#arab overthinking

[sufiiiiiiii]

there is an arabic saying that goes:

"keep you house clean like you're expecting guests, and keep you're heart clean like you're expecting death"

[indigowallbreaker]

31, for kiss prompt, with edelgrid (edelgard/ingrid)?

Transman Ingrid for all! Enjoy!

31. Kiss at Dusk

(Currently accepting rare ships! Click here for the info post!)

--

“I was thinking of announcing our engagement soon.”

Ingrid, who had a mouthful of fruit and herring tart, looked over at Edelgard with alarm. Edelgard laughed. “I’m sorry, I suppose I timed that wrong.”

Narrowing his eyes, Ingrid tried to both elegantly and quickly swallow his bite of dinner-- with mixed success. “Do you think the people are ready to know?” Ingrid asked, wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin. Flakes of crust stuck to his lips that he tried to brush away before his lover could notice.

“I am certainly ready for the people to know. We hadn’t exactly been subtle about our courtship. An official announcement might stop the rumors that I’m turning into a Kingdom puppet, or that you are attempting to get close to me to carry out an assassination.

Ingrid shook his head. “Are people still saying such things? It’s been nearly three years since our relationship became known to the public. I could have killed you hundreds of times by now. Not that I ever planned to!” He hurried to add when Edelgard laughed again. 

“I know, I know,” Edelgard assured, taking Ingrid’s hand on the tabletop. “It’s always been an absurd idea.” She ran her thumb across Ingrid’s knuckles. A frown creased her face that Ingrid didn’t like.

Pushing away his dinner plate, Ingrid placed his other hand over Edelgard’s. “What is it?” He pressed. 

Edelgard met Ingrid’s eye. The sun was setting over Enbarr, feeble rays of light catching on the gold in Edelgard’s outfit in one last hurrah for the day. Ingrid couldn’t help but smile. Getting to witness the Emperor’s emotions so unguarded was a privilege he has earned during the war. He planned to never lose this love and trust. 

“I don’t want to pressure you into a such a personal decision.” Edelgard began carefully. “I have written up the announcement already but, what name should I put for my husband to be?”

Ah. Ingrid turned to the window. He should have know that’s what this was about. It had been only six months since he started using male pronouns and dressing in more masculine-styled attire. This transition was still new territory for himself and Edelgard-- and thoughts of a different name still caused a fearful sort of excitement to fill Ingrid. 

“I’ve been thinking it over,” Ingrid said with no small amount of hesitation. “There’s a few that I like but I don’t know if any fit.”

Edelgard took Ingrid gently by the chin and made him face her again. “Such as?” She prompted.

“Well... there’s Lykos and Everard. And then Claude had a suggestion too.”

“Claude? You spoke about this with Claude before me?”

“It came up at that summit in spring. I asked him where his name came from and we got to talking.” Ingrid took the hand Edelgard still held to his chin and brought it up for a kiss. “If it helps,” he continued sheepishly, “I don’t know how many of his suggestions were legitimate. He does like to tease.”

The affronted look that had taken Edelgard’s face at the mention Claude softened. “That he does,” Edelgard conceded. “What did he suggest?”

“Irfan. It means “knowledge” or “awareness” in Almyran, if he is to be believed.”

“And where do Lykos and Everard come from?”

“Everard was brother to the king of Faerghus about five or six centuries ago. He never became king himself, but he fought in many battles to ensure peace across the Kingdom. Lykos--” here Ingrid paused and offered an awkward smile. “He was a wolf companion in a storybook Glenn used to read us.”

Edelgard nodded as if fairytales were serious business. “They seem like good names. Which one speaks to you the most?”

Ingrid bit his lip, letting Edelgard’s hands slip from his as he sat back in his chair. “I don’t know. I don’t think people would like me parading around the new Empire with the name of an ancient Kingdom royal. It’s probably foolish to choose a name from a children’s book. And of course, Irfan might offend people who are still uneasy about--”

Getting to her feet, Edelgard gripped the back of Ingrid’s chair with one hand and leaned right into Ingrid’s face. He tensed as those eyes narrowed at him. He vaguely thought it would be better to have a weapon in hand if he was to be stared at with such intensity. 

“I did not ask how the world felt about these names.” Edelgard’s voice was deliberate. Commanding. “I asked how you felt about them. You are the one who has to live with it. I’ll task again-- which one speaks to you the most?”

Ingrid opened and closed his mouth. Years of being at Edelgard’s side-- through peace talks with Almyra and the reorganizing the Kingdom and outsting Empire nobles-- and Ingrid never got used to being near that gaze. 

After a lengthy pause, Edelgard smiled. “Allow me to assist. How does Irfan von Hresvelg sound?” Ingrid’s heart beat loudly in his ears. “No? Maybe Lykos von Hresvelg.” 

“Edelgard--”

“Everard von Hresvelg? If you’re looking to history for names you might consider Derick, a past prime minister who ended up marrying the Emperor at the time. You will be sharing his fate after--”

Ingrid pulled Edelgard down by the collar and kissed her. Dusk had officially fallen and their dinners were now cold, but Ingrid didn’t care. The world could have ended outside the palace window and Ingrid wouldn’t have let Edelgard go. 

When they finally did part, Edelgard cupping his cheeks with both hands, Ingrid’s head still spinning. “I will write use Ingrid for now,” Edelgard murmured. “If you choose a different name by the time we marry, we will use that in the wedding announcement.”

“I love you,” Ingrid could only think to say.

Edelgard chuckled and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Just so you know, Ingrid von Hresvelg is perfectly acceptable.”

Ingrid kissed her again. And again. And soon dinner was forgotten in favor of laughter and tugs towards the door and more suggestions for a good name of Edelgard’s future husband. 

[donutscheeks]

«I was sure about him.. I felt like a kid in his arms, i felt safe and somehow i let my guard down for the first time ever.. Now I'm not sure about anything in this life.. He boosted my trust issues to its final level.» she wrote in her diaries.

©Donutscheeks

[fyodorsushankaaa]

doin that thing since i have no motivation to do anything and school is about to open

‌‌50 notes: i'll study math

‌70 notes: i'll brush my teeth twice everyday

‌100 notes: i'll do skincare everyweek

‌120 notes: i'll have breakfast everyday

‌150 notes: i'll try to get more sleep (usually i sleep 2-4 hours)

‌170 notes: i'll draw smt everyday (even tho i don't post every of them)

‌200 notes: i'll study all my lessons and do all homeworks (school hasn't opened in my country)

230 notes: i'll continue playing guitar

‌260 notes: i'll eat less junk food

‌300 notes: i'll try to get some friends irl

‌350 notes: i'll learn a new language (probably russian since i love that language sm)

‌400 notes: i'll clean my room more often (i only clean it once in 3 months cuz im lazy af)

‌500 notes: i'll less harm myself

‌700 notes: i'll less overthink abt everything

‌1000 notes: i'll completely stop sh

1500 notes: i'll quit talking with my old friends who make my insecurities worse

2000 notes: i'll study arabic (it's a lesson in my school but since that language is too hard for me i don't study at all and get 40-60 from exams.. ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ)

2500 notes: i'll start writing stories again

i may add more by time idk

spamming is okay

deadline is until new year

[islamicspecialistforloveback]

Dua To Remove Sadness

Do you ever feel sad and down? Like everything in your life is just not going right? If so, you’re certainly not alone. Sadness is a part of life that everyone experiences at one time or another. But if you’re finding that you’re feeling down more often than not, it might be time to seek out some help. One way to do this is through Dua To Remove Sadness or Islamic prayer. Dua To Remove Sadness…

[astrobiscuits]

Astro obs part 9

🐌 The planets in your 12th house indicate your sleeping style:

Sun in 12th house - their sleep schedule is extremely messed up; for them, daylight hours = nighttime hours and vice versa, so they have trouble being themselves during the day; their true self comes out at night

Moon in 12th house - goes to sleep very late; full moons have a special effect on these people; their intuition is more clear at night; as kids, they probably slept a lot with their mother

Mercury in 12th house - loves texting/calling people late at night; they might journal their thoughts before sleep because they overthink a lot and it helps to clear their mind or maybe they just like to relax by reading a book at night

Venus in 12th house - cares a lot about getting their "beauty sleep"; sleeps with sleep masks on, buys expensive bed lingerie, skincare night routine might be very important; loves sleeping in general lmao

Mars in 12th house - enjoys working out before going to sleep, can go to sleep angry because they tend to get into conflict more at night than during the day

I have Uranus in 12th house and i can be both a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper, depending on where i am. For example, when i'm traveling, during the first night i wake up several times, but from the second night on i sleep like a baby lmao. Another thing would be that i can't sleep in a quiet car but i don't have any problem sleeping during a thunderstorm

🐌 Mars in fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sag) and Mars in 3rd house individuals love riding motorbikess

🐌 While Mars in 9th house peeps would probably love to go on a world tour on their motorbike. The sign ruling their 9th house represents the countries they would love to visit (i'm aware that some of these can only be visited by plane, take it with a grain of salt): 

♈ in 9th house: Ireland, Poland, Japan, Zimbabwe

♉ in 9th house: Cuba, Paraguay, South Africa, East Timor

♊ in 9th house: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Montenegro

♋ in 9th house: Canada, USA, Bahamas, Argentina, Slovenia, Madagascar

♌ in 9th house: Hawaii, France, Italy, The Netherlands, India, South Korea, Peru, Bolivia

♍ in 9th house: Switzerland, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Vietnam

♎ in 9th house: Belgium, Portugal, China, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho

♏ in 9th house: Panama, Spain, Turkey, Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE), Palestine, Lebanon

♐ in 9th house: Finland, Lithuania, Romania, Tanzania, Thailand

♑ in 9th house: UK, Germany, Czech Republic, Australia, Camerun

♒ in 9th house: Greece, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka

♓ in 9th house: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritius, Saint Lucia

🐌 I have a feeling Pisces Suns like to spend their time in a garage lmao. Mostly because their opposing sign, Virgo, would hate to spend time in a garage due to how dirty it can get.

🐌As a 7th house Sun who's been in love for almost a year now (haha, are we surprised, ofcours not; i'm not even in a relationship with him but ugh we're so perfect for each other), i realised that Sun in 7th house people tend to behave differently with their partner when they're in a healthy relationship vs when they're in a toxic one

Sun in 7th house in:

♈ Aries in a healthy relationship: empowers their partner, knows how to balance me time vs us time in a healthy manner, encourages their partner to take safe risks

♈ Aries in an unhealthy relationship: impulsive, impatient, selfish, dismisses their partner's feelings, often controlled by rage, prone to abusing their partner

♉ Taurus in a healthy relationship: veryyy generous (their love language is gift giving), accommodating to their partner's wants and needs, cooks for their partner

♉ Taurus in an unhealthy relationship: stubborn af, hard to please, focused more on the material gain from their partner rather than the love they share

♊ Gemini in a healthy relationship: curious, always lightens the mood of their partner by cracking up tons of jokes or telling them funny stories, knows that communication is key to everything so they're not afraid to discuss serious topics, teaches their partner a lot of random stuff

♊ Gemini in an unhealthy relationship: superficial, doesn't have a problem moving on from their partner to another person in a matter of seconds, if they're still in school/college, then they prioritize studying over their partner

♋ Cancer in a healthy relationship: nurturing, knows how to balance babying their partner vs being babied by their partner, emotionally vulnerable, feels safe enough to present their partner to their family early on in the relationship

♋ Cancer in a unhealthy relationship: if they don't trust their partner, they tend to become emotionally closed off to hide their deep sadness; defensive, but if their partner attackes them, then they'll hide, worries excessively, avoids presenting their partner to their family

♌ Leo in a healthy relationship: treats their partner like the king/queen they are, keeps their ego in check so it doesn't interfere with the relationship, if they've got artistic talents (music, acting, art etc.), they'll show their love for their partner by performing in front of them

♌ Leo in an unhealthy relationship: egocentric, shows off their partner/relationship too much out of pride, often feels entitled in the relationship and wants to be put on a pedestal by their partner

♍ Virgo in a healthy relationship: selfless to a healthy degree, remembers every lil detail from every casual conversations with their partner just to please them, remembers every important date and plans ahead for it, takes care of their partner when they're sick

♍ Virgo in a unhealthy relationship: critical, overfixates on past hurts and mistakes that their partner made in the relationship (often times their partner doesn't even remember those things because they're usually not that serious), loves their pets more than their partner

♎ Libra in a healthy relationship: romantic, charismatic, truly values their partner and the relationship with them, acts fair in the relationship, teaches their partner lovingly about the importance of honesty, truth and a healthy give and take dynamic in a relationship

♎ Libra in an unhealthy relationship: doesn't prioritize the relationship; instead, they flirt with others despite being in a relationship, emotionally detached, cold and calculated in their current relationship

♏ Scorpio in a healthy relationship: loyal, loves their partner deeply and intensely, but without suffocating them, keeps their partner's secrets like they're a locked safe box with no public access

♏ Scorpio in an unhealthy relationship: obsessive, manipulative, seeks to dominate their partner, displays stalkish behaviour in the relationship, liar

♐ Sagittarius in a healthy relationship: exposes their partner to various cultures, belief systems and philosophies to expand their mind and form their own opinion on certain topics, loves freely but is still able to maintain a long-term relationship, improves their partner's mood, usually brings an element of surprise and excitement to the relationship

♐ Sagittarius in an unhealthy relationship: travels in order to avoid dealing with their partner, parties a bit too much, doesn't take the relationship seriously

♑ Capricorn in a healthy relationship: loves their partner in a mature, serious and secure manner, doesn't shy away from improving their partner's social status and/or career if they can, discusses plans for the future (getting married, having kids, adopting pets, buying a house) with their partner early on in the relationship, they make time for their partner, despite the fact that they're busy most of the time

♑ Capricorn in an unhealthy relationship: displays no emotions or physical affection in the relationship, has a hard time communicating their thoughts with their partner, settles in a relationship for the wrong reasons (money/kids/safety/"i'm getting old and i need to have my life established"), prioritizes work/career over their partner

♒ Aquarius in a healthy relationship: flexible, makes their partner's dreams and aspirations come true (whether they're related to the relationship or not), has got a very open-minded attitude towards their partner's opinions, lifestyle and identity, takes the time to become friends firsts with their future partner because they value a relationship built on solid foundation (often times their partner is also their best friend), knows how to balance couple time vs time with friends

♒ Aquarius in an unhealthy relationship: displays wishy-washy behaviour, emotionally detached, prioritizes their friends over their partner, seeks online validation from strangers and acquaintances to fulfill their needs

♓ Pisces in a healthy relationship: sensitive to their partner's emotions, knows how to balance wearing their heart on their sleeve vs hiding their emotions in unfavourable circumstances, always honest with their partner

♓ Pisces in an unhealthy relationship: prone to drown their relationship problems and sorrows in alcohol, drugs and meds for mental health issues, runs away from problems instead of dealing with them with their partner, displays dishonesty to a fault, prone to self-sabotage

[bigification]

Under New Management

The smell of sweat hits hard when I enter the gym. I haven't been in a gym in years, but just the smell is enough to bring me back. There is a jacked Arab dude sitting behind the reception, I just tell him I'm here for an interview and he lets me by.

I felt so out of place here. I'm this skinny white guy walking through a gym filled with built Arab guys. I start to wonder how good my chances are of getting this job. I figured my degree in business and experience managing other businesses would be enough, but now I'm starting to wonder if I'm too much of an outsider.

I tell myself this isn't the time to overthink as I make my way to the office. I have to walk past the locker room to get to the office. I see a white guy getting into the showers, probably one of two non Arab guys I've seen here so far. I also walk past an older Arab guy who seems to be checking himself out in his phone's camera.

I find myself staring a bit too long and the man looks up from his phone, making eye contact with me. I quickly look down and continue walking.

"Are you here for the interview?" The man asks. I stop in my tracks and nervously say yes. I feel the butterflies fill my stomach as I realize he's the manager of the gym. I'm already off to an awful start. "Go ahead son, I'll get dressed and meet you there." The man points to his office down the hall. I just nod and walk away.

A few minutes later, the man walks in wearing a nice black suit and expensive looking jewellery. He sits down at his desk and gets right into the interview. I get more and more confident and the interview goes on. He seems quite nice, if a little intimidating.

"You know..." The man sounds more genuine, "I am getting too old for this job. How do you feel starting right away?" He asks. My heart sinks, I have to think quick. "Of course!" I blurt out.

"Great" he says, "it is tradition in this gym to pass down this watch through management." He takes off his expensive looking silver watch and passes it to me. I hesitate for a moment before grabbing it and sliding onto my wrist. The watch feels good on my skin, the cold of the metal is refreshing. I look at the watch and admire its beauty when I see something changing. My hands are... growing. My hands crack as the bones grow, making my hands wide and my fingers long. My thin fingers thicken as muscle and fat pile into them, and callouses cover my palms. My forearms start to thicken as veins start to surface under my skin. They grow until they burst through the button on my sleeve. I also notice my skin start to darken into a tan colour, resembling that of the man who interviewed me. Thick dark hair starts to sprout on my hands and my forearms, giving them a touch and ragged look. I feel the transformation move up my arm and to my biceps. They grow and grow, making my sleeves tight as skin around them. My shoulders broaden and my chest pumps outward, popping off the top couple buttons on my shirt. My shirt strains further as I grow two massive pecs with a thick pelt of hair covering them. The fat in my stomach melts away, revealing a defined six pack that also gets covered in dark hairs.

I feel my pants tighten as my ass perks up and my thighs thicken. I grab my crotch with my massive hand and feel my dick grow larger and larger until a visible bulge forms in my pants. I feel the scratch of hairs growing all down my legs. Suddenly my feet burst from the dress shoes I was wearing, revealing my massive hairy feet.

Finally I feel my face shifting around. My brow bone becomes more prominent and my nose becomes larger. I feel my face sliming down as a big bushy beard grows on my face. I also feel the hair on my head recede until it's only a short buzz cut.

I sit there for a moment, getting used to my body as memories flood into my head. My childhood in Pakistan, moving to America when I was a young man with my father. He bought this gym, allowing me to workout constantly. And now he is passing the gym onto me.

"I am proud of you son. I'm happy you get to take over the family business." Father says to me.

"Thank you father." I respond in a deep voice with a heavy accent.

I walk out of the interview room, and back through the locker room. As I walk through, however, I see that American man getting out of the shower. I would normally be okay with the occasional American being at the gym, but today I was not feeling as generous. I approach him as he is drying off outside the shower.

"What the hell are yo-" the man tries to say, but he pauses as I forcefully grab his wrist. Suddenly the once skinny man begins to rapidly grow. His biceps became massive, his pecs thickened, and his stomach fat melted away revealing a defined six pack. Every part of his body continued to grow, his ass grew fat and round, his dick doubled in size, now being the thickness of a pop can, and his thighs thickened until they rubbed together. His skin started to darken, going from a pale white to an almost bronze brown colour and thick dark hairs sprouted all over his body. A thick forest of hair quickly covered his chest, stomach, arms, and legs. His thin blonde hair became a wavy jet black buzz cut as his once clean shaven face grew a thick beard.

"Good workout brother." I give him a firm tap on his shoulder and he nods back at me. He is a beast of a man, and a loyal customer at the gym, one of many good men who come here.

[fullfriendnerdclutch]

An Operative

Every year, you will always see an Arab-looking local guide or envoy that happily helped to assist the staffer of American embassies across the Middle East. It seems odd of course, noting how Middle East general population tend to have this stiff or at least awkward relations with Americans. But, these envoys are always there in the end of the day, willingly helping American to navigate the tricky challenge of Middle East political landscape

Will it surprise you then if these envoy were just mere skinsuit created out of thin air, worn by junior staffer of the State Department like me? My first overseas assignment landed me in Muscat, Oman, but they assigned me to slid inside Kamal here as the previous occupant of Kamal got promoted after 2 years of service

To be fair, I have no apprehension being inside of such a fine stud. After all, looking this delicious will definitely serve me well if I ever need to get a hookup around here among the other foreigners, and heck, I can even pleasure myself by just looking at my reflection. But that incident yesterday really disturbed me. That young man, aged what....18, 19 maybe, suddenly hollered in delight when he crossed the street and witnessed me. He called me "akhi" which means brother and ranted on how I've been missing with no contact for ages.

I just ignored him and sped up as soon as the light turned green, I noticed that young man wailing in the middle of the street from the rearview mirror but I cannot help but tantalized to overthink about all of this predicament. Out of thin air, they said? What if these suits used to be a real person?

[tamamita]

Hey Sal! I was wondering if you'd mind sharing your opinion on non-Muslims using phrases like "Inshallah" and "Alhamdulillah"?

For context, I'm white and ex-Catholic. One of my best friends growing up was Muslim — she and her family immigrated to my town as refugees from Afghanistan in the early 00s. They always encouraged me to learn and participate in their family gatherings, and "Inshallah" and "Alhamdulillah" became a normal part of my own lexicon. It cemented further during college, as I had classes on Middle East history where my professor started each class with call and response salaams, and encouraged us to learn and use basic Arabic together in class. So, I tend to use these phrases in day to day conversations the way I would other non English phrases, such as "c'est la vie" or "un poco".

However, I realized that while salaams may be welcomed for non-Muslims to use, phrases like "Inshallah" and "Alhamdulillah" may feel inappropriate or appropriative coming from myself with no other context. Would it be better for non-Muslims like myself to refrain from using phrases like these? Or am I overthinking this?

Love and appreciate you and all you do to have open dialogues to educate your followers :) Thank you!

[isa-belle1367]

Falling back into my ass creed phase and with that comes shaundes so here are my headcanons for them

Desmond definitely speaks in Italian or Arabic when talking dirty (mainly Italian tho) and the more shaun picks up on certain phrases the harder it is for him to focus

Shaun can cook and sometimes makes food that Desmond had in the animus that he liked

Desmond has called Shaun Leo/Malik before and it took him a good 10 seconds before realizing

Shaun has social anxiety and overthinks every interaction with Desmond

Desmond always talks to Shaun first when he leaves the animus because Desmond said that he smelled like books and he found the smell comforting

When Desmond has a bleeding effect episode shaun rambles about random history facts to keep Desmond focused

Shaun started journaling with Desmond to help Desmond sort his memories

Desmond always boils extra water for Shaun's tea (he also knows he favorite tea by heart)

[thatdeadaquarius]

I have so many ideas but none of them can be put into words, all I can do is just wheeze as they come along🤣

Also remember how wordy and flowery Teyvat speech/dialogue is? ADD THAT TO THE FACT THAT TEYVAT HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE---

Reader can understand the basic speech which is why they are so blunt (I love this idea so much 🤣) and can piece together an idea what the person is talking about.

*insert random person talking about a commission with a long ass backstory*

Traveller & Co.: *understands completely and making plans to retrieve said commission*

C!Reader: (They said they had a cart.... a bunch of hilichurls appeared... dancing?.... they want us to dance fight the hilichurls???? Dance off???)

Actual story->The person's cart got ambushed by a group of hilichurls and taunted them by dancing around it.

....... it doesnt always translate well

Also imagine Reader heaeing random names and overthinks it as a word instead of a name.

Example: Pantalone means pants in Philippine English (sorry not sorry Pantalone)

Tsaritsa??? Oh do they speak russian there??? - reader

Capitano -> captain in some countries

(I once mistake Sandrone as Sandalone and I just went "... ehh??? Standalone? Sandalone as in Sand Alone???? Sandal (Flip flops)????

Oh wait its Sandrone" ".... as in Sand and Drone??--)

-Vine Boom

VINE BOOM ANON MY BELOVED 💖❤🧡💛💚💙💜✨️✨️

Gif is me writing u anything ever:

AHFLALA FERRRALLL I STG I ALSO THOUGHT ABT THIS!! WHY U COULD ALSO BE BLUNT BC U ONLY GOT THE BASICS 💀 RIP

Man theyre written language looks so scary to learn, kinda like when I looked into trying to learn Mandarin/Japanese (and even Korean), the letters r just inherently so different i was so intimidated

And u dont even read it like left -> right like English

Omg i tried to reply to a arabic comment on my art post once, and i felt so acommplished when i finally was able to type "اشكرك (thanks)" but like, i had to put it on the OTHER SIDE OF THE TEXT BOX, LIKE ALIGN IT TO THE RIGHT INSTEAD OF HOW U KNOW ENGLISH IS INHERENTLY ALIGNED LEFT, IT WAS SO TRIPPY-

Going thru genshin life only understanding minimal words of anything anyone says is honestly how i feel like ive been playing Genshin LMAO

Those analysis videos/lore are saving a bitch's life out here

PANTALONE IS ALSO RLLY CLOSE TO SPANISH FOR PANTS I KNOW WHAT U MEANNN LOL

UR ENDLESS CONFUSION FOR SANDRONE PLEASE ANON U DIDNT EVEN GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST CORRECTION IT JUST KEPT GETTING WORSEEE 😂😭 SAME THO

That would literally be you in genshin tho, like i could easily see it being like, back to back misunderstandings 😭😭

Like u think u got it right (Oh so his name is Rex Lapis, wait what? Morax? Ok his name is Morax...?? What??? Zhongli??? WHO IS THIS MAN-)

.

JFC first they gotta have a whole different language (like u saw in game)

And ON TOP OF THAT THEY CAN TALK FOR 10 MIN STRAIGHT ABT THE WEATHER OR SOME SHIT??

No... just, no.

U quickly decide u like what little bits of language u could pick up so far, which just results in,

U guessed it, simple speech and short fragmented sentences (or broken Teyvatian)

U cant even bring urself to care when u give half the characters a heart attack and send the rest into laughing fits

No fucks given, they wanna make this extra hard on u by being wordy on top of a new language,

Yeah u dont care what comes out of ur mouth anymore

Also, since everybody is raised in Teyvat very few ppl dont know the language, which once again brings us back to ancient/older deities/creatures who have a more simplistic version/outdated version of modern language

.

Omg getting stuff mistranslated bc u cant understand it all/only keywords sounds like hell but also rlly funny

Traveler/Paimon: "Alright, yes, all is well. We will accept this comission, and depart soon."

You: "...they want us to?? Dance fight?? Hilichurls...???"

Traveler just stares at u half in pity, half trying to hide their amused smile, Paimon is giggling

The commissioner is shook bc a supposed ancient creature?? Just accepted?? Their simple commission?? And u think they want u to dance battle???

.

PLEASE U MISTRANSLATE THE HARBINGERS NAMES RIGHT TO THEIR FACES

Signora: "You shall rue the day you crossed the Fatui mortals!"

You: "Lady we don't care, just fight us."

(Signora just means 'Lady')

Signora: *offended gasp*

Traveler/Paimon trying to stifle laughter

Raiden Shogun jaw dropped a little

.

Pantalone: "What a pleasure to finally meet you traveler, and thine wonderful companions!" *little bastard smile*

You: "And it was awful to meet you, Pants."

Pantalone: 😶😧😡 "Pants?! HOW DARE YOU NOT EVEN GIVE ME THE MOST BASE RESPECT, AFTER I GREETED THEE SO KINDLY-"

.

Oh its so funny, everytime you talk about Childe you always phrase it like he's an actual child bc u thought everyone was just calling him a little kid for some reason (u dont know how Teyvat ages work, he could be for all you know!)

Not very long, but Vine Boom anon your brain >>>>

Ur ideas r so on point, i love them sm

That makes perfect sense why u could be talking blunt too, like an in world explanation really

For you, all the desserts🥰 🤲🍪🍨🍰🍮🧋🍦🍡

Cheers,

🌒🌊🌧Aquarius♒️🌌🌘

[armydreamerr]

Stardust Crusaders headcanons :3

Jotaro - terrible attitude, gets mad easy, overthinks a lot, only speaks Japanese and a tiny bit of English (not well), spaces out a lot, pretty perceptive and kinda quiet, reads a lot, hates the sound of clocks ticking, wears weird clothes, used to low-key get bullied, feels a deep connection to the sea, deals with trauma by just shutting people out

Kakyoin - usually really anxious, thinks a lot about other people's feelings, kind of awkward but really quick on the uptake, knows a bunch of science facts, plays the violin and the guitar, speaks French, Japanese, and some English, iron deficient, kind of has an attitude, carries a deep sadness with him, worries a lot, purposely isolates himself from other people.

Polnareff - falls in love too easily, kind of like an older brother to Jotaro and Kakyoin, extremely loyal, very comforting to be around, has crazy amount of hair, likes flowers, paints his nails, eats a lot, the strongest Crusader physically (could probably pick up Jotaro), calls everyone "mon cher"

Avdol - really comforting presence, makes tea or hot chocolate for his friends a lot, very warm to the touch, speaks four languages (English, Egyptian Arabic, Japanese, some French), knows a lot about plants, super good cook, would die to protect his friends, knows a lot about different cultures, thinks nature and civilization are both beautiful, tells jokes so good only the likes of Kakyoin could understand them.

Joseph - really loud, tells terrible jokes, grumbles and complains all the time, can only be serious when absolutely necessary, always has a plan of some kind, fluent in English and Italian, knows a little bit of Egyptian Arabic, usually gets Avdol to translate for him.

[i-cant-sing]

*sighs*

*sends Dr snow arabic poetry I wrote about king Baldwin IV shamelessly*

بيني و بين عيون القدس سمفونيه

و ألف عصر و موت و لحن أغنية

و قبيلتي و قبيلتك و ديني و دينك

و المرض…المرض و المنيه

و رغبتي في القدس دائمة أبدية

و أنا أحببت القدس في ليلة هلالية

خافتة النور نائمة لا قمريه

و القدس بعيدة…..منسية

عن ألف قبيلتي و عن قلمي

و يبقى القدس غير أمنية

و دموعي على شفاه القدس نبيذ

و دماء القدس على شفاهي…قدسية

بيني و بينك حروب أهلية و صليبية

بعد ألف ليلة و ليلة و عقود لا نهائيه

و القدس أمام عيوني تحترق

و أناشد ملك القدس كالصوفية

جنة القدس هناك و أنا هنا

و أنا آنذاك بعيدة كل البعد عن المنى

أقف على الصراط و أرى في جنة القدس نارا حامية

و الصليب جسر بيننا و المصحف بين يدي

و يرى جثتي في جنته بين اللهيب مخفية

و أموت و أحيا أنا و القدس

و الأرض و السموات و المصحف و الانجيل

بيني و بين عيون القدس مقصلة

و ألف عقد و شمس مغربية

why does everyone send me poems when i am not well??? Like i am having a bad headache rn due to lack of sleep from overthinking (my future 5 years).

Though i hate poetry because it makes me use brain cells to comprehend it, i will say persian, arabic, urdu poetry just hit different and theyre the only exception. or rather poetry in any language other than english >>>>

[siilvan]

OC File: Mylène "Petra" Scholten de Ridder

gorgeous renders by the amazing wonderful phenomenal lovely @gamergirlbonestaskforce141riot <33

finally posting my oc to cope with mw3... i've had her since november '22, didn't even mention her name to anyone until august lol. i've never had the confidence (or skill) to do this, so i'm thanking all of my mutuals with their wonderful ocs for giving me the strength to do it, even if they don't know it <3

note: despite petra being reader's callsign in bloodsport, it is not intended to be my oc. so far, the only fics that petra properly appears in are desideria and fortuna redux. i know it's confusing and i'm sorry 😭 more of her (and others) in the future!

very long post BTC...

edit: completely forgot to include this— credit to cptnprice for the file!!

GENERAL

Name: Mylène "Petra" Scholten de Ridder

Nicknames/Aliases: Petra, Doc, Bravo 0-5, MEDINT 5, Leni (by friends/family)

Rank: Lieutenant (since 2015)

Gender: Female

Birth Date: June 29, 1990

Nationality: Dutch

Affiliations: Royal Netherlands Army, Korps Commandotroepen, Task Force 141, Coalition (Warcom), SpecGru

Birthplace: Rotterdam, Netherlands

Current Residence: The Hague, Netherlands

APPEARANCE

Hair Color: Golden Brown

Eye Color: Blue (right), Green (left)

Height: 5'7" (1.70 m)

Weight: 160 lbs (72 kg)

Build: Athletic, hourglass (hips. That's all.)

Blood Type: O-

Marks: Various tattoos (pictured below), scar on cheek

Faceclaim: Rianne Haspels (Carlotta Champagne for body)

DETAILS

Sexuality: Unlabeled (prefers men)

Languages: Dutch (native), English (C2), Spanish (A2), French (B2), German (C1), Danish (C1), Russian (B2), Arabic (B1)

Education: Biochemistry BS from the University of Amsterdam, Biochemistry MSc from the University of Copenhagen

Preferred Hairstyles: Low bun or Dutch braid for missions, 3-strand braid or loose for everyday

Preferred Mission Attire: Anything from jeans and a turtleneck, to slim cargos and a tank top, to proper combat fatigues. Dresses for the weather, but hates anything baggy. Prefers to wear black and green, occasionally wears white, tan, or blue. Very athletic style.

Preferred Civilian Attire: Usually dresses fairly casual. Jeans, cargos, leather pants, leggings. Plain t-shirts, henleys, turtlenecks, off-shoulder tops. Wears bomber jackets or hoodies. Mostly wears black, green, or white. Likes feeling comfortable but cute when she's off the clock.

Favorite Color: Evergreen

Favorite Flower: Magnolia

PERSONALITY

Myers-Briggs Type: ENFJ-T. Extraverted, intuitive, feeling, judging, and turbulent. Petra prioritizes the better of the group over personal benefit and strives to have a positive impact on the world and the people around her. Happy to lead or follow, but preferring to guide others, she is a self-identified humanitarian with a pipe dream of world peace. Reliability, tolerance, passion, and altruism ultimately conflict with overthinking, stubbornness, perfectionism, and indecisiveness – Petra is both helped and hindered by the idea of what things can be or could have been.

FAMILY

Father: Colonel Hendrik "Chimera" Scholten de Ridder. Former KCT commander and military legend-turned terrorist. (deceased)

Mother: Johanna Scholten de Ridder (née van den Bos). Former MEDINT analyst for the BVD and MID. (deceased)

Brother: Sergeant Emiel "Nightfall" Scholten de Ridder. KCT operative and specialist in anything covert; never misses a shot. Ally of TF141, rarely stays in any one place for long due to the nature of his assignments.

Uncle: Unnamed paternal uncle. Father's younger brother, civilian military engineer. Lost his life in a terrorist attack in the mid-1990s. (deceased)

Aunt: Special Agent Merel "Songbird" van den Bos. Mother's older sister, former agent for the BVD and MID. Specialist in foreign relations and espionage. May or may not be living in the USA and married to Frank Woods (spoiler: she is).

Grandfather: General Emiel Scholten de Ridder. Paternal grandfather, former commander of the Royal Netherlands Army. Yes, her brother is named after him. (deceased)

SKILLS

Fighting Style: Adaptable, but prefers to keep her distance. Studied kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Krav Maga in her youth – CQC is influenced by these.

Weapons: Can use whatever is available. Is oddly talented with a quarterstaff despite none of her training involving it.

Preferred Weapons: M4 (Hightower 20" Barrel, Schlager PEQ Box IV laser, Cronen Mini Pro optic, Corio Precio Factory stock), X12, Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, karambit, throwing knives

Special Skills: Specializes in MEDINT analysis, trauma/medical care, chemical warfare, hostage rescue, asset protection, and foreign military assistance. Can act as a translator. Has received training in sniping, espionage, and stealth combat from allies. Is notorious for her strong fortitude. Very versatile.

Hobbies: Art, cooking, baking, reading, sports (baseball, climbing, kickboxing, swimming, ice skating), music (drums), studying languages

Former Hobbies: Did ballet and gymnastics in her youth. Still enjoys both, doesn't have the time to practice either. Has decent equilibrium thanks to them.

TRIVIA

The name Mylène can mean "merciful", Scholten refers to a schout (government official that handled administration of justice), and de Ridder means "the knight".

Her callsign Petra means "rock, stone" and is not implying that she's a stony person! She earned her callsign due to her high tolerance and endurance; she's also uniquely durable, often recovering from or withstanding injuries that would leave others in worse condition. It's a bit supernatural, don't worry about it.

Was introduced to drumming by her Uncle Frank when she was little. It's canon to me.

Mylène looks like a carbon copy of her aunt, sans some details like hair and eye color. She's also more well-built than her aunt thanks to being in the military.

Has a bunch of small rituals, habits, and very specific ways of doing things thanks to her OCD – nothing too crazy (she has no choice but to manage these thanks to her career), but you'll start to notice them if you're around her enough.

Has polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). She's learned ways to lessen the symptoms and has an IUD that helps immensely, but it's why she still has a decent amount of fat on her body despite working out religiously. (Not projecting my issues shh)

Doesn't date often due to her career and personal reservations. Prefers someone older, though. (I'm not projecting shh x2)

Keeps a journal on her at almost all times. Inside of it is anything from basic medical info for her allies, random drawings, important notes, etc. Likes to pretend it's organized, but it's not. At all.

Skipped a year in primary school, hence why she graduated at 17 instead of 18 despite attending a VWO school.

It was painfully obvious that she learned her Russian in school before she met Nikolai. After he laughed at her, he taught her how to sound more "natural" – AKA, he taught her almost exclusively profanity.

Bouncing off that, she's Mrs. Worldwide. Petra's unintentionally picked up so much slang from her coworkers.

Her favorite genres of literature are romance and philosophy. She can read outrageous smut with a straight face, but blushes and grins over fluffy stuff. Tries to read books in other languages to practice, too!

Will not touch any drug with a 10-foot pole. Same goes for tobacco, she's the type to dramatically cough if the team smokes around her. She's very health-conscious!!

TATTOOS

source 1 source 2

Tattoo One (Hands) I'm not going to lie... originally gave Petra the tattoo (two, actually – she has it on both hands) because I loved Freya's tattoos in GOW and the design is inspired by those. From an in-universe standpoint, it was her first tattoo (age 17) and she just wanted something simple that could be hidden under her gloves to prevent fading. Has to get them touched up every now and then.

Tattoo Two (Right Arm) Full sleeve of willow branches, florals, and butterflies. There's a lot of symbolism in this one. The butterflies represent transformation, hope, and rebirth; the willow branches symbolize a new life, protection, flexibility, and adaptability; the flowers embody anything from growth, joy, transience, hope, love, and death.

source 3 source 4

Tattoo Three (Left Bicep) Two-headed snake with flowers! I don't think I need to rhapsodize about the florals again, so I'll skip to the snake. Depending on the culture, a two-headed serpent can represent wildly different things. It's a symbol of rebirth and resurrection, with each head representing earth and the underworld. It can symbolize indecision and conflicting ideas. Duality, balance, power, healing, insight, and deeper awareness; snakes were often seen as a spiritual messenger, and the dual nature of a two-headed serpent represents learning from both positive and negative experiences. (if I see any "heehoo konni" comments, I will blow up the sun, this ain't about him babygirls 😔)

Tattoo Four (Left Inner Forearm) Compass with an arrow! The symbolism is pretty obvious, I think... Direction, guidance, and navigation; the compass arrow combines the arrow's representation of direction and forward movement and the compass' symbolism of finding your way and staying on course. Together, it represents the idea that, no matter how far away you are, your arrow will always hit its target – even when losing your way, you'll always be able to overcome adversity and find your way back.

BACKGROUND

⋆ CW: themes of child abuse, violence, SA (marked with ***) and overall mary sue levels of tragedy

Born on June 29, 1990 in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Hendrik Scholten de Ridder and Johanna Scholten de Ridder, Mylène had a normal – if not privileged, thanks to her family's prominent histories – early childhood. At the age of 3, her brother, Emiel, was born. Known to be a clever, compassionate girl, Mylène took to the "big sister" role with ease.

Her father was a captain from a distinguished military family with the callsign "Chimera", who ascended to the rank of colonel and commanded the Royal Netherlands Army’s special forces unit, the Korps Commandotroepen. Her mother was a medical intelligence analyst for the AIVD and MIVD (then-known as the BVD and MID) with a family history in government and politics.

In the late fall of 1999, when Mylène was only 9 years old, she came home from school and discovered her mother's corpse, having been killed by enemies of her father originally seeking to hold the family for ransom. This event, paired with the traumas he sustained over his years in the military, drove her father to "near insanity" as he became consumed with paranoia and grief. The rest of her and her brother's adolescence was defined by the trauma of her father's abuse; he subjected the siblings to rigorous physical and psychological training in order to mold them into "perfect soldiers" and prevent any further loss.

Despite this, her father was publicly viewed as a war hero. He would often leave the two alone when he was on deployment, forcing Mylène to care for herself and her brother with nothing more than a roof over their heads and grocery money provided. The siblings developed an unbreakable bond during this time that would extend into their adulthoods, rendering them a synergic duo both at home and in the field.

After finishing secondary school at 17, Mylène enlisted in the Royal Netherlands Army. She also studied at the University of Amsterdam – taking online classes – and eventually graduated with a BS in Biochemistry. She spent 3 years serving in various military hospitals, clinics, and field units under the 400 Medical Battalion, until she joined selection for the KCT in 2011. She was swiftly recognized for her high tolerance, natural interpersonal skills, and advanced aptitude for MEDINT analysis; she passed selection with top marks, setting several records during the infamous "hell week" exercise.

Mylène operated as a combat medic until August 2013, when she worked with the British SAS's Unit Bravo under the command of Captain John Price. Despite the joint team being greatly reduced in number and separated after a series of heavy artillery attacks from enemy forces, Mylène managed to provide emergency medical care and calm leadership as her party made its way to the rendezvous point that Price's group was defending.

After the joint operation concluded, Price took an interest in her, deciding to train her as a sniper and teach her how to better use her skills in combat. The two quickly developed a close relationship built upon mutual trust and a desire to fight for what's right, regardless of rules or orders. At some point after this, her unflappable nature and composure when faced with challenging conditions earned her the callsign "Petra".

*** By 2014, Mylène was in a several year-long relationship with a National Reserve Corps (NATRES) NCO named Florian Van Aller. On February 14 of that year, he suddenly came to her with an idea that left her speechless: "sharing" her with his unit. Despite his insistence and attempt to pressure her into it, Mylène refused, ending the relationship. They met on base the next day after Florian messaged her claiming to want to apologize – when she came face-to-face with him and his mentor, Captain Jozef Daalmans, she realized what she had been told was a lie.

*** Although the captain's only involvement was restraining her and watching, Mylène felt violated by both men. She was left at the scene, battered and ashamed, until the last person she expected to help found her – Colonel Hendrik Scholten de Ridder. In a rare act that she now describes as "the last time she ever saw her real father," he comforted her and took her to the hospital, where Mylène received treatment for the injuries she sustained in the assault. She never spoke of the incident afterwards, leaving herself, her father, and her attackers as the only people privy to it.

In early 2015, an assault team led by Chimera and Petra on an enemy submarine revealed that there was a traitor within the unit. The entire team, save for Chimera and Petra themselves, was killed onboard the vessel. The traitor was eventually discovered to be Chimera himself, with Petra as the only witness to his admission and subsequent attempt to bury her, and any incriminating evidence, at sea. With her father in the wind and knowing that her word alone wouldn't be enough to implicate him for his crimes, Petra contacted Captain Price, telling him: "You're the only person I can trust."

An unsanctioned operation to capture or kill Chimera was planned by the two, with the help of her brother – now a KCT operative nicknamed "Nightfall" – and Nikolai, a trusted contact of Price's. The small team managed to track the Colonel and his supporters to a base deep in the Alps, where they successfully wiped out the entire group and killed Chimera. After this mission, Petra felt indebted to Price and Nikolai, considering them two of the few people she could trust implicitly.

From then on, Petra lent her services to various humanitarian groups in an effort to provide protection and medical care on missions around the globe. With expertise in frontline trauma and medical care, hostage rescue, asset protection, medical intelligence analysis, chemical warfare, and the training and advising of foreign military units, Petra proved to be an elite operative capable of remaining calm in even the most dire scenarios. She’s been awarded the Military William Order, the Bronze Lion, the Bronze Cross, and the Cross of Merit for both covert and overt operations, establishing herself as a minor legend within the elite commando corps.

However, a little over a year after the unsanctioned operation in the Alps, Petra was captured and imprisoned by Ultranationalist forces. She was regularly tortured during her captivity, often by Vladimir Makarov, whom she now sarcastically describes as "a lovely man."

Sometime in mid-2017, Petra was yet-again assigned to a unit led by Price, tasked with infiltrating and securing an Al-Qatala base located in Kastovia. Another member of the unit was Nightfall, serving as the team's scout sniper. During the mission, while providing overwatch, Nightfall's radio was suddenly cut off. When the rest of the team finally reached his location to investigate, several IEDs planted in the area went off and forced the group to retreat. Petra attempted a rescue, but was prevented from doing so by Price, as it was too dangerous. Demolition teams cleared the area the following day. Once it was safe to extract Nightfall, however, the recovery team found nothing.

With her brother declared dead in absentia, Petra chose to abandon the special forces. She went back to school and earned an MSc in Biochemistry at the University of Copenhagen, refusing to contact any of her former allies so as to avoid being dragged back into the military.

In April 2019, Petra was tracked down in Denmark by Price, who informed her of Vladimir Makarov's plans in Verdansk and urged her to join the SAS team being sent to stop him. After thorough convincing, she agreed to come back for one more mission, seeking revenge against the man that tortured her years ago.

Petra was later handpicked for the task force Price established alongside CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell following the death of General Roman Barkov in November 2019. She was once again sought out by Price – and Nikolai, who was the "final nail in the coffin," according to Price – and convinced to join the team as a commanding officer.

About a month later, Laswell pinpointed the location of a prison in Georgia believed to be used by Al-Qatala to hold POWs. Reconnaissance of the prison confirmed this and the identity of several of the prisoners; Nightfall was identified as one of the POWs. Petra, leading an elite KCT unit, raided the location shortly thereafter, securing the captives, Nightfall, and intel about Al-Qatala's plans.

Between the invasion of Verdansk, Las Almas, and a burgeoning war with Konni group... Petra has fully committed herself to Task Force 141, willing to save the world or die trying.

[cancerian-woman]

NO BECAUSE WITH THE WAY BONNIE, TYLER, AND ENZO WERE WRITTEN, I’M ACTUALLY STUNNED AT HOW RACIST JULIE PLEC IS.

Like Michael Trevino is a non white fully Mexican man, Kat is a white Jewish/African American woman, and Michael Malarkey is a mixed man with Palestinian/Lebanese (Arab) heritage… what do Enzo, Tyler, and Bonnie have in common? LAZY AND/OR BAD WRITING. Enzo, like Bonnie and Tyler, had a compelling character and personality and storyline potential, but noooooo. Even if he wasn’t the most compelling love interest for Bonnie (which I also think was lazy writing), HE WAS DONE WRONG. THERE COULDVE BEEN MORE DONE WITH HIM.

Even in TO, POC aren’t done well. While POC are done better in TO than TVD, I don’t like how they did Marcel. Nope. I ain’t with the Marbekah train, and the Mikaelsons vilified that man when he was right about A LOT of things. AND THEY STAYED AT THE SAME HOUSE THAT HE WAS A SLAVE AT. THAT SHIT WAS WEIRD. But yeah, they made it very clear that it didn’t matter how close to the family Marcel was, he was never one of them. And maybe I’m reaching, but it reminds me of how in some white families that adopt black kids, they treat the black kid completely different than their biological children and I don’t like those undertones… but maybe it’s just me overthinking. And the thing is, she didn’t HAVE to write the Mikaelsons like that. Plec could’ve emphasised the family bond that the mikaelsons had with Marcel and how much it hurts for both Klaus and Marcel to be at odds with one another, but noooooo. They treated Marcel like that one “problem child” that’s iced out of the family.

But the racism carries on into Legacies because you cannot TELL ME that Alaric of all fucking individuals had a more compelling storyline than MG or RAF.

Not even in Legacies but in TVD, but remember Sarah Salvatore? The black Salvatore? SHE WAS DONE WRONG. COULD’VE HAD A GOOD STORYLINE.

Like people seem to think that the racism was only with Kat (and to be fair, she’s one of the only ones who has been outspoken about the racism), but as I look back at the TVDU more, it’s actually worse than I thought.

Vincent, Marcel, Bonnie, Tyler, Enzo, I’m definitely forgetting some, but the list goes on and on and on.

You summed everything perfectly tbh.

Yeah, Kat wasn’t the only one. Bonnie fans were rallying for years when the show aired and stopped airing. So that voice of fans naturally seems louder.

thank you for the ask💜!

[disteal]

I don’t want to sound self centered with this ask, but I just want to know if you ever feel this way. I’m doing my best to raise up awareness around Palestine, but I always feel guilty injecting my own voice about it. Like I don’t have a right to be taking away time from people who deserve more of a centre stage. But when I’m just reposting tweets and reblogging posts, I feel like such a lazy piece of shit. Like what am I doing, letting all these people who are suffering speak out for me?? Do I not have a role to play in fighting against genocide myself? Is there a balance you strike? Am I just overthinking this?

Ah, yeah. Listen, and I say this gently, I really don’t have the authority to absolve anyone of any guilt they feel around ‘not doing enough’. This feels like something you confessed anonymously in my inbox because you needed to get it off your chest, but knew posting it on main would have opened you up to some justifiable criticism about derailing an important conversation. I feel like a tool for saying that when you’ve been very real w me, but I’m just trying to be honest.

At the moment, the best thing you can do is to keep your vision focused and your language in line with other activists to maintain a united front. This is especially true if you are not Arab or live outside the region. And the most consistent request from those we’re fighting for is to stay angry, and to keep other people angry. There is more you can do other than posting, obviously, but that’s going to depend on where you live and what you’re both capable and willing to do.

But I don’t want to be a dick and leave it there; you’re being very honest and vulnerable here and I empathise. I think a feeling of hopelessness and impotence in activism around Palestine is very common, even amongst organisers. There’s so much pain that you’re flooded with the instinct to do something, and so few avenues to actually tangibly help… it’s awful.

Restriction of aid on this scale hasn’t really been felt by our generations before, especially with how visible the conflict in Palestine is rn. In the past you’ve always been able to do, like, more; send money to a bail fund, assist people fleeing, get someone a warm meal, but Israel has absolutely locked down any and all aid from outside, and that’s being sanctioned by our governments.

This thing you’re feeling, that frustration and embarrassment, it’s not a bad thing. It is embarrassing our leadership have done this, and our collective apathy towards the middle east has allowed it to build for so many years. All this misery, and your own powerlessness, are by design. Turn it outwards from yourself, at the people who are responsible; self-flagellation helps nobody, and there is more we can do. Let the rage and disgust at it all help you find it.