If You're Feeling Powerless Right Now—and God Knows I Am—here's A Reminder You Can Donate To The

Cut Through The Noise

Even as the strike ends, the Palestinian genocide has not.

Now more than ever, there are so many conflicting voices. People with their own self-serving, hateful motivations speak over us, and sometimes our own voices can turn against us. We may feel like our voice isn't enough or we aren't doing enough.

This is why it's so important to learn to shut down that noise. No matter how much people scream that what we're doing is useless or a waste of time, keep talking. Keep talking about Palestine. Keep talking about Palestine for as long as this goes on, both online and in real life. If Israel won't end their genocide, we won't end our protest.

Below is a list of what you can do and the poem transcript.

Check and spread this post which contains a comprehensive list on how to help Palestine.

Learn about the history of Palestine and how the displacement and eventual genocide of Palestinians started in 1948.

Learn more about Palestine, the myths surrounding it and the arguments debunking it.

Boycott companies who are either directly or indirectly supporting and finding Palestine's genocide.

Click a button to raise funds for UNRWA – an organisation aiding Palestinian refugees.

Attend a protest.

Help Gazans stay connected by purchasing eSims for them.

Donate to the following organizations – any amount, no matter how small, goes a long way:

UNWRA

Care for Gaza

Medical Aid for Palestinians

Palestine Children's Relief Fund

Islamic Relief

Here's another post detailing more charities you can donate to

And most importantly of all: Don't Stop Talking About Palestine! However you interpret it as – creating art, talking to the people in your life, emailing and calling your representatives, even reblogging and making posts – make your voice loud and clear!

— Poem Transcript —

There's a lot of noise right now

Screams dehumanizing poor souls

Groans from those in willful ignorance

People digging deeper and deeper holes

And it's overwhelming, it really is

I do not blame you

Sometimes you feel that your voice is too small

I feel that way too

But despite that, I urge you to keep going

And demand for what's right

Even it sounds like a whimper

You're still joining in the fight

And soon the rest of us will join

We can stand together here

We can cut through the white noise

And make our message clear

if you are currently going through a burnout just know that you will get better. you can change how you think and how you live. you will still struggle with the same problems but it will be manageable and that will make all the difference – that will be enough. three years ago i was in such a bad place when i got burned out which in turn led to the break-up of my long-term relationship and childhood trauma resurfacing. most days i only had the energy to drag myself to (online) therapy and to microwave a meal and i spent the rest of my time in bed. i was so miserable that i didn't know what to do with myself and didn't see how i could possibly live a happy and healthy life again. i could only try and trust that it would get better. and it did! slowly most of the times, and sometimes with big steps. i can see that now. i am currently the happiest that i have been in many years, and i feel more myself than before. my life does not look like the glamorous impressive picture that i always envisioned, but that's okay. i can cook my own meals again, i can travel again, i can even work again and earn my own money. i am in a loving relationship that i never imagined i could get. it's a life that fits me. i had to go through a very bad time in order to get here, but i am glad that it happened. and i promise it will get better for you, too

How many classics do I have to read before I'm allowed to stop? Like I was forced to read the Great Gatsby in school and it was literally the worst book I ever read. If I read two more off the classics list, can I stop and read stuff I actually like again?

I cannot tell if you’re being intentionally dense or if your reading comprehension is so abysmal this post made you believe I was metaphorically holding you at gunpoint and forcing you to read Moby Dick.

It is your right not to like The Great Gatsby, I know I am in a minority of people who did enjoy it. It is your right to decide not to explore the works of older writers like Jane Austin and Mary Shelley and William Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde but it does not mean these works are fucking bad and we should stop encouraging people to read them. The concept of classics is a wide swatch of history spanning the entirety of written language, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to contemporary classics like The Great Gatsby. It is so narrow-sighted to condemn them all and a disservice to you. You are well within your rights to remain in your comfort zone and only read a certain genre of contemporary fiction but there is a vast literary world out there waiting for discovery.

you're not an horrible person you are 15 years old

Bulletproof Dreams is an exhibition that displays paintings by Gazan children and aims to raise international awareness to the genocide in Gaza. The exhibition is located in Turkey. So powerful.

Video: @reyad.belkacem

An in-depth of the Takiishi Chika tattoo

With chapter 152, we have a glimpse into the tattoo on Takiishi and Endo's shoulders.

Let's disect it!

Furanki

Breech-loading swivel gun – or Furanki (仏郎機砲, "Frankish gun") in Japanese (Turnbull, 2006) – was one of the first cannons used in Japan. Coming from the Portuguese, these early European models were either called ishibiya (石火矢) or furankihō (フランキ砲) (Gunsen History, 2019), the latter bears similarity with the gun's Chinese name "Folangji", which comes from the Turkish name "Prangi" or Turkic "Farangi" (Chase, 2003). This explains the "Frank" on the tattoo.

I was trying to see if the wheel in the tattoo has any other meanings, but as far as I know, it is simply the wheel of the cannon. The same structure can be observed from Nii Satoru's drawing of the cannon wheel with 4 main spokes and 4 additional, underlying spokes. (Most wheel symbols in Hinduism or Buddhism are eight-spoked wheels).

The right-most part of the tattoo appears to be the rings and the button at the base of the cannon. It is pretty similar to what we'd see with a top-down view of the plan below.

Note. From Oozutsu cannon Japan 16th century [image] by Unknown author. Wikimedia Commons, 2010. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oozutsu_cannon_Japan_16th_century.jpg 

The wolf

The illustration of the wolf was cleverly combined into the cannon. Its hind legs turned into the cannon base while its fur blended into the fire surrounding the cannon.

Wolves have many symbolic meanings, but here I believe Endo was trying to highlight Takiishi's fierceness. Takiishi is an untamed, lone wolf. He doesn't obey the rules; and Takiishi's world, as per Endo's explanation, has no one other than Takiishi (of course until Umemiya makes an entrance).

Name references between Takiishi Chika and Ishibiya

Japanese Ishibiya (石火矢) hand cannons are also early firearms in Japan and have made an appearance in the movie Princess Mononoke.

If you find Endo's explanation confusing, here's a more visualised version for it.

Takiishi Chika (焚石 矢)

焚 (taki): to burn, or anger. This character is made up of two 木 (trees) and one 火 (fire)

石 (ishi): stone, or rock

矢 (chika): arrow

Ishibiya (石火矢)

石 (ishi): stone, or rock

火 (bi): fire

矢 (ya): arrow, projectile

Kunikuzushi (国崩し)

Occasionally, Furanki guns were also called Kuni-kuzushi by the Ōtomo clan, which means country destroyer (Gunsen History, 2019).

Kunikuzushi (国崩し)

国 (kuni): country, or nation

崩 (kuzu) し(shi): breakdown

References

Chase, K. W. (2003). Firearms : a global history to 1700. Cambridge University Press.

Gunsen History (2019). Taihō (大砲): Japanese Cannons and Artillery. Gunbai: Ancient Japanese Warfare. https://gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/

Turnbull, S. R. (2006). Samurai : the world of the warrior. Osprey

Unknown Author. (2010). Oozutsu cannon Japan 16th century [image]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oozutsu_cannon_Japan_16th_century.jpg 

UMBURGRR!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE DRAW A DOODLE OF RIDDLE ROSEHEARTS AND MY LIFE, IS YOURS.

OKAY but fr though your art is so MAJESTIC!!!!???!! I swear it has this aura that makes it so compelling, the way you color and render makes all of your works so appealing to the eye and your style is genuinely just AMAZING!!!!!! (if you don’t mind, what art program and brushes do you use??) anyways sorry for talking so much THANK YOU SO MUCH AND HAVE A GREAT REST OF YOUR DAY!!!!!!

GIGGLING right now you're too kind 😭❤️ but honestly, thank you so much it means so much to me (i cry) and ofc! here's my brushes, program, and process 😎 (ft. mr riddle rosehearts)

For my art program I use procreate with a canvas of 300 dpi and for brushes I use kraymer's hard brushes on gumroad !!

Anndd here's how I apply them:

You're in for a bitter treat!! Have fun 😇😇

I want you to imagine yourself, fifty years from now, sitting with your grandchildren. Imagine them asking you “what did you do during the Gazan Genocide?” What will you say? Will you say “I did nothing?” Will you say “I did what I could?” By donating to this fundraiser, you will be able to say “I saved a man from cancer.” I’m sure many of you have seen the fundraiser for @mohiy-gaza2 . What you might not know is that Mohiy himself is very sick. He told me himself that he recently had an MRI to diagnose a tumor in his pancreas, and now needs surgery to remove his spleen. Dealing with these illnesses is difficult enough for those of us lucky enough to live in peaceful countries; in a warzone Mohiy’s task is nothing short of horrific. I know pancreatic cancer is a difficult disease, but with our help, I believe Mohiy can beat it.

I know there are other fundraisers on your dash. I’m sure your bank accounts are already low from the donations you’ve already made. All I can do is beg you, from the bottom of my heart: help Mohiy and his family. I’ve already donated; please find it in your heart to donate whatever you can. To quote Mohiy himself:

gofundme.com

Donate to Support Mohi's Fight for Survival in Gaza, organized by Kalie Ganem

My name is Kalie from Baltimore, MD, and I'm raising money for my friend Mohi fr… Kalie Ganem needs your support for Support Mohi's Fight fo

Thank you for reading this. I know Mohiy and his family are grateful for anything you can give.

please remember that a ceasefire has not been reached yet and that israel's attacks have actually recently ramped up. people are also still being starved. combat this by donating to gaza soup kitchen

edit that i was asked to make: you can also donate to @/olasfamily and @/amalshour here