#-they wouldn’t have used it against israel already??

[pocketsizedquasar]

i genuinely, sincerely, deeply hope, from the bottom of my heart, that every single person who spread and propagated that bullshit lie that israel didn’t bomb the hospital, destroying the whole building and killing hundreds of people, but it was a “misfired hamas / palestinian rocket” — i hope every single one of you rots in hell.

#quasartalks #i’m so. #there are a lot of things about this that are breaking me. #but. this. #we knew all along it was israel of course it was. #but it’s now been confirmed over and over again and israel sent a warning to every other hospital in gaza that they would bomb them. #but like. we fucking knew. we knew. #1) hamas has NEVER had a piece of weaponry capable of the destruction we saw at that hospital. if they had shit like that do you think - #-they wouldn’t have used it against israel already?? #2) israel warned that hospital they would bomb them. they hit the same hospital a day prior with a ‘warning strike’. they said multiple - #-times they were going to bomb it. #3) THEY ADMITTED TO BOMBING THE HOSPITAL. then changed their fucking story when the PR got bad!!! #but y’all believed them when they said it was hamas. and then said it was a misfire. and then and then. u believed them despite already- #-having seen them lie for WEEKS about hamas and beheaded babies and everything else. u believed them. #but yeah the NYT has forensically confirmed it. british analysts have forensically confirmed it. multiple fucking sources have confirmed it #and of course a few days after that hospital was bombed EVERY OTHER HOSPITAL received warning of it. #genuinely. genuinely genuinely. if you spread that blatant zionist lie. i hope you rot. #if you spread those lies about beheaded babies and raped women. i hope you rot. #i don’t care if this is cruel or rude or unfair of me i don’t care #an entire fucking people is being genocided and all you can do is police what they say about it. #palestine #israel

[girlschasinggirls]

do you not realize that jews are indigenous to israel? there is both genetic and archaeological evidence. additionally the reason most jews who lived in europe simply can’t return (where they are not indigenous to anyways) is because their neighbors literally were robbing and raping and killing and turning them into the nazis and other armies that were trying to kill them. it wasn’t just the nazis killing them. and do you know the state of antisemitism in america? jews make up the majority of victims of hate crimes, more than any other minority group in the united states. the fbi releases statistics every year. israel is the only country where they are not subject to outright discrimination on the basis of ethnicity and religion. this is because jews are not white. they are from the levant. if palestinians are not white, and many are actually originally from even further north than israel/palestine (many common last names translate to “the (name of non-arab group formerly colonized by the arabs)), then neither are jews.

yes palestinians are also victims of colonization, by the arabs and british and turks, NOT by israel; who aside from india is the only successful state to have fully decolonized. this does not mean palestinians are treated entirely fairly, but part of this is due to the fact that palestine has an entirely separate government, and israel has fully withdrawn from gaza aside from continuing to provide water and electricity, something they are not required to do as a separate country. egypt does not provide these resources despite also having a blockade set up.

palestine was not peaceful for jews before the establishment of israel. look up any given city or town and the word “pogrom” and you will be met with the story of a systemic killing of jews in that municipality

I’m going to have to use a few examples to explain this.

Romani people are ethnically indigenous to northern India and are currently mostly dispersed thoughout Europe, they were also victims in the holocaust and they are also heavily discriminated against in all parts of the world they live especially in Europe. If, leading up to and after the holocaust a Romani person created a Zionist-like ideology of a Romani ethnostate. If after WWII, with the help of the British they mass immigrated back to northern India as refugees and were welcomed by the indigenous Indians already living there. Would it have been okay for them to then commit their own nakba and colonise a portion of northern India and rename it Romaniland or whatever the fuck?? Start expelling and murdering the Indians that had been living there for generations who also have an ethnic claim to the land? Packing 2 million of them in a 45km squared strip of land and do to them what Israelis are doing to Gazans? Having the fucking audacity to say it’s okay because “they were here first” 1000 years ago? While also somehow simultaneously claiming that there were no people there? “a people without land and a land without people” ??

Did you know that before Zionists settled on Palestine, they also considered Uganda and Argentina for their Zionist state?? The Zionist ideology is inherent to the existence of modern Israel and is the reason it was created, the racism, colonialism, apartheid and genocide is not the fault of a bad government but the foundation of the country itself. The Zionist ideology and genocidal intentions were already in place before they step foot in Palestine and could also be happening right now in Uganda or Argentina instead so don’t try to bullshit that “they were here first” because they would be doing this regardless of the location.

Palestinians are victims of Israeli colonisation as we can see with our own eyes right this moment and literally how dare you even say that. Also you know who else is killed and discriminated against everywhere in the world they go? Women, gay people, disabled people, Romani people, this wouldn’t justify any of these groups creating their own apartheid state anywhere in the world and start doing what Israelis are currently doing.

I want to make it clear that in the process of the Israeli state returning the land to Palestine and ceasing to exist, not one single person needs to be harmed or killed, a lot of them won’t even have to leave the country and can just live in Palestine, amongst Palestinian people of all religions including Jewish, as they did when they first arrived after WWII. If Romani people also wanted to move back to northern India without colonising it and creating an apartheid state this would also be completely okay fucking obviously. Modern Israel is not the Israel from the bible. Every piece of land on earth is already belonging to an existing country and you cannot create a new one without occupying another. Sucks but that’s the reality. Have a terrible day.

#also gaza isn’t a country

[goayda]

After the Storm

So you remember that fic I owed you @izzymarksthespot ? Well, here it is (the part 1 at least), and there is a bath! Or there will be. Well, check and see 😉

(As usual, set some time after 2x07, Ed is happy being a fisherman somewhere and there was no Zheng fight and no Prince Ricky attack. As usual too, no warnings needed, just a happy time for everybody.)

Thank goodness the storm hadn’t hit them by surprise, Stede thought, but still, after many hours fighting to keep the Revenge afloat, the crew was exhausted.

They had managed to get the ship ready and the sturdy vessel had resisted the huge waves and the high winds, but it had been a tough fight and now that the skies had finally cleared, the whole crew was trying to warm up on deck while they filled their empty stomachs with a noodle soup, the recipe that Roach had learned from Zheng’s cook and that they all loved.

Stede was helping Roach bring the last bowls of soup from the galley and when he looked around the deck his eyes immediately stopped on Izzy, who was very noticeably looking the worse for wear. He was as pale as a ghost and even though he was wrapping his arms around himself trying to get warm, the drenched clothes he was still wearing were clearly not helping the situation.

“Izzy!” Stede said as he rushed to his side. “My goodness, are you all right?”

“I’m fine, captain,” he replied, but his voice sounded too weak to be convincing.

Stede raised his hand to touch Izzy’s forehead, but it was immediately slapped away by the freezing cold hand of the annoyed first mate.

“He isn’t even eating his soup,” Frenchie snitched as soon as he swallowed the mouthful of noodles he had been hungrily chewing.

“Frenchie, mind your own business!” Izzy barked at him.“I’m just… not hungry right now,” he added weakly.

“That will not do, you have to warm up or you’ll catch pneumonia, Israel,” Stede chastised him. “Don’t we have another blanket around here?” he added looking around.

They had brought a few blankets while Roach cooked the soup for them, but apparently there weren’t enough for everybody. Oluwande, Jim and Archie were sharing one, as were Lucius and Pete, but probably the obtuse first mate had decided he didn’t need one. Well, he obviously needed it and Stede knew where to find quite a few.

He was about to go to his cabin to fetch a blanket when he saw a shiver shake Izzy’s frame. The man looked fragile and Izzy Hands never looked fragile, it was a disturbing sight.

“Come with me, Izzy,” Stede said. “I have some spare blankets in my cabin. You also need to get out of those wet clothes immediately.”

A chocking sound distracted Stede for a moment. Apparently Lucius had found some trouble while eating his noodles and Pete was hitting him firmly on the back while stifling a laugh for some reason.

“Bonnet, I don’t need-“

“That’s an order, Izzy,” Stede replied, using his best captain-voice. “I won’t have my first mate dying from a cold out of stubbornness. So let’s go, chop-chop.”

Stede took Izzy’s untouched bowl of soup and with a last warning look at Izzy, he started walking towards his cabin. With a resigned sigh, the first mate stood up slowly and started following him, limping lightly.

Before closing the door to the deck behind him, Stede took a last look at the rest of the crew and noticed that not only Frenchie, but also Lucius, Pete and Fang were smiling encouragingly at him and giving him the thumbs up. That was a bit disconcerting. Had they thought he wouldn’t care about Izzy when he clearly looked so poorly? Their animosity had died long ago and Stede had thought it was obvious he was quite fond of the angry little man now.

As he walked down the corridor towards his cabin, he had another worrying thought: what if Izzy himself didn’t think Stede cared about him? That surely couldn’t be, right? He had to know he did care… or maybe he thought Stede still held a grudge against him?

Stede didn’t have much time to dwell on it because they had already reached the cabin and Izzy was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room while shivering noticeably.

A warm bath would do wonders for him, Stede thought. And Roach probably still had the fire going after making the soup so it wouldn’t take too long to warm some water.

And indeed it didn’t take long. Stede asked Roach to fill the bathtub and when some time later the cook told him it was ready Stede still hadn’t managed to convince the stubborn man of the need of a hot bath. Izzy had wrapped himself in one of the blankets and insisted it was all he needed and Stede had to use all his authority to stop him from leaving the room.

“Now the bath is ready, Izzy,” Stede decided to change tactics. “You wouldn’t want to waste resources, would you?”

“Maybe the captain could use it then,” Izzy hit back. “Since it’s actually the captain’s bathtub.”

“Well,… we can both use it!”

Izzy’s eyes widened in surprise and at his back, Roach had a coughing fit. Smoking was such an awful habit, Stede thought as he turned to see the cook hitting his chest while still holding his lit cigarette.

“I’ll be going now,” the cook wheezed as he walked towards the door.

“Yes, thank you for everything, Roach,” Stede replied politely.

Turning his attention back to Izzy, Stede noticed the first mate was now staring at him with a strangely guarded expression on his face.

“As I was saying,” Stede continued. “Even thought the bathtub is in my quarters, there’s no reason why any other member of my crew can’t use it if needed. And you need it, Izzy, don’t try to tell me otherwise.”

Izzy blinked slowly and seemed to falter.

“Please, Israel,” Stede said softly. “Just… if not for yourself, could you do it for my peace of mind?”

Izzy’s shoulders sagged in defeat. He nodded lightly and Stede guided him towards the bathroom before he could change his mind.

TBC

#izzy hands #stede bonnet #stizzy #gentlehands #ofmd #our flag means death #fanfic #hurt/comfort #and silly fun #nothing else

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

🤦🏾🤦🏽🤦🏼

Netanyahu has a whopping 18% approval rating in Israel. Trump’s going to be a 1000 times worse than Biden concerning Muslims, and CNN along with Tlaib are trying to turn people against Biden.

Right-wing Netanyahu needs to go and Hamas need to go. Hamas are murderous terrorists doing the bidding of Iran and Putin. Trump is already calling for Palestinians to be deported but all these people who are supposedly on the left don’t even mention it but are dragging Biden. Let’s revisit this if Trump wins and see if Tlaib accepts any responsibility for a potential Biden loss and the harm it would bring to Muslim-Americans and Muslims abroad. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the reasons the Republikkkans refused to censure Tlaib is because they so successfully use her as a foil in their bullshit culture war. Fascism works best when you have a foil/scapegoat to generate anger and hatred.

Being cynical here but they love the extreme far-left for making their propaganda campaigns so easy. Those right-wing bastards win so often because they are always in lockstep and on the same page. They use billions in dark money from oligarchs to run a well oiled propaganda machine 24/7/365. They are incredibly cohesive, unified, and prepared. They are doing opposition research on college students that may run for office as Democrats decades into the future while Democrats have always been every person for themselves. It wasn’t until after Kerry lost to “Dubya” Bush (due in large part to RNC brain bug Karl Rove) that DNC chair Howard Dean took the first steps towards organizing the party. He introduced media relations seminars for newly elected Dems, warned them against going on Fox News, and began disseminating information about the “vast right-wing conspiracy” of oligarch created RNC PACs, think tanks, and institutions like ALEC, the Federalist Society, the CATO Institute, the Mackinac Center.

#st Bernie #rashida tlaib #israel hamas war

[trascapades]

🚨🇵🇸#CeasefireNow #StrikeForGaza December 11, 2023

The National and Islamic Forces, a coalition of major factions in Palestine, has called for an inclusive global strike that would include all aspects of life in solidarity with the Palestinian people—particularly in the Gaza Strip—who have been facing an Israeli war of genocide, displacement and ethnic cleansing...

Tomorrow 11th Dec. is a global strike day. "If the politicians do not hear us, then we can strike from economic life and daily movement and we can boycott everything, we can put pressure on them to stop supporting and blessing the massacre that is happening in Gaza. CEASEFIRE NOW!!!!" 

Caption reposted from Esraa Alshikh إسراء الشيخ @Esralshikh

🛑We started a campaign to push for a total strike worldwide on Monday 12/11/2023..

⭕️It is necessary to paralyze the movement of life and the economic wheel in all countries so that everyone feels that he is directly affected by the impact of the aggression on Gaza... 

⭕️ Start making your communications today, mobilizing and publishing ..

⭕️The strike must include the transportation, aviation, trade, banks, ports, and even schools and universities.

⭕️Work on gathering the majority of supporters and forget about those who are negligent and discouraged..

⭕️Any personal loss we suffer is worth nothing compared to the massacres taking place against people in Gaza..

Image 2 by artist @heyimsakina 

Images 3 & 4 and caption by artist @shirien.creates: ...I got news that my friend Refaat had been assassinated by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, alongside his brother, sister, and four of her children. There is confirmation that he had received a threatening phone call by the Israeli intelligence saying they have located him.

Refaat was a well-known and loved Palestinian author, poet, and English literature professor. He was also a founder of @we_are_not_numbers. Refaat taught hundreds of students in Gaza English as a way to help them tell their stories and connect Palestinian liberation with the liberation struggles of Black, Indigenous and colonized people around the world.

I met Refaat in 2014 during his book tour for “Gaza Writes Back,” a collection of stories from Gaza youth living under siege. Refaat taught me how important art and storytelling are as part of our resistance as Palestinians. His work profoundly impacted and inspired me.

Even under Israel’s relentless airstrikes, Refaat hopped around Gaza to find internet to be able to stay connected with his students, his friends abroad, and to take interviews to shed light about the atrocities happening in Gaza. He bravely spoke up knowing that Israel was systematically targeting journalists, academics, creatives, and all those exposing the truth. His home was already targeted and bombed in October, but he survived. This time, he didn’t. 

It’s hard to believe Refaat is no longer with us. It is a painful loss. His intellect, his love for Palestine, his passion to make life better for Gaza, his beautiful care for his people, and his great sense of humor will be missed. But in his short time on earth, Refaat left a lasting legacy on all Palestinians and on the world.

Refaat, in one of his last interviews, said expo markers are all he had as his resistance. But he would never give up, and he wouldn’t want any of us to give up. As he rests, we will continue to tell our stories, to demand an end to the genocide and siege in Gaza, and to keep struggling until Palestine is free.

"Writing is a testimony…a memory that outlives any human experience. We lived for a reason, to tell the tales of loss, of survival, and of hope." - Dr. Refaat Alareer   

Images 5-8 and caption by @ajplus Israel has bombed the Great Omari Mosque, the largest and oldest mosque in occupied Gaza. Since Oct. 7, Israel has damaged or destroyed over 100 cultural heritage sites in Gaza, along with thousands of historical documents.

Associate Producer: Katherine Conner

Image 9 from @npr The United States vetoed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war at the United Nations Security Council on Friday.

The Security Council vote on the resolution, backed by Arab states, had 13 in favor and one — the U.S. — against, while the United Kingdom abstained.

#News #Gaza #Israel #Palestine #Palestinian #Mosque #History #GazaGeniocide #Gaza

#StrikeForGaza #CeasefireNow #Gaza #Genocide #FreePalestine #ArtIsAWeapon #RefaatAlareer

[something-about-sunflowers]

Ooooooohhhhhhh now I’m thinking of an Izzy with an Ella Enchanted style curse on him hhhhhhhhhh

Read-more cause this got away from me lmfao

He keeps it fairly under wraps for most of his life, sets out to sea at twelve, gets picked up by a press gang at seventeen. He manages, its  expected, for a sailor to follow orders on a navy ship, after all (of course ‘no’ isn't an option available to him anyway).

They get boarded by pirates when he's about twenty one and he’s taken on as part of their crew, the captain is after crew more than loot, tells him he should join (saying ‘no’ would have just had him killed, and he's doing his very best to live).

Some time after, he's nearing twenty five, they’re raided by another ship, the Ranger. Benjamin Hornigold likes a ruthless sailor (a ruthless pirate) and Israel Hands has never allowed himself to be anything but. He decides he wants to keep this one. He offers, Izzy accepts. Ben tells him to kill his former captain (wouldn’t have said ‘no’ even if he could have, the man was a bastard).

He earns a reputation of being kind of a kiss-ass, he doesn’t really mind, it keeps most people from asking questions. But Ben’s got his pet projects Edward Teach and John ‘Jack’ Rackham and they’re both too sharp for their own good (though, Jack is better at playing dumb). They notice its not just Captain’s orders he follows to the letter, but everyone’s. They test him, subtly at first, but eventually they show their hand. Tell him that they know there’s more to Izzy’s obedience than he lets on.

He’s terrified for how they might use this against him (the usual ways, which most men abused without even knowing about his curse, easier, safer to let them think he wanted it) but they tell him they don’t want to take his agency from him like that. They offer to help him. He’s not sure whether to trust it (he knows, by rights, he shouldn’t) but he can’t say ‘no’ to ‘trust us, let us help’ (whether Edward is aware of the command, Izzy will never know, decades later Edward doesn’t even remember what he said to convince him).

So they stick by him, as best they can, if someone gives an order he doesn’t want to follow they’ll tell him, quietly as they can, not to. It works, for the most part. Though eventually, Ben notices Izzy’s not quite as obedient anymore (though he still never says ‘no’ to his captain’s orders). He doesn’t like that. He notices Izzy’s been spending more time around Teach and Rackham, decides they’re bad influences (he intends them to captain other ships in his fleet, they’re allowed to push back on orders, Izzy will never have a command of his own, he is not). He separates them. Puts Teach and Rackham on the Marianne with the flimsy excuse of ‘getting practice in’. (he sees them off with Izzy at his side, a claiming hand on his shoulder, Ed and Jack aren't sure how they manage it, but they don't try to kill him right then and there) They now only ever see each other when they all make port. Its a trying few months (for Ed and Jack, for Izzy. . .).

They meet at port one last time (apart, at least). Edward has a plan. They’re going to mutiny. They’ve been stirring the pot on the Marianne (whispers had already started before they got there, not too many of the crew were happy to miss out on loot just because Ol’ Ben had an apparent soft spot for the Crown). He presses his knife into Izzy's hands. Tells him, back on the ship, when everyone else is asleep, he’s to slip into the captain’s cabin and kill Ben, in his sleep, so he can’t order him to stop (Izzy is never sure if he would have said ‘no’ to that unintentional order, had he been able).

The mutiny goes off without a hitch (Ben wakes when the knife plunges into his throat, but he can’t give orders around the steel and the blood that choke him). Edward makes Izzy his first mate, gives Jack the Marianne. He and Izzy go on to create a legend.

Things are good, for a long while they're good. Edward is an inventive and charismatic captain, the crew love him and the loot he leads them to, and Izzy's position (and Edward's possessive protectiveness over him) means that anyone who dares order Israel Hands around, that doesn't have the title of 'his captain', meets a quick end.

Unfortunately, for Izzy, 'good' never tends to last. He'd hoped (and damn him for daring to hope) that he was free, as free as he could be, from his curse, sailing under Edward (Blackbeard), and he was. For a while. Its about a decade later when Edward starts to get bored. He never orders Izzy to do anything degrading or dangerous (more dangerous than he can handle at least) but it still hurts somewhere deep in his chest the first time Edward gives a casual order and doesn't look to see if Izzy wants to follow it.

They come across Jack every now and again. It always takes him a bit to readjust to Izzy, to remember he needs to phrase things as suggestions rather than orders, he always manages eventually. (that little pain in his chest digs a little deeper when he notices Edward avoids giving him orders when Jack is around, though he can't say why) Their crossing paths wind up fewer and farther between as the years go on. One notable visit involved Jack asking Edward to marry him and Anne Bonny ('why not just have your first mate do it?' 'Annie is my first mate, man, 'sides, I want my two best buds to be there for it!'). Izzy isn't sure what to make of Edward's renewed willingness to run into Jack afterwards (only knows that the pain in his chest grows all the sharper for it, and at seeing Jack, happy with Anne, he feels a bit monstrous about that). It doesn't matter much in the end, things go back to normal once Mary/Mark (depending on the day) Read enters the picture and (mostly) steals Annie away from Jack.

And suddenly Izzy finds himself at fifty five, on a beach, wondering ‘what kind of fucking idiot runs his ship aground‘. Edward is intrigued, Izzy can't tell him 'no'.

He hates the Revenge with every fiber of his being. None of the crew listen to him, Edward doesn't back him up (and neither do Fang or Ivan, following their captain's lead). The first time one of the crew gets it into their head to give him a mocking order he nearly passes out with the force it takes him to not jump to the task immediately. He retreats to his cabin later and vomits at the feeling of violation he hasn't felt in decades (he tells himself he hasn't felt it, Edward is his captain, above all else is loyalty to his captain, his own feelings don't matter).

He hates stupid fucking Stede Bonnet most of all. Hates him for putting a light back in Edward's eyes that hasn't been there for a long while. Hates his pompous attitude, his flippant disregard for the institution of piracy, how little he seems to actually care for the safety and well-being of his own men (leave alone the danger he poses to Edward). Most of all he hates that he calls him 'Iggy'.

So when he challenges him to a duel, and he accepts, its only for Edward's sake that he sets the terms at 'banishment' and not 'death'. When he loses he finds he rather wished it had been to the death. (he doesn't understand, Edward wanted this, he hadn't even told him to stop, hadn't ordered him to stop)

He retreats to Spanish Jackie'z to lick his wounds and to work out a plan to pull Edward out of the steady march towards his own demise that he faces aboard the Revenge. Jackie, Izzy is fairly certain, knows about his curse to some extent (he suspects she doesn't abuse the knowledge for the sake of having a bargaining chip, should she need it), she talks him out of any corners the navy bloke with a grudge against Stede Bonnet inadvertently walks him into. She also runs him into Jack Rackham (and Izzy realizes, at the sight of the silver starting to peek its way through his dirty blond, that its been nearly ten years since they've last seen each other, that pain in his chest not any duller for it) and the last piece of the plan falls into place. Jack tries to talk him out of it, says its not a good idea, even offers him a position on his own ship (not that its his ship to offer anymore, since Annie took over captaincy and made Mary/Mark her first mate, but they've both always had a soft spot for Izzy on account of Jack's soft spot for Izzy, they'd be more than willing), not once does he order though and Izzy can't let Edward keep doing this to himself. Jack will understand when he sees him, Izzy says. Jack goes.

(Izzy hears, when the navy gunners crow triumphantly about hitting the dinghy, the one that Jack and Edward were in, the one that Edward jumped out of, he tells himself not to let it show when that pain in his chest comes back twenty-fold at the thought)

Edward claims the Act of Grace. He and Stede Bonnet leave to lick the king’s boots. Izzy doesn't make it a single day as captain. Edward comes back just before he goes overboard with the anchor to follow. He comes back wrong. Izzy can't take it. Edward can't take it.

The Kraken wakes and Izzy is introduced to the concept of a living hell. (even the captive crew stop trying to give him orders, at the haunted look in his eye, when they see how the Kraken orders him around, when he discovers Spriggs alive, if a lot worse for the wear, he doesn't even need the order to keep it under wraps, he doesn't want to know what the Kraken would order him to do if the boy is found out, he shudders at the thought)

When stupid fucking Stede Bonnet (and his marooned crew) finds his way back to the Revenge Izzy allows himself a single moment to feel relieved. Until, at least, the Kraken orders him to kill the man. He can't. He fights. The crew are all shouting at him not to, it eases the strain. The Kraken levels his pistol at his head, the crew goes silent.

'Israel, I order you to kill Stede Bonnet'.

His sword is in his hand. Stede's gotten better with his own sword, is managing to hold his own against Izzy (in truth, its mostly due to Izzy straining to not follow the order, but there is a marked improvement). The Kraken growls 'Kill him Izzy, fucking- kill him!' Izzy loses his sword to the mast again (he's grateful this time), his knife is in his hand a second later. He's got less reach than Stede does but Stede is trying not to hurt him. Why is he trying not to hurt him?

'Bonnet. Bonnet, you have to stop me. I can't. I can't kill you. I can't let him do that to himself. You have to. Run me through. Right here-' he taps his chest with his free hand, the one that isn't swinging the knife around, the left side, right over his heart '-only way to stop this. He might even listen to you afterwards.'

'Izzy. Izzy no.' In his shock, Stede lowers his sword. Izzy swears as he knocks it out of his hand. Presses close, crowds him against the doors to the captain's cabin, knife against his throat.

'Just fucking kill him already!'

A bead of blood wells under the tip of the blade. Izzy meets his own eyes in the polished reflection of his knife.

'Izzy stop fucking around and do what I told you to!'

His hands shake with the weight of the order. There are tears in his eyes, he can see them in his reflection.

A memory comes, unbidden: He, Edward, and Jack hiking through dense jungle to find a witch that Jack thinks might be able to break his curse, or at least tell them how to break it themselves. Her words 'I cannot break this curse Israel, this is something you must do for yourself. I can tell you this, however, to do this you'll need to face yourself. Face yourself and free yourself. That is all I can say, I'm sorry, I'd tell you more if I could.' They'd left disappointed, Jack cursing about scams and 'you can't even trust witches these days, man', Edward contemplatively silent.

Face yourself and free yourself. Izzy's eyes flick upwards to Stede's concerned face, back down to the blade. He meets his own eyes again.

'Izzy-' The rest of the Kraken's words go unheard.

Izzy tells himself, voice scarcely more than a breath: 'You will not be obedient.'

He feels, more than sees, Stede's gasp. He ignores it. His hand still wants to press the knife upwards. He tries again.

'You will not be obedient.' A little louder this time.

'The fuck did you just say-' Again.

'You will not be obedient!'

The knife flies across the deck, lands with a clatter. Silence (but for the sound of Izzy's labored breaths).

He turns, ignores the shocked crew, meets Edward's wide eyes with his own watery ones (when had the tears started falling so freely?).

'. . . Iz. . . ?'

Everything goes black.

#the dork is being a dork #izzy hands #jack rackham #mmmm i feel safe enough tagging #edward teach #stede bonnet #am i ever going to be able to imagine a cj that isn't in love with izzy? all signs point to 'no' lmfao #izzy is also in love with jack if that wasn't obvious #problem is a bit two-fold in that he's also still in love with ed AND there was an unintentional order in 'above all else is loyalty to your #captain' so even if he was emotionally aware enough to realize they were mutually in love he wouldn't have done anything about it #cj is the world's number one izzy respecter he worked SO hard to make sure izzy never had to do anything he didn't want to do #also he 100% survived the navy guys saw him survive but they didn't like izzy cause he's a pirate so they wanted to fuck with him #he finds his way back to the revenge sometime later (maybe with anne and mary/mark with him) and BEGS izzy to come with him #they compromise and start a fleet (jack stays on the revenge more often than not cause izzy stays on the revenge more often than not) #this COULD turn into stackedhands but its mostly cjizzy #and izzy/people who actually care about him and his well-being #which does start to include the crew post kraken #anyway izzy wakes up later in the captain's cabin and there are several uncomfortable talks to be had #(also i don't necessarily think ed realized he wasn't ordering izzy when jack was around) #(it was kind of like falling into old habits) #(while also knowing subconsciously that jack WOULD rock his shit for doing that to izzy) #(same with avoiding him thru the years) #(he knew he was fucking up with izzy but wasn't ready to face it and let himself be held accountable the way jack would make him do)

[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

Stood In The Gap

“…Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on Me. But this hour belongs to you and to the power of darkness.” Luke 22:52-53NIV

There are times that belong to satan. We can pray, trusting faith scriptures, quote God’s Word until we are blue in the face… that is the hour of satan. One such time was when they crucified our Lord Jesus, Yeshua Hamashiach. Another time is coming— the final hour of satan, the time of antichrist, and his tribulation.

Until that time we must be ‘the ones who restrains’… “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way” 2Thessalonians 2:7ESV. I’m quite aware many preachers teach Holy Spirit is the one who restrains. My question to them has always been and continues to be, where is the scripture which predicts Holy Spirit is leaving? Each preacher has then pointed back to this scripture. Problem with their explanation returns to the actual language translations— a ‘masculine-feminine’ or ‘human gender nonspecific,’ male or female. Nothing like Holy Spirit Who is Spirit and part of the triune Godhead.

During the time of Nazi Germany, Hitler was considered to be the antichrist. The church thought we were at the end of the age, thus they wouldn’t pray away the events. Except for a few intercessors such as Bonhoeffer, or Reese Howell, a man from Wales UK, who led a group of intercessors, who literally stood between Hitler’s goals and the world. Yes, there were other nameless intercessors who stood in the gap… “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it…” Ezekiel 22:30NIV. God will always look for His person who will pray and intercede on behalf of their nation.

Today, we have such people interceding for our land. Cindy Jacobs and Dutch Sheets being two leaders in this movement. Assuredly, there are thousands more praying as well. I know a little woman from South Africa, whom God has frequently provided the funds to come to the USA to pray. Jesse has been to every border crossing in this nation, both borders, anointing it with oil, while bathing it in prayer. She also goes bi-annually to Israel instructed to walk the streets and pray there.

Has anyone beside me ever wondered what the following scripture means? “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in Me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father” John 14:12NLT. What are the greater works than what Jesus could people do?

As I read our text, Holy Spirit dropped into my spirit— ‘Jesus couldn’t prevent the hour belonging to satan. We can. Reese Howell, Bonhoeffer and the other intercessors prevented Hitler from taking over the world, as the antichrist.

The cabal, elites, and globalists all believe this is their hour to rule our world. They’ve been busy putting their one world government into place, painstakingly so, over the last seventy plus years. News flash: God has His elect praying, interceding, repenting for this world because it’s not satan’s hour yet. Will you join the intercessors in praying away the darkness’s hour? It’s your choice. You choose.

LET’S PRAY: LORD God we pray for Your kingdom alone to come, and Your will only to be done in our nations and our world. You alone God love us and are trustworthy. Help us to trust in You alone, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2024 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional as author. Thank you.

#Jesus Christ #word of god #holy spirit #god #lord of lords #it's your choice #devotional #stood in the gap #intercession #pray #prayer #greater works #restrain #love #hope #faith

[notaplaceofhonour]

If you believe in the dignity and freedom of Palestinians, what do you believe they should do? Even if the average Israeli is not an active member of the IDF, they are still displacing Palestinians. They are still living in a state that exists because of colonization- they are still a settler. How do you peace-and-diplomacy your way into convincing a state whose mission is to displace and settle until there is no land left for the Indigenous peoples into simply not doing that? Do you think that's what the people of Haiti did? Do you think the Indigenous nations of Canada, to this day, still fights for land rights because they weren't good enough at peaceful negotiations with their colonizers?

I feel like I don’t need to have the definitive answer for how to solve a longstanding geopolitical conflict with multiple conflicting factions that thousands of people who know a lot more than me and are better equipped to solve have not been able to do since long before I was born in order to defend the idea that “Holocaust 2” and “killing & raping unarmed noncombatants” should be off the table. That’s the baseline. Bare minimum. If you can’t even clear the hurdle of “rape is unacceptable”, there is no conversation for us to have, and you shouldn’t be let around children.

I’m not going to participate in this song and dance where anytime anyone says killing & raping unarmed people is unacceptable , people like you throw your hands up and say “Well what else were they supposed to do? Not rape and murder people?”

Because yeah! Exactly! Don’t rape and murder people. Baseline. You don’t have to have an answer to know that isn’t it.

I’m not going to accept this false framework where you act like the only two options are being “nice” & “respectable” or suicide bombing & blowing up schools & synagogues.

I’m also not going to accept the false framework of acting like somehow brutality against noncombatants “just works” or is more effective than actually fighting the people with guns. If that were true, Hamas would’ve already won, because they’ve been doing that for a while, and things are only getting worse.

So I’m not going to play that game.

I’m going to point this out: You are arguing that Jews forfeit their right to live when they occupy the land of Israel-Palestine because that makes them “colonizers”. But the Jewish Diaspora comes from the land of Israel—Jews are also indigenous—so if they’re colonizers even there, there’s not going to be anywhere in the world where they wouldn’t also be “colonizers”—and by your argument, that means you believe they forfeit their right to live anywhere they settle.

Which means you’re just advocating for anyone to be able to kill Jews wherever they go. The logical end of your argument is just genocide.

[demonsonthemoon]

Hold My Hand (but please don’t touch me)

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Pairing: Edward Teach & Israel Hands Word Count: 3165 Rating: Teen Summary: What Izzy feels for his captain isn't love, it's better than that. Loyalty, a duty undiluted by fickle feelings. Until it feels like that isn't enough. * A character/relationship study spanning from the early days of Izzy and Ed knowing each other up until the Act of Grace. Mind the angst tag! Tags: Aromantic Izzy, Angst, No happy ending

Read it on AO3.

Happy Aggressively Arospec Week! I usually post very hopeful fics for this event and this is... not that. Apologies. I hope you get something out of it anyway :)

“Yeah, you run back to your princess. A good dicking will calm you both down.”

Izzy was used enough to the jeers that he didn't even blush. Instead, he let his glare express all of his disdain for the idiotic navigator. He wanted to lead them straight into a storm just because he couldn't bear the thought that Edward might be right? That was fine with Izzy. It would only grow the resentment that was already simmering among the crew. That was good. Ed and Izzy would be able to use that to their advantage when they finally left this shithole of a boat.

Izzy pinched the skin of his chest through his shirt as he walked back to the hold to find Ed and help him start tying shit down. Let the crew think whatever they wanted about how they spent their time together.

It was pathetic, really, they way they could only conceptualize Izzy and Ed's relationship as either sex or romance. It was pathetic how they kept calling them each other's crush demeaningly, and still their jealousy rang loud and clear through their voice.

Izzy didn't really see what they would have to be jealous of, if sex was really what was going on. Sex wasn't special. There were plenty of ways you could get it, on shore or even on a ship.

Still, there was a small part of Izzy that enjoyed their envy. Even if they were wrong about the nature of their relationship, everyone could see that Izzy belonged with Ed. Belonged to him. He liked that.

He wasn't proud of just how much he liked it.

Because Edward didn't belong to Izzy in the same way. And, some days, the implications about their relationship might become a hindrance for Ed in a way they weren't for Izzy.

And Edward wasn't the kind of person that let things stand in his way.

So Izzy wasn't going to.

They didn't have their own ship yet, but Izzy was still very much aware of where his sense of duty lay.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

Things became a little easier when they finally pulled off their mutiny. Izzy was more than happy to slit the navigator's throat.

They sold the ship they'd commandeered – one more humiliation against their old captain – and bought another one.

Edward insisted on making Izzy his first mate. It didn't really make sense to have one on a pirate ship, but Izzy didn't argue the point. The status clarified his relationship to Ed for everyone on their new crew. And if they still felt like spreading rumors about their officers' sex life, at least they wouldn't do it aloud.

All of it left Edward free to pursue other people, without threatening Izzy's position in the eyes of others.

Izzy told himself that was a good thing.

He didn't feel the need to pursue anyone himself. Never had. He was perfectly happy with what he currently had. A cot to sleep on, a job to do and a captain to follow. There was nothing on the big wide sea that would lead him to stray from that duty.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

Sometimes, when the night was particularly dark and Izzy had had one sip of rum too many before his night watch, he considered what might have happened.

If Izzy had been at all inclined. He didn't think Ed would have minded, not when they were younger. But it wasn't something Izzy had wanted, and Ed had never pushed. Had never even asked.

He hadn't had to.

The conversation had happened one day they'd been about to go to shore. Half the crew had been talking about their upcoming visit to some brothel or another, much to Izzy's annoyance. Their behavior turned ridiculously childish whenever the subject of sex came up.

It didn't help that Izzy and Ed wouldn't get any shore leave. Junior crew stayed on the ship. The captain was too scared they would run off otherwise. He pretended they were to stay on board to guard the ship, but everyone could see right through that lie. What a joke.

Still, the subject had been in the air that night as Ed and Izzy lounged around on the mostly deserted vessel. So he hadn't been surprise when Ed had brought it up. His tone had been half-joking and half-fragile when he'd asked Izzy what he would go for if they ever did get shore leave. A lady? A fella? Both at once?

Neither, Izzy had stated plainly. Ed had frowned, then rephrased. Doesn't have to be a brothel if you don't like that. Could be with someone you know. Izzy had shaken his head and rubbed at his chest. He had never been able to explain it to someone before, not in a way the other person had understood.

'm not interested in getting to know anyone either.

Ed had fallen silent at that, turning it over. It was more consideration than Izzy had every been given before. I'd say we know each other pretty well by now, he'd said. Izzy had shaken his head once again. Not the same. Internally, he had begged Edward not to ask him to explain more than that. He wasn't sure he would be able to.

Edward had only nodded, though. That had been the end of it. Edward had never asked, after that.

Under the starless sky that stared down another empty desk, years later, Izzy considered it still. He wasn't sure what he would have answered, if there had ever been a question. He wasn't sure whether to be glad or not for Edward's silence.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

Edward's transformation into Blackbeard happened both slowly and all at once. Once established on their own ship, they had needed a reputation. It had been Edward's idea. A reputation would keep them safe, safer than their own skills. It was too easy to slip up, and Edward refused to leave anything to chance.

It had been his idea, but the persona of Blackbeard was crafted by the two of them. Izzy had poured his entire heart into the creation. They had needed the threat to be real.

And Edward could definitely be a real threat. He didn't shy away form violence, was brutal in a fight. He could be cruel, either by fancy or by necessity. But he never killed. Never delivered the final blow himself.

It was a weakness. So Izzy made sure no one else noticed it. He helped build Blackbeart as a figure larger than life, so that no one might glimpse the man trembling under it. Blackbeard towered so far above mortals, it seemed only right that he wouldn't need to do his own killing. It would be beneath him, when he instead could watch with a smile as someone else bloodied their blade in his name. And bloody himself Izzy did, drenching his hands in the stuff and wiping his own smile with it. The smell seeped into his skin and settled inside his bones. It felt like a claim of sorts.

Being loyal to Edward had always come easy, but it was even more natural to devote himself to Blackbeard. Every day, as the legend grew, he found himself gladder that what he was feeling for his captain wasn't love. Love was a fickle thing, a bubble always on the verge of bursting. Love was something other people could use against you. Izzy had crafted himself into a sword so perfect it would never cut the one who wielded it.

Izzy didn't spend a lot of time pondering his feelings or lack thereof. He was glad that the sea offered him a shelter for his silence. When he did think about them, though, he felt proud. That he could be like this, unerring in his service.

He didn't spend any time at all pondering Edward's feelings.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

When Ed started to get bored, Izzy was at a loss. He knew how to bask in Edward's happiness. He knew how to weather Blackbear's anger. He knew how to redirect the bloodlust and the restlessness in a productive direction.

He couldn't fathom how he was supposed to react to Edward proclaiming his boredom. Perhaps the crux of the problem lied in the fact that Izzy could not begin to understand that particular emotion. They were sailing and they were raiding and, sure, that was what their life always looked like. But what was wrong with that? Routine was safe. This life was all there was. It was everyhing.

To Izzy, anyway.

It felt impossible to ponder the significance of Edward wanting something more now.

So Izzy did what he always had. He threw himself into his work. He covered for Ed during raids and in frond of the crew. He stepped in whenever Ed was uninterested enough to not see the danger in another man's sword or words. He kept the ship running when Edward retreated into his cabin and his pipe.

He stayed.

He kept himself available in case he was ever needed.

In case he was ever wanted.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

When Blackbeard asked Izzy to follow the Revenge, he didn't understand the decision. To him, this was just another of Edward's whims, another mess that Izzy would need to pull the both of them out of. Or it was a new form of sadism, a way to humiliate Izzy and punish him for letting another man best him. Blackbeard wouldn't tolerate a dull blade at his side.

And Izzy wouldn't question his captain's order. That wasn't the job he was here to do.

So they followed the Revenge. They rescued its crew from the Spanish navy instead of just plundering both ships. Edward asked, and so Izzy follow him onto this new vessel, leaving their own craft and crew behind.

Izzy watched silently as Edward grew excited again, child-like in his wonder.

For a while, he thought this was natural, just another part of the cycle. Depression, quiet, distance, followed by manic bursts of energy and brilliance. Every stage marked by a distinct lack of focus until Edward's mood settled down once more.

It wasn't the same though. It wasn't natural. Izzy realized this when Edward tried to share his enthusiasm with Izzy. As if this wasn't just nonsensical mania but a great big truth he had discovered about the universe.

Ed held a model of a ship in front of Izzy's face. The first mate couldn't focus on the tiny fabric sails, though. All of his attention was captured by the spark in Ed's eyes.

Edward left the ship in Izzy's hands. As if he might learn. As if he might care.

Instead, he let the anger bubble inside him. Anger was more productive than confusion or fear.

“Well, as bored as your might be,” Izzy snapped, “if you don't make a decision soon, we're gonna fucking die.”

“Now, that's an idea. I haven't tried that yet. I haven't died yet, have I?”

There was a crazed look in Edward's eyes that Izzy wasn't sure he recognized. Maybe he'd always been able to look away, before this.

He covered up his fear under a layer of frustration and prickliness. He was never in short supply of those.

“Yeah, 'cause that makes sense.”

It was an understatement to say Izzy wasn't happy about this new development, but he would deal with it. He always dealt with it.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

The truth was, he'd been cocky. He'd tricked himself into forgetting just how much he still relied on Edward. He hadn't managed to hear the need in his own voice as he insulted his captain, calling him a shell of a man that's only posing as Blackbeard.

All he had wanted was to have his captain back, instead of this strange distant man wearing loose fabric. When insults weren't enough to make Edward stray from the threat of his own death, Izzy did the only thing he could think of. He offered a threat of his own.

His middle fingers raised and a resignation.

Izzy hadn't ever tasted a failure as bitter as this one.

He'd never tasted betrayal before.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

He hadn't thought it through. He'd let his frustration and fear boil over and now... All he had left were the consequences of his own actions.

They'd escaped the Spanish through no plan of Izzy's, but they had escaped alive. And that left him to contemplate his own future.

It wasn't something he had ever done before. He'd never needed to. All that mattered was Blackbeard's future, his continued survival. As long as Izzy had a hand in that, he was perfectly happy with his own present.

He'd never thought of having a life of his own.

It worried him. Now that he had to reinvent himself, he realized how much of his being was entangled with his devotion to Edward. Leaving him behind felt like having to learn to breathe for a second time.

Izzy tensed up when as Edward approached him by the rail. He hated that this was his default reaction these days. He was always expecting some sort of confrontation.

Although, this time, part of the tension was from stopping himself from starting to beg. He couldn't ask to stay. He was better than that. Blackbeard deserved better than that.

Instead of lashing out, though, Edward started spinning a tale of retirement. A tale of deception like so many he'd woven before.

Izzy let himself believe it.

It wasn't what he wanted, exactly. Since when did pirates get to retired? Since when did legends did? He couldn't bear to see Blackbeard being committed to the sea. But agreeing to this bought him time. With Bonnet out of the way, Izzy would have a much better chance of talking Edward out of his more ridiculous ideas. If he really did want to retire, if he truly couldn't deal with the pressure of captaining anymore and this wasn't just the soft ponce Bonnet's influence, then Izzy would figure something out. He could take some of the pressure off, take it upon himself to run the ship. He could become the captain, for Edward. That wouldn't be so bad. Then Ed could stay on the ship, without needing to be Blackbeard all the time. Without responsibility.

Izzy could do that. He could do anything, if it was for the right person.

“I need you here,” Edward said, and that settled it. Izzy knew he would stay.

He had never wanted Blackbeard to love him. Izzy didn't know what he would do with such a burdensome feeling as love. Need, though. Need, he understood well enough.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

Edward had promised to kill Stede, and Izzy had believed him, because he didn't know what else to do.

Now Izzy wasn't so sure.

Every day it seemed ever more improbable that Edward would actually kill this ridiculous man that had intruded upon their lives.

If I didn't know better, I'd say he's been somehow seduced, Izzy thought to himself.

Every day, it became ever more difficult to convince himself he did know better.

Izzy was aware that Edward was interested in sex and romance in a way that Izzy wasn't. He was aware that he didn't know much about what people called love. He wasn't ready for the hole that opened in his chest as he watched Edward smiling in a way Izzy hadn't seen for several years.

Seduced.

The truth was, Izzy had become complacent. He'd let himself believe that Blackbeard was just as incapable of love as he was, because that had been the most convenient thing to do. That way he hadn't had to dwell on all the ways he came short in his service to his captain.

This was over now.

It was arresting to find that this thing he had been so proud of - this ability to put Blackbeard above everything else in a way that was so pure it felt untouchable – that this now made him redundant in Edward's eyes.

He'd always been willing to do anything for his captain.

Watching Ed and Bonnet gaze at each other, he realized he wasn't sure he could do this.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

By the time Izzy was rowing a dinghy away from the Revenge, he was conscious that there was something else he'd lost that night, other than the duel. He just couldn't fully articulate what it was.

Everything was too big a word for him to wrap his mouth around. His life would have been an easier thing to swallow, if it had come to that.

The thing was, he had thought he was redeeming himself. It had been selfish of him to leave it to Blackbeard to kill Bonnet, when Izzy had always been Ed's blade. He had thought he was doing his job.

Izzy rowed and rowed, past the pain in his muscles and the ache in his chest.

He didn't care if he was forgiven. He didn't care if he was loved. All he cared about was what Edward deserved. He cared about Blackbeard's legacy. The promise of an entire world at his fingertips.

Ed wasn't safe with Stede. Colorful silks and trinkets had never kept anyone safe at sea. They only made you a target for someone willing to be meaner than you.

Izzy knew himself. He could be mean. He could be feared. He would protect Blackbeard, because Edward deserved that.

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

He fucked it up. Or maybe Edward fucked it up? No, that was a blasphemous thought. Still, Izzy wasn't sure he could carry more blame inside him. It already felt like that was all he was these days. So maybe it was all that Stede Bonnet's fault.

Still. Even that didn't change the fact that everything was fucked.

It had been a decent plan, though. Get Calico Jack to draw Edward away, sic the British onto Bonnet. Finally make the ponce understand there were consequences when you pranced around on sea like an idiot while barely knowing how a fucking sail worked.

He'd thought he would finally make Edward understand that love, or whatever these butterflies were that were meant to live in his stomach, whatever that incandescent interest was he had for the blond man... Izzy would have shown him that it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth losing everything.

And yet... After all of that, Edward still had Bonnet, didn't he?

What the hell did Izzy have?

Above all else, loyalty to your captain.

Except he didn't have a captain anymore.

So maybe loyalty wasn't enough.

And if Izzy wasn't capable of giving anything more than that, well. Maybe he just wasn't enough.

#AggressivelyArospecWeek #AAW23 #Meeni writes fics #Our flag means death #OFMD #Israel hands #Izzy hands

[eddieydewr]

no hate to you and all this celebrities bullshit hating game aside, what is your opinion on what israel has been doing since oct 7? do you think it’s justified? do you think it has been exaggerated by social media? im genuinely curious (hope this doesn’t come off as patronizing because i really am just curious)

thank you for asking without hostility! i already spoke a bit about the IDF in this ask from february but i’ll expand~

i believe israel had no choice but to respond after the 10/7 massacre. i’m not claiming to know the ins and outs of the IDF, whether the massacre was premeditated* (with netanyahu’s knowledge, or if armed response was purposely delayed as to ramp up casualty number, etc), and i don’t know what is the truth or propaganda/fabricated (from both sides). but i do believe since there are hostages in gaza, israel had to act. could’ve they done it differently? absolutely. but at the same time, i don’t trust anything that comes from hamas and their shills. i’m sorry if that offends you but i just don’t. they control everything that goes on in gaza, including journalism and the health ministry. independent and foreign journalists aren’t allowed in gaza. the AP photographers are associated with hamas and terror proxies, and they were complicit in the massacre on 10/7. i don’t trust social media influencers like motaz and bisan.

no doubt you’ll have heard of shani louk. it was an AP photographer who snapped that picture of the poor girl whose lifeless body was laid face down in the back of a pickup truck, with her limbs at unnatural angles; and to add insult to injury, being used as a footrest for those hamas soldiers. not to mention a palestinian man, part of the crowing observers in gaza, who spat on her body, as if she meant nothing. oh, but what about the 30,000 people dead? yeeeeah. like i said, i don’t trust hamas. it’s almost only women and children. no hamas members? there’s an instance where hamas readily had a list of victims with their name, age, and ID number after like 30 minutes of a bombing (i think the one where hamas claimed to be israel’s doing but it was a misfire). this is impossible. especially when at the time, victims of 10/7 were still being searched and identified. by forensics and volunteers. of course there are dead palestinians but i wouldn’t be surprised if the numbers are exaggerated, and the majority of them were hamas.

islamic extremists despise the west but they’ll happily propagandise in exchange for money and support/sympathy, even better if the support includes antisemitism (especially from the left), calls for the dismantlement of israel, and even calls for caliphate in the west 💀 the native americans i follow online are side eyeing the useful idiots. down with the usa in favour of another colonialism? well done.

ok. i need to be balanced. many israelis i know of, as well as jews in the diaspora (which includes brett gelman!), agree that *netanyahu has got to go. he is very right wing, and let’s say… i wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the reason armed response was delayed on 10/7. he probably needed a number to justify such a response against hamas (meaning an attack on gaza where innocents are to suffer, especially due to hamas’ cowardice), and IDF members on duty were likely kept in the dark. he probably doesn’t have good intentions when it comes to gaza or even palestine. i don’t know much about him but i don’t think he’s anything like hitler (which is an offensive comparison to make in the first place; let’s not call jews nazis. unless they actually are but the word has a meaning. maybe white supremacy is more appropriate; which doesn’t rly make sense to me because jews are diverse). and i don’t think he knew or expected 10/7 to happen. i’ll acknowledge that there were warnings but if you know how those things work, you’d understand that not every warning/threat can be investigated (it costs money), plus sometimes it’s just not plausible. israel holds many music festivals and gigs a year, so it’s a case of which one? and well, if you got a warning that hamas soldiers were going to break through the border as well as arriving into israel via paraglides, and start murdering festival goers and civilians in their own homes, maybe grab some hostages and hold them in gaza for reasons (in exchange for thousands of palestinian prisoners in israel, notable prisoners who did bad things)? i’d be baffled, ngl. and like i said, it’d be difficult to investigate such a warning since there are many festivals to come within a year. and paraglides??? but i’m not a war nor terrorism expert. and netanyahu certainly is complicit in some aspects.

i believe the IDF mostly care about bringing hostages home, doing their best to minimise casualty (it is a war, not genocide), and preferring for hamas to surrender. unfortunately they have a shitty leader in netanyahu, not to mention the bad actors in service; like the male soldiers showing off lingerie? not really sure the purpose of that, maybe it’s male degeneracy or they’re somehow delighting in the hypocrisy of radical muslims and their double standards? i just don’t know. but they don’t represent israel or jews (remember, there are muslims in the IDF too).

social media definitely doesn’t help. it’s a useful tool for awareness but it’s also useful for lies, misinformation, and propaganda (both good and bad). and i don’t like how some online spaces are committed to sorting celebs and big names by their stance on the israel-hamas war, because for most of them, it’s blown out of proportion (noah as a notable example). plus it doesn’t achieve anything meaningful. social media definitely contributes to the massive jump in antisemitism and anti-arab/islamophobia. i think what pisses me off the most is the point scoring from trolls on both sides because it is not helpful; people in gaza are not all the better for it, and it makes any potential peace process between palestine and israel even more unrealistic.

i feel i have loads more to say but i think i should stop here. sorry anon 😳 apologies for any typos or if i worded some things badly. i hope you’re not interpreting this reply as my being hostile, because i only want to be upfront with what i know and my opinions, and if i’m ever wrong about something when the war ends and facts come to light, i’ll own it.

#beth answers

[polyamoryprincess]

Getting mad at Jews in the United States for drawing attention to US antisemitism because of the Israeli government and calling it propaganda is extremely antisemitic. I hope you don't have any irl Jewish friends to be ambushed by your hate

The man who paid for the ad is Robert Kraft, he has direct ties to Israel and has a vested financial interest in turning US audiences against Palestine and towards Israel. The way the United States government and anyone with enough money and influence to spread propaganda against Palestine has done this has been to say that any negative word against Israel is antisemitic. That has been the case since I was a child. It’s bullshit. Israel is just a government body like any other and deserves scrutiny like any other.

This ad was created on the same day that the last “safe” place in Gaza was attacked.

Just because the ad says its goal is to bring attention to antisemitism does not mean that’s why it was created. Things have context. Antisemitism is and has been a real problem, and that does not negate that the very real oppression of Jewish Americans is being used to get support of an active genocide. Their real pain and struggles is being used in the name of imperialism, islamphobia, oppression, and genocide, is that really the context with which you want antisemitism to finally be addressed? When it’s to blow up and commit war crimes against innocent men, women, and children?

If that ad had happened any other year, when Israel wasn’t actively decimating a location it already had near absolute power over, people like me wouldn’t be upset. But Israel is and therefore we are.

It is not a requirement that you endlessly support the Israeli government or any other government. Citizens have a duty to oppose their government when it’s committing atrocities and Israel has murdered babies in their beds.

(I’m also not mad at American Jews motherfucker, I’m mad at anyone who supports genocide. Guess what asshole? a LOT of those people aren’t Jewish.)

#Anyone can make propaganda about anything #And context matters and this has significant context

[blitzturtles]

Title: Rum (Ao3) Rating: Teen and Up Fandom: OFMD, Our Flag Means Death Pairing(s): Steddyhands Summary: “Is he typically this…” Stede motions vaguely with his free hand. He can’t find the words to express what he means, or, rather, the words don’t exactly fit because ‘affectionate’ is not a descriptor he would have used for Israel Hands under any other circumstance.

-

“Is he typically this…” Stede motions vaguely with his free hand. He can’t find the words to express what he means, or, rather, the words don’t exactly fit because ‘affectionate’ is not a descriptor he would have used for Israel Hands under any other circumstance.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Ed says with a laugh, “Wait until you try to get up.”

Stede pauses, momentarily considering that. He has no real urgent need to move, but he has a feeling that Ed is right. It would be fairly difficult to dislodge Izzy in his current state. Between the way he’s attached himself to Stede’s side—tucked firmly into place with his head nuzzling against Stede’s neck—, and the fact that Izzy’s fairly drunk… Well, Stede may just have to accept his fate.

“You have experience with these matters, I take it,” it’s not really a question, more an acknowledgement. He can already picture it, hard as it would have been before tonight. He’s certainly never imagined Izzy being the cuddly sort before, but now he can see it. Izzy pressed against Ed, doing his damnedest to try to burrow his way under Ed’s skin. (Really, it’s as if he can’t get close enough.)

“Since he was, oh, I don’t know, sixteen?” Ed snorts at the memory that must pop into his head. “He denies that he gets like this, but he always has. At least when rum is involved.”

“Sixteen,” Stede repeats, a bit of awe finding its way into his voice. He had known the two were together for a very, very long time, but it’s… Well, it’s difficult to imagine Izzy ever being sixteen. Part of Stede had been convinced that Izzy was simply born to the world, a fully formed, grumpy bastard of a man.

“Yeah, mate. Shoulda seen him. Used to keep his hair kinda long. Was real pretty, y’know, and he might be small, but, back then? He was smaller, and he was just limbs. No meat.”

Whatever part of Stede that had been convinced that Izzy had tuned them out—or even fallen asleep—is quickly corrected when Izzy flips Ed the bird.

“He’s a fucking liar,” Izzy mutters as he moves impossibly closer.

Ah, so his vocabulary hasn’t changed, at least.

“About what, Iz? You being a wee lad, or the fact that you were pretty?”

“Were?” Stede asks at the same time Izzy snaps, “Fuck off.” It’s precisely then that Izzy goes rigid against him, though he doesn’t pull away.

Ed snorts, “You’re right. No ‘were’ about it, huh?”

Stede feels the heat of Izzy’s cheeks against his neck, and he has to bite his lip to keep from reacting. He’s somewhere between a startled breath and a laugh, and he knows Izzy wouldn’t appreciate either.

“Twat,” Izzy grumbles.

Stede rubs at his arm with one hand. “He isn’t exactly wrong, darling,” the pet name slips out before he can think better of it, but there’s no knife to his throat. Then, he’s not sure Izzy’s coordinated enough to stab him right now. He might just do it later.

“Twats,” comes Izzy’s amended reply. It has Ed peeling with laughter, and Stede doing his best to do anything but.

#steddyhands #stizzy #blackhands #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet #izzy hands #edward teach #blackbeard #blitzwrites #blitz

[childofchrist1983]

Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. - 2 Kings 17:13-14 KJV

This Bible passage brings to mind Psalm 95, "Don't harden your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness." How often the Israelites hardened their hearts against the LORD God Almighty! They complained in the desert that they didn't have the right food or enough water, and even constructed an idol, the Golden Calf. And now, they are going back to worshipping idols and abandoning their God for the gods of the nations that surrounded them. Because they didn't listen to God, Israel was attacked and pretty much destroyed. Only Judah was left, and that wouldn't last long either, because they, too, would abandon God and turn to idols.

Recently, we were talking about God's "instruction manual" and how the Holy Bible has the power to keep us on the right path. How much we are like the Israelites in the desert, the people of Israel and Judah who refused to listen to Moses and then to the prophets who tried to bring them back to the God who had saved them over and over again. When do we stop hardening our hearts? When do we obey both the letter and the spirit of the Law? The spirit of all the laws of God is love. The Israelites who allowed their children to be sacrificed to Baal were not exactly loving parents! Why would they do that?! I can't imagine their thinking, but they must have believed that sacrificing their children would bring them something worth having, but what could have been more important than their children?

We should be glad that this doesn't usually happen anymore, but what about parents of today, who believe that it's more important to work for a bigger house, a better car, or just a bigger bank account than spending time with their children? Of course, there are those who need to work many hours just to put food on the table and a roof over the heads of their children, but they are sacrificing for their children, not outright sacrificing their children! Everyday, let us strive to stay close to Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ. Let us humble ourselves as we examine our own hearts and see how well we are living for God and His Holy Word and not for ourselves and our sins or this world. God has shown us the way to Him and His Kingdom of Heaven. May He help us to stay on the course He had already set for us, even before He knit us in our mother's womb.

Everyday, we must remember to thank Him for the grace that He poured out for us on the cross. He has freed us from the burdens of sin and guilt. May He help us to always walk in His grace and Holy Spirit, not by our own measure. May He give us the humble humility to know that our freedom and eternal salvation is found only in Him, so that His grace may sustain us, and we may never lose sight of His love and light and mercy. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for calling us to Him and to serve Him. May He equip us to do all that He has called us to do so that as He works through us, He may use us to produce fruit, to reach others, and to encourage all brothers and sisters in Christ. May He work all of these things in us and through us for His Kingdom and His glory. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all His creation, for His miraculous ways and for everything He does and has done for us! Keep the faith and keep moving forward in your walk with Jesus!

Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Word and for sending His Holy Spirit so that we might have His grace, not only to awaken us and transform our hearts in our spiritual rebirth and guarantee our eternity with Him, but to also call upon Him whenever we are in need. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all the reminders of His love and mercy and faithfulness within His Holy Word. He is bigger than any challenge or circumstance in our lives. Knowing this within our minds and our hearts, nothing can deter our faith in Him and His Truth. May we all accept Him and His eternal gift of salvation and ask that He would transform our hearts and lives according to His will and ways. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Spirit who saves, seals and leads us. May we always thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His almighty power and saving grace. For He is our strength, and He alone is able to save us, forgive our sins and gift us eternal salvation and entry into His Kingdom of Heaven.

May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world daily. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Holy Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful Lord, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

[mallowmaenad]

Since everyone says you have to do your part I’ll say my piece.

I am against Israel’s genocide of the nation of Palestine. The modern idea of Israel is nothing but a fantasy of imperialist manifest destiny.

I feel like I am incapable of truly doing anything to help the situation. I am a white American of no religious persuasion who is disabled with less than no money at my disposal. I have roughly 300 followers on Twitter and the portion of my follower base that isn’t inactive accounts or bots agree with me and have done more than I ever could. The word has been spread as much as it can. World leaders, celebrities, renowned journalists and nations neighboring the war have been loud and clear on the situation and my outreach amounts to four or five reblogs on a website nobody uses anymore and one or two retweets on a platform on the verge of collapse.

So I cannot donate my money to aid Palestine, I cannot spread the word more than it has already been spread and my voice does not matter because I am a minority who has no personal connections to this conflict. I feel hopeless and I pull my hair out every day seeing posts that say “You need to be doing your part, you need to spread the word, don’t take a mental health break from this or you’re a genocide-condoning pig” what the fuck am I supposed to do? Hope a zionist who follows a ton of nobody mentally ill furries on a microblogging platform sees my reblog of a 500k note post and make them think “Hm. I’ve never thought about it like that before”? Even then would I need to do that ten thousand more times to make any tangible impact on the reign of mass murder happening on the bankroll of my home country who will not listen to me if I tell them to stop?

If my legs will allow me to stand, if a Palestinian approaches me I can give them a hug and a shoulder to cry on, but they probably wouldn’t want that from a complete stranger. The only thing I can give at this point is the last of my hope and my condolences.

[fierceawakening]

You know, the thing that confuses me the most about this whole Israel/Palestine thing is… I don’t like war and I wish it never happened anywhere and think there are very few if any just wars, but…

…it makes logical sense to me that the Palestinians would see the Israelis as a hostile colonizing force.

I don’t know that I think this is completely accurate. Families that moved there after the Holocaust were likely much less concerned with twirling villain moustaches than with “finally! A place to go!”

But if I was already living somewhere and someone tried to evict me to find a place for refugees instead of *asking* if I’d help and allowing me to not consent, I can see how I might get angry. I’d *hope* that I would choose kindness over that anger at not being asked and immediately say, “hey what if you don’t evict me and i let these people stay too? You’re being a dick trying to kick me out, but that’s not the displaced refugees’ fault.”

It would be most in line with my values to at least try that. But I’m not sure I wouldn’t be “yikes, no” in that actual situation. You want to take my house?! What. I’m supposed to do what? For people I’ve never met? Because you said so?

If nobody at all reacted like “why don’t I just take them in though? Why do I have to leave on top of it?” then yeah, I can see the idea that it speaks at least a little badly of them as a group. Knowing a lot of Afghan refugees in my area who are lovely people, I’d really hope at least some communities would choose to be generous.

But… eviction is terrifying, you guys. I don’t think people fully appreciate how terrifying it is until they know someone it’s happened to and watch what it’s like.

And given that I do… I feel really weird and uncomfortable with the way some people describe the violence as “celebrating dead Jews.” Is that really what’s wanted or are people just lastingly bitter about what they see as an unjust eviction?

I dunno. I’m not sure I’m making sense here. Just that… no, I don’t think someone should retaliate against their old landlord. There are reasons for evictions! I’m safe in my own apartment because a violent person got VERY UNCEREMONIOUSLY evicted, and if he returned to attack us that would be BAD.

But it’s not outside the realm of my imagination that somebody would do that. Especially if they paid their rent on time and obeyed their lease provisions and thought they'd be fine.

I can imagine even more readily that they’d feel emboldened to do it because hey, all of their neighbors are doing it too, so why not join in?

[itsclydebitches]

OFMD Party Drabble #4

Prompt: Sea Shanties (“Leave Her, Johnny”)

The problem with living with someone—in the close quarters of a ship, no less—was that you either let them grow on you like lichen, sticky and gross, but also kind of beautiful too, until one day the thought of suffering alongside anyone else was tantamount to sacrilege...

…or you simply killed them before the first month was out.

Izzy, unfortunately, was still breathing.

Lucius considered whether it was really too late to anchor the asshole when Izzy concluded whatever offense he’d been laying at the Swede’s feet, turning to press a hand briefly against his forehead, mouth growing taunt and eyes slipping shut. That was it. That was the real problem here. Because if Lucius had been just a little less observant... but no. He was an artist, after all. He couldn’t help his own talent, or when inspiration struck, how he was all but built for noticing every minute detail so that he could later commit them to paper. Still, it would have been nice to be able to turn that off for Israel Fucking Hands.

“This is the price of perfection,” Lucius sighed.

“What was that, babe?”

“I said you’re perfect,” and Lucius dropped a quick kiss onto Pete’s head, enjoying the giggle it produced. “Need to talk to Dizzy for a sec. Hang tight.”

“You know it.”

Really, it wasn’t a far walk from one side of the deck to the other and yet in the span of that time Lucius had cataloged a whole host of pathetic observations. Like how Izzy had already sweated through his layers and had a wobble in his step that spoke of dehydration, accommodated for with angry stomping. The way his hair was starting to come out of its stupid pomade—too busy lately, little time to himself—and his boots, usually obsessively clean, still had the mud from the island visit two days ago. As Lucius approached, he noticed how, even though he wouldn’t give into another wince, Izzy was squinting at the sun and all but trembling at the noise around him.

A headache, then. Or a migraine. Heatstroke. Hell, it could be starvation for all Lucius ever saw the man eat. For anyone else he would have passed over some fresh water, a snack, and pushed the poor sod towards the nearest horizontal surface, maybe even with a pre-nap gift if he thought they’d be up for it. Izzy, the difficult bastard, wouldn’t accept any of that. Lucius still wasn’t sure if he even deserved the offer.

He grinned. Not that it wouldn’t be fun to try. Very fun.

But he was being patient today. Kindhearted. A fucking saint. The savior of The Revenge because if he succeeded in cooling Izzy’s heels the whole ship would be in his debt—and Lucius had plenty of other fun ways of cashing that in.

So instead of attempting any inevitable failures, Lucius simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a journal.

“Here,” he said.

It was smaller than the one he used for Stede—very much so—because Lucius kept it on his person at all times. It wasn’t a diary, exactly... more of a space to vent. Lucius wasn’t a man with much of a filter, but even he knew better than to say every stray, sudden, ultimately inconsequential thought that popped into his head. So, he wrote them here. All about Stede’s annoying habits. The way Roach snored. The fact that he’d been asking Ed to build better lighting down to the rec room and it was still a creepy walk each night. He recorded all the little inconveniences of the ship, his frustrations, others’ annoyances—and even a few fantasies about what to do about it all.

The whole project was rather cathartic. If anything was going to make their idiot first mate feel better—anything other than what he actually needed, anyway—it would be a vindictive dive into what someone else thought of this insane voyage.

Lucius loved it. Of course he did, but he wasn’t blind.

“Two rules,” he said, wiggling the journal. “One, you don’t repeat anything you read here on pain of me verbally demeaning you in front of the whole ship—you know I can do it, Jizzy—and two, you don’t seek revenge for what I’ve written about you, got it?”

“About me?” Izzy spluttered, half offended, mostly confused by whatever this strange offering was. There was no need to explain himself. Either Izzy would get something out of the experience, or he’d toss the journal overboard. That was fine. Lucius could always get another one.

Or he’d try to undercut Lucius by breaking the first rule and telling others what he found, in which case he would get one hell of a shock about what he and Pete laughed over at night.

Regardless, Lucius had done his duty. He’d really gone above and beyond today.

“Glad to help,” he said, blowing Izzy a kiss. Lucius left him standing there sweating, swaying, clutching the journal like he wasn’t sure if it was a lifeline or a threat. He’d decide for himself soon enough.

Until then, Lucius was happy to settle down with Pete and watch the show.

#OFMD #Our Flag Means Death #OFMD Party #OFMDfic #Lucius Spriggs #Izzy Hands #Black Pete #epilogue where Izzy does have a good time #and he's pissed about it #Lucius decides to share the journal with Frenchie #and they write a bunch of new verses for 'Leave Her Johnny' #which is sung to the crew #who are all good sports about it #but Izzy is weirdly jealous #how DARE Lucius share his salt journal with anyone else lmao