dino-nerd and island boy

Propaganda:

i've said before, but i quite like the idea of her mom's parents being fellaheen. in levantine culture, this is our equivalent to american red-necks. they're generally farmers/craftsmen who live on generational land and speak a slightly different dialect to the city. i like this idea because i love the idea of yaz being a little nervous to take her gf to lebanon only for her grandparents to absolutely adore sammy. she fits right in and is so excited to learn about indigenous goat farming and managing a citrus grove (two staple aspects of levantine farming).

yaz knows textile work! as an artist, yaz was raised with this common craft. traditional designs are very decorative and focus on natural patterns (flowers, mainly, but all nature) and abstract shapes. you can get some good ideas of patterns here.

yaz' mom would always light bakhoor before a beg event for yaz. the practice is one of those pre-islamic folk traditions that still remains. lighting the incense "cleanses evil" from around you. it's a specific kind of wood and oil that you light in what's generally an ornate, geometrically-decorated burner. there are a few different ways to do the ritual (just using it like an incense, circling it around someone's head, having someone step back and forth over it, etc.). i imagine it just being lit on the table while yaz studies/stretches.

yaz is from the south. i have literally no basis for this besides the fact i hc her mom as shii'te and that's a big shi'a area. what is a shi'ite? shi'a is the second largest branch of islam who split from sunnis in the succession crisis after muhammad's (pbuh) death. in the same way protestants and catholics have totally different "vibes", i get the shi'a vibe from the mother my friends and I talk about. i find shi'ites to be more cerebral in that they value education and curiosity a lot. and something about shi'a culture just breeds that "by any means" revolutionary spirit. you'll find that while the palestinian resistance is majority sunni, the shi'a forces are our biggest defenders (hezbollah, ansar allah, iran, etc.). however, i don't think yaz personally is religious and it's more of a "this is my culture" thing for her.

do you guys (non-arab) know who fairuz is? she's, like, the most famous singer of all time in the arab world. you'll never meet one of us who doesn't know fairuz. yaz knows fairuz. yaz loves fairuz. fairuz is on the playlist of her wedding to sammy.

HANDS OFF LEBANON

Are you a fan of Jurassic World? Do you care about the anti-capitalist themes in it? Do you want to make a real difference?

Lebanon, the origin country of one of Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory's main characters is facing genocide. Nearly one-fifth of the entire population have been turned into internal refugees as of March, 2026. Israel is attempting to ethnically cleanse the Muslim population of Lebanon as you read this. Israel is launching attacks so deadly they kill hundreds of people in minutes. Arabs around the world, like me and Yasmina, are living in constant fear that our families will be wiped out.

It's not just Israel. The USA, Germany, the UK, Canada, and India are just some of the many countries responsible for Israeli war crimes. Other organizations, like the European Union, are manufacturing consent for genocide by condemning Hezbollah, the main force defending Lebanese civilians from genocide.

What am I asking you to do?

BOYCOTT

BDS, the Palestinian-lead coalition, is a perfect resource to learn what companies are most complicit. Practicing BDS is a cornerstone of activism. BDS focuses on both economic boycotts, meaning you don't buy products, and cultural boycotts, meaning you don't support events or movies who uplift Israel. Examples of boycott action you can take RIGHT NOW: canceling your Disney+ subscription and citing pro-Israel support as the reason, calling out fellow fans when they purchase McDonalds collabs, refusing to by coca-cola products.

BE LOUD

A single letter to your elected representative does relatively little in the grand scheme. Protesting outside of their local office every week, however, is a massive headache. Be strategical and be annoying. Is one of your representatives up for election while the other isn't? Focus on the one up for election. If a politician feels like their power is being threatened, like someone up for election, they are much easier to sway. Is a pro-Israel speaker coming to lecture on your college campus? Annoy the hell out of people until they're pressured to cancel. Vocally oppose all pro-Israel stances. It is weird to be pro-genocide. Make it uncomfortable and unprofitable. And remember, the more localized your impact is, the more likely something will change. Your city-level committees, individual work place (particularly with a union!), college, etc. are a helluva lot easier to annoy into anti-genocide stances than prime ministers or CEOs.

GO ONLINE

We can't all protest every day of the week. That's fine. There are plenty of things we can do online. Such as, but not limited to:

If you live in an EU country, there is an official EU petition to end trade relations with Israel located here. It is endorsed by people such as EU Parliament's Rima Hassan and Manon Aubry.

Voice support or donate to the Global Sumud Flotilla who successfully brought aid to Cuba and is now aiming for another mission to Gaza. Many flotilla activists get jailed, beaten, or otherwise legally punished for this activism, and it is vital to stand up for any flotilla members from your country.

Read and donate to the Good Shepard Collective. This is a well-respected Palestinian-lead organization mainly focusing on the intellectual side of anti-zionism. They're a great source of documenting settler violence in the West Bank, boosting fundraisers, and pushing thought-provoking articles.

Directly give money. Your western dollar goes a long way in the global south. Some causes you can donate to include helping migrants trapped in Lebanon, supporting Lebanon's emergency health sector, supporting emergency relief throughout the levant, or finding an individual family to fundraise for. There is an almost endless amount of fundraisers, and tons of people working to vet their legitimacy. It's never been easier to find a real displaced family who you can directly feed that month.