Hey y'all, this is a very heavy post to write, but one of our beloved community members and iconic panel editor @theweeklynark has recently had their home devastated by Hurricane Helene. Phone reception is incredibly spotty for them at this time so communication is difficult, but they've put forward some donation links in their bio, both to support the relief efforts that are working hard to help the victims of this tragedy, as well as help their own family so they can get back on their feet.
See Instagram 'DONATIONS' highlights from Minthe (@theweeklynark)
(^^^ full list of donation links, just tap right!)
Hello, we’re Cody and Azy Eudy and we just recently moved to Buncombe county. We live… Cody Eudy needs your support for Help Us Recover Afte
(^^^ their GoFundMe; they've requested that people prioritize donations to the relief efforts to help their community at large, but whatever people can spare afterwards should go here !!!)
I cannot even begin to imagine how horrifying this situation is for all the people who have had their homes and way of life destroyed by the current onslaught of hurricanes. All the photos that TWN has shared of what's become of their home in the wake of Helene are like something out of a nightmare and it breaks my heart to see a fellow community member living it with each passing day. I truly hope their situation improves as soon as possible and that they never have to live through such an astronomically devastating event like this ever again.
So please, if you're able, consider donating to any of the above organizations / collections, every little bit helps. If you can't donate, then please share this post, more visibility means it can reach more people who can. Thank you 💖
If you can't donate, which is completely fair, can you share and help the hurricane relief efforts in Jamaica? The western side of the country has been completely devasted. this is where most of our agriculture, bauxite, and tourism industries are. Housing infrastructure has been demolished, supplies that were stored for the hurricane, have either been contaminated or used up.
We are slowly getting things back, like communication services and utilities, but a lot of the country is still out. A lot are homeless right now.
There is an estimate 3 trillion (JMD) worth of damages to infrastructure and livelihood. So anything, no matter how small can help
Here’s a list of some of the groups currently collecting donations for those affected by the earthquake. The resources on this list have been given a 90 percent rating or above on Charity Navigator, a charity assessment organization that evaluates non-profits and other charitable institutions.
GlobalGiving has created a Morocco Earthquake Relief Fund and is accepting donations.
UNICEF has stated that it’s ready to help Moroccans in need and is currently accepting donations.
The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal and is accepting donations for any with immediate or severe needs.
Doctors Without Borders, a well known non-profit, is reportedly sending medical teams to Morocco.
(I don't usually break copyright for journalists, who deserve to make a living through their writing the same as other authors, but this paywalled article mentions a few native Hawaiian relief efforts that need funding)
Native Hawaiians organize aid for Maui fire victims as government lags
Reis Thebault, Washington Post [12Aug 2023]
LAHAINA, Hawaii — The boats kept coming. One by one, cruisers and catamarans eased toward the beach in Kahana, a small and tightknit neighborhood just north of Maui’s hardest-hit areas.
Each one was laden with supplies: generators, propane tanks, trash bags full of clothing and ready-to-eat meals. And each one was greeted by two dozen people, the first among them wading waist-deep into the ocean to retrieve provisions from the boat and pass them down the chain, which wound its way to shore.
[Hawaii utility faces scrutiny for not cutting power to reduce fire risks]
The entire operation buzzed with urgent efficiency. But this was not the National Guard, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, nor state or local government. This was scores of residents, led mostly by native Hawaiians, who had battled immense grief and unreliable communications to coordinate a large-scale disaster relief effort serving everyone in need after Tuesday’s ruinous Maui fire.
And this, a parade of boats that brought desperate locals thousands of pounds of supplies, was one of many.
“There’s no government agency helping us — this is it,” said Jareth Lumlung, a native Hawaiian who helped arrange the de facto donation hub. “This is our home, our community.”
[Live updates on Hawaiian wildfires]
In the days since a ferocious wildfire decimated whole swaths of Maui, including the historic west island town of Lahaina, those who live here have said they’ve received little help from the county and state, small entities which are struggling to respond to an unprecedented calamity.
For people whose cultural traditions have been threatened by American colonization and the state’s embrace of tourism and development, government help was never expected. Instead, the community has relied on itself.
Many, native Hawaiians in particular, see the absence of visible official support as a continuation of long-standing frustrations and pain, which began with the destructive arrival of Europeans and lives on in struggles over water rights.
The displacement of native Hawaiians is a particularly acute concern now, as much of the island has been targeted for gentrification, driving up the costs of living and forcing many native Hawaiians to move to mainland cities like Las Vegas.
[After five hours in ocean, Maui fire survivor is ‘blessed to be alive’]
Government officials have said they were focused on putting out the flames, housing and feeding survivors in evacuation centers outside the burn zone, protecting damaged areas, clearing roads in and around the town and helping to restore essential utilities. Some of the aid is out of reach of survivors, however, because they lack transportation or working phones to alert them about services. In Lahaina, the private efforts have been more visible, survivors said.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) estimated that nearly all of Lahaina had been destroyed. But in Kahana, the town’s spirit remained completely alive.
“If you take away all Hawaiians, there’ll be no more Hawaii,” Lumlung said. “It’ll be just a place. This is what it’s all about right here. We’re all raised the same way; this is something that’s just naturally instilled. You don’t have to be asked to do these things.”
Residents gather at Napili Plaza in Lahaina, Hawaii, to connect to Starlink satellites to contact their loved ones on Friday. (Mengshin Lin for The Washington Post)
The supply boats began arriving on Wednesday, as first responders were still battling the blaze and recovering bodies amid burned-out homes and businesses. Two days later, they hadn’t slowed. On Friday, they began arriving early, and volunteers had tents set up to sort the goods: a pile of men’s pants here, a pyramid of diapers there and vast mounds of bottled water.
“We lost everything. We lost our town,” said Jerica Naki, whose home in Lahaina was destroyed. “That’s why we’re here.”
On this day, the volunteer boats largely came from neighboring islands, Oahu and Molokai, northwest of Maui in the Hawaiian archipelago, traveling far on choppy seas. Naki was helping sort donations and she described an emotional whirlwind, from escaping with nothing to seeing a staggering amount of volunteer support for those who have been displaced like her.
[These maps show where wildfires are burning in Hawaii]
“A lot of us are born and raised here,” Naki said, looking around as the chain of volunteers hauled in boxes of tinned sausage. “There’s a l xd ot of pride in Lahaina, so it hurts, a lot. But this is all we have here now, each other, and we’re making do.”
As the response has worn on, the greatest needs have shifted. There is now plenty of nonperishable food and bottled water. Generators, fuel and Starlink satellite internet systems would be most useful, volunteers say.
Sheryl Nakanelua knew instinctively where she needed to go when she fled her Lahaina home as flames spread. She made her way to Kahana and set up a tent across from Lumlung’s house, where she’ll stay until her family is let back into her subdivision, one of the few that was spared.
“This is our family place, it’s home,” she said of the Kahana neighborhood. “This is the best part to be at. It’s what’s keeping us positive.”
Other such spots have popped up. Napili Plaza, once a destination for groceries, ribs and tattoos, is now a donation drop-off center. And some 100 cars lined up for free gas near the town’s former railroad station. Coordinating the boats and other donation sites is a massive task that involves maddening games of phone tag in a place largely without cell service and requires a relentless dedication and extensive Rolodex.
Residents like Zane Schweitzer have both. Schweitzer, whose family has lived around Lahaina for generations, has spent nearly every hour of the last 48 working his walkie-talkie and phone, frantically arranging aid from around Maui, Hawaii and the mainland. Working with the Oahu-based youth nonprofit Na Kama Kai, he helped coordinate one of Friday’s largest deliveries.
Officials said most of Lahaina, the historic town in West Maui, was destroyed when hurricane winds pushed fires to the coast.
On the south side of Lahaina, in Olowalu, Eddy and Sam Garcia are transforming their groundbreaking sustainable farm into a shelter for those who have lost their homes. The married couple, who themselves have lost farmland and fruit crops worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, are setting up temporary housing, a massive solar power system and a satellite internet connection that they’ll open to anyone who needs it.
“In the immediate moment, people need shelter, they need food, they need water, they need a place to get on the internet so they can look for their loved ones,” said Eddy Garcia, who grew up in Lahaina. “We’re shifting all of our attention to trying to feed and house our neighbors.”
The Olowalu farm is uniquely well-prepared to handle this sort of disaster. Run by the Garcias’ nonprofit, Regenerative Education Centers, it was already operating off the grid, with its own power, plumbing and food. The nonprofit has launched a fundraiser to help pay for the fire effort, which will continue as long as there’s a need.
The property, even after being raked by the fire’s severe winds, is verdant and shaded by tall mango trees. On Friday, volunteers and staff readied the farm to fill any needs. They butchered and smoked a wild pig, set up new solar panels and scoured the internet for portable toilets. Eddy Garcia whirred with adrenaline, his satellite-connected cellphone ringing every few minutes with someone offering help.
For locals like him, helping his neighbors is not only about their survival, but about preserving the island’s identity and keeping it livable for those whose families have been here for generations.
“It’s not about these giant hotels on the beach and all the big companies, but trying to take care of local people,” he said. “This is not a visitor’s destination spot, this is the kingdom of Hawaii. That hit the heart of it in Lahaina. It hurts to even talk about it.”
His phone rang again and he stood up to leave.
“I’m like a ball of rubber bands right now,” he said, “and the only thing keeping me going is I got to organize these things.”
——
[More photos and links to the latest news in and after article]
She'll Be Alright (Rated T, Cairo Sweet/Jonathan Miller (Jairo), angst, fluff, for hurricane relief efforts in the South, 1300 word drabble)
Cergy, France
The weather was as muggy as it had ever been, on and off, during their stay, but Jon surmised that the faint frown on her face that had weighted her bowed lips down during the times it was too hot to write wasn't there for the lack of inspiration or motivation.
“What're you doin’?”
Jon tried to quickly slide the glass door shut, but the faint smoke smell followed him in. Cairo was curled into herself on the small couch, scrolling through her apps.
“Cairo,” he leaned against the wall, staring at her ponytailed profile. “I thought we agreed —”
“That contract is void, Jon,” she snapped, more out of despair than irritance. “I can't —” she made a half-hearted effort to look up, but her neck was hurting from being held hostage by her compulsion towards worry. She sighed.
It wasn't him, but he wasn't helping.
She sighed again, the frustration having collapsed into defeat as her hand fell into her lap. “I just can't.”
Their little one bedroom apartment in Cergy-Pontoise was tiny, but she was tiny, “So it works out,” she had cooed upon her booking with her cheeky, dimpled grin. At the time, it was her romantic heart that just wanted to get away from all of the heartache that home had left them to suffer, Paris being the first stop on their year-long tour of living — and loving — in Europe.
The apartment was perfect for that, offering a cozy — perhaps slightly cramped — living space for them to begin their journey together, writing whenever and wherever they felt like it, whether it be on the queen bed or lounging in the small garden patio that reminded them of home. It was the color scheme of the listing that had drawn Cairo in, but once they arrived, it thrilled her even more; the blacks, greys, celadon and verdant greens of the paint and decor matched everything at Sweetland Manor, greatly lessening her anxiety and keeping her homesickness at bay in the slightly paler and more modern trade-up. The garden even had an ironwork table, albeit a small, round, white one whose surface was not equipped in either size or stability for the kinds of activity that the one back in Benson had seen. The only thing they hadn't quite counted on was the size of the (mini)fridge and the lack of a full stove, for as cute it was that the aesthetic fit Cairo's petite stature, it didn't cooperate well with either Cairo or Jon’s ravenous appetites for something other than sex and cigarettes. Still, it had become their home away from home, their writing and lovemaking something out of a quaint and boringly repetitive erotic novel that brought them the pleasure and bonding that she had only dreamt about when she planned her gap year around the man she was smitten with, and who was smitten with her. It had been a dream, these past two months ‘under the roofs of Paris’, until the nightmare back home invaded their tranquility.
He sat down, nudging his way against her side, his left arm coaxing her shoulders into an easy slump against his chest.
“I know, alright. You...aren't the only one scared to death about all this shit.”
She shifted, her knuckles idly sliding against his tee. “You worried about Bea?”
He blinked, his brow twitching before correcting itself. There wasn't a hint of venom in her voice at the mention of his soon-to-be ex-wife.
“She ain't even in the pathway. Neither is Benson, you know —”
“It's close enough! Knoxville —”
“Is two counties over! And even if the floods are bad, it's solid. It'll be fine —”
“How do you even know that —”
“It's Lovell Hill. Hill. You ever get floodin’ there?”
“It don't matter if I never got floodin' this bad before, Jon! People on top of fuckin’ mountains are gettin’ affected. There's dead bodies in the trees, kids, babies floatin’ down the floodwaters. A thousand year flood done washed Asheville away,” her voice cracked. “I hate it here.”
“You don't hate it here —”
“Yes I do! Right now I do! I can't do nuthin’ about anything!”
“And what exactly do you think you could be doin’ back home besides bein’ trapped in the house with nowhere to go except the second floor?”
“...But Miss Kitty —”
“She'd find her way to that second floor,” he spoke softly but assertively, a hand patting the air as if to quickly stamp out a flame. He accidentally let a small tick of impatience slip through his throat, but immediately recovered, reaching for her hand. “Or the attic. She'll be okay —”
“There's no one to feed her! Boris n’ Black evacuated! Did they take the cat? No, they didn't!”
Jon recalled the text. It had been a flash flood warning, and they all needed to evacuate immediately. There was no time for anyone to drive all the way over to the Hill to get the cat.
“I'm sorry —”
“I'm just — I'm just — ” her hand bounced against his stomach as a video on her phone held a silent loop of the rushing, ochre-colored waters of the floods onscreen. “The Rainbow Bridge up in Lake Lure washed away. Peoples’ live pets are bein’ washed away. There was one lady who lost ten cats — ten of ‘em, and I can't — hey!”
Jon had snatched the phone out of her hand and kept an iron grip on her waist as he held her phone at his long arm’s length.
“Watchin’ those TikTok videos ain't helpin’, baby girl.”
He started to chuckle as she struggled but wasn’t truly putting any effort into getting it back. She only mildly hated it when he was like this, smacking at his arms until she hugged them to her chest in a caress, too drained from all of the blunt, realtime depictions of life and death at the hands of a very angry Earth. When she relaxed, he tossed her phone two feet away onto the bed and lay with her comfortably cradled in his arm.
“I know it's hard. It's hard feelin’ so — helpless. But there ain't nuthin’ either of us can do right now except live our lives.” He cupped her rounded jaw with his fingers, stroking his thumb against her pouty lip. “At least try to.”
She kissed the pad of his thumb, but then shook away from it. “I’m tryin’.”
“I know you are.” They lay in silence for a minute, listening to each other's heavy breaths in the damp evening air. “We can't go home now.”
“I — I know.”
“Hey,” he whispered.
“What.”
“You know I love ya?”
“...I love you more,” she pouted.
“You just love more. Explains your pain over all of that —”, his hand squeezed her shoulder, “ — stuff back home.”
“And you ain't pained? You ain't bothered at all? You…heartless old codger.”
He laughed. “That what you really think of me?”
“No. But I hate that you're so calm n’ collected. It just makes me look crazier.”
“You're allowed to be crazier.”
“...Sexist.”
“Ain't nuthin’ to do with that and you know it.”
“I hate it here.”
“That's fine, I've only been packin’ for London for the past three days —”
“And I hate you.”
“Funny, I thought I just heard a little crazy, farty little forest fairy tellin’ me that she loved me more than I love her.”
“I do,” she pressed her palms into his stomach as she lifted up, eliciting a sharp wince in his disbelieving, open-mouthed grin. She flashed a smug grin of her own and gave him a quick peck on the lips before pushing up and off, bouncing to the bed for her phone. “Imma call Daddy. I bet he can get someone out there to help.”
“...You do whatever you need to do, sweet pea.”
The region in which the Under Virgin Circumstances universe is set has seen unprecedented devastation to all life with Hurricane Helene and hurricane season is far from over. Here are a few links where you can help contribute funds to the rescue and relief efforts:
The International Fund for Animal Welfare donation pages for Helene and for Milton Efforts
The Humane Society of the United States Hurricane Rescue & Relief Efforts
Charity Navigator: Hurricane Helene & Milton Relief Efforts (includes links for pets and their humans)
Help SELDO support the earthquake survivors in Herat province (Afghanista… Najib Taj needs your support for Help SELDO support the earthqua
In Herat province a total of 12,110 people were affected by the earthquake, Zindajan district was the epicenter of the disaster & is the worst affected area with 1,320 families affected with 1,294 deaths & 1,688 injured reported, including another 485 people reported missing and almost all houses in the area affected & destroyed. Zindajan district is located 40 km west of Herat city. Unfortunately, six schools were also destroyed and another eight were reported partially damaged by the disaster.
SELDO has distributed relief kits to the villages of Naieb Rafi, Sar boland and Kushk which were most affected by the earthquake and we will cover all the villages which are in dire need of assistance. However, the needs are still immense and urgent. The number of victims is changing every day and many people are still living in temporary shelters without adequate access to water, sanitation, health care and protection. Therefore, we plan to continue our support to earthquake-affected families and to conduct a comprehensive assessment and survey of the causes and humanitarian needs in the area. SELDO will also help rebuild schools, homes, and infrastructure that were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake once the assessment is complete. You can learn more about our work and mission on our SELDO website.
As many of you have heard Tommy (@/peakbaio on the bird) has galvanized a fandom led effort to support members of our family from or in Ukraine. Go check this out; there are SO many wonderful offerings from so many fandom creatives. As we know however, despite my being very proud of my written work - y’all all primarily follow me here for dat Parasocial Panda experience. THEREFORE!
I am offering my con experience for the raffle. If selected, you get all of the following:
1. Pick the question I ask Misha at the 30 Minute M&G (depending on Misha and CE pre-approval that I can share the answer with you; I am a boring stickler for nondisclosure rules); AND
2. Pick my pose and/or sign for my Misha photo op; AND
3. Pick something absurd for me to ask any other member of the cast; AND
4. Receive an email of all my photo ops for you to crop and repost at your leisure (any group ops will come pre-cropped) --> I have: JAbel, Misha, Jenmish, and Cas currently).
**If the total number of donations exceeds $500 I may consider the gentle kidnapping of one nameless actor we all know and love as a bonus. [for legal reasons this is a joke].
Instructions for entries under the cut!
You can enter by donating to any of the 3 following valuable members of our fandom-ly and dropping a screenshot in my asks/DMs. Anything helps!
- Donate to Tommy directly using Venmo, PayPal, or Cashapp. Tommy will then wire transfer the total to their parents who are currently occupied Ukraine territory.
VENMO: @ zabara
PayPal: @ thrift2fight
Cashapp: $thrift2fight
- Donate to @sinnabonka‘s KoFi here: https://t.co/EWL5YQmWcs
- Donate to @lengthofropes KoFi here: https://t.co/XqtKxUJLil or you can go to Anz’s post here (x) for other methods and ways to donate that will also be accepted as a raffle entry!
We are all family here. Let’s help our own. Love is a form of resistance.
