#participate in a human war.

[clonehub]

nobody can talk to ridge about fighting for the republic once he's succesfully escaped it, he's gotta be probably the most critical of the republic government out of all the clones. saying "our purpose [as clones] is to fight!" will get you "who told you that? The Kaminoans that 'bred' us for money or the government that won't pay us and won't let us vote?"

#ch posts #i wish. i just wish that the clones werent so forcibly apolitical like there's some major sentient/human rights abuses going on w the clone #that doesnt get explored i think bc like #frankly the point of defending the republic or viewing them as good but Corrupt for a lot of people #(not everyone but a lot) would totally collapse #even for the writers #like do you see how they tiptoed around the "what happens after the war'' question #like why not make a clone who seriously worries about the future #first of his kind to do so #why not make a clone who examines the structures that put him in place and asks lots of questions that DONT lead him to blowing up #his siblings perhaps! #what about clones who don't know what they're fighting for but keep doing it because they're scared and they know nothing else! #theyre loyal but they dont know to what!! #the jaded clones who want to stop fighting the clones who are desperately searching for a way out the cloens #who maybe want senatorial representation like COME ON #and looping back to my first point like the Republic looks a million times more evil when you have participants in the slave army ask thing #like why arent we paid/paid well and why cant we vote #why arent we citizens for the state we exist for like!!!! #star wars #the clone wars #mod oc #ridge #tcw #swtcw

[whatudottu]

I haven’t read the books so perhaps I don’t have the full context for what TFP Shockwave’s experiments were like, whether he went in with a question to be answered or coming up with a hypothesis after the fact to justify the means, but I’d think it’d be interesting if he kinda had like… all the scientifically proven basis to form a question and ask a particular bizarre scenario.

Like for instance, Shockwave might have countless evidence that torture is not as effective of an interrogation technique as apparently both sides make it out to be (if OP’s threat to Soundwave was any indication of anything), but instead of testing a much nicer method, Shockwave develops the cortical psychic to GUARANTEE the authenticity of the information instead of idk, appealing to the captive. Might even suggests that the evidence points to flaws on both the tortured (prone to lying just to get out sooner) AND the torturer (subject to distraction and accepting conflicting statements), rather than solely one party or the other.

The thing is though, it’s hard to wonder WHAT questions Shockwave may seek an answer for, unknown questions that somehow connect with just a lot of predacon DNA (either their revival or in hybridisation). Because offering the alternative - senseless scientific violence - seems a very bland motive or whatever this would be ESPECIALLY for Shockwave; the cold pursuit of science is his mojo not to affront it.

Eh, whatever. Guess this is me just thinking about the logic tree Shockwave might follow to get a new experiment running, and doing so in a way that doesn’t just amount to ‘mad scientist for the sake of a smart guy torturer’ or whatever lmao-

#shockwave #tfp shockwave #transformers #tfp #maccadam #if he met cylas no doubt would he get a new pet project (a human in a cybertronian shell? how odd) #you know suddenly being hit with the interest in shockwave randomly probably makes my thoughts eh limited in comparison to shockwave fans #imagining shockwave taking advantage of the gladiators in the pits to experiment with some early predacon experiments #something something this is early days so he asks for consent so he isn’t beaten to death by gladiators #yada yada he might skip over the whole ‘informed’ part of informed consent #and probably already violated voluntary participation since gladiators are in a position to want more mods or they more likely die #idk just thinking of how you can fuck with the ethics of the scientific formula without completely disregarding it #when war happened shockwave stopped asking because it’s not like folk consent to be killed so clearly experiementations can happen for free #that’s not how that works and shockwave would be well aware of that- it’s just not as important m

[umbracirrus]

Random Friday WIP go-

I have had just a massive writing inspiration moment today after about two, three weeks of just having no writing fuel (hence why I've been drawing my OCs!). And because I'm really happy with this and the turn in events, I want to share some of my WIP today.

I'm trying to write some of the story of my Dragonborn Aevra, and I'm actually hoping to maybe post the first chapter of it soon because things are going very well with gettng it written! It's going to be called 'As a leaf would scatter to the wind'... I just kind of liked the visualisation of a leaf getting blown around matching Aevra trying to get her life in order with the chaos which unfolds around her.

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

"Ah, General… Not too long ago, we received a missive addressed to you. I am glad that you arrived when you did, I was just about to have a soldier carry the message to Solitude for your attention," the Legate stated as he approached the General, the only person of the convoy who had so far dismounted their horse upon their arrival. "Here."

Tullius frowned as he took the rolled-up parchment from the Altmer's hand, before unfurling it where he stood. There was a slight tension as he then released the bottom of the paper, allowing it to naturally start curling back up, and clenched his fist by his side. He then turned around, and cast his eyes across them all. "There has been a change in plan. We are no longer escorting the prisoners to Cyrodiil." Quiet whispers were cast between soldiers who were close enough to each other to talk. Had something happened? Was the missive directly from the Emperor? Were they needed elsewhere? "We shall instead be making our way to Helgen, where preparations are being put into place to… pass on judgement."

That particular phrasing, and the tension in his tone of voice conveyed to Aevra exactly what wasn't being said. She had no doubt that many other of her fellow soldiers also knew what was being implied. Her hands tightened around the reins of her horse as she took in a quiet but sharp inhale.

The prisoners were to be executed.

Silence hung heavy and thick over the group, until the General gave a brisk "as you were," to everyone, which set forth the bustle of unpacking any carts and wagons, checking over supplies, ensuring that the prisoners were moved somewhere secure for the night, and setting up tents to account for the camp exceeding capacity until they were ready to move on to Helgen.

Aevra quietly dismounted her horse, then reached into a small pack attached to the saddle to pull out a carrot to feed him before she took him to the camp stable for the night. She smiled and gently patted at his mane as he ate, before giving him a tired smile. "I wonder if you are aware of the part we have played in history over these past few days, boy…" She closed her eyes as she got yet another nicker in response, most likely a request to feed him the rest of the carrot over continuing her musing. She extended her hand out for him to get what he wanted, but continued nonetheless. "These old bones of mine have taken part in far too many 'once-in-a-lifetime' historic events already. What's one more, hm?"

The horse nuzzled at her after a few more moments of standing there, and she took that as a sign of needing to get moving. There were things to do, and she wasn't going to accomplish any of them if she were to remain stood still.

Just as she went to move, she heard a voice to her side.

"Soldier, before you go-" She paused as she looked at the General, who was now stood in her vicinity and looking directly at her, making her curious as to what he was wanting to say. In that brief, quiet moment, another soldier approached her, and quickly offered to take her horse off her hands as he took his own horse to the stables. As she handed over the reins, the General gave his orders. "I need you to go and get us some more firewood. I don't doubt that Legate Fasendil doesn't have enough for the extra numbers in the camp tonight. If we have none spare, chop some – and be quick about it. How you Nords can stand this cold, I have no idea..."

Nodding at her orders, having to stop herself from chuckling at his mumbling afterwards about the temperature which she was presumably not meant to have heard, she made her way over to where she knew the quartermaster to be holed up from her previous stint in the camp a few months back. He would know if there was enough wood, and would most certainly have an axe to spare if there wasn't.

A simple, menial job to get her mind off what was to come. There was nothing better. It would make the nice, warm meal afterwards all the more deserved.

#meg has done some writing #for context aevra isn't old old. she just likes to joke that she's old. She's 49. so more middle aged than old? #i mean she's a great war veteran and was in solitude when torygg died and here she just participated in the 'imperial ambush'- #-that takes place just before the events of the game. #aevra is the human embodiment of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and she absolutely hates it #fic - as a leaf would scatter to the wind #dragonborn oc aevra

[itstimewehavesomesoliddick]

All this Starfield stuff is just making me want to pick up Elite Dangerous again, where I can seamlessly fly to empty planets and copy pasted settlements but at least the game looks fantastic, I can do some actual exploration and people look like actual persons instead of microwaved wax statues

#AND I also get to participate in a massive war against aliens for the sake of humanity

[anarchomoop]

The part in the Yu Mei-Ren interlude where she asks Emiya if he ever met anyone as a servant that he held a grudge against when he was a human. just... lol. Girl you do not know the half of it.

#to be clear Emiya was introduced to the series in a game in which his future servant self is summoned into a holy grail war #In which his teenage self is a participant #He has in fact as a servant been forced to fight against himself. And he lost. #he was really trying to win too because if he won he'd be able to like destroy all of time or something #As a way to make it so humans would stop hurting each other. #Emiya Archer's motives are interesting and I am doing them a disservice here

[countess-of-edessa]

the way people jump to the defense of video games whenever someone is like "what a stupid hobby to spend more than the barest amount of time killing effort on" really just reinforces to me that video games is objectively one of stupidest things to waste your life on

#well I don’t think it’s not worthwhile!!!!!! Well that is because you are addicted to video games. #everyone has a hobby and mine is video games!!!! any hobby that involves physical effort be it a sport or art or wood carving #is worthwhile. you are putting something into the world #video games does not put anything into the world. and is less likely to #negatively impact all the other parts of your life. i have never heard a woman complain her husband is playing golf 12 hours a day everyday #to Be a human being in the world you have to participate in the human experience #effort creativity exertion earnest attempts to succeed #video games a facsimile of effort and toil and experience that give an ultimately hollow sense of accomplishment #because men (and everyone) these days have fewer outlets than ever by which they can express those things organically #especially in a high-adrenaline high physicality way #and i think a lot of men would like to but find themselves unable #and like sorry about the industrial Revolution and it’s consequences on the human race guys but you still have to do something about your #life despite it. I’m sorry you can’t go fight in a cool war. #maybe take up boxing #or woodworking #or rugby #if video games are anything more than a passing way to spend a small amount of leisure time i think they are bad. so. #text posts that i think will probably be fine but might get reblogged by the wrong people and make everyone mad at me dot com

[heritageposts]

The Grayzone has obtained slides from a confidential Israel lobby presentation based on data from Republican pollster Frank Luntz. They contain talking points for politicians and public figures seeking to justify Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. Two prominent pro-Israel lobby groups are holding private briefings in New York City to coach elected officials and well-known figures on how to influence public opinion in favor of the Israeli military’s rampage in Gaza, The Grayzone can reveal. These PR sessions, convened by the UJA-Federation and Jewish Community Relations Council, rely on data collected by Frank Luntz, a veteran Republican pollster and pundit. [...] The Luntz-tested presentations on the war in Gaza urge politicians to avoid trumpeting America’s supposedly shared democratic values with Israel, and focus instead on deploying “The Language of War with Hamas.” According to this framing, they must deploy incendiary language painting Hamas as a “brutal and savage…organization of hate” which has “raped women,” while insisting Israel is engaged in “a war for humanity.” [...] Luntz’s Gaza war presentation puts his poll-tested tactics back in the Israel lobby’s hands, urging pro-Israel public figures to stay on the attack with incendiary language and shocking allegations against their enemies. In one focus group, Luntz asked participants to state which alleged act by Hamas on October 7 “bothers you more.” After being presented with a laundry list of alleged atrocities, a majority declared that they were most upset by the claim that Hamas “raped civilians” – 19 percent more than those who expressed outrage that Hamas supposedly “exterminated civilians.” Data like this apparently influenced the Israeli government to launch an obsessive but still unsuccessful campaign to prove that Hamas carried out sexual assault on a systematic basis on October 7. Initiated at Israel’s United Nations mission in December 2023 with speeches by neoliberal tech oligarch Sheryl Sandberg and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a recipient of hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations and speaking fees from Israel lobby organizations, Tel Aviv’s propaganda blitz has yet to produce a single self-identified victim of sexual assault by Hamas. A March 5 report by UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence Pramila Patten did not contain one direct testimony of sexual assault on October 7. What’s more, Patten’s team said they found “no digital evidence specifically depicting acts of sexual violence.”

They also advice to use different language for Democrat and Republican voters, which inadvertently provides one of the most succinct explanation of the difference between the two genocidal parties that I've ever come across:

To make their arguments stick, Luntz recommends pro-Israel forces avoid the exterminationist language favored by Israeli officials who have called, for example, to “erase” the population of Gaza, and to instead advocate for “an efficient, effective approach” to eliminating Hamas. At the same time, veteran pollster acknowledges that Republican voters prefer phrases which imply maximalist violence, like “eradicate” and “obliterate,” while sanitized terms like “neutralize” appeal more to Democrats. Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Donald Trump have showcased similar focus-grouped rhetoric with their calls to “finish them” and “finish the problem” in Gaza.

One of the slides, illustrating what language to use:

There are several more slides in the article. I recommend reading the whole thing, start to finish. One more thing I'd like to highlight though:

Luntz acknowledges Israel’s mounting PR problems in a slide identifying the most powerful tactics employed by Palestine solidarity activists. “Israelis attacking Israel is the second most potent weapon against Israel,” the visual display reads beside a photo of a protest by Jewish Voices for Peace, a US-based Jewish organization dedicated to ending Israel’s occupation of Palestine. “The most potent” tactic in mobilizing opposition to Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to Luntz, “is the visual destruction of Gaza and the human toll.” The slide inadvertently acknowledges the cruelty of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, displaying a bombed out apartment building with clearly anguished women and children fleeing in the foreground. But Luntz assures his audience, “It ‘looks like a genocide’ even though the damage has nothing to do with the definition.” According to this logic, the American public can become more tolerant of copiously documented crimes against humanity if they are simply told not to believe their lying eyes.

. . . full article on GZ (6 Mar 2024)

#free palestine #palestine #israel #gaza #hasbara

[intersectionalpraxis]

In the past few weeks alone there have been over a hundred massacres, and so many more Palestinian people -especially children have been impacted and genocided in Gaza. The occupation of Palestine must end and the IOF must be held accountable for their war crimes and crimes against humanity. We keep saying enough is enough but the world keeps failing Palestinian people. The global strike is in a few days -please participate and keep resisting, keep posting, and keep talking about Palestine.

#feminist #social justice #free palestine #palestine #free gaza #freepalastine🇵🇸 #settler violence #settler colonialism #current events #current news #war on gaza #gaza #gaza strip #gaza genocide #gazaunderattack #gaza news #gaza under attack #ceasefire now #ceasefire #end the occupation #global news #world news #tw child injury

[storiesfromgaza]

A message to everyone :

Ever since I began this blog and continuously shared its content, I never asked any of you to follow me, share these posts, or use the Blaze feature to promote them. I've been entirely absorbed in writing articles and translating stories and posts from the people of Gaza without concerning myself with whether they will reach a broad audience or not. My initial goal was to reach any number of individuals, even if it was just one person, in the hope of increasing their awareness. That would have been sufficient for me.

But today, particularly after the recent news confirming the complete shutdown of the internet, electricity, and communications in Gaza, along with the isolation imposed by the Israeli occupation and the brutal and savage bombings happening now as I write these lines, I want everyone to share what's happening. Not just on Tumblr but everywhere you can. Share on WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, and for those who are proficient in Russian, share on platforms like VK. If you know Korean, share in Naver cafes. Share with your family, your loved ones, and those you meet on the street. Let everyone know about the monstrous massacres the occupation is committing against Palestinian civilians, teenage girls and young women who have become widows due to the bombings, young children whose lives were forcibly taken from them while they clung to life, and the elderly who hoped for a longer life or a peaceful death beside their children and families, but the occupation robbed them of this, making the old man witness the deaths of all his family members, his children, and his grandchildren, and then he dies alone, hoping to join them.

O People, humans, whether you are Muslims, Christians, Jews, or followers of any religion, my message is for those of you who have humanity, whatever your identity may be. Your silence today means you are participating in an extermination worse than what Hitler did to the Jews, even worse than the victims of all the world wars combined. At that time, there weren't sufficient means of communication, so everyone's excuse was that they couldn't do anything except publish in newspapers. But today, in our current era, there are many available options. So, what's your excuse now?

Your silence and inaction are permission for them to continue their slaughter and the extraction of souls from their bodies. Let everyone do whatever is within their power, and all of us should know that we can do a lot. Edit: I've created a Telegram channel for us and posted all the articles and stories that have been published here, so you can easily share them with everyone. Join it through the following link: https://t.me/storiesfromgaza

Edit²: we now have an Instagram account, which we created to make it easier for everyone to share the stories and articles published here. Some of them have already been shared with beautiful designs, and we are in the process of posting the remaining articles after formatting and finalizing the designs. I had to use my personal account because when I created an account with the name "Stories From Gaza," Instagram suspended the account immediately, even before I could change the profile picture or post anything! Account username: @amrshater

Your interaction on Instagram will greatly help in spreading the stories and articles to the Instagram audience https://www.instagram.com/amrshater/

#gaza #palestine #غزة #فلسطين #humanitarian crisis #genocide #free gaza #free palestine #gaza strip #storiesfromgaza

[fairuzfan]

AMAZING article about what it means to participate in anti-Zionism work both online and in person.

If your anti-zionism does not in any way acknowledge that it is a way of thought and practice led by and for Palestinians, then you need to reevaluate your "anti-zionism" label.

Some passages that felt especially relevant to tumblr:

If we accept, as those with even the most rudimentary understanding of history do, that zionism is an ongoing process of settler-colonialism, then the undoing of zionism requires anti-zionism, which should be understood as a process of decolonisation. Anti-zionism as a decolonial ideology then becomes rightly situated as an indigenous liberation movement. The resulting implication is two-fold. First, decolonial organising requires that we extract ourselves from the limitations of existing structures of power and knowledge and imagine a new, just world. Second, this understanding clarifies that the caretakers of anti-zionist thought are indigenous communities resisting colonial erasure, and it is from this analysis that the strategies, modes, and goals of decolonial praxis should flow. In simpler terms: Palestinians committed to decolonisation, not Western-based NGOs, are the primary authors of anti-zionist thought. We write this as a Palestinian and a Palestinian-American who live and work in Palestine, and have seen the impact of so-called ‘Western values’ and how the centring of the ‘human rights’ paradigm disrupts real decolonial efforts in Palestine and abroad. This is carried out in favour of maintaining the status quo and gaining proximity to power, using our slogans emptied of Palestinian historical analysis.

Anti-zionist organising is not a new notion, but until now the use of the term in organising circles has been mired with misunderstandings, vague definitions, or minimised outright. Some have incorrectly described anti-zionism as amounting to activities or thought limited to critiques of the present Israeli government – this is a dangerous misrepresentation. Understanding anti-zionism as decolonisation requires the articulation of a political movement with material, articulated goals: the restitution of ancestral territories and upholding the inviolable principle of indigenous repatriation and through the right of return, coupled with the deconstruction of zionist structures and the reconstitution of governing frameworks that are conceived, directed, and implemented by Palestinians.  Anti-zionism illuminates the necessity to return power to the indigenous community and the need for frameworks of justice and accountability for the settler communities that have waged a bloody, unrelenting hundred-year war on the people of Palestine. It means that anti-zionism is much more than a slogan. 

[...]

While our collective imaginations have not fully articulated what a liberated and decolonised Palestine looks like, the rough contours have been laid out repeatedly. Ask any Palestinian refugee displaced from Haifa, the lands of Sheikh Muwannis, or Deir Yassin – they will tell that a decolonised Palestine is, at a minimum, the right of Palestinians’ return to an autonomous political unit from the river to the sea. When self-proclaimed ‘anti-zionists’ use rhetoric like ‘Israel-Palestine’ – or worse, ‘Palestine-Israel’ – we wonder: where do you think ‘Israel’ exists? On which land does it lay, if not Palestine? This is nothing more than an attempt to legitimise a colonial state; the name you are looking for is Palestine – no hyphen required. At a minimum, anti-zionist formations should cut out language that forces upon Palestinians and non-Palestinian allies the violence of colonial theft. 

[...]

The common choice to centre the Oslo Accords, international humanitarian law, and the human rights paradigm over socio-historical Palestinian realities not only limits our analysis and political interventions; it restricts our imagination of what kind of future Palestinians deserve, sidelining questions of decolonization to convince us that it is the new, bad settlers in the West Bank who are the source of violence. Legitimate settlers, who reside within the bounds of Palestinian geographies stolen in 1948 like Tel Aviv and West Jerusalem, are different within this narrative. Like Breaking the Silence, they can be enlightened by learning the error of colonial violence carried out in service of the bad settlers. They can supposedly even be our solidarity partners – all without having to sacrifice a crumb of colonial privilege or denounce pre-1967 zionist violence in any of its cruel manifestations. As a result of this course of thought, solidarity organisations often showcase particular Israelis – those who renounce state violence in service of the bad settlers and their ongoing colonisation of the West Bank – in roles as professionals and peacemakers, positioning them on an equal intellectual, moral, or class footing with Palestinians. There is no recognition of the inherent imbalance of power between these Israelis and the Palestinians they purport to be in solidarity with – stripping away their settler status. The settler is taken out of the historical-political context which afforded them privileged status on stolen land, and is given the power to delineate the Palestinian experience. This is part of the historical occlusion of the zionist narrative, overlooking the context of settler-colonialism to read the settler as an individual, and omitting their class status as a settler. 

It is essential to note that Palestinians have never rejected Jewish indigeneity in Palestine. However, the liberation movement has differentiated between zionist settlers and Jewish natives. Palestinians have established a clear and rational framework for this distinction, like in the Thawabet, the National Charter of Palestine from 1968. Article 6 states, ‘The Jews who had normally resided in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion will be considered Palestinians.’ When individuals misread ‘decolonisation’ as ‘the mass killing or expulsion of Jews,’ it is often a reflection of their own entanglement in colonialism or a result of zionist propaganda. Perpetuating this rhetoric is a deliberate misinterpretation of Palestinian thought, which has maintained this position over a century of indigenous organising.  Even after 100 years of enduring ethnic cleansing, whole communities bombed and entire family lines erased, Palestinians have never, as a collective, called for the mass killing of Jews or Israelis. Anti-zionism cannot shy away from employing the historical-political definitions of ‘settler’ and ‘indigenous’ in their discourse to confront ahistorical readings of Palestinian decolonial thought and zionist propaganda. 

[...]

In the context of the United States, the most threatening zionist institutions are the entrenched political parties which function to maintain the status quo of the American empire, not Hillel groups on university campuses or even Christian zionist churches. While the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) engage in forms of violence that suppress Palestinian liberation and must not be minimised, it is crucial to recognise that the most consequential institutions in the context of settler-colonialism are not exclusively Jewish in their orientation or representation: the Republican and Democratic Party in the United States do arguably more to manufacture public consent for the slaughtering of Palestinians than the ADL and AIPAC combined. Even the Progressive Caucus and the majority of ‘The Squad’ are guilty of this.

Leila Shomali and Lara Kilani

#palestine #i should add this to my list #amazing article everyone should read it

[renrooked]

Just Roll With Palestine: Keep the Strike Rolling

Hello, #JustRollWithPalestine has come back to Keep the Strike Rolling from January 26th to February 10th. Participation in any capacity will be rewarded, and there are ways for you to help even if you can't donate!

Link to Google form: HERE

If you have any questions feel free to dm me here or on twitter, as well as the rest of the social media mods on twitter: @organbean @ne0neclipse @tinytiefling_ @RenRooked

Additional mods working on this project:

@grassfur @neptunelogs @reed_you_guess

All necessary links and information are in the Google form, BUT for easier access to links and/or for those who just want to donate links to resources to help out, click keep reading!

To Donate:

Feminine Hygiene Kits for Gaza With the Asad Sisters 

Care for Gaza Paypal

Just Roll With Palestine Tiltify (PCRF)

World Central Kitchen

ESIMS for Gaza- Instructions provided NOMAD (iPhone only): https://www.getnomad.app/en/middle-east-eSIM Tutorial on twitter for NOMAD: https://x.com/icarus19897/status/1741297413321637972?s=20 SIMLY (iPhone and Google Play): https://www.simly.io/regional-esim Tutorial on twitter for SIMLY: https://x.com/CharSequence/status/1719283248721702946?s=20

To personally contact your representatives:

Use this template builder to create your own message to your government representative:

To send a prewritten message:

(US):

(AU):

https://apan.org.au/support-south-africas-icj-case/

(CA):

(UK):

https://www.map.org.uk/campaigns/it-is-becoming-impossible-to-sustain-human-life-in-gaza-demand-a-ceasefirenow

#just roll with palestine #jrwp #ceasfire now #free palestine #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #jrwi #jrwishow

[justwannabecat]

“That’s it! I give up!” Phantom yelled. As though he had said something blasphemous, all fighting stopped as the participants stared in confusion. “You humans think you’re the paragon of all existence, proclaiming that anything different is lesser. Well we aren’t! We’re just as sentient as you are, and we have thoughts and feelings! You just choose to ignore it so you can justify your xenophobic actions!”

Phantom turned to Technus, who had frozen in shock as Phantom went on his tirade. “And you! Tell the other ghosts I’m done saving them, too, because none of you care! You don’t care if property is destroyed, or if humans get hurt, or if other ghosts get hurt! All you care about is your stupid Obsessions! You’re too caught up in your own mind to see what you’re doing to everyone around you!”

“But your Obsession is Protection, is it not? You’ve never stepped down from a fight-“ Technus began. Phantom didn’t let him finish.

“My Obsession is Space! If I had my way, I’d spend my nights stargazing, or maybe even on the moon! Instead I’m stuck cleaning up your messes because you can’t control yourselves!” Phantom growled. He glared at the crowd of people who had gathered, curious as to why all fighting had stopped.

“Humans are cruel and hateful. Ghosts are ignorant and careless. I’m tired of wasting my time protecting both sides from the other and being blamed for it. I quit. If anyone dies, or is captured, it’s no longer my problem.“

Like that, Phantom vanished.

The Fentons celebrated, not even noticing Technus make his own escape. The crowd murmured, worry just as prevalent as confidence. The few phones that were recording the event were put away, and later the footage would be checked. Unfortunately, most recordings were corrupted beyond recognition.

Most, but not all.

——————————————————

Amity Park. Ground Zero for the start of the war between the Living and the Dead. Humanity and Ghosts.

Why it had only recently escalated to this, Batman couldn’t tell. His research found that there had been a portal opened to the Realms years ago, and the laws passed just a year after that. Most of the town was stuck behind an information blackout that the government refused to give access to. Whatever happened, Constantine assured him that it was almost certainly the government’s fault.

After almost three weeks of trying to get beyond the firewalls, he finally figured it out. “Research” that claimed ghosts were nothing but evil. News articles calling “Phantom” a troublemaker. Forums that spoke about how “Phantom” ruined the town while fighting other ghosts.

A video, old and grainy but still clear enough to be used as evidence. A glowing, white-haired boy that told everyone he was done. That he was tired of fixing everything. Of saving everyone. That nobody was good, everyone was bad, and they were on their own.

They used to have a hero, but Phantom left. Without him, both sides tore at each other until there was nothing but an all-out assault. They needed to stop this, but without a mediator they would not make it through to the ghosts.

If they could find Phantom, perhaps they could fix everything before it was too late.

#Quasar AU #danny phantom #dc x dp #dp x dc #danny fenton #justice league #batman #basic summary: Danny gives up and leaves #after he leaves the ghosts grow bolder with nobody to stop them #and the hunters grow meaner #and after a lot of back and forth a ghost child is captured and killed #that makes the entire Realms rally for war #the JL are trying to figure out what made it this bad #the portal’s been open for a long time why now??? #finally they see this one video #and all these news articles #and oh no #the one who was preventing the war was run off ages ago #they need to find him #and fast #part 1

[sapphic-sprite]

Four days ago, Bisan posted about organizing another Global strike after she miraculously survived a bombing around the hospital she is currently sheltering in. The strike is from January 21st to the 28th as a way to show support to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. To support the strike those who are organizing are asking that you:

Call out of work/school if that is possible

Avoid spending any kind of money anywhere and if that’s not possible just spend as little possible until this strike is over

Email and call your representative to tell them you are striking for Palestine and what you are doing to strike

Use your social medias to talk about Palestine as much as possible

Talk to friends, coworkers, and family to try to get them to participate as well

Go to marches and other forms of protest if you are able to

Try to stay home as much as possible if you cannot participate in marches or any other kind of physical protesting

Remember that doing something is better than doing nothing when it comes to the strike. If you can’t get out of work or school try doing other things on the list for as many days as you can.

Here are the posts from Bisans Instagram account about the global strike:

[image description: the first image says “Global strike week, 21-28 January! CEASEFIRE NOW!”

The second image says “After my survival with a miracle tonight while being stuck in the hospital until now, it's time for this to end! It is justice against injustice and good against evil! It is a war against humanity and the world, not just against Gaza! Here, We are now all under bombardment and are at risk of death at any moment! And you can make a difference!”

The third image says “We civilians across the world do not have the tools of war! We do not thirst for killing and death! We only have our throats in the demonstrations and our boycott of the economic movement in our countries, especially those that support the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza!”

The fourth image says “Strike from the economic movements, work and your normal life because nothing is normal in this life! Strike as much as you can and protest.. for a whole week or until this madness ends! You can disrupt the economies that support genocide and make your voices and our voices heard! Call for strikes during the next week for an immediate and permanent ceasefire!”

The fifth and final image says “We are human beings like you. We had beautiful cities, many lives and dreams. They were destroyed in front of you and are still being destroyed. You can make a difference and stop this genocide. Do not despair and continue until the ceasefire.” End ID.]

#free palestine #free gaza #palestine #gaza #strike for gaza #strike for palestine #global strike #global strike January 21st to 28th

[veganineden]

On the Evolution of “Happily Ever After” and Why “Nothing Lasts Forever”

A reflection inspired by Good Omens 2

One of my favorite Tumblr posts on the second season of Good Omens 2 was actually not about the series at all, but our reaction to it, primarily the ending. @zehwulf wrote, “I think a lot of us—myself included—got a little too comfortable with assuming [Aziraphale and Crowley would] work on their issues right away post-Armageddon.” We did the work for them through meta, fanfiction, fanart, and building a plethora of headcanons. Who among us AO3-surfing fans didn’t read and love Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm?

In the 4 long years since season one was released, we did more than seek to understand and repair rifts between two fictional beings: we were forced to reckon with ourselves too. We faced a global pandemic, suffered traumatizing losses and isolation, and were forced to really and truly look into the face of our atrocities-ridden and capitalistic world. The mainstream rise of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice work, and our participation in this work, showed us that the systems in place were built to oppress and harm most of us, and they are. 

So, what does this have to do with the evolution of “happily ever after”? 

My friend put it best in a conversation we had following the season finale, when she pointed out a shift in media focus. The “happy end” in old stories about wars and kingdoms used to be “we killed the evil old king and put a noble young king in his place and now citizens can live in peace” and we’re transitioning into a period of “we tore down the whole fucking monarchy.” 

If we look at season one, written to follow the beats of a love story, it comforted us by offering a pretty traditional happy ending pattern: you get your fancy dinner with your special someone, the romantic music plays, and you have a place to call your own. Season one’s finale provided a temporary freedom for Aziraphale and Crowley, the “breathing room,” but it didn't solve the problem that was Heaven and Hell, or the agendas belonging to those systems of oppression. 

Is it good enough to keep our heads down, pretend the bad stuff isn’t happening, and live our own personal happy endings until we die? Moral quandaries aside, if you don't die (or if you care about the generations after you), then, like Aziraphale said, it “can’t last forever.” There’s a clear unpleasant end to the “happily ever after” that’s based on ignoring our problems– it’s the destruction of our relationships, and humanity. 

Ineffable Bureaucracy can go off into the stars because they do not care about humanity. 

You know who does?

Aziraphale. 

And Aziraphale knows that Crowley cares about humanity too. (He knows because Crowley was the one who proposed sabotaging Armageddon in the first place, who only invited him to the stars when he thought all was lost, because Crowley would save humanity if he thought it was possible, and Aziraphale knows Crowley has survived losing Everything before, and he will do all in his power so that Crowley does not need to experience that again.) 

In season one and two, we see how much they care about humanity, beyond their orders, to the point The Systems begin to frown at them. Aziraphale hears Crowley’s offer to run away together in the final episode of season two, to leave Earth behind, and just like the first time that offer was made in season one, he declines. He knows choosing only “us” is not a choice either of them can live with for the rest of eternity.

I believe season 3 will provide an opportunity to “dismantle the system,” but I don’t know how it will play out. I worry that Aziraphale has put himself in the now-dead trope of the “young noble king.” (I wish Crowley had told him why Gabriel was dismissed from his duties.) I worry that he would martyr himself as a sole agent for change. I worry that he doesn’t actually know how to dismantle anything by himself: because you can’t. He needs Crowley. He DOES. He needs Crowley, and Muriel, and other angels and demons and humans without fixed mindsets to help him. Only by learning to listen and making room at the table for all can they (and we) move past personal satisfaction to collective liberation. 

Crowley was right when he said that Aziraphale had discovered his “civic obligations.”

So, I think we will get our modern-day happy ending– and it’s going to involve a lot of pain and discomfort, communication, healing and teamwork– and in the end, it’ll all be okay. There will be a time for rest and a time for “us.” 

And most likely a cottage. 

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

 - Maya Angelou

Support the SAG-AFTRA strike and other unions. Trust @neil-gaiman. Register to vote if you haven’t yet. Hold yourself and others accountable with compassion. Read books. Keep doing the work. Rest. Then watch Good Omens 2 again.  

#good omens 2 #good omens #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #good omens meta #good omens 2 meta #ineffable advocacy #ineffable partners #neil gaiman #terry pratchett #gos2 spoilers #good omens 2 spoilers #nothing lasts forever #liked by Neil Gaiman

[nelkcats]

War Day

After Danny was crowned he decided that the truce party had to have a counterpart, after all ghosts became friends mostly through battles, and he assumed that one day letting them fight wouldn't be a bad thing, it might even help stir up some grudges.

This was how High King Phantom, ruler of the infinite realms inaugurated the long-awaited "Day of War" or just "War Day", a moment when the Infinite Realms naturally became chaotic; alliances were allowed but it was not advisable to trust on them.

And of course, you were free not to participate, you just had to put a blue or green band on your arm, or a little green clock in the backyard of your haunt so the ghosts would leave you, your haunt or your territory in general alone.

Danny thought of it as some kind of giant paintball day, only with no paintballs and full of aggressive ghosts with various powers, it was especially exciting since everyone knew there would be no hard feelings after it and they would end up in the king's palace eating sweets as little children.

They usually celebrated it on a day close to any celebration related to death in human world, when their powers were especially powerful and therefore everyone could have more fun.

The problem was that since Danny had human friends (liminals?) who came to play, they didn't really consider it weird when some humans fell into the realms by a natural portal, and since they weren't wearing any blue or green arm bands they were definitely in the game.

For their part, the family of bats along with some League allies found themselves literally standing on a field of war where everyone seemed to be going for the kill, Jason was strangely excited about it, as was Damian.

When Dick asked one of the locals for an explanation, a guy on a motorbike threw him into the air laughing and yelled "LET THE HUNGER GAMES BEGIN!"

#danny phantom #dp x dc #dc x dp #justice league #ghost king danny #detective comics #war day #is kinda fun because all the heroes are losing their minds #thinking they ended up in a interdimensional war #but at the end of the day all the ghost are happy and laughing #eating some sweets and ectoplasm #the heroes would try to find out allies #they would be betrayed #dp #Jason will consider return for the next year #danny fenton #ghosts

[thethief1996]

For the past 100 days, Israel has been waging a genocide campaign in Gaza without any sort of reprieve from western countries. Palestinians are suffering from a human-made famine, surpassing the scale and speed of any other famine enforced in the past 75 years. Healthcare professionals are being cornered into Rafah by constant airstrikes, sniper attacks and bombardments at hospitals, forced to leave patients and medical supplies behind. Unmaned quadcopters opened fire on the maternity and ICU unities of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital and killed 8 civilians. Yesterday, the hospital ran out of fuel and the babies in incubators might die anytime soon. Only 127 aid trucks are being allowed into Gaza of the 500 allowed before the war, under "normal" blockade conditions. The distribution of food and water is made basically impossible by the destruction of communications and the looming threat of executions against people gathered to receive it. Just today snipers killed 3 people in line to receive food in Gaza City and Israel officials have the gall to say the problem is that humanitarian organizations, whose volunteers are being executed at unprecedent rates, aren't putting in enough effort. The IDF drops leaflets telling desperate refugees to flee and then station tanks on the roads or bombs the safe zones.

Ever since I read South Africa's submission to the ICJ I can't stop thinking about how they label it as the demication of Gaza and its people. On every sphere of the government, there are statements calling for the anihilation of the people of Gaza (pages 59 to 67). The Prime Minister has directly adressed the army telling them to wipe off the amalekites (page 60), and South Africa showed tiktoks of the soldiers repeating his speech word for word before committing massacres. And yet they have the gall to come to the world and say they haven't targeted hospitals, they haven't withheld aid and that the statements are "random assertions." To prove that Netanyahu isn't a blood thirsty pig, they pasted a statement he made ONE DAY before the hearing started, which is frankly ridiculous we're supposed to believe isn't a PR stunt (page 34).

No western outlet streamed the highest stake court hearing in the 21st century, but you can rest assured they streamed Israel's pathetic defense. And Canada, Germany, the UK and the US, countries which have in no way reckoned with their own genocidal pasts, have come forward in defense of Israel like they have any moral high ground to patronize the world about genocide.

Take action, for their sake. Motaz has said "Don't call yourself a free person if you can't make changes. If you can't stop a genocide that is still ongoing". We need to fight in any way we can to stop their massacre.

Keep yourself updated and share Palestinian voices. Muna El-Kurd said every tweet is like a treasure to them, because their voices are repressed on social media and even on this very app. Make it your action item to share something about the Palestinian plight everyday. Here are some resources:

Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency, Mondoweiss

Boycott Divest Sanction Movement

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing protests and direct action against weapons factories across the US

Mohammed El-Kurd (twitter / instagram)

Muhammad Shehada (twitter)

Motaz Azaiza (instagram) - reporting directly from Gaza.

Hind Khudary - reporting directly from Gaza. Her husband and daughter moved South to run from the tanks but she stayed behind to record the genocide. The least we can do is not let her calls fall on deaf ears.

You can participate in boycotts wherever you are in the world, through BDS guidelines. Don't be overwhelmed by gigantic boycott lists. BDS explicitly targets only a few brands which have bigger impact. Right now, they are focusing on boycotting the following:

Carrefour, HP, Puma, Sabra, Sodastream, Ahava cosmetics, McDonalds, Disney and Israeli fruits and vegetables

Push for a cultural boycott - pressure your favorite artist to speak out on Palestine and cancel any upcoming performances on occupied territory (Lorde cancelled her gig in Israel because of this. It works.)

If you can, participate in direct action or donate.

Palestine Action works to shut down Israeli weapons factories in the UK and USA, and have successfully shut down one of their firms in London.Some of the activists are going on trial and are calling for mobilizing on court.

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing direct actions to stop the shipping of wars to Israel. Follow them.

Educate yourself. Read into Palestinian history and the occupation. You can't common sense people out of decades of propaganda. If your arguments crumble when a zionist brings up the "disengagement of Gaza", you have to learn more.

Read Decolonize Palestine. They have 15 minute reads that concisely explain the occupation (and its colonial roots) and debunk popular myths, including pinkwashing.

Read on Palestine. Here's an amazing masterpost.

Verso Book Club is giving out free books on Palestine (I personally downloaded Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe. If you still believe in the two states solution, this book by an Israeli professor debunks it).

Call your representatives. The Labour Party in the UK had an emergency meeting after several councilors threatened to resign if they didn't condemn Israeli war crimes. Calling to show your complaints works, even more if you live in a country that funds genocide.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls, here's a document that autosends emails to your representatives and here's a toolkit by Ceasefire in Gaza NOW!

FOR PEOPLE IN EUROPE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace targeting the European Parliament and one specific for almost all countries in Europe, including Germany, Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, Greece, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Finland, Austria, Belgium Romania and Ukraine

FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails

FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA: Here's a toolkit by Stand With Palestine

FOR PEOPLE IN CANADA: Here's a toolkit by Indepent Jewish Voices for Canada

Join a protest. Here's a constantly updating list of protests:

Global calendar

Another global calendar (go to the instragram of the organizers to confirm your protest)

USA calendar

Australia calendar

Feel free to add more.

#free palestine #save gaza #gaza under attack