bowtiebuns

[bowtiebuns]

A Reminder

Palestine is not over. Palestine is not dead. Gaza, the West Bank, the entire region between the river and the sea, and the various countries across the world where refugees have fled to, house a surviving people and surviving culture. Palestine is not dead, and WILL NOT die.

I'm seeing a lot of very valid despair online, but if you're someone like me, living a privileged life in a Western country NOT under active bombardment, and which is actually COMPLICIT to some degree in that bombardment: we don't get to give up. Not now, not ever.

You can still get involved in protests or direct actions (e.g. blocking supply), you can still donate eSims or fund UNRWA on your government's behalf, you can still hassle the crap out of your local MP. No, it won't roll back the harm that's already been committed, but all of those things are STILL WORTH DOING. PEOPLE ARE STILL ALIVE OVER THERE. PALESTINE IS STILL WORTH SAVING.

If you've bothered to read this far, you're probably already aware of what's going on over there right now. If not, check out Al Jazeera's fantastic coverage. But also remember that Palestine, and Palestinian culture, is more than just death and despair. Examples below:

Long live Palestine, from the river to the sea.

[bowtiebuns]

I think it is incredible that President Biden is actually feeling the pressure from our protests. No, he hasn't done everything he needs to and he hasn't redeemed himself for his role in all this, but the fact that he was caught on a hot mic saying Netanyahu needs a "come to Jesus meeting" about how horribly he's treating Palestinians? That's incredible. All our protests and boycotts have not been in vain. If we weren't making trouble, these governments could keep pretending that they've done no wrong- but they can't escape the blame.

It's encouraging. When you feel like our protests are falling on deaf ears, remember that McDonalds started the year with a loss of over a million dollars, Starbucks fell below it's quarterly sales and is considering closing locations, and people are paying attention- they're changing their opinions. And while these numbers may not be groundbreaking, they are the signs of real effects. Real change.

Never Shut Up About Palestine. Never let them think we are silent and complicit. Let history remember that our governments did not stand for us in this moment, and we did everything we could to make them listen.

[bowtiebuns]

Rafah is currently under bombardment, so I will spreading as much links as I can possibly can. If I miss any, please add on if you can

Help Mayar and her family

Help Nour

Help Marah Owda escape Gaza

Help Sobhe and his family escape Gaza

Help Razan and family escape from Gaza

Help Ahmed’s family escape Gaza

Help the Zamli family evacuate

Help this handicapped child escape Gaza

Help this family get out of Gaza

Help this family evacuate

Help Salah’s family

Help evacuate this family to safety

Help this family survive

Help Zayn’s family

Help Mohammed’s family

Help Abdullah Salem’s family

Help Dalia Masoud and her family

Help Mahmoud’s family

Help Eyad’s family

Help Osama’s family evacuate

Help Dr. Abdelwahab and his family

Help this displaced family

Help Abood and his family leave Gaza

Help Lara Sharif evacuate her family to safety

Help secure this family

Help Muhammed evacuate his family

Help Walid and family escape

Help Sarah Aljamal and her family

Help Walaa and her family evacuate from Gaza

Help Aya evacuate her sick mother from Gaza

Help Mohamed Zaqout’s brother escape Gaza

Help Bayan Meghari and her family

Help evacuate this injured father out of Gaza

Help Hossam and his family

Help evacuate the Abu Halabia family

Help treat Mulataf who has brain disease

Help a family of 7 evacuate Gaza

Help this child with cerebral palsy evacuate

Help Abdalla Mughari and his family

Help the Alashi family

Help Ghadeer Saeed’s family

Help Yousef and Khaled Al-Sultan’s family

Help Firas protect his family

Help Moneer and his family

Help Aya Adham get treatment for her hematoma

Links masterpost 1

Links masterpost 2

Links masterpost 3

Links masterpost 4

Please keep Palestine in your minds tonight and onwards even with distractions like the Oscars, helping the people is more important

[bowtiebuns]

eSims for Gaza is facing constant eSim shortages.

They get over a thousand requests for connection a day, but their email inbox is regularly sitting at 300-500 eSims. With the bombardment of Rafah and continual internet blackouts, the need for more eSims is particularly urgent.

Even if you have already sent an eSim or donated to an eSim donation drive, there is more you can do. The team is calling for people to campaign in their communities to help spread the word about eSims and encourage donations.

You can help by printing out posters and putting them up in local businesses, on telephone poles and notice boards, or wherever people are likely to see them.

[ID: Poster headed “eSIMs for Gaza” with an illustration of a red poppy, a QR code, and a link to tinyurl.com/gaza-esims; copy reads “Sending eSIMs is an immediate, concrete way to help Gazans on the ground. Scan below to learn how you can get involved.” End ID]

Download color poster

Download black and white poster

Or make your own poster, pamphlet, or protest sign with one of these QR codes:

[bowtiebuns]

MARCH 2ND TOTAL SHUTDOWN FOR GAZA

March second is a day dedicated to a TOTAL SHUTDOWN for Gaza to reject the invasion of Rafah and to put an end to the Palestinian genocide. Prepare yourself for this date. Find a protest near you. Call your reps and yell at them. Be aggressive. You can find protest near you with the site shutitdown4palestine.org . SPREAD THE WORD. A total shut down means TOTAL shut down, don’t post anything unrelated to Palestine, call in sick to work or school (if you can), go to a protest. Buy groceries and necessities beforehand and DONT SHOP ANYWHERE ON MARCH 2ND.

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE.

[bowtiebuns]

hi. go buy esims for gaza. go preorder a kufiya from hirbawi. buy insulin for palestinian diabetics who need that help. if you live in the states use this to email your reps (this takes maybe 5 seconds to do). check out this massive list of resources where you can educate yourself in a meaningful and actionable way even if you don't have the financial means right now. from the river to the sea palestine will be free. 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

[bowtiebuns]

Raindove is still fundraising to get as many people out of Rafah as quickly as possible while the tanks are encroaching on Rafah. The terrorist zionist forces are going to try to do as much damage as possible. They're about 3k away from their initial goal. They don't have much more time. They've already done so much to help Ghazzawiyeh, they can do more with your help.

[bowtiebuns]

Hi! So a man named Ahmed Kouta from my hometown, who is studying to become a doctor, went to Gaza for his Master's and to see family. He's now stranded there, enduring the genocide and providing updates to many people via his Instagram @princekouta. He recently started a GoFundMe that's still far short of its goal. I urge everyone who sees this post goes to make a donation as a part of the global strike, especially if you aren't able to participate in it in other ways. I will write a poem for anyone who donates at least 5 dollars. DM me if you do.

[bowtiebuns]

I added my name to the KidLit for a Ceasefire letter. If you are an author or illustrator of books for children, middle grade, or young adult readers, or if you are an editor or agent working with those books, or in some other way affiliated with the publishing industry and would like to add your name to the letter, it is open for more signatures until EOD January 28 2024. Then it will be sent to President Biden online and via snail mail. It will also be sent to select Congress members and media.

[bowtiebuns]

Bisan Owda's call to action

eSims For Gaza

For USAmericans: Call your reps | Email your reps It takes only a few minutes and there are scripts if needed. If you call after hours, you can leave a voicemail.

US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action Toolkit

Jan 26th Int'l Day of Action Toolkit

Google Drive of posters to print

Other infographics about the strike: here and here

I will be queuing this post for every day this week. IDs in Alt text!

[bowtiebuns]

Eurovision is allowing Israel to participate despite its ongoing genocide against Palestinians.

Boycott Eurovision.

Do not watch it. Do not support it.

[bowtiebuns]

WE MADE IT TO TEN ESIMS SENT TO GAZA !!!

Here's the receipts for all the ones purchased and sent for the fundraiser so far! The original post is kind of long now, but here it is for the fundraiser's details:

We're at 10/30 now! Please consider sharing and supporting! That's ten eSims sent to Gaza that hadn't been before! Together we can send even more!

Also! I get asked if a receipt for an eSim that you purchased and sent yourself can be shown to me for the little icon commissions and the answer is yes! Anything to get more eSims to Gaza!

Here's the Gaza eSims site with information on how to make the purchases yourself!

[bowtiebuns]

Hello hello hello! I keep seeing posts about how Gaza is running low on donated eSims, and I'm hoping to make a difference! Fundraise with me to get more eSims to Gaza to support a free Palestine and to keep Palestinians connected!

Here's how! We're gonna be sending over as many of Nomad's 14USD eSims as we can that provide 3 GB for 30 days each! I have already purchased and sent one myself! Send 14USD to me, and I will make you one of the cute little icons like the one above and handle the purchase and forwarding of the eSim! I will also provide you screenshots of the eSim purchase confirmation emails I get and forward as proof that I purchased and sent the eSim for you.

Don't have enough for an eSim in general but still want to try and get some to Gaza? That's okay! You can send any bit you can spare to me, and I will compile the smaller donations to purchase as many more eSims for Gaza as possible! And if we're a few bucks short of an eSim, I will make up the difference myself! No dollar will go to waste!

Here's a screenshot with my name blocked out of the confirmation email I got for transparency's sake!

My cashtag is $sketchyshark

I also can accept money through Paypal and Venmo! Let's get as many eSims as we can to Gaza! I will be posting updates on this fundraiser as much as possible! Free Palestine!

[bowtiebuns]

award-winning palestinian children's illustrator baraa awoor writes:

"what use is it to be an illustrator of children's books when the world has sentenced the children of your country to the death penalty, to vanish, to genocide?"

some of baraa's illustrations:

this is an illustration for youssef, whose mother is remembered running desperately into the hospital asking if anyone had seen a "small white boy with beautiful curly hair, his name is youssef," a description which was remembered by millions when she finally identified his body:

this illustration is for young omar, who was hugging his little brother and teaching him how to repeat the shahada after him (a prayer spoken by muslims before their death) as he lay on his hospital bed:

"we want a new year that doesn't kill us or our children, we want it a year without blood, without screaming, without pain, we want a new attempt to get our lives back, or something that resembled our life, even if life is a lie we still cling to it, return life to us—a new year's card unlike any other year:"

[bowtiebuns]

Making this new pinned post for Ahmed @90-ghost Please donate and/or spread as much as you can.

EDIT: GFM is giving me grief because this is going to someone in Gaza. I am trying to sort it out, but if the worst-case scenario happens and they shut it down, I’ll have to refund everyone. Currently, I can’t even access the funds. You can still donate if you want, but you’ll be more sure to get money to Ahmed if you go to his blog and use his PayPal or Ko-Fi to donate directly.

EDIT 12/24: the fundraiser hit its goal! But the funds are still in limbo. GFM essentially concluded their questioning and told me that they will reach out when there’s a decision regarding whether or not I will be able to transfer the funds or if everyone will be refunded. I’m trying to at least pester them for a decision ASAP, but in the case of a refund, please pay attention to your email for the refund notification and re-send your money directly to Ahmed’s PayPal: @/ahmed94saad

EDIT 12/29: the good news is that GFM reached out to Ahmed directly, received his documentation, etc and it looks like they’re moving forward with lifting the hold on the account, hopefully. The bad news is that the cost of the permits has gone up in the time that this has taken. It’s $7500 per person now. I’ve adjusted the goal and re-opened donations accordingly.

[bowtiebuns]

Here's my Hot Rod design for my AU! A rambunctious daredevil who's eager to prove himself as a hero however his impulsiveness often leads him into trouble. So much that it begs the question to why his mentor, Ultra Magnus, decided to make him leader of his squad. Nevertheless, Hot Rod does his best to lead his team into victory. Besides being a speedster, Hot Rod is also a skilled bowman; almost rivaling his fellow marksman, Moonracer. His heat resistance and flamethrower come in extra handy when the situation becomes "too hot" handle. I can imagine him going through an arc of him slowly growing into his leadership role before he becomes a Prime. He's definitely a diamond in a rough that's for sure.

[bowtiebuns]

Transfomers: Initiative - Starscream

The Decepticons’ illustrious leader. Before he became co-head of the syndicate, Starscream was a  renowned phantom thief. His talents were so grand that it caught the attention of then rookie crime boss, Megatron of Kaon. The two hit it off and eventually became Cybertron’s most nefarious power couple. 

With Megatron’s brute strength and Starscream’s cunning strategy, they ruled over the criminal underbelly with an iron fist; crushing anyone who dared to challenge them. All was well until a certain Prime and his mare do well companions put a stop to their grand plans of world domination.

Left with no other options while his empire was crumbling before him, Starscream gave himself up and dispersed the Decepticons. Now, the wretched seeker lies behind bars in a confidential Elite Guard prison facility biding for his time until the right moment; which might come sooner than he thought…

Personality wise, this version of Starscream is very eccentric. He revels in the macabre and supernatural. While he is wicked to his core, Starscream is a lot more laissez-faire compared to Megatron. Like, he's evil but he likes to have fun!

For his age, Starscream would be in his mid 40's. Specifically around 46-47 years old.

Fun Facts:

Starscream likes to sleep upside down or in a coffin pose, most Seekers in this AU do actually! They tend of have a lot of bat/vampire mannerisms.

Starscream has the ability to produce sonic screams but only uses it during dire situations. He can also use it for echolocation.

He has 3 kids (Whom y'all will see later in the future. So stay tuned!).