It's So Lovely Not To Talk To People!

i'm so broke, my wallet hasn't seen a cent in years

Daughter of fate

you are viscious,

and you are cunning,

o, daughter of blood.

you have seen death,

and you have faced punishment,

for crimes undeserving.

you have seen many a soul broken,

and you have fallen,

o, daughter of pain.

but you were loved,

in a time long ago,

and you knew you were deserving.

o, daughter of suffering,

why do you cause yourself pain,

when you should revel in gentle rain.

frustration, a poem attempt by me

the sound of them around me was too loud. i told them to quiet but they only riot. i couldn't stand it i just wanted quiet.

i was tired and i wanted some quiet, because riot after riot left me silent. everyone was yelling out their cause and i thought it was stupid that they wouldn't change the laws.

what was this world doing, trying to ruin the flower just blooming. i turn my music louder to drown out the protests, because i just couldn't raise my voice with them.

i felt tears gather in my eyes...

because I wanted to rise.

asahi: you’re violent.

noya: yeah, but i’m short so it’s adorable.

Ryan: What’s your greatest strength?

Demon!shane: Getting out of corn mazes

Ryan: Uh… okay. and your greatest weakness?

Demon!shane: I keep finding myself unexpectedly in corn mazes

Ryan: *realizing they’re in a corn maze* What the hell?

Demon!shane: Guess it’s my time to shine

How Portland organizers are mass-producing cheap protest shields

Taken from this twitter thread (link is to a mirror on nitter)

Two weeks ago, these shields were getting built by 3 people in a garage. Today, an assembly line of over 25 volunteers (and two dogs 🐶) gathered at Clinton Park in Southeast Portland to help put them together. Using Twitter to coordinate, volunteers gather 3 times a week (location announced the night before) to build these shields. All materials – including duct tape, power tools and pool noodles – are donated (along with everything on this extremely packed snack and supply table).

So how does a protest shield get made? 🤔

Step 1.) Acquire a 55-gallon barrel. (In the beginning, Ghost (@ghostmobpdx) was buying these barrels – which once carried liquids like soy sauce and canola oil – off of Craiglist. Now all of the barrels are donated.)

Step 2.) Remove the barrel lid. Using a circular saw, a volunteer slices the barrel into four sections. You now have five soon-to-be shields! 🛡🛡🛡🛡🛡

Step 3.) Using a hand drill, a different volunteer makes 6 holes in the center of the plastic. (Shield building sessions are BYOPT: Bring Your Own Power Tools.🛠️🧰)

These holes will be used to attach bolts, padding and straps so the shield can be carried like this:

(A plan is in the works to upgrade to drilling 8 holes so the shields can have backpack-style straps. This will help protesters avoid dropping their shields when they have to move fast.)

Step 4.) A volunteer adds the aforementioned bolts. 🔩BOLT FACT🔩 Since starting, Viv (@viv______) estimates they’ve used over 1,200 bolts. That’s a lot of bolts. 😮 (Can you spot the faded NLG number on this volunteer’s arm?)

Step 5: Another volunteer adds foam and straps. The straps are made from strips of sturdy ratchet tie material. Foam also gets added over the bolts on the front of the shield to protect people from hard edges.

Step 6: It is ~noodle time.~ A different group of volunteers slices pool noodles lengthwise and fits them along the rough edges of the shield material. This is to protect the protester and anyone they might bump into.

NOODLE FACT: The volunteers who do this part of the process are called the “noodlers.” (!!!) Here is a noodler in action:

Step 7: Another group of volunteers adds a layer of duct tape around the entire shield (except for the foam/strap section). Each shield needs about 2 rolls of duct tape, and Viv estimates they’ve used 400-500 rolls so far.

After volunteers have attached the pool noodles, bolts, foam, straps and duct tape to the plastic barrel material, you arrive at the final step of shield building…

Step 8: Spray paint and stencil the shield. Ghost spray paints the surface of each shield black. From there, individuals can add their own unique designs. One volunteer brought these handmade stencils that included images of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

As a final touch, this message is spray painted onto the interior of every shield: “THIS SIGN WAS PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE AND IS NOT INDICATION OF ANY GROUP AFFILIATION” (sometimes accompanied by a protective sigil from local witches or a stencil of Portland’s elk statue).

In total, each shield takes about 3 hours to make and requires passing through multiple groups of volunteers before it’s finished. All materials and time to produce them is donated, and the shields are offered free of charge to BIPOC protesters and $10 for everyone else. Ghost, Viv and the volunteers have made about 250 shields so far, and build between 30 and 55 shields per session.

How does it feel to see the shields in action? Ghost: “My heart is so warmed, just every time. I’m so proud. There was one time – God, it was beautiful -  where a tear gas canister full on exploded off the damn thing and the person is still running away. And the shield was fine.“

While y'all are here, have you heard of Portland’s Black Resilience Fund? BRF is a 100% volunteer-led organization providing Black Portlanders with relief from financial burdens for basic living expenses and life emergencies. Here’s a cool story: https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/06/19/28554154/the-portlanders-behind-the-black-resilience-fund-are-young-black-queer-and-hopeful

what if you dressed up as santa for halloween and anything else for christmas?

what's up with that snow?

everyone shut UP!!!!

frog boots.

sun and moon

original story test

part one

enter: the moon princess

into a room walked a teenaged girl with long, bright white hair. her posture was straight and her clothing was regal. her face said nothing. but her most prominent feature?

her most prominent feature were her stark black eyes, there was no other colour but black. her gaze was terrifying and untraceable. the deep black pulled you into cold depths that will never release you, it felt.

"guard, leave us." she commanded the guard stationed by the only entrance and exit to the room and the woman didn't hesitate to follow instructions.

the room was one that held a visitor, his name, alrec.

alrec was a teen with plain looks, brown hair and brown eyes.

"what is the purpose of this urgent visit of yours?" the princess asked, her tone blank.

the other teen immediately lit up, "riri, it's been so long!!!" he cheered.

the white haired girl's blank expression melted into a softer one, "reccie, your message sounded bad." her voice was a concerned one.

"it is terrible, my dear riri, i have not laid eyes upon you, my dearest friend in eons, what a travesty!" alrec dramatised.

the princess laughed, "reccie, you're terrible!" she joked.

"ririiiiiiiiii." alrec complained.

the black eyed princess shook her head with a smile, "my name's undina, use it sometime."

the brunette boy pouted, "riri, you meanie."

undina placed her hands on her hips, "i'm only telling you to adress me by my name! you know it ties i-"

"-into our historical culture of the moon moving the tides of the seas of the earth, i know, riri." alrec finished, knowing the speach from previous mischiefs.

"hey, riri, let's go out, let's have fun!" alrec immediately suggested his new idea.

undina hesitated, she hadn't seen alrec in months, but she was the princess still, "let's!" she agreed.

"i just have to change clothes, promise i'll be right back!" and with a wink the princess was out again.

i want to own a sword, just to own a sword