"I Don't Want To Read This" Is Totally Valid.

It is so rare, for a day of peace. So, so rare. For the Apollo cabin to be empty, for siblings to be busy, for the sun to be gentle and the birds to be sweet.

"Hey, Will."

So serene. Truly. Cecil lounging on Will's bed, remembering to have taken his shoes off for once. Quietly flipping through a comic book. Will, suffering but willingly, with his Calculus III textbook on the floor. Actually making progress this time, gunning through practice questions.

And Lou Ellen.

It always has to be one of them.

Lou Ellen watches, velvet skirts tucked under her crossed ankles, dark eyes squinting in contemplation.

Will barely looks up, scrawling something illegible over the most graphite-smudged paper maybe in the entire world.

"Yeah."

"Can we kiss for a little bit?"

That works. The slowly shifting sun through the dusty windows pauses. The chisme plants turn, slowly, shifting their stems to the center of the cabin. Will takes a full seventeen seconds to visibly separate from his textbook, process the question, and erupt into a shade of red previously unknown to man.

"Um," he says, or rather squeaks. "Yes?"

Cecil snorts, turning a page.

"Bicycle."

"Shut the fuck up, Cecil."

"Just like your father."

"Shut the fuck up, Cecil."

"I just want to try something," Lou Ellen soothes, potentially hearing the lack of breathing happening in Will's general direction. "Like, for science. That works for you, right, nerd?"

"Science generally begins with a hypothesis and due process," says Will weakly. But he dutifully crawls over to her direction, settling in front of her. "Um. Now?"

"Now would be great," Lou Ellen agrees. She tilts her head. "So do you just, like, go for it, or...?"

"I mean. In my experience?"

"Which is about to go from two to three," Cecil adds.

This time, Lou Ellen and Will are in perfect sync:

"Shut the fuck up, Cecil!"

Cecil flips another page and promises nothing.

The determination has slowed some of the blush in Will's face, containing it high in his cheeks. Or, well, spite. Cecil-branded fury. That does a whole lot of activating every modicum of ADHD impulsivity in Will's soul.

"Okay," he says, nodding to himself. He meets Lou Ellen's wide, round eyes. "Okay, so I'm gonna -- lean in. And we gotta close our eyes or it's weird. And then I'm gonna kiss you, okay? And you test."

Lou Ellen nods, serious. "Got it."

She breathes in, then out. She purses her lips, leaning forward. Her hands rest, fingers spread, on her knees. Her eyes flutter shut.

Will exhales. He squeezes his eyes shut.

He leans in, gently, and presses his lips to hers, resting a warm hand on the soft curve of her jaw.

"Hm," says Lou Ellen, as they separate. "Hm."

Will shifts nervously.

"You smell good," he offers. "And you taste like orange shampoo. In a good way."

Lou Ellen narrows her eyes at him. She reaches her hand out slowly, like how you may approach a startled horse, and grabs Will's chin with the tips of her fingers.

"Why," Will says.

"Hm," says Lou Ellen, again. She moves his face from side to side, inspecting. Will does not protest, but does choose to make an entirely unintelligible gesture with his hands. "You are hot, aren't you."

"Gah??" Will says. The confusions shifts rapidly from his face; his eyes widen, pupils narrowing, he tries and fails to pull slightly away and generally makes a collection of noises that boil down to hey, pardon. "I'm??"

Cecil choses this moment in time to tuck his comic carefully away, facing his friends in full. He also chooses to take this time to appraise Will's slightly squished face, nodding smugly.

"Yeah, he's a babe."

"Right, okay, that's what I thought. It's the bone structure, right, it totally --"

"Yeah, yeah, and the pouty lips, that definitely --"

"--you're so literally right --"

"You ever watched his shoulders?"

"They're biteable! Biteable, and when he plays volleyball it's like --"

"--yep. And his legs are approximately the length of the equator."

"Freckly, too, it's so --"

"His eyes??"

"I know??"

"Honestly wild."

They turn to him, twin dark brown eyes glowing amber in the sun, appraising him from his golden hair to his bare toes. Will, unfortunately, seems to be right on the urge of passing out, so red he has begun to glow, so warm Lou is forced to let go, and so lightheaded he has begun to sway.

"Hngg-what," he mumbles, eyes far away. "Wha -- I'm --"

Cecil pokes gently at him with his toe.

"I think we broke him," he observes.

"I see," Lou Ellen agrees, chin in her hands. "That's kinda cute, too."

"Oh yah. He's like -- he's never not a smokeshow, you know? Like he's hot when he's mad."

"Smoking."

"And the whole -- it's diabolical to say, but he's like..."

"Movie star pretty when he cries. Yeah, yeah, I hear you."

They turn to each other, lips pursed in thought. They turn back to their slightly dying friend.

"Hm," they say, together.

Will begins to pray. His father, intrigued, only shifts to better the lighting on Will's face. Will agonizes, shifting to pray to his aunt. This too proves useless.

"You know," says Lou Ellen. She taps her manicured finger against her cheek. "We could always share him."

Cecil raises his eyebrows. "We could?"

"Do I??" Will gestures wildly, face now glowing so brightly he is kind of hard to see. "Get a say??"

Cecil and Lou Ellen look at each other. They look back at Will.

"No."

"Nah."

"That's! I am -- taken, okay! I!"

Cecil snorts. "A long-standing crush on greasy Gerard Way does not count as --"

"It's not his fault he's greasy!"

Lou Ellen observes the boys. She hums to herself, rocking back on her knees.

"-- and he's hardly ever here, you met him like twice --"

"Four times! And he's charming!"

Hm indeed.

"I have an announcement to make," Lou Ellen announces.

Both boys stop immediately. Lou Ellen nods graciously, sitting regally on Will's bed. Will pouts a little, but says nothing.

"I am considering converting to lesbianism," she says solemnly. "I'm not sure yet, but I have been presented with a case and it is compelling."

Will and Cecil shrug, making noises of agreement.

"Yeah, fair."

"I mean, girls. I get you."

Will clears his throat. "But, uh. No boys? For sure?" His pout returns. It is indeed very cute. "Did I do a bad job?"

Lou Ellen reaches over and pats him very gently on the head. Her bangles get in his eyes a little. He blinks them away politely.

"Aw, no. You just seem very hung up, and I'm not sure how well dating Cecil would work, and no one else will talk to me yet."

"Dating me is an amazing experience, I have references," Cecil says, at the same time Will says, "Wait, still?"

There is a pause. Again, they speak at the same time:

"Stop using me as a reference, Cecil, gods."

"You want me to vandalize their possession for you, Lou? I would love to do that for you."

Lou Ellen moves to pat Cecil gently and condensendingly on the head.

"I'm good. Thanks, though. Chiron says they just need time. And perhaps an ass-kicking, if I feel so inclined."

"Sage."

"Good advice, that."

They all nod at each other. Wordlessly, they stand, returning to their earlier positions: Cecil, reclining on Will's bed, having abandoned the comic book for a nap; Will, poking at his math; and Lou Ellen, passing a green spark around her fingers and carefully Observing.

It takes her several minutes of reflection to blink and realise.

References.

Her eyes widen.

"Hey, wait a second --"

💘

(click for full quality)

Annie: There are legends of people born with the gift of making music so true, it can pierce the veil between life and death; conjuring spirits from the past...and the future. In ancient Ireland, they were called Filí. In Choctaw land, they called them Fire Keepers. And in West Africa, they were called Griots. This gift can bring healing to their communities. But it also...attracts evil....

Sinners (2025)

A video of Palestinian man burning to death while still connected to an IV went viral after Israel firebombed a hospital and set tents on fire. I won't post the video or the pictures but I'd like to commemorated the victim.

This is Shaaban Al-Dalu. He had two sisters and a little brother. He was studying software engineering in the tent he died in. Shaaban was his family's sole provider. His mother died with him. May they rest in peace

Edited to add family pic

template by @vfdtk i believe? i had fun thank you!

I’m Anas Basil, a recent high school graduate with dreams of a brighter future through studying e-business management and building a career. But the war has shattered everything. After graduating with a 93% average, I enrolled at Khan Younis Training College (UNRWA), only to find that it’s now a shelter for displaced families instead of a place for education.

My younger brother, Ahmad, 14, is known as the "Doctor of the Future" because of his extraordinary talent in mathematics. However, the war has kept him out of school for two consecutive years. Ahmad is also a gifted football player who used to win tournaments, but the war has taken that away from him too.

The war forced our family to flee to Rafah, where we lived in a tent for several months. Every day is a struggle for survival—fetching water, gathering wood, and making a fire.

🎯 We are seeking €29,000 to:

- Secure safe passage out of Gaza and cover education fees to help us pursue our dreams.

- Provide Basic Essentials—food, clean water, and medical supplies—to support our family’s day-to-day survival in Gaza.

🔗 Donation link: 👇

✅ GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/32e5e95e

☑️ Via PayPal

Every donation, no matter the amount, brings us one step closer to our goal.

With gratitude,

Anas & Ahmad

✅ Our Fundraiser Vetted by ✅ 🔍 @gazavetters, on the list is (#83) 🔍 @90-ghost here 🔍 by association in this post

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Anas & Ahmad rebuild their future in Gaza, organized by Sarah Meaney

Our Story: I am Anas Basil, a recent high school graduate with dreams of p… Sarah Meaney needs your support for Help Anas & Ahmad rebuild th

When there's a major schism in your country and they're both right wing

OMG your HC's for Moxie's!! /pos

Also daaaaaaaamn poor Ellington 😭😭

Edit: also waittt @spooky-cryptid-friend you're kinda cooking with the "black trenchcoat" thing.. Like – an inverse of the traditional lab coat – "better to wear black so you don't see the stains" (#cornyalert /hj)

May you guys send or reblog your fashion HC's for Stain'd Squad/Kids? I want to illustrate them for fun! (My mind's hungry for ideas).. 😽🪻

Help save an infant's life!!

We're almost at the year mark for the current Israeli aggression, and my friend Dina ( @dina-my-family ) has been living in a tent with her two young children for this entire time. Her oldest, a beautiful little girl, is 2 years old, and her son, a miracle of life brought into the world in the midst of war, is under a year old.

Her family has been displaced several times, and she's had to run from bombings with her terrified children. Dina's had little access to medical care for herself and her children, including when she was pregnant, and it's difficult for them to get food and water. On top of this, their tent provides little protection from the elements, and with winter coming, the cold will be incredibly dangerous.

Recently, her little son has developed a fever, and we are both scared for him. She needs medicine to help him get better, but as most things in Gaza, the medicine is incredibly expensive. It's incredibly URGENT that she is able to get proper care for her son, a fever can be so so dangerous if left untreated.

All Dina wants is for her children to be safe and happy again.

Her campaign has been struggling terribly, and it's difficult for her to hold onto this dream. Her children deserve better lives, Dina deserves a better life. Her campaign is their only way to achieve this. She NEEDS your help and your continued support to see the campaign completed. My heart can't stand seeing her campaign continuously go ignored. Please, I am begging you, do better for my friend. Help her children.

gofundme.com

Donate to Help me save my children from death in the Gaza war, organized by I PB

Hello, I am Dina, I am 25 years old, I have two children, I gave birth to my … I PB needs your support for Help me save my children from dea

$7,998 / $50,000

Dina really can't afford for her campaign to stall like it has been, so please help her. She needs consistent support. The best way to help Dina is to donate to her campaign. She needs the money for food, water, clothes and blankets, and medicine for her little son. Even just a diaper is $70, to put into perspective just how expensive things are getting. If you don't have anything to donate, I understand, but please consider other ways you can help her. You can make your own posts, repeatedly share her and my posts about the campaign, talk to your friends about it, there are many things. All I ask is that you do SOMETHING! Don't be complacent, and don't give into inaction!

Dina is vetted by association, please see here.

Black fans in fandom: Listen, we really don't want to see fanart and fanfics of our beloved Black characters being cucked, mutilated, tortured, dehumanised, and sidelined, because it's legitimately detrimental to our community. It tolerates racism further; we all want you guys to stop. Many of you are incredibly microaggressive, so please hold yourselves accountable for that.

Half of Non-Black fans (who are ironically pro-fic, and anti-harassment despite the fact it goes against their principles): Are you guys saying fandom shouldn't write and draw taboo themes? I'm sorry for the anti-Blackness you experience daily, but this is what fiction is about; I don't want to acknowledge the racism in our spaces because it challenges us. It evokes our guilt that we haven't expanded our idea of a "safe space" for your community because we're exhaustingly race-blind. I mean, it doesn't mean I'm racist, though! I have mutuals who are people of colour, but it just coincidentally happens they are non-Black! I specifically fancy them to have the same values as us, so we don't have to address how harmful the racism has been. It's just "fiction." Your favourite characters aren't real.