader with a ram Quirk

Repair (TodoShin x Reader) - Hitoshi and Shoto take care of you, their ridiculously overworked girlfriend.

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

Rarity - Poly Relationship with Deku & Todoroki

Camping - You and your husband, Eijiro go on a little camping! PURE FLUFF!!!

Breakable - Kirishima finds out that his s/o (also wife) is a notorious villain who is a thief, and is surprised because he hadn’t caught on until their s/o is arrested and interviewed; HEAVY ANGST!;

Reconcile: P2 to that one ^; Kirishima misses you so much that he’s willing to become a villain for you. But you won’t let him do that.

KiriDeku x Reader - You three take a trip to the beach where some people bother you. Cue your heroes to the rescue! Fluffy!

Where He Likes To Kiss You - He loves to kiss you! He’ll shower you with them, but what’s his favorite spot? Fluff

When Somone Flirts with You - Someone’s bothering you and your boyfriend isn’t going to stand by and just let them mess with you.

Reader with a ram Quirk

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

Be Mine? - Denki’s been crushing on you for a while now and you just don’t seem to pick up on it! So, he asks you out on a date! For real this time! Super fluff!

Notes - You’re super new to Japan and you barely know the language. You’ve transferred into class 1A and you have your own translator! Except, you start to like a certain electric blond! Fluffy! P2

Language Barrier - You’ve been in class 1A for a few months now and your crush on Denki’s grown immensely. So, you decide to learn Japanese to ask him out, turns out, he’s learning English for you. Fluffy! P1

Traitor - Midoriya hears that Kaminari could be the traitor and soon the entirety of class 1A finds out and starts distancing themselves from him. Heavy angst!

Never Again - You finally managed to build up the courage to ask Denki out. It doesn’t go the way you planned, at all. Heavy angst!

Fool - How are you and Denki doing after everything? Part two to Never Again

Where He Likes To Kiss You - He loves to kiss you! He’ll shower you with them, but what’s his favorite spot? Fluff

When Somone Flirts with You - Someone’s bothering you and your boyfriend isn’t going to stand by and just let them mess with you.

Reader with a ram Quirk

Reader with Venom for a Quirk - You lie to your husband and tell him your quirkless, but during a date your secret is revealed.

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Rainy Date (ShinKami x Reader) - You, Hitoshi, and Denki go on a date but it’s ruined when it starts raining, causing Denki and Hitoshi to get into an argument.

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

Diary - Shinsou finds your diary where you’ve written way too much about him. Good thing he feels the same way. Fluffy!

Regrets - Shinso realizing that his s/o is very sick and hid it from him. Later to find out that she died because of her not wanting to worry him; heavy angst.

Where He Likes To Kiss You - He loves to kiss you! He’ll shower you with them, but what’s his favorite spot? Fluff

Cafe Confessions - Shinsou realizes you have a crush on him and he asks you out. You agree to go out with him but don’t realize it’s a date, until he confesses at the end of the day.

Executioner - Your family has had the ability to summon demons for generations. Your quirk, along with your mother’s, allows you to summon powerful demons to aid you in battle. You were too terrified to use your quirk when you were a child, however, that quickly changes when you’re attacked at night and summon a mighty powerful demon.

When Somone Flirts with You - Someone’s bothering you and your boyfriend isn’t going to stand by and just let them mess with you.

Reader with a ram Quirk

I Really Like You - Your walking home late and night and you get attacked, your good friend’s there to save you, but he ends up getting hurt too! You take him home to patch him up, but he just can’t keep his eyes off of you.

Repair (TodoShin x Reader) - Hitoshi and Shoto take care of you, their ridiculously overworked girlfriend.

Loss of a Loved One (BakuToshi x Reader) - It’s been a year since your grandmother passed away and you try desperately to hide your pain. But your boyfriends won’t let that slide.

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Misunderstanding - Your soulmate tattoo’s always confused you. Turns out, it confused Shinsou too.

Rainy Date (ShinKami x Reader) - You, Hitoshi, and Denki go on a date but it’s ruined when it starts raining, causing Denki and Hitoshi to get into an argument.

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

Where He Likes To Kiss You - He loves to kiss you! He’ll shower you with them, but what’s his favorite spot? Fluff

Baby - You’re pregnant, how does Fumi handle it?

Pretty Pink - You love the color pink but you’re too scared to tell your girlfriend. What would she say? Well, one day you decide to tell her.

Music - Your big sister Jirou teaches you how to play your favorite instrument. Then you film it and send it to class 1A! | PLATONIC

Fiery - Your quirk is so dangerous you’re scared to make friends so no one gets close to you. But Jirou refuses to back down.

Candy - You’ve had your eye on the most amazing hero ever, Suneater. It’s time you finally claim your prize.

The Big 3 Plus 1 - You meet The Big 3 for the first time and it doesn’t go all that well because you know you’re better than them; angst with fluff.

Marry Me, Bunny - Tamaki’s been trying to propose to you for a while now! He finally gets his chance; SUPER FLUFFY!!

Doubt - Soulmate AU; Everyone in the world has a soulmate and Tamaki Amajiki is no different. The thing is, he’s terrified to meet or talk to his soulmate because he’s scared they could a villain. That is... until he’s finally able to talk to you; angst with fluff!. PART 2 - Just your relationship progression with Tamaki SUPER FLUFFY! PART 3 - You and Tamaki have been married for a few years but you feel like you need a new addition! Why not start a family?

Dating Tamaki Hcs - What’s Tamaki like in a relationship?!

Finding out you’re pregnant -You find out you’re pregnant and neither you nor your husband was planning it. So you decide you’re going to surprise him... but he ends up finding out anyway. Fluff

Envy - Tamaki’s been busy helping Nejire with her pageant and you’re not very happy with that; angsty with fluff!

Where He Likes To Kiss You - He loves to kiss you! He’ll shower you with them, but what’s his favorite spot? Fluff

Tamaki Amajiki with an s/o who’s a detective! - Fluff

When Somone Flirts with You - Someone’s bothering you and your boyfriend isn’t going to stand by and just let them mess with you.

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

The Big 3 Plus 1 - You meet The Big 3 for the first time and it doesn’t go all that well because you know you’re better than them; angsty with fluff!

Disillusioned - Mirio and Nejire find Tamaki during a panic attack and he tells them it’s your fault! But you’re innocent and your own boyfriend won’t believe you; HEAVY ANGST! P2

Lost Again - Turns out the villain was lying... so what really happened to you? - HEAVY ANGST

Emotionless - Alternate ending to Disillusioned; Mirio finally finds you, but there’s nothing left to save.

Where He Likes To Kiss You - He loves to kiss you! He’ll shower you with them, but what’s his favorite spot? Fluff

Too Late - You’re in love with Mirio but you’re too scared to tell him. Turns out, he feels the same way... but it’s too late now. HEAVY ANGST.

When Somone Flirts with You - Someone’s bothering you and your boyfriend isn’t going to stand by and just let them mess with you.

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

Nejire Hado

The Big 3 Plus 1 - You meet The Big 3 for the first time and it doesn’t go all that well because you know you’re better than them; angsty with fluff!

Wings of Warmth! - Keigo has gotten so used to using his wings to keep himself warm, that he no longer needs blankets, so he gets rid of all of them. The problem is, you’re spending the night and he has no blankets to give you to keep you warm at night. SUPER FLUFF!

Hawks x Reader - Hawks learns about his s/o’s vampire quirk for the first time. Not the fluffiest.

Picnic Confessions - You’re madly in love with Keigo and he easily catches on. What’s his plan? To take you on a date, tease you, then confess!

I Won’t Forget - Keigo finally turns 25 and get’s sent to the soulmate realm where he meets you. The catch is, after a week when you both leave, you won’t remember each other.

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

I love you - You’re Aizawa’s wife and you visit him in class! Fluffy!

Bets - Your daughter is of age when her quirk will manifest. Turns out, your pro hero friends made bets on who’s quirk she’ll get!

Torment - Your quirk hurts you every time you use it and Aizawa can’t find a way to deal with it.

Camp Confessions (EraserMight x Reader) - Toshinori and Shouta are madly in love with you! On a camping trip, the two finally decide to confess, but the damn students keep getting in the way.

Reader with Venom for a Quirk - You lie to your husband and tell him your quirkless, but during a date your secret is revealed.

It’s your Birthday - It’s your birthday! See how your husband plans it!

Sweet Like Chocolate - You’ve been craving sweets recently but you don’t want to just buy them. So, why not make some with your husband?

Telling him you don’t want kids - You’ve been with your boyfriend for a while and you finally build up the courage to tell him you don’t want children! How does he react?

Tomura Shigaraki

The Greatest Hero - Pro Hero Shigaraki runs into you, a powerful villain, and you confess you’re in love with him! Now you just need to recruit him!

Poly:

KiriDeku x Reader - You three take a trip to the beach where some people bother you. Cue your heroes to the rescue!

TodoBaku x Reader - Soulmate AU; your soulmate’s name is written on your wrist. You, Bakugou, and Todoroki are the lucky three with two names on your wrists. You refused to come to them, until the universe took charge.

KiriBaku x Reader - Reader is their personal nurse and tells them how worried she gets when they rush headfirst into battle.

Protect (TamaSuki x Reader) - Someone insults Suki and Tama in front of you and you try to ignore it. But when they hit you first, you two end up in a bad fight that Tamaki and Katsuki stumble upon.

Repair (TodoShin x Reader) - Hitoshi and Shoto take care of you, their ridiculously overworked girlfriend.

Rainy Date (ShinKami x Reader) - You, Hitoshi, and Denki go on a date but it’s ruined when it starts raining, causing Denki and Hitoshi to get into an argument.

Camp Confessions (EraserMight x Reader) - Toshinori and Shouta are madly in love with you! On a camping trip, the two finally decide to confess, but the damn students keep getting in the way.

Misc:

Class 1A Meets Your Abusive Boyfriend - Angsty with fluff

Class 1A & 1B Go Camping and Monoma pulls a dangerous prank - Fluffy

Monoma Pranks You One Too Many Times - Fluffy??

#pocket's masterlist #onyxiana's masterlist

562 notes · View notes

multimetaverse · 4 years

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Jamie Johnson 5x05 Review

If you were a fan of Andi Mack or Doafp you should check out the pretty great British show Jamie Johnson which just launched a coming out story line for one of its main characters and covers a bunch of other important issues. Let’s dig in!

My reviews will feature spoilers from throughout the series and if you’d like to watch the story from the start there are only 3 eps in the 1st season, 10 in the 2nd and 3rd, and 13 in the 4th and 5th with casting and writing already underway for a 6th season. All the eps are available on the CBBC website if you live in Britain or have a VPN. You can also contact @tkstrand for access to the eps (just don’t tell Scotland Yard). A big thanks to Mike for introducing me and so many others to Jamie Johnson and single-handedly starting the fandom. I highly recommend watching all the eps from the start; Jamie Johnson is a very charming show that tackles a lot of important issues in the guise of being a show about soccer and the show has gotten better each season and the writing shows no signs of stalling or declining. The acting does start off really rough in S1 but has improved markedly and some of the actors are very talented though overall the acting is closer in quality to a show like GMW or No Good Nick than Andi Mack or Doafp. In fairness, a big reason for that is that the show has to spend so much time on soccer games and practices and the kids are actually pretty good players; so good in fact that for S4 the actors actually entered the 2018 Gothia cup in Sweden and did extremely well. Jamie Johnson is in many ways a British Andi Mack but with a British Gary Marsh who is much less of a censoring shithead and a British Terri Minsky and crew who are better and more consistent writers

Tonight was a big night for reformed bully and star soccer player Dillon Simmonds. He’s the closest analogue to TJ Kippen the show has though unlike TJ he’s a main character and has been in the show right from the pilot; in some eps he even gets the 2nd credit after Jamie. 5x05 was in many ways a callback to 4x05 which was the first ep that had subtext for gay Dillon. 4x05 also introduced most of the characters who will play a big role in Dillon’s coming out story line: Ruby Osborne, her biological sister Alba, her foster moms who are a married lesbian couple, Dillon’s younger brother Liam, and Dillon’s father. S4 is really when Dillon Simmonds becomes a hashtag good boy and his arc is focused on him getting out from his Father’s incessant pressure to go pro though there is some delicious gay subtext in eps 4x11-13

The show’s always been good at setting up plot points in advance, like Dillon’s diabetes, Wozza’s ADHD, and Duncan Jones’ shadyness, but those plots were set up and then addressed all in the same season. I don’t think it’s that surprising that the gay story line is the exception. It’s very likely that the writers didn’t intend Dillon to be gay until they set out to write S4 and they likely didn’t have full permission to go ahead with it until S5. It’s also likely that their original plan for exploring Dillon’s sexuality was going to involve Ruby trying to act on her crush on Dillon; 4x13 set that up and then in 5x01 Ruby tells Zoe out of nowhere that she’s over Dillon and only sees him as a brother and wouldn’t you know it, she doesn’t even think Dillon looks at girls in a romantic way!

Thankfully the show is going in a much better direction with the introduction of Elliot. He’s already been fleshed out with a personality and hobbies like astronomy and magic (for his next trick he’s going to make Dillon’s heterosexuality disappear). I was shocked at how flirty the Delliot scenes this ep were, not just because they were gay scenes but also because the show really has not had these kind of scenes before for any of the straight characters either. Even Jamie hasn’t had more than pretty clear hints that he likes Jack and wants to be with her. I don’t know if it’s because the show is targeted towards an audience of young men or if there’s a cultural difference across the pond but there’s consistently been very little romance of any kind throughout the series. If this had been an American series, there’s no way that Jamie wouldn’t have had at least one girl he went on a date with or something, even if it was only a brief thing. It’s refreshing in some ways and it means that the show has to look elsewhere for drama and angst

Dillon is obviously drawn to Elliot and thinks he’s cool but he has quite the reaction when he learns that Elliot is gay. He runs to tell Ruby that she needs to cut it out with Elliot because he’s gay which is clumsy writing because Zoe had just told him that Ruby told her that Elliot is not in fact her new boyfriend but is her new gay foster brother. They obviously needed to show Dillon’s strong reaction to the news but also needed a way to come off as kind of homophobic but my own theory is that Dillon wanted to make sure Ruby didn’t waste her time pursuing a gay guy like Sienna Jones had wasted her time trying to pursue Dillon in S4. As the show hasn’t really focused much on romance I’m not expecting much to come of Delliot especially since they have a built in escape hatch with Elliot only being in care until his mom is out of hospital but I am looking forward to what happens with them this season and what will happen with Dillon in the remaining seasons this show has

I think this was the least that Jamie has been in any ep. One thing I really like about this show is that they’re not afraid to have main characters miss an ep or two unlike American shows that usually have to have mains appear in every ep even if there’s no actual story for them. From the S5 trailer it looks like Jamie will get really into e-gaming while his broken leg heals after he was accidentally run over on his 16th birthday by his deadbeat dad Ian Reacher. I would assume that Jamie eventually gets back into real soccer but it does promise a lot of drama between Jamie and grandpa Mike who has always been Jamie’s staunchest supporter

Duncan ‘’Big Dunk’’ Jones, former pro soccer player turned silver fox and head of Phoenix FC, took a big step forward in redeeming himself for trying to scuttle Jamie’s career with Hawkstone by appointing Jamie’s mom Karen as the new head of wellness which fits with the CBBC announcement that S5 would in part focus on mental health

Alba once again lost her cool during a game. It’s clear that a lot of her anger issues stem from feelings of abandonment as well as the constant uncertainty and rapid changes she’s experienced as a foster child. The show has always been good at showing how what’s going on with the children in their home lives affects them at school and on the pitch, like Jamie acting out because of his dad walking out on the family and Dillon being a bully to try and fit into the role his dad wants him to play. It’s very interesting that they’re now bringing back Liam Simmonds to begin his redemption arc as he was the first to make Alba lose her cool by attacking her foster moms at his father’s instigation way back in 4x05

To the show’s credit, they’ve always been firm in showing how awful bullying and homophobia are and all the soccer teams in the series have shown a zero tolerance policy for it. It’s a different world in many ways from North America, I couldn’t imagine an American show about football or even a Canadian show about Hockey that would plausibly show a zero tolerance policy for bullying and homophobia

Looking Ahead:

Next ep features Liam’s return to Phoenix FC after Alba accepts his apology for his homophobia. His redemption arc will be interesting to watch especially as it;s certain to tie in to Dillon having to face up to his father who is the avatar of toxic masculinity and homophobia. Perhaps it will take Liam defending his brother to make his father see the errors of his ways

Not sure who will take over coaching the U14′s now that Mike has said he’ll be stepping aside

Zoe faces another talented black player who she clearly does not respond well to. Zoe has always been hyper competitive and worried about losing her place to another female player which in part stems from the stress she’s under as her ill mothers primary carer. Good for Zoe for getting through to Howard Royle about Hawkstone lacking a women’s team

5x07 looks like it will be a huge ep for Dillon and Delliot and it seems likely that Dillon will snap after realizing that Ruby and Elliot think he’s homophobic and will come out to Elliot. Should be good

Until next week Jamie Johnsoner’s

#Jamie Johnson #Dillon Simmonds #Delliot #Andi Mack #Doafp #Elliot #Ruby Osborne #Alba Osborne #Mike Johnson #Jamie Johnson Reviews

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alcalavicci · 4 years

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(Disclaimer: treat 1950s articles like they’re RPF/fanfiction. This is from 1960, but it still reads very much like a 50s article)

Photoplay Magazine- July 1960

WHY MILLIE PERKINS HAD TO SETTLE FOR A RUNAWAY MARRIAGE by Elaine Blake

When Millie Perkins and Dean Stockwell slipped off to Las Vegas for a secret marriage just before Easter Sunday, people in Hollywood didn't have the nerve to ask them, "But why the runaway? What's all the hush-hush about?" Hardly anyone knew them intimately enough to ask such personal questions. But they wondered plenty. For if Millie and Dean were older, or anyone of Hollywood's multi-divorced-and-married couples, you could more easily imagine them climbing into his three-year-old Chevy or her tiny English job and casually taking off for the Gretna Green Wedding Chapel in Vegas. But Millie and Dean are young! And though the newspaper stories were as brief and uninformative as this secretive couple themselves, you still read seven very romantic little words. "It was the first marriage for each." First marriage! To any girl that's a big-wedding dream woven of satin and lace, perfumed with flowers, set to organ music whispering in a hushed church till it swells triumphantly for a radiant bride and bridegroom. Mostly this is a girl's dream, a magic charm to keep romance alive forever. It's Her Day, her audience smiling and weeping just a little at the lovely vision coming down the aisle to meet her waiting bridegroom.

Millie had no part of the dream. You could understand Dean's not caring for it - many a male goes through the ordeal only because a girl loves a big wedding and he loves his girl. But Dean loves his girl, too. And wouldn't you expect a little girl from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, to want her family around when she says "I do" to the first love of her life? Why, then, did Millie Perkins, with a great big wonderful family - father and mother, four sisters and a brother - who could have made her wedding the most wonderful, exciting day in her life, settle for slipping off to a secret ceremony like a pair of runaways?

They drove up to Las Vegas just before eleven, that Good Friday morning. Millie was wearing a simple little blue dress. Everything about her is always tiny and unfancy, and her wedding outfit was no exception. But, for Millie, this was quite dressed up - a nice change from her eternal blouse-and-skirt-and-high-socks.

THEY WERE MR. AND MRS.

Their first stop was the Gretna Green, one of the many "marrying chapels" in Vegas and one of the nicest. They told the hostess, Mrs. Anderson, what they wanted in the way of a ceremony - a simple one, naturally. Then they headed immediately for the Clark County Courthouse to take out the license. A Las Vegas newspaperman just chanced by a stroke of luck - his - to be in the County Clerk's office. Hopefully, he followed Millie and Dean to the elevator, asking when and where they were getting married.

"No publicity," Dean said flatly. All further tries got the reporter nothing but a brush-off. What frustration! The only newspaperman on the scene and he was getting nowhere. He pleaded plaintively, "I wish you'd help me!" Dean shook his head, took Millie's arm and walked her away without another word.

Back at the Gretna Green, with the license, they found a minister summoned by the management, the Rev. Alan Robertson, pastor of the Church of Christ. The single-ring ceremony didn't take long. Millie

and Dean, alone with their love, seemed completely unaware that there were no attendants for a girl with four sisters, no best man for a boy with an older brother. No mother smiling through tears, no father choking down a lump.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," the minister said. They were Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dean Stockwell, looking into each other's eyes as they spoke a Beverly Hills address for the license to be forwarded to after it was duly recorded. Then, they left town - all this within a few hours. Nobody had seen the star of "Diary of Anne Frank" married to the star of "Compulsion" except a stranger, the chapel hostess.

Secrecy? Hollywood says that Millie's idol is Greta Garbo the Sphinx, and that Dean deals curtly with the press like HIS idol, Marlon Brando. Millie's studio got a taste of the same. All they knew about the marriage was what they read in the papers. Their frantic phone calls finally reached Millie after the weekend, and when they asked, pointblank, "Are you married?" she answered, "My personal life is my own."

But is a passion for privacy all that was back of the slip-away marriage? Hollywood thought not. People who wouldn't dream of asking either of them such an outright blunt question, immediately began asking each other more round-about ones. "Why do you suppose they had to run off like that, dodging reporters, and refusing to say if THEY DID or THEY DIDN'T marry?" For a while, there was even a revival of an old rumor - that this celebrated pair of "loners" were actually married more than half-a-year before, when a top movie columnist reported their secret union from "very reliable sources."

Now, this was all some people needed - Millie and Dean refusing to deny or confirm a new report of a new secret marriage - and the old one was stirred to life. Some began insisting, all over again, that they must have been husband and wife the whole time.

If all the uproar and theory doesn't seem to make sense, neither do most rumor binges in small towns where everybody knows everybody - except the rare handful who REFUSE to be known. Actually nothing could be simpler than to explain Millie's and Dean's kind of wedding, once you accept them not merely as two secretive people, but two highly individual ones.

"LITTLE PEOPLE"

Both are what Millie calls "little people" - meaning they make no pretenses and are sturdily against being pushed into any. And before they fell in love, each had a shattering capacity for loneliness. But right there is a nub of difference. For Dean has known, since childhood, what it is to be so apart from others and so hurt by the apartness that he'd die before he'd let it show. That's loneliness, from way back and deep down.

But Millie was never a hermit girl - not until she came to Hollywood. Home in Fair Lawn, in the tree-shaded house full of lively Perkinses, you couldn't be sad unless you worked at it. "A lot of living went on there" she recalls wistfully, "and I was always part of it." Her chief grief was peering into the mirror and deciding she was the one ugly Perkins. She still isn't sure the duckling has, as yet, made it to swan.

That's a tell-tale symptom. The ground isn't firm under Millie's feet because her big breaks came with luck, not the hard work she believes in. When she left the safe nest for New York, fashion modeling fell

into her lap - someone liked photos he saw of her. It spiraled. Twentieth Century-Fox talent scouts, searching the world for a girl to play Anne Frank, also liked Millie's face in a magazine. They chose her

over 10,000 applicants who wanted to be movie stars, when she didn't particularly want to be one. She came to Hollywood looking fourteen, indeed, in dark knee socks, a rumpled skirt and blouse. These are still her favorite kind of clothes - she's indignant when they're called her "Anne Frank costume."

But she came quivering with fear. She was an amateur, a worrier, the pros were watching for her to fall on her face. She never got over her dread of failure. She cried under pressure, she walked alone. But to those on the set who were patient and kind, she was sweetly courteous. Director George Stevens beame an ideal in the place of her papa, the Merchant Marine officer she used to greet rapturously after each sea trip when she was home. Dodie Heath, who became Millie's friend while both were in the "Anne Frank" cast, loved her for the gentleness that many mistook for weakness - till they found she couldn't be stepped on.

Dodie told a writer, "When Millie finds someone who understands her, she gets all excited." Prophetic words. For when she met Dean, they both found understanding. And this he had been groping for all his life. From then on they walked together. They shared the outdoors, on a sailboat, on horseback, anywhere away from people and night clubs. They sprawled in secluded grassy fields and read to each other. And they talked - about everything in both their worlds. Millie even confided how sad it was for a little girl to be an ugly duckling. She didn't care that girls never admit to ugliness, past, present or future.

Anyway, Dean topped her. He said, "It's worse to be such a pretty little boy that the kids you want to play with laugh in your face. You're different - a child actor, and that's a terrible thing to be!" At six, Dean was a stage veteran starting a film career in "Anchors Aweigh." He worked too hard and played too little, till at sixteen he'd completed high school and more than twenty pictures for M-G-M. Then he rebelled.

"I'm through with all this," he told his mother and older brother Guy. "I'm going to college. I don't know what I want to be - but I want to be something." A year at Berkeley, and the "apartness" got under his skin again. He felt he'd always be "that actor" or "that conceited ham." Restless, unfulfilled, he took off for anonymity. As "Rudy Stocker" he wandered to find himself. He did everything from lugging office mailsacks, in New York, to driving railroad spikes in Texas. After a few years, satisfied he could live by the sweat of hard labor, he came back - first to the New York stage, to co-star in "Compulsion," then to Hollywood. And eventually to meet and fall in love with Millie Perkins.

THEY'RE YOUNG - BUT WISE

The mixed-up rebel was a man now, and Millie saw this in him; leaned on him for strength. She worried with him, wept on him, laughed with him, shared his quiet times with music and books, his exciting times in the big outdoors. Dean had been close to other girls, but never one like Millie. He listened to her joys and troubles, comforted and praised her, poured out his own complicated heart to her - and never, never tried to change her.

"This is my girl," he introduced her at his birthday party, where she showed up in the same old kind of skirt and blouse - and the others were all so dressed! He kissed her and said, "My girl looks different from any other - because she IS different." He loves her exactly as she is and doesn't want to change her.

This is the all-accepting love that Millie never wrote her family back home about; they read it for themselves in the columns. Friends said then, "Millie isn't sure how the Perkinses will take it, they being Catholic and the boy Jewish." They described the pictured fragment of the Ten Commandments framed and hanging over Dean's fireplace, and the Torah, the Hebrew Law, among his books.

But if difference of religion finally prompted them to go off to Vegas, secretly, and be married by a Protestant pastor, that's only part of it. The whole story is that Millie and Dean have something together far more important to them then religion, family, career, anybody or anything.

They're young, but wise. They know love is something you can't describe in words that anybody but your own beloved will truly understand. And suppose, not understanding, your family or studio or friends disapprove? They can't stop you, not when you're of legal age. But to two sensitive people, criticism of their best, dearest treasure would be harsh as a rough finger bruising a petal.

No, say the few people who really know Millie Perkins and Dean Stockwell, they took no chances. They thought about how they felt toward each other, and decided it WAS their own and very precious. That was why they ran away - to protect their love.

SEE DEAN IN 20TH'S " SONS AND LOVERS."

-The End -

#stockwell sassies

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kcourtney01-blog · 5 years

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Social Media and Literacy Learning

Author: Kali Courtney

Date: 02/26/19

Literacy is the quality or state of being literate which means having the ability to read or write. Having that ability is important within this day in age due to that a lot of information we receive as people is put into forms where knowing how to read and write may be beneficial. Different sources such as books, newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals and much more have given people access to an abundance of knowledge. Since the peak of the 21st century there has been rise to a new source of information which is social media. Social media has various forms of digital platforms where individuals can express themselves and stay connected with people across the globe from them. Just like there are multiple different versions of newspapers such as, The New York Times, StarTribune etc. There are different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Blogs, and so many more. Within each of those social media sites they each present their own forms of communication and information outsourcing. People who use Instagram make personal profiles and share their world through the use of pictures and filters. Twitter is more of a platform where individuals really can be personal as a online diary of sorts. As times have changed and continue to change, the way we collect our information is as well, so the question is “How does social media help with literacy learning?”

I want to showcase within this passage some of the ways that literacy learning can be aided through the use of social media. Within this article I will be addressing how social media has helped me within my literacy learning. I also will be pulling from great writing scholars such as Deborah Brandt and speaking on behalf of literacy sponsors within social media and how those sponsors are linked to literacy success. Lastly, I will be speaking on behalf of Malcolm X pulling from snippets of his autobiography; I will be showing that if Malcolm had access to social media his literacy journey would have been much different. To start off I have been lucky enough to see the evolution of social media and the internet being that I was born at the beginning of the 2000’s. When social media first arose it was used as more of a source for people to stay interconnected with one another. Facebook was used so every once in a while I could see what my cousins in Puerto Rico were up to and stalk their daily hilarious posts. Instagram was used just primarily by younger people where I could post a picture of my daily outfit or a cool scenic picture. In terms of actual information such as news and things of that nature I would get from watching Fox News or reading the latest newspaper. Now in terms of literacy, anything that involves reading or writing is engaging in the act of being literate. By me engaging in Facebook or Instagram, in writing captions under my pictures or writing daily post on Facebook I was sharing a form of my own literacy work. I will say that now since social media platforms have changed drastically they offer much more sources of information. I have learned new literacies just from scrolling through my explore page or recommended on Instagram. Due to instagram I was able to learn how to take care of my naturally curly hair by reading about what products helped certain women and men and which products worked on my curl pattern. I also follow many blogs that speak on women empowerment and self-growth which have given me the tools to be more self sufficient and boost my confidence by seeing what these other women post and talk about. By seeing their literary works I was able to learn many things (new literacies) for my own personal use that I don’t think books or newspapers or your daily magazine would have been able to show me.

As I mentioned in speaking on behalf of my personal connections and experiences with social media, I spoke about blogs or pages that helped me in learning new information; sources that aided me along my literacy learning and are still helping me to this day. Those pages and blogs are what you would call “Literacy Sponsors”. Deborah Brandt, whom is a Professor emerita in the Department of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, thoroughly explains what literacy sponsors are and their importance in writing. Deborah states “sponsors seemed a fitting term for the figures who turned up most typically in people’s memories of literacy learning: older relatives , teachers , priest , supervisors , military officers , editors , influential authors.”(Brandt, 2017, p.73) As Brandt stated sponsors are people or things that have helped shape your literacy outcomes and in my case and, I’m sure in the case of many others, social media has played a crucial sponsor in literacy learning and outcomes. Further into the chapter, Brandt touches on some key concepts in relation to sponsors and sponsorship . Brandt states “people throughout history have acquired literacy pragmatically under the banner of others’ causes.”(Brandt, 2017, p.74) I really appreciated what Brandt spoke about in terms of sponsors spreading their messages to others without even the slightest idea that their doing so and same goes for the individual taking in the sponsor's information. Social media sites are so big and vast and there is an abundance of different sponsors that people come across on a daily basis. Just from scrolling through my feed on Instagram or twitter I come across thousands of posts from people I know to people I’ve never seen before. Then next thing I know I’m reading about a strangers opinion on if cats are better than dogs; or on someone's political views. Social Media is a new wave of how people are accessing different information and learning constantly. Since the uprise of social media, I’ve seen an increasing number of individuals becoming more vocal in social and political issues and it’s because they see others posting about those things and others are sharing their knowledge about those topics and the learning just continues. One thing will pass from one platform to another and eventually it becomes accessible to many around the globe! Just as I can testify to social media being a avid sponsor for me in my literacy journey it is one for many others and they don’t even realize the power in what it’s doing for them.

Although social media is this great source of information some may argue that it isn’t that great. For as long as I can remember I’d always hear my Dad say or my Grandmother “all that facebooking is frying your brain!” They would say that because sometimes I would find myself not knowing how to spell words properly because I relied so much on automatic spell check from using digital platforms so much that I began to use less of my natural brain power. So in certain aspects I could see as to why some would think social media doesn’t help in literacy learning. I also think that a part in those opposing views in generational changes and shifts. Many whom I’ve asked this question to who opposed it were older (30 or older). I know many times my father has voiced to me that all this technology is making this new generation lazy and when he was younger they didn’t have all these fancy machines to do a lot of work for us. I think that like with anything being used for learning whether it be books, textbooks, teachers learning style, social media etc. Everything will have it’s pros and cons but I believe that because we are in an ever evolving technological time social media is very useful in helping with literacy learning.

Now lastly, Malcolm X whom in many eyes was one of the greatest figures within Black History, was influential beyond all means and many saw him as very intelligent. He was an individual who spoke with elegance and poise and who knew how to strategically convey his message and voice to millions upon thousands. The snippet of Malcolm's autobiography shows his struggles of not be able to know how to read and write when entering into prison; Malcolm had stated “I became increasingly frustrated at not being able to express what I wanted to convey in letters that I wrote, especially those to Mr.Elijah Muhammad.”(X, 2017, p.107) He expressed much in the beginning of the passage how being illiterate was very frustrating for him and how in the streets he was able to gain and earn respect by words but now his vocal articulation doesn’t do much for him as being literate in reading and writing would more. In another passage, Malcolm X expressed “I saw that the best thing I could do was get a hold of a dictionary -- to study to learn some words. I was lucky enough to reason also that I should try and improve my penmanship.”(X, 2017, p.208) Within that, Malcolm X pointed out something important and that was a literacy sponsor. Going back to what Brandt was speaking on behalf of in the earlier paragraphs, Malcolm himself, Mr. Muhummed, his yearning to become literate and more importantly the dictionary were avid sponsors within his literacy journey. Without those resources Malcolm probably wouldn’t have converted to Islam, nor led great social political movements across the nation/world. Although I do believe and feel that if Malcolm would have had access to the resources of social media his literacy journey would have been easier but also I think the basis of his message of Black empowerment would have reached the hearts of many more. Malcolm himself would have been a great literary sponsor to many if Malcolm would have had access to let's say Instagram, he would have been able to post his flyers and messages for many to see! Beyond even him being a literacy sponsor he would have gained quick access to different resources providing him aid and information of literacy. He would have been able to get practice writing through social media platforms and I think and believe his literacy journey would have been much faster if he would have had those technological resources at hand. Although I am making assumptions, I think some can start to come to the conclusion that social media is a very useful tool in many individuals literacy journeys and those platforms have helped many start affluent careers and make marks on the world in numerous of ways. Malcolm was able to leave a mark in spite of not having those sources but imagine if those tools were at his disposal what he’s mark would have looked like.

In conclusion, between my personal experiences with social media, Brandt’s literacy sponsors, and through the story of Malcolm X’s literacy journey, we are able to see how social media can make a positive impact on literacy learning. Although many people (typically older generations) might see social media as a negative platform for communication because of how lazy it can make some people, social media gives people a place to share and read new information in which they may have not known or heard of before. Social media will continue to grow and I think it is important for people to continue to use it as a place where people can exchange new information to spread across the globe. Having this at your fingertips ensures that you won’t have to just go to the library all the time just to get some information about something so little. All of this is positive for the community despite social media’s negative connotations.

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aglionbyfoxes · 6 years

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Kevin + retirement

but like....imagine how sad it is once Kevin can't play pro anymore

like once he gets a lil achey in his bones, can't run as fast anymore, doesn't bounce back quite like he used to

not like he's out of shape by any means, he'll be in shape for the rest of his life

but eventually he won’t be able to play like he used to

and it'll feel like losing a part of himself, like losing his hand all over again

Neil still has a few years in him before the same thing happens to him

(which Kevin is furious about, considering all the cigarette smoke he’s inhaled over the years)

when Andrew retired it wasn’t a big deal for him

when Kevin retires an intervention with Wymack and Andrew was necessary

Neil was no help, arguing Kevin’s side the whole time, saying how a few minor injuries (that required hospital visits) in one season were nothing

and really Kevin knew this day was coming, knew this would happen eventually...but he doesn’t feel old, not really

and mid-30s just seems so young in the grand scheme of things but he’s already the oldest on his team

not that he wouldn’t enjoy coaching or sportscasting, getting to talk about exy all day is like his second dream job

(his first being getting to play exy all day)

but it’s been so much of his world for so long that he can’t imagine not having that rush, that high he gets from playing

(not to mention how it grounds him, keeps that thread between him and his mom alive, how it kept him going, like a steady solid beat all these years)

at first Kevin goes through a depression the likes of which he hasn’t since college

he doesn’t drink, not anymore, has enough of a support system set up so that even if he wanted to they’d stop him before it even hinted at getting too bad

It’s more of a purposeless, hopeless kinda depression

but Kevin still has to work cause his life is owed to the moriyamas

and everything is just off for a while, he tries sportscasting first, cause he’s young and handsome and Kevin “charm-master” Day

buuuuut it’s super obvious on air that he’s adrift,

he doesn’t know what he’s here for, doesn’t care to talk about other people’s stats when his own aren’t there too, when he doesn’t have that motivation to fight

he starts getting less and less air time and those who know the real situation are really worried because they know how easily old stars can fade into oblivion

because then what would he be to the moriyamas

but after almost a year of this, and Wymack is still coaching the foxes, Kevin is helping him sort through potential recruits and one catches his eye

she’s good, not great, but good, with potential

and Wymack sees something in him that he hasn’t in along time so he suggests that Kevin come along when he goes to meet the kid

Kevin agrees because why not, and there’s just something about this girl that draws Kevin in

they meet her and she’s interested but ultimately decides to go in a different direction than Palmetto, she ends up going to Penn State instead

Kevin is disappointed, feels like he’s letting some kind of opportunity slip through his fingers

and Wymack is disappointed because the past few weeks between seeing her tape, going out to scout her, and trying to convince her to commit to the foxes, Wymack really thought that Kevin was coming back

but then wouldn’t you know it

it’s June, and the beginning of summer training, and Penn State needs a new coach

(Wymack totally 100% didn’t pull any strings)

(not that anyone wouldn’t want Kevin, just that the school needed a little convincing to realize that they had an extra coaching position open)

so Kevin goes and he’s the asshole he always is at practice and at first he keeps himself removed, a little cold, a little distant

sure that one girl could be great but it still hurts Kevin to think about his time in their position, and where he is now

but the more he works with them, the more excited he gets, the more he starts to care about them and get excited by their accomplishments and opportunities

and oh wow, he forgot that this is what it was like to love this sport

and then the season starts and he has a friendly rivalry going with dan who is coaching at palmetto with Wymack

and Neil watches all his teams games and they talk about what could be improved afterwards

and Kevin will still occasionally do tv spots but now he’s loving it again, needing it again and you could feel the difference through the tv

and it’s not until he meets up with the foxes for Christmas does he realize that he hasn’t gotten the chance to actually play exy with people in a really long time

and it hits him like a train because how the fuck did he let himself think that just because he wasn’t playing pro anymore, it meant that he couldn’t play exy at all anymore?

he could even still qualify for the Olympics in 2 years if he wanted to

so slowly but surely Kevin learns to live without exy being the center of his universe

he finally gets to read more, watches a shit ton of documentaries with Aaron, gets to watch his team grow, his family grow, sees Andrew and Neil at least three times a week

and he’s starting to see how he can be happy like this

and when Neil’s time comes 3 years later and they have to convince him to stop too, Kevin is the most understanding of his combination anger/fear/sadness

but he’s also able to help Neil through it all, cause he’s learned

#aftg #tfc #kevin day #all for the game #the foxhole court #i love him a lot ok #also this happens probably like ~mid 30s #mine

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minyardjostenrivalry · 7 years

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lowkey i was convinced neil was a trans boy at the beginning of the foxhole court and i still think it would make a solid AU

like okay maybe when his mother smuggles him away it’s with him dressed as a boy because nathan thinks he has a daughter, and maybe they can throw him off their trail a little, but neil’s mother dies and he keeps dressing like a boy and choosing male names because that’s what feels right (what’s felt right ever since his mother first changed his name). it’s not a disguise anymore, his father’s men have caught up with him enough times to know, but at least he can let himself have this, even if he’s not allowed any other truths

I’d imagine he’s got a body type that’s kind of androgynous so the other foxes don’t immediately suspect when they meet him, they just know he won’t change around them, and there are any number of possible reasons for that (it’s still mostly the scars). besides, he’s already secretive enough about everything else

riko knows, though, and maybe his physical abuse at evermore doesn’t change, but he deadnames neil for weeks, which hurts so much more having been solidly neil for this long

neil shows up at the airport after christmas with hair grown out auburn and slightly too long to keep from emphasizing the little bit of softness in his jaw, and when wymack looks at him he’d flinch if he had the energy before he realizes that wymack is just studying his injuries and his tattoo, either already knew or just doesn’t care because one of His Kids has just been through hell and back and nothing else matters

andrew finds out at some point. he doesn’t seem to care, and for once, that’s reassuring

the rest of the team doesn’t know until riko’s men break into their locker room and write “happy 19th birthday, princess” on the bathroom wall (their first instinct is to think it’s about allison because no one else gets called that, but she’s well past 19 and looks as confused as the rest of them. neil’s staring like he saw a ghost, and the blood in his locker lays out too perfect a trail). the argument afterwards still starts out about the twins, and moves to neil’s family, but eventually someone needs confirmation and asks why it was “princess” in blood on their wall and neil has no choice but to tell them enough.

they’re confused at first, and for the most part they don’t mean any harm, but they don’t quite get it. they think he’s just disguised as a boy to help whatever he’s running from, asking if they should call him something else or use female pronouns when it’s just them, because they think it’s another lie he’s fed them but they’re trying to help. he shakes his head and says as firmly as he can manage “I’m neil.” a couple of the others look like they’re going to press more, but it’s dan who comes to his defense, dan who had worked nights with trans stage sisters and will defend his right to not have to explain himself.

the others don’t know his birth name until the FBI officers use it, and not one of them says it aloud. to them, he’s neil and he’s theirs. by the end of the interrogation, he’s legally neil josten, and he never needs to be anything else again. years later, even with the moriyamas’ cut, his pro salary is more than enough to pay for HRT, and top surgery adds two new scars to the collection on his torso, but these get to heal the way they’re supposed to, and these he doesn’t hate seeing. they’re a ‘fuck you’ to lola and his father and riko even after they’re all dead, a reminder that he stopped running and survived.

#neil josten #aftg au #aftg #my thing #writing

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tessatechaitea · 7 years

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Suicide Squad #15

Super-tits?

Not that he can draw any body type particularly well.

Now that Amanda has appeared to yell, "Surprise! Everything is different than you thought it was, Rustam!", Katana slips out of her bonds and chops Deadshot's hand off. That's okay. He probably wasn't using his left hand too much anyway. Except probably to masturbate. That might seem improbable but I'm right-handed and I masturbate with my left hand. I switched up decades ago when I was still a teenager because I was masturbating so much that my penis was curving to one side. I had to even it out! Eventually, I just got used to using my left! Plus, it's much sexier this way. Guess what? Harley Quinn also isn't dead! I know, right?! What the hell! Suicide Squad? More like Cozy Time Fun Blast Squad. I bet Hack didn't die either! And I bet Deadshot's cut off arm was one of those fake plastic Halloween ones that my creepy uncle pretends he's wearing when he touches all the cute young mother's butts. The Burning World Buddies realize maybe they should be named the Suicide Squad as Captain Boomerang cuts off Ravan's head and Killer Croc begins to eat Manticore and Enchantress casts a death spell on Jinn. Or Djinn? Whatever. Finally, Deadshot shoots Rustam in the back because Deadshot always works for Amanda Waller. He works for her so hard that he's willing to have a hand cut off while doing it. It was obvious he was still with the Squad or else Katana would have cut off his right hand. Even for Deadshot, it's tough to make accurate shots with his left wrist pistol when he can only look out of the scope visor over his right eye. In the end, it turns out Amanda was controlling everything the whole time, just like everybody reading this knew. So obvious. I was just joking when I kept repeating that Amanda Waller was really dead. I never actually believed it for once! No, really! I didn't! I just said it for laughs! Seriously! Why won't you believe me?! I'm a Grandmaster Comic Book Reader, dammit! Later, Amanda checks out Hack's body down in the morgue so she can say a thing she's never said since The New 52 began.

If by "some," you mean "a few Man-bats here and there," then sure, I guess.

Deadshot gets a new metal arm because it's cool and shit. Plus he gets to see his daughter and spend a weekend on the coast with her. Apparently the only way to get Amanda Waller to play nice is if you open a fucking vein for her. Amanda Waller explains the magic of how she made it look like she died in the second story. It's the usual stuff, magic and assassins. Plus she explains that the president has given her permission to use General Zod in her Suicide Squad. Because why not? Nothing can go wrong there as long as she's got a little Kryptonite in her back pocket, right? The Ranking! No change! I totally don't believe Hack is dead! Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on you! Fool me three times, shame on you! Fool me four times, shame on you! Fool me five times, shame on you! Fool me six times, shame on you! Fool me seven times, shame on you! Fool me eight times, shame on you! Fool me nine times, shame on me!

#Suicide Squad #DC Comics #Rob Williams #John Romita Jr.#Eddy Barrows #Richard Friend #Eber Ferreira #Dean White #Adriano Lucas

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johneburton · 4 years

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The Outrage Mob: Shame, Bullying and Social Abuse in America’s Cancel Culture The phenomenon of social abuse is destroying America in the name of progress. Canceled. Shamed. Bullied. Rejected. Outed. Hated. Destroyed. The reports of cancelled, socially abused people are nearly non-stop in the news day after day. Educators suspended, athletes humiliated, actors fired, television shows cancelled, statues toppled, history rewritten. This is the fruit of today's wicked, unrelenting cancel culture. Shaming, bullying and abusing those who aren't promoting certain promoted narratives is a primary offensive weapon of ruthless outrage mobs. President Obama, speaking on the socially abusive cancel culture said, “…the way of me making change is to be as judgmental as possible about other people… You see how woke I was, I called you out. That's not activism. That's not bringing about change.” When your ideologies, questions and even your silence are threatening to those who are vigorously advancing their cause, whatever it may be, social abuse becomes an option. The penance they demand is determined not by an absolving priest but by a self-appointed jury seeking your destruction. The outrage mob rises up en force against the detractors and nothing short of renunciation of their values or destruction of their character will do. In America's cancel culture, blood-lust drives self-appointed moral revolutionaries to strip you of your dignity and parade you naked across social media. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Genesis 9:22 (ESV) A curse was the result of this shaming of Noah (which pales in comparison to today's hateful exposing). We have a choice as a nation. Cover in love and be blessed or report another's nakedness to the world and be cursed. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. Genesis 9:23 (ESV) Hateful uncovering and blacklisting is an ironic tactic people utilize against those they believe to be, well, hateful. It's the white-collar equivalent of the outrage mobs in the streets, rioters who are destroying businesses and lives with firebombs and violence in the name of eventual peace. They are attempting to drive out hate with hate, and not only will that never work, but it exposes their hypocrisy. THE FUTILITY OF TAKING A KNEE The socially abusive cancel culture has stricken another victim, future Hall of Famer, NFL quarterback Drew Brees. Drew heroically maintained his stand (a stand that millions of Americans applaud) that kneeling during the National Anthem was profoundly inappropriate. Call in the outrage mob. Skip Bayless tweeted, “Drew’s comments represented an elite, white insensitivity where you just live in your own world. It goes back to the question of whether he can do enough to be accepted as reformed.” So, one of the NFL's most authentic and truly good guys now has to be reformed because of a single, non-controversial statement that the majority of Americans hold to? After receiving death threats and hateful retorts, his wife Brittany relented and confessed,”We are the problem.” Skip Bayless also attacked actor Mark Wahlberg and said, “These racial incidents have been hiding in plain sight on Mark Wahlberg’s Wikipedia page since Wikipedia was born. Shannon (Sharpe) has always taught me that once you’re a racist, you’re a racist, and I’ll never quite trust you again.” Skip, I implore you to examine the absolute love and forgiveness of Jesus. A haunting past is the fuel for the social abuse movement in our nation. If our past seals our future, there is no hope, and Skip, you yourself are doomed. You have to ask (at risk of being socially abused) just what is the purpose of kneeling during the National Anthem? People defend the action by saying it has nothing to do with the flag. That's interesting, because the exact moment they chose to protest was when we are standing up for the flag. Not at halftime, not at the coin toss, not during player announcements (of course not), not when the game has finished (as praying Christian players do at the 50-yard-line). The protest is during our National Anthem. The protest is about our flag. They say it's to bring attention to racism and police brutality. I don't believe there's a single solitary soul in America that isn't aware of that endeavor. It's said that it's to promote change. I'd argue there are very few who would oppose the annihilation of racism and violence. Yes, it's true that change must come, and it's a rare few who would not agree with that statement. Thankfully, Los Angeles Chargers running back Justin Jackson said, “players might not kneel if they believe they are listened to when they speak about use of force by police and a variety of other social issues…” Players, we hear you. We really do. Divisive actions such as kneeling and shaming actually do great damage to the cause, and it crushes the spirit of our nation. It should be obvious that we can highly value our black brothers and sisters and the change we are all pursuing and also highly honor our veterans and the flag of our great nation. It's not either/or, it's both/and. SOCIAL ABUSE AND CANCEL CULTURE IS RAMPING UP The cancel culture protagonists are relentlessly attacking any and all who don't rally around narratives that have been determined by a few to be absolute truth. The classic television show COPS was cancelled. Elmer Fudd turned in his gun. Gone With The Wind was removed by HBO Max. Children's show Paw Patrol apparently spews pro-police propaganda. (Not propaganda, folks. It's pure, overt pro-police appreciation. Nearly every single one of America's police officers are heroes.) Wichita State University President Jay Golden cancelled an Ivanka Trump speech after a squeaky-wheeled outrage mob of 500 demanded she not be allowed to speak. Ben Shapiro has regularly experienced the same discrimination at college campuses. Gonzaga University has cancelled his appearance twice. Grand Canyon University cancelled Ben too as have Cal State Los Angeles and Middlebury College. Gordon Klein, a professor at UCLA was suspended from his job for a shocking violation: he required his students to take their finals. A demand that is shockingly similar to segregation of old was forced upon him. Due to the crisis surrounding the murder of George Floyd, an outrage mob called for black students alone to be exempt from the test. I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. I can't believe I'm going to write this next one. UCLA suspended Gordon Klein for three weeks because of this. The New York Post reports, “Klein — whom students slammed as “racist” and “dismissive” — was also placed under police protection at his Malibu home after receiving threats from critics…” The Flash actor Hartley Sawyer was fired after some of his old tweets were discovered. While he apologized, that wasn't enough for today's hyper-sensitive and hypocritical outrage mob (who doesn't have some sort of a past?). Fired. Terminated. Destroyed. Success. GRACE TO GROW If Skip Bayless has his way, no racist will ever be able to repent, apologize and change. They might as well just remain diseased by hatred for the rest of their lives. It would seem that others are equally hopeless, never able to learn from mistakes, always paying for their deeds and tweets and philosophies. It doesn't matter if they were naive children or if years of lessons leading to maturity have passed. No forgiveness, no grace to grow. A punitive response is the only response the outrage mob has to offer. Hartley Sawyer offered this heartfelt apology, “My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable. I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply. I am incredibly sorry, ashamed and disappointed in myself for my ignorance back then. I want to be very clear: this is not reflective of what I think or who I am now.” Not enough it seems. Let the outrage continue. Vigilante justice reigns supreme. FOX News political commentator Lisa Boothe tweeted, “I feel like we are all one tweet away from getting fired these days.” That's the terror cancel culture wants us all to carry. The cancel culture elite make the rules and we must tremble in fear at their great power. THANKFULLY WE HAVE SOME COMPETING VOICES The Federalist publisher Ben Domenech on Wednesday addressed the issue of the so-called cancel culture hitting the media. “Within the industry, they're able to weaponize social media to essentially create these rage mobs and drive talented people from their positions.” Comedian Kevin Hart has had enough of the nonsense too. “We can’t be so persistent with the search to find and destroy. Although some things are warranted and I understand, it’s just us as people have got to be smart enough to go … you know what, whatever has happened, has happened, but people deserve a chance to move on,” he said. “Life isn’t over because people say it is, and that’s what’s been happening as of late. It’s like people determine when your end button is pushed, but that’s not how it works. We need to lose that attitude and feeling and let people grow.” In an interview with Megyn Kelly, Bill Maher said the irony of cancel culture is “that the people who hate bullying are always bullying.” “All they care about is getting a scalp on the wall,” he continued. “They don't care if you're really a racist, which you're not. They don't care about a million things. That's what they care about, and they always want to find the worst version of what any person is.” And finally, Demi Lovato, who admits to being cancelled many times, said that she would like to switch out cancel culture for something called “forgiveness culture.” This, she said, would involve a person apologizing for what they might have done so they can be a good role model for others. I agree. Maybe agree to disagree culture would be healthy too. First published by The Stream.

#IFTTT #Facebook

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