#they really are equals but displaced by time

[nimrochan]

Thank you for your question. To really simplify the answer, no, Israel has never sought to annihilate Gaza or its people. Any pro-Israel activity calling to end Gaza is very rare and not consistent with what most Israelis (including myself) want.

There has been a *very successful* anti-Israel propaganda campaign from terrorist groups ever since WWII ended, spearheaded by Mufta al-Husseini (a friend of Hitler) and tailored to appeal to progressive intellectuals in the west. The “Gaza genocide” is common knowledge now, but there is simply not enough unbiased evidence to support it.

Many claim that there has been a genocide “for 80 years,” yet Gazan population has gone from 80,000 to 2 million, not consistent with ~80 years~ of genocide. At least not a successful one.

In fact before the recent war started by Hamas, most Gazans just… lived their lives. It was a beautiful piece of land. Roughly 150,000 Gazans crossed into Israel every day for work (and that will no longer be allowed probably, because a few of them turned out to be scoping and mapping the area that would later be the site of the 10/07 attacks). There was no IDF presence there. There were no Jewish residents since 2005, because, well, they didn’t want them and Israel agreed to yank them out. Again before the recent war, Israel accepted 1000-2000 Palestinian citizens a year. They, along with roughly 2 million other Israeli Arabs, have equal rights and opportunities (Meanwhile in the West Bank, a Palestinian faces the death penalty if they sell property to a Jew.). A very small handful of these Israeli-Palestinian citizens committed terrorist attacks on Jews over the years (look up the 2015 Palestinian attacks, as an example. I was there, watching it unfold on the news). There is a border around Gaza because of a history of suicide bombers and other attackers crossing over to hurt civilians. I was also there in the 90’s when that was a common problem. I was scared to take the bus to school, because buses were popular targets.

Meanwhile, Hamas put a foothold on Gaza and started firing unprovoked rockets into civilian areas in Israel, since they couldn’t easily cross the border anymore to plant bombs. They’ve been doing this for 20 years. Then they found a way to cross over en masse and rape/slaughter 1200 noncombatant people (I’m sure you know that story at least).

It turns out that the decades of propaganda over Israel’s alleged horrendous treatment of Gazans gave them billions of dollars in aid to build tunnels and rockets.

Hamas continued to send rockets from hospitals, schools, and apartment buildings so that IDF retaliatory rockets would hit civilians. Then they plaster it all over social media - look what Israel did! Then they continue firing rockets over and over and over again. They continue hanging on to the remaining 101 hostages, at least half of whom are dead.

Meanwhile, the IDF utilizes pamphlets and alerts and sirens and all kinds of methods to clear out civilians before they bomb an area. Not exactly “annihilation” behavior.

Why are they displacing upwards of at least a million Gazans from their homes? Because Hamas built tunnels and weapons under them. For the sole purpose of killing Israelis. So yeah, the IDF wants to put a stop to that. As would any normal army from a normal country.

Reliable sources put the combatant - to - civilian ratio at around 1:1 - 1:2.5, which is extremely low. For a dense urban area, average is 1:9.

Looking at it another way - there are about 300,000 IDF soldiers in Gaza right now. They have superior weapons, they have air space. That’s 100 times the number of Hamas members involved in 10/07. So if they killed Gazans with the same unhinged violence as Hamas did in one day … 100 times the soldiers leading to 100 times the deaths, over 400 days… They would have killed over ~20x the population in Gaza by now.

So between the population growth, the forcible removal of Jewish residents from Gaza in 2005, the multiple offers for a two state solution denied by Hamas, the fact that Israel has never sent a rocket first (and you can look that up), the distribution of aid, and the care taken to minimize civilian death in an extremely urban strip of land as small as Manhattan, there doesn’t seem to be an annihilation goal.

Are they capable of annihilating all Gazans? Yes. They’re a powerful military. But they haven’t so far. And I never see accurate or unbiased information to prove otherwise. What I HAVE seen is footage of Hamas torturing Gazans and shooting at people for trying to flee areas that the IDF warned them they would strike.

Let me be clear that I am in no way minimizing the suffering and death of Gazans, especially considering that children make up such a large number of the population. I’ve seen that footage too. It’s awful. It doesn’t have to be labeled a genocide to be horrific. War is horrific.

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that every IDF member is free from sin, that would be foolish and naive, but to spread misinformation about the war is to embolden terrorists and keep them throwing their own citizens in harm’s way for the sake of killing Jews. Yes, I believe that a large part of the pro-Palestine movement is harming both sides.

We don’t want Gaza. (Egypt didn’t even want Gaza when offered). We want people to stop using it to terrorize us. We continue to receive 100+ rockets a day from Hamas and Hezbollah. One of them hit a kindergarten today.

You are welcome to ask me more questions as long as it doesn’t come from a hostile place.

[zelda-of-hyrule-tloz]

Echoes of Wisdom Headcanon Countdown

༺ Day 96▪︎ 5 Left

When Princess Zelda approached the castle to seal Calamity Ganon, a part of the monster recognized the soul that contained it; Zelda's Sealing power was like Rauru's, which kept Ganondorf's body in place, but was far more powerful overall (in the way that Ganondorf could escape the seal temporarily as the Calamity and Rauru had to die for his to even work). At first, he merely recognized it as the power of the princess before her who sealed the Calamity the first time around, but over the course of 100 years he came to recognize also the Sage of Time herself. Somehow, what was left of the human consciousness within the Calamity began to fear - had she followed him all this way to take revenge? In a similar way, Zelda feared the reverse when she traveled to the ancient past and met Ganondorf. Ultimately, the battle was a closed loop. They were doomed to face each other in an infinite cycle, until eventually the Demon Dragon faced its end. In a way, it parallels Hylia and Demise. I wonder if Zelda ever had dreams of the events at the beginning of time during the Imprisoning War? If perhaps the Calamity continued the same constant struggle to escape like the Imprisoned?

sealing power zelda is crazy and if at any point her powers come back at the same time as her time power, hyrule will never be in danger again she will be so op

[papasmoke]

My name is Ruwa Romman, and I’m honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention. My story begins in a small village near Jerusalem, called Suba, where my dad’s family is from. My mom’s roots trace back to Al Khalil, or Hebron. My parents, born in Jordan, brought us to Georgia when I was eight, where I now live with my wonderful husband and our sweet pets.

Growing up, my grandfather and I shared a special bond. He was my partner in mischief—whether it was sneaking me sweets from the bodega or slipping a $20 into my pocket with that familiar wink and smile. He was my rock, but he passed away a few years ago, never seeing Suba or any part of Palestine again. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.

This past year has been especially hard. As we’ve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind. 

But in this pain, I’ve also witnessed something profound—a beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we’ve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are here—members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world.

They’ll say this is how it’s always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer—shunned for her courage, yet she paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and it’s her example we follow.

But we can’t do it alone. This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our party’s greatest strength has always been our ability to unite. Some see that as a weakness, but it’s time we flex that strength. 

Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur. Let’s fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza. To those who doubt us, to the cynics and the naysayers, I say, yes we can—yes we can be a Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals, not for endless wars. That fights for an America that belongs to all of us—Black, brown, and white, Jews and Palestinians, all of us, like my grandfather taught me, together.

I want to be clear,” Romman said. “We’ve been in negotiations for days. This did not just come up…We’ve been talking about this for at least a week. In addition, the campaign told us that not getting a ‘no’ [initially upon first hearing the request] was a really good sign. For them to give us a ‘no’ the same day that Geoff Duncan [a Republican from Georgia] was on the stage—especially when it was my name—was just absolutely a slap in the face.”

[flawseer]

Warm

Wings of Fire occupies this strange meta-textually dissonant niche. There are a lot of disturbing and even grotesque things happening in it, like people's eyeballs getting dissolved by acid, characters compelled by mind control to ritualistically disembowel themselves, families getting torn apart by war, several attempted genocides, and an alarming amount of parental neglect and abuse.

But then, due to its nature as a book series aimed at children, the story finds itself unable to dwell on these horrific events that would realistically do irreparable damage to anyone experiencing or witnessing them. The narrative just kind of stands at the side and tries to look away, waiting until it's over. Characters remain oddly chipper and unbothered by sights that would ruin an average person.

This is not an accusation. I understand why it is that way. Sutherland desired to write a story about dragons for kids, which is a valid and admirable endeavor. In such a framework it would likely be inappropriate to do a deep dive into the psychological depths of a cast of traumatized characters.

But as a fan of her work, I find it an enticing thought exercise to look at the events of the story and examine them in a way the original text doesn't. To dwell on these experiences and the emotions they would beget. You'll find that Pyrrhia is filled with millions of little stories that haven't been fully told. A mother, displaced in time through torturous imprisonment, finds everyone she knew and loved is dead, safe for a son whose trauma has warped him into a twisted, murderous monstrosity. A nephew loses his beloved aunt to illness and his abusive family likely will not allow him to attend her funeral or gain any closure. And many other tales that aren't really relevant to this silly comic page, but still equally as fascinating.

[pink-key]

How would Toby be with a romantic partner if he ever entered a relationship (like would he be toxic/romantic/etc??)

This will be long, buckle up, as I want to tackle multiple questions.

This is an x y/n headcanons visual thing.

Warning: Terrible writing. Might be slightly dark. Very very long

Firstly, all depends on the closeness you have with Toby.

🍨 Plaything

🍰 Congratulations, you got him interested in you. Maybe it's your overly humorous reaction to him running after you, while he was chaotically swinging his hatchets. Maybe you had a drastically different reaction to his previous victims.

🍰 Either way, he loves tormenting you; his morals are either absent or corrupt. He likes to scare you, looking into your window to your room at night, laughing and rambling nonsense once you notice him (doesn't matter which floor you live on; he can climb). He can inflict some minor or not so pain on you, especially during his episodes, from randomly swinging his weapons in anger or excitement to pushing you around. There is no particular aim in that; he just feels like it, or his mind is fogged by voices and emotions.

🍰 Contrary to popular belief, he isn't shy, he isn't easily embarrassed. He is loud, obnoxious; he will make his opinions known to you; he will comment on anything you do or any of your clothes, personal belongings, even your family. He is here to have fun, not to worry about your feelings. As long as you entertain him, he will keep you alive, driving you to madness.

🍰 He can and will find you anywhere, will make you look like an insane person to other people. He is good at hiding and is skilled at hurting physically and emotionally from a distance (throwing a rock in the head, displacing objects in the room to make one paranoid, etc.). A 2-meter-tall stalker running around with two axes after you? You're hilarious, y/n!

Coincidentally, his boss doesn't order him to kill you; maybe you don't disturb his work much, after all, he doesn't visit you all the time (his life doesn't revolve around you). Just the least when you expect him.

🍰Telling him he is disgusting or commenting his mental issues will result in an instant end, unless he would want to play a chasing game in the forest with you before that.

🍰 If you have an S/O, he will mock you for choosing such a pitiful person as a partner. Just hope he won't involve your S/O in your little games. He doesn't care about your personal life, but he sure knows how dear this relationship is to you.

🍨 "We are buddies, r-right?"

🍰 You somehow managed to survive his attacks, random outbursts, mood swings, threats and, for some reason, decided to befriend him.

Honestly, being his friend is the healthiest you can get and keep bits of your private space at the same time.

🍰 He, despite being insane, brainwashed, and amnesiac, starts to see you more than just an amusement park attraction as a cute little pet, not really an equal. Your relationship is a bit more than him having a blast using physical or mental torture on you. Your presence and personality are also fun, who knew?!

🍰 Maybe, would EVEN feel a slight parody of pity for you. Especially if you tell him your sad stories of your life. He is terrible at comforting, but if the stars align right, he can play his favorite cassettes to you with cheery songs or try to make jokes, but don't expect that to happen every time. Maybe a pat on the head would happen, usually, he would tell you to stop being sad as there are worse things to cry about.

🍰 He teases you and pranks you a lot. Doesn't matter what state you are in.

🍰 His idea of friendship is a bit twisted. You won't mind that he will destroy your belongings if he finds them annoying, right? You are friends! Friends don't hold grudges against each other! Or if he would hurt your family members or friends because they said or did something that triggered his aggression, right? Friends forgive each other! You don't mind sharing everything with him, from food to information, because friends don't keep secrets from each other!

🍰 There is a good part to this relationship. He is kinder to you. Perhaps, would bring you a cute little trinket or object stained in blood. Friends make gifts for each other! He would appreciate it if you would give him something. Be careful what you give him, as he interprets your gifts in his own way. New hoodie? Are you implying his tastes are bad? Are you mocking him?

🍰 This is also where you can shape your friendship into a seemingly normal one. Food is a safe option. Learn what he likes to convey to him that you care about him. The man needs kindness deep inside. It will confuse him; he might get angry at you, at the world without understanding why, but the long-term result is worth the risk.

🍰 If you are in danger, he might save you. Although you will bear the guilt of some hooligans being either deadly hurt or dead.

🍰 He is also more open to you. You can hold small conversations with him, discussing music, for example. However, if he is in one of his episodes or even just mood swings, he can snap, shout at you or just be mad at you for an unknown reason, while rambling something incomprehensible and leave you alone for a week or more. Violence isn't completely off the table either.

🍰 If you have an S/O (or just hangs out with friends), He can get jealous because you don't pay attention to him at that exact moment. He isn't always jealous, just sometimes. If he is in a terrible mood, might even hurt your S/O, he isn't shy at that stage to involve anyone in the mess. He can complain about your S/O. It's not advised to dispute him, as he can get angry at you. You are his friend! Why are you fighting him?

🍨 Obsessive

🍰 After a lot of talking, gifts and, if you were bold enough, light friendly physical touch, he is feeling smitten by you.

🍰 You notice weird signs of attention from him, he makes some sort of romantic gestures, but it comes off as creepy to you. For instance, he thought a fur coat is what you would like, but he didn't realise you need to work on the fur instead of giving it bloody to you.

🍰 He doesn't understand himself, his voices aren't helping him either, he is feeling hate then sickly love from one second to another. If he thinks too much about that, he twitches and tics more than usual, especially in your presence. He is more distant; he doesn't respond to you. He just sits there, shifting his eyes without focusing on anything, occasionally roughly turning to one of his auditory hallucinations.

🍰 You don't understand his ramblings or whispers, and now they are more disjointed than ever. He avoids you for a few months or even more. It worries you more than him being around you, as you're used to his presence by now. Who knows, maybe he got bored with you and just contemplates how brightly he could end your life.

🍰 He can't run from his feelings forever. As a snow during summer, he busts into your house and just dumps all his thoughts on you—just an incomprehensible jumble. You won't understand it right away until he grabs you by the shoulders and forces you into an embrace, then pushes you away, twitching, staring into your soul, waiting for your response. He doesn't say, but he already knows how you feel, even if he lies to himself. He is attentive and sensitive to human emotions, and he reads body language quite well.

🍰 You have a choice. If you deny his love, either one of things will happen. You die because he feels like it. You don't like him, if he kills you, he kills his feelings for you at the same time. Yet, there is a slim chance he can just forcefully make you like him, can lead to kidnapping, but you won't love him that way either, he would realize that, that's not right, and you are also dead in this scenario.

🍰 If you lie and accept his feelings, you won't last long, either. He notices all the slight restless movements around him, your discomfort, the way you look at him. He hates liars, so it's best to be honest and die quickly rather than slowly.

🍰 If you have a strong, twisted friendship and you learn how to talk to him, how to act when he is difficult to interact with, and you just find him with his bouquet of disorders and trauma charming in his own way, then you don't need to say much to him.

🍰 He doesn't know anything about relationships. He can come off as toxic, as his jealousy flies from low to high in a matter of moments. He is still a snappy, angry, insane serial killer, he just now sometimes apologizes if he was too rude to you. More gifts too, woo-hoo!

🍰 He is obsessive, but that also depends on a lot of circumstances. He wants to be around you as much as possible. Just your presence gives him some sort of emotional bliss when his thoughts are a bit less loud than usual. At the same time, his thoughts are chaotic and get under his skin, and he can disappear for some time. Or one of your words can trigger him; he can be violent or distant.

🍰 Dates with him are attempts to replicate what he sees in movies. He watched whatever old VHS he found in abandoned cabins or houses in the woods, so it's pretty vanilla and traditional, dare I say: eating ice cream together, watching movies, slowly dancing to some old music. He uses old pickup lines too if he feels particularly spicy.

🍰 He isn't touchy. He is touchy unless there is a sinister goal in mind or he wants to be annoying. Toby subconsciously associates touch with bullying or violence. You have to teach him to appreciate affection and kindness, and it will take you a lot of time.

🍰 Eventually, with a lot of pain he adjusts to your taction. He likes to sit next to you, shoulder pressed against yours, while resting his head on your shoulder or head, enjoying peace and silence, while you fidget with his fingers, occasionally placing brief kisses on bruises on his hand. He likes small touches. Once he learns what a surprise hug is, he abuses the life out of it. Be prepared to have mini-heart attacks when he screeches into your ear and hugs you from behind while you return from a small grocery trip back home. Other than that, his level of tactility remains the same.

🍰 His mask and goggles are also mental protection for him from the world. You notice that he takes them off when he is around you.

🍰 He is weak for compliments..even if he overthinks, in some instances, becomes angry or sad, whatever mood hits at the moment, but deep down he is squealing. He will hint at that in his own way by trying to compliment you. This is also important as at times he feels paranoid you are plotting something against him, so compliment him when you can.

🍰 Small acts, like maybe washing his bloody clothes or sewing them as they have a lot of holes, makes him intensely love you. He just stares at you, you just think he is probably hallucinating something.

🍰 Movies showed what women truly desire, so he is a gentleman, ..tries to be, so he would bring you flowers that he probably snatched from a nearby garden. Would keep the door for you, all that, his twitching, ticking, can make it unpredictable. If you're slammed by the said door on your side, trust him, he didn't mean it.

🍰 If you see him just lying down and doing nothing for days, don't try to extremely cheer him up or, goodness forbid, say "smile some more." Just be by his side, be patient. He will become cheery again soon.

🍰 He is jealous, he cares about your attention more than ever. So be careful how you act around your friends, family, or strangers if you want them to be at least alive by the morning.

🍰 His mind can be fogged by rage sometimes, so stay out of his way, he isn't in his head when he is like that.

🍰 Oh, if you have an S/O while he is in this state. No more of that S/O, maybe not you either. If anyone dares to flirt with you, no more of that person, either. You can beg Tobs to just end the lesson with a severe beating but good luck with that. He may switch his unstable bloodthirst onto you if you try too hard.

If you reach this, thank you for reading this war and peace, hope this all makes a bit of sense lmao.

[grison-in-space]

Currently rereading Eric Flint's 1632 and reflecting on just how influential Flint was to me and my approach to both praxis and politics as a teenager. I found Flint when I was about thirteen or fourteen, around the time I found Pratchett I think, and he's left an equally wide thumbprint on my soul. Isn't that the most wonderful thing about stories, that people you've never met can help shape our adult selves? Mother of Demons I often recommend for its SFF worldbuilding--Flint built a species with at least four genders, only some of which are reproductive, and associated "normal" sexual orientations, and then proceeded to write in a textually intersex character and queer the hell out of it.

1632, though, is the one where a little West Virginia town in 2000 gets picked up and dropped in the middle of Thuringia, Germany in the eponymous year--right in the middle of the Thirty Years War. The local United Mine Workers of America chapter plays a major role, particularly its head.

As I write this I'm listening to the scene where the little town of Grantville, having admitted after a few days that they are probably not ever going home, is crowded into the high school gymnasium listening to the mayor lay that reality out and suggesting an interim council to help the town set out a sort of constitutional convention so they can work out what on earth they're going to do moving forward--especially since there's a bunch of displaced refugees collecting in the forests nearby. Sensible of them, really; the Americans murdered the shit out of the local soldiers that displaced them, on account of how the shaken mine workers that went out to figure out WTF happened not being super down with suddenly running into a bunch of fuckheads raping the locals and torturing people to find out where their valuables might be. After that, said Americans proceeded to retreat into the town boundaries and gibber quietly to themselves. I would go lurk in their woods, too.

Anyway, the mayor sets up this proposal, everyone agrees, and a CEO who was visiting for his son's wedding at the time steps forward and says: look. I know how to lead, and I'm probably the most qualified person here. I lead a major industry corporation effectively and I did that after my time as a Navy officer. I put myself forward because I'm qualified. Now, we're going to need to circle the wagons to get through the winter, tighten our belts, but we can get through this. We can't support all these refugees, though; we'll have to seal the border so they can't bring disease--they're a drain on our resources we can't afford--

and the UMWA guy, he gets really mad listening to this. There's this Sephardic refugee woman he's real taken with who got swept up in the town first thing, and she's sitting in and listening; he's thinking about throwing her out, thinking about how much she knows about the place they're found in, and he's furious. But he gets a good grip on his anger and he marches up and he says, look. This dude has been here two days and he's already talking about downsizing?! You're going to listen to this CEO talking about cuts, cuts, cuts? Nah. Trying to circle the wagons is probably impossible, it's stupid, and if you think my men and I are going to enforce that, you can fuck off. That proposal is inside out and bass ackwards. We've got about a six mile diameter of Grantville here; how much food do YOU think we're going to grow? How about the soldiers wandering around, do you think we're going to be able to fight armies off on our lonesome? Look at the few refugees we already have in the room, they'll tell you how those armies will treat you! We could do it for a while, the amount of gun nuts here, but so what? We don't have enough people to shoot them! Not if we're going to do anything else to keep us going! We have about six months of stockpiled coal to keep going, and without another source or getting the coal mines working, we're screwed. We have technical strength but we don't have the supplies or resources we would need to maintain it. Those refugees? They're resources. We need people to do the work we will need to keep ourselves. The hell with downsizing; let's grow outwards! Bring people in, give them safety, see what they can bring to the table once they've had a moment! He invokes: send us your tired, your poor!, and the CEO yells in frustration: this isn't America! so he yells back "it will be!"

And of course everyone cheers. I love Flint for many reasons but he is unapologetic about affection for the America of ideals--ideals, he freely admits, that are often honored in the breach rather than the observance, ideals that are messy and flawed, but nevertheless ideals that can work to inspire us to become the best version of ourselves. For Flint, history is as valuable as a source of stories to inspire ourselves as it is a repository of knowledge, and on this I tend to agree with him. We must learn from our moments of shame but equally we must learn from moments that show us how to be our best selves.

It's been twenty three years and the text is now an interesting historical document in its own right, hitting points and rhythms in beats that are sometimes out of place today. It's not perfect. But the novel contains a commitment to joy and to emphasizing the leaps of faith and understanding that regular, everyday people make every day to try and support each other that I routinely try to match in my writing.

Anyway, one of the strengths of the novel, I think, is its gender politics: it's a very ensemble kind of novel, lots of characters, and it's preoccupied with positive masculinity in a lot of ways. There's a lot of these hyper masculine characters--Mike Stearns perhaps more than anyone else--and--and...

... And Flint's characterization of Stearns, as he sketches out who the man is--his pivotal American leader, ex boxer, working class organizer, big man.... well, it lands equally on "he is delighted and astonished to find a local woman who quickly assesses how the cushion of air in tires works," and "he considers who to set up a Jewish refugee in the middle of Germany up with and he thinks to ask the Jewish family he grew up with to host her and her ill father because he thinks she'll be most comfortable there", and "he views people as potential assets rather than potential drains." A younger man asks him for advice on whether to pursue a professional sports career because of the boxing and he says no, you're in the worst place of not being quite good enough and you'll blow out your knees without accomplishing safety. He frames that interaction such that he allows his own experiences to make him vulnerable and invite the younger man to understand when a struggle have worth it.

It's actually a really deft portrayal of intense masculinity that also makes a virtue of a bunch of traits more usually associated with women: empathy, relational sensitivity, the ability to listen. As a blueprint for what a positive masculinity can look like, vs the toxic kind, it's very well done. I think sometimes when we look at gender roles in terms of virtues, and when masculinity is defined in terms of opposition to femininity, people get lost by arguing that virtues assigned to one gender are somehow antithetical to another gender. In fact that's never been the case: virtues are wholly neutral and can appear in any gender. What the gender does is inflect the ways we expect that virtue to appear in terms of individuals' actions within their society.

Gender isn't purely an individual trait, basically; it's a product of our collective associations. Two characters with different genders can display the same virtues and strengths, but we imagine them expressed in different ways according to our cultural expectations around gender. And I just think that's neat.

[monst]

Day 5: My heart is in your hands but I don't know where we stand

Edging | Bruce Wayne

Warnings: 18+ content (MDI) Gn. Reader, Vigilante Reader, Edging, Penetration, Hurt/Comfort, Wishy-washy Bruce, This can be any Bruce you want but the time frame is early to mid-thirties when Dick is Robin. Why? Because he hasn’t learned to trust others, and I want that relationship angst. 

Wc: 1.5k

   “Again” he demands. You groan, You've been running the same drill ad nauseam something something till it’s second nature, god you really don't care anymore. Your limbs feel like jello, all you wanted was a goddamn shower and a couple of minutes hours on his fancy massage chair. “I said run through it again.”

     “Seriously?!” You frown, “I've done it like a billion times already and that last run was good!” You protest. 

    “Good?” You're not facing him but you can feel the unimpressed quirk of his brow. Your eyes roll knowing an increasingly nitpicky report is coming. “You over-rotated the spin, which could result in your enemies using that opening to strike you down. This is what happened last time, and you were out of commission for a month, that amount of setback can cause unmitigated blah blah blah blah blah blah blah” Whatever he was saying you tuned him out Charlie Brown style, the incident was still fresh in your mind you didn’t require a recounting.  “Are you even listening?! I'm not the bad guy here I'm doing this for your sake, you asked for this training.” He sounds off. 

       You dug your nails into your palms and bit your tongue. It was all you could do to stop yourself from raining hellfire upon him. Of course, you’d asked for this! How else were you to see the asshole?! Especially since the result of the injury led to his ‘unmitigated’ distance. You were justifiably crossed, but he had burrowed too deep into your heart for you to carve him out entirely. An olive branch. 

    “Ugh, I know Captain Hardass, how about you chill out I’m only taking a two-minute breather.” Coworkers that’s the new nature of your relationship. He eagerly accepted you back into his home under the guise that he was only helping you hone your skills, overexerting you on purpose claiming it was because he knew you could be better. Because the sight of his quiet panic at you gurgling on your blood certainly had nothing to do with it. He was frustrating and you were tired of the hurt he caused with his fickle moods. One day casting his line, the next reeling you back in. The fact that you sought him out first this time was irrelevant.

    You stood back up with a sigh, you knew that regardless of your extensive skillset he’d rather call Robin to aid him. Never mind the fact that Dick was in New York. Never mind that you were equally as good as the boy, that you were here, you were in Gotham, you were with him. You wished he trusted you more. Trusted your abilities. Trusted you not to be another grave he’d have to bring flowers to. Another ghost that clung to him. Another Silver Saint Cloud, You were aware of his reservations but damn if it wasn’t unfair! But fair and the life of a vigilante rarely went hand in hand so you stifled your feelings and launched yourself at the uncaped crusader. 

    The breath was knocked out of you and you were caught in a brutal frontal key lock. You were forced to tap out, Bruce released you but stayed hovering above you. His smooth lips were parted, soft pants ghosting over your face with every exhale. Sweat dotted his brow and slicked his displaced lock, and you’re blood thrums in your veins, you weren’t triumphant but he’d had to work to pin you down. His eyes flick down towards your grinning lips, shooting back up to bore into your eyes. 

     His usually stormy grey eyes were tranquil and you felt a flash of irritation at the look he was giving you. You wanted to hate him, and his stupidly handsome face, it would be easier if you did. But he’s looking down at you with regretful delicacy. Whoever said he was hard to read hadn't looked at his eyes for long. But you hated this fruitless tango his constant fluctuation in staying away and keeping you close. It was exhausting but... you also couldn't stay away. Drawn to the man with predictable mood swings one second pulling you closer than ever the next shuffling you away so he doesn't have to witness the reality of your dangerous profession. The hypocrite.  

    He knows you won’t move away but his full weight imprisons you against the mat anyway, the heavy corded muscles were hot and heavy on your skin. His strong hands pin yours down onto the mat, thumbs under your jumping pulse, all-consuming as he drew near. Suffocating in his stature and like an asteroid to a planet his magnetism was drawing you in, smooth lips left wet by his tongue, hooded eyes begging you to bend, to forgive him and steal that kiss that would rekindle what he’d tossed away in his ever consuming anxiety. To dampen the growing fire you turn away from the intensity of his gaze. The blue glow of the bat computer in your line of sight as you sigh out. 

     “You said that this wasn't what this was going to be anymore” Your tone was bitter. “Remember you said that.” You tack on driving it home that it was him that drove this unnecessary wedge. 

   “Well, I was wrong.” You look back at him stunned. You almost think he isn’t your Bruce. But, the way he eyes the length of your neck, pupils pinpointing the exact spots that get you to squirm let you know he was yours and that he was eager to be forgiven. 

   “Were you?”

   His pretty steel eyes looked down at you, his thick brows upturned in remorse. He won’t say it again you know this and you rolled your eyes with a huff. Bruce's tiny grin is reverent, relieved. 

    “I'll make it up to you.” And you feel the heavy weight of his cock against your stomach, feel how it grows against you and you ache. But before you can resume this dance with him you need him to be clear.

    “Pick one” you whispered “You either let me be yours or I walk away I can't- " You want off this rollercoaster, you want stable ground. “Trust that I can take care of myself.” You plead.

   “I do,” You feel his hands squeeze just a little tighter before he continues “I just don't trust that I can handle losing you.”

     Oh, This man was so unfair. You had held out for a moment still wary, but his earnest blue eyes had been oh-so convincing and your resolve crumbled...

      Your eyes rolled to the back of your skull because of course training had divulged into this again. It always had and you had a feeling it always will. You were in a hold you had no desire to free yourself from, keening into the vast cave as his length worked itself in and out of your tight hole. He was everywhere, his hot mouth devouring your cries, greedy palms kneading at your flesh. He was an expert at dismantling your body, eager to break you apart, to watch your eyes mist as he reached deep inside of you, to watch your lips part as you called his name. You knew how quickly he could build you up and take you down which was why you whined petulantly when his fingers stopped stroking your sex. 

    He repeated the action more times than you could count, his thick cock splitting you as you struggled for air, each pant followed by the zipping current of pleasure as he canted his hips into you. He’d work you to a crescendo, letting you teeter over the edge for just a moment before pulling back to hear you sob. “T-thought you w-were making it up t-to me.”

    “I am.” He grunted, his palm coming to the back of your head to pull you into a languid kiss, pulling back just a bit to let you see the glaciers in his eyes melt to tepid stone. And sighing into his mouth you understood. Bruce could be so endearing, that he ground into you slowly willing to drag this out to show you how sorry he was, eager to give you a mindblowing release. You gripped his shoulders when he sped up, allowing his head to dip into your neck his growing stubble tickling your throat as he laid kisses over the heated skin. Your name oozed from his lips trickling down your ear like honey. 

     “B-Bruce!” 

    Your bleary gaze caught sight of his pinched brows, you knew it wasn’t because he was close. With the way his eyes scanned your face, you knew he was worrying about the future and you didn't doubt that the crease between his brow would only settle into his face in a couple of years, you had a feeling you'd be there to see it set in. You knew that for his peace of mind, you needed to be stronger. Before he could recede further into his mind you squeezed down on him tightly, your fluttering walls bringing him back to you. 

   “C'mon I wanna cum” his grin is lazy yet appreciative but the way it curls a bit more to the left betrays his sudden mischief.

   “Not yet” He grunts, pushing your legs above your shoulders to fold you in half. “Hold out for a bit longer and we'll call it a day.” You gasp at the new angle, deeper, breathtaking, filling. He was such a pretty liar. 

Kinktober2024|Masterlist

[reindeerswillsavethisworld]

I think Danny Phantom fandom is absolutely sleeping on the sheer dumb bulshittery Danny, Sam and Tucker generate on the regular and it’s a fucking shame. Like, the three of them have exactly one (1) single braincell between them, and the only one to use it at least semi-regularly is Jazz. You literally can’t leave them for five minutes without them stumbling into some new bullshit every single time. Granted, a lot of times bullshit finds them first instead of the other way around, but by god will they make the situation worse. They run into the situations with the same reckless abandon the cockchafers fly into any solid obstacle in their way, and you’d think that at least one of them will be the voice of reason, and you’d be dead wrong.

Danny? He thought pranking a murder happy millionaire with a vindictive streak the size of Grand Canyon was a great idea. And then, like a moron, he decided to use equally murder happy government agency with a huge prejudice against ghosts and a vendetta against him, personally. Absolutely nothing that could go wrong with that, obviously!

(spoiler alert, things did go very wrong very fast)

Tucker? A valid choice at the first glance, except he is always down to commit crimes for either his friends or just for funsies. Remember that time he ran an obviously illegal babysitting scam business? Or that time when he brainwashed and then dimensionally displaced the whole school into Ancient Egypt setting? Another notable instances of Tucker being a menace, in no particular order: organised o pro-meat protest in a few hours, tried to shoot a ghost with his phone as a projectile (and succeeded), sold Sam out to a ghost out of sheer pettiness, gave Skulker an alarm-induced ptsd, almost killed Danny that one time (don’t worry, Danny was fine) and in general committed to being bullshit-enabling gremlin.

Now Sam would seem the most grounded and reasonable out of three of them, but it is what SHE wants you to believe. She is just as, if not more, unhinged as the boys, she just hides it better. Remember that time she trashed the castle and antagonised a few dozen of armed guards, while having no back up, no weapons, no allies and while being in some shithole in the Ghost Zone? And then basically told a tyrannical asshole with op dragon powers “fuck you and your entire kingdom” in the face? And then rode another dragon who put said asshole through a wall? Good times.

They all seem like perfectly reasonable people at the first glance, and then Tucker and Danny would dare each other to lick that weird glowing green rock, and Sam would roll her eyes and groan about how stupid boys are, and then Tucker would dare her to lick that glowing rock too, and Danny will say, “Come on, Tuck, it’s okay if she’s too afraid to do it-”, and yes, Sam and her mother have many disagreements on a lot of things, but both her mother AND Granny did not raise a fucking bitch, move over, Tucker, or so help her the spirit of Pandora-

They all end up absolutely miserable in ecto-containment units sick as hell with ecto-flu and on all questions answer that no, they don’t know how this happened, maybe it was ghost attack last week, they did get blasted by that green goo, after all, but really, they have absolutely no idea, honest. Jazz suspects something, but she also has no proof and therefore can’t prove anything. In the end, it was one of the worst weeks in their life and they all ended up swearing to not do it ever again.

(they do end up doing it again two months later)

[the-hydroxian-artblog]

how old is mike???

(i randomly went through your old posts and found out mike was “born” on the same year as ames so yeahhhbuh)

Good question; I have no idea in terms of physical age, but he was like, an idiot baby upon being built, then trained in years of simulations to match the skill of the real Sonic, which also involved constructed memories and life events. At least, that's my headcanon, so it applies to Mike. (Also I assume you mean "date" not "year"; otherwise that'd mean Eggman somehow got the idea to make a robot Sonic only a few years after Sonic was born. Which... no actually that'd be really funny if Sonic as a baby was that much trouble for Eggman, lol)

But nah, by the time Metal Sonic faces off against Sonic, he's sorta mentally a year older than the blue blur himself, due to having also done Eggman's bidding on Little Planet and having extra time to practice his skills thanks to time travel shenanigans. It's possible the Metal Sonic the real Sonic faces in Stardust Speedway is actually one who has been in operation from Stardust Speedway Present into Future, so he may have had even more time to train and get tinkered with-- which would make it all the more humiliating to lose against Sonic, who still won in the end. To train for who knows how long, and still lose. It could've just been three years of displaced time (Eggman builds things disturbingly quickly), but that's still rough.

By that logic, Mike's physical age is unknown, but mentally he's around whatever Sonic has going on, between times under Eggman's authority where he's not operating at all in stasis, in active operation, and living out constructed memories. My interpretation is to let it all balance out to equal "had Sonic's life, but with only failures instead of victories and an unkind, competitive personality, making him a little older, colder, and more bitter".

I really like the theory that the reason why Eggman's tech in all other classic games is kinda Behind what he achieved with Metal Sonic is due to the whole Little Planet situation. Little Planet is probably way more useful of an asset for using time manipulation to rapidly mess around with developing new tech without worrying about needing more time. Modern Eggman could then just apply what he learned after the fact, hence the stark difference in classic badniks and modern ones.

If he himself didn't age much, and only used time travel to let his factories do their thing, some of his machines getting more advanced beyond his expectations could make sense. Maybe that's why Gamma, Metal in Heroes, and other robots were weird; Eggman not realizing how out of control his own developed machines could become, due to not actually testing them himself the way he used to with his old badniks.

[oncewhenalongtimeago]

hello! i have a request for 'SbITILYP', if you don't mind. how about the reader trying to do something for hiccup to impress him/show him that she likes him? hiccup has been doing a lot of things for the reader so I think it'd be cute seeing the reader awkwardly attempt to do the same :)

Sorry, but I Think I Lost Your Plot pt 28

Pairing: Onesided!Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III x Modern!Fem!Reader

Words: 1110

Things come to a simple end.

Tags: Time Travel, Reader into Movieverse, final part, half-fill

<Previous - First>

“I’m surprised it went this smooth,” Stoick grumbled, voice hollow with distance, “With Alvin-... I’d expect something from Hiccup, at least. That boy…”

“He’s ‘Too busy, eh?” Gobber asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively, grunting and hopping as he did it, reattaching his prosthetic to his leg nub, “Prolly been off mackin’ on tha’ girlfriend o’ his.”

Right… Alvin.

“Ah,” Hiccup was flushed, rubbing his neck and brushing against already messy hair, “Yeah, I forgot about that…”

Toothless was around somewhere.

He glanced to the side, where you stood, equally embarrassed and mussed, shoulders hunched slightly, very red in the face.

You shifted in your skirts, resisting the urge to use your boot to scratch at the back of your thigh, which had been itchy for a little while, since you brushed up against some plant walking back from the forest.

You were just around the corner from Hiccup’s Dad -a bright and heavily painted corner; turns out his whole ‘painting the houses’ thing caught on, which meant a lot less of things burning down- though he wasn’t sure if you’d heard.

All the talk of criminal executions was depressing, though you missed it, lost in the puppy-love haze phase of your new relationship. Still, it was kind of a bummer. It was for the best that Alvin was gone, though. Less danger in that for you too -not just the riders or Stoick or anything else.

You hoped it didn’t bum Hiccup out too bad. You noticed it had been getting him down, and you’d done your best.

Your fingers curled together, hooked securely and delicately to his by the fingerpads, and you and Hiccup stood close enough that you could feel his body heat through his tunic though not yet enough for the two of you to be touching by the arm.

You’d just gotten back from a successful trip to the glowing algae pool.

His vest was slightly displaced and you were both sure he’d lost a bead or two.

In one hand you held the little Fireworm, wrapped in a carefully made chainmail blanket -it was hard to come up with something that wouldn’t pinch skin or scales- also wrapped in a layer of leather so that you could hold it comfortably. 

It squirmed slightly. 

He scuffed his prosthetic slightly, recently oiled, recently reforged with treads beaten into the bottom, which did a lot to help with gripping wet wood while you were walking hand-in-hand around Berk.

You wore a red tunic -his, really, he’d lent it to you again after you’d gotten some muck on yours- and a string of your own beads on leather cord tied around your neck, something Hiccup had picked nonchalantly from the forge and used to help make you a necklace. 

He’d tried to make you a bead once, but he wasn’t much of an artisan. 

“I mean, me too,” You huffed, feather swaying as you shifted, attached to a stick like a pom-pom on one end of a cat toy, “We’ve been busy with other things, though- Not like what Gobber said- I mean, you know…”

Hiccup nodded, though he was still looking forward. This was all still super new for the both of you.

 It would feel that way for a while.

You were still in disbelief- it was a wonder to you why he and Astrid didn’t pair up before. 

He traced the collar of his scarf slightly as Sharpshot lolled lazily by your feet, slightly wet and glow-ey by his lower half whenever he teased the shade with his tail. 

You knew Hiccup was bummed Devastated that the Screaming Death had destroyed all his hard work -a good deal of the things he’d built up in the village for you, though with some hard work and dirt pushed under your fingernails it had been fixed up pretty easy.

He seemed happier now. It hadn’t really been something you’d planned but you’d distracted him somewhat- your relationship was still very, very new, still.

And you made him a gift.

You’d tried crafting again. It was very scratchy and you’d definitely not done a very good job making sure the whole thing was even but it was a nice fading rainbow, the yarn dyed in all the colors in Roy G. Biv in darker, neutral tones.

“Looks like you fixed things right up, ‘Dragon Master,’” You stuck out your tongue at him, looking smug.

It -the scarf- covered the bottom of Hiccup’s chin. It didn’t really fit him but he wore it with pride, which made something flutter around in your guts in a way that was almost uncomfortable.

You predicted it would be around a week before he took it off.

Hiccup had unintentionally returned the favor. You got a satchel from him, small and attached to a belt with norse knots imprinted around the edges, sown neatly together. It was sort of like a fanny pack but with more buckles and also cool.

“Did you really have to use that?” Hiccup said, leaning his head towards you momentarily.

Sharpshot churr-ed in the squawky squeaky way only a terror could, blinking up at the feather attached to your hip as you adjusted your hand in Hiccup’s.

The small Fireworm in your other hand blinked beadily as it sometimes very rarely did.

“It is tacky,” You admitted, though that was definitely why you used it, “But you did a good enough job to deserve it, not that you have to do anything to deserve things.”

You gently bumped into him with your hip.

And he did a great job. Berk was back to how it was just before the Screaming Death -most of the roses ended up being fine, and the plants that were lost were easily replaced and reinforced by spiked metal fences and wooden pikes.

You’d also added a few new planters. Many of the houses stationed under ramps were popular real estate now for metal tins for glowing mushroom growing, which you knew there many new homeowners were proud of, not just because of the fact that it made them a lot of money.

The mushrooms were great for paint making and the extra roofing kept dragons from jumping over houses and messing with tiling.

It was heavy maintenance, but they were all Vikings. For a modern girl like you, you found it was all worth it, if not just for the convenience.

Living on Berk was rough, but it was good and different now. Even with all the Outcasts and the dragons and the hunters and everything else missing.

And you were happy. 

And maybe Hiccup’s crush hadn’t ended up being so onesided after all.

[arrumiekookie]

I've always seen Quentin Quire as truly cynical, broken, insecure yet MAGNIFICENT young mutant with a bi-curious tendency, but very much girl obsessed, young man (canon material is right there, he always TRYING to flirt with all the girls). He has so so much potential, that Logan sees himself in him and basically becomes his adoptive daddy because he is so troubled and powerful that he knows, left unchecked, he is a major problem.

It's sad and extremely funny, in romance he fails every single time. Just like his "daddy" too, but in a way less charismatic way.

Sophie Cuckoo rejected him, died, got resurrected by him after he spiraled and prefered to stay dead than be with him.

He kissed time displaced Jean Grey and got rejected. (These men love themselves some Jean Grey)

Tried to flirt with Laura Kinney and got rejected.

Tried to flirt with Illyana Rasputin and got rejected.

Gwenpool hated his guts, but there still was chemistry, so they hit it off... but then she breaks up with him via text message. Then when he is pinning over her and helping her understand she is a mutant, she just ignores his romantic advances completely lol

Phoebe Cuckoo ( yes, ANOTHER CUCKOO; get the twin sister if you can't get with the first choice I guess ) hides him from her sisters, not because she wants him only for herself, which actually is pretty manipulative to say... because she is embarassed of liking him and entertaining him in front of them. Even when she takes him to Jumbo Carnation, she says he was always great to her, but she had set it all up for a makeover session... something he did not ask for; even while Quentin was venting about his trauma, she already set this up without informing him.

She broke up with him because and let me paraphrase, he cares too much for her and that scares her, making Quentin spiral.

He is unlucky, or makes himself unlucky, he sabotages himself, because the only truly decent relationship, seeing eachother as equals and having mutual genuine interest and attraction, he fucks up. Idie.

Idie thought Quentin was temptation (gurl; stand up 🥴💀) because Hope told her to no matter what, stay away from him, which Idie obviously did not do; Quentin thought she was really attractive and approached her first. Idie and Quentin were friends, they had banter, they communicated openly, they were classmates, they got into trouble together, they saved eachother, they pushed eachother to be better. I dare even say that, after he dated her, he became more selfless and tried to help others against his better judgement. Like when he gave up the remnants of his phoenix force to save Jubilee and re-store her mutant powers.

And their interactions are all bittersweet, because there still are feelings there, undiscloused desires? Mayhaps.

This last one is the least incendiary relationship (when we don't take into account their possible futures) but the healthiest, because the relationship does not radicate in humiliation and denial, I'mma be honest.

Feel free to debate me.

I am really passionate about this.

[cosmicdeaths]

i'm writing this because i don't know else to do to stop crying. and because there is little else my helpless hands can do to change this horrifying reality we're living in. i am sudanese. and my mother just told me that we've lost yet another relative in the ongoing civil war in sudan. i've also learned that the small lovely town i grew up in, Shambat, in Khartoum Bahri, is currently plagued by this fever the origin of which is yet to be identified. from what little we know whoever gets this fever just does not wake up to see the sun of another day. it might be because the dead bodies people buried in their backyards in a desperate attempt to grieve and honor them are unearthed by the rain. it might be because the entire health system has collapsed months ago and there is no way for these people to attain any form of medical help. we've lost family members with chronic conditions simply because they couldn't get medical attention until it was too late. my own grandfather died of complications that could've easily been managed had they gotten him the proper treatment. we've lost people to this fever, too. a brother and the very next day, his sister. and more keep dying. it hurts and angers me that no one's talking about this. and just as equally my heart breaks for each and every palestinian out there, and i keep praying for them and hoping to be half as patient as they are. i know what it's like to be so scared your entire body goes numb, i know what it's like to be displaced and leave behind everything you've ever known with little hope of ever coming back. to survive and not really feel like you did. i saw this video of a palestinian woman holding her dead baby and just begging to nurse him one more time. i see palestinian men breaking down into tears while trying to comfort children, literal babies, whom they pulled out of the rubble. a little girl who's saying god why didn't you take me along with my mother, god, you know i can't live without her. and i suddenly remember that i know of a friend of my family who just sits there crying helplessly every night because she doesn't know what to tell her starving nieces who are too young to understand that they can't get food because of all the shooting outside. i keep seeing entire villages in the west being completely wiped off the map, reduced to nothing but a black dot of ashes and ruin. and this isn't even a first; ethnical cleansing in the western areas of sudan went on for decades and no one even bat an eye. my heart will never stop bleeding for Darfur. i know of a group of boys who were stuck for days in the very university i went to, waiting for a ceasefire for days on end until one of them died of fear or starvation or illness or whatever it is that we still don't know to this very day, and they had to bury him in the very field they used to play football matches in. a field every student in that university knows and has been to and laughed and cried in. girls are raped and sexually enslaved in terrifying numbers. the biggest maternity hospital in the country, the one i was born in, was looted and patients kicked out. these are all stories that will never leave my memory til the day i die. they're all deaths i will never forgive nor stop mourning. i won't despair and i won't give up, but the heart aches and cracks, and the tears run and run and leave crevices behind. the world is an ugly, ugly place. only hope and solidarity can save us. my sudanese and palestinian brothers and sisters, you are not alone. and you never will be.

[avaantares]

Verify.

Getting really, REALLY sick of all the botspam pretending to be refugees in Gaza. Just in the last couple of days I've had more than 20 new money requests land in my inbox, many of them exact duplicates sent from various randomly-generated URLs. Some of them seem to be AI-generated, or at least following a set Mad Libs format ("our beautiful ___-story house" is a perennial favorite; who knew Gaza had so many homes with 6 to 11 floors?).

Nearly all of these claim to be verified by some third party, but almost none have proof of it (links to a database, exact spreadsheet line numbers, etc.). Some that do give such information don't exist when you actually look them up; they're just assuming that nobody will bother checking.

This is why I never send money to unsolicited cash requests. Too many vultures are posing as victims to steal funds, and it's risky to trust a random DM without reliable third-party verification. By all means, support refugees and fund evacuation and relief efforts! But do it through safe/verified channels, and (for your own safety) never send random cash to a stranger on the internet without doing at least the bare minimum of fact-checking.

If you're considering donating to an individual campaign, ask for proof of third-party verification, such as whether it's listed on the fundraiser spreadsheet compiled by @/el-shab-hussein and @/nabulsi. While this is not 100% foolproof, it would require a dedicated scammer to jump through enough hoops to get listed, while most bots/scattershot scams are just pointing you directly to a GoFundMe link without taking the effort.

Here are a few more bot-free ways to help:

Gaza Funds - a safer way to give directly to those raising money for evacuation, medical treatment, or rebuilding. This site randomly displays a vetted campaign every time you load the page, so it helps all campaigns get equal exposure. All campaigns in the database have been screened to weed out likely scams.

Charity Watch Gaza Aid list - Choose your own charity to support from this verified list of humanitarian and relief services. From this site, you can learn what your money goes toward and what percentage of it will be used for direct relief, rather than administrative costs.

Connecting Humanity/eSIMs for Gaza - This organization uses donated eSIM cards to provide internet and communications access to refugees and displaced people.

Operation Olive Branch - A grassroots organization, OOB helps verify individual fundraising campaigns and supports relief organizations.

UNRWA - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine and the Near East provides food, medical supplies, educational materials, and more to affected areas.

Arab.org daily clicks to help - It's free and only takes a few seconds! You can click all six categories, once per browser per device per day (so different browsers, mobiles, desktops, tablets, etc. can all be used on the same day).

For more reading, here's the FCC guide to donating safely.

[shallowseeker]

It’s kind of a gross misstatement to say Cas was simply a bad friend during the season 6 arc. Dean was also a jackass. He refused to even listen that Cas had his own problems to contend with in heaven and just insulted him (Baby in a Trenchcoat) or took him for granted and prayed when he needed some angelic boost like the time travel. It was only after months of this that Dean finally had a half-ass “Hey Cas, if you need any assistance with your heavenly war, let us know”. Dean and Castiel are both equally at fault for the initial breakup.

I'm not sure why I'm getting this particular question, but yup, I agree that the situation was complex.

One of Dean's legendary coping mechanisms/neuroses is to get prickly and mean when the going gets tough, and I love to talk a lot with regards to both the fighting/hunting and the parenting of Jack Kline.

For Dean and Cas, they're both deliciously Going Through It (TM) in season 6 in different ways, Cas dealing with paranoia via the fallout of Heavenly betrayal and Dean with his complicated feelings of displacement into civilian life.

I sort of miss the days of TV when people got to screw up this badly with one another, but not in such a way that it’s bludgeoning, mean-spirited cynicism, hehe. (((For example, I struggle to think of a modern era of SPN where Bobby's frustration and worry over Dean would boil out in this horrifying way: "You sorry--you're not a person," when in actuality, he's desperately begging Dean not to die, and it's coming out all wrong. Or Dean's indirect forgiveness of Cas, that Cas picks up on immediately by tone alone: "Bottom of the ninth...I'd rather have you, cursed or not.")))

But if we're talking about season 6, Cas is controlling most of the means of communication from the get-go, and the power is definitely weighted in his favor. He sets the tone for it as soon as his big heart leads him to abruptly flit from the car to go and rescue Sam. BUT it's also no accident that Dean's narrative nickname for Cas is SUPERMAN. A perfect, invincible superhero. Dean took him for granted, hero-worshipped him, and conceptualized him as perfect... something Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets reflects back in an off-key manner: "I thought he was perfect...he was a monster (and hurt my child)." The truth with Dean and Cas is not either extreme, however. ("That nifty metaphor has holes:" Cas was trying to save Sam from the get-go, on multiple occasions.) It's the humanity that's in the middle.

It's lovely! And to me, it feels so real, too. Maybe someone else can chime in, but I don't have any huge, complicated feelings about this except that I really, really like the disillusionment period on both sides!

“We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” - Pema Chödrön

Love isn't baggageless perfection. It's understanding, forgiveness, resilience.

DEAN (in the dream state, to MARY): I hate you. (Deans voice breaks as tears run down his face) I hate you. And I love you. 'Cause I can't – I can't help it. You're my Mom. And I understand...'cause I have made deals to save the ones I love more than once. (Mary continues to look away but seems to hear him) I forgive you. I forgive you. For all of it. Everything.

[sawyerconfort]

the coven when you're taking the seven wonders test...

SHE'S BACK AGAIN!

And with Coven headcannons! Yay, who cheered?

No one asked for that one specifically, but in my mind it sounded like a really great idea, so... Hope you liked it!

Trying my best to come back with more posts in a row, so... Get ready!

Maybe today there's one more, but I'm not sure, so... Stay tuned!

Enjoy!

Requests open but please be gentle and please give me some time!

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The Coven and Kyle at The Seven Wonders Test (Young!Reader, just for the record!)

Cordelia Goode, Fiona Goode, Zoe Benson, Madison Montgomery, Misty Day, Nan, Queenie, Myrtle Snow, Mallory, Marie Laveau and Kyle Spencer!

Cordelia Goode

I've spoken countless times about how naturally good Cordelia is.

So, it's not news that she will fully support you as long as you decide to even take the test.

But, of course, she's afraid that something will go wrong along the way (trauma from Misty's not-returning scene in Coven, perhaps?)

I mean, if she's the Supreme, she has enough reasons and memories to be scared for you.

Cordelia is the type of person who will practice day after day with you, every spell, every gift, whatever you need her to do, she will do it.

But she'll also make sure to give you a few good seconds of rest, distracting you from the tension and madness of using your powers at full range.

"It's okay honey, you know you're capable of passing the test, and I trust you for that either."

Fiona Goode

Fiona will never admit it, but she's all for you testing the Seven Wonders.

Sure, it means she'll probably fall and be replaced by you, but she really doesn't care.

I completely see a chaotic scenario where Fiona cheats on the test just so you can win.

And then, in her selfless little way, she tries her hardest to convince the others that you deserved the victory on your own merits.

She'll probably just be watching you in the training phase, watching your attempts to do well in one Wonder or another, giggling and pondering over the perfect cheat.

Fiona is clearly so excited for you to try that she'll end up celebrating too loudly when you make it past the first try.

And, again, she will pretend that nothing happened.

"Ah, come on, don't be silly, (Y\N). You're dating the Supreme, of course you'll win that stupid test."

Zoe Benson

I think Zoe would be a lot like Cordelia in that sort of way.

But she would also be very demanding so that you could better train your skills.

Zoe would stay by your side the entire time, relieving all the insecurities of you. She has to make sure you are mentally prepared for this.

When she sees that you feel down about failing, she will try to distract you.

And she will definitely celebrate every achievement you have during the test.

And she would certainly tend to all your wounds, refusing to let you die.

"You can do it, my love. I trust you."

Madison Montgomery

Just as Zoe would behave like Cordelia, I think Madison would behave like Fiona.

She would definitely do anything for you to win.

Anything at all.

But be prepared for a lot of tireless training, daily use of magic to be able to displace your other competitors and, of course, a lot of orders coming from Madison.

I don't think she would cheat for you to win.

I mean, not if it's not strictly necessary.

And if you fail any of the tests, she'll get tough until she's away from the audience.

Madison would never admit it out loud, but there's no way she'd let you die.

"Come on, (Y\N), we have to win this fucking test!"

Misty Day

I'm sure Misty would be a little wary of you deciding to test the Seven Wonders.

But she would equally trust you and use every resource to cheer you up.

Words of affirmation when you feel down and unsure of your potential.

She making you rest as much as possible, especially when the test day is close.

She knows how difficult it can be to prepare for this kind of thing.

You can be sure that she would immediately offer to Concilium.

And that she would take care of you if you were injured, no matter how serious it was.

"Ya can do it, (Y\N), my dear, ya just need confidence."

Nan

Nan is the purest soul possible.

And she puts so much effort into cheering you up that it gets even better.

She's afraid you'll end up failing the test, but she tries to hide it as much as she can so you don't notice.

She will DEFINITELY cheat at Concilium by helping you better control people's minds.

Of course, she's so good at it that nobody notices, after all.

I see her totally getting into trouble with people who try to cheat you to lose on purpose.

"Concentrate, love. Remember what I taught you, right? You can do it!"

Queenie

Okay, Queenie would probably be totally opposed to you taking the Seven Wonders test.

She's been there, she knows how dangerous it can get.

And honestly, she'd rather you join her in voodoo, which is less dangerous.

But even so, I think she would consider the fact that the test would make you happy, so why not?

Ultimately, Queenie would be one of the most present people when it comes to rooting for you.

She would encourage you so much that Cordelia would have to ask her not to break your concentration halfway through.

I see her calling your opponents all the ugliest names possible, just for the pleasure of knowing you're competing.

I don't think she would cheat, she would just protect you from the risks of dying in the middle of the test, and that's not necessarily cheating.

"Come on, love! You can do it! Show them how badass you can be!"

Myrtle Snow

Just the fact that you agree to take the test is a headache for Myrtle.

Like, she knows you're capable, but with all the experience and knowledge she's gained about witches on the Council, is enough to worry her for weeks.

However, she is not opposed to your wanting to take the test.

She will do her best to maintain a neutral posture.

But this is Myrtle Snow we're talking about, so... I don't guarantee she'd hold out until the end.

She would definitely ask you to stop when she sees you are about to get hurt.

And, of course, she would take care of you when she saw that your injuries and your disappointment at not passing the test took the reins of the situation.

"Don't worry, my dear, you did what you could. I still think you'd make a great Supreme, no test necessary."

Mallory

Time to clarify that Mallory is an overprotective girlfriend.

But at the same time, she would support you to the fullest.

She would do anything to help you train for the test, that includes spells, gifts, potions, whatever.

Proud girlfriend on the way!

I also see Cordelia or one of the girls having to ask her to let you focus and stop cheering too loudly.

And when you get hurt, she'll probably take care of you and go back in time countless times just so you don't die.

"It's okay, my love. It's okay, you're okay. And I'm proud of you, so proud."

Marie Laveau

Marie would also be totally opposed to the idea of ​​you trying on the test.

Her rivalry with witches kind of plays into that at first.

But I think your self-assurance and the trust she feels for you changes that idea in a short time.

Marie hates to admit it, but she is proud to see you blossoming new powers.

She will DEFINITELY try her hardest to cheat, on the sly of course.

All for you, in the end, it's worth it.

She will use all of her powers to heal your wounds and keep you from dying.

And without admitting it, too, she'd learn to like the Coven witches better.

"Not to brag, but you're the hottest of the contestants, you're sure to win..."

Kyle Spencer

Kyle was definitely going to be one of your biggest supporters.

Okay, okay, he can't do much, for obvious reasons.

But just having his company there is enough.

He'll be watching you train the entire time, fascinated by your skills.

And he'll give you kisses and cuddles to show that he's proud of you.

The test was going to go well because you made him promise to hold on.

And he did it solely for you.

Sure, some meltdowns and some excessive screaming because he really can't contain himself sometimes, but that's okay.

At least, he did his best.

"Proud. I'm proud of you. (Y\N)."

[ladysomething]

omg Mads, do keep us updated on your travels cause I never go anywhere and its so cool to hear about your lovely experiences!

And not to be too greedy... but cause we're not getting a chapter tomorrow, would it be possible to get a little snippet or anything to keep us going until we do get it?

But equally, we all appreciate your writing so much and know how much time and effort you put into it already, so if you can't it's no worries at all!

I did just do a quick one, but I'm happy to give you all another!

as for my travels: right now I'm in the airport in Mallorca, about to fly to Sardinia! I have less than two weeks until I fly home now, which is really sad, even though I've been away for like. two months. BUT I'm so looking forward to seeing my puppies, so I'm trying not to be TOO sad about going home haha.

here is a little sneak peek. IT'S NSFW!!!! a present for the cockwarming anon lmao.

“Take the plug out?” He asks, sounding more breathless than he thought he would. 

Max groans, palms smoothing over his arse cheeks, then slips his fingers down to carefully take hold of the head of the plug. He’s gentle as he pulls it out, telling Charles to relax, and then he carefully rests it on top of the piano while Charles clenches his muscles and keeps Max’s come inside him—it’s a futile attempt, because the plug has kept him loose and gaping. 

He’s never worn a plug before today, but he’s eager to try it again. He would have never thought he’d be someone who enjoys it, but Max had fucked him so stupid this morning that Charles cried when his knot had finally deflated and his come had started to leak out. Max had soothed him with a kiss between his shoulder blades, and had gotten up from Charles’ bed to go into his room; when he’d returned, he’d had the plug in hand, and had effortlessly slid it inside his hole and made Charles promise to keep it inside him until after he’d left the apartment this afternoon. 

He’s fairly certain that Max is going to forgive him for breaking that promise right now. 

He can feel Max’s come leaking down his thighs, so he straightens himself up quickly and then throws his leg over Max’s lap, still facing the piano. Max takes a firm hold of his hips, keeping him steady and helping him down, and then releases one hip only to take hold of his cock and guide it inside him. 

He’s wet and loose, and the sound of Max’s cock pushing inside him is obscene. The length of it displaces the come still inside him, and Charles can feel it spreading everywhere between his arse and Max’s lap. 

By the time he’s fully seated, he’s breathing in short, shallow gasps, fingers clenched around the edge of the piano. It takes him a moment to clear his head, Max’s groaning into his neck not at all helping, but he manages it eventually. 

“Stay still,” Charles breathes. 

Then he lifts his hands to the piano again, and starts to play Max’s new favourite song.