Something I really don't understand are the assumptions people on the side Israel seem to hold about everyone who is free Palestine, I.E. that we don't think the hostages should be returned or that we think all Israeli citizens deserve to die for the crimes of their government. Like I'm sure there are people who think that, which is gross and frankly unacceptable, but the fact that they approach everything said in support of Palestine from that angle isn't okay either. All that they are doing is trying to simplify everything in a way that makes Israel the indisputable victim and everyone who opposes them into an antisemitic monster when the reality is that most of us just believe in the value of ALL human life and don't think more than 23,000 peoples lives are acceptable collateral damage. Like we just think that Palestinian civilians should have basic access to food, water, healthcare, and shelter and should not be facing arrest just for being Palestinian as if that somehow makes them inherently dangerous, where are you getting the batshit assumptions from in statements like that?

We remember how much his ‘look at what they’re doing, what they’re asking you to do,’ monologue slapped, but what Deacon doesn’t get enough credit for is that he’s right about every single faction when he cautions you too.

Hearing my coworkers speak about Gaza and Israel like they think the Israeli government is justified in their responses terrifies me.... how do they not understand the pain that pushed these people to such extremes. Hamas committed atrocities, and those people need to be held accountable. The Israeli government has committed war crimes against the civilians in Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli government has been ethnically cleansing for roughly 70 years. I ask you to think about that. Think about watching a different government steal your land, kill your people, and then force who's left into the largest open air prison in the world. Truly sit with that. Let it sink into your chest and tell me you don't feel the anger. I will NEVER justify the way this was handled by Hamas, but I do understand the rage that got them there. I just.... I wish more of us could see each other as humans and understand that our views may be different, but that doesn't make us evil or bad...

P.s. if you can't discuss this peacefully with nuances, leave me alone. I won't argue.

apparently a bunch of ppl on social media are trying to call for a boycott of rick riordan because of this statement in a blog post:

Becky and I are just back from a busy weekend with events at the Boston Book Festival and New York Comic-Con.

Before I get into that, however, some words to acknowledge the ongoing horrors in Israel and Gaza. As many of you may know, I am no longer on social media. My accounts post only updates on my books and related projects. I do not read posts, reply to posts, or share my thoughts about world events on those forums. That doesn’t mean I don’t have strong feelings and reactions. It means I am offline as completely as possible, except for the occasional blog post like this one.

I will say this: Over the last eighteen years, I have received many fan letters from young readers, both Israeli and Palestinian, who often told me that my books helped them escape the fear, grief and anxiety they were dealing with at the time. Some had lost family members to violence. Some were writing while in the distance they could hear explosions, gunfire, and the launching of rockets. They used my books as a way to escape into another world, where the monsters were fictional, and where demigods usually saved the day. While I am always glad that my books can help young readers find joy during difficult times, my heart breaks every time I hear about the things they have to deal with. I am grief-stricken by the horrific events now unfolding, especially because I know that they are part of a long historic pattern that has been robbing too many children of their childhood and perpetuating hatred for far too long.

I am also quite aware that when anyone, myself included, tries to speak about this issue, the reader is waiting to pounce, thinking, “Yes, but whose side are you on?” That is exactly the wrong question. If there are two sides to this issue, those sides are not Palestinian/Israeli or Muslim/Jewish. The two sides are humanitarian and dehumanizing. Dehumanizing has a long evil history. It is appealing and easy to buy into, because humans are tribal animals. We are hardwired to think in terms of ‘us’ versus ‘them.’ We are the real humans, the good guys, the ones with God on our side. Those other people are evil monsters who don’t deserve empathy. Hate mongers have thrived on dehumanizing for as long as there have been humans. It provides them with a purpose, a way to rally support, power, and scapegoats. It is easy to point to atrocities committed by our enemies, while justifying or minimizing the atrocities committed by ourselves or our allies.

Humanitarianism is a much harder sell. It requires us to empathize, to see other groups of people as equally deserving of dignity and quality of life. It requires not always putting ourselves and our needs first. But in the long run, humanitarianism is our only hope. If violence could end violence, if we could put an end to “those other people” once and for all, human history would read very differently than it does.

So yes, I am appalled by the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians. I am appalled by the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Both things can be true. Both things must be true. My thoughts are with all the people who have died, who have lost loved ones, who have had their worlds and their lives shattered, especially the children. More death and violence will not break this cycle, which has been going on for generations. There is no military solution. Even since I first wrote the post, only twenty-four hours ago, the Israeli government’s brutal retaliation against the entire population of Gaza has reached genocidal proportions. This is not only an atrocity. It is folly. Answering misery with misery only creates more fertile ground for extremism, dehumanizing the “other side,” letting hate mongers thrive, stay in power, and reduce us all to our most monstrous impulses. The only real solution is treating each other like equally worthy human beings, and negotiating a peace that allows all parties a chance to live in security and dignity, with hopes for a future that does not include bombs and rockets and gunfire. This means security and support for Israel, yes. It also means a secure Palestine which is allowed to get the international aid and recognition it needs to build a viable state.

Do I think that will happen? Unfortunately, no. Humans are simply too selfish, too ready to blame “the other” for all their problems, too ready to dehumanize, though I also believe, perhaps paradoxically, that most people just want to live their lives in peace and have a chance for their children to have a brighter future. The problem is when we don’t allow other people to have those same hopes and dreams — when it becomes a false choice of us versus them.

What can I do? I will continue to write books that I hope will give young readers some joy. I will resist the urge to demonize entire groups of people. I will call for less violence, not more violence. And when asked whose side I am on, I will tell you I am on the side of humanitarianism.

So with that said, I return to the world of books . . .

honestly, if you have a problem with this statement, it’s probably because he’s talking about you. this is exactly what legitimate activists (as in not just random westerners who share social media posts but on-the-ground activists who are doing real work) have been saying for decades. and i think all this really speaks to just how disconnected a lot of westerners who claim to be pro palestinian are from those activists.

if you can’t read a statement that says “i am on the side of humanitarianism and less violence” without immediately jumping to cancel them, you are the problem being discussed in the above statement.

I really find it interesting how Zionists have no issues constantly using words like "Islamic" or "Islamist" or "jihadist" to describe the people they're killing without any fear of being accused of Islamophobia or that they're being bigots.

Because they know that we live in a world where anything or anyone remotely "Muslim" are automatically portrayed as inherently evil and deserving of death, especially in the US and other Western countries where Israel gets most of its support from them. So therefore, no one can be mad at them for killing all of these people, right? After all, they're only killing scary radical "Islamists" and "jihadists," NOT innocent people.

Meanwhile you would never hear any pro-Palestine people calling IDF soldiers "Jewists" or "Jewish extremists," even when they're literally branding the star of David onto Palestinians' faces and houses, instead we have to be very careful to not associate Judaism with Israel's crimes and are obligated to write a long essay about how we in fact do NOT want to kill every Jew in the world before we're allowed to show a shred of sympathy toward the thousands of Palestinian civilians being murdered as we are speaking.

Yet somehow that's not enough and they still hit us with the "when you say Zionists you actually mean Jews!" all while ignoring how they themselves aren't putting any effort into not demonizing Islam and Muslims with their words, because demonizing Islam and Muslims isn't an issue to them and the only way they can justify all the killing they're doing.

Together — Simon "Ghost" Riley x Reader

"In another life, I'd have the privilege of meeting you under different circumstances." His words were comforting as the cold started taking over your bodies, his gloved hand holding yours.

"In every single life, I'll be looking for you, Simon." His name was never sweeter than when it came out of your mouth. Simon was cursed, Simon lived a never-endind nightmare both as a civilian and as a soldier, but right now? Simon was the luckiest man alive, holding his loved one's hand as life began to slip away from them.

"I'll always look for you, love." His voice was weak, yet oddly calm for someone in his situation. They were separated from their group and badly wounded, yet as he began to accept this was their end, realization hit him. For once in his life, he felt deserving of something. All those thoughts about not even deserving to survive after his family was murdered seemed to be pushed to the back of his head. You didn't deserve this. Simon didn't deserve this, and there's no way in hell Ghost is going to give up. He's a fighter, for fuck's sake.

"Stray?" His gaze drifts down to her, taking in the way she's looking at him, the way she's looking at him like he's worth something, like he deserves the world, yet Simon doesn't want whatever the world has to offer.

"Hm?" Came your soft hum, throat sore from screaming into the comms after the mission failed and you were separated from Price and Gaz. It hurt, yet you didn't know what exactly it was. It was a stinging feeling all over that gave you shaky hands. It made you want to throw up, to claw on your skin until you could find what exactly was wrong, and to rip it out of your body once and for all. To be able to feel your body again, to be able to open your eyes without flinching at the harsh light, to be able to hear your own thoughts.

"I just want you to hold me." Ghost replied softly, groaning as he used all the strength he had left to help you up by the waist, making sure you could get on your feet before he leaned on the wall for support, soft groans and pained growls leaving his lips as he limped alongside you. "Don't let go."

Despite all the pain he's suffered, all his struggles and trauma, this moment feels different— it's like a release, a way to soothe the chaos his broken mind faces daily. He'd rather die fighting alongside you than fight alone. Within you, you're holding him together. You hold his heart, his pain and struggles, his mind, his soul.

"What has two legs and bleeds?" He asked out of nowhere, deep voice strained by his pain as he walked alongside you, holding you close. You were about to protest before you remember why he's doing that— he's trying to keep you awake, and he's trying to ease the tension and fear by joking around. Though this is commonly done by SAS soldiers, it's comical to see The Ghost doing it too, so you decide to entertain him.

"What?" You ask softly, a small grin on your face as you prepare for the shitty joke.

"Half a dog." He answers swiftly. Though you can't see his face due to the balaclava, you can see the slight shift on the mouth part of his mask, his eyes twinkling as they narrow slightly. He's clearly fighting off a grin, yet the dumb joke makes you laugh. You don't know if it's the blood loss making you delirious, or if the joke is actually that funny. Probably the blood loss.

"That was awful." You say, yet you're still giggling about the stupid joke. You both manage to make it out of the building, looking around at all the destruction caused by the enemy. No hostiles appeared to be near, luckily.

"Ghost, Stray, do you copy?" The comms break you both out of your daze as you stare at each other, immediately fumbling for the radio.

"Yes, sir." Ghost replies to Price, his deep voice now more professional as he requested medevac. For once in his life, Ghost felt human. Almost dying, yet more alive than ever. Maybe all his torture was finally worth it in the end, maybe for once in his life, he'd be able to have something nice. Something to call his. His hand reaches down to gently hold yours, squeezing it softly. I love you.

Hello everyone ,My name is Mohammed Skaik, and I live in Berlin, Germany. I have launched a campaign to help my relatives, my cousin and his family, who live in Gaza , to rebuild their life .They have been heavily affected by the destruction, with their home completely destroyed .This is my cousin's message for You :Urgent Appeal: Rebuilding our life in Gaza - Rescuing a Family's Hope Dear Compassionate Souls, I'm Ahmad Al Turk, a lawyer, living in Gaza, I was completing my studies and about to get a master's degree in law, but unfortunately the unimaginable happened. The war came and took everything from me and my family. I reach out to you from the depths of the despair we feel in Gaza in the midst of war. The memories of a once peaceful life full of love and security have been stripped away by the ruthlessly relentless horrors of war. It is not only my possessions that fall into ruins, but the pain, torment and humiliation inflicted on us are beyond the reach of mere words. The war destroyed our home, reducing it to rubble, and now we find ourselves living in a tent.Life has constrained us significantly, and our only hope is to seek assistance in escaping this nightmare and forging a path toward a decent life. Now! We only have a tent leftz. Our journey has become a haunting odyssey, and the burden of rebuilding our lives and Our journey has become a haunting odyssey, and the burden of rebuilding our lives and escaping the pervasive darkness of this war-torn land feels insurmountable. As ordinary civilians with no affiliations to the conflict, my family and I yearn to break free from this nightmare. And this is my family which consists of 7 members : 1- Ahmad jehad alturk (lawyer) 2- Jehad alturk (the father) 3- Souad alturk (the mom) 4- Aseel jehad alturk (Engineer) 5- Aman jehad alturk (accounting) 6- Hadi jehad alturk (little brother) 7- Mouhammed jehad alturk (Engineer) Unfortunately, this war took not just our home and our security, but Rex. Our dog Rex, who is part of our family, is now one of the victims. But luckily with us, Rex's mate, our strong cat, Lisa.. Despite the fear that engulfs her, which seems to her features, she still carries within her a force that is lost by most human beings. The power of peace. Each of us has a story and Lisa is one of the heroes of our story. In our quest to rebuild our lives and restore what can be restored of our home and belongings, which have been completely destroyed, and to return to a semblance of normal life, I appeal to you, my fellow humans, for help. Every contribution, whether large or small, is like a lifeline that can pull us out of this abyss. Join us in breaking the chains that bind us to this suffering. Be a ray of hope for me and my family. Your support is not just financial assistance. With the weight of necessity in my heart, We deserve to live! Ahmad Al-Turk

Living Weapon Whumpee: Caretaking Prompts

Caretaker massaging Living Weapon's stiff muscles that have never had such treatment before. Living Weapon wincing, hissing between their teeth, but relaxing to Caretaker's working touch.

Sick Living Weapon worked themselves too hard, and promptly collapsed. They've woken up in bed, something they can't even remember they last time they've slept on.

Caretaker played a bit of dress up with Living Weapon, finally managing to get them in civilian clothing. They spun the mirror around for Living Weapon. Now they're frantically trying to sop up the tears sliding down Living Weapon's face.

Caretaker needing to frantically ask Living Weapon questions, because they'll never request anything for themselves. "Does this hurt?" "Do you need painkillers?" "Is this too tight?"

Living Weapon has grown frightened of Caretaker due to their gentleness, fearing it because it's something they are not used to. Caretaker is trying to teach them that they deserve to be treated gently.

Caretaker walked in to check on Living Weapon today, only to find them having a reaction based from their "training". Now Caretaker is looming over them, their hand placed on Living Weapon's back, trying to stir their friend to return to them.

Medic Caretaker has brought in soldiers, and civilians alike into their care. They happened to take in one Living Weapon too. As everyone has healed up and returned, no one has come by to claim the Living Weapon. Now Caretaker is in charge of them, until they can find where they belong.

"Where am I?", Living Weapon asked. They took quite the hit to the head, and have been incredibly disoriented. Caretaker doesn't have the heart to tell them where they are, and better yet what they are.

Caretaker took in more than one Living Weapon. They've been watching the multiple whumpees recover and develop drastically differently. They weren't expecting to have to break up fights, but it's made for the perfect lecture time while they add gauze to broken skin.

A Living Weapon far worse for ware then what Caretaker is used to seeing showed up in their care. While helping Living Weapon walk, they look up to the supposedly unexpressive face scrunched up in a look on the verge of tears.

Caretaker and Living Weapon walking out of the bathroom covered in excessive amounts of soap, because Living Weapon assumed Caretaker was trying to "drown" them in this action called "bathing"

Living Weapon slowly unveiling their injuries that are no big deal according to them. Watching Caretaker wrap bandages around their arms, and apply solvents to puffy looking wounds. They think they're starting to understand.

Hi, I really liked your art and all and was a fan of you, until you started posting things about supporting a state which is controlled by a terrorist organization that doesn’t care about their own civilians and when any donations come there it doesn’t go to the people who need it but to Hamas, and by donating to Gaza not only do you not help the people in Gaza ,but you also help a terrorist organization who doesn’t care who it needs to kill in order to achieve its goal.

Also when I saw you reposted a post who supported the people in the picture’s with all PLO flags (which weren’t the main problem there) ,it seriously hurt me to see that one picture where people were stepping on USA flags and Israel flags. like….why would you support someone who obviously hate you(assuming you’re from the USA) but even if you aren’t from the USA then think about the fact that you’re LGBTQ, these people HATE people who are Queer and kills them ,so I really can’t understand how are you supporting people who want you dead and are against feminism.

I really hope that what I wrote helped you see this complex situation more clearly and I beg you to look at the situation from both sides.

so this means everyone there deserves to die? this means that a whole school year of children needs to be wiped out? that hospitals must be bombed and millions displaced and communication be cut off? that every palestinian must pay with their lives? that every closeted queer palestinian should die? are you seriously that dense. i made it clear i do not want people who support a genocide following me. have you bothered reading palestinian voices from queering the map? those who regret not saying they were in love and dont even have the chance anymore because thousands are dying? i genuinely don't know what to say to you to make you realize these are real, actual people who are dead. you speak of palestinians as if they're a monolith and not real individual people who had thoughts and dreams. none of these people deserved to die, even if they hate people like me. people can change and learn and grow and they weren't even given the chance. i am so sick of seeing fellow queer people SUPPORT GENOCIDE because they can't be bothered to think about others and their experiences for more than two seconds. of all the queer experiences i've read this is one of the most heartbreaking, and it's from gaza.

do NOT act like queer people and their families aren't being harmed and DO NOT come into my ask box supporting ethnic cleansing. there is never any reason for thousands of people to live in fear of airstrikes and white phosphorous, or to be stuck beneath rubble and in hospitals that don't even have power. if the idea of THOUSANDS DYING wasn't enough to upset you, there are so many videos of parents mourning their children, children mourning their parents, children and pets shaking in fear for me to not have explain to you that genocide is bad. there is NEVER any reason to JUSTIFY GENOCIDE. that should be clear enough. again, if you are complicit or try to justify genocide, do not follow me and DO NOT try to make me "see the situation from both sides". to be so privileged that you can sit here and write out paragraphs supporting genocide says enough about you.

if you see this i am begging you to contact your government, just do anything you can. even just spreading the word helps because palestine can't. the most important thing is to not give up hope. mourn the dead, and fight like hell for the living.

Love You Better (Pt 1/5)

Dean Winchester x Reader

When a case winds up with you and the boys working closely with someone from your past can Dean's mind stop throwing doubts towards your relationship?

Jealous/Insecure Dean coming up and a twist on Djinn hallucinations 🤷‍♀️

Dean was half asleep when he felt you moving around. He thought you were awake until he glanced down to see your eyes were still closed, in fact once you'd curled up tightly to his chest you seemed to relax and your breathing evened out again.

A lazy smile worked its way onto his face when he realized you'd in fact been looking for him in your sleep. This thing between the two of you was still fairly new, yeah you'd known each other most of your lives but this? It'd just been a little over a year.

He'd never been the one for commitment. It was easier with his life to not get attached, because in due time either he'd end up driving who he cared about away or they'd find something better. There was also the concern in past relationships like Cassie and Lisa that they were civilians. They could get killed just being around him. The fear was still there with you, not because he doubted your abilities because you were on par with him and Sam as far as hunting went but because the thought of you on a funeral pyre was more than he could handle.

----------

His fingers lightly traced the anti possession tattoo on your shoulder which in turn made you cuddle up even closer to him, a murmur of his name escaping your lips. The fear also still lingered that you would figure out that you deserved so much better than he could give.

Even long before the two of you developed feelings for each other beyond friendship he admired so many things about you. Beyond the fact that you were beautiful and an amazing hunter you were an amazing person. You would stand toe to toe with anything that crawled its way out of hell one minute then comfort someone the next. You were the one person he'd never known of Bobby ever being grumpy to, you could talk your way out of most altercations with cops.

----------

You'd always been so damn certain of who you were as a person. You'd never let anyone else's opinion bring you down saying they could only make you feel like shit if you let them.

The shift in your relationship had been subtle at first. When you moved into the bunker it was supposed to be a case of you needing a place to stay. He found himself spending more time with you one on one, rather it was making ammunition, sparring or just binging movies. You had a habit of pulling him out of himself even when he would've avoided Sam.

He found himself craving your attention and your touch. The quick moments of your skin against his when you would patch him up after a hunt would always set his skin on fire from your touch alone. When he'd be in the kitchen first thing in the morning and you'd come in still wearing whatever clothes you'd slept in, your hair wild and a sleep ridden smile on your face when he'd tell you good morning would make his heart flip.

The moment he realized just how far gone he was on you was after a bad hunt. No one had gotten seriously hurt but it hadn't exactly been a walk in the park either.

You'd been silent the entire trip back to the bunker, staring blankly out the window. Sam had tried to bait you into talking more than once but you'd give quick answers, your voice not having that usual life to it.

Him and Sam had exchanged a few concerned looks but they at least knew it wasn't physical. You'd gotten bumps and bruises but that was it.

When the impala pulled to a stop in the garage you'd gotten out slowly, giving Sam a small smile when he offered to dump your dirty clothes in the laundry room for you. "I'm gonna go shower" you told them before disappearing into the rest of the bunker.

----------

About half an hour later Dean found you in the kitchen making tea. He stopped at the fridge and watched you for a second. "Sweetheart, you ok?" You looked up slowly and nodded "Yeah I'm good Dean. Just tired I think"

He nodded and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. By the time he'd opened it and took a swig you had finished your tea and gave him a small smile "I'm going to bed" he smiled slightly before saying "If you need anything you know where I'm at"

He watched you walk out and wanted to follow you, try to get you to talk but knew you matched him on stubbornness levels so he decided to let it go. You would normally talk to Sam if you needed it so maybe you'd find him later.

----------

Dean had dozed off a couple hours before when he heard a knock at the door, wasn't Sam because he'd crack the door open and call his name if need be. He pushed the blanket off and walked to the door.

When he opened it you stood there with your blanket wrapped around your shoulders looking so very lost. "Y/N, you ok?" He asked and you shook your head "The hunt reminded me of the first time I lost someone. She was fourteen Dean and I was maybe ten minutes too late. She was still warm when I found her"

Tears started to brim in your eyes and without a thought he pulled you into a hug, the soft material of your blanket tickling the bare skin of his chest as he did so but it didn't matter. You needed him. You said something but it was mumbled against his chest.

He started to rub your back in small circles before saying "I didn't catch that sweetheart" you pulled back to look up at him "Can I sleep in here with you? I know we're just friends and if not I'm sure Sam would let me but I don't want to be alone"

He was dumb founded for a moment but nodded "Yeah, of course"

---------

He waited for you to get comfortable before climbing in the bed, you laid facing him silent yet again. He reached out and tentatively pulled your blanket up from where it'd fallen "Are you ok?" You smiled slightly "If I'm asking too much say so but would you just hold me Dean? I always feel safe with you" had his heart tried to flip out of his chest in that moment? Probably.

He nodded "Yeah, how do you..." he trailed off because he didn't know what position you wanted to lay in. As soon as he spoke you'd curled up to his chest, your fingers splayed across his tattoo. He slipped his arm around you, holding you tight. After a moment he started to ask if you were ok but realized you'd fallen asleep.

That had been the moment he knew there was no use fighting the feelings he'd been having for you. Like it or not you had him wrapped around your little finger without even knowing.

You woke up to Sam knocking on the door. You snuggled further into Dean's side and mumbled "He's your brother. Make him be quiet"

He chuckled before raising his voice so Sam could hear him "What is it Sammy?" "Garth called" you groaned lightly then hollered "GIVe US TEN AND WE'LL MEET YA IN THE LIBRARY"

Once Sam walked away you cut your eyes up at Dean "Wanna shower with me?" He raised an eyebrow and a smirk spread across his face "As much as I hate to say this I think we need to use separate showers because there's no way we'll be in the library in ten minutes if we don't" you nodded "Good point" and left a lingering kiss on his lips before standing up out of the bed to find clothes.

------------

You knew something was up the moment you walked into the library. Dean was leaning on the edge of the table talking to Sam. You stopped just inside the door and looked between the two of them "What's up?"

"Garth needs us to go to Texas on a case" Sam replied so you nodded "Ok. Whats the case?" Dean tore his eyes from Sam to say "Thinking a Djinn" you grimaced. Ok that explained why Dean was acting weird "We meeting anyone down that way?"

"Jaxson" Sam replied and you felt your stomach drop. Jax was your ex. You'd been with him about the same amount of time Dean had been with Lisa. How the hell was this dynamic gonna work? "Why's it need so many hunters?" You asked and Sam shrugged "From the amount of people missing its more than one. We don't want to take chances with Djinn"

"Well let's hit the road" Dean finally said so you nodded "Ok" this was gonna be fun.

@marimarvelfan @suckitands33 @jackles010378 @freewastelandstrawberry @sushiumex

It's been bugging me for a while that we have so many canonically queer characters now but none of them ever DO anything! It's like after they get two characters in a queer relationship they just never give them any conflict after. We didn't ask for more representation because we wanted that character to no longer have interesting stories outside of a queer identity we wanted you to stop queer baiting us.

I know that word gets tossed around a lot, but there is very strong evidence for TimKon, StephCass, and GhostBat where they practically confirm it but they never say anything explicitly. Supersons were literally shown to live together, co-parent Lizzie, and were explicitly paralleling other canon couples last week.

But it's too much for Kon AND Tim to be queer, so they gave Tim a civilian boyfriend that he never has any conflict with and all of the build up and tension that comes with trying to clone your dead teammate 99 times and being a hair away from making out for like 8 years.

Robin AND Super boy couldn't be canonically queer so they aged Jon up and then gave him a civilian boyfriend he never has any conflict with all while parading them around in elseworlds because they knew fans were upset about the lost potential.

Even Harley and Ivy fall victim to this in a different way. I love that they're canonically queer! I just wish that at least Ivy got to keep some of her villainy. I don't think they should have to compromise being menaces to society with being queer.

And it's related but I hesitate to call it queer baiting... what's going on with Dick Grayson. He gets confirmed bi in a non canon video game but he has more pride covers than Tim. Like you can't dangle an extremely queer coded character in front of us and then just never make it canon. And I'm tired of one off implications too. We deserve better representation than a one liner played off for a joke (Batstantine this is about you I fear) but they won't because they know full well they won't do a damn thing with him after.

You wanna know what we should be striving for? Midnighter and Apollo. Messy their whole run time, uncompromisingly interesting whether they're together or not, happily married with a daughter, and yet continued to be unerringly bad ass. John Constantine, with all of his shameless flirting and raunchiness. Grace Choi and Anissa Pierce. The pining, the break ups, the make ups. Obsessed with them.

Joey Wilson!!! You want someone whose already canonically queer who Dick has a lot of tension with? He's right there! The son of Dick's arch Nemesis. Both of their willingness to go over people's heads to protect them. Joey's ability to completely take someone's free will (and his deliberate and spiteful choice not to) vs. Dick's constant fight for independence (and his willing surrender to the pull of his family). Dick's unwillingness to communicate his feelings or experiences with literally anyone ever paired with Joey's uncanny ability to read him like a book. Are you joking. The mess, the tension, the INTRIGUE!!

This got away from me but I want my queer characters to be interesting again pretty please.

The situation with Israel and Gaza reminds me so much of the United States right after the 9/11 attack in 2001. When every concern that the US should avoid killing civilians was met with, "Oh, so you don't support our troops and want the TERRORISTS to win??"

I was a young adult during 9/11 and I remember the fear and anger that roiled American. So I understand Israelis feeling those emotions. Anger is a natural emotion. But if you let it rule you, nothing good will come of it.

In 2001, I was as angry as any American and I thought we were right to go to war to Afghanistan, "to get the terrorists". (I was always against the Iraq war.) If I could travel back in time, I would tell younger-me, "It wasn't worth it." All that was accomplished was thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of innocent Afghans died. When our soldiers finally caught up with Osama bin Ladin and killed him . . . I felt nothing. To kill this one bad man, we left an ocean of dead innocents. And for what? Bombs can't kill terrorism any more than they can kill grief.

Looking at Israel, I am disturbed to see the highest members of its government label any criticism of it "anti-semitism" and equating empathy with the Gazans--a civilian population trapped, cut off from clean water, from food, from fuel--as "supporting Hamas." Anti-semitism does exist, of course, and it is wrong. But critiquing the political actions of a political state is not automatically "anti-semitic." Saying Gazans don't deserve to be indiscriminately killed is not "supporting terrorism."

It's so bitterly funny that the US State Department had a big media blitz to convince everyone "Israel didn't bomb a hospital, dont' get it twisted! It was a Hamas missile gone astray! We repeat, Israel DID NOT bomb a hospital!", and then Israel attacked, like, three hospitals. Supposedly there are Hamas tunnels under them.

Even if those tunnels exist, attacking a hospital is not justified. Because it's a hospital. And it doesn't even make sense in context. If someone told me "There are terrorists hiding under that hospital, they are armed and dangerous and have taken hostages," my first thought would be "Holy shit, we've got to evacuate the patients and medical staff before the terrorists take them hostage too!"

I would not think "Well, let's surround the place and prevent medical supplies from entering so the patients slowly die, while the terrorists escape via the tunnels that I think exist."

It seems like this 'war' is mostly about destroying as many lives and as much infrastructure as possible.

hello!! 💕💕 first of all, I'd like to say CONGRATS ON THE 1K FOLLOWERS!! honestly your work is so amazing you totally deserve it - reading your work is such a pleasure and such an inspiration, keep up the amazing work, Lui!! 💕💕

okok so now for my request:

may I humbly ask for the love of my life Blade with angst dialogue 10... (please be easy on my heart 💔)

anyways, have a lovely day!! I can't wait to see what you write for this event!! :)

❀ ˎˊ- prompt: "I didn't know where else to go." ❀ ˎˊ- 1k followers event ❀ ˎˊ- character: blade ❀ ˎˊ- warnings: angst ofc !! but not too heavy lmao, mentions of blood and injuries, brief mentions of blade's real name ❀ ˎˊ- a/n: AHHHH TY EL !!! UR SO SWEET I KEEP SAYING THIS BUT GRIPS U

Blade muttered a silent curse to himself, clutching at his bleeding arm as he hauled himself through the Xianzhou. Normally, he would've welcomed the injury, but this one didn't seem to be healing anytime soon.

The streets were uncharacteristically silent - something Blade found himself thankful for. It wouldn't do him any good if a civilian, or worse, a Cloud Knight, had found an injured Stellaron Hunter out in the streets.

He hardly paid attention to where his feet were taking him; he didn't care. Anywhere was fine, as long as it was away from the enemy.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of a familiar doorstep. Blade blinked, before cursing himself for his carelessness. He needed to get out of here, quick, before you figured out he was here.

He attempted to walk away, but instantly, his arm flared with pain. Blade hissed, glaring at his arm as if it had done something wrong. His arm did not reply.

He heaved a sigh. He'd love to just leave and treat his wound himself. But where to would he leave? Here, he was on enemy territory. No one would welcome him.

Lost in his turmoil, Blade failed to register the sound of your approaching footsteps. It was when you finally opened the door, and the light of your home cascaded onto him that he stiffened like a deer in headlights.

You looked as young as he remembered you - or rather, as much as he could remember you. Such was the fate of a long-lived species, he mused. Your eyes were wide with surprise, shock, and even fear.

"Yingxing?" you managed out in disbelief.

You took a step back, taking a defensive position. Somewhere, in the depths of Blade's guarded heart, something tightened painfully.

"What are you doing here?"

You tried to sound assertive, but the tremble in your voice gave you away. You were scared, and Blade knew it. He didn't blame you. He was a Stellaron Hunter, after all. Creating fear was part of his job - Kafka was particularly good at it.

Usually, he liked fear. He loved seeing it in the eyes of his enemies, their ego dropping to absolute terror when faced with an opponent far beyond their league.

But with you, something about it made his gut twist, as though something was wrong.

As Blade merely stared at you, conflicting emotions swirling in his eyes, you noticed his arm. His black coat was ripped, revealing the gaping slash wound.

"You're hurt," you stated the obvious. Blade cringed, but nodded.

"I..." he took a deep breath. For a moment, the criminal wanted by the IPC looked nervous, vulnerable. "I didn't know where else to go."

Your gaze dropped. It'd been centuries since you'd last seen Yingxing, or Blade. When you last saw him, he was the blacksmith of the High Cloud Quintet, a hero to the Xianzhou. Now, he was one of its most hated criminals.

If you let him into your home and were caught, you'd surely be arrested for treason.

Blade noticed your conflicted gaze. Despite expecting this result, he couldn't help a pit of disappointment from forming in his stomach. He straightened, hardening his gaze.

"Never mind," he said quietly, turning his back. "I apologize for bothering you."

"Wait."

Your voice stopped him in his tracks. You crossed your arms, wondering to yourself if you were insane, delusional, or perhaps just plain stupid.

"Come in," you sighed, quite honestly disappointed in yourself. "You'll get it infected at this rate."

Very reluctantly and confusedly, Blade followed you into your home. You pointed him to the couch, which he wordlessly sat himself on while you disappeared into another room, presumably to retrieve medical supplies.

His memory is foggy, but there's a sense of familiarity here. He briefly remembered the paintings that are hung up, the ones that you won in a bidding. He recognized the table at which you'd drink tea and discuss your day with him.

Flashes of memory flicker in his mind, but Blade immediately squashed them. He knew that delving into the past would only serve to irritate the mara lying dormant within him.

It wasn't long before you returned, holding a first aid kit and sitting down next to him.

"Can you take off your coat?" you asked. "It'll make things easier."

Blade followed suit, slowly unbuttoning his coat and letting it fall to the couch around him. Bandages were wrapped around his entire torso, while scars of many lives littered his skin like burned reminders.

You reached out a hand - but what for, you didn't know. To console him? To touch his scars, to give him even the slightest of comfort?

But you didn't. No, the relationship you two once had was no more. You no longer had the right to do so.

And so, you opted for bandaging him, cleansing the wound, applying ointment, and wrapping it. You stubbornly kept your eyes on the gash, no matter how much you hated the sight of blood, refusing to look up and meet Blade's burning gaze.

"You can stay the night."

Your mouth moved before your brain did. You almost didn't believe your own words, and immediately you wanted to take them back. Even Blade was shocked by your offer, staring at you as though you've grown a second head.

"But," you quickly added, "you need to be gone by tomorrow morning. I refuse to be arrested because you're found in my home."

Your words stung, but were understandable. Blade closed his eyes, and nodded. You stood up.

"There's an extra blanket and pillows in the closet," you said, packing up the first aid kit. "Goodnight, Yingxing."

"Blade," he corrected quietly. "I lost my right to that name a long time ago."

You were silent for a moment.

"Very well," you finally said. "Goodnight, Blade."

And as you left for your bedroom, leaving the criminal in your living room, you could barely hear the faintest of whispers from your old friend.

"Goodnight, [Name]."

reblogs w comments are appreciated !!

I've been on an unofficial hiatus for a while because recovery and adjusting to disability are both really hard, but i feel i do have to say something.

I am not pro-Israel. It's not just my political allignment that makes it impossible, but also my moral code.

Palestinian civilians have been displaced, wrongfullu incarcerated, killed, and otherwise subject to the Israeli government's military violence for decades now, plenty among them for peacefully protesting. Mandatory military service for Israeli citizens means any young adult who isn't willing to face jailtime for refusing to enlist is expected to be a tool of that military violence, and any who do enlist and say something in poor taste or genuinely offensive about it on social media becomes a much easier target than the ones actually in charge. Israeli soldiers ar facing depression and suicidal ideation from this war and Palestinian civilians are resorting to eating animal feed due to aid being cut off.

It is not Holocaust Inversion to say that the state of Israel is oppressing Palestinians

It is not Blood Libel to say Palestinians have had to look through rubble to find their dead childrens' body parts

Jewish people who cannot condone the actions of Israel for moral reasons do not deserve to be called self-hating for it

A massive loss of lives is never good, and it saddens me to hear of Israeli civilian deaths. I wish all those peaceful protests worked and this level of desperation had never been reached, but i cannot, in good conscience, condemn violent resistence to occupation, no matter who it comes from. Doing so cracks open the door for anyone to condemn any group they have a political grudge against for the same thing, and also to claim that they also deserve the total anihilation Israel seems intent on inflicting upon Gaza.

I hope that this war is called off. I hope that all of the hostages can return home. I hope that the brave and compassionate Israeli citizens who see the cruelty people inflict in their name for what it is and try to put a stop to it are victorious. I hope that from the River Jordan to the Mediteranian sea, Palestinians can walk freely among their grandparents' land without fear of bullets, bombs, or violence.

that’s exactly Javier Peña ten years later accepting a medal for his service, finally happy and smiling for having found peace and stability in his life after he’s found you. Now if you don’t mind I’ll go back in my delulu state goodbye

No no no no no bestie, we're gonna be delululu TOGETHER!!!

That's chief Javier Peña, retired from the government duty, former DEA agent and current chief of police in Laredo Tx. He's still a man of the law, but now all he needs to worry about is eventually arrest the town's drunk for disturbing the peace, bust some teenagers carrying weed and shut down sketchy Halloween parties with too much alcohol and loud music after midnight.

This Javi, is a happy man, he enjoys his work, it's easygoing, fun, and not dangerous; he doesn't have to worry about closing his eyes at night and seeing dead bodies, raped women, and all the horrors those cartels could do to civilians. He still misses the thrill so he goes hunting once in a while but maybe he's going too soft, but after all the years having to handle so much violence, he doesn't see the point in killing animals just for fun; Javi has become more of a fishing-and-then-letting-the-fish-go kind of guy, but eventually there are so thieves and even some tourists who think they can get by doing shit in his town, and then, Javi shows exactly what's like to deal with a former DEA agent who was able to take down the infamous Pablo Escobar

Javi lives in a beautiful ranch house, it's just a few miles away from his dad's ranch and he helped build his home with his own hands, and he's proud of that, he felt the need to leave the nest and find a beautiful home when he met the love of his life: you

Of course you knew who he was, everyone in Laredo knew who Javier Peña was, but unlike other people, you didn't kiss his butt because of Escobar, but you also didn't whisper behind his back about all the rumors concerning death and women from Colombia; or even worse, reliving that old story about him leaving Lorraine at the altar. She was over it and so was Javi, and yet, people still talked about it. You just treated him with kindness and sympathy, because you were kind and friendly with everyone and not just because he was *the* chief of police now, and then he was sold

PTSD was still pretty bad at night, even if he tried hiding it from you when you both started dating and eventually sleeping together, but you talked to him and convinced him to see a therapist, even if he didn't feel comfortable in going to one in Laredo because of all the gossip, you advised him to go to another nearby city and he decided to give it a go; as the sessions progressed, he felt the urge of telling you all about what happened in Colombia, all about the deaths, the job, the difficulties, the traumas and the hookers. He didn't want to, he was afraid you would be too grossed out to continue with him, but he also had the need to tell you, to show you he wasn't that man anymore, you could see the fear in his eyes, the worry and the fact he held his breath as you absorbed everything he'd told you, and then you placed your hand on his cheek and thanked him for his honesty, for his trust and for opening up, then you leaned towards him and pecked his lips, showing you that feeling; you reminded him he wasn't that man anymore, he didn't have to fear being alone because he didn't deserve that, he deserved happiness, he deserved a home and he deserved a family he could rely on. His lonely hooker nights were long gone, because he had you now and you would make sure to support him

Eventually his nightmares stopped and he was able to sleep peacefully through the night, without having to down whiskey before bed, all he needed was to become drunk in you

So when the DEA called and offered him a medal for his work, he got ready in his tight jeans because he could still pull it off in his perfect body, his silky red shirt and got you by his side, loving how beautiful you looked in your dress, the way you were glowing just a few weeks after you both found out your first baby Peña was on the way, when he held his medal, he looked straight at you because even if he didn't even know you back in the day that made him earn that medal, you were his present and his future and he knew he couldn't have done it without you ❤️

I'm so glad to have encountered a fellow Cecil stan. I freaking love coming up with headcanons for Cecil, platonic or romantic, because he's such an interesting character. For real though feel free to dump any Cecil headcanons (platonic or romantic) on me anytime.

AWAAAA!! YES HAII OTHER CECIL AFICIONADO !!! im so glad theres more of us sprouting out here. my wife is so underappreciated, you have no idea how much he means to me. i'd love to req n swap headcanons anytime !! I have so many thoughts on that morally ambiguous gilf.

[messy, disorganized surface level autism rambling ahead. this will be just random scenes and characteristics i like of him]

BUT YES .. cecil's character is just so interesting to analyze. he does unethical, necessary things. But he doesn't subscribe to idealistic notions of "the greater good" or justifying his actions to make himself sleep better at night. He knows the harsh reality that someone has to make the difficult decisions, no matter how unethical. The psychological toll it takes to calculate how many civilian lives can be spared, and how many are inevitably lost in order to achieve the optimal outcome. He doesn't celebrate after victories like the other heroes do. After the dust settles, his mind is already racing - calculating, strategizing how to prevent future catastrophes. How to minimize casualties next time.

his methods are...questionable,, as ive said,, but there's a hint of nobility to it that just makes you respect him, A SHADY GOVERNMENT CHAR that does the dirty work and takes in all the heat for it so no one else has to? SIGN ME TF UP! i love exploring his character and all the little glimpses of humanity we get to see from him,, especially with debbie, SO SOFT FOR HER, there's so much depth there. that old fuck would MOVE mountains for her if he could,, TRUST. EVEN though he doesnt deserve her .. <<

LETS CONTINUE TO CIRCLE BACK TO S1 with his confrontation w Nolan in the desert, the way he entrusted his survival to the skills of his team operating that teleporter watch (I'm aware he can control it himself, I think this was just my interpretation of it since the employees seemed directly involved here). The margin for error was nonexistent. One miscalculation, one millisecond too slow, and Cecil would have been reduced to a red smear across miles of sand. MY WIFE HAS BALLS ON HIM. (also love walton goggins breathy lil giggles here .. hwaghffhh)

All this, All the whilst Nolan could have ended him with a casual backhand, as easily as swatting a fly. And for what? For humanity's (mostly his) right to know the truth. For Debbie's right to understand what she had truly married because Cecil respects her that fucking much for her to have a part in all of this, and what fate may lay in store for her son.

AND what I particularly liked about that scene is that unlike most SHADY GOV CHARS ™.. Cecil isn't afraid to regularly place himself in life-threatening situations, and for that im just.. FKING obsessed. finally. a hyper competent gov char that gets shit done and occasionally by his own hands instead of always puppeteering in the shadows. Love u .. love u honey snooch, please stop putting yourself in danger for your crazy alien side-hoes .

but ahem ... back to s2.. and some flaws of his that i'm not afraid to point out. the way he's been treating mark is killing me. manipulating my son by comparing him to his dad then keeping him on lock by saying he's not like him??? The breadcrumming definitely didn't work out at all, cuz Mark is too damn stubborn to continue to be swindled by fear tactics he does not give a shit for anymore (homegirl DEBBIE taught him better) hes not gonna listen to a cranky skullet-having side bitch of nolans who clearly has been tryna manipulate him since s1. i HATED how he went "ur broke tyrannical bitch father felt the same way" in the last minute when mark tried to leave earth and yet i still lobve ceci cause ough,,.. my bastard wife knew something was probably up.

Him wanting to keep a short leash on MARKY could be summed up after all that has happened in s1. i'm not going to justify his scummy manipulations or paranoia,, especially after all the shit mark has done and endured to prove himself over and over again that he's not like his father BUT its somewhat understandable for cecil 2 be wary if you look from it in his perspective.

moving on from that, lets dive back into ep 2 ..

Debbie was semi-right in her deduction in s2 ep2, that this is what it's really all about for Cecil - being in control. Not of any situation, but of Mark. To ensure history does not repeat itself in the form of Mark becoming another Nolan. imo He likely doesn’t actually view Mark as his father, Not saying the possibility of it being a part of Cecil's subconsciousness is out of the equation but the way I see it? He was just exploiting that one weakness, that one insecurity Mark has - the fear of becoming like Nolan. And it’s a fear Cecil seemed to prey upon to keep Mark under his thumb and in the fucking GAME.

awaaaa :3 !!!! psychologically damaging teens by comparing them to their abhorrently shitty fathers !! FUCK YOJ STEDMAN (love you snookums..)

,,,,I'd also like to think in my warped deluded perception (aka hcs) that he sees Debbie in Mark, so he can't help but care for the kid too. IVE ALWAYS seen a lot of comparisons between Mark and his dad, plus the whole motif of this new season hasn't helped it allay. But Debbie and Mark share so many similar characteristics as well and i wish that was talked a bit more often &lt; 3 (I will go in depth about it at a later post.)

n umm like ...,,, bck to cici in gen. I guess the safety of earth is one of Cecil's redeeming qualities along with his compassion for side characters like Debbie. His pragmatism and utilitarianism define him. He lacks normal morals but has his own code that cultivates to his character. this ramble could not do justice to him ughfglg..,, what a compelling jezebel.. how can u captivate me so !!

My inbox is always open to discuss this multi-faceted rat man. here's to more cecil content in s2..,... hopefully with more of his dynamic with Debbie because I LIVE for that shit. though its unlikely their interactions could range to anything positive now since they may be hinting to cecil becoming an antagonist and/or taking extreme measures w/ mark. soo.. i dont think debbie's scolding was enough for that slut 2 take in ..

in the mean time i'll be catching up on the comics/re-reading them, look up more of his backstory and hopefully create 10 novels worth of google docs of analysis' of his character < 3 cuz .. he means .. that much 2 me.. and i want to prod at every crevice n brain matter he has inside that megamind head of his .

((hwaghhhhhh << hoping that one day the discord moots ive been keeping in my basement and most invincible fans fall victim to cecil stedman propoganda.. no one should be immune to my girlboss and his awful skullet.))