u/DevelopmentGlum228

Hello! It's me again.

Now, I'm planning on going to an anime convention later this year. It's one I've been going to for many years, and I always enjoy my time there. However, unlike my last post where the other convention was held in a place separate to the associated hotel, this convention is held directly in the hotel. No going to con and avoiding hotel.

Do I still go? Or do I quit the con because to go would be to support Marriot hotels, which has locations in Israel?

To add, I'm a teen, and I would be going with my sister and a relative if I decide to go. I'm conflicted because I've always liked this convention, and suddenly telling my mom I'm not comfortable going anymore because "I don't agree with the hotel's views" would exasperate my mom and make her think I'm overthinking too much. Though, I have gotten out of going to Hershey Park, which my mom and sister are at right now actually, so there's a good chance I could convince her.

Either way, I'll definitely email the convention and ask them if they could ever think about changing their location because of it.

P.S., yes, I checked the sub, nothing about boycotting hotels, just booking services.

Heyo! I'm a vegan, and I was wondering if there's any good plant milk alternatives. I usually use Oatly, or Almond Breeze, but they have ties to Israel. I was wondering if there's an alternative so I don't have to keep buying from them. Thank you in advance!

I think Planet Oat is in the clear? But if they have anything on them, LMK!!!

Edit: Just realized Safeway, my typical grocery store, has oatmilk! Don't think they've got any dirt on them!

...Then again, they stock a few Israeli products, but they could be doing worse.

Hello! So, I'm going to an anime convention later this summer. I don't know which hotel the convention will be using this year, but the hotel they used 2 years ago was Marriot, and apparently Marriot has ties in Israel.

It's practically impossible for me to go to the con without booking a hotel, since it's a few hours away and I'll need to be there early all days of the con.

I just want to know what I should do. Are there any hotels without Israeli ties? Because if that was the case, I guess I could just call staying at hotels a necessary evil.

TW for brief mention of s/h in spoilered bit

I originally posted this in the r/teenagers israel/palestine megathread, but I figured nobody would read it. And so;

I've (15f) sort of been having a bit of a crisis recently. If y'all don't know about the genocide going on in Gaza, then read this. Me, specifically, I've managed to find my Tumblr and Instagram firmly in the mutual aid community. Long story short, little to no aid is getting into Gaza. Israel banned most NGOs from getting into Gaza. The majority of stuff getting into Gaza is commercial, meaning it's for sale to people with no jobs or sources of income. Food that's, by the way, mostly all sugar and junk, nothing for malnourished people. Actual good foods for people to eat like vegetables and meats are insanely overpriced.

And so, many Gazans seek aid on the internet, as it's their only way to get money. They either have to have relatives outside Gaza, or trust people on the internet to run their fundraisers for them, as you can't have one in Gaza. Gazans and their supporters then make videos on the internet to raise awareness about the fundraisers so people can donate [the mutual aid part]. Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram, among others. I use Tumblr and Instagram, and they both have large mutual aid communities.

I have no income myself, being a teenager, and my mother says that too many of those donation pages are scams. I try to reblog and boost all the time. However, I get tons of DMs from Palestinians, talking about how their families are starving, or need urgent medical care. I was almost convinced that they were scams, once. I guess I sort of want to believe their scams, since accepting the fact that all of these people are so desperate that they're begging in my DMs for $5-10 repeatedly is horrible. I respond with "I'm sorry, but I can't donate," or some variation thereof, and then reblog some of their posts. But they'll ask again. If I don't respond, they'll say "stop ignoring me" and I'll feel horrible about it.

On Instagram, I've even gotten people trying to get to my mother or get me to do facecalls, since sometimes I say "my mother won't let me donate," and facecalls are a popular verification method amongst those who verify Gazans that want to seek aid. I haven't been getting DMs on Instagram in a while (I assume it's because I stopped accepting FRQs.) On Insta, I just keep updated on channels about Palestine (Filasteeni, Humaniti, Bisan's channel,) and when I click on a vid I scroll down and boost the video I see below, since my algo is filled with mutual aid videos. On Tumblr, however, the DMs haven't stopped, and there's more the more you use the site, since Gazans that see me reblogging hope I can donate.

Yesterday, I ended up breaking down and crying because I saw a post from an actual Palestinian doing the back-breaking work of verifying Gazans that seek mutual aid. He's practically the Gazan verifier on Tumblr other than GazaVetters, I think. He was talking about how horrible people that call mutual aid funds scams were. A week or two ago, I read a post talking about how mutual aid funds on Tumblr were scams, and I believed it. And I felt horrible for believing it, because I was basically feeding into the narrative making people ignore and report actual genocide survivors trying to get aid. And then I cried a lot, and my mom made me go to bed, and then I didn't leave the bed until this morning.

This isn't the first time I've ended up crying over feeling helpless and complicit, and I've>! hurt myself once before because of it.!<

Everyone I know says to stop letting it consume me, and I believe them in the moment, but when I go on Instagram or Tumblr, I feel bad about even thinking about simply... getting off of those sites. Even though I can't help financially, I feel bad about not sharing when I can. Am I the only person in the world feeling this way?

Additionally, after I wrote this, I had a Palestinian on Tumblr ask me to make him another account. Should I do it? Am I a bad person if I don't? And also, even when I'm not on those sites, or actively consuming stuff about Palestine, I still think about it. Also, this Summer I'm planning on doing the AFSC Action Hours since I'll be free on Fridays. And when I start making money, I'll donate to organizations made up of actual Palestinians that buy stuff from the market and give them to people for free, as they're better than NGOs that are banned from getting into Israel.

Hello! I made an auction on ych.commishes a few days ago, and it's nearing it's end. I fear I may have overpriced it ($15 for a YCH of one fullbody, one halfbody, and one bust.) Looking at other auctions after the fact, I see their starting bids are lower, and the wiki also says to start low. How do I put it on discount? I can't figure it out.

(TW for bad recipe; didn't measure as I cooked.)

Didn't take picture, and can't take picture, since it's all gone! Am I allowed to post w/o images?

One small tomato

One potato

Eighth of an onion (sorta eyeballed it, like a smallish chunk)

Onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper

tiiny bit of Dash lemon seasoning (but lemon juice would work, I think?

Sesame oil, olive oil

Water (enough to cover veggies with maybe an inch of extra?)

First, I chopped the onion and tomato up, and got them to simmer for a bit in the pot. I put in the oils then, as well. After a bit of that, I chopped and added the potato. Then I added the water. Then, I added the seasonings, and let it boil. Probably don't let it boil for as long as I did, but do it until the potatoes are nice and soft. And for the seasonings, add in just a little bit to start, and then season to taste. It was so good!

P.S., if you have any suggestions to make soup base more flavorful quickly without using premade stocks, let me know!

If we made a Manhwa area in the safe server, where do you think we'd put it?

P.S., if you see Lloyd with Hamang on his head and a bi tail, that's me! Feel free to talk or wtv