I'm reading about how Israel, in the immediate aftermath of the 1948 Nakba, deliberately replaced olive trees and other indigenous flora with European plants. This ecological disaster, which is now proudly hailed under the banner of 'making the desert bloom,' was done to 'de-Arabize' the landscape, and to cover up - often with fast-growing European pine trees -the ruins of Palestinian villages that were destroyed by Zionists forces.
And I just need everyone to read this passage from Pappé, because the symbolism of what happened to those European pine trees in the desert speaks for itself:
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, by Ilan Pappé (2006, p. 227-228.)
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im obsessed with andreil winning every fucking queer tournament in existence this niche book not only seems to have a huge fansebase but also the main couple hits like coke and has everyone on a leash nora could dominate the whole world
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i dont think i will ever be over dragon age 2. like. bioware made an epic fantasy story about a chosen one having to save a country and stop the apocalypse and then they made the second installment of the series be about the sociopolitical climate in ONE city through the lens of a family of refugees fleeing from the war of the first game and just. made it about political tensions and class dynamics and the influences of living in a church-mandated state and the growing tension over an occupied piece of the city and political killings and interpersonal conflict and power and its story is ENTIRELY character-driven. it has easily the most iconic set of companion characters. the premise of living through a story told over the course of ten years and knowing from the start that something really bad will happen in the end was so fresh and exciting. the fact that the acts really built on top of each other andhow much the city changed over time. and the game was so mature in terms of the topic of fighting against oppression in so many ways (im usually generous and say that the short development time left some things a bit wanting), and as much as some people say that the game treats mages and templars as being equally bad, i don't think that that is actually true about the game and it very earnestly tries to grapple with some pretty complex political dynamics.
and then the game completely flopped financially and was almost universally hated for its queer themes and its sympathy for "terrorism" and a lot of the things that stemmed from basically having no production time at all and then the studio just made another epic fantasy story about a chosen one that has to save the world from the apocalypse
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I always find it strange when people lament that Rayla and Callum don't have much in common (implying they're a bad ship) when, to me, they're one of the most realistic portrayal of friends and lovers I've seen across various genres.
They very clearly enjoy each other's company. They have a similar quirky style of gallows humour. They like teasing each other, and they bounce ideas off each other. They fiercely love and care for their friends and family.
I mean, Callum just randomly starts spouting poetry at her, and does Rayla make fun of him or make him feel weird or self-conscious? Nope. She not only knows what he's talking about, she engages with it.
I suppose on the surface they don't have much in common. Callum loves his books and research, and Rayla’s more action orientated, but once you dig deeper, the foundation of their relationship is built on mutual admiration and respect.
And that is what's important. That's what long-lasting relationships are built on.
Your partner may not have the same taste in books or activities as you, but do they still engage with you about your interests? Do they support you indulging in them or spending time doing them? Do they respect you and your differences?
That love and support is what stands the test of time.
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SVSSS bingliushen fic where Shen Qingqiu assumes that even though he somehow managed to turn the former stallion protagonist gay (he's still not totally clear on how that happened) and in love with him (x2) there's no reason to assume Binghe would become monogamous as well. So he preps himself for the possibility of there still being a harem, just, full of dudes this time.
Meanwhile, Binghe has in fact become functionally monogamous but it's in self-defense. Theoretically there is some universe where he would be happy to sleep around. His relationship with SQQ is unique and deeply important to him, but that would be true whether or not they were sexually exclusive.
The problem is that Binghe knows with 1000% certainty that if he brings other dudes into their lives, they will fall in love with Shen Qingqiu. In the unlikely event that they did not fall in love with Shen Qingqiu, then they're be so incomprehensible to Luo Binghe that he wouldn't be able to find them attractive anyway. Luo Binghe's insecurities cannot yet handle the idea of Shizun being with other men.
Cue the inevitable mess of Shen Qingqiu trying to set Binghe up with suitable hot men, only to unwittingly accumulate more fodder for his own unacknowledged harem of admirers, while Binghe tries to fend off these would-be suitors until he finally decides he's going to bring Liu Qingge into the relationship just so he has an extra set of hands ready to help throw other people back out of it again.
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The Shield ultimately costing Roman his historic title reign is the long term story telling that I've grown to adore. I love pro-wrestling
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