#for touching so many points ive wanted to scream from the rooftops for years

[victoriousscarf]

This article was from last October and thus does not take the most recent events into account but I often find myself going back to it lately... Excuse me while I also now quote excessively from it below:

ROBINSON

And this helps us to understand the development of Palestinian resistance to this project. Today, this is characterized often as being based on irrational anti-Semitism. But as you point out, when we understand the history of the development of this resistance, we see it differently. There are even early Zionists on the record saying things like I don’t know how you expect the Palestinians to react, they’re going to react the same way every indigenous population reacts when there is a colonial project to impose minority rule. [Ben-Gurion himself said: “If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country.”]

...

ROBINSON

There have been many attempts in the United States and Israel to make Palestinians completely unpalatable and impossible offers and then characterize Palestinians as unreasonable, uncompromising “rejectionists” when they won’t accept the offer.

KHALIDI

That’s a trope that goes back to Abba Eban: “Never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” There weren’t very many opportunities. There might have been one or two. I talk about the 1939 White Paper. It was a very limited opportunity. The Palestinians, in my view, were very foolish to fail to accept it. There might have been other opportunities. I was involved in the negotiations at Madrid and Washington [in the early 1990s] with an Israeli delegation in which we tried to achieve self-determination and statehood. And that was something that was systematically denied us by the ground rules laid down by the United States at the behest of Israel. The same ground rules ended up governing the Oslo process later on. So there was no opportunity there.

It turns out, I argue in the book, and I’ve argued elsewhere, that the maximum that would be offered, has ever been offered to the Palestinians, is some form of autonomy under Israeli sovereignty with complete and absolute Israeli security control. Israelis would have control of the borders, the airspace, the land, and the water under everything that Israel was willing to offer under every Israeli government. I go into Yitzhak Rabin’s shift in his willingness to accept the existence of a Palestinian people and his willingness to negotiate with the PLO. But even Rabin in his last speech made it very clear that there would never be a Palestinian state.

So self-determination, statehood, and independence are ruled out by the Americans and Israelis, then and now, I would argue. So what are we talking about? You can pick up your own garbage, but we’ll arrest anybody we want, any time we want, to torture them, beat them up, and drag them off to our jails. And we’ll do it to anybody who resists our dominance, and we make all the laws, and you obey our military rules. What kind of “state” is that? That’s not a very good deal.

ROBINSON

Let me dwell on this because it seems critical. To the extent that there has been talk of a “two state solution,” what has actually been on the table consistently in every negotiation for the last 50 years has never involved a concession by the United States and Israel—they negotiate together—that Palestinians should have anything that we would consider to be equivalent to a state in the sense that other states are states.

KHALIDI

The United States talks the talk, but it will not walk the walk. It will never say “this outcome has to include complete and absolute Palestinian independence.” It will never impose that in Israel. It will never lay that on the table as the outcome that has to be reached.

There are some Israeli governments that came closer to this than others. Rabin came closer. But none of them would have accepted the idea that Israel would give up its security control, that Israel would cease to control the borders, that Israel would cease to be the only sovereign power. I mean, if you don’t have your own army and your own borders, and your own economy, and your own ports and your own airports and your own airspace, you’re not sovereign. You’re not independent. You’re a dependent subunit of a larger sovereign state. And that’s all that Israel has so far been willing to offer. The United States has never pushed it to do anything more than what Israel was willing to do. The deference of the United States to Israel is limitless.

...

ROBINSON

When you said the Palestinians are not engaging in terrorism, one important point is that various means of resistance are denied them. You’re very critical in the book of attacks on civilians. But at every stage, the available ways that Palestinians can fight back have been constricted, and those things that horrify us come out of that. 

KHALIDI

I think there’s another point to be made. I argue in the book that various forms of armed action, including, especially, attacks on civilians, are horrific, immoral, and, very importantly, politically counterproductive. I go into this in some detail at one point in the book. But it has to be said that slaughtering civilians is slaughtering civilians. When Israel kills 16 children and five women in Gaza, using 2000-pound bombs and Hellfire missiles, if you don’t describe that as terrorism, and you describe the death of an Israeli child or an Israeli woman or another Israeli civilian as terrorism, this is Orwellian language. You are simply using the word “terrorism” as a bludgeon to demonize Palestinian resistance, whereas somehow the murder of children in Gaza … 16 kids were killed in these attacks, five women were killed in these attacks. Heaven knows how many other civilians were killed. Maybe a dozen militants were killed? I don’t know. But 30 or so civilians were murdered. If that’s not terrorism, then the word has no meaning. And this happens every single time. There were 240 civilians killed in one of these attacks a few years ago. Each time the toll is equally lopsided. Why are attacks on civilians not considered terrorism? If you use the same measure, I have no problem with the use of that term. But then you have to describe the use of Hellfire missiles and F-16s and heavy artillery in the same way. In the book I go into the kinds of weapons that are used by Israel— the artillery, the missiles, the aircraft, the helicopters—and the indiscriminate nature of the attacks on a population of a couple of million people in a tiny area. If that’s not terrorism, I don’t know what is. But of course, the term is only applied to the Palestinians. Somehow Ukrainian resistance is not terrorism yet Palestinian resistance is. I repeat, I think the killing of civilians is wrong and immoral. It’s a violation of international law. But if that’s true for the Palestinians, certainly it’s true for the Israelis as well and on a much larger scale.

[bluebellhairpin]

Domestic

Loki Laufeyson/Odinson X Fem!Reader

A/N: I dunno what this one is. I don’t even know when in the MCU timeline it happened, but it’s Loki fluff, so ya’ll wont mind, I’m sure. Enjoy. - Nemo P.S. Easter Egg for Anime fans. Kudos if you get it.

Summary: There are many memories that you’ve gained over the years from living with the God of Mischief. Here are a list of occasions that you like the most; some are happy, others sad, some are pure, some funny, and others that you wish the whole world could’ve seen.

Warning!: Possible trigger warning in one of the sections. If you believe it could be a trigger, it’s titled ‘VIII. Happy Pills’, so you’d just have to skip over it if you decide to read this anyway. 

Masterlist  

I. Save the Kitten

“Damn, not again.” You mumbled, hands on your hips as you stared up at the tall branches of the tree.

“With a name like Fiberglass I’d not wan’t to come down too.”

“Shut up Loki.” You said, thumping the god on the shoulder before making your way towards the trunk, preparing to start climbing.

“What are you doing now?” He said with a frown, seeing you begin to place your hands and feet up on the rough bark.

“I’m getting her back. What does it look like I’m doing; drawing a bath?” You called, mocking his accent while you made quick work of climbing.

“You’ve done this before.” Loki stated, ignoring your jab at his moral, instead noting that you climbed up this particular tree as if you did it regularly. You shot him a look, he rolled his eyes. “I was just pointing it out.” 

“Yeah well, stop pointing it out and prepare yourself to catch Fiberglass.” You said, now having reached the young cat and scooping it up into your hands. “Usually I’d just carry her down, but now you’re here it’ll make it a lot easier.”

“Maybe I should make you carry her down. Could be quite entertaining.”

“Loki, I swear to-”

“Okay, okay. Just give her here.” 

II. Sunsets

Since you had been entrusted with the care of Loki, S.H.I.E.L.D made sure there was plenty of space where you lived. Meaning you moved out of your old apartment in downtown Queens soon after Loki arrived, and into a house in the area of New Haven. The house came complete with floor-to-ceiling windows and a rooftop deck.

You especially loved the deck, and whatever nights you could you were up there with a blanket watching the sunset.

“Why don’t you watch the sunrises too? They’re just as beautiful.” Loki had joined you tonight, bringing an extra blanket and two cups of something hot and great-tasting.

“You should know me by now, I don’t wake up early enough for that.” You laughed. 

“True.”

“Plus, with sunsets, you can start to watch the stars come out too.” Loki smiled at that. It seemed he was rather impartial to stars too.

You both settled into a comfortable silence, his shoulder was pressed next to yours as you sipped your drinks. The sky swirled in shades of pale blue, pink, orange, red, and purple. It was putting up quite the show tonight.

“What is this drink?” You asked randomly, watching the liquid swish in your cup.

“Magic!” He said, putting his newly-learnt jazz-hands to use.

“You’re a moron.”

“You love me. Everyone does.”

III. Say Cheese!

“C’mon! Just one nice picture.” You whined, letting the hand that was holding your phone go limp.

“No. I’m not going to become one of your models. Too many people still hate me for the New York attack.”

“I wont use this one for social media, I have plenty others for that, and those only have your silhouette.” You pouted. “This one’ll be for me.” You added quietly, however Loki heard you rather clearly.

“Tch, give it here.” He said, snatching the phone from your hand and puling you close, pressing the button, effectively taking his first selfie before giving the phone back. “There. No stop whining.”

You looked at the photo, fining Loki looking the happiest he ever had looked, and you still had a look of shock/pout stuck on your face.

Loki was actually very happy you kept insisting on the photo, in fact he was rather happy you wanted to spend time with him at all; so he figured he could let that one photo be a outlet for his hidden happiness.

You frowned, a little disappointed in yourself for ruining an otherwise great photo.

“You should send that to me.” Loki asked, looking over your shoulder as you stared at the digital image.

“O-Oh, sure.” You said, choosing to ignore your stuttering and instead smile up at the Asgardian.

“Cute.” Loki breathed, making sure you wouldn’t hear.

IV. My Nephews are Twins

“I didn’t know you knew magic too!”

“I don’t. You’re overreacting.” You bluntly said, brushing some of your nephew’s hair away from his face as he ate cereal. “This is Eren. The one you saw outside is Jean.” 

“You gave you’re magic names?”

“Loki! Listen to me!” You started, slapping Loki across the face, Eren giggled at the action. Loki faced you with a look of disbelief. “Eren and Jean are twins. Did you not have twins in Asgard or something?”

“We do, it’s-it’s just where did they come from? No one in their right mind would leave their children near a monster like me.” At this comment, you pulled Loki away from Eren and into the hallway.

“You’re only a monster if you let people tell you that you’re one.” You started, placing your hand on his cheeks, forcing him to look at you. “You’re no monster to me; you’re Loki, the man whose trying to right his wrongs.” You finished, taking in a deep breath as you released his face.

He missed your touch; you were so warm compare to him.

“You turn blue. It’s awesome.” Eren and Jean said, speaking in chilling synchronization. Loki scooted behind you, making sure he had a sort of shield between him and the twins. 

“Are they possessed?” Loki whispered, keeping his eyes on the boys.

“No. They just have powers. Like Steve and Bruce.” 

“What kind of powers do they have?”

“Linked telepathic communication and self cloning.” The twins said. Loki shrieked and ran off, clearly shaken by your nephews. 

V. Ice Skating - Not For Loki

You couldn’t stop laughing. 

“I’m a frost giant.” He said. 

“That’s ice, and it’s basically just walking without lifting your feet.” He said. 

“How hard can it be?” He said.

He was so very, very wrong. 

He slid across the ice with his hands outstretched, his legs wobbled, and he’d already fallen over three times even though you’d been here for less than fifteen minuets. And he kept screaming at you to help him and “stop laughing this IsNt fUnnY.”. 

In short, you were thoroughly enjoying yourself while Loki was practically dying of embarrassment.

“I’m never doing that again.” Loki grumbled, angrily untying his skates. You’d just managed to stop laughing enough to grab him and pull him off the ice.

“Sure you will, it just takes a lot of practice.”

“Practice my ass-”

“Loki! Language!”

“You’re not getting me to embarrass myself like that again.”

“Sure I’m not.” You laughed.

VI. I’m a Snake 

You woke up this particular morning feeling a bit tingly. And long. And smaller. You looked down at yourself, realising that your normal human body was replaced by a snake’s.. You went to let out a scream, but only a hiss came out.

You moved yourself over to one of your mirrors, finding that now you were a rather pretty Taipan. You frowned, as much as a snake could, and figured it was probably Loki’s fault.

However, he did have his magic taken away, meaning something might be wrong with him, or he was reverting back to his villain-like state. 

You made your way into his room, finding he was still in bed, so you managed to worm your way on top of the covers. He had a couple tissues clutched in his hand and his nose was a bit red. 

He had a cold. 

You chose to slither around his neck and poke your snake-tongue in his ear. He shot up with a start, sneezing and rubbing his ear as he did so.

“Wha- Ah! How’d you get in!” He shrieked, knowing full-well that if you were a real Taipan, that you could cause a lot of bodily damage.

“It’s me you moron.” You tried to say, thinking he wouldn’t understand.

“(y/n)? What happened?” Turns out he did understand.

“You, Loki. You happened.”

“It must’ve been a fluke.” He said, sneezing again.

“Fluke or not, change me back before I bite you.” You hissed, sliding further around his neck.

“Okay. I’d have to take you to my brother or S.H.I.E.L.D to do it.”

“I don’t care who we go to! Just change me back!”

“That’s weird, Taipan’s aren’t usually this aggressive.”

“Loki!”

VII. What’s Your Tragic Backstory?

“You’ve really never been here before?” You asked, entering through the glass door and instantly smelling old books with a hint of tea and adventure. 

“It’s not like the higher-ups want be away from you.” Loki said, closing the door gently behind him as he watched you begin to wander through the isles of books. “Why did they leave me with you? As far as you’ve let on, you have no powers at all.”

“That’s the point.” You mumbled, running your hands along a row of old and new book spines. “I’ve never really liked my powers; as far as I’m concerned I should be the one locked up, not you.”

“What could be so bad about them? It’s not like you were controlled by Thanos.” He said, continuing to follow you as you then made your way towards a spiral staircase; you made no comment. “Were you?” He added, quieter this time as you stopped a couple steps higher than him, leaving you eye-level with the god.

“Loki, please, I don’t want to talk about it. At least not here.”

“There’s no one here. No other customers, and the clerk is asleep. It’s not like anyone would know.”

“I unwillingly killed hundreds for him. I remember it all. Every last plead for life; for a second chance. Sometimes he still tries to get to me, but I manage to shake him off.” You blurted, deciding to just let him know what's happened.

“So why are you here, working with the Avengers if you done so many wrongs?”

“I remember all my training; meaning I’m a better spy that Natasha Romanoff. I was also genetically engineered; Where Steve Rogers fights like a hundred men, I fight like a thousand. I’m a huge asset for them.” You finished, moving yo continue up the stairs but Loki caught your arm and turned you back to him.

“You don’t need to worry about hurting me. I... I have the same feeling about you. I don’t want to hurt you because of what I’ve done in the past.”

“Thank you Loki.” 

VIII.  Happy Pills

“What are these?”

“It’s just some med’s Loki.”

“Hogwash. I’ve been around Midguardians for six months now. The label says that they’re not just med’s.” Loki said, rattling the pills around in their bottle.

“Better question; what’re you doing in my stuff?” You said, setting down you book and snatching the bottle out of his hands.

“You were acting different to usual. I wanted to make sure you weren’t doing anything too rational. Contrary to that, turns out instead of doing something, you weren’t doing something.” He started, you groaned feeling a lecture coming on. “I can’t believe you thought you could trick me, of all people. Now tell me, and don’t you dare lie, what are these for?” He hissed grabbing hold of your arm to make sure you wouldn’t run away any further than you had.

“They’re just to help.” You sighed. “They help with Thanos. And the nightmares. They keep me happier.” You mumbled, the grip on your arm loosening as Loki then pulled you into a tight embrace. You felt a couple tears escape your eyes as you wrapped your arms around Loki.

“It may sound hypocritical coming from me, but talking helps. And you can talk to me, even at the times when it seems I don’t care.” He mumbled into your hair. You sniffed and tightened your hold around his torso, smooshing your face further into his chest.

“Why do you care about me so much?”

“We have a lot in common. Plus, as much as I’d hate to have to admit; you, my dear mortal, have wormed you way into my heart. I’m afraid I care about you an awful lot.”

“Oh, you’re so romantic.”

“You love it.” He breathed out a laugh, you too let out a giggle.

“I think you’re right; as much as I’d hate to have to admit.”

IX. Starry Eyes

“You get weird after two in the morning, you know that?”

“Good morning to you too.” You mumbled, rolling over in your bed to throw an arm over Loki’s chest. He let out a mock ‘oof’ when it landed on his shirt-clad torso; acting as it your arm was led instead of flesh and bone.

“No seriously.” He laughed, bringing your hand up to lay a kiss on your palm. “It’s like if your not asleep by a certain time you go to instant tipsy-mode. Do you even remember what happened?”

“No. I didn’t do anything too embarrassing, right?” You asked, prying an eye open to look over at a smiling Loki.

“Nothing embarrassing. You eyes just turned into galaxies.”

“What, really?” You said, sitting up in surprise as Loki nodded.

“Sure did darling. Right before you passed out and I had to carry you back here.” He said, patting the mattress as he explained.

“Which galaxy?” You asked, leaning back down into his arms as a gentle smile rested on your lips.

“One of the ones on the outer rims of this realm.”

“Is it pretty?”

“Nothing can compare to your beauty. You held the stars in your eyes last night, and you made them glorious. They are not that breathtaking when I see them in person, only when they are part of you.” 

“Aw, Loki! You’re so poetic!”

“Well, you know what they say; love so passionately that Shakespeare rises from the dead to capture it.”

X. Blue Is Good

“Loki, it’s fine. No one got hurt.”

“That doesn’t matter. Just leave (y/n).”

“No, I won’t - I can’t. I owe you that much.” You said, leaning your head on the door. It was cold, colder than normal. 

“You own me nothing! Monsters like me don’t deserve a love like yours! I’m not worth it!” He yelled, you stayed silent. He’d been in his Jotun form before, never in front of you and especially not in front of other Midguardians. You knew he viewed himself as a monster; but you thought he’d gone passed that now, you thought you’d convinced him otherwise.

“I know you don’t like your Jotunheim heritage Loki, and Thor has spoken of the dispute between your people and the Asgurdians. But you’re on Midguard now. People here may seem harsh, and at times they are, but you’ve proven yourself to be more than just a ‘monster’. Everyone has a dark side, a side of themselves that they don’t want others to see. I hope you know that I accept you as a whole; Jotunheim and all.” You said, never once raising your voice more than needed.

Loki had moved closer to the door, listening carefully to every word.

“You accepted me as I am, even though I still hate myself for what I’ve done, you make me feel like I worth some of the love you give me. I could never wish for anything more than for you to understand in the slightest the appreciation that I have for you. I love you Loki, more than words and actions can ever convey.”

“Say it again.” Loki said, opening the door and gazing down at you with a look of awe. His skin still had a blue hue and their darkened markings, and his eyes still had some red.

“I love you.” You smiled, letting out a sigh of either relief or happiness. Maybe it was both.

He then caught you by surprise, pulling you flush to his chest and connecting his lips to yours. You’d kissed before, but none of the other kisses conveyed this much raw emotion; love, admiration, sadness, hope, happiness. A huge mixture of colorful feelings. 

“I love you too.” He mumbled, his mouth only just far enough away from yours to get the words out without them sounding muffled.

And it was perfect.

[lost-little-fawn]

sleep feels like a different kind of sweetness, a different brand of homemade safety, a welcome into soft and dark and fuzzy around the edges. just a welcome break from responsibility. i know my mother tried her best and thats what makes it hurt the most. i know theres nothing better out there waiting for me and thats okay. i know i am simply forgettable and empty like a dandelion just bloomed, i am a smashed wall letting everyone's light and cold in. nothing feels right or good or true anymore, and that's okay. artemis, the virginal huntress, would pierce my doe heart in moments than have me join her clan with my soft, delicate veneer. i have hurt things and will hurt more before im dead. the forest of life is full of predators and i am wounded, limping, easy to pick off and devour. i am devout, blood like rotten milk, skin like leather. i pray to gods ive never known and will never meet, and i know they see right through me. i can call myself boy and man all i want, scream it across rooftops and sandy grain beaches, can throw and break things all i want but i am still only a victim. i will still always only b poised at the edge of the same knives that made me bleed between my legs for years. my tongue feels like a slab of bark between my teeth and scratches my cheeks as i talk. ive never met a good guy. i doubt i ever will, much less be one. i was always just a little too dumb to understand pain wasn't love. a little too dim to think hanging wasnt a hug. a little too dumb to think being eaten wasn't a warm wet cave to sleep in. and i never even really understood or noticed the point in which i truly became a victim. noone ever told me my cherry lips were chapped and bleeding and that the bruises on my hips and thighs werent part of normal playtime. that 7 was way too young to be bleeding down there. that these aches and pains werent normal n that it could get better than it was. so i stayed until it killed everything inside, and a people pleasing monster filled me up instead. and ive asked the eponymous you (laying in the pile of coats in my childhood bedroom on the rocking chair my mother never once bothered to rock me in) how we got here, and you only click marbles between your rotting teeth and turn my sky angry shades of red and black sea glass. when you tell people you're schizophrenic theres a different kind of pity than anything else, like cancer or depression. a sort of fearful brain picking: "are you seeing anything right now that isnt real?" "have you ever spoken to a ghost?" but all the ghosts are in my head or filling up the emptiness of my missing organs and i love the tingle when they leave soft kisses on my eyelids to give me blissful visual snow. its so much better than too many colors. there's a different kind of boundless love you get from someone who knows everything about you, every little quirk, without having to ask. a creature with touch soft like petals or wraiths or fog. has anyone ever even experienced true love? a feeling of giving everything about you to someone else without intending to take it back later?