#to be clear: I don’t actually care if the 2000s girl watches the towers fall live. but the stuff that comes immediately after NEEDS to be in

[mydollsaregay]

Last night, I was thinking about the twins and was able to put my finger on what was still bugging me about them.

Despite it making us feel old, the 90s IS history (hell, yesterday is history!). AG is saying it, but I’m not sure they… mean it?

From the hints of the girls’ stories I’ve seen so far, the only anchoring historical event seems to be y2k. Everything else is nice enough, but certainly not unique to the 90s, and could be given to a goty instead.

Honestly? Y2K is not enough. It’s a little too safe. Yes, it was a big deal to the people who lived through it. However, it was literally just New Years, but cooler (and with a lot of programming work in the background to change years to be stored as four digits). What are the lasting effects that kids can recognize today? Because I see very few that can’t just be chalked up to the passage of time.

There was a lot more to the 90s than fashion, pop culture, and the biggest new years ever, but it kinda seems like those are the only parts AG is interested in portraying. When you put y2k up against some of the other historical events that other American Girls live through, even just the ones from the 20th century, it seems pretty silly. Second wave feminism, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, and now….. new years but the number changes a bit more than usual!!!!!! Like. Cmon.

Even if they were wedded to portraying y2k, columbine, the effects of which are VERY much felt by kids today, happened that same year. But I kinda doubt AG will have the guts to even discuss it in the girl’s stories, which is really sad (and honestly one of the biggest downsides to more modern historical dolls - the history they’re covering is still too touchy for a lot of parents to be comfortable with).

Also, by pushing the girls to be in the late 90s, I’m betting AG is trying to worm their way out of having the 2000s girl live through 9/11 (i.e. watching it on tv) and the start of the war on terror. Which like. I get WHY (still too touchy for parents) but it’s really frustrating. 9/11 and it’s aftermath is arguably one of the most impactful events in American history, it’s stupid to dance around it. Felicity gets to live through the actual revolution but god forbid a more modern girl actually live through recent historical events.

[thoughtsofnaught]

I’m an older millennial, or I guess a micro generation Zennial. The first mass school shooting I remember is the Westside Middle School shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Why? Because it was close to me. Around 4 hours away. March 24, 1998. 4 female students a pregnant teacher. How it began? The pulling of a fire alarm.

I was 12. The same age as 3 of the 4 girls kid. Wanna know what policies we put in place? Cages over the alarms.

Sadly over a year later made us forget about this one, and all school shootings before it. Yes, there’s actually ones before Jonesboro.

I was 13 and ending 7th grade when on April 20, 1999 Columbine happened. We were around the state testing time period so everyone was on edge. But when we head about the shooting, we didn’t care. I remember the shock. I remember the images of the kids running out of the school. As a middle schooler, I was more frightened by the Columbine shooting because we had one more year in our building before heading to the big bad high school. We knew of the bullying.

Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were inspired by Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Federal Building Bombing.

What was the policy changes? Limit the amount of fertilizer you could buy.

My high school experience was punctuated with bomb threats every semester. The closest to danger we got was a pipe bomb in a locker but the ignition fuse was in the students pocket. Honestly I think the local law enforcement enjoyed it because they got to practice bomb squad stuff.

We had vinyl backpacks that melted and mesh backpack that lasted a quarter. Walmart loved it. Wearing ID badges were something we learned and punished for not doing. I’m sure the lanyard business sky rocketed after that.

I remember becoming complacent about my Junior year. We could have regular backpacks and just carry our IDs, even with bomb threats still happening.

Eventually school resource officers and metal detectors were a thing.

By the time my classmates who had kids in high school had kids going to school, active shooter drills were a thing.

My best friend had her baby 5 months after graduation. I remember when they had a surprise active shooter drill at her kids school and how traumatized she was. I thought immediately that we were a unique generation. We saw the second terrorist attack on US soil and a place that should be safest for us become a battlefield. And now, our kids are on that battlefield.

I saw my friends enlist days after 9/11. I had friends lose fellow soldiers in battle. These same kids stood out in the school parking lot with me while we waited for the school to be cleared.

What makes my experience a bit different, my civilian school district houses the military base schools. It’s one of the last in the country to do so. So as I watched the second tower fall, I knew that 3/4th of the kids in the class I was in would have parents overseas in a matter of weeks.

I’m sad that we STILL have this issue. That this is now becoming a generational norm. It should have never gotten this far!

I don’t have the answers. I have hopes but those hopes decrease by half every time a school shooting happens.

I think we need to see some decade numbers:

List of School Shootings before 2000:

1840’s- 1 incident

1850’s- 3 incidents

1860’s- 5 incidents

1870’s- 7 incidents

1880’s- 10 incidents

1890’s- 6 incidents

1900’s- 13 incidents

1910’s- 18 incidents

1920’s- 10 incidents

1930’s- 7 incidents

1940’s- 8 incidents

1950’s- 19 incidents

1960’s- 21 incidents

1970’s- 40 incidents

1980’s- 60 incidents

1990’s- 97 incidents.

Here’s some graphs that add to the information

We need to do better.

[cali-holland]

Good Girls Are Bad Girls- Peter Parker One Shot

Pairing: Peter Parker X Reader

Prompt:  As the daughter of Clint Barton, you were seen as the good girl, until Peter snoops around one night.

Word Count: 2000

Warnings: Drinking, Slurs, Mentions of Sex, Abuse

Inspired by: Good Girls by 5 Seconds of Summer

Masterlist   Peter Parker Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

~~~

“Well, I’m off to study. I’ve got a big French test tomorrow.” You said, standing up from the coach. Peter watched as you vanished up the stairs, acting as if nothing had happened earlier that day.

But something did happen. He had gone to the library after school to look for a book on quantum physics. That’s when he found you and your boyfriend (he didn’t even know if 'boyfriend’ was the proper term for the other boy). Peter stood frozen as he watched you make out with your boyfriend, Brad, between two shelves. You opened your eyes for a split second and stopped kissing Brad as you noticed Peter was there. Brad’s lips moved from your mouth down to your neck. As you turned to face Peter, he noticed your button up shirt was completely unbuttoned and open.

“Brad,” you cleared your throat, pushing him slightly.

“What is it, baby?” He asked, peppering your neck with kisses.

“I think this section is too crowded. Maybe we should take this elsewhere.” He groaned at your response and looked up, finally realizing Peter was there.

“Nerd.” Brad scoffed, “I’ll be in my ride, baby.” He told you, shoving past Peter and leaving the library.

“I’m, uh, sorry.” Peter said, regaining his stance. You laughed softly, buttoning your shirt as you walked up to him. You leaned in close to his ear and whispered,

“Forget what you thought, Parker, good girls are bad girls that haven’t been caught.” You kissed his cheek and then left with a silky “Goodbye”.

As Peter now sat on the Avengers couch several hours later, he felt uncomfortable recalling the memory. After all, your father, Clint Barton, is right beside him.

“Peter, you look a little flushed. Are you all right?” Steve asked.

“I’m just feeling a bit unwell. I’ll be back.” He got up and followed your path upstairs. He knocked on your door and you opened it up a few moments after.

“Hello Peter.” You said casually.

“Hey, Y/N, I just wanted to talk about earlier today.” He said.

“Come on in.” You opened the door wider and let him enter. He took a seat on your couch as you returned to your vanity, applying a new coat of eye liner.

“So, yeah I just wanted to ask about earlier. I don’t want it to be-” he coughed, “awkward between us.” You rolled your eyes as you began to apply mascara.

“Look, Parker, what I do is none of your business and my dad doesn’t meed to know either. Do not breathe a word of anything I do to my father or anyone else. You wouldn’t like the ending if you do.” You turned to him with your make up finished, “Are we clear?”

“Y-yeah, we’re clear.” He nodded nervously. You stood up and stripped your grey robe off, revealing a short dress underneath.

“Where are you going?” Peter asked.

“Like I said, none of your business. Close my door on the way out.” You stated, going over to your window. You slid through it and left without another word. Peter sat there for a minute before finally getting up and leaving your room.

~~~

The next day, Peter saw you walk into English late with sunglasses on and disheveled hair. You gave the teacher a pass and sat down in your assigned seat, just to the right of Peter. You hunched over in your seat and adjusted the sunglasses on your face. Peter didn’t know much about your social life, but, based upon what he witnessed last night, he could only assume you were hungover.

“Peter.” Someone whispered, getting Peter’s attention. Derek, the boy to the left of Peter, handed him a piece of paper, saying, “Give it to Y/N.” Peter took the small folded paper and passed it over to you, without saying a word.

You ignored it for a minute before you decided to open it. You grimaced reading the humiliating note. You tossed it onto the floor as Derek and his friends snickered nearby.

The bell rang a few minutes later and you raced out of the room. As everyone else cleared out, Peter grabbed the note off the floor and stuffed it into his pocket. He followed the crowd outside and headed to his locker. A few bullies had tripped him and called him names on the way there, but he was so used to it that he no longer bothered to care. Once at his locker, he opened the note and began to read it.

'Heard what you did to Brad last night, what a skank.’ 'You deserved what you got, slut.’ 'Stupid cow.’

“Hey, Peter. What’re you reading?” The bright voice of Liz Allen filled his ears, making him jump.

“Oh, nothing. What’s up, Liz?” He asked, hiding the note in his pocket yet again.

“I was just wondering what you were reading. It seemed very important.”

“It was just a random note I found. Nothing much. Not too important.” He stammered as he lied, trying to push his worries about you and what exactly happened last night to the back of his mind.

“Okay.” She laughed as one of her friends came up to her.

“Liz! Did you hear what happened to Y/N and Brad last night?”

“No, what happened?” Liz asked.

“Apparently Y/N got super drunk at his party and she was hitting on other guys, so Brad took her into his room to "talk”.“ The friend used quotation marks to emphasize that their talk, most certainly was not a talk. "Y/N ran out crying several minutes later with scrapes and bruises all over her. Hilary said she threw herself at Brad, but he wanted to break up and she got the bruises from falling.”

“Of course Y/N would do that. She’s the school whore. I don’t understand how her grades rival mine.” Liz stated.

“I know. She’s such a slut.” Her friend said.

“I’m going to go.” Peter spoke up, clearing his throat. “I’ll see you in physics, Liz.”

Peter didn’t see you the rest of the day and his head hurt thinking about all that could have happened. You were hurt-mentally and physically-and no one really knew why. Peter wouldn’t allow himself to believe everything Liz’s friend said. He just could not see you as the “slut” everyone else thought you were.

~~~

“Kid! What brings you here?” Tony asked, seeing the teenage boy and Avengers Tower later that day.

“I-um-I wanted to talk to Y/N. We have an English project.” Peter lied quickly.

“You know where to find her.” Clint said, shrugging his shoulders. As your father, Clint saw you as a good girl with high grades and the highest level of respect. He believed you could never do anything wrong, so he trusted Peter with you. Peter nodded in reply and headed upstairs to your room. Loud music was blasting from inside and Peter cautiously knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” You asked, walking to the door.

“It’s me- Peter.” He stated and you opened the door a crack just to see him.

“What do you want Peter?”

“I want to know about last night.” He said in a hushed voice. You opened the door wider and gave him entry. He sat on your couch as you went into the bathroom. You emerged after a moment with a bottle of dark liquid. You wordlessly sat next to Peter and you took a drink from the bottle.

“It’s my dad’s beer. I hate drinking, but I don’t want to be 100% here for this conversation. It’s going to be a painful talk.”

“Well, I read part of that note. I’m sorry. If I had known what it said, I wouldn’t have passed it on.” Peter said as you drank from the bottle once more.

“I had it coming. I made myself the perfect angel for my father, but that image is too hard to maintain with the world. I decided being bad would allow me to fit in. I thought I would have more friends if I fit into the popular crowd, so I melded into the flow of things. I started drinking and I started being promiscuous. I got too promiscuous because, last night at Brad’s party, I got drunk. I’m a flirty drunk, so I was, of course, going to hit on the other football players there. Brad saw me and he was beyond angry. He tried to-” you cut yourself short and looked down in humiliation. The bottle began to shake in your hands as you started to cry. Peter shifted to put a comforting arm around you. You continued with a shaky voice, “He tried to take advantage of me. Although I was drunk, I still knew it wasn’t right and I didn’t want to. I tried getting away from him and I fell, hitting my head against the side of his bed. He hit me a few times before I was able to stumble out of his room. I don’t remember how I got back here, but I did. Now, the whole school believes I’m some trashy whore.”

“That’s not true.” Peter said and you looked up at him through your tears, “I don’t believe you’re a whore. You got caught up in bad things, but I believe you’re still a good person.”

“Thank you, but I don’t believe that will change anything. It is kind of nice being able to talk to you about this stuff. I feel like it’s so humiliating and personal that I can only open up to special people.”

“You can always talk to me.” Peter said and you let out a dry laugh.

“You really don’t get it, do you, Parker?” You paused seeing the confusion on his face, “I like you, Parker. You’re the only person I can actually talk to- at home and at school.”

“Me? You like me?” He asked, trying to wrap his head around the concept that such a popular girl like you would go for such a nerd like him.

“Yes. I figure I have nothing left to lose, so I might as well tell you now.” You shrugged, drinking some more of the beer.

“I do too.” Peter murmured quietly after a moment.

“Pardon me?” You asked, not hearing what he had mumbled.

“I like you too. I never tried to ask you out because I had always assumed you would go for a jock-not a nerd.” He stated.

“So you like me too, then?”

“Yes. Very much.” Peter nodded.

“Well, then, Parker, why don’t you kiss me already?” You said, leaning in slightly. Peter laughed lightly before closing the gap to give you a kiss.

~~~

The next day, you walked into school holding your head high, completely opposite of yesterday. You ignored the stares and harassment as you went straight for Peter’s locker. He was already there with Ned, discussing something about math

“Hey, Peter. Hi, Ned.” You greeted the two boys.

“Good morning, Y/N.” Peter’s cheeks turned a light pink, telling you that he had not yet told Ned about last night. You smiled and held his hand firmly. Ned stared at you two for a moment before a massive grin spread across his face.

“You two are dating? You two are dating! This is the best news I’ve heard all year!” Ned exclaimed, making Peter’s blush darken.

“Ned, calm down.” Peter mumbled. You just laughed at your boyfriend and pecked him on the cheek. You were free and you were happy.