#which is a question of how recent they are or how long they've been ignoring it to bombard him with all at once

[brionysea]

you're kidding me. mike is doing TEN TIMES WORSE than the season's Designated Trauma Character. what if i blew up the sun

[mewtwoandme]

I was hoping this would all blow over, but since it's continuing to happen, now with people attacking other artists of the commewnity. I'm putting out my two fucking cents! Cause this whole art/character theft and pointing fingers, who stole what from who bullshit it driving me up the fucking wall!!

Long story short, it started with me and one other blog whose name I won't mention publicly. Despite the horrible light they tried to paint me in, I don't want anyone going to this person and ganging up on them. This person had some serious bitterness towards more "popular" artists and claimed that I've made characters similar to theirs and once used a pose they apparently used before (which was a very common pose, considering it was a reference from the game version of mega Y). Since then, they had desperately tried to conjure up evidence, narrowing down to the most miniscule detail how I've been stealing from them when I hadn't even known their blog existed until I was forcefully thrown into that unnecessary drama with the unhinged call-out posts they've made. With this being said, I'd like to point out that they never came to me or addressed this concern with me in the first place. They had every opportunity to privately DM me if they had suspected I was "stealing," but no, simply because they already made up their mind that I was a thief, that was a good enough reason to lack common fucking sense and decency, making what should have been a private issue public, going on to villainize and dehumanize me. And apparently, it hasn't stopped with me either, cause recently I've been seeing other artists in the community having to deal with this where people are being white knights on high horses, pointing fingers on how one artist's mewtwo looks "the same" if not "totally identical" as another artist's mewtwo. I refuse to believe it's a coincidence. But what makes me disgusted is that since TC's post, apparently it's had the opposite effect on some people and they're hopping on this blame bandwagon like it's some damn media trend!!!

This is NOT okay! Nothing about this kind of behavior is funny! It's upsetting to all of us. We dont need you causing problems where there isn't any, thinking you're doing us a favor! The majority of us are adults for gods sake! We are old enough where we don't need other people coming to us being tattle tails saying this person did this and that. That's what little children do! If you suspect any form of theft, I think I speak for ALL creators in this commewnity that we'd prefer you DM us privately saying something like "Hey, I think this person is copying you, might wanna look into it." And if possible, provide a link to the art in question, for which we would kindly thank you for making us aware and we'll handle it ourselves from there. Just a brief, yet SIMPLE interaction...that's all we ask!!! Don't even come at me with "Well, it's scary attempting to talk to an artist that's well known." Or dare I say ~pOpUlAr~ If you claim that taking the first step to send me a quick DM makes you nervous, yet you have no problem making public call outs in posts or asks, belittling and degrading what could actually be innocent artists doing nothing wrong, literally leaving yourself open to all kinds of comments and opinions from all kinds of people....I'm sorry but your anxiety isn't as bad as you say it is then, if being rude and ignorant in a public post/ask is easier for you. If you come to us, shaming someone else who 9/10 probably isn't doing anything wrong, thinking you'll be in our good graces for doing so, sorry, you're not going to be told, "Good job!" with a pat on the back and given a lollipop! You're just being an asshole.

Quick reality check for everyone who's made it this far before I end this train wreck of a rant:

People can have similar ideas that coincide with one another! There's only so much you can do when a whole community is focused around drawing the same character! We mainly draw mewtwos and mews, you're bound to find a plethora of similar colors, patterns, and designs because of it! Creativity only goes so far when trying to stay true to a character and not stray too far. It's not a crime to take inspiration from other artists' characters, we actually encourage this! It makes us feel good that you liked something we've done and you want to incorporate it into your own designs! It makes us happy that we inspired you! The line is crossed when someone does a literal copy/paste of a character down to the exact detail, and they call it their own original creation. That my friends is what stealing actually is!

[heartfullofleeches]

Going to do a small ramble since janitors been getting some misgendering.

Imagine if for a second, janitor just corrected people on their pronouns. Like, sure their in a chaotic fast food place but the least a customer can do is accept the pronouns the fucking cleaner of the establishment uses. Maybe after a long hard day of work, FF! Reader just gives sulli a hug. They deserve it even in this murder happy and very questionably run fast food joint. Maybe they even just chill after hours in the building to just hang out. Idk personally think there's not enough fluff for them. (Side thing : what if janitor just had a they/them pin? I've seen more recently at least in my area service workers have rainbow or fandom pins and I think it'd fit them.) -🍭anon (sorry I haven't spoken in awhile, been very busy with life)

[I'll do you one better- FF Reader being the one to correct the customer. TW: Mention of misgendering]

"Um, excuse me, Sir? There's still no paper towels in the bathroom."

Why do they even bother? They've expressed their grievances to this customer multiple times - both in fact of them being busy with other work, and that the customer had mistaken them for something they weren't. They've tried to let it slide. They've tried to gently inform the customer of their preferred pronouns. No dice. Their head was pounding from the fumes of the chemical they worked with, and this was doing nothing to help it. Why did they come into work today.

"Listen, I'll get to it once I'm done mopping. How many times do I have to tell you I'm not a-"

Soft squeaks resonate from the freshly cleaning floor as heavy steps race across it. A hand nabs the bottle of cleanser out of the janitor's hands - aiming the nozzle directly in line with the customer's eyes as its finger clamps down on the trigger.

The customer screeches - throwing their hands over their face to shield themselves as their eyes sting and vision blurs.

"Begone." Steadying your aim, you blast the customer with another face full of the unholy solution filing the bottle in your hands. Had to be some powerful stuff to get out the stains you see on the daily. Despite their arms blocking majority of their face, you manage to get a spray of the mixture in their mouth. They retch - tears and saliva dripping down their face as they spit.

"Agh! What the hell is wrong with you!"

"The fuck's wrong with you? I've been watching you all morning. There's a line between a mistake and being an ignorant asshole, and you've crossed it buddy. Go on, get - shoo, get the fuck outta here."

"I hope you know you've just lost a paying customer!"

"You say that like it's a bad thing. Go ruin someone's else's day."

The Janitor watches as you chase the customer out of the establishment, hurling obscenities and hitting them with another jet of cleanser whenever they turn to look back. You toss the now empty bottle at the hood of their car as they crawl in and speed away. Their heart pumps so loudly they can barely hear your steps as you return to their side.

"Sorry about using all your cleanser. Wanna go pretend to look for more in storage room and sneak out the back?"

The Janitor deadpans. "I used to think I was in love you.... It's gone far beyond just a thought now."

"I know." You throw your arm around their shoulder - allowing them to dump their weight on you as they go weak in the knees from the contact. You half carry them out the back door, sneaking off to where their van was parked outside. You hold your hand out for their keys which they readily give you. You help them into the passenger seat before walking around to the driver's side and hopping in. The Janitor's hand reaches over the divider, stopping just short of your arm.

"You good?"

Their head falls to your shoulder - voice strained as they rub at where their eyes would be. "Yea....Yea, I'm good. Thanks by the way."

You place your hand over theirs, squeezing it gently. "Eh, you and I are the one's keeping the hellhole in shape.. You deserve more respect than you get sometimes... Ready to ditch this place for the night?"

"....Please?..."

[sevensoulmates]

Hi I just wanted to say I was on twitter and saw someone discussing and sharing your meta posts and I was genuinely intrigued and curious because you guys are obviously so devoted to the buddie couple and it's really endearing. And I was just really interesed about this perception of the couple you guys seem to have because is so different to the other side of the fandom I'm actively interacting with. I'm obviously a B/T shipper and only got into the fandom because of them but I'm really loving the show (currently I'm on season 5). I'm just curious about how is it that you guys see buddie as romantic when I think their interactions are clearly platonic, they obviously have a deep relationship, an intimate friendship but no more that that.

Again, I'm not trying to hate I just wanted to ask because it looks like the buddie shippers are settling themselves for disappointment just waiting for them to go canon. You all are obviously loyal fans and I think that's lovely but I honestly just don't see the show writing Eddie as queer now and I really think Tommy is here to stay (I think there's too many signs pointing to this fact like the buck actually episode and the old guy named Thomas). Again I'm not here trying to hate because I think you guys love the ship genuinely but I just wonder how is it that after all the things the shows portrays you guys are still rooting for buddie. Please feel free to ignore my question if I'm annoying you, I really don't want to come off as rude I was just really interesed in the topic.

There are a boatload of reasons why I and many other people ship Buddie. Most of them are far too long to get to in one ask like this because Buddie have had 6 years worth of material to sort through and it would just take far too long.

Long story short: in the same way that Buck was confirmed bisexual over the course of a single episode after years of many people saying Buck could never be anything other than straight, Buddie could be made canon in one single episode and it would be accepted just as easily even though it's been years and a lot of people are still saying they could never be together.

It's TV. The writers can do whatever they want. The second they decide to start bringing in more explicitly romantic things, people will suddenly start "getting" it.

To be more precise: I think it's easy for people to see a ship like Bucktommy and latch onto it because it's very clearly, explicitly queer. It's a lot harder for people to believe in or "see" ships where a queer couple hasn't done anything explicitly romantic like kiss or hold hands, etc. It's unfortunately due to heternomativity and the sad death of the slow burn. I can't really do anything about either of those things.

For me, the primary reason I ship buddie is because of the deep special bond and obvious family they've built over the years that feels different from every single other relationship they've had with literally anyone else on the show. That includes Tommy, Shannon, Abby, etc. You can view it as platonic if you want, that's anyone's subjective opinion.

You seem like a sweet person, but you're also coming into the show with a bias towards Bucktommy, which is fine. They're what brought you to the show, they're the ones who initially intrigued you, and they're also the only ones currently explicitly queer. I get it.

I am going to be so honest with you: I think the show has been writing both Buck and Eddie as queer men for many many years. But just like how Buck was only allowed to confirm it this most recent season, they haven't been able to confirm it for Eddie just yet. I could write essays and essays about how Eddie is so obviously deep deep in compulsory heterosexuality and has been almost since the beginning, but it would take too long. There's plenty of posts I and others have made all over tumblr and on my blog.

Slow queer burns featuring characters that aren't introduced in the first 5 seconds as queer are almost non-existent, they very rarely happen in popular media, and because of that it's almost impossible to ship something without someone coming at you saying "they don't see it". Fact of the matter is that Buddie is one of the easiest ships to "see", if you were looking at a man and a woman, but they're not. I can't really convince people to see what they don't want to see.

If you're curious about the specifics, I'd encourage you to go through my blog/meta or other buddie-positive blogs on tumblr to find many talented and intelligent individuals who will have a lot to say on why they believe in buddie.

When it comes down to it, I don't think the fandom at large is ever gonna believe it until they see it. That's kinda just human nature and the state of how we all consume media right now.

But once the show does go there, they're gonna be like damn can't believe I didn't see that until now while the rest of us sit here like "we've been trying to tell you this whole time."

In the meantime, I'm enjoying Bucktommy for what it is, for however long it lasts, and I'm gonna enjoy buddie just the same, regardless of if they go canon or not, or how long it takes.

[crepes-suzette-373]

Ancestral Baggage

(sort of a part 2 of this)

Not entirely sure where I'm going with this. This is all probably a reach, so feel free to ignore this wall of text (it's even longer than the previous one, I htink).

Even though in the previous part linked above I said that the Germa Ancestors might not necessarily have wanted to reconquer the North Blue, I personally think they do.

To me there is something noteworthy about how Brook specified that the Vinsmokes conquered the North Blue with military power.

I feel like just saying "conquering" already implies military power. If it needed to be stated specifically in the records that Brook cited, it might mean that their military is something to really pay attention to.

Considering Yonji also said that they've been a kingdom of science for generations, I think there's two possibilities:

1) Their scientific research has always been about weaponry and military related. Therefore, even 300 years ago they had insanely advanced weapons, which made them powerful enough to take down an entire quarter of the world

2) They used to be just a warrior/military kingdom, but after being destroyed they switched to scientific research to make up for the lack of manpower and resources

I personally think it's option 1 right now.

If this is indication that the militaristic environment in Germa is not recent development, then the probability that Germa's royalty has been consumed by an obsession for revenge and/or restoration of their kingdom for 300 years since their destruction is not low.

In the previous part, I mentioned similarities between Germa and the Shandians of Kalgara's time. When Noland found them, they're trapped by a certain "tradition" that led to the unfortunate practice of human sacrifice:

I mentioned in the previous part that the Shandian ancestor seems to be actually a very advanced engineer, as they were the one who built the robots. But somehow they lost that (maybe in the void century), and over the long long years of isolation they became bogged down in a tradition without knowledge of anything different.

Germa is rather similar to that. After the destruction of their original land, they're isolated from most of the world for 300 years.

What if in that isolation they started to develop this extremely militaristic tradition where even the slightest weakness is not tolerated? Like, maybe at first they only did that for survival, and everyone are encouraged to be stronger just so that they can live. But then maybe a few decades down the line, it got corrupted into just an absolute intolerance for "weakness".

This dialogue sounded like a genuine question from someone who doesn't understand anything different:

Maybe this is just how Germa has been like for decades past. Maybe even if Judge had been someone else, this whole mess would still have happened because that's just how it is there.

But going back to Kalgara. The tradition that their ancestors passed down is not all bad. There's also the poneglyph that they continued to guard:

I have been curious if there might be some secret in Germa that is kept strictly a secret only for the king.

Reiju never mentioned the ancestors when talking about the goal to reconquer North Blue. Maybe she just didn't think it was necessary to bring it up, just like how she never said the bracelets are fake until the very last minute. But it's also possible that she just doesn't know.

Maybe, only the king and the king's heir have the right to know the full scope of the past. In which case that might be why there's something very strange about Ichiji (case 1, case 2, case 3, case 4). Various people have sensed that he's hiding something, we just don't know what.

Maybe he knows something about Germa that none of the other siblings do. Except that with his modifications, he just don't care about the ancestors the way that Judge does.

This is also going into very conspiratorial territory, because this only works assuming all the above to be true, and this is a bunch of "what ifs" piled on top of another, and if one is false this just doesn't work anymore.

Whole Cake broke this ancestral baggage that I like to call "the ghost of 66". As I detailed above, I think that Germa developed a very harmful mindset and environment because of whatever happened 300 years ago, and eventually the people just aren't able to understand any other point of view.

That argument:

And this statement combined:

Sounds similar to this to me:

Judge claims that he was doing this for the sake of the departed ancestors. Yet, in doing so he's sacrificing the living for the sake of the dead. Or, sacrificing the present and future for the sake of the past.

He expended himself and basically destroyed his family for that.

It was similar to how Kalgara almost sacrificed his daughter because of tradition, and how the villagers almost killed Noland's men because of their reverence for their ancestors. In the end, though, Noland's sincerity and actions managed to change the Shandians' minds. He was able to make them realise that the people who are presently alive is the most important.

Sora didn't immediately succeed the way that Noland did, but thanks to Sora's actions making Sanji the way that he is, it led to everything that happens in Whole Cake.

After that, there's already various indication of Germa changing course, even if there's no on-screen declaration of it like with the Shandians.

This, obviously:

And by all accounts, it looks like Neo MADS was just meant to be all for Science to be better than Vegapunk. While we don't know what they will do now that Vegapunk is technically "dead", it looks like the issue of North Blue conquest and/or revenge against the other kings is just completely dropped.

The theme in the more recent arcs of One Piece is "know the past, learn from the past, but put it down and move on to a new era". The ghost of 66 is gone. Reiju and the other siblings basically never had any investment in that "ghost". They were just roped into it by Judge.

If Judge is gone or dead, they'll be the "new beginning". Killing them all off kind of goes against the theme.

Plus, again, it really looks to me like there's something actually plot-important in Germa. I'm convinced they'll be back, and this time in a non-awful way. You know, similar to how Buggy and Crocodile are kind of just... hanging around like that and nobody really considers them a threat anymore.

End delusion.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading.

[selarina]

→ Suna Rintaro x Fem!Reader

Summary: When a guy asks for your number, you sternly insist on a condition that leads to unexpected love.

Content Warning: Strangers to Lovers, Fluff, Highly Suggestive, Canon-Compliant, Swearing, Social Media AU

Taglist: Open

Series Masterlist

Chapter 11: (Surprise) Birthday

Written Portion

“Stop yelling, dumbass.” At which Atsumu starts yelling louder, his voice coming out a bit more squeaky this time.

God, you groan. He can be so annoying sometimes and you’ve met him only thrice. “Atsumu. No cake for you.” You say, your hands coming to soothe your brows.

“Huh! You can’t make that decision.” he practically whines, no less akin to a dog. 

He pouts but eventually mellows down a bit and you can’t help but think he’s taking your loose threat seriously. But you watch as he got still a bit too suddenly. You watch as he stares behind you, across your shoulders. 

You turn around, and see Suna already standing there. His hands are crossed as he lightly leans against the frame of the door. You frown.

Suna who was donning a smirk now mirrors your frown. He ignores the greetings and the wishes, as his hand comes to gently loop around your elbow, as he quickly whoosh-es you into the balcony.

“What’s wrong?” You hear him, but his words come out a bit muted against the loudness of the chatter coming from the living room. And just on cue, you hear Atsumu hollering something about a penguin?

Suna’s brows cinch hard when he doesn’t get a response. He takes a step forward, stepping into your space just a little, but he’s clearer now when he speaks, "Are you okay?"

Your hand reaches out to slowly run your finger down his brow — a habit you’ve picked up just recently. It’s a new one, but sometimes it’s natural, and it almost feels like routine.

Your frown deepens.

"Yeah, 'm okay Rin. It's just—" You pause, and you notice how he's been gradually leaning more and more towards you to make it easier for you to run your finger across his brows. It lets you allow a soft smile to take its seat on your face.

He hums, nudging — imploring you to continue. 

"We were supposed to hide and surprise you and stuff,” you tell him but truth be told, you don't really feel too bad about it. You're just happy you managed to put this together really. It was hell trying to get his friends together, all of whom happen to be scattered all over the world. But somehow, they made time, and they made things easy even if you did all the leg work.

"I can go back and we do it over again,” he says, frowning. He sounds painfully genuine. "I didn't know you planned all that for me."

"Did you... like it?" 

"I like it a lot. Promise," he says as he trails off looking into the living room where the chatter has dialed down. Instead, muted unfamiliar voices come from within to meet your ears, they must be on the TV. "What I don't like is how I can't send them home, so we can you know..."

You fake a frown, "They all came from different states and countries for you."

"Ah?" He chuckles, and you tilt your head in confusion. “Don't let them fool you. They've all been here for almost a week now because of practice camp.”

You raise your brows in understanding, as you nod. "That makes a lot more sense now."

His hands come to take yours into his own hand, it engulfs you and his rings sit cold against your palm but you feel warm as you stand here on this chilly balcony.  

"Besides," he says. "As I said, I'd much rather celebrate with just your next time."

"Just me?"

"Just you."

"Next time?"

He doesn’t say anything, and you think maybe it was a slip of the tongue. Maybe it was the common way of saying these things. People say things all the time. 

"Yeah, next time." He says. "If you want to that is."

You hesitate, a long list of questions and doubts running like a quick PowerPoint presentation in your head. But then, you feel the rough smoothness of his thumb caressing your palm, and you think maybe it's okay to let yourself dream. Even if it's just for a bit, or longer.

"Okay."

"Okay?" He asks, his eyes peering into you as he inches closer. He looks unsure but maintains steadfastness. He wants more.

"Yeah." You softly smirk, as you look away. "I'll be your girlfriend, Suna Rintaro."

"Woah woah,” He says as he backs away from you. "Girlfriend? I was just talking about birthday celebrations. Now, come o—"

"Shut up, you dick." You smile harder as your hands come up to tug him closer.

His hands come up to cup your face, and it sits warm against your cheek this time. You tug once again against his collar, imploring him to hurry but you feel a soft resistance from him like you could pull him and he'd crash into you. And so, you do.

A/N: Sorry I've been MIA, look how far my babies have come <3

Also!! Thoughts on a rockstar!suna and actress!reader au? I've been working on it, but it's fully written though

TAGLIST: @wolffmaiden @tenaciouswritersheep @90s-belladonna @alienvarmint @kodzuchim @themoonreflectsthesun @baramii @haruskatana @rukia-uchiha-98 @aimno256 @userwithlotsoftime @the-moonandthehermit @alldaladiesloveleooo @iluv-ace @noideawhothatis @vivian-555 @buggy-cj @butterscotch-ripple-icecream @cloudsvna @zukowantshishonourback @rory-cakes @shookykookie30 @2baddies-1porsche @thechaosoflonging @rntrsuna @ahnneyong @saiewithakatana @sukunasrealgf @reveusecherie @tkooooop @k0z3me @riiceandsoup @weird0o0 @toomanygoldfish @seiamor @thebrownemo @breakmyheartlater

[artsygirl0315]

Hello 👋 sorry you keep getting delightful children/ sector z asks but I thought about this and wanted to know your take on it so if they get undelightfulized what would change from there personalities/ mental health? How would they deal with it?

(Sorry if this is just a messy doodle, I wanted to explain it with only slight differences of their personality rather than showcase it for now)

If put into a hypothetical situation, I would put into thought that they would be undelightfulized when Operation ZERO occured and stayed as Sector Z.

The idea of freedom after what felt like years of being delightfuls was such a breath of fresh air but also a sudden change, They didn't know how to process it all while in Operation ZERO but when they do, It gets all weird like a pill that's hard to swallow.

Sector Z would get their places back in the KND and their old positions back in the organization but with slight changes in their demeanors.

Bruce was more hard on himself as he constantly blames himself for putting his team into such positions that he vowed he'd never let it happen again, Alongside David, They became more protective and on guard for the whole time.

Never once did Bruce stop being cautious as he looked out for his team more, David was considered as the 'big brother' when they were Delightfuls so he kept that role and became one of the overprotective ones of the sector.

Bruce's eyes we're already blue before being delightful so the slight change or hue only affected him which he despises the most, It reminded him too much of what happened.

Alessandra was still her same old self, A timid yet charismatic girl with a love for combat and had a respectful aura to her but recently became more solemn and reserved. She never forgot about the trauma her and her sector went through and had still been processing everything that happened, questioning why it took so long and what would happen if it happens again? She didn't want to think about it but what more can she think about?

Lenny was still a bit shaken up about what happened and even the slightest mention would make him freeze on the spot and his mind would start whirling with memories, The only thing he felt safe in were either in Constance's touch or his safety blanket. He still had some bad memories considering he was the one who got more injuries and trouble than the rest, He still got scared. Sometimes, he couldn't stop thinking about his football helmet.

Constance was always the quiet and reserved kind of person but lately they've been more distant and unavailable, Not easy to opening up to other people other than their sector. They have still been thinking through their past and wanted to take things slow and steady to process, They were still themselves but their silence felt more cold and distant now if you were new to them.

Sometimes all of them would subconsciously do things or speak in unison, much to their collective dismay. They tried to avoid doing so whenever a pull in their mind started tugging, They wouldn't give in and just try to ignore their old habits.

[queenofmalkier]

Egwene and Being "Ignored" in the Tower

SOOOOO.

I actually have a lot of thoughts about this and I think this is a very good instance of Egwene being an unreliable narrator in terms of what she thinks is happening and what is actually going on. (I was reminded of wanting to go on a tangent about this by a recent post.)

For starters, Aes Sedai are all very, very good at manipulation. We're not supposed to know in the beginning just how invested in Scheming they are, even though the text and to some extent the show tells us over and over. We're supposed to believe it's an exaggeration, playing on our own knowledge that woman are generally painted in a bad light when they have power. It's wickedly clever.

They're all a lot older than Egwene and have seen a lot of things. From the moment she put on that novice dress it was easy to peg her as someone who not only wanted to be one of them, but also had an instinctive need to be noticed. That shaped how they were going to train her.

Now wanting to be seen? That isn't a bad thing! Everyone likes to receive praise! But this is the tower. Part of their training is to break down the girls who enter and rebuild them into the image of an Aes Sedai and Egwene's obvious pride and need for praise are easy targets for them to start doing just that.

You can't tell me they don't have plans for her and you can't tell me any part of her novice training is unintentional.

For starters, as a fairly new novice she's cleaning the Amyrlin's study. I think this is a subtle way to remind her of her goals and aspirations, to see what she could be if she applies herself. This also allows Siuan to keep an eye on her - even when she's away from the Tower, Siuan naturally has other means of doing this through Leane or her personal staff.

Which Leane is doing. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but did she really need to carry that cup around just to toss it in Egwene's bucket? We see cups left all over the place throughout the episode, yet Leane makes a point to take hers to Egwene.

That she ignores Egwene while she tosses it is classic Aes Sedai behavior. Think back to the books - Moiraine conditions the boys after they've been away from her for too long by getting them to do chores until they don't question it.

By ignoring Egwene, Leane is able to both check on her and also help work on breaking her down a little. It's not malicious - it's just how they operate. Had she remained by the time she was Accepted she would have craved their approval and notice, and would be very loyal to the tower. That's just how conditioning works.

Madeleine Madden does a great job of showing all of this on her face and with her body language. She's a kicked puppy, arms crossed, curled in on herself. This isn't what she wanted at all. Why don't they notice her? Didn't Moiraine say she was special? She needs to work harder. Do better.

We next see her in Alanna's room, basically being treated as if she's invisible. On the one hand, it's shocking to a fairly sheltered country girl (Which Alanna very much knows - she tells us later she wants to get Egwene to be less uptight later in the weird meeting they have after the kitchen scene), but again, it hurts her feelings and sets her off-balance. Alanna does give her some notice, but Egwene is so uncomfortable she books it.

The first clue for the audience that she's missing out on the subtle ways she very much is being watched is after she passes the novices watching the warders. There's two blue sisters just casually talking in the hallway. As a viewer you might think that's normal, but why are they there? There's plenty of places to post up and they just happen to be in Egwene's path? Both of them take notice of her immediately, and presumably begin discussing her once she passes.

To Nynaeve she defends the Tower policy, even if she doesn't believe it, she's trying to believe it. And naturally all the spies in that kitchen happily report that back. (Liandrin later actually gives away the game, though Egwene is too upset and angry to realize Liandrin is saying outright she's being watched.)

Another way they're trying to break down Egwene is by using Nynaeve as a really big convenient stick. I dislike the term break because I feel like it comes off as negative, but I don't mean it that way.

To be an Aes Sedai she needs to be able to control her emotions, to hide what she's thinking. Right now she's too obvious and that's a weakness. (Although I think they want to break down her pride so another reason - she needs to accept that she's a baby compared to them and has a lot to learn. She doesn't have anything to be proud of just yet in their eyes.)

So, yeah. I don't think Egwene is nearly as invisible as she thinks she is to the women in the tower, she's just too young and not really away of the games going on around her yet. And I like that she doesn't notice, because she shouldn't. Not at this point in her life.

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

Ooh, the most recent chapter of your Genshin Fic was so...

I think it addressed a lot of the same grievances more than a few players have themselves, the need to blame most of the people of Teyvat for the crime of being overseen by the Archons when most of them are unlikely to even know there should be a list of crimes tacked onto their names, the need to dodge all the questions the Traveler likely has, not even a quiet acknowledgement that the other is okay in their first meeting...

Honestly, in true sibling fashion, there should have been an option to SHAKE the Abyss Sibling by the shoulders, if not a slight want to punch them, during Bedtime Story.

I could be wrong in my analysis, but it was nice to see it articulated so well! I really liked the chapter. Thank you for creating it and sharing it!

While I was definitely airing some personal grievances of my own, I did want to make it a bit clear in the chapter that the Traveler is aware that they're not thinking rationally and knows that they might be wrong about some of the conclusions they came to, but, based on what they've seen so far, what their sibling has said so far, what Dain has said so far, and what others have said about Dain so far, it's really hard to see things the way the Abyss Sibling is painting for them.

The Dain thing really rubbed me wrong to find out the person the Abyss Sibling is working with is Dain's older brother who betrayed his own people and is the one who stood by while they suffered... but the abyss Sibling is blaming Dain... Couldn't even spare a word of greeting and a question about how their long-lost twin is doing before they go on to whine about Dain's presence.

The more the story is revealed, the less I'm interested in the Traveler's sibling's journey and reasoning.

It just feels so weird that they were summoned to this place by these people they don't know, which is actually confirmed in the story, and the Abyss Sibling is willing to ignore their twin for centuries for the sake to these people they don't know. The Abyss Mage saying, 'your homeland' still sounds nonsensical every time I think about it, because it's not their home. It still makes no sense at all to be saying that.

Finally, I don't like this narrative many fans on Twitter have spun where the Abyss Sibling has more of a right to mourn Khaenri'ah than Dain does when, objectively, Dain did more for those people and the sibling. The Abyss Sibling sided with the guy who helped expose the country to the Abyss and got them the wrong kind of attention from Celestia for it but refuses to acknowledge that for what it is. I don't like that.

[nancydrewwouldnever]

Don't get me wrong but it is interesting to me how so many blogs were dragging chris for hanging out with racist , fatphobic people . Now they are back to thirsting . Just simply they proved as long as Alba is in the picture they hate him other than that yeah they don't really care about hatred . I don't know why but this man's image is forever ruined for me . I have seen privileged ignorant people like him , who are just not same as their fake woke persona . I really wish none of this ever happened . I used to be a fan for over a decade . The whole fun , happy chris with his spiritual views , trip to India , talking about his mental health was so much better than whatever ignorant person he has become , maybe he was always like this some of us just failed to realize that soon . Anyway I really appreciate you nancy for how you're handling your blog recently . Love coming here .

Here's the thing: he's always been who he is. He hasn't suddenly become a different person because of who he's been around. I sincerely doubt they've made even the most insignificant amount of impact on him. Who you are is sorta set by the time you're in your 20s.

So, I hate to point this out, but that person he was while he was doing all those things you list you liked is the same person he is now, and vice-versa.

It's the way you're seeing him that has changed, which is natural as we learn more about people: our opinions are the things changing, not necessarily the integral natures of others. Chris always did questionable shit and hung out with questionable people. Disney did a lot of mopping up of that for ten years. But it always was. If you weren't side-eying him when he was partying hard at the Playboy Mansion, then it just took you a little time to get to that stage.

So, I know we're experiencing a difficult time in this fandom, with many people coming to terms with their shifting perceptions of him. I understand. And there will be a lot more feelings like this. The important thing is that you come to your own idea of what it means for you, and then come to peace with that. If that means leaving or staying in the fandom, I know everyone has some decisions ahead.

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

my very late (due to an absolute lack of inspiration until recently) half of a fic trade with @christian-latte-anon!!! set pretty immediately after Pacific Rim, I hope you like it Anoni!!

~~~

1. Neither of them has really had a real friend before. This is something they're both aware of, now, thanks to the drift, and something they leave unspoken. They're only really becoming real friends now, even after years of knowing each other. It's odd. You can long for something your whole life and then when you finally have it, you have no clue what to do with all you've ever wanted.

2. Ghost drifting is even weirder. Newt wakes up in the morning not knowing if his dreams were his own, Hermann's, or if they belonged to Something Else. He tries not to think about that too hard, or it gives him a headache. He makes coffee and heads down to the lab just like normal, even though nothing is normal anymore, but he can pretend like it is, right? Nobody is going to bother him. He's too abrasive and loud for interviews like Raleigh and Mako are getting, important but not enough for most of the world aside from the nerds to really care. While he's at it he steeps a mug of tea and leaves it sitting next to the chalkboards. He knows without meaning to that Hermann will show up soon.

3. That, too, may be a symptom of their drift. How long Newton was waiting there for him, Hermann doesn't know. But he knows he was, and the warm, if oversteeped, tea beside his desk when he arrives in their shared lab for the first time since the Breach was closed is proof of this. Hermann stands, puzzled, at the steaming drink for a long minute. His hands feel empty and so does his mind, which is unusual. He does not know what to do with the gesture, if it is in fact a gesture. He doesn't even know how to tell what a simple cup of tea in the morning means. He must be, he thinks, losing his mind. Maybe Newton did that to him, too.

4. "You're supposed to take the tea bag out at some point, Newton," are the first words Hermann speaks to him and honestly Newt isn't even surprised. Some things never change. That's nice.

"Whatever," he says over his shoulder, trying to sketch the things he saw in the kaiju's mind and failing miserably. "You could just say thanks, you know." It sounds like any number of arguments they've had before, but it isn't the same as all those. Whatever they were fighting over for all those years, for Newt's part anger and frustration at not being listened to and at the loss of what he had thought they had as pen pals, isn't really a fight anymore. Did drifting one time really do all that?

There's a haughty sniff from Hermann's side of the room. Then, "...Thank you."

Newt spins his chair around hard enough he almost flings himself out of it. He stares, eyes nearly popping out of his head, at Hermann as the other man actually picks up the mug of tea and begins to drink it. "Dude."

"Yes?"

5. Newton is staring at him with that intensity usually reserved for kaiju body parts. Hermann arches an eyebrow in his direction.

"So, like... what now?" Newt asks.

Hermann frowns. "What do you mean?" He responds, as if he isn't asking the same question himself.

Newt shrugs, fidgets with the cuffs of his shirt. "Like, what do we do now?"

"The study of kaiju isn't going to end just because they can't reach us anymore, Newton," Hermann sighs. "You won't become obsolete for some time, I'm sure."

"That's not what I meant. I meant, like, this. Us. Whatever."

Hermann decidedly ignores the tense note in Newt's voice. He can offer that dignity, at least. "I am not planning on going anywhere if you aren't," he says stiffly. This is going to be a trial, he can already tell. He's never had a friend, let alone been one to anyone else. If this is a bid for that, it's going to take some work. He finds to his surprise that he's quite willing.

"You sure?"

"Yes, Newton, I'm sure."

[terresdebrume]

So. The thinky thoughts of tonight.

(...Aka I don't have a therapist so I put things on my blog because I'm less worried about someone finding that than my bullet journal, and also typing is faster than writing and doesn't hurt my hand.)

As I mentioned on Friday, I've recently come to the realization that actually, I don't feel nervous about the idea of being pregnant here in Phnom Penh. I don't feel nervous about the idea of teaching in my school while pregnant. I don't feel very nervous about being able to financially provide for a child.

I'm not even nervous about not really wanting a child--or at the very least, I'm not nervous that I like the idea of being a parent because society convinced me I should, mostly because yesterday I was almost ready to call the local fertility clinic and make an appointment for a consultation.

But I do worry about:

Being unable to provide for a child's emotional and psychological needs

Being unable to provide for a child's physiological needs

Being able to accept the changes a child would bring in my life

The thing is, sometimes I ignore my cats when they ask for things. I don't play with them nearly as much as I should, though I've been better about at least practicing their tricks every day. Still. Cats need to play something like an hour a day, and I don't know if they play when I'm gone (I think they do) but when I'm here and spend my time lying on the couch they definitely don't. I feel guilty about it because I know I should do more but it's still very shaky, and I can see that it stresses them out sometimes. If I can't (or feel like I can't) provide for my cats needs, how can I provide for a child? Other point of worry (which is probably stupid and all but it still worries me) I feel like my students don't feel comfortable telling me things. They've told personal stories to other teachers so far, but not really to me, and I know it's their right and there may be many factors for that but I also. I worry that it's my fault, that I make them feel like they can't, somehow. And again, they don't have to! They never have to! I want to respect the privacy and their right to pick what they share, and I tell them so. But I worry that there's something about me that makes them feel stiffled or unwelcome. Am I too strict? Am I not listening the way I should? Does it seem like I don't care? Should I simply ask more questions even if it feels like I'm being intrusive? I don't know. I don't know, and it worries me even though I know I'm not entitled to know about their lives (and I don't feel entitled to it, quite the opposite) because A) I worry that it makes me a bad teacher, and B) I worry that if I can't be a good teacher or a good cat parent, it means I can't be a good parent to a child.

Also. It took me two days to do the dishes this weekend. I don't even have that many, but all of them were in the sink, and they'd been in the sink long enough to grow a bit of mold, and for the sink gunk to really smell. The floor was ditry because it took me three days longer than it should have to put the dust compartment back into the robo vacuum. My clothes are strewn around the flat. The living room table is covered in papers because I haven't been back to do the criminal background check I've been meaning to do for months now. Sometimes, I forget to change the litter boxes until the cats start protesting. And by sometimes I mean often. Sure, I'd want to do better if/when a child came in, but what if I couldn't? What if I go through the whole process and bring some poor kid who didn't ask for anything in this world and it turns out I can't care for it properly?

The changes I think is the smallest one. It just. It worries me that I think about the reality of having a child, like having to use tuktuks and maybe not being able to do DND or going for my weekly dinner anymore, and feeling reluctant. I'm also like. A bad sleeper. I've always been, I'm trying to change it, but it's so slow--the prospect of having to deal with potentially several months of being woken up several times a night is not pleasant to me. The prospect of having to share my bedroom is not pleasant to me (this could be solved by moving and doing so early enough in the pregnancy that the cats would have time to get used to the new place before the baby came.) but I worry that these are all things that just come with having a baby and me feeling apprehensive about them is a sign that I'm unsuited for the role of parent :/

I know things are different when it's your kid, and all, but while I'm not worried at the prospect of having a 3 years old or a teenager, I have to admit that I am worried about having an infant and having to devote 100% of my energy to it. I'm scared of having a child and handling the first few years so badly it hurts the child, or me, or both of us. I don't know what it says about me that I'm both considering having a child and immediately considering all the ways in which I would or wouldn't be able to avoid taking care of it (ie. Nannies, daycare, being able to go to work.) I think this one is the biggest of my worries, really. I know people have made fun of and very harshly criticized parents for struggling with having their kids at home full time during the various lockdowns of the world, but speaking as someone who actually teaches preschool and high school kids full time, they take a lot of energy--and I only have them in class! They have a set taks and I have a set task, and they can turn to each other for fun, for something to do, for support, for many things they need that a single person can't provide. I don't want to have a child and find out I can't handle the reality of it.

And if course, I worry that all this worrying isn't normal, that it's a sign I convinced myself I wanted something I don't actually want and I'm being delusional and I'll go through it and then regret it for the rest of my life. It's the same worry that I have about transitioning, which itself is the reason why I haven't really started any official process to even change my first name even though I've been going by Matt everywhere for six years now, so I'm pretty sure I can reasonably expect I won't regret *that* at least. Which I guess partially boils down to: if I haven't been spending my every conscious moments trying to get to that goal, if I've been fine with the limbo for so long, do I even really want to get out of it?

UGH. Well. That's out, I guess. Hopefully, it'll accomplish more than just stressing the cats out x)

[sleepyforestbeast]

⭐, 🥝, and 💤 for moth and husk for the ask game?

Thank you so much for the ask!! :D

⭐ What is your OC afraid of? Any crippling phobias or some such? How do they act when scared and what helps them calm down? Does anyone ever find your OC scary? Why?

Moth - Has a crippling fear of hairy caterpillars, he flies behind the nearest friend for safety, yelling for help XD generally this is Husk who is then left to remove the caterpillar from the scene XD once the caterpillar is removed, Moth is fine and will act real tough about it. He also hates the ocean, too wet and too big. No one is scared of Moth until it's too late (18 Strength)

Husk - Husk has a lot of trauma after spending over a year in a wizard's tower and things that remind them of that time will sometimes cause them freeze up. Until recently their coping mechanisms have been pretty unhealthy; reckless behaviour and distractions but recently, thanks to Yikes and the party, they've been trying to work through things in a more healthy and peaceful way :> Husk plays up the big bad scary fey angle very well, they are pointy and mean XD

🥝 What does a bad mental health day look like for your OC? Walk us through it with them. What kind of things can help them out of this slump and what kinds of things comfort them when they start to feel like this?

Moth - Moth wears his heart on his sleeve, if he's upset everyone knows it XD usually self care for Moth is eating a large bowl of strawberries or sweets of some kind and taking a nap but sometimes he'll go and ask for affirmation from others and just drape himself over their shoulder until he feels better

Husk - They don't like to let people know when they're having a rough time (but they are getting better at that the thanks to all their fears and insecurities started dog-piling them at the same time XD). Their coping habits used to be pushing their problems out of their mind and ignoring the issue but when things are too tough they like to hide away from people and curl up under blankets, sometimes in one of their comfortable human disguises. Now they're more inclined to tell people when things are wrong and is learning how to play the flute and cook which has been wonderful distractions :> especially after seeing a vision of the end of the world and more importantly their future potential children and spouse they are having a whole ass crisis and it is ongoing XD

💤 What was your OC like as a baby, a child and as a teen? (if your OC is a teen or a child, what will they be like as an adult?). How have they changed since then? What lessons have they learned and what things about their youth do they miss the most? Do they have any general regrets?

Moth - As a child Moth was even more energetic and curious. He was the kind of child that would ask a million questions about how the world worked but then forget the answer immediately XD Moth has never had a single regret in his life and is very stubborn

Husk - Husk was switched as a baby with a human child and grew up as one of six kids on a farm, they were a goodnatured but mischievous child that had a knack for magic from a young age and used their druidic abilities to pull pranks on their siblings. They do miss those days and wonder what would have happened if they had stayed once they had figured out they were a changeling and they miss the simplicity of their life then. The same for their time in Iljak. Husk has a long list of regrets but treats them as life lessons for moving forward

[plethoraworldatlas]

President Joe Biden faced immediate backlash Thursday for characterizing pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have erupted on university campuses across the country as lawless and violent, a narrative likely to further alienate the thousands of students who have joined peaceful protests against Israel's U.S.-backed war on Gaza in recent weeks.

In brief, unscheduled remarks delivered from the White House, Biden acknowledged that "peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues."

But he then proceeded to cast recent campus demonstrations as abhorrent, using instances of property damage to broadly paint student protesters as out of control—giving a pass to police forces and pro-Israel mobs that have brutally attacked peaceful encampments.

Biden, who has armed Israel's military to the hilt, also conflated trespassing and disruptions of day-to-day campus activities—including classes and graduations—with violence, saying, "None of this is a peaceful protest."

"Dissent must never lead to disorder," the president said, ignoring the long history of disruptive civil rights and anti-war protests in the U.S. "There's the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos."

Edward Ahmed Mitchell, a civil rights attorney and national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said Thursday that "President Biden's claim that 'dissent must never lead to disorder' defies American history, from the Boston Tea Party to the tactics that civil rights activists, Vietnam War protesters, and anti-apartheid activists used to confront injustice."

"And if President Biden is truly concerned about the conflict on college campuses, he should specifically condemn law enforcement and pro-Israel mobs for attacking students, and stop enabling the genocide in Gaza that has triggered the protests," Mitchell added.

Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy and a former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), wrote following the president's remarks that "the best speech of Biden's campaign was in June 2020, amid the nationwide protests against the murder of George Floyd."

"He could've given a very similar speech today, if only he thought the same rights and principles applied to Palestinians," Duss added. "In June 2020, Biden criticized violence but also refused to paint the protests with that broad brush. He acknowledged the root causes, the pain driving them. He could've made some effort to do the same today, instead he chose to amplify a right-wing caricature."

Countering suggestions that criticism of Biden could harm his reelection chances against former President Donald Trump, Duss pointed to an old social media post in which he explained: "One of my concerns here is that Biden is undermining his re-election. In addition to being morally and strategically awful, I think his Gaza policy is alienating and demobilizing constituencies he will need."

At the end of his speech, a reporter asked Biden whether the mass demonstrations on college campuses have led him to reconsider his approach to Israel's assault on Gaza, which to date has been unconditionally supportive even in the face of horrific Israeli war crimes.

"No," Biden said in response to the reporter's question.

"Apparently Biden is not swayed by the mass killing of children, international law, or an election as a growing number of Americans are appalled by his policies," Assal Rad, an author and Middle East analyst, wrote in reply to the president.

Justice Democrats called Biden's speech "shameful," writing that "as campuses have unleashed police on students—he blames protesters as the problem and ignores the violence they've faced." "If dissent was crucial to our democracy," the progressive group added, "you would spend more time listening to their demands than lying about their tactics."

Biden's address came hours after Los Angeles police launched a violent attack on pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UCLA, where a pro-Israel mob brutally assaulted student protesters just a day earlier.

In a statement earlier this week, College Democrats of America endorsed the Gaza solidarity protests that have swept the nation and warned Democratic leaders that each day they "fail to stand united for a permanent cease-fire, two-state solution, and recognition of a Palestinian state, more and more youth find themselves disillusioned with the party."

"We condemn those politicians, like MAGA Republicans and many other lawmakers, for smearing all protesters as hateful when, according to reports, the overwhelming majority of protests are peaceful," said the College Democrats.

In a floor speech on Wednesday, Sanders called out his colleagues who "are spending their time attacking the protesters rather than the Netanyahu government, which has caused and has created this horrific situation."

[hermholland]

This is going to be a little bit of a mish-mash of things but there is a point to it…

Lately I've been realising that I need additional help and support with my Depression than I'm currently getting. Despite the fact that since October I've had decent reasons to be upset or sad, I've recently acknowledged that I've not actually come back out of my misery for months, I've just found new reasons to explain it. It's clear that Things Are Getting Bad Again.

I've explained before, I think, about my abandonment issues, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, and paranoia, and it's been especially bad the last few months: I've struggled to communicate with others, I've questioned whether people I consider my friends would prefer if I wasn't around, I've wondered if they'd notice if I dropped off the face of the Earth, I've been anxious about reconnecting with people, I've been scared to make plans, I've had panic attacks at the prospect of seeing people I've not had any contact with in a long time… The list goes on.

My most recent struggle is that one of my closest friends seemingly not wanting to spend time with me or even really communicate with me if it's remotely out of his convenience. It's felt like if I try to make plans with him to do something other than go to one pub we always go to he either doesn't want to or he'll agree & then cancel last minute ghost me for a day or more. Not all of this is imagined, but it's far more down to his own personal issues than with some resentment towards me. But it's been hard enough reaching out and being rejected or ignored that I've had to decide to just stop reaching out for the time being as a form of self-preservation. The voice that tells me everyone hates me and that they're right to is always much louder and more convincing than reality or truth, and for a while now I've been questioning a lot about my relationships with the people I care about. This has been extremely painful, and I've been getting progressively more closed off and isolated as I've tried to deal with it.

That, and other things, and general demon voices telling me I'm an awful person, have me feeling unwanted, unlikable, and isolated. It's been really horrific.

The thing is, though, and essentially what's become the reason I've actually shared this, is that while all this has been happening, in the last week (and more specifically on Sunday) I've had a few different and entirely unconnected things happen which have done a lot to counter these feelings. Some of these things will seem entirely inconsequential, but in the context of what I've just explained they've all meant the absolute world to me.

A friend of mine couldn't make it to my pirate outing on the 10th of February because he'd broken his clavicle and thus was entirely bedbound. He lives on his own and has not been able to even sit up without great pain and difficulty for several weeks now. I've tried to keep in touch with him, even about mundane things like what I'm looking forward to eating that day, so that he doesn't feel alone and like everyone has forgotten him (I know that feeling and wouldn't wish it on anyone). This is the man that I made my little BlueJay toy for, so that he could come out with us to the pirate event that he'd been looking forward to before the accident. The day after the pirate outing I sent him loads of pictures of everyone who was out posing with the toy of him. He was incredibly grateful, and told me how much the gesture meant to him and that he believed that even thinking of making a stand-in for him so that he could join us was "a sign of true friendship". I was really pleased with this response and it made me feel really good about doing something that didn't feel like much of a big deal to me while I did it.

Fast forward to last Sunday.

As I was getting some stuff sorted on my PC, out of nowhere, I got a message from my friend that I'd had to stop reaching out to, simply talking about how he didn't like his new phone. It was nothing special or important, and was really only a grumble about something inconsequential. I'd been feeling unwanted and like my badgering was the only reason our friendship had persisted, and hearing from him about something so unimportant and conversational was, maybe quite oddly, an extremely affirming gesture about the status of our friendship. If he'd gotten in touch about something that mattered then it'd have been worse, because this was just talking for the sake of talking because we're friends. A tiny thing, but it meant the world to me.

Maybe an hour later I got a message from a friend of mine who I only ever see maybe once or twice a year because he lives far away, but always gives me a shout when he's in the area to hang out. I wasn't able to join him, but it was really nice to get the invitation, especially as he doesn't know any of my other friends, so it was entirely unrelated. Another simple thing but it made me feel wanted, which was wonderful.

Again a little while later I was chatting with another friend of mine who I always chat with on a Sunday, and everything about feeling unwanted and so on had made me worry that I was neglecting this friendship, and I said as much to him. He reassured me that this was not the case at all, and something about that and the way he did it was really comforting.

A little while after that I got a gift from a friend out of nowhere, which was far more meaningful than I think he remotely understood at the time, or even after when I reiterated my gratitude to him for it. He explained his reasoning behind giving me the gift as being quite simple and matter-of-fact, but even that kind of meant more because it wasn't some grand gesture designed to make him look like a saint… it was just "You wanted this, and I wanted to make sure you got it at the right time". I was incredibly flustered to receive the gift at the time (I'm shite at surprises, especially gifting surprises!) and later on when I was by myself I got really quite emotional about it.

All of these separate things happened from unconnected people for entirely different reasons and at similar but obviously not-choreographed times. Even though my Depression voices are extremely convincing and very loud, they can't block out the fact that all of those things happening so close together affirm the collective strength of my friendships with people. It's hard to believe that nobody likes me when all of these people have made gestures proving otherwise.

I'm having a hard time, and that's not changed. I'm not feeling better, as such, but the smallest of gestures from people (as simple as just messaging me out of the blue to say their new phone is annoying them, which just shows they want to share something in their life with me) have been so reassuring and affirming that things don't feel so heck right now. I'm still miserable, but that's helped shut up one of the worst voices telling me I'm awful.

You'll never know how meaningful just saying hi to someone without any purpose or agenda (except just that they're your friend) can be.

[onwardtorakichi]

This line of Zionist rationalism drives me nuts. How long do people need to live in an area to be "native"? Because Palestine has been recognized for millenia; it was written about in the 5th century BCE by Herodatus as Palaistine, and he also identified the people living there as Palestinian-Syrians. Over thousands of years the identity has shifted as borders and politics change - more recently Palestinians were known as part of the Ottomans - but it's a very convenient lie for Zionists to claim that Palestinians haven't always been there just because rulers have risen and empires fell.

But yes, you're right. If Palestinians are not their own ethnonationality, why would other Arabic countries refuse to take them in? Wouldn't one of those Arabic countries be their native homeland?

It doesn't add up.

Another issue I have with Zionist arguments is the idea that Palestinians should have to leave modern day Israel because it "belonged" to Jews first. In the same vein as "how long does it take to become native?" I have to ask, how long do people need to be the ruling majority of a society before that society rightfully belongs to them? Because Palestinians have been the majority in that region since Ancient Rome trafficked Jews from the area as slaves.

If a family has consistently lived in a home since Emperor Nero was in power, my opinion is that they damn well have a claim to the land by now, even if someone else lived there before them.

It's also untrue that other Arab countries wouldn't take in Palestinians.

During the 1948 Palestine War, around 700,000 Palestinian Arabs or 85% of the total population in what became Israel fled or were expelled from their homes, to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and to the countries of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

Today, the largest number of refugees, over 2,000,000, live in Jordan, where by 2009 over 90% of UNWRA-registered Palestinian refugees had acquired full citizenship rights.

(Quoted from Wikipedia)

It is, again, a convenient lie to say that Palestinians are so loathed even by fellow Arabs that there's just no choice but to exile and imprison them.

It also ignores the long history of Jews being turned away from many countries as undesirable refugees. A huge part of Israel being formed is our history of being turned away. In theory we need Israel because we need a home that other countries refuse to give us.

In any case, denying the Nakba is wild. The Zionist version is that there was a war - there's no denying there was a bloody war in 1948 between Jews and Palestinians! - but that Palestinians willingly left their homes as a tactic that failed and then just... Decided to not try to move back into their homes.

Convenient.

It's worth looking up Plan Dalet in regards to the Nakba argument.

Anyway the history is long and it's really difficult to cite a single source for all of it, but you're asking the right questions. I know Wikipedia is not the most reliable source but honestly I do think they've done a pretty good job over there of at least laying out timelines with sources you can click through to, and remaining fairly neutral. I also recommend going through the materials from the Jewish Voice For Peace, which has good explanations on their social media including some longform YouTube videos that might be interesting to you.

A basic rundown of disparate views on the Nakba in particular is here.

Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe are both well known authors on Palestine, and their co-authored work Gaza in Crisis is worth a read and has an essay on the Nakba and the current denial that's become standard in Zionism.

I hope that's helpful and I appreciate you asking the questions.

So I just read something that said "Zionism" properly refers to the claim by Herzl that Jews specifically need their own state, and that Herzl specifically modeled his vision of how this state should look and operate on what the US did to indigenous people here.

That's what I always thought "Zionism" meant, and why it always seemed odd to me that people say that opposing "Zionism" is genteel antisemitism.

The claim kinda sounded to me as someone who understood this to be what "Zionism" is like... if someone said "I'm against white nationalism," and I said to them "why do you want white people exterminated?"

So I dunno. Can anyone untangle this for me? The Herzl guy seems like a world-class ass, which is why I keep getting stuck.

I think that Jewish refugees needed a place to go, and I don't think absolutely everything about "this spot will be your place to go" is "the settlers'" fault. It seems like people took the land and offered it to people who didn't object on moral grounds, which might be bad but I'm not sure I can blame refugees for being like "sure fine I'm exhausted and deeply traumatized and I need a house, let's not think further than that."

But I'm still not sure any group having an ethnostate is likely to end well.

White nationalists suck, but that doesn't make other nationalists make sense. And... what little bits and pieces of Israeli policy seem to be leaking to the media sure sound nationalistic, like that one tweet that showed the whole region with an Israeli flag superimposed, supposedly emanating from the official Israeli twitter.

I don't want to talk in ways whose roots in antisemitism I don't know, but at the same time... I can't seem to interpret that bit as anything but a call for an ethnostate and... people of my skin color have done horrific things, but I don't think we're unique in our capacity for cruelty when given an excuse.

Help?