#b has 700 followers

[nnephthyss]

something SICKENINGLY sweet ⁉️

reader has to take time off work due to injury/sickness and satoru takes care of em :3 — 🎀

i’ve never wrote just fluff so i’m sorry if this is bad but i tried. this is for my pookie <3

it’s also fairly short 😔

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sickeningly sweet - gojo x reader

plot: you are sick and satoru comes home to take care of you.

warnings: um there really isn’t any ha, fluff 101, cuddling, satoru is super clingy and sweet, stubborn and whiny satoru

wc: 700 (ik im sorry.)

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being sick wasn’t for the weak, especially if it was strep. you groan, shifting upwards against some pillows that you were laying on. satoru hadn’t been around you for the past week but it wasn’t of his doing. he said he didn’t “give a fuck.” that you were sick. he wanted to cuddle you, kiss you all over until you were better but you wouldn’t let him in a five foot radius of you.

satoru quite literally had enough. he marches his ass right into your room with protest from you of course. “satoru gojo! get out.” you grumble. this had to be like the fifth time today that you had to give him a lecture about not getting sick. he pouts, pretty pink lips downturning. “b-but- i miss youuu..!” he whines, getting even closer to the bed you were resting on. you put a hand up, finger pointing at him and warning him to not get any closer. “nuh uh.” but he doesn’t listen. .

he makes his way towards you, practically tackling you. a groan comes from you because your body was sore. “oops, sorryyy!” he giggles and rests his face on your chest while his arms shake around your waist. you grumble, not happy with him not listening. you really didn’t want him to get sick. “satoruuuu..!” you whine, hands pawing at his back to make him get up but he doesn’t budge.

“want to take care of you..” he pouts with a whiny, baby tone. he sounded so cute, damn it. you sigh and smile, totally giving up on making him leave the room. “well, i could eat.” he instantly lifts his head with a soft expression on his features. “what does my pretty girl want?” after all these years, he still somehow gets you all flustered even when you’re sick. a twinge of pink covers your cheeks at the pet name.

“soup.” you say empathizing the “p”. he smiles and presses a kiss to the side of you mouth. “noo! quit that.” you pout, knowing damn well he’s gonna get himself sick by being a stubborn little bastard even if the little kiss made your heart beat a bit faster. he snickers at the grumpiness in your tone.“oneee sec!” he hums and scurries out of the room and towards the kitchen.

maybe ten minutes later of boredom, the white haired boy comes back with a bowl of soup in his hands. he looked so sweet as he walks slowly, looking down at the bowl as so he doesn’t spill it. you giggle at how cute he looks, focusing so hard. he finally takes a seat beside you on the bed. looking at you as he scoops some of the hot liquid onto the spoon and holds it to your mouth. “ahhh..” he makes a sound with his mouth for you to mimick.

a laugh comes from you but you mimick the boy and open your mouth wide “ahhh..” then he spoon feeds you the hot broth. it tasted pretty good, soothing your sore throat. he focus on your expressions, bright blue eyes making sure you like what he made. “ it’s good ‘toru.” and he smiles at the praise.

he watches you eat it, eyes following your mouth then occasionally drifting to your throat as you swallow the liquid. “can we cuddle.?” he juts out his bottom lip and you glance at him. of course you didn’t want him to get sick but he was already here. you both lived together, he was gonna end up sick anyways so you sigh and hand the bowl to him.

he sits it down on the bedside table and crawls towards you.“missed you all these days.” he breathes against your neck as he buries his face in your hair. you run a few fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his face and cuddling him back. “i missed you too baby.” and he whines at the nickname, hugging you tighter.

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[junkgatorswritings]

The Goblet of Fire

I started reading Harry Potter with the very simple goal to prove that the reason it has so many plot holes is because JKR planned out the Marauder's era A: too late and B: not nearly enough.

This book has a lot and most of it's to do with more general characters which makes sense. Because of this I'm probably going to separate the info into more characters than just the Marauders and Lily.

But let's get into it. I'm getting my page numbers from the Raincoast Books publisher with the cover made by Micheal Wildsmith.

Lily Evans:

She refused to stop shielding Harry when Voldemort told her to move (ch. 14 pg. 238).

A trace of her sacrifice stayed on Harry (ch. 33 pg. 707).

James Potter

James died first while trying to hold Voldemort off and telling Lily to take harry and go (ch. 14 pg. 238).

Snape loathed James while they were in school (ch. 26 pg. 523).

He died straight backed and proud (Voldemort ch. 34 pg. 715).

Sirius Black:

He was sent to Azkaban without a trial because of Crouch (ch. 27 pg. 572).

Peter Pettigrew:

He gave up James and Lily's location to Voldemort (ch. 14 pg. 238).

Bertha Jorkins:

Bertha Jorkins was very nosey and didn't have any brains. She was a few years older than Sirius and James (ch. 19 pg. 366).

Bertha Jorkins had an excellent memory for gossip and never knew when to keep her mouth shut, it got her in a lot of trouble (ch. 27 pg. 580).

Bertha followed someone behind the greenhouses or at least said she saw someone (referred to as he) kissing Florence behind the green house and that he hexed her (ch. 30 pg. 650).

Voldemort / Tom Marvolo Riddle:

He killed his foolish muggle father (ch. 33 pg. 700).

His mother was a witch who lived in the village, she fell in love with his father but he left her when he found out she was a witch (ch.n33 pg. 700).

His mother died in childbirth, leaving him in a muggle orphanage (ch.33 pg. 700).

Voldemort vowed that he would take revenge on the fool who gave him his name (ch. 33 pg. 700).

He says that it appeared that one or more of his experiments for immortality worked because he didn't die (ch. 33 pg. 708).

Death Eaters:

Barty Jr. was caught with a group of death eaters who'd talked their way out of Azkaban, apparently they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power (according to Sirius ch. 27 pg. 573).

Barty Jr. could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time (according to Sirius ch. 27 pg. 574).

Barty Jr. was no older than 19 and a few cells away from Sirius, he died a year later, no one came to collect the body and it was buried by dementors (ch. 27 pg. 575).

Snape was famous for his fascination with the dark arts at school, he knew more curses when he arrived at the school than half of the seventh years. He was part of a group of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be death eaters (according to Sirius ch. 27 pg. 577).

Part of Snape's group were Wilkes and Rosier who were both killed by Aurors before Voldemort fell (ch. 17 pg. 577).

The Lestranges are a married couple who are in Azkaban (ch. 27 pg. 578).

Avery said he was imperiused and isn't in Azkaban (ch. 27 pg. 577).

Snape was never accused of being a Death Eater, but he's clever enough to get out of it and a lot of them were never caught (ch. 27 pg. 577).

Crouch's Son (Barty Jr.) got twelve owls (Debatable, crouch said this after escaping Voldemort, so his mind isn't really intact ch. 28 pg. 604)

Igor Karkaroff was in Azkaban, and tried to sell out other Death Eater's to get out (ch. 30 pg. 637).

Moody spent 6 months tracking Karkaroff down (ch. 30 pg. 638)

Voldemort had the Death Eaters organized so that no one never knew who all of his supports were except for him (ch. 30 pg. 639).

Karkaroff gave the names of important supporters, people he saw doing Voldemort's bidding with his own eyes (ch. 30 pg. 639).

Antonin Dolohov tortured countless muggles and non-supporters of the dark lord, he was caught shortly after Karkaroff (ch. 30 pg. 639).

Evan Rosier was killed in a struggle with aurors, he took a large chunk out of Mad-Eye's nose in the process (ch. 30 pg. 640).

Travers helped murder the McKinnons (ch. 30 pg. 640).

Mulciber specialized in the imperius curse and forced countless people to do horrible things (ch. 30 pg. 640).

Rookwood was a spy and passed information to Voldemort from inside the ministry (ch. 30 pg. 640).

Augustus Rookwood had a network of spies inside and outside the Ministry to collect information. But the Ministry had already caught Mulciber and Travers (ch. 30 pg. 641).

Snape was a death eater but he was cleared by the council after being vouched for by Dumbledore. He rejoined the ministry's side before Voldemort fell at great personal risk (ch. 30 pg. 641).

Barty Jr. was put on trial with three other Death Eaters who were caught with him, he was shaking and milk white when he was brought in (ch. 30 pg. 645).

Barty begged his father not to send him back to the dementors, and when that didn't work begged his mother claiming his innocence (ch. 30 pg. 647).

The heavy lidded woman (Bellatrix, probably?) declared that Voldemort would be back, and that he would let them out of Azkaban (ch. 30 pg. 647).

In response to 15 in general information Harry then asks if Barty Jr. might have been innocent (ch. 30 pg. 655).

Barty Jr.'s mother saved him from Azkaban, she came and took his place using polyjuice potion and then kept taking it until she died there (ch. 35 pg. 740-741).

The house elf nursed Barty Jr. Back to health and once he regained it his father put him under a number of spells including the imperius curse, once he broke that control all Barty Jr. could think of was returning to service of his lord (ch. 35 pg. 741).

Barty Jr. loved quidditch (ch. 35 pg. 742).

General information:

Aberforth was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat and went about his business as per usual (according to Dumbledore ch. 24 pg. 495).

When Voldemort was first in power it was a very stressful time. people didn't know who was or wasn't working for him. You knew that he could make people do horrible things against their will. People were scared for themselves and their family. Every week there were more reported deaths, disappearances, and torturing. The ministry was a mess and didn't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from muggles. Muggles were dying too (ch. 27 pg. 572-573).

Crouch rose quickly in the ministry, he started ordering harsher measures against Voldemort's supporters. Giving Aurors permission/power to kill rather than capture. Sent multiple people to Azkaban without a trial. authorized the use of Unforgivable curses against suspects (ch. 27 pg. 573).

Crouch became as ruthless and cruel as anyone on the Dark side (according to Sirius ch. 27 pg. 573).

Crouch had plenty of supporters, they wanted to make him the minister of Magic, but once his son was found to be a death eater he lost most of his support (ch. 27 pg. 573).

Sirius says that Crouch should have spent more time out of the office and got to know his son (ch. 27 pg. 574).

Crouch cared about his son just enough to give him a trial, and even then it was a public display of how much Crouch hated him (according to Sirius ch. 27 pg. 574).

Being high ranking in the Ministry allowed Crouch and his wife a deathbed visit, his wife died shortly after their son (according to Sirius ch. 27 pg. 575).

Crouch attended a concert with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge with his wife and son, he was very proud of Barty for getting 12 O.W.L.S. (debatable we only find this out after Crouch escapes Voldemort ch. 28 pg. 604).

Ludo Bagman passed information to one of Voldemort's supporters, but he didn't know what he was doing. Rookwood was one of his father's friends and had promised to help get him a job at the Ministry (ch. 30 pg. 643-644).

Crouch looked upon his son with pure hatred (ch. 30 pg. 645).

Barty jr. and the three other Death Eaters captured Auror Frank Longbottom and subjected him to the cruciatus curse because they thought he had information on where Voldemort was. They then tortured his wife Alice the same way when he wouldn't give up the information (ch. 30 pg. 646).

Crouch disowned his son when he was sent to Azkaban, he didn't notice his wife faint when he made the declaration (ch. 30 pg. 647).

The years of Voldemort's rise to power were marked with disappearances (ch. 30 pg. 653).

The Longbottoms were very popular and the attack on them happened after Voldemort's disappearance which caused a wave of fury and demands for the perpetrators to be caught (ch. 30 pg. 655).

Mrs. Weasly once got told off by the Fat Lady for coming back to the common room at 4 in the morning, she was out for a stroll with her now husband. He however got caught by Apollyon Pringle the then caretaker. Mr. Weasly still has the marks (ch. 35 pg. 669).

Crouch loved his wife like he had never loved his son (according to Barty Jr. though he was under Veritaserum so it's likely he truly believed this ch. 35 pg. 740).

The old crowd included Remus Lupin, Mndungus Fletcher, and Arabella Fig (ch. 36 pg. 773).

Questions:

Did Regulus exist when this book was being written? I think not because I feel like Sirius would have mentioned him when he was talking about Snape's friends.

Were other innocent people sent to Azkaban when Crouch wasn't giving out trials?

Where are the theoretical repercussions from sending more innocent people to prison?

Edited on November 28, 2024, to add chapter numbers.

[absolutebl]

My Top 60 BLs - The Elite 10% of 600 Watched

It's happened again, another year, another 100 BLs watched. We have just tipped the BL tracking spreadsheet over into 600 BLs watched. (by moi).

SO after watching 600 BLs, here are my top 60:

Seven Days - Japan 2015 (oldest BL on this list, also holds #1 spot, cute)

We Best Love: No. 1 For You & Fighting Mr. 2nd - Taiwan 2021

Semantic Error - Korea 2022

Light On Me - Korea 2021

Until We Meet Again - Thai 2019

Our Dating Sim - Korea 2023

To My Star - Korea 2021

Color Rush 1 - Korea 2021

Old Fashion Cupcake - Japan 2022

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun - Japan 2022

Minato’s Laundromat - Japan 2022

My Beautiful Man - Japan 2021

Cherry Blossoms After Winter - Korea 2022

HIStory 2: Crossing the Line - Taiwan 2018

Cherry Magic - Japan 2020

The Eighth Sense - Korea 2023

Bad Buddy - Thai 2022

A Tale of Thousand Stars - Thai 2021

My School President - Thai 2023

Love Tractor - Korea 2023

The New Employee - Korea 2023

Oxygen - Thai 2020

Be Loved In House: I Do - Taiwan 2021

Lovely Writer - Thai 2021

He’s Coming to Me - Thai 2019

Blueming - Korea 2022

Unintentional Love Story - Korea 2023

Step By Step - Thai 2023

My Ride - Thai 2022

La Pluie - Thai 2023

Wish You - Korea 2020

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku - Japan 2023

Not Me - Thai 2022

Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding - Korea 2021

Love By Chance - Thai 2018

See You After Quarantine? - Taiwan 2021

Addicted - China 2016

Long Time No See - Korea 2017

My Tooth Your Love - Taiwan 2022

Why R U? - Thai 2020

The Tasty Florida - Korea 2021

About Youth - Taiwan 2022

SOTUS - Thai 2016

DNA Says Love You - Taiwan 2022

My Love Mix Up - Japan 2021

Roommates of Poongduck 304 - Korea 2022

The Eclipse - Thai 2022

Dark Blue Kiss - Thai 2019

Oh! Boarding House - Korea 2022

My Day - Pinoy 2020

Ocean Likes Me - Korea 2022

Bed Friend - Thai 2023

Cutie Pie - Thai 2022

Life: Love on the Line - Japan 2020

Love Class - Korea 2022

Restart After Come Back Home - Japan 2020

Tinted With You - Korea 2022

2gether - Thai 2020

Choco Milk Shake - Korea 2022

Destiny Seeker - Thai 2023

600 BLs - My Top 60 Notes

Bold = 10/10 (#1 … #8)

Italics = 9/10 (#9 … #33)

everything else is 8/10 (there are more 8/10s)

These are my personal preferences. If you don't see one of your favorites there it may still have scored an 8 just not made it onto the list.

Or... I didn't like is as much as you think I should.

Relative ranking isn't fixed. I basically just asked myself which ones would I want to rewatch right... now.

Absolute BL not included because it’s parody

Love is Science? & Puppy Honey not included because BL is a B-plot

Word of Honor has been censored off the list. Fuck that noise.

The following are my top 3 shorts:

A First Love Story - Korea 2021

Just Friends? - Korea 2009 (would have been the oldest on the list)

Some More - Korea 2018

This is as of the Aug 2023.

Not responsible for any additional awesome BLs that have aired since then.

Next up... 700 BLs. Expect me to do this again - next year. Unless I'm dead of course.

(Here's the last time I did this.)

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

Prologue

Pairings: Danny Wagner X Sam Kiszka (eventually) ***slash

Warnings and tags: For this part none, but this story as per my usual content is 18+ only, no minors need been reading. Overall themes will be heavy rivalry, bit of enemies to lovers, probably some smut at the end, college AU, tennis team AU, I’ll update warnings with each part

Word count: ~700

“Here are the locker rooms. I think there’s still one open locker on the top row, you can have it since you’re tall. We can make a label with your name for it, but I’d invest in a lock too. Even though most of the guys here are cool I wouldn’t risk it you know”.

Danny nodded his head in understanding as he continued to follow the club president around. Although this was already his second week at the new university, he had missed the last practice for some other enrollment activities, so he’d made it a point to arrive early today and was greeted warmly with a quick tour before the others started to arrive.

“I noticed there’s only a few courts out there. How many players do we have on the team?” Danny questioned, making sure to stay involved in the tour so that he came off as genuinely interested.

The club president, Adam as he had introduced himself to Danny earlier, ushered him along to the opposite wall of the locker room which contained a large cork board full of fliers and notices. “The team has three groups. Junior varsity, they practice on Tuesdays” he pointed at one of the papers with a list of names on it.

“Varsity is larger, so it’s split into two. We practice on Wednesday and Thursday, team A and team B respectively, and on Fridays coach trains one on one”. His finger shifted to the next paper which contained two columns. All of the names were written in pencil, and Danny could tell a few of them towards the bottom had been erased and rewritten a few times.

“Is there a system to who ends up with which group, or is it just random?” Danny looked over the list, finding his name freshly written in on the paper under the column which read Team B.

Adam chuckled, like he was in on some joke Danny was currently unaware of. “Yeah, there is. We call these the ladder. You’re at the bottom now because you’re new. To climb the ladder you have to challenge the other players to matches. So if you want to move up a rank,” he glanced at the page quickly, noticing the name written just above Danny’s, “you have to play a challenge match against Zach. If you win, you take Zach’s place and if you lose then you both stay where you’re at. Once you’ve climbed the ladder on Team B then you can start practicing with Team A”.

Danny examined the page once more, counting all the names that were listed before his. Eleven. “Do you have to go in order? Or can I just challenge whoever I want and take their spot?”

“You climb a ladder one step at a time buddy” Adam laughed harder, clapping Danny on the shoulder like he was wishing him all the best of luck. “Oh, and to make it official there has to be a witness to your challenge match. If you don’t get one then it doesn’t count. I can help you out with the first few matches since I’m not busy right now, but soon you’ll need to start making some acquaintances on the team”.

“How early are you available?” Danny continued to ask questions, already clearing his own schedule in his mind. “Can we set something up for this weekend? Say Saturday afternoon?”

“Sure, I’ll let Zach know, make sure he’s game” Adam replied, crossing his arms over his chest with a smile. He was impressed by Danny’s up and get ‘em attitude, already able to tell it was going to be a real pleasure to have him on the team.

“Zach and Dylan” Danny added the guy on the ladder above Zach as well. “I’ll play them both”.

“Two challenge matches in one day? You sure you’re up for that?”

“Have to be” Danny assured him, “if I’m going to be at that number 1 spot by the end of the month”.

He looked at the ladder for Team A one last time before getting ready for practice, familiarizing himself with his goal, the name at the very top of the list clear as day like it had been written there once and never moved.

Sam Kiszka.

A/N: as always if you would like to be tagged let me know! ☺️

[ahlulbaytnetworks]

🍃🕊🍃 The Holy Month of Ramadan

Every Night Recitations

🍃 Salat 🍃

On All nights : Offer 2 units (rakaah) of prayer reciting in each unit Surah al-Fatihah once and repeating Surah al-Tawhid three times. Upon completion say the following

سُبْحَانَ مَنْ هُوَ حَفِيظٌ لاَ يَغْفُلُ

subhana man huwa hafizun la yaghfulu

Glory be to Him Who watches over, never leaves anything undone, or is neglectful.

سُبْحَانَ مَنْ هُوَ رَحِيمٌ لاَ يَعْجَلُ

subhana man huwa rahimun la ya`jalu

Glory be to Him Who is Merciful, never does a thing in haste.

سُبْحَانَ مَنْ هُوَ قَائِمٌ لاَ يَسْهُو

subhana man huwa qa'imun la yas-hu

Glory be to Him Who is vigilant, never forgets one thing over another.

سُبْحَانَ مَنْ هُوَ دَائِمٌ لاَ يَلْهُو

subhana man huwa da'imun la yalhu

Glory be to Him Who is alert and steady, never is engrossed with a thing so as to overlook another.

🍃 After that, it is recommended to say the al-Tasbihat al-Arba`ah 7 times:

سُبْحَانَ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلاَ إِلٰهَ إِلاَّ ٱللَّهُ وَٱللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ

subhana allahi walhamdu lillahi wa la ilaha illa allahu wallahu akbaru

All glory be to Allah, all praise be to Allah,there is no god save Allah,and Allah is the Greatest

🍃 Then, it is recommended to say the following imploration for forgiveness:

سُبْحَانَكَ سُبْحَانَكَ سُبْحَانَكَ!

subhanaka subhanaka subhanaka!

Glory be to You! Glory be to You! Glory be to You!

يَا عَظِيمُ ٱغْفِرْ لِيَ ٱلذَّنْبَ ٱلْعَظِيمَ

ya `azimu ighfir liya aldhdhanba al`azima

O All-great, forgive my grave sins.

🍃 Then, it is recommended to invoke blessings upon the Holy Prophet and his Household ten times:

اَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِهِ

allahumma salli `ala muhammadin wa `ala alihi

O Allah, (please do) send blessings to Muhammad and upon his Household.

🍃 Almighty Allah will forgive seventy thousand sins of those who offer this prayer

. 🍃🕊🍃 References 🍃🕊🍃

(Cited in Mustadrak, vi, 215, b 5, h 6770/1 from Kafami’s Junnah.)

🙏🏽🙏🏿🙏🙏🏾

Recite Tahajjud-Salat Layl

Recite Salat Jafar Tayyar

🍃 Each night of month also has a specific Salat

1000 Rakats One of the observances pertaining to the nights of the month of Ramadhan is to offer a thousand rakahs of supererogatory prayer during the entire month.

Eminent scholars have mentioned it in their works on law and worship.

The traditions differ concerning the manner of its performance.

According to a report of Ibn Abi Qurrah from Imam Muhammad al-Jawad (as)— a version also preferred by Shaykh Mufeed in his books, Masa’il al-Ghariyyah and al-Ishrf, 4 or rather by the generality of scholars—

20 rakahs are to be offered every night during the first 20 days of the month of Ramadan, every two of them followed by salam.

Eight of these rakahs are performed after maghrib prayer and 12 after isha prayer.

During the last 10 days, 30 rakahs are offered every night with 8 rakahs after maghrib and 22 after the isha prayer.

This makes a total of 700 rakahs.

The remaining 300 rakahs are offered on the nights of al-Qadr; that is 100 on the 19th night, 100 on the 21st, and another 100 on the 23rd, which in all make 1000 rakahs.

🙏🏽🙏🏿🙏🙏🏾

🍃🕊🍃 duas.org 🍃🕊🍃

#Ramadan

.

[matthewkniesys]

🍒 “How are you so comfy?” and “Person A falling asleep on Person B” with knisey???

You come back to your apartment, that you share with Matthew, after an insanely long day of studying for your classes with your friends. Kniesy looks so soft and cute on the couch watching a hockey game, that you can't help but just collapse on top of him.

"I hate studying for finals, Matt."

"I think that's pretty normal, babe."

"Yeah but like you don't get that I really, really hate it. Like I would rather do almost anything else. It's so stressful and I'm just so tired."

"Just remember that it'll all be over soon and then you have your summer break."

"I know, it's just a lot at the moment." You turn your attention to the TV, so you can watch the hockey game. You snuggle down even further into Matthew's chest.

"How are you so comfy? I could fall aslepp here, right now."

"Well, it probably has to do with how I'm much bigger than you. And if you want to sleep, sleep. I'm just watching the game, so if you wanna sleep on my chest, I won't complain."

And so you do. You fall asleep to the sound of the game in the background and Matthew's soft breathing. You feel so safe.

700 follower celebration

[lobotomy-maybe-bestie]

AO3 Underrated Original Fic Recs

Here are five original fics on ao3 that need way more love

Please comment (& kudos) on fics you like!

1.

Spring

Spring is about a trio of American boys, at a vague time in the past. One of them is sent to a conversion camp, the other two break him out.

TWs for: child abuse, homophobia, guns but no gun violence

Why I liked this one: Definitely the style. Thematically each section opens with a definition of the word spring, which is genius, but it also has this gorgeous innocent-but-not-oblivious POV that is just so nice to read. It portrays love and friendship and community and despite the darker plot it's just so Sweet. Absolutely recommend if you want something to make you smile.

2.

Memories

This is a less than 700 words short story about a really interesting fantasy concept: What if you had to give up a memory, that then becomes a newborn's first and forever clearest memory.

TWs for: nothing as far as I can tell

Why I liked this one: The concept is just really cool, and the way the story underlines just how important a memory is 1) when you can't remember it and 2) when it's not yours is just really nicely done. It's short, it's to the point, if you're into concepts like this you'll think about what else you can do with it for days. What's not to love?

3.

Saturn

I actually found this through a drabble from the author about the characters from this, but the drabble makes very little sense by itself, so here is the "main" story the characters are from.

Saturn is apparently an AU of a comic (if someone figures out where to find said comic I will owe you my life) in which Nicolas, the snarky, lovable protagonist and Orion, a death cultist weirdo, escape the aforementioned death cult.

TWs for: SELF-HARM (a LOT of it), abuse & child abuse, self-mutilation, PTSD, human sacrifice, the kind of mindset that comes with being raised in a fucked up death cult

Why I liked this one: This person is a god among character writers I swear. 18k words of an unfinished fic and I'm as attached to the two protagonists as if I'd read three whole books about them. If you like angst, hurt/comfort, or are a Harrowhark stan, this is for you.

4.

The Faintness of Petrichor

B used to be a god, but now he has no followers and no powers, and lives alone and miserable in an apartment, until an invitation for a ceremony comes along.

TWs for: cultural appropriation, religious trauma inspired writing

Why I liked this one: I love fictional religion, and the worldbuilding in this one is absolutely immaculate. Also, B is an amazing character whose emotions are so SO well shown. I recommend if you love gods being human-but-not-human.

5.

dung upon the earth

This is a character study of the author's OC Jay. We follow him as he grows and takes five sacraments over time.

TWs for: catholicism, catholic guilt, slurs, ableism

Why I liked this one: Look you can get me so so easily with the well-done catholicism. Whether this person did a whole lot of research or has lived experience, they made sure everything is super accurate and I just LOVE that. This is an angsty, guilt-filled, sad story and it's really so good at being one. If you like characters experiencing the trauma of just not quite fitting in, and other quiet and real things that shape one's childhood, you will love this.

Tag List:

@necromycologist @notquiteaghost

If anyone else would like to be tagged in potential future original fic rec posts let me know!!

[dailyanarchistposts]

Editor’s Note: Teodoro Antilli was active in the Argentine anarchist movement during a period of severe repression. In late 1909 a state of siege was imposed, many anarchists were imprisoned and their presses, offices and cultural centres were ransacked and closed. Antilli was involved in the publication of the anarchist paper, La Battala, but was arrested in May 1910 along with hundreds of others amid renewed attacks on the anarcho-syndicalist FORA (Selectiol1 58). In 1913, Alltilli was imprisoned for publishing an article accusing all assistant prison governor of raping an anarchist prisoner. He was involved in the general strike ofjanuary 1919, which was ruthlessly suppressed. Over 700 workers were killed, thousands more wounded, and over 50,000 imprisoned in what came to be known as the “Tragic Week.” All anarchist papers, including Antilli’s, were banned. In 1921, another 1,100 workers were massacred during the anarchist rebellion in Patagonia. Antilli and his next paper, La Antorcha, supported the actions of Severino Di Giovanni, a militant Italian anarchist refugee from fascism who began a campaign of illegal actions, including bank robberies and assassinations, in face of this brutal reaction. The following extracts, translated by Paul Sharkey, are taken from Antilli’s Salud a la Anarquia! [Here’s to Anarchy!] (Buenos Aires: La Antorcha, 1924, reprinted in El Anarquismo en America Latina, Caracas: Biblioteca Ayacucho, 1990)

WE SHOULD, IT OCCURS TO US, OFFER a full explanation of our notion of “social struggle” as opposed to “class struggle.” As we see it, they are a s different as n arrow is from wide and the eternal from the ephemeral. Suggesting actions of differing scopes. In fact, someone locked into the class struggle is ill equipped to understand comprehensive social struggle.... If I accept that there is only class struggle, success for me will b e enough. My quarrel is with the propertied and the capitalists. If I join forces with other workers like myself and set up, say, a cooperative, the class struggle will be over as far as we are concerned; we shall have won, as indeed the cooperators and socialists contend. Yet the state of society will not h ave been changed and the class struggle will be over a s far as we are concerned because we h ave made ourselves capitalists, the inner circle of a business that visits its exploitation on outsiders, making every one of us, in equal measure, an exploiter, instead of our being split into exploiters and exploited ... If I extend this to thinking about the entire social system as a “class struggle,” then all that is required is that my class should dictate to the other class, in which case I too shall have emerged the victor.

“Social struggle,” as we understand it, is not just setting a course for revolution and extinguishing the existence of the bourgeoisie; it is also, since we hold that the social also means the sociable, the elimination of all imposition, especially political imposition, by one man upon another; we see humanity as having fought for countless centuries past to achieve a genuinely free society; we plunge into these raging waters and, let there be no mistake about this, we accept all the consequences and, chiefly, the Revolution. Social struggle, therefore, is something humane and all-embracing; the aim is not merely to change society, but that society should be hospitable for men, and every source of oppression or tyranny banished, which is to say, a genuinely free society...

The term “social struggle,” as we employ it, i s that all-encompassing. And we want this borne in mind lest it be confused with class struggle carried through to Revolution. We bring into the Revolution a social struggle as well ... Class struggle carried through to Revolution has as its aim a “proletarian dictatorship.” Social struggle carried through to Revolution has as its object the freedom of Humanity and the ennobling of all of its members.

[paradox-time]

@basil-does-arttt

Heeeeyyyy, thanks for giving me an excuse to ranttt <3<3

Ok so, I saw a post of yours that was something like "what about gortash do fans find appealing?”

I'm going to try my best to answer why some of us are fans of this Absolute Shitbag (pun intended)

Some of my credentials, I've played the game for over 700 hours over about 4 months, seen, made, and interacted with tons of fan content and talked about it at length with other fans and unwilling friends. I make it my job to know every single scrap of Lore the game has to offer, going to stupid lengths to read all the books and letters hidden throughout the game, I also savescum the hell out of dialog options so I don't miss any exposition. I've played a tav twice and a dark urge 8 times, plus started but never finished other origin playthroughs.

Safe to say. I am deranged. (Yay hyperfixation)

Anyway, Enver Gortash is one of my favorite villains in fiction. This does not, in any way, mean that I admire or excuse any of his actions. I don't find him handsome or charming. He isn't redeemable or even likable in any capacity as a person.

The entire main theme of the game is whether or not the characters perpetuate the cycle of abuse or break it. You see that with Astarion, he either kills Cazador and forges his own future as a freed spawn, or ascends, and becomes someone who is just as bad and abusive as Cazador. You see it with Shadowheart in whether she chooses to live a life under Shar's cruel influence, or leave her past behind her and embrace Selúne. You see it in Gale and whether he ascends to Godhhood and is nothing like the kind and inquisitive person he once was, or leaves Mystra and his life as an archmage behind to live a life of quiet comfort where he can follow his passions and teach people like he should have been taught instead of isolating students like how mystra and elminster isolated him.

Many more examples blah blah blah

Ok, a lot of people (wrongly) try to justify and apologize for everything gortash has done by pointing at his backstory like a gotcha thing.

Gortash's parents sold him into slavery when he was very young to pay off their debts. The person who then raised and owned Gortash was none other than the ultimate slimeball, Raphael the Cambion. In this environment, Gortash grew incredibly bitter and started to worship Bane, the god of Tyranny, Dictatorship, Strife, and Subjugation. This was because he believed he was owed power over others for everything he was put through. He then becomes a slave trader, selling Karlach to Zariel is one notable example, a war profiteer and arms dealer, he keeps the families of his prisoners held hostage in an underwater prison that was rigged to explode and then subsequently flood if any of his factory staff tried to escape. His workers were also made to wear fucking bomb collars. He sews bigotry in the general public by not letting refugees in the city and controlling the media (newspapers and posters). His entire goal and religious doctrine is founded on the belief that it is his divine right to control and oppress people.

It has been so freaking long since I've found a piece of media that had an actual villain, but still kept said villain's story and motives interesting! Lots of modern media really tries to go the formulaic propaganda villain route. “Character A wants to do the right thing. Character B wants to do the right thing but does it in a BAD and DiSrUpTiVe way!! Gasp!! Villain!” I think it's supposed to endorse and enforce moral superiority of centrists, yuck. but that's a Different Tangent™.

I feel like there are a lot of fans that think that in order to like a character, they have to be morally palatable and pg or whatever. I see lots of fans that can't fathom liking a character that is genuinely evil and a bad person. So they just. Ignore the entire central point of the character.

Gortash sucks ass. If I met him in real life I would beat his ass into the dirt. But he isn't real. And fiction, especially interactive fiction, is an amazing way to explore darker themes in a safe and controlled environment. This is amazing for dozens of reasons, including exploration of catharsis.

I like Gortash because he amazing as a Villain. His story is super connected to the themes of the game. His acting is done with so much care and talent from the production team at Larian.

Fans who fawn over and woobify him. Umm. Do better. Get media literate please. No hate, love all the gortash content, especially in relation to the Dark Urge's story line. But please stop pretending he isn't as bad as he is. That's one of the main things I find compelling about him as a story device in the first place. You can like evil characters because they're fake.

Ummm conclusion…. Yeah. I like Gortash because he makes a fun story.

[nikkoliferous]

More than 700 people were killed in the Gaza Strip in just 24 hours, the Health Ministry in the besieged territory said Sunday, as Israeli bombings escalated following a brief pause and wider evacuation orders stoke fears of wider displacement and carnage.

According to an Al-Jazeera dispatch:

Overnight and into Sunday, intense bombing was reported in Khan Younis, Rafah, and some northern parts targeted by Israel's air and ground attacks. "Everywhere you turn to, there are children with third-degree burns, shrapnel wounds, brain injuries and broken bones," James Elder, UNICEF's global spokesperson, told Al Jazeera from Gaza. "Mothers crying over children who look like they are hours away from death. It seems like a death zone right now."

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has been dropping evacuation leaflets across the south of Gaza in cities that include Khan Younis, Rafah, and others neighborhoods where many had been told to flee by Israel prior to the recent week-long pause.

The IDF is now using a wholly invented "grid system" to tell Palestinians in Gaza which sectors might be safe and which ones will not, leading to reports of widespread confusion on the ground for those trying to keep themselves and their families safe from the indiscriminate bombing.

"What Israel is doing in Gaza right now is one of the most cruel tactics of war I've ever seen," said Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns for the U.K.-based Medical Aid Palestine, on Sunday. "This grid system effectively means people are being chased from square to square, in constant mortal fear. Bombing happens both inside and outside 'unsafe' areas. It's terrorism."

"And they say it's about protecting civilians! People in Gaza are saying they hope to die just to be free from the fear!" Talbot declared. "I use the word terrorism in its specific sense: using violence to intimidate civilians for political aims. Israeli leaders don't hide that this is what they are doing."

In a statement on Sunday, U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called for an end of the new wave of bombardents and a return to the talks that saw Israeli and Palestinian hostages freed and an increase in humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza.

"Silence the guns and return to dialogue—the suffering inflicted on civilians is too much to bear. More violence is not the answer. It will bring neither peace nor security," Türk said.

"As a result of Israel's conduct of hostilities and its orders for people to leave the north and parts of the south, hundreds of thousands are being confined into ever smaller areas in southern Gaza without proper sanitation, access to sufficient food, water and health supplies, even as bombs rain down around them,” he added "There is no safe place in Gaza."

Last week, it was reported that the Israeli military is using artificial intelligence to help generate bombing targets, a situation described as "dystopian" and the "first AI-facilitated genocide in history."

Horrifying scenes were evident across Gaza over the weekend as witnesses shared footage of children killed by the bombings along with the heartbreak and cries of survivors:

In the north, the Jabilia refugee camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip, was bombed again on Saturday.

"More than 100 Palestinians were killed Saturday in a new massacre committed by Israeli occupation forces in the Jabalia refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip," the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The agency said an Israeli missile hit a residential building belonging to the "Obaid family in Jabalia camp" and that "dozens were injured, and many others are still missing under the rubble," in that strike alone.

Meanwhile, Medicin Sans Frontier/MSF doctors reported their rescue vehicles, despite being clearly marked, were targeted by Israeli tanks.

Jason Lee, the Palestine country director for Save the Children, who was in Rafah on Friday, told the Guardian newspaper that what's being witnessed is a fresh population transfer in a country where 1.7 million people—out of an approximate total of 2.3 million—have already been displaced, with most now frantically trying to find safety in the south.

"How is it possible for people to move again? For many, this is not their first evacuation. The scale and scope of this is unprecedented," he said.

[gretchensinister]

Well, I had fun doing Daily Fic Highlights for almost a year, and I think it did help me a) remember what I've written and b) let newer followers know that I'm a writer even though my output style has changed dramatically over the years.

I think I'll still do some highlights, maybe weekly ones.

Fun fact: since I have over 700 works on Ao3, and various fics highlighted over 2024 were repeatedly highlighted, over half of them never got featured. That's astounding to me.

And, as ever, Jack/Bunny continues to be an incredibly popular pairing.

[channelinglament]

Name: Sage

Age: young? idk

Hobbies: drawing, playing string instruments, I do choir if that counts, playing games, sleeping (not often achievable)

Likes and dislikes: I like sweets as long as they aren’t too sweet. I also like animals. Animals are cute sometimes. Sometimes. I also like Ghibli movies and I have a collection of stuffed animals. Vocaloid supremacy(including virtual singers). I dislike loud noises, and things that feel weird.

Fandom(s): Genshin Impact and Project Sekai

I have been told that I act like Furina, Hu Tao, and Mizuki from Genshin and Project Sekai if that helps with anything :) I may or may not have slight anger issues, or I just like kicking and throwing things at people-

Happy 500 followers ! sorry if I wrote too much :(

Hi! Tysm! Somehow I've got 700 rn heh

And I match you with....

..

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☆

Project Sekai:

Rui!!

Rui:

He adores you

And cannot make you sleep, due to his bad sleeping habits.

You probably put him to sleep, during the nights when he creates robots instead of sleeping. He knows you worry about his health, but he also loves his hobby (relatable ngl), so he just says 5 more minutes and will say so, until you would physically try to drag him.

When you would start tugging, he would immediately take action of standing up and going to do the teeth brushing and stuff to sleep.

I, for some reason, think that he sleeps in one pose throughout the night. He also probably has insomnia. If you sleep with stuffed animals, he probably either cuddles them along with you, either throws them off the bed to cuddle only you. There's no in-between. He also would say that they fell by themselves.

Would always come and support you when do choir and play instruments!

He would create a lot of small glowing bots, that would create your face and name to support you. Just imagine that megamind scene. Thats what he would do.

You and Nene would be besties fr. He would just stand there, nearby, and look pretty (support it too)

Maybe would make your device less glitchy, or sth, to make your wins in games easier (or if it's a calm game, play with you).

He may try cooking with you. Wether it turns out good or bad, he will eat it anyways.

HE WILL

He would also ask what's your favorite animal is! Why, you may ask?

he will make a r o b o t of it for you. H e w i l l.

He will watch Ghibli films with you, and may try cosplaying! (He will ask Mizuki for that)

His favorite Ghibli movie would probably be "Howl's moving castle".

Oh, you like vocaloid? WELL GUESS WHO HE-- [disconnected]

*drops small Mikudayo/[your fave vocaloid] little bots on your bed*

Purple head WILL make you/give you headphones, to make it easier to go throughout the day. You need to blockout those loud noises, y'know?

If you like being dramatic, he will definitely join in. You two will create random story and be in character. "Off with your heads!", Rui: "Yes, on it fufufu!"

You will join wxs in creating "lore/scene" for their songs.

Genshin Impact:

Albedo!!

He tries to visit you as much as he can.

The alchemist tries making you some nice animal, that is a COMBINATION OF YOUR FABORITE ANIMALS????

He may do some with food, try to make you something p e r f e c t

Does it fail? Does he succeed? I will leave it to your imagination!

"What's vocaloid? What's Ghibli? Can you explain?"

I think he would love "Spirited Away" and is another enjoyer of "Howl's moving castle".

Will draw you a lot, and I mean A LOT

He wants you to be remembered forever. You, everything about you. The way you look like, the way you carry yourself, your personality. All of this, captured in paintings and doodles.

Since you don't like loud noises, will create you some sort of headphones-thingy (like the things on Alhaitham).

Will join in your hobbies, choir or instruments, he will try to do it aswell and enjoy it with you.

Since you don't like most weird textures, he would try to leave you outside of his lab during experiments heh

"Hey Sage, is this what you call a vocaloid?" *crawling WopperFlower that slightly looks like VFlower from your description*"

[zahri-melitor]

Anyway while I’m STILL on about this, I swear half the reason Red Robin 1-12 gets misinterpreted so much is that there SHOULD have been a crossover in a Dick title to let him voice his side of events, and by normal comics logic it should have been in Dick’s primary characterisation book (so Nightwing), but Nightwing has been replaced by Batman & Robin which is written by Morrison. Who is the anti of actually acknowledging or following up characterisation happening in other books.

Alternatively they should have used Batman 699 for it instead and popped the Denny O’Neil fill in to Batman 700 instead as a backup (and skipped all the Terry McGinnis nonsense THERE) and actually addressed Tim! In Batman! Around an anniversary edition!

(Heck just simply delay the Return of Bruce Wayne plot in B&R JUST long enough that Tim gives Dick the Mordecai Wayne fact! Or signal that B&R #10 occurs after RR #12! EVEN THAT WOULD BE AN IMPROVEMENT)

[ilovebellatrixandseverus]

HP longfic rec collection

With reddit closing down, and a lot of rec lists being lost to the public that way, I made a post on here asking for recommendations, and now that there were some in the notes - thank you all! - I thought I'd share them here! Feel free to reblog add to it, more the better! Starting and ending this beginning list with one of my own favs each to give you all some recs back:

Wizards in space by esama on Ao3, almost 50k

The Dumbledore's Army use the Room of the Requirement to get themselves a spaceship.

Harry Potter & Stargate fusion, No Warnings, Gen, Complete Work 27 Feb 2015, HP LJ GW FW HG RW LL GW CC ME, AU - Canon Divergence, Dumbledore's Army IN SPACE!, Science Fiction, Chapters: 10/10 Comments: 456 Kudos: 4807, (Knowledge about Stargate is not necessary to read this story)

Reccing this because I adore it so much it always makes me feel things!

Secrets by Vorabiza on ao3, almost 400k words.

Beginning with Draco's unexpected arrival at the Dursleys, Harry's summer after sixth year becomes filled with activity and many secrets. As his summer progresses, Harry generates several unexpected allies as he finds himself actively becoming the leader of the Light side. H/D post-HBP ~~Complete~~

Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Drama, Romance, Explicit Language, Sexual Content

Recced by @niccolo-machiavelli07 with the note 'contains good Snape and Malfoy's. I do need to warn you that it's Drarry and Draco has a literal kid...'

Harry Crow by Robst on FfNet - 700+k

What will happen when a goblin-raised Harry arrives at Hogwarts. A Harry who has received training, already knows the prophecy and has no scar. With the backing of the goblin nation and Hogwarts herself. Complete.

Harry Potter, T, English, chapters: 106, favs: 31k+, follows: 19k+, updated: Jun 8, 2014 published: Jun 5, 2012, [Harry P., Hermione G.]

Recced by @elizabethgoudge with the note 'Harry Crow is quite hetero, but has a super interesting premise about goblins and is very long. He has another one with interesting elves, as well.' and I have read the fic before and can second the recommendation! It's an amazing longfic.

Delenda Est on FFnet (Reboot & Original) 100+k

Dying, Bellatrix uses her heirloom to send Harry to the past. There, he can try stopping Voldemort while making the acquaintance of a young and impressionable Bellatrix Black, who may opt to serve Lord Black instead of Voldemort. H/B. Rewrite of DE with different plot, some new characters. No need to read original. Backwards compatible with PB.

Harry Potter, T, English, Adventure & Romance, chapters: 12, favs: 1k+, follows: 2k+, updated: May 8 published: May 2, 2022, Harry P., Bellatrix L.

Recced by @str82theheartpls with the note 'my all-time fave is being rebooted and the original is amazing too'. Description of the original version is 'Harry is a prisoner, and Bellatrix has fallen from grace. The accidental activation of Bella's treasured heirloom results in another chance for Harry. It also gives him the opportunity to make the acquaintance of the young and enigmatic Bellatrix Black as they change the course of history.'

Oh God Not Again! By Sarah1281 on Ao3 & ffnet, 150+k

So maybe everything didn't work out perfectly for Harry. Still, most of his friends survived, he'd gotten married, and was about to become a father. If only he'd have stayed away from the Veil, he wouldn't have had to go back and do everything AGAIN.

Gen - Hermione Granger & Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom & Harry Potter, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood & Harry Potter - Old Fic, Humor, Time Travel, like literally, originally posted september13 2008 on ff.net, story completed as of december 2009

Recced by @polyvirnl with the note '"Oh God Not This Again" is very good', and I can second that, I read and rearead the fic many times, it's crazy awesome!

The Andromeda Program on Ao3 120+k

Hermione Granger is one of the select few to join the prestigious Andromeda Program to explore space for all of humanity. She thinks it will be an excellent opportunity to prove her worth and show her mettle, but perhaps living on a spaceship and spending her time with the same group of people is not all it's cracked up to be. Or maybe one person in particular is making it especially difficult.

Hermione Granger/Severus Snape, Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Healer Severus, Adult Hermione, Medical Inaccuracies, Minor Injuries, Slow Burn, Swearing, Angst, Power Imbalance, Alcohol

Recced by @echoofawind with the note 'I love The Andromeda Program. It's a Severus x Hermione muggle Sci-fi AU that has Ender's Game vibes'

Pride of Time by Anubis Ankh on Ao3

Hermione quite literally crashes her way back through time by roughly twenty years. There is no going back; the only way is to go forward. And when one unwittingly interferes with time, what one expects may not be what time finds...

Mature, Violence, F/M, HG/SS, Time-Turner, Time Travel,bChapters: 51/51 COMPLETE Jun 2012, Comments: 438 Kudos: 3133 COMPLETE

Reccing this because once you start reading you can't stop! I don't usually read Snamione and I have no idea how I ended up here first, but I've reread it twice since! Hermione as a death eater spy's wife is amazing.

If you have any other fic recs, feel free to reblog and add them to the post!

Note that reblogs are better than replies (or likes) because reblogs help share the post around - so more people get the recs, and more people see the post and might add their own recs as well!

If you rec more than three please use a readmore under the first or so, so not to spam everyone's dash!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

A reflection on the terrorist attack on Israel through the lens of America.

October 9, 2023

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

    About 30 seconds after I pressed “send” on Friday’s newsletter, I received an alert regarding a surprise attack on Israel by Hamas. By the next morning, it was clear that the strike was the largest terrorist attack on Israel in its modern history. For a small country, approximately 700 deaths are the equivalent of 25,000 in the US. That horrific reality was compounded by several factors, including Hamas’s gruesome use of social media to display dead bodies and civilian hostages, that the attack was launched on a Jewish holiday, and that there were “celebrations” around the world in response to the killing and capture of Israeli civilians.

          For Jews in America, the attack comes at a time of increasing antisemitism in the US. Right-wing extremists spew a toxic mix of white supremacy, neo-Nazism, and antisemitism fueled by grievance over losing white dominance. Last week, a mayoral candidate in a small town 20 miles south of Nashville showed up to a debate flanked by the “Tennessee Active Club”—a group that includes white supremacists and neo-Nazis who glorify Hitler, deny the Holocaust, and use the slogan, “Remember, there is no political solution.”

          The mayoral candidate (Gabrielle Hanson) denies she supports neo-Nazis, but after being called out by the local newspaper for using neo-Nazi “enforcers” at the debate, she sent a campaign promotion featuring some of the same neo-Nazis who provided “protection” for her at the debate. The message was clear to those in the small Tennessee town: Gabrielle Hanson hangs out with neo-Nazis and wants your vote. It starts with a wink and nod among brothers in hate and ends in genocide. It must stop now, and we must be the ones to stop it.

          The increasing antisemitism in the US places a special burden on all Americans to recognize that the attack directed at Jewish civilians has deep resonance with millennia of efforts to stigmatize and blame Jewish people for imagined grievances and vile conspiracy theories. Whatever you think about the maddeningly complicated politics in the Middle East, there is no excuse for targeting, torturing, and using civilians as hostages.

          Jewish Americans are rightly anxious, frightened, and wary that it could happen again because antisemitism has gone mainstream in the Republican Party. Republicans in Florida, Texas, Missouri, and other states are banning “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “Maus,” and other books about the Holocaust because they do not want school children to know or remember about a genocide that happened during their grandparents’ lifetimes.

          We need to tell all Jewish Americans that we are by their side and will stand between them and the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and messengers of hate recruited and infected by the virus of MAGA extremism. We need to speak out against antisemitism to protect our friends, neighbors, and strangers who are fearful about what happens next.

Coda.

          A few minutes after I wrote the above introduction, a reader sent me the following email from an Israeli American who sent an email to her friends to explain how Jews across the world feel. I have excerpted (and lightly edited) two paragraphs from a much longer email:

Your Jewish friends are hurting. We are grateful to the ones who can pluck up the courage to get in touch and to check on our loved ones. We are moved to tears, after years of antisemitism at what we thought was already a fever pitch in the US, and while bracing for the wave that is already beginning, that some of you will even go as far as to publicly post that the murder of Jewish civilians is not okay. We are so inured to people being not just okay with but supportive of the death of Jews, that just a simple social media post that says "Maybe treat Jews like they're human for five minutes before explaining why this is actually their fault” seems radical. Because even just that is so, so rare. Instead, we get a million explainers about why this is justified, why Israelis deserve this, why we only have ourselves to blame. With not even one moment, one breath spared for the intense, irrepressible pain we are in as we try to track down our loved ones, hold space for our community members who are suffering, and brace with fear at what the suffering that is coming next, on both sides of the border.

What the terrorist attack on Israel means in the US.

          There is so much to say about the attack on Israel I will attempt to be brief to cover more ground.

1.    The attack took place during a time of deep political division in Israel.

The current government coalition has been attempting to undermine the judiciary to maintain political power—a tactic that has deeply divided the Israeli people. See Lawrence Freedman on Substack, Hamas attacks Israel | Why Now and What Next? Per Freedman,

[T]he coalition’s policies on judicial reform left Israeli society deeply divided, something of which Hamas will have been well aware . . . .

When a nation is deeply divided by political strife, its enemies seek advantage. That is why the MAGA culture war benefits America’s adversaries, especially Russia and China.

2.    Republicans have hollowed out the American diplomatic corps.

Republicans have resisted the routine confirmation of Joe Biden’s diplomatic appointments. The following US diplomatic posts in the Middle East are vacant:

- Israel

- Egypt

- Lebanon

- Oman

- Kuwait

- No confirmed top USAID official for the Middle East for nearly three years

3.    Senator Tommy Tuberville is hampering US military preparedness.

Meanwhile, Senator Tommy Tuberville has prevented the appointment of 300 senior officers in the US military.

4.    The absence of a governing majority in the House has hampered the US’s ability to respond.

There is much media attention to the fact that the absence of a Speaker is limiting the ability of the House to support a US response to the attack. While that is true as far as it goes, the absence of a Speaker is the symptom, not the cause. The GOP caucus is incapable of governing.

Republicans must be able to join Democrats to advance America’s interests without incurring primary challenges from neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Moms for Liberty, or other extremist candidates funded by GOP dark money.

5.    Disinformation is rampant.

Disinformation about the terrorist attack and response is rampant. Elon Musk recommended two sites for war coverage on Twitter that are known for peddling false stories to gain subscribers. Worse, one site Musk recommended for war coverage includes antisemitic content. See Washington Post, As false war information spreads on X, Musk promotes unvetted accounts.

Separately, Republican presidential candidates have been spreading the false claim that the Biden administration’s release of a hold on $6 billion in impounded Iranian funds was used to finance Hamas’s attack. That claim is false. See The Hill, $6B in frozen Iranian funds remain unspent in wake of Hamas attack, Blinken says. The $6 billion remains in a monitored bank account cannot be released except for humanitarian aid.

Those facts did not prevent Nikki Haley from claiming that the Biden administration is at fault for the Hamas attack because it allowed the Iranian government “to move money around” in anticipation of the release of the impounded funds. She should be ashamed of herself for lying—assuming she has the capacity for shame.

6.    Trump's battles with the US intelligence community have undermined trust in those agencies.

Trump has been at war with the intelligence community ever since it concluded that Russia intervened in 2016 (and later, 2020) elections to help Trump. Per his playbook, Trump attacked the messenger. Then, when he was caught divulging secrets to top Russian diplomats and retaining defense secrets, he once again blamed the intelligence community. See, e.g., NYTimes, Unwanted Truths: Inside Trump’s Battles With U.S. Intelligence Agencies. The article reveals that the US intelligence community began to shade its conclusions to avoid upsetting Trump.

          It is too early to assign blame for the fact that Israel was caught off guard by the attack. But, at this early point, it is difficult to understand the failures of both the Israeli and US intelligence agencies. I am not saying that Trump's attacks on the US intelligence community are a proximate cause of the lack of preparedness. But Trump has caused congressional Republicans to view the intelligence community as an adversary. It is not; it is essential to America’s defense in a dangerous world—as the surprise attack on Israel demonstrates.

Concluding Thoughts.

          Writing about politics in the Mideast is difficult. The above comments are mine alone, but I thank readers (and friends) Dennis Aftergut and Susan Morgan for helping me to shape my thoughts about tonight’s newsletter. My unerring Managing Editor provided more than her usual amount of guidance for this newsletter. And a half-dozen readers sent links to helpful articles. Thank you.

          The status of Gaza and the West Bank are difficult issues about which Israel’s major political parties and citizens disagree. We can’t expect to resolve those issues for Israel and the Palestinians, though we can stand ready to guarantee the terms of any peace and governance framework.

          Sadly, the point of the terror attack on Israel was to disrupt efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia (among others) as a precursor to a peace framework. Hamas’s goal is to prevent peace and stability in the Mideast—a development that would make its structural opposition to Israel’s legitimacy irrelevant and unnecessary.

          The US has a delicate and important role to play—which is why having Joe Biden as President at this moment is important and fortunate. The US is moving a carrier strike group into the Eastern Mediterranean. The carrier strike group will provide air defense to discourage involvement by Iran or Syria. Major military moves—and the possibility of command decisions to engage in combat—are not the type of judgments that should be in the hands of an impulsive, immature, petulant, distracted, and ignorant leader like Trump.

          Republicans are suddenly in a panic about the absence of a speaker of the House and are considering re-electing Kevin McCarthy—because they know that Jim Jordan is not a serious candidate for the job. So, too, with the choice for President of the United States. A vote for Trump may satisfy the emotional need of some voters for revenge and retribution, but it is not a vote for stability and peace. The world is a complicated and dangerous place. Last Friday evening, the entire outlook for peace in the Middle East changed dramatically in a matter of minutes. We need Joe Biden’s experience and wisdom to guide us through this difficult time.

          Talk to you tomorrow.

[our-t4t-experience]

WE ARE :D

okayokay and also a lot of it has to do w transness

i am a t4t gayboy and i met this other guy whos the coolest ever and hes also a gayboy (i dont think hes t4t but !!)

ESSENTIALLY, as is in true gay fashion, i became friends w him at the beginning of the school year, and weve gotten more and more close ever since.

i have my seminar with him, and every day during seminar we sit under the table and talk about life, and his favorite bands (which are now mine, because i like to steal the interests of the people i love) and its awesome. i love being around him, his presence is comforting.

on A days, i sit with him and a few friends at lunch, and the cafeteria is quite loud (and i have major overstimulation issues,) so sometimes ill get overwhelmed and he always notices and makes sure im okay, and sometimes when i don’t feel like i can do it, hell sit with me in the stairwell and let me talk about whats bothering me and he’ll just listen and give advice. On B days, during lunch, we just sit in a corner somewhere and talk. he’ll always listen and help me and ill so the same for him. if its not him comforting me, i get to talk to him and hear him ramble about his bands and his favorite things and i love the way he sounds when hes happy - i love the way his smile is so bright, and i love the way he looks when he gets embarrassed and realizes hes loud (i dont mind it - its not aggressive.)

every day after school, we hang out for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, just. coexisting. its awesome. i love him. and we spend this time working on hw together, and talking about the things we love.

i have a very all-over-the-place tumblr blog, which comes with a lot of yearning, because im lonely and in love. but this boy, my boy, my crush, follows me and we like constantly support each others blogs. so sometimes, ill post yearning posts and HE’LL REBLOG THEM 💞. maybe im overthinking it but like if were looking for the same things in a relationship.. i mean !! it cant mean nothing!! like the other day i reblogged a post that was like “all i need in life is a boy to lay on my lap and let me play with his hair” and he reblogged it with the tags “#all i need in life is a boy to let me lay on his lap and play with my hair” AND OMG??? LIKE MARRY ME UGH gosh this is so exhilirating.

also the other day i wrote him a long paragraph about how much i love him (we say “i love you” to each other consistently, presumably in a platonic way, but its never been specified or indicated, sadly :() and it was like (ill include a little excerpt)

“[…]nothing can come close to [describing] the feeling i get when im with you, not by a long shot. its so much stronger in a way that youd think it would have its own word, like how "a lot" has "a myriad," and ones stronger, more intentful, more meaningful. if there was a word that was as to love as myriad is to lot, my love for you would still be stronger. i am more than eternally grateful for your presence and where you have brought me since ive met you. talking to you has been the actual light of my life lately.” AND SO SO MUCH MORE IT WAS LIKE 700 WORDS LONG - AND IT WAS ALL LIKE THAT YK

and the next day i get this:

“I love you a alot (name). […] I love you so so much. […] I want to give you all that you deserve. Because people don't remind you of your actual worth. And if I can be a start to help you to that path, I'd be so fucking happy. I, more than anything need you to know just how much of an amazing person you are. […] I promise to always listen to you. Always. It's the least I could do. You're an amazing person <3” WITH A LOT MORE BUT I CUT A LOT OF IT FOR WORDS SSKE BUT AAAAAA HE WROTE ME A PARAGRAPH!!!!!!

ALSO we call almost every night and i always text him good morning and hes the awesomest and i love spending time with him.

sometimes i also get text exchanges where i say “text me when you get home” and he says “im not home but i just couldnt wait <3” AAAAAAAAAAA

and “wish i had a boy to hold me n warm me up <//3” and he said “i volunteer as tribute!” AAAAAA

i think the point of this is i dont feel like he likes me back but im in love w the man dude like the other day he let me lay on his shoulder and he played w my hair and i nuzzled into his neck a bit and he giggled and i was like “hm?” and he said “youre adorable” AAAAAAAAAA SOBBFIANDBSJ and i just buried my red ass face in his neck and he giggled at me again and i said fuck you and UGH i love him so much and all i wanna do is just be his i just wanna be his boy and he can be mine and we can be boyfriends!!!

and also hes also so awesome because he makes me feel so validated and sometimes when i like my outfit ill send him pics of it and he’ll say “you look very boy / very cis” and ill be like “no” and sometimes hell tell me how i look cis and sometimes hell say he wishes i could see myself the way he sees me. i wish i could understand how he sees me. i wanna know how he thinks of me, i wanna know if hed ever love me the way i love him!! i love him. so much. id do anything for him.

thank u for letting me ramble, i needed to get it out of my system because i cant tell anyone else cause theyd tell him but god i love him. so much.

p.s. if you see this, i love you dude. youll know its you. if you dont love me back, just . idk . act like u never saw it ty <3

-🧷

send me an updated ask when u two get together