#but to know that even just one person

[softquietsteadylove]

AND you did it again, life interrupted is now my favorite AU thank you so much for writing more of it!! Gil is so sweet and Druig just wants whats best for his big sister 🥹 would love love love to see something where Thena is having a Bad Day and Gil is just being extra kind and gentle and soft w her, maybe even it gets to the point where Thena explains what happened to her and why she’s lost her way a bit. Sorry I cannot stop thinking about this AU but as usual anything you write will make me lose my mind with its perfection!!!

Thena sniffed, sitting at Gil's kitchen as he poured her a glass of water. Her hands still had a slight shake to them, even though it had taken them fifteen minutes to walk to his place.

Gil still didn't know exactly what had happened. Just that one minute she was fine and the next she was trembling with her arms wrapped around herself. He had thrown his coat around her shoulders and gotten her home without further incident. He hadn't asked about it yet, either.

From the moment they walked in, all he'd done was whisper sweet nothings and reassurances and been nice and gentle with her. All he'd done was be perfect.

"Hey," Gil whispered as she took a sip without the glass shaking too badly. He leaned his head down to get a look at her, eyes searching for anything wrong and what he might be able to do about it. "Better?"

Thena gulped, nodding. How did she ever find such a perfect soul as Gilgamesh?

"I'm gonna name off a few things," Gil said softly, hovering close but not too close. "You tell me what sounds good, okay?"

Thena nodded again. Maybe she wanted to tell him he didn't have to coddle her. Maybe she wanted to pretend everything was fine. Maybe she wanted to lie down on his floor and sob until Druig came to pick her up.

"Something to eat?" God, no, she couldn't bear the thought of food (not even Gil's). "Nap?...couch?"

Gil smiled as she nodded. He tilted his brows up at her, "want me to carry you?"

Thena's eyes watered, and it seemed as good as a 'yes' in Gil's eyes, because he didn't hesitate to scoop her up bridal style and carry her to his living room. She pressed her tears into his shirt. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said as sure as anything. He sat himself down, letting her curl up against him on his lap. He held her gently, but firmly.

"I didn't want..." Thena trailed off. There were a lot of things she didn't want, and having a panic attack in the middle of their date was definitely pretty high on that list.

"It's okay, Thena," Gil whispered, running his hand over her hair and holding her around the waist. "All that matters to me is that you're feeling better."

Thena sighed, burying her face against his shoulder again. He was perfect--too perfect. "Too good for me."

"No," he was quick to deny. He twisted her hair over her shoulder so he could bury his nose against the side of her neck. "You deserve to be taken care of, Thena."

She wished she felt that way.

"You are so important to me," Gil whispered against her cheek, leaving light kisses there. "I asked you out for the same reason I started saving lunch for you."

Thena pulled away now just to look at him curiously.

He smiled that same smile that had first stolen her heart back in the psych ward. It was warm, and gentle, and even when she'd been medicated to heaven and back, she'd been able to feel her heart beating faster at the sight of it. It was all the medicine she needed.

"I did it to see that smile," he said gently, running his thumb along her jaw line, as if to pull her lips into a smile like smoothing a crease out of a fitted sheet. Her smile did appear, and his doubled in size. "There it is!"

Thena let out a small, shaky, watery sounding laugh. But Gil pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead to express how pleased he was by it, no matter how fragile it was. She sighed, letting his warmth and the smell of his aftershave swim around in her head.

Gil let her take her time, happy to hold her--to have her safe in his arms. He nuzzled her gently, tapped his fingers against her leg, rubbed her back and petted her hair.

Thena pressed her forehead under his chin. "Druig asked me to go with him to tell our father and step-mother that he wanted--wants to propose."

Gil waited for her to go on at her own pace.

Thena resettled herself in his arms. He was so comfy. "I told him he shouldn't try to involve them, but I imagine he still has some slight desire to feel like a family."

"I agreed to go with him, but our father didn't take the news particularly well. He's always been hard on Druig, and this time his temper was just...I had never seen them like that."

Gil ran his fingers through her hair as her breath hitched.

"They were so angry, and they started shouting," she continued, voice pulled thinner until it was a whisper. "Ajak told them to stop, but it just made it worse. Druig isn't big enough to fight him."

Her sentences were becoming fractured again--something she hadn't been able to completely break herself of after being in the psych ward those three months.

"I was scared," she whimpered, and Gil responded by holding her tighter. "I thought they were going to kill each other."

"You got in between them?"

She nodded, and Gil's hand gripped her shoulder. It was just short of too tight, but she could imagine it wasn't pleasant to imagine for him. "I pulled our father off of Druig, clawing at him. He turned around and..."

Gil sucked in a breath through his nose and held it, but he said nothing. She had more to say, and he wasn't about to interrupt her.

"Ajak ended up calling the police," Thena regained some strength in her voice, deep, deep in the memory of the fateful night. "It was agreed that no charges would be pressed if Druig took some time off work, Father performed some community service, and I-"

"Got checked into the hospital?" Gil asked, sounding more baffled than when he'd guessed she had gotten involved in their fight. "Why were you the only one with that punishment?"

Thena shrugged. "I'm sure they were more likely to believe in my hysteria than their anger."

Gil scoffed.

"I suppose in fairness to them," Thena shrugged, "they did arrive to me telling our father I would kill him."

"Well," Gil shrugged as well to match her lighter tone, "it sounds like he deserved it."

Thena let out another - stronger - laugh. How as he so perfect.? She emerged from the memory to look at him properly. He brushed some hair back from her face and let the hand drift over her cheek. She leaned into his touch achingly. "I'm afraid it's not very pleasant. But that's how I ended up meeting you."

"Well, I hate to say anything good came of that," Gil mumbled, as if sharing a secret with her. "But...I'm still glad you ended up in my lunch line."

She laughed again, smiling through the last of her unshed tears.

"I guess that's pretty selfish of me," he whispered, still looking at her with those eyes and that smile--the only things that would bring her comfort when she was in that hellhole.

"It's okay," she whispered back, "you can be selfish."

Gil closed his eyes as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

"That wasn't the first time they'd ended up like that, just the worst of them," Thena continued, somewhat easier now. "I've always been spooked by shouting and loud noises ever since my father's first truly bad display of temper."

Gil just nodded, pulling her head against his again. There had been a scuffle in the crowd outside the cinema--that was what had triggered her. "I'm sorry."

Thena shook her head, pursing her lips. "Every time, I think I can move past it-"

"You don't have to," he gripped her shoulder. "I know you might not like it, but it's a part of you. And we don't have to like it all the time to accept it--that it comes with you as a package deal."

Thena wilted against him. "Are you sure you're not a therapist from the psych ward disguised as a cook?"

Gil laughed, his chest vibrating against her shoulder in a very comforting way. "Guess I've heard enough group sessions in the cafeteria to have picked up some things."

Thena stretched out in his embrace like a cat in front of a fire. She was positively worn out from all the events of the day. "You're perfect."

"No one's perfect," he corrected softly, "but I guess...I really want you to feel like you can be yourself around me."

Gil changed his position as well, lying on his side with her still curled up against him. He budged the throw pillow more under her head than his. "I know we didn't meet in a...traditional way."

What an understatement.

"But," he threaded their fingers together, his breath hitting her face as he whispered, "I want this to work, Thena. I want to be here to make you smile every single day--just once, if you don't want to too much."

Thena laughed, her forehead bumping against his in their proximity.

Gil inhaled, looking like her laughter was something that could be injected into his veins for energy. "Maybe a laugh once a day--it is the best medicine."

Thena, lying on her side, staring at this wonderful, perfect man, shook her head. He blinked at her denial, but she smiled so wide her cheeks hurt, "you."

Gil's eyes slid closed as she leaned forward, touching her lips to his ever so gently. He returned the kiss, soft and sweet as it was--nothing demanding or intense. Just a little exchange of affection. His eyes fluttered open and he had this dopey smile on his face.

Thena let her eyes drift down between them to their connected hands. She flexed them a little, to test if it was really real. But his fingers slid down to clasp around her hand more firmly.

Gil pressed a kiss to her forehead, "tired now?"

Thena nodded, shimmying to properly nestle herself into him.

Gil wrapped an arm around her, letting his hand spread over her back as if that alone could protect her from today and every one to come. "I'll be right here."

Thena smiled against his shirt, drinking in the scent of his detergent and the warmth of his arm around her. "Perfect."

[july-19th-club]

seriously have been thinking about this all night long. call me autistic but the fact that 90% of workplaces the point is not to get your work done and then be done doing it but to instead perform an elaborate social dance in which you find something to do even when you're done doing everything you need to do in order to show your fellow workers that you, too, are Working . because you are at Work . disgusting why cant we all agree that if there is no work immediately to be done. we just dont do anything

[octarineblues]

supporting communities & people impacted by the Southport attack and the far-right riots in the UK

here is a list of community fundraisers I found, starting with those aiming to support the Southport community after the appalling attack at a children dance party, to the fundraisers helping those affected by the subsequent racist and Islamophobic far-right/nazi riots

Edited on 5 August to include Middlesbrough fundraisers. Edited on 6 August to correct the link on the Books for Spellow Lane fundraiser, to adjust the name change for the Belfast fundraiser, and to adjust the wording in the second last paragraph.

Southport:

Southport Strong Together Appeal - organised by the community foundation for Merseyside, for those affected by the Southport knife attack

United for Southport families - the funds will be distributed among the nine families of the children who were at the party

Swifties for Southport - a fundraiser for the Alder Hey Children's charity, which supports the victims and the affected families, as well as first responders and clinicians. Extra funds will also support the wider Southport community

Fundraiser for the Southport Mosque - a fundraiser to aid rebuilding or possibly re-locating the Southport Mosque after the damages it suffered during the riots

Rebuilding Windsor Mini Mart - fundraiser to rebuild the locally-owned grocery store that was targeted during the attacks, broken into, and looted

Liverpool:

Fundraiser for the Spellow Hub - the Spellow Hub was broken into, looted and set on fire at night during the riots. The Spellow Hub is a newly created one-of-a-kind (in the UK) institution, which consists of a library as well as a community centre with a mission to help people get education and pathways to work

Books for Spellow Lane - another fundraiser for the library in the Spellow Hub, to replace the books and rebuild the library there edit: included the correct link

Hartlepool:

Fundraiser for the Nasir Mosque - the Nasir Mosque was attacked following Southport riots; this fundraiser is organised by Hartlepool citizens to help the mosque deal with the damages as well as to show appreciation for the role of the mosque in the community. edit: the funds will be also distributed to the local community!

Rebuilding the Farm Shop - the shop was targeted during the riots, and when the owner and his son tried to protect it, they were also violently attacked. The fundraiser is to help fix the damages to the store.

Sunderland:

help rebuild Citizens Advice Sunderland offices after arson - two of the Citizens Advice Sunderland offices were set on fire during the riots, and one of them is completely destroyed.

Hull:

Hull Help for Refugees - a local fundraiser to support the Hull Help for Refugees charity, the donated money will be re-distributed to community members affected by the riots

Fundraiser for Hull Help for Refugees and Welcome House in Hull - collected money will be donated to the two charities

Belfast:

help fix racially motivated damages - originally the fundraiser for the Sahara Shisha Cafe which was targeted by the far right in Belfast during the riots, now a fundraiser for all affected businesses in the area. edited to reflect the change of the name of the fundraiser to avoid any confusion

Middlesbrough:

Supporting residents after the riots - Middlesbrough has suffered so much during the riots, lots of businesses as well as just regular family homes were vandalised, had their windows smashed or even were broken into. This fundraiser wants to distribute the funds between affected people to help them fix the damages, and to generally support the local community. the newest fundraiser, imo potentially the most urgent one

Fundraiser for a Care worker's car which was set on fire - a car belonging to an employee of a care agency was set on fire during the riots while he was on shift at a care home.

If you want to donate locally but there is no fundraiser to support where you live, consider donating to your local charities oriented towards Muslim or PoC communities, or towards anti-racist and refugee organizations! And go support your local Muslim/Arab/Black/Asian/Refugee owned businesses!

If you have any information about other local fundraisers, feel free to add to the post or don't hesitate to let me know and I will add them here! We have seen so much hate in the past few days, we have to stay strong and keep supporting each other!

Stay safe everyone 💛

[inkskinned]

the thing is that they're so fascinated by sex, they love sex, they can't imagine a world without sex - they need sex to sell things, they need sex to be part of their personality, they need sex to prove their power - but they hate sex. they are disgusted by it.

sex is the only thing that holds their attention, and it is also the thing that can never be discussed directly.

you can't tell a child the normal names for parts of their body, that's sexual in nature, because the body isn't a body, it's a vessel of sex. it doesn't matter that it's been proven in studies (over and over) that kids need to know the names of their genitals; that they internalize sexual shame at a very young age and know it's 'dirty' to have a body; that it overwhelmingly protects children for them to have the correct words to communicate with. what matters is that they're sexual organs. what matters is that it freaks them out to think about kids having body parts - which only exist in the context of sex.

it's gross to talk about a period or how to check for cancer in a testicle or breast. that is nasty, illicit. there will be no pain meds for harsh medical procedures, just because they feature a cervix.

but they will put out an ad of you scantily-clad. you will sell their cars for them, because you have abs, a body. you will drip sex. you will ooze it, like a goo. like you were put on this planet to secrete wealth into their open palms.

they will hit you with that same palm. it will be disgusting that you like leather or leashes, but they will put their movie characters in leather and latex. it will be wrong of you to want sexual freedom, but they will mark their success in the number of people they bed.

they will crow that it's inappropriate for children so there will be no lessons on how to properly apply a condom, even to teens. it's teaching them the wrong things. no lessons on the diversity of sexual organ growth, none on how to obtain consent properly, none on how to recognize when you feel unsafe in your body. if you are a teenager, you have probably already been sexualized at some point in your life. you will have seen someone also-your-age who is splashed across a tv screen or a magazine or married to someone three times your age. you will watch people pull their hair into pigtails so they look like you. so that they can be sexy because of youth. one of the most common pornography searches involves newly-18 young women. girls. the words "barely legal," a hiss of glass sand over your skin.

barely legal. there are bills in place that will not allow people to feel safe in their own bodies. there are people working so hard to punish any person for having sex in a way that isn't god-fearing and submissive. heteronormative. the sex has to be at their feet, on your knees, your eyes wet. when was the first time you saw another person crying in pornography and thought - okay but for real. she looks super unhappy. later, when you are unhappy, you will close your eyes and ignore the feeling and act the role you have been taught to keep playing. they will punish the sex workers, remove the places they can practice their trade safely. they will then make casual jokes about how they sexually harass their nanny.

and they love sex but they hate that you're having sex. you need to have their ornamental, perfunctory, dispassionate sex. so you can't kiss your girlfriend in the bible belt because it is gross to have sex with someone of the same gender. so you can't get your tubes tied in new england because you might change your mind. so you can't admit you were sexually assaulted because real men don't get hurt, you should be grateful. you cannot handle your own body, you cannot handle the risks involved, let other people decide that for you. you aren't ready yet.

but they need you to have sex because you need to have kids. at 15, you are old enough to parent. you are not old enough to hear the word fuck too many times on television.

they are horrified by sex and they never stop talking about it, thinking about it, making everything unnecessarily preverted. the saying - a thief thinks everyone steals. they stand up at their podiums and they look out at the crowd and they sign a bill into place that makes sexwork even more unsafe and they stand up and smile and sign a bill that makes gender-affirming care illegal and they get up and they shrug their shoulders and write don't say gay and they get up, and they make the world about sex, but this horrible, plastic vision of it that they have. this wretched, emotionless thing that holds so much weight it's staggering. they put their whole spine behind it and they push and they say it's normal!

this horrible world they live in. disgusted and also obsessed.

[notbrucewayne48]

"aphobia doesn't exist"

bitch literally not that long ago an aroace youtuber animator was insulted by almost half of its community for being it

[mythicalcoolkid]

You don't wish your disability was worse or more visible, you wish your disability was taken seriously. Please stop confusing the two, I guarantee you would not get the support you need JUST by being more severe or more visible. Please listen to visibly disabled people when we tell you it isn't better on our side

[arthur-lesters-right-arm]

Thinking back to the time I was about halfway through TMA and was explaining the plot to a friend who has never listened to a single episode and they tried to make one of those "Soup was invented by John Soup when he wanted to drink a chicken" jokes and ended up saying something along the lines of "The Magnus Institute was created by John Magnus when he wanted to make an institute for all the fears" and at the time I was like haha good one bro but in hindsight I think I need to fucking throngle them with my bare hands

[kaahmbem]

legend has it that the young witch circe and the once beautiful nymph scylla shared a complicated past...

[stompandhollar]

reminding everyone that the in-universe problem with The Doctor and The Master isn’t “ooo horrible nasty enemies who hate each other and don’t get along and fight all the time but are also in love”

the problem is that they get along. the problem is that they can’t stop themselves from falling naturally into a rhythm of riffing off one another and enjoying the other’s company. THAT is the problem. the problem is that it works and that’s the thing that caused all their issues. they like one another. they just click.

[biomechabird]

Despite everything, it's still you.

[ciderjacks]

Party infighting

[beanghostprincess]

there's just something about pre-timeskip nami that makes me love her more and more every day

[stories-by-starlight]

Shout-out this stranger met for while recent, who saw we were AAC user and for whole time:

• made sure we not talked over in conversation

• stopped others from skip over us, and didn’t let them rush us either

• said any words AAC was say wrong verbally for us after we express frustration with that

• didn’t touch our device once or look at screen while using AAC (they were only person who didn’t)

• made sure we comfortable and accommodated whole time was with them

And don’t think any this was even big deal to them. This was first time they even saw AAC, but they still made sure were accommodated for it. Don’t think they realize how much meant to us, and it meant everything to us. To be include and supported so much by total stranger who we would never see again.

Gave us lot hope. Fact that there people like that out there. And wanted put all thoughts that couldn’t put into words when with person here.

Want other AAC users know that there people like that out there, and that there hope.

Edit: Notice this post a lot of people’s first time hear about AAC, want be clear that this person only start say words out loud for us after we made clear that that was something we okay with. Please don’t assume other AAC users want others correct words AAC pronounce different, because many don’t. Every AAC user different person with different preference, please don’t take ours as universal rule.

[lazylittledragon]

i'm in one of those phases where i really wish i believed in manifesting and spellcasting and things like that bc you know when you want something so bad you're literally praying for the universe to let it happen

[corpsentry]

pick your battles

[brainrotcharacters]

the man trained by the shimotsuki since childhood, the mind behind the three sword style, the demon pirate hunter, vice captain of the Strawhat Pirates,

easily stopped with a hand on his shoulder by his captain (currently in a silly hungry vibe)