This is me Aya.. 🇵🇸
suddenly you wake up with nothing left.That's exactly what happened with us .we moved from having everything to having nothing.In a blink of an eye ,we lost everything, our house ,dreams,
memories belongings and our works. We are starting from zero and need your help to climb the leader step by step from scratch.
All the positive words cannot express how generous you are, especially in sharing my posts to inform other donors about the people of Gaza who are still suffering from the terrible conditions caused by the unjust war on Gaza!
Please continue to support us by donating directly or by sharing the link to let others know. Don't hesitate to help people in difficult and miserable times until the dark days are over. 🙏🏻🍉
https://gofund.me/c4c2cf82
❤️Hello, my friends,
I am Yasmeen from Gaza, a mother of three children. We have been through unimaginable hardship due to the ongoing war, losing our home and everything we had. We are struggling to provide the basics like food, water, and shelter for our family. We desperately need your support to help us survive and rebuild our lives.🇵🇸😭
Your donations, no matter how small, can make a significant difference for us. Please consider sharing our story with your friends and family to raise awareness and extend help.🙏❤️
Thank you for standing with us during this critical time. Your kindness and generosity give us hope.🙏❤️
With gratitude,
Yasmeen
So, I'm at my dance class right? And I have a 1 hour break between classes, so I can just hang out. I'm in a certain seat for a while, and then get thirsty, so I get up to go to the water fountain for a few seconds. And when I try to go back to my seat, an old lady is sitting in it, while watching the class, which a bit understandable. I was just gonna blow it off when she STARTED TO PLAY CANDY CRUSH. IN MY SEAT. NOT EVEN WATCHING THE CLASS. AND SHE JUST SAT THERE THE ENTIRE REST OF THE BREAK. PLAYING CANDY CRUSH.
Hi 🌟,
I hope you’re doing well. We’ve raised very little so far to support me and my family during these challenging times due to the conflict in Gaza. We’re still working to reach our goal and would greatly appreciate your help. 🙏
If you can’t donate, could you please share or reblog my pinned post? Your support in spreading the word would mean a lot to us. 💪
Pinned post: https://www.tumblr.com/ahmedharara/757031731268386816/weve-been-able-to-raise-only-120-so-far?source=share
Donation link: https://gofund.me/f751a38a
Thank you so much for your kindness and support! ❤️
This one is about my main story this time! I really liked how his clothes turned out and his side profiles.
Hello🤍,
My name is Sami, and I am a father of two daughters. We were displaced from Gaza 🇵🇸due to the war, and we lost our home, car, and all our belongings. We are currently living in a tent without shelter or basic necessities. We are waiting for the border to open so we can escape the war, but for now, we urgently need your help to secure food, water, medicine, and to find a safe place for my daughters.Any donation, no matter how small, will help us through these difficult times and give us hope. Thank you to everyone supporting us. May God bless you. 🤲❤️
https://gofund.me/107a8322
standing with us gives us hope in life we ask you to help us and look at us with a humane eye and you have all our love and respect
Tang waits a moment in front of the boat door, hearing a faint commotion coming from the other side.
Then the door swings open, with a cheery blue giant standing inside. "Tang! It's good to see you, my friend! Come inside, I'll be with you in a moment." He walks away from the door to make space.
"Ok, thank you, Sandy." Tang replies as he enters, closing the door behind him.
Sandy's boat always had a calming feeling to it. Maybe it was the color scheme, with shades of blue for the walls and soft browns, yellows, and oranges used for decor and furniture
Or maybe it was the atmosphere, with the copious amounts of friendly therapy cats, the lingering smell of tea, and maybe even the occasional rock of the boat from the waves.
Whatever it was, Tang was glad as it gradually calmed his nerves.
He had sat down on a plush couch with a coffee table in front with sandy in the side kitchen, most likely brewing tea.
Almost as soon as he relaxed into the cushions, a calico cat with bright amber eyes pounced onto his lap.
"Oof- heh. Hey there, Stella." Tang greeted the rambunctious cat. Stella had been bothering Tang ever since the gang came back to Metrapolis with things like small pounces or bites on his fingers.
He thought it was a bit annoying, but he did still keep extra cat treats in his messenger bag whenever he's planning on visiting Sandy.
Speaking of, Sandy had seemingly finished whatever tea he had been making as he came back to the sitting area, tray in hand.
He put the tray down on the coffee table and carefully handed Tang a steaming cup of tea. Sandy took one for himself as he sat to Tang's left, and Tang noticed the cat paw pattern that adorned the cup. He smiled to himself.
"So Tang, how was that book you mentioned? I remember you saying how the images were grainy and underdeveloped. Mytho... eh..."
"Mythos. The Mythos Sites: Professional Study. I finished reading it last night. I don't know why I did, though, because it felt like reading a last-minute book report done by a five year old!" He exlaimed loudly, waving his free hand in the air before taking a sip of his tea. Ooo, lavender.
"Haha! I can see why you didn't like it that much. I thought it might've been good since it's about Journey to the West and had a good summary." Sandy says, swirling his tea before taking another drink.
"It's not your fault, Sandy. It did look promising on the cover and in the intro," Tang comforted before grumbling into his cup. "...but it just devolved into ramblings about how these Mythos Sites "prove that the world was controlled by aliens" and "how the earth is hollow with otherworldly beings living inside" blah blah blah." Tang mocked as he moved his hands sporadically, almost spilling his tea on Stella, who just jumped and ran away.
"I still feel a bit bad, though. Hmmm... oh! Tang!" He suddenly says, leaning over to look at Tang. "Did you bring your sketch book?"
He reaches into his messanger bag and pulls out a small leather-bound notebook. "Yeah? I take it with me everywhere."
Sandy just smiles as he offers Tang a hand. "Then let's go and find some inspiration!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the end, Sandy had taken an entire canvas with him, paint pallette and all, while him and Tang wandered around Metrapolis looking for things to draw and paint.
They went to Pigsy's first, Tang with the excuse of getting "everyday life" sketches. They ended up talking with Pigsy most of the time, barely doing anything, but Tang did get some quick sketches of Pisgy's cooking process.
When they left, they had found a flower shop with sunflowers on the logo. Tang sat down next to Sandy as he started to sketch, sometimes looking at the painting next to him.
The next spot was the main square, full of advertisements and skyscrapers. This is where the weather station is, broadcasting new weather updates and changes.
The final stop was the library, in the back with the lamp and city records. The atmosphere was nice. Sandy had pulled out a third canvas from... somewhere, and is now skimming through random books off the shelves.
Tang was just reading a new edition of Monkey Cop: Back in the Streets, as he had also finished his sketches, when he suddenly heard rounds of footsteps entering the library.
This is when he suddenly remembered what he set that alarm for yesterday, and why he had set it up in the first place.
It was the day where the new book of "The Monkie Kings Bride" had been set to be shelved (one adaptation he personally doesn't like, too many cliches and it has a weird artstyle to him)
And he knew exactly what fans were coming... the chaos that would ensue. He needed to get Sandy and him out of there before they were suffocated by the crowd.
"Hey, uh, Sandy? We need to leave. Like, now." He stated as he quickly stuffed his sketch book, pencils, and erasers back into the messanger bag.
"What's wrong Tang? Why do we have to leave now?" Sandy asked as he started to follow Tang through the bookcases. "Why are we- oh. Oh, now I understand."
"Aw, CRAP." Why do I always get stuck with the annoying side plots?
The entrance is no longer visible, as hordes of people come in and group around the doors, waiting for that stupid book.
"Ughh..." Tang groaned as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
Great. Just great. Now he had to either a) push through the GIANT crowd to get through the overflowing entrance, b) wait for an opening to get through, or c) find out some other way out-
"Hey Tang?" Sandy speaks, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, uh, yeah, Sandy?" He says nervously. He has never liked crowds, and he doesn't want to stay here more than he has to.
"Can we go out through there?" Sandy points to a... fire escape door. Wow, how convenient!
*phew* "Thanks, Sandy." Tang says as he dodges a few stragglers on his way to the door, waving Sandy to come with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They both walk out of the side alley that the library was connected to, swerving through the smaller outside crowd.
"Oh dang, I totally forgot about that! *huff* Sorry, Sandy." Tang says as he leans against a store wall.
"It's alright Tang. In any case, I really enjoyed today! I really liked getting out of the boat for a bit, and I'm very excited to hang up our paintings!" Sandy reassures.
"Heh, thanks, Sandy. I hope we can do something like this again!" He smiles. He then starts to wave Sandy goodbye.
Tang gets home without any issues. No annoying voices, loud music, or big fights. Just pure white noise in the bustling city, and the breeze.
He's glad for that. Everything is ok, and will be ok. He wants everything to stay like this.
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Tang stopped mid-step, shoulders tense, looking around himself for any source of that voice.
He waited a couple of moments, then sighed "Of course..." as he continued his walk to his apartment. He's had moments like this before, where he would think he heard some random voice speak in his ear, then hear nothing afterwards.
Tang just thought it was because of his recent bouts of sleep deprivation or maybe it was just his normal amount of exhaustion from the whole LBD situation.
So, he usually just ignored those little hallucinations for his own sanity.
Yet, no one would notice if he started to walk a bit faster down the sidewalk.
After a couple of seconds, Tang started to pass the familiar yellow streetlights of his road, including all the lights from the different storefront signs in the area.
He finally started to relax as his shoulders lowered. The familiar sights helped calm his mind. Yeah, this happens all the time, don't freak out, I don't know what I was-
'I don't even know where to begin with... all of that'
He stopped again; it was a different voice,a bit lower. And two in a row? Seemingly in, well, a conversation? Heh, that's... weird. Weirder than usual.
Just keep going, it's fine. Maybe some sleep will fix whatever's going on with me.
Tang starts to walk again; a bit faster in pace
'Why are we even bothering with keeping him alive again?'
He's now speed walking, and starting to breath a bit heavier.
'You know we shouldn't say that about him. Even if he would be better to us dead'
Just a bit more, and he'll be back at his apartment. Just ignore them like always.
'I know that, we can't even touch him anyways, I just-'
'OH SH-'
Tang startles from the sudden volume of the voice, jumping back a bit.
Just a second after, a car swerves right where he was just standing, whipping Tang' small braid, messanger bag, and clothes from its speed.
Tang' ears were ringing as he takes a few deep breathes, one hand on his chest and the other gripping his bag strap, just standing on the crosswalk, with the sudden realization that he was jailwalking while stuck in his thoughts.
With one final breath and a grimace, he starts to walk again.
Silence followed his final steps to his apartment. With just a small breeze flowing through the alleys, and the occasional flicker and crackle of the streelights.
There weren't any more voices after that.
After a few more minutes, Tang finally reaches the steps towards his door, too tired for any more "excitement" this night.
He pulls his ring up, fumbling through the different keys, looking behind him a few times, as he finally let's his shoulders fall, and unlocks the door.
He closes the door as soon as he's inside and sets down his messenger bag next to a small table close to the door.
Tang' place is a small studio apartment, with only a couch and coffee table in the main space, a small kitchen in the corner, and a twin bed with a lamp and bedside table.
There's not much furniture, and everything seems a bit bare even with almost every inch of his apartment being covered in books.
But this doesn't really matter to Tang right now.
He just goes through the motions after that, put the keys on the tray, hang up the coat, take shoes off, throw them next to the small table, walk to bed, put phone and glasses on bedside table, take out hair, and then he blacks out as soon as his head hits the pillow.
Tang dreams of nothing that night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Why did he jump?'
'Stop thinking about it.'
'He couldn't have heard us right? I mean if he were to find out-'
'Hey. Let's just... forget it. Don't say anything.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tang awakes groggy and restless, feeling tired as though he hadn't slept all night.
He never was a morning person anyway, but while he did sleep through his alarm, he still has plans for today: ones that he couldn't really cancel at the last minute.
So with a groan, Tang sat up out of bed, put his glasses on, and started to get ready for the day.
"Of course I have to have some manic episode before sleeping through an alarm today. I really don't know what I did to deserve this." He grumbled as he kept messing up his hair, uncoordinated hands still wrapped in sleep pulling on the knots, so he just did a short, messy low bun.
Good enough for me.
Tang then does his teeth, clothes, and heats up a small thing of Eggos he found laying next the the toaster.
When he finally checks his phone, he finds out it's 10:32 AM. Which is better than expected, but still a bit too late to make it to Sandy's on time.
Tang curses as he sends Sandy a text that he's going to be a bit late. He then grabs the freshly heated Eggos, his coat, keys, and bag as he walks through his apartment door, shutting and locking it behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tang walked as fast as he could towards the docks where Sandy and his boat were hanging out for the day.
It was decently far from his apartment, and since he didn't have any mode of transportation, he had to trek it himself.
He often took shortcuts through alleys and between market stalls. He's gotten attuned on how to smoothly move between crowds, which is basically just trying not to bump into things. Better than before, at least.
Today he went through the Market Street on his way to Sandy's, passing by many stalls selling different types of food, clothing, and trinkets.
There was one that piqued Tang' interest, a stall centered around Journey to the West, but all it had was knock-off plushes and poorly made hoodies for tourists.
After that, he tried not to lose too much of his focus through all the noise and people.
He swerved behind and in front of stalls, trying to find the alley behind a certain ceramics stall that leads close to the docks.
Tang continued to walk through the stalls for a good while, which wasn't that pleasant considering yesterday nights events.
But someone must have given him a break as he finally spotted the alley behind the ceramics stall, with an orange mark on the visible side of the dumpster helping him to remember.
"Oh thank goodness." Tang huffed as he slowly moved through the alleyway.
"Take a left, then right, then straight forward, then down the black steps..." he mumbles as he navigates the alleys of Metrapolis, having walked through them several times before.
When he finally emerges at the docks, he sees the blue of Sandy's boat right away. Tang takes a small breather before pacing up to Sandy's boat, hopping over the small space between the boat and dock, and lightly knocking on the door.
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★ Soul Searching ★ 1
(Oh, look! Another Tang au)
(TW some descriptions of throwing up, but it's very brief)
Sunlight shines onto Pisgy's early in the afternoon, bathing everything in a warm, cozy light. The sign outside is shown brightly to the busy streets.
The weathering on the door and outside counter gives it a homey look. Everything to the way the windows are opened just enough to let the smell of noodles out, to the chalk announcement board with swoopy letters making its charm.
Inside the hole-in-the-wall restaurant, the sound of bubbling and the flickering lights above add to its atmosphere. The growing pile of to-go orders now shoved to the side so the chef can see the lobby.
Barely anyone is actually sitting in the restaurant. Just the chef in the back, with a green teenager and an older looking man with glasses sitting at the bar.
The chef seems to be fed up with the both of them. "Can't you two do something other than taking up valuable space while I'm working?!"
The man in the glasses just shrugs and smirks at the outburst, continuing to sip some noodles he grabbed from the ever growing to-go pile. "Pisgy, Pisgy, Pisgy. If we were to leave, who would give you such riveting conversation? And besides, we're patiently waiting for Mk to come back."
Pisgy just glares at the man before speaking up louder than the first time. "Mei is waiting for Mk to come back." Pisgy gesture with a wooden spoon to Mei, who's looking at her phone with an unserious expression.
The man with glasses just raises a brow in response. Pisgy sighs heavily before continuing his rant. "And heck, so am I! He's left so many orders here, I could probably afford to fire him if I sold 'em all myself!
"Now what are you even doing? Mooching off of Mk's generosity for free noodles, and just sitting in front of me with a smug look on your face like I'm an idiot, which I'm not! Your so lucky I don't kick you out any time you set foot in here Tang."
Tang just laughs in response, spilling some sauce onto the ground as he readjusts his glasses to look at Pisgy. "Oh please Pisgy, you know you love me~" He said in a jaunty tone, smirk never falling. "If you didn't, I would've been in the hospital by now! Probably with a wooden spoon lodged in my head."
Tang continues to chuckle, with Mei joining in soon after Pisgy stomps off back to the kitchen, grumbling up a storm.
"He's always so grumpy! Maybe he's a bit more ticked today because Mk 'ain't back yet for all those orders." Mei says to Tang absent-mindedly, eyes focused on her screen as she slouches on her stool.
Tang huffed, amused. "Hah, maybe. I just think he has his apron in a twist all the time." He giggles at his own joke before pulling a stained and well-worn book off the counter.
"Journey to the West ", a classic in Tangs' personal opinion. He immeadietly flips the long time annotated pages to a specific bookmark, stopping right on top of a bright red post-it note.
Most of his scribbles were how inaccurate some of the legends were, how the stories were twisted to be seen in a good light for an easier consumption, Tang guesses. It hurt him to see so many people enjoy these fake stories, but at least he knew most of the truth.
However, there were parts that were kept somewhat accurate. Those were the ones Tang liked to reread the most, ones marked with bright red, from the only version available in metrapolis.
1, 2, 3.
4 red post-its fly past his vision as he takes in the legends, smirking at some passages before the next page was turned.
An hour had passed if Tang had to guess. The pile stopped growing after Pisgy gave up on Mk coming back in time. He's now sitting next to Tang on the bar, with Mei sitting at one of the nearby tables, seemingly still scrolling on her phone.
Tang had been working on his fifth bowl of to-go noodles when the ground started to rumble violently. It shook everything in the shop; things like chairs toppled over and loose kitchenware fell to the floor.
Mei screamed as her phone flew out of her hands and onto the table, Pisgy tried to stabilize himself on the counter while swearing up a storm, and Tang held up his bowl so nothing spilled out, one hand on the bowl the other holding on the counter for dear life.
It finally subsides after a couple of seconds, leaving the shop in disarray. "What the heck was that?!" Pisgy shouted as he righted himself back onto a bar stool.
"Ugh, I don't know, piggy. That was definitely stronger than a mega street race or an out-of-control party at the anti-gravity arcade." Mei answered as she sprawled across the table to take back her now cracked phone. She let out a small Aww, man! afterwards.
Tang had been gasping the entire time, seemingly trying to regain lost breath from the mysterious earthquake. "I don't know how *huff* you guys recover *huff* so quickly like that! Phew. It took all my strength just to save these precious noodles!" Tabg held up the bowl as some sort of proof, with half its contents missing.
"Maybe that's just because you're old, Tang." Mei smirked at him. Tang just scoffed after her with Pisgy giving an amused huff in the background.
Tang put his bowl of noodles back onto the counter before bending down to retrieve his book. It had a few noodle stains, but it's been through much worse than that. It isn't that bad.
Just as Tang sat back onto his stool, the restaurant doors burst open with a winded Mk in the middle of them.
"Mk! Where have you been? We've been stacked through the roof with noodles that were ordered ages ago! Our customers have already given ZERO STARS Mk!" Pisgy said, grabbing Mk by the ear and sitting him down across from him at one of the tables.
"Now you better have a good reason for this, or else I'm cutting your pay for a month with full work hours."
Mk seemed to go through a mix of sheepishness, awe, confusion, and shock before he answered in long winded rambles.
"Pisgy, Mei, Tang, the legend of the Demon Bull King is real! The Demon Bull King family took Monkey Kings staff off his prison, which I took in return to defend myself, and now he's probably out there wrecking everything! And now he's probably after me too because I have the staff and all those legends Mr. Tang told me were true, and now I'm freaking out!" Mk finished his ramble by lifting up the red and gold staff in his hand.
The restaurant was silent... before hysterical laughter from Pisgy and Mei filled the restaurant. "Bahahaha! You can't expect me to believe that kid! Those are all just legends!" Mei spoke up. "Hahahahah! Yeah, Mk! Are you sure you didn't get a concusion from that earthquake?"
Mk pouted as he raised the staff once again. "But I'm telling the truth! This is the Monkey Kings staff, and all those legends were true! You at least believe me, right Mr. Tang?"
But Tang didn't answer. He just stared at the staff blankly. His hands dug into the pages of his book until they were wrinkled beyond repair. "Mr. Tang? You okay there?" Mk asked in concern.
"That's... that's Sun Wukongs staff." Tang whispered through short breaths, still staring at the staff.
Mk quickly turned around to Pisgy and Mei. "See? At least someone sensible believed me."
Pisgy scoffed before challenging Mk. "If that really is the Monkey Kings staff, then why don't you show off some of its oH MY-"
But it was too late, as the staff elongated quicker than light and smashed straight through one of Pisgy's tables.
Mk showed them a bright smile. "Haha! See that?! That was freaking monkey power -"
Sounds of scraping metal and something hitting the floor stopped Mk mid sentence. Everybody turned around to face the bar.
Tang was on the floor, shaking violently with laboring breaths between small mumbling. His stool and book strewn to the sides as Tang kept staring at the staff, eyes unseen behind the reflections in his glasses.
Pisgy rushed over quickly, reaching out to shake Tang on the shoulder. "Woah, woah. Tang, are you doing alright there?"
But before Pisgy could even tough Tang's shoulder, his arm was swat away with a surprising amount of force. Pisgy cursed as Tang gasped and mumbled something out in response. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Pisgy. I'm sorry, I'm sorry; I just, I was shocked to see Sun- erm, the Monkey Kings staff in person like that, with the implications of the Demon Bull King back out again in out city."
Pisgy just huffed, "You're fine, Tang." Pisgy slowly put his hand around Tang's shoulders, giving them a slight squeeze.
"Thanks, Pisgy. I'll just... I'm gonna need some time for a moment. Go get Sandy; I'm sure he'll have some ideas about this." Tang gave a wobly smile as he slowly stood up.
Pisgy gave a scrutinizing look before seemingly giving up. "Yeah, you're right. He would know what to do." Pisgy turned back to the worried looking Mk and Mei. "Were gonna go meet my friend Sandy. He was THE MOST blood thirsty person I knew before..."
Their voices faded out of the restaurant as Pisgy ushered them out, with Tang left standing in the lobby. He just stood and let his smile drop for a moment. Eyes seemingly glazed over as he slowly walked back to Pisgy's bathroom.
His thoughts became louder and louder as he got closer and closer, collapsing as they started to become akin to stabbing his skull. Tang grits his teeth in pain as he lurches forward. Tears ran down his face along with black liquid out of his mouth, dripping onto the tile. He threw up.
Dark liquid and chunks of what looked like characol flooded into the toilet. He coughed violently before sagging onto the floor, mouth tasting like ash.
Tang takes off his glasses and puts them to the side as he puts the toilet seat down and flushed it. He sat on the toilet seat and forced himself to take deep breaths.
He thinks back to Pisgy, Mei, Mk, and that fucking staff... he hopes they'll be ok.
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