I'm Abdelrahman, 22 years old. My journey has been marked by loss and resilience. When I was 18, my father passed away from COVID-19. Determined to build my own future, I pursued an education in multimedia technology, balancing my studies with work to cover my expenses. I was preparing to establish my home and life.
My mother: the princess whom we strive to make happy and satisfy. ❤️️
However, the war in Gaza, especially in the north, brought devastating tragedy. My home, university, job, and family were all destroyed in the conflict. While my family moved to the south, I was in the north, facing famine and moving from place to place, trying to survive.
Our street used to be lively and full of people, but it is no longer like that.
I have witnessed countless difficult and painful scenes while escaping death multiple times. In northern Gaza, life is reduced to a cycle of fleeing from danger and searching for food amidst the rubble of destroyed homes.
I have survived many times,I was hit by a missile in previously destroyed house
My dream is to travel abroad with my mother and sister to continue my education and develop my practical skills. For the past eight months, I have been unemployed, focusing on self-improvement and hoping for a better future.
vein... is beautiful.
xia fei noticed it the first time they've met. long hair, so soft, yet in such brave colour. what a shame his hair is always braided. xia fei has never seen vein with his hair down. but he badly wants to.
vein is beautiful.
xia fei noticed it the first time they've met. playful eyes, looking at him. mysterious, yet kind. red eyes that see everything, even the slightest detail. long lashes cover them whenever vein's irritated, tired or amused by what xia fei's said. but sometimes, only sometimes, the red eyes are happily looking at him.
vein is beautiful, truly.
xia fei noticed it the first time they've met. vein's elegant clothes and the way he wears them. full of pride. full of grace. full of confidence. whenever he's passing by someone, their eyes follow him. and vein knows that because he knows everything.
vein is beautiful. but he doesn't look like that all the time.
there're these days where small dots of blood stain the white fabric of his shirt. it's not often, but it happens. xia fei pretends to see nothing because sometimes it's easier this way. vein never tells him what's going on. he usually puts on his long, black coat and tries his best to cover the blood.
that night when after a tiring day he'd finally came home, he's noticed he has a guest. and not just any guest. the familiar black coat hanging in the hallway. the elegant shoes in the hallway. and also vein's perfumes xia fei could scent in the hallway.
the bathroom light is on. the door is open. xia fei goes there.
vein is beautiful, yet full of mysteries.
in the bathroom vein stands next to the sink. the water is running down. however, the boss hasn't noticed him, yet. vein's too busy washing his dirtied by blood hands to care bout his surroundings. xia fei comes even closer, careful not to make any sound.
but he fails. vein instantly turns around and when he spots xia fei, something like embarrassment shows up on his face. only for a second. there's blood on his face, on his right cheek and forehead. but xia fei doesn't care because vein finally has his hair down.
The war has entered its ninth month and everything is getting worse 💔
Please help me get my family out of there and protect them from war and bombing🙏🙏
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:
Thank you for reading this. I know Mohiy and his family are grateful for anything you can give.
More than 200,000 people are trapped in the northern Gaza Strip and are facing a real famine and mass extermination. Also, more than a million and a half people are facing the same famine in the southern Gaza Strip.Speak up for them, your voice can make a difference in this unjust world.
Also save my families within these families
Save my families who are suffering from famine here 👈👈
With chapter 152, we have a glimpse into the tattoo on Takiishi and Endo's shoulders.
Let's disect it!
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 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).
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
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
Lots of thoughts recently. Everything feels plastic.
I could go on and on about why all that AI "art" is bad. I could mention theft, lack of creativity, it's impact on the work field and environment, but countless people have already said all that. I wanted to touch on something that to me is the most utterly wrong about all of it.
Art is more than just something pretty to look at or listen to. It's therapeutic. It's a form of communication. A tool for human connection. It's a pure, human need.
Support real artists ☀️
“why would you ship that? they would be so toxic-“ I KNOWWW, YOU DONT GET IT. THAT. IS. THE. APPEAL. THE TRAGEDY OF IT ALL GIVES IT FLAVOR. AND I nomnomnom- I EAT IT UP EVERYTIME.
Last Update: 05/06/2024
All fundraisers have been looked into by me or vetted by others. If anyone notices issues in validity with any of the fundraisers listed please let me know. Funding updates daily!
Fadi Al-Sharif and family ($10,439/$62,500 goal)
Hayam Taha and family (€8,718/€30,000 goal)
Deyaa and family (€7,764/€20,000 goal)
Fatima Alshanti (kr5,085 SEK/kr150,000 goal)
Shahed Ghazi and family ($6,776 CAD/$94,838 goal)
Little Yusuf and family (€5,960/€85,000 goal)
Sara & Huda Hajjaj and family ($240/$15,000 goal)
Mohammed JH Shamia's family (kr20,168 SEK/kr250,000 goal)
Maram Ahmed and family (€1,032/€30,000 goal)
Hamza Almofty and family ($3,772/$35,000 goal)
Mahmoud Jomaa (€400/€10,000 goal)
Dr. Mohammed Shara ($445/$20,000 goal)
Abdulrahman Alshanti and family (kr137,402 SEK/kr350,000 goal)
Besan Almabhouh's family (€5,767/€25,000 goal)
Said Tanani and brothers (€30,935/€50,000 goal)
Donia Tanani and family (€67,538/€100,000 goal)
Hussein Shamiya, his pregnant wife, and son ($8,042/$40,000 goal)
Mohammed Shamia and family ($15,020/$35,000 goal)
Amro Bakr & kids Bakir and Tala (€1,772/€15,000 goal)
Almadhoun family ($18,365/$80,000 goal)
Child Mohammed (€6,420/€10,000 goal)
Sana'a and family (£19,668/£50,000 goal)
Noha Ayyad and family ($23,050/$95,160 goal)
Nazmi Mwafi and family ($5,151/65,000 goal)
Ibrahim Almofty and family ($535/$40,000)
Hamdi Hejazi and family ($10,236/$25,000)
Mohammed and family ($7,620/$25,000)
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