Thinkin’ about...how political motivations influence cultural stereotypes in Caesar’s Gallic War commentaries.

(Christina Kraus, “Bellum Gallicum,” A Companion to Julius Caesar)

The Gauls as a whole are not portrayed as ignorant, incompetent, or as savage brutes, and Caesar is not aiming to demonize or exterminate them. But that isn’t out of any kindness or broad-mindedness on Caesar’s part. His aim is instead to subjugate Gaul, to turn it into a province like Spain or Sicily, and to do so he needs to show his Roman readers that Gauls can be assimilated into the Roman system: as tax-payers, as military auxiliaries, and potentially even as citizens. And Caesar did grant citizenship (and legal rights) and spoils of war to a lot of Gauls, and appointed (Romanized) Gauls to the Senate, much to the horror of more xenophobic traditionalists.

Make no mistake, though, this is still imperialism. Caesar, like virtually all Romans of his time, saw foreign nations as threatening unless they could prove themselves friendly (e.g. via offering gifts, trade and military support), and the Roman response to threats was “kill the other guy before he can kill you.” But as Rosenstein points out earlier in this book, that ethos was the norm in the ancient Mediterranean, not particular to Caesar or the Romans.

I wonder if the “long peace” since 1945 has influenced modern multiculturalism by granting us the opportunity to get to know other nations as peaceful allies, and to not see their independence as a threat to our interests. (Gods know that’s the world I’d rather live in.)

I was wondering if there are any rare happy ritsu moments in ur zombie au since hes always miserable I think,, like is he always miserable or is he happy/not miserable and feeling kinda good sometimes?

VWHDGDGD NO YEAH OFC HE'S HAPPY SOMETIMES im just horrible and enjoy putting him through misery

ive never been able to get a genuine smile to look right on his face in my art style either i think thats part of it. as ive said his face is just built to be mildly uncomfortable and bothered and i lean into it sm it's starting to get kinda funny

but yes ritsu is happy plenty! i think, canonically, he just seems like the type of person to me that tends to turn lemonade back into lemons. he's easy to scare and his first reaction to things is often Dread and Anxiety. he dwells on the negatives a lot and seems to be a "hope for the best, expect the worst," kinda guy, but there's a section in this post abt shigeo always loving the little things in life, and ritsu steadily learns throughout the journey on how to do that and how healing it can rly be. even if he had to grow up too fast during this whole thing and learn things a kid should never have to, the journey also gave him some good insight and lessons in other places! ritsu is smart, he figures it all out

in terms of little things here n there he's the happiest lil guy on the planet when he finds one of his favorite foods—swings his legs while he sits and munches on a kitkat bar like he's got absolutely nothin in the world to worry abt. sometimes mob does smth funny that he laughs at; for the longest time i've had this silly image in my head of mob accidentally knocking down a bucket from a store shelf and it lands on his head and he just kinda stands there and makes noises.when the noises continue out of pure curiosity about the weird echoey quality it's giving them ritsu cannot help but lose it

besides tiny things tho, when tome comes around ritsu in general is a lot happier, just cuz he has somebody to talk to that will actually respond in some way. they're sorta reluctant partners in crime at first (at least on ritsu's end) but over time and over bonding they grow to rly like each other's presence. they bicker constantly but it's almost always fond eventually, and they shove each other and playfight until mob gets antsy enough to get worked up about it. rly, tome is a godsend to ritsu's mental health—after months and months of being effectively alone with his thoughts, he finally has another person to converse with. a person His Age, too!

tome is rly good at knowing when ritsu is thinkin himself into oblivion and she's Also rly good at being the most annoying girl on the planet to yank him outta that and replace any misery with Oh My God Get Off Me You Freak. she doesn't even do this on purpose at first, but over time she learns how to tell when he's thinking too hard and, ofc, she's grown attached and she cares, so she's as obnoxious as possible to lighten the mood

when they find reigen n teru, ritsu gradually gets Much happier still. now that he knows they're safe and the gang is finally back together (and now that there's an Adult present and he can relax a lil and let himself be taken care of) his stress levels r exponentially lowered. having teru back is another instant lift to his mood—im always a big fan of teru and ritsu friendship, and i think adding tome to their dynamic simply makes it more chaotic. truly a trio of the 3 most normal teenagers in existence which will surely bring nothing but good (reigen sweats offscreen)

actually this makes me feel bad for forever torturing him im gonna go draw happy zau ritsus brb ,.,.ok imback <3

But my head rolls with the multiple layers of orym's intent in asking fearne “are you with me?” And then upon fearne validating that outreach, immediately putting it to fearne that she’s “going to be the one who has to… do the thing”. god knows orym trusts fearne but I honestly do believe that he knows enough, not judgmentally at all, to know fearne and know that as much as kindness can be in her nature, her nature is chaos. And it can’t be lost on orym with his perception to have caught those moments when imogen tests how brazen she can go, that fearne doesn’t oppose it at all but instead blithely joins in those moments. Yes, orym’s entire motivation is stopping the people who killed his family, stopping the end from swallowing all of the people he still cherishes in his world, his motivation and intensity is absolutely justified in its desperation, that he has the humility to acknowledge that he can support but he can’t be the only one jumping into the position of most danger for once. that orym tells fearne “YOU HAVE to be THE ONE” and assigns that severity of responsibility to an irresponsible (affectionate) fey creature of nonchalant chaos and blasé violence, it’s so much more than just a sudden “it’s on you”. he’s not just tapping fearne on the shoulder to have them suit up to stop imogen together if it comes to that, the way orym watches fearne, and watches. fearne. WANT. to dismiss his level of concern and plea to her; it’s like orym testing fearne, testing her reaction, testing her resolve, and while I believe he sincerely wants to trust her and he does trust his connection with her, orym wouldn’t love fearne completely if he didn’t also love her nature. In all its dangers. And I just love that if it wasn’t just a simple “we’re gonna do this, and YOU have to do THIS”, there’s like a splintering of more love orym has for his best friend because it’s like “I am asking you to be something other than who you are, but I will love you though my heart will break for you even if you can’t”. like this conversation was less about orym devising a contingency plan to keep imogen out of initiative and more so genuinely and so orym-ly confronting fearne about how much he needs her on his side, even if that breaks his heart to put that clearly unbearable task specifically on her shoulders, explicitly telling her “I am RELYING on YOU to potentially take out someone who appeals to your nature, a friend”, it’s like orym can be better prepared if he also needs to consider the depths of how much fearne’s nature silently aligns with her desires in the upcoming altercation. And it’s like this degree of discomfort he deliberately (though not lightly) puts on fearne actually could help her in making whatever decision she’s going to make and not make it as lightly as she might have before. orym, who was there when fearne first started to feel experiences so deeply, who has been through everything of sincerity and companionship, looking her in the eyes and pleading her to willingly choose the harder path. even though he knows just how painful it’s going to be.

Night in the Woods and Pathologic 2 are literally the same game, beyond a few superficial contrasts in presentation there isn’t a single difference.

sometimes making up a headcanon and then basing your entire critique of a story on that headcanon. is stupid

i had shared what is happening in sudan on a long facebook post last night, but it virtually received almost little to no engagement or shares from the nearly 600 “friends” i have on the site.

this morning, my great-aunt was shot by the soldiers fighting for power, and God forbid, i lose more of my family members before eid this friday.

please read below to understand what is happening and how you can help my country. i hope the tumblr community can show more kindness than the lack of support and advocacy i’ve seen elsewhere.

يا رب اجعل هذا البلد آمناً 🇸🇩

the lack of awareness and advocacy from the African, Arab, and Muslim diaspora and the human rights community has been painful.

while Western media has done little to no coverage of the ongoing conflict in the capital city of my motherland, Sudan, it appears that the rest of the world also partakes in normalizing crimes and violence against SWANA people.

violence and war hurting the SWANA region are NOT ordinary occurrences — no one, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, religion, and gender, should experience the unprecedented amount of violence that harms my two living grandmothers, aunts and uncles, and baby cousins who live in Khartoum.

your decision to ignore reading or educating and discussing with others about what is likely to be a civil war is complicity in viewing SWANA people as individuals who regularly experience conflict and are undeserving of help.

the silence is damaging, and it is up to us as privileged members of the diaspora (or individuals living in the Western world committed to human rights) to support the people of my country and their dream for a stable, democratically elected government.

what is happening in Sudan is a fight that started on April 15 between two competing forces for power — the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — neither groups are representative of the needs of our people. The Sudan Army is loyal to the dictator, Omar Al-Bashir, and the RSF is responsible for the genocide in Darfur.

with both power struggles backed by different Arab and Gulf nations, the two parties have been fighting for power for the last few years. While they worked together to try and end the people’s revolution, they lost. however, they are now in a constant power play of who will get to rule the nation.

this all means that war is NOT a reflection of my country — violence does not represent the SWANA people. Sudan is a nation of beautiful culture, strong women, intellectual and influential Islamic scholars, poets, and youth at the front lines of the revolution. we are a people committed to a region of peace for ourselves and the rest of the Ummah.

my family and the rest of Sudan’s innocent civilians are at the most risk, with many currently without drinking water, food to eat, electricity, and complete blockage to any mosques during the final nights of Ramadan, our holiest month of the year.

i ask that you please keep Sudan and our people in your prayers — donate to the Sudan Red Crescent or a mutual aid GoFund Me, email your representatives if you live in a country that can put pressure on either competing force of power, discuss this with your family and friends, and please do not forget to think about SWANA people — our brothers and sisters in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and many others need our love and support.

الردة_مستحيلة ✊🏾

#KeepEyesOnSudan

One of the best things about the Ansar Allah enforced naval blockade, besides the economic harm being done to Israel, the rest of the world being forced to isolate Israel, America's might crumbling at sea, and other countries like Malaysia being inspired to act, is that it forces people to keep talking about Palestine.

In the first month of the genocide there was so much pro Palestine fervor, more than I had ever seen before. Many zionists were consoling themselves by outright stating that the rest of the world would get tired of seeing the conflict and move on, allowing Israel to act with impunity. And unfortunately all signs were pointing to that. Pro Palestine content was starting to get suppressed on social media. The protests got smaller and smaller.

Then Yemen started seizing and attacking Israel linked ships because Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians. Every single statement put out by the Ansar Allah group mentions the genocide, makes sure that everyone knew that's why they were attacking those specific ships. Multiple large shipping companies had to change their routes. Israeli port city of Eliat is practically a ghost town now. America has tried and failed to form a coalition that can take on the Yemenis (for the second time in a decade, the first time being the Saudi-led coalition that has destroyed large parts of Yemen and caused the deaths of over 300,000 civilians).

Suddenly, the whole world was affected by the genocide. It's impossible to ignore it which means the protests, boycotts, disruptions at companies that are arming Israel, etc are still on going. People are still talking about Palestine on social media. More importantly than all of that is countries being forced by their citizens or their own interests to call for a ceasefire. Would Canada or the UK call for a ceasefire if their citizens and the world at large had stopped paying attention to Gaza? Definitely not.

Every UN resolution ends on the conflict the same way - almost every country in the world calls for increased humanitarian aid to Gaza as well as an end to the violence, except the US and Israel. Rather than isolating Palestine, the two countries are isolating themselves and losing a great deal of soft power in the process. I doubt this would have happened this quickly without the naval blockade.

“The demon is back.” Eddie pokes into Steve’s side to wake him up.

“Babe, please go back to sleep.” Steve shoves his face into the pillow, making his voice muffled.

“Steeeeve.” Eddie whines, “It’s really there I swear this time. And I locked the door so I know it’s the demon again. Nothing else can get inside.”

“Eddie.” Steve squishes his face even deeper into the mattress. “You do this at least once a week. I love you; I do. But I never look because there is no demon. And every morning, you wake up fine. So please, go back to sleep.”

“What if I promise never to mention it again if it’s not really there? Will you look then?” This time Eddie’s voice wavers, his actual terror showing.

Steve sighs and shifts his head to look at Eddie, “This is really freaking you out, huh?” He says it kindly. Steve can tell this is serious to Eddie. So even if he doesn’t believe it, Eddie does. And what’s important to Eddie is important to Steve.

Eddie nods back furiously.

“Okay, I’ll look.” Steve shifts his head towards the other side, where the chair by the window sits. There, sitting in that corner is a dark shadowy figure. “Oh.”

“See! I told you! Demon! Oh god, it’s gonna get us.” Eddie throws his hands up. Even though he’s terrified, he’s accepted defeat.

“No.” Steve says calmly. “It’s just El.”

Eddie pauses his rant, “What?”

“It’s just El. In the corner. She does that sometimes, watches people she cares about until she falls asleep. To make sure they’re safe.” Steve looks at Eddie.

“The door was locked! How are you so calm about one of the kids just watching us at night?”

“Honey, she has mind powers. I don’t think a flimsy lock from Home Depot is going to stop her.” Steve deadpans before shrugging, “And it’s El. She could ask me to kill a man, and I probably wouldn’t even ask questions.”

“What if she asked you to kill me?”

“I’d be conflicted.”

“I want to be mad, but honestly I think I’d hand you the knife.” Eddie sighs, looking down at Steve.

Steve scoffs, “Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t stab you. I’d obviously sneak some kind of poison into your honeycombs. Way less messy.”

Eddie goes back to nearly shouting, “Why have you thought about this?!”

“Honestly, I have a lot of intrusive thoughts. I just don’t speak them out loud.”

Despite the fact they are actively talking about his murder, Eddie can’t help but get all gooey with Steve in their bed. “Is this why you don’t get mad when I think aloud? Another reason why you just get me. Adding that tally to the ‘why we are great together’ column.”

“Yes, we’re pretty amazing. Can we go back to sleep now?” Steve smiles.

“Yes—wait, no.” Eddie corrects himself, getting himself back on track. He loves this man, but he is a sneaky little minx. “Why did El never say anything? I mean, this is not the first time I accused her of being a demon. Hell, we’ve been talking for literally five minutes, and she still hasn’t said anything. Also, what if she walked in on us doing, ya know, adult stuff?” Eddie blushes at the end. He’s acting like he hasn’t been whispering way worse things in Steve’s ear every night.

“First off, she won’t walk in on that. Apparently Max taught her about happy screams a long time ago.”

“Gross.”

“Yeaaa. Second, I’m pretty sure she’s asleep right now.”

Huh, now that Eddie thinks about it, he does hear soft little snores. Which is weird since neither he nor Steve snores, and they are both, ya know, awake.

“And I don’t think El speaking in a dark corner would have helped your fears. Like imagine just hear her soft “Hello” at 2 a.m.” Steve raises an eyebrow.

“I—okay I got nothing.”

“Fantastic can we go back to sleep now?”

Eddie gives one last shout, “You’re not going to stop her?”

“Are you going to tell her no? And make her worry?”

Eddie slinks down into the covers, “...no.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Eddie curves his body into Steve’s, seeking him out. Steve wraps his arms around Eddie, securing him to his chest. “Thank you for indulging me.”

Steve hums. “Anything for you baby. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Eddie kisses Steve lightly.

“I love you both as well.” El’s voice suddenly speaks into the silent room.

“Jesus Christ!” Eddie screams.

Steve can’t help the giggles that come out of him. He tries to smother them into Eddie’s shoulder.

Eddie can’t find it in himself to be mad.

———

some people seemed interested in more el + Steve sibling energy. And they are a sibling-like duo I love. So here’s a little something but more steddie involved. I think all three of their relationship would be very sweet. Both Eddie and Steve would protect el. I hope you enjoyed :)

Definitely didn’t have a mental breakdown about life repeating itself today and almost loosing another friend then drew vent art in flex class and showed it to my ela teacher because I was like “holy shit!!!! it’s symbolism!!!!! look at that the thing we are talking about right now!!!” And then info-dumped about my story and definitely nope definitely didn’t turn yet another writing project into an excuse for writing about my stories NOPE NOT AT ALL-

Okay compiling my most critical opinions on the pjo show so far (episodes 1 & 2)

The Gods' Conflict, Foreshadowing, & Big Three Kids

The show has seemingly dropped a lot of the foreshadowing and threat regarding the gods impending war over the theft of the lightning bolt. In the book, Percy remarks about how the weather's been inexplicably weird and extreme. When he gets to camp everyone is on pins and needles about something and they don't want to talk about it but its still very present. By the time he's claimed as a son of Poseidon and everyone's like "oh fuck" and then Chiron finally explains to Percy that the gods think he's the lightning thief, everything clicks into place for the reader. It all makes sense why everything seems so wrong... because things are wrong. Meanwhile in the show, that doesn't carry through as much, so the reveal of the conflict between the gods and why that's a big deal falls flat in comparison imo.

They dropped/stalled the foreshadowing of the fates and the cutting of the string. They could very well include this in future episodes, and probably will, but I think the timing of it - Percy seeing this before he even knew he was a demigod - again carries some hefty significance and helped set the foreboding tone of things being wrong even from the beginning.

They did drop Zeus's attack on Percy in the minotaur battle completely, which does disappoint me. In the book, its lightning that blasts the car off the road. In the show, Sally seemingly loses control of the car. That change is pretty significant, because it's again losing the power of RR's foreshadowing in the book. The attack on Percy outside the camp borders was a duel attack from Zeus and Hades.

Finally, I don't like the changes they made to Percy's claiming scene, namely, the reaction from the rest of CHB. Percy being a son of Poseidon is a huge deal. When Percy's claimed, the attitude is very much begrudging reverence paired with genuine fear of what it means and what he represents. In the book, Percy is claimed. People gasp. Everyone kneels. Annabeth says, "This is really not good." In the show, Percy is claimed. People... stand there? Annabeth smiles - she's going to get her quest. The only person who has the most outright negative reaction is Luke. I won't go so far to say this is out of character for Annabeth, but it is focusing on an entirely different aspect of her character in the moment, and what the audience gets from Percy's claiming scene here, the tone, is now different from the book. Basically, the reverence and fear don't really carry across to the show, which I think is important.

The phrase "forbidden child" slaps tho.

2. Gabe's Characterization, Sally's Characterization, & Why the Changes do Make a Difference

I'm going to say this with great care: The show has absolutely depicted an abusive relationship between Sally and Gabe. The show has shown Sally to be a strong woman who would do anything for her child. The show has shown Gabe to be a controlling, toxic man.

What they have depicted in the show does not read like the characters and dynamic in the books.

Book Gabe is a violent, menacing drunk. He is so disgusting and vile that monsters avoid him. This is overwhelmingly apparent from the second Percy gets home in the book, even before he is aware of the physical abuse Sally has been facing. Percy has already been dealing with physical abuse from him, amongst other things (edit to be more specific: this is including verbal, emotional, & financial abuse). I've already spoke to it here, in-depth, so I'll try to keep it short but all of this has not been translated accurately to the screen. (Is this to say that a person must be overtly abusive to be abusive? No. But does this character on-screen feel like Smelly Gabe? No.) These things have shaped Percy (and Sally) in very specific ways. As others have mentioned: Percy cannot stand alcohol. He meets Dionysus and is reminded of his step-father. He gets to Tartarus and the air reminds him of Gabe.... The character on screen, while abusive, does not share this presence at all, and that makes a difference.

Edit: To emphasize once more, I am not saying that the show has not depicted a realistic portrayal of abuse. It has (verbal, emotional, & financial so far). It has also distinctly changed the tone and Gabe's presence from the book, to the extent that it no longer feels like the same character and that does have a rippling effect on the dynamics he shares with both Sally and Percy.

3. The Lack of Annabeth

Annabeth in the show is just like... really not as present as she is in the book so far, and I'm just kinda like, why lol?

Annabeth in the books is already way more involved in Percy's life. She was in the infirmary feeding Percy ambrosia after the attack (ulterior quest motives lol), she's the one who lead Percy around camp and re-explained godly parentage to him - and its a moment where she's very sincere with him, and even trying to help him! Instead these moments are given to Chiron and Luke, which I do get the merit of, but still, these were her moments!

Annabeth in the books had already surmised that the gods were fighting, something was stolen, and the something bad was going to happen, all before Percy had even been claimed. And she shared that with him! Again, the loss of foreshadowing and little bonding moments has me :(

I'm a little worried how they're going to deal with her crush on Luke because its pretty central to her character in the books! It helps Luke to manipulate her and also keeps her from admitting he's done something wrong. Also, it was very sweet and funny reading her get flustered - It drove home the point that she was just a kid with a crush that she didn't know how to handle. But in the show Luke spoke to her and I was expecting there to be some sort of reaction to it and there just... wasn't? (This is not something I'm laying at Leah's feet btw! Only the writers/directors!) We're only two episodes in tho so maybe we'll see it some more moving forward.

4. The Minotaur Battle

Again, I've already spoken about this in depth here but !!

The lack of Zeus's lightning strike, them all coming to a standstill and just chatting instead of running for their lives, Grover being awake and just sort of off to the side watching the fight, Sally being like "Promise Me Grover Swear it"... it all just doesn't ring right to me

I wanted more panic, more terror, more urgency. Higher stakes. I wanted Grover unconscious, I wanted to see Percy drag him into camp, and I wanted to see more of Percy's grief alongside his rage. Like the book did.

The pacing in the show here, and just overall, is weird

5. Other Stuff

Mrs. Dodds fight kind of fell flat too. It was honestly too sudden and Percy killing her in the show seemed even more accidental than in the book lol. Like, accidental impalement vs intentional swing of the sword.

They really had show Grover throw Percy to the wolves and not just gaslight him, but low-key have a part in getting him expelled? Not sure how I feel about it tbh.

More New York. I wish we had gotten the part of Percy taking the bus home with Grover included cause like? Him ditching Grover was funny, but it would have been the perfect opportunity to show Percy traveling through New York and establish it has his home. Shots of him looking at the city, walking the streets, interacting with people near his building.. yeah.

More Montauk too tbh. Like more shots of him and Sally on the beach rather than just the cabin.

Nectar and Ambrosia! Unless I missed it, which I might have, why have we still not gotten an onscreen depiction of it yet lmao.

Since my nausea problem was solved (and I feel slightly dumb for not finding that slider but better late than never) I am keeping on with Andromeda! And yeah ahm. I see the criticism of Cora. The more I learn of her the more annoying she gets and the more I want to throw Jack (and Kaidan but a bit less) into her face.

Actually no, I want to throw Jack and Kaidan into the face of whoever wrote her, cause she deserved better.

Yandere! Baki Headcanons

Featuring Baki & Yuujirou Hanma, Kaiou Retsu, and Pickle. Vaguely NSFW perhaps. Female reader.

[Baki Masterlist] [Part II]

Baki Hanma

Baki is overall very gentle, caring and kind. It’s just that sometimes his emotions spill out and he doesn’t know how to deal with it.

He often daydreams about his future with you, but occasionally his mind wanders to unpleasant scenarios as well. What if you stop loving him? What if you become tired of him? The thought petrifies him and that’s when the scary feelings take over. He can’t possibly let you go, just like that. How far is he willing to go to keep you with him? He hasn’t found an answer yet and hopes he won’t have to find out.

He’s very protective and can be unpredictable, depending on your reaction. He’s relaxed when it comes to other people approaching you, but if he senses the slightest discomfort coming from you he might lose his temper. Whoever dared to make you upset will immediately regret it.

Baki is always very careful not to hurt you or scare you, though when he’s very excited he might be rougher than expected. Intense intimate moments might reveal a very dominant side of him that reminds you he’s a Hanma.

I feel like he’d enjoy marking his ownership. Baki has a lot of scars as proof of his training, so he’d like to display his love in a similar manner. Whether it’s a heavily scratched back, hickeys or bite marks, he likes to leave his prints on you and adores showing off his own. You’re all his and he’s all yours and he wants the entire world to know.

How quickly he can go from a shy confession to firmly holding onto your wrist and begging you to reassure him of your love. His voice breaks into a quiet pleading growl and you can feel shivers of fear running down your spine. You poor thing, there's nothing to be afraid of. Just pure, honest devotion.

Yuujirou Hanma

Yuujirou is extremely prideful and I feel this could be the main reason behind his obsessive behavior: he’s proud to own and display you to others.

He takes great pride in knowing that no one else has this kind of access to you and he will make it known with every chance that you’re his partner.

He’s not very possessive, in the sense that he’s 100% confident you’ll never find someone as good as him. It doesn’t get better than this and he knows you’re aware. Other people flirting with you? He might briefly watch from afar and thoroughly enjoy the pathetic, pitiful attempts.

Yuujirou acknowledges your strength, so the fact that you’d willingly submit to him makes him dizzy with delight. He adores the absolute dominance he has over you and he can barely contain himself just thinking about it.

I feel like he would really, really enjoy public displays. Having other men witness the lewd sounds and expressions you make, knowing fully that they can only dream of the control he has over you is intoxicating and addictive.

He doesn’t even entertain the idea that you might someday leave him. Someone like you can only be satisfied by someone like him and vice versa. You’re smart enough to recognize it, too.

For the first time he doesn’t consider having a lover as a sign of weakness. You’re worthy enough and he sees you as further proof of his power.

Kaiou Retsu

You wouldn’t be able to tell that Retsu is a yandere for you. He takes pride in his self discipline and he’d never allow himself to expose his weakness to you.

In fact, he’s very conflicted about his feelings and embarrassed to admit such frightful, violent urges. He’s terrified he might hurt you someday, but then again, you’d never give him a reason to. You’d never leave him or upset him, would you?

He is discreetly jealous and possessive, though he doesn’t consider it a bad thing. A new rival just means a new opportunity to prove himself to you and show you that nobody else compares. Sometimes the threat goes away by itself, sometimes he has to interfere, but the result is the same: your bond tightens.

Retsu is calculated and analytical and this becomes particularly handy when interacting with you. He can read you like an open book and knows your likes, dislikes, interests and desires by heart. You often comment on his caring nature: “How did you know I was upset?”, “This is actually my favorite dish!”. Of course, he knows.

Sometimes he might go a little overboard on his quest to know you better. He’s rather good at sneaking around and while he does trust you 100%, he can’t say the same about the perverts out there roaming the streets. When you tell him about the latest hangout with your friends he nods lovingly and tries his best to pretend he didn’t just witness every second of it.

I feel like he might really enjoy kinbaku (Japanese bondage). It’s an artful, traditional form of expressing power and restraint. Seeing you tied up reminds him that you belong only to him.

Pickle

Pickle can be defined by mostly raw affection. He lacks the language to express his intricate feelings, but his love for you is there nonetheless.

He is very confused by everything around him and the change frightens him greatly. He needs a constant in his life that he can cling onto, and that constant happens to be you. You’re the only thing that brings him peace in the unknown and he feels like he can’t function properly if you’re not around.

He’s extremely possessive and territorial. He has difficulty understanding the intentions of people around you, and he doesn’t want to take any risks. So anyone getting too close becomes a rival that causes him to go feral.

He absolutely loves naked cuddles. The skin to skin contact soothes him and reminds him of the peaceful days of the past. He wishes you’d ditch the bizarre robes you insist on wearing.

Pickle is very intelligent and gradually learns to integrate in this new society. He’s not as hostile towards it as he was in the beginning, since this strange new world brought him to you and he couldn’t be more thankful for it. It can’t be that bad, then.

Fighting becomes his way to impress and entertain you. It seems that he no longer needs to hunt for food, but what he can do is to show you just how powerful he is and how easily he can protect you from anything.

You had to password the TV because he’s learned to use it and tries to recreate whatever he sees on the screen, whether just plainly romantic or downright inappropriate.

Since Israel began its assault on Gaza in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack, one of the most devastating architectural victims has been a historic, centuries-old mosque. Initially constructed as a Byzantine church in the fifth century, it became known as the Great Omari Mosque in the seventh century, the first-ever mosque to be established in Gaza during the period of Islamization. Gaza’s strategic coastal location has allowed it to bear witness to many changes: 11th-century Crusaders converted the mosque back into a church, which was converted to a mosque again a century later. The region has weathered much conflict, having played a role in many different empires. “Gaza was actually a sizable city under the Byzantines and, before them, the Romans, and was a [political] center…for the Mamluk Empire in the 13th through 15th centuries. And that’s when it probably reached its highest level of administrative power,” Nasser Rabbat, the director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT, tells me. “Gaza was the place where the [Mamluk] army would congregate on the way to their campaigns in northern Syria, in the Euphrates region, or in Anatolia against its host of enemies.” The Great Omari Mosque reflected this history. It had been damaged and rebuilt many times over the centuries: attacked by the Mongols in the 13th century, battered by an earthquake a few decades later, restored and expanded in the Ottoman era, and partially destroyed by British bombs in World War I, only to be restored once more. Now it’s been effectively obliterated; only some walls and one minaret remain. This is—make no mistake—a deliberate element of the Israeli campaign to erase all traces of Palestinian life.

Dottore SAGAU

daddy’s home 😘

JUST GENERAL IDEAS ABOUT DOTTORE BEING UR PARTNER IN SAGAU

(Dottore x gn! Reader)

——————————————————————————————————

The people are confused. You, the creator of all of teyvat, decide to court him? I mean sure he’s the 2nd fatui harbinger— strong, powerful, intelligent. But a mad scientist? Really? who instead of worshipping you, likes to stick needles in you (consensually ofc :3) for science? 

The people are baffled. Trying to come to terms with it, but still baffled. 

The Akademiya is in shambles. If you approve of Dottore and his methods, surely it’s blasphemy to not allow his type of research? They’re conflicted. Their Grace is kind and merciful, why would they enjoy the experiments of such a deranged man?

The fatui are having a field day. Powerful or not, their reputation (morally, atleast) is horrible. And now they have THE Creator approving of one of their highest ranked harbingers ! The regular folk start to think. If their grace is okay with the harbingers, perhaps the fatui isn’t that bad. You’ve basically manipulated all of Teyvat’s morals. Wonderful.

Dottore? He’s ecstatic. The moment he gets the green light from you to be public about your relationship, he is never shutting the fuck up. Absolutely abuses his power as your partner. More access to materials, more access to…test subjects…this is great. Also, he can brag now.  Always finds a way to bring you up during fatui meetings. (Everyone silently rolls their eyes because it’s the 5th time that day) 

He’ll sit down for hours and let you rant about your long winded theories about Teyvat lore. He fucking loves that shit. Oh, an upside mondstadt statue? The abyss and Khaenri’ah? Funny. These are the same things scholars called him insane for thinking, and now here their grace is— believing the same theories.

miguel o’hara x reader || “te amo”

chapter 3: “danger (spider)” (masterlist)

cw: heavy sexual content (no sex actually happens but miguel has thoughts), mention and depictions of panic attacks.

(minors/ageless/blank blogs, do not interact!! if your age is not on your page, you will be blocked!!!)

“¿míguel, mi amor?” you start, “have you gotten…bigger?”

your husband lets out a stifled laugh upon realizing you hadn’t meant that he’d gained fat, instead offering a snarky response.

“why? do you want my new nickname to be gordo?”

you roll your eyes and pretend not to laugh as you walk away from your tiny daughter’s crib and down the hall to your bedroom where he swiftly follows as you continue.

“i didn’t say fatter, papí - i said bigger. look.”

you stop in front of the mirror and point as he removes his white shirt - too stained from gabriela’s babyish drooling to wear any longer. he runs his large hand through his mess of dark curls and stares.

miguel had only caught glimpses of the version of himself that originated on this earth - but dead or alive he can see that you’re correct.

he’s not just taller than that miguel was but he’s much broader - his arms thicker. his bulkier frame stretches the elastic of his costume more when he’s on duty as spider-man - compared to you and your daughter? he’s monstrous.

“being spider-man making you work out more, eh papí?”

you tease, as your soft lips trailing his neck from behind.

you had not brought it up - presumably because he seemed to have had a traumatic weekend fighting the vulture - but miguel had been acting different sexually too.

meaning, he hasn’t acted at all.

you’d had chaste kisses and tight holds, but his brain cannot let him do more than that. the idea of taking you like that when he’s partially a pretender - it would feel dubious, dishonest, a borderline breach of consent.

he has you all to himself and the idea of touching you - even when you seem so willing and ready to be touched - it drives him insane.

and here you are; hands on his bare chest, smiling up at him in front of a mirror, skin so tightly hugged by your nightgown especially your breasts - full of milk for your daughter.

and he so desperately wants to. he wants to let his hands slide downs your thighs and grope your curves. he wants his mouth to sink against yours until his tongue has memorized the taste of your own. and the the taste of your neck and your collar and your breasts, down and down and down.

he wants to know if you squeal, if you pant and moan when his tongue dips inside that most sensitive area. would it there be a hairy bush or clean-shaven sweet skin awaiting him? are you more of a silent type or would you curse and whimper and beg, hands gripping his hair like a lifeline?

you said he was bigger - you were right.

his hazy memory of this earth’s miguel was smaller - not unfit but thinner and had likely spent less time as spider-man considering his life with you. that size difference… did it apply to down there too? would you notice visually or would it take him entering you - making you squirm and whine about it being “too much” as he pounds it in.

he wants to know. he so desperately wants to know…

he can’t.

he’s the bigger man; he’s spider-man. he has the great power but the fact the allure of a lacy nightgown and sweet skin made him even contemplate betraying the great responsibility? he’s supposed to be the good guy.

the fact he even so much as contemplate taking you like that, on the basis of a lie, makes a feeling of sickness and cold grip his stomach.

“míguel-” you start to purr, in between dashing your lips across his neck. you pause sharply seeing his face in the mirror.

it’s not the usual look of arousal, or the teasing smirk, or even amusement. it’s a look of conflict, lips and eyes expressing sheer unadulterated horror that makes you pull away from him immediately voice almost breaking in concern.

“¿míguel?!” you almost yell out, overwhelmed with surprise and concern, hands the only part of your body that stays in contact with his broad form. you cup his chin and pull down to look him in the eyes.

now you’re worried. god, that makes him feel even worse. it’s clear you’ve been worried for a while - that you’ve observed difference in him; the way he pauses at foods he used to love, the way he seems just a little bit more animalistic as spider-man whenever you catch a glimpse of him on the news, and now his growth and sheer paralysis at the notion of touching you.

his heart is beating faster.

“¿qué te ocurre?” you say not in an accusatory tone but one of concern. “te ves enfermo, estás actuando extraño y no me estás hablando.” your strokes his face and he doesn’t flinch nor lean into your touch he just stays still.

your words aren’t reaching his ears except a small, so pitifully exhausted - “miguel. have i done something wrong?”

his breathing starts to become unsteady.

he knows he is the one doing something wrong. and to see you - motherly, beautiful and stubborn you - even for a second, doubt all the happiness you and gabriela have given him in this small time on this earth? he pulls away, absolutely shattered.

there is an internal battle: a devil and an angel on his shoulder yelling at him to tell you, tell you, tell you.

it is just another thing he can’t do.

his palms are sweaty.

first, he thinks it’s his regular spider-like secretion. then, he notices it’s everywhere, his hairs are standing on edge. it is a feeling he only gets as a warning — the spider sense affecting every one of his nerves to tell him something is wrong, and that he should be afraid.

there is danger in telling you that he’s not who you think he is.

you say his name one more time and his eyes flicker red and he realizes - the stoic, tall, ever-serious spider-man 2099 realizes:

he’s having a panic attack.

-

taglist: @corpsebasil @letharue @shyhairdocoloralmond @d4rno @scaraza @ooaassiiss @bizarrette @luhvbot @juiiaa @kuinnoa @kurxxmi

thank you @cruelmissdior for beta reading. ♡

I need to rant about the Fallout show

Because this is the person I am. Full spoilers, so I’m putting it behind a Keep Reading:

I’m a huge sucker for Fallout (yes even 3&4). And I went into the Fallout show with some… trepidation. Amazon has been a mixed bag on adaptations, we could have been blessed with a Good Omens, or cursed by a Rings of Power. But early buzz and reviews seemed positive, so I slammed the whole thing in one night with my spouse (we were staying at my in-laws house and they have Prime. Time was a factor.)

And y’know? I was really enjoying it! The characters were fun, the plot was engaging enough, and the costumes and visual design were extremely on point. There were some minor lore quibbles to be had: Ghouls needing some kind of medicine to not go feral. Really, more Enclave holdouts? Timeline and date whoopsies. Wait are they in California? Where the hell is the NCR?

I made a face at Shady Sands being bombed and the NCR collapsing. But I wasn’t completely out of the story. Based on what I had seen so far, I thought it was building to a reveal that the Brotherhood had done it. That the more zealous turn they took in Fallout 4, which has clearly carried to how they are portrayed in the show, lead them to bombing the NCR. War never changes, as they say. Maximus even says when asked what happened to Shady Sands: “The same thing that always happens.” Yeah, it leans into Bethesda’s weird desire to keep the Fallout world in a state of perpetual wastelands full of raiders and no civilization, but it wasn’t so terrible that I couldn’t still enjoy the show.

But then.

BUT THEN.

Episode 8, and the reveal of Vault-Tec apparently being the ones who dropped the first bomb in the Great War.

I was surprised to hear that some fans have apparently been debating over who fired first? Some even asked Tim Cain about it?

That’s really odd to me because, in the games, there is already a pretty definitive answer to which side sparked the Great War:

Who fucking cares?

The world ended. What does it matter who shot first?

There is no China, no United States, no communists or capitalists left to fight about it. 

It's a powerful little bit of lore.

For all the posturing, all the promises from each nation that their way is the true way, all the nationalism, the militarism, and blind loyalty to flags over humanity, they both lost. Everyone lost. All that remains of the ideologies and nations that were so important to the people of 2077 is faint echoes over vast expanses of radioactive ash.

Who started the end?

No one knows. No one cares.

It only matters that their conflict was so bitter, so all-consuming, that one of them dropped their bombs, and the other dropped theirs in return.

The truest legacy of the old world is the devastation left by their final, most horrific war.

Can we do better?

Then the show says "Nah, Vault-Tec did it. It's not a commentary on human nature and the futility of self-destructive conflict, it was actually these guys, these mustache twirling villains huddled in a darkened room literally plotting to end the whole world so they can rule what's left."

And I can see the attempt to make this a critique of capitalism. I actually paused the show to praise a bit of writing when Coop is talking with Charlie before the war, when Charlie tells him that the “cattle ranchers are in charge” to illustrate how capitalism and corporations hold too much sway over the government, it felt very in line with how in New Vegas one of the recurring critiques of the NCR is that all the real power is in the hands of the “brahmin barons.” Nice parallel, spot on!

But “we’ll set off total thermonuclear war so we can rule the ashes and have a True Monopoly” isn’t capitalism. It’s just dumb “we’re the baddies” writing.

And then Shady Sands was also Vault-Tec?! Forget any meaning in the NCR falling to the same corruption and/or factional fighting that consumed the old world, they were literally just bombed by the evil shadow conspiracy that apparently also killed the old world. Hank gives this speech about factions fighting and the futility of it all while we see the Brotherhood fighting Moldaver’s NCR remnant, and like, no! You can’t say that when you’ve made it so neither the old world or the NCR fell to war with another faction! It was you! You and your band of cryogenic supervillains!

I don't care that they changed it. Timelines and dates and little retcons don’t bother me all that much. I care that they changed it to something so much worse.