𝑨𝑺 𝑺𝑯𝑬 𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑺 𝑻𝑶 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑴 𝑮𝑶 𝑶𝑵, Ruby delights in the picture a younger Emmerich out in the wilds in search of this finding or proof of that theory. “One must wonder, mon tres cher,” she says eventually, “if you ever had any time to yourself. Between your studies and your expeditions, your professorial and social obligations. When do you sleep?” She’s teasing, though there’s not much indication of it: a small shift in her tone, a quirk of her brow, and perhaps the slightest hint of a smile.

emmrich omitted their recent linguistic triumph. her. ruby was frugal with praise. the scarcity flavoured each plaudit to shape her lovely mouth all the sweeter. they were born hungry. emmrich felt the tips of their ears burn hot. she was in danger of turning them gluttonous.

"i fancy a schedule," diligence and fretting were not proportional, no matter what johanna said, "i haven't found need thus far to abstain. the promise of a moment with you, my darling, has seen me through dolorous days."

Can I touch ur femoral artery

Do you know how weird it feels to casually make future plushie plans and feel like I’m thriving with my art career while ICE is threatening to go door to door for “immigrants” and “criminals” (visibly brown people) and I have to carry proof I’m American with me every time I go out? I say this specifically here because I know it’s a majority white American website. Like I already thought of who I would call and go stay with if I were to be deported lol. I’ve soothed myself with “maybe it wouldn’t be so bad as long as I don’t get shot at or disappear”. And it’s just annoying because my white peers do not have shit like this weighing on their mind, they can choose to just fucking draw

"Friends outside of Minnesota please read. I'm sharing a post written by a personal friend and medical doctor: Friends outside MN, you need to know what is happening here. Everyone knows that ICE shot and killed a woman here on Wednesday. But that’s not the only thing that’s going on:

From Mpls St. Pauls

Trainings and Resources

Unidos MN has a thorough “know your rights” resource walking through a number of situations, i.e. if ICE shows up at your home or workplace, if you’re detained by the police, what documents to carry, etc.

The Star Tribune has compiled a great resource detailing what, exactly, ICE agents can and can’t do, and what rights legal observers have during encounters. 

If you are trying to find someone who has been detained by ICE, here’s a link to the Online Detainee Locator System. 

Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) of Minnesota's January workplace know-your-rights training for restaurant workers has now passed, but keep an eye on Instagram for potential upcoming trainings or other resources.

Neighborhood House in St. Paul's West Side neighborhood, just across the way from El Burrito Mercado, offers a range of services: two food shelves, family service centers, housing stability, and more. 

Food Drives and Fundraisers

Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee has continued its food card fundraiser to help get groceries and necessities to families forced into hiding, parents kept away from work and kids from school. You can donate here. 

It's been amazing to see the support for Renee Good's family in the week since her death at the hands of ICE agent Jonathan Ross. But if you have the resources, there's also a huge need for mutual aid for the families of the now reported thousands of people across the metro who have been detained by ICE. They can be hard to track down by search, but I'll continue to list what I find here: for the Ponce family, for Sing and family, for a Minnesota family of nine, for Christian Rivera and family, for Donaldo's family, for Zurzya Sanchez's family, for Karla Lopez's family, and for Josefina and Gabriel. 

Pow Wow Grounds is currently open and accepting donations to meet community needs; you can find a list of desired items here, or Venmo directly at @powwowgrounds.

Joyce Uptown Foodshelf is hosting its second emergency food drive on January 14 to meet “skyrocketing demand for emergency bags” for families who aren’t able to leave their homes. You can find details via their Facebook. 

Over in St. Paul, Zion Community Commons, Open Market MN, and the Twin Cities Vegan Chef Collective are working together to assemble “Shelter in Place” packs for families unable to leave their homes. You can find more information via Instagram. 

Both neighbors in southwest Minneapolis and in the Longfellow neighborhood are fundraising to support their neighbors with rental assistance, food delivery, healthcare access and services, transportation, and legal support services.

Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association (The Wedge) has an ongoing food share. 

Northern Coffeeworks is supporting a mutual aid request from a neighbor supporting 10 immigrant families with weekly food deliveries and basic essentials. 

Dios Habla Hoy church on Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis is doing both a food drive and a rent support fundraiser; you can find links to both via their Facebook page. 

Beyond Beurre Blanc, AKA local independent food critic Kirstie Kimball, is also an excellent resource for information on how to continue supporting local families as 1) ICE operations continue and 2) food stamps and other hunger relief programs are yet again frozen in Minnesota. Stay tuned for updates via Instagram. 

These restaurants, cafes, and businesses are currently drop-off sites for donations to various food drives:

Restaurants and Businesses to Support

One of the most-asked questions I’ve seen circulating on social media is: What businesses have been hit hardest by ICE’s presence, so we can support them? In short, the answer is: immigrant-owned restaurants who have large immigrant customer bases. I can’t draft up an exact and comprehensive list, much as I wish I could, but I can give you a place to start based on some of my favorites: Go for lunch at Mercado Central and get pupusas at Rincón Salvadoreño and apple turnovers from ground-floor bakery Panaderia El Mexicana; pick up a pressure cooker that’ll likely knock the socks off your Instant Pot. For sweets: My favorites are rice pudding-filled doughnuts from Panaderia San Miguel; conchas and apricot-glazed hilos from Papá Chuy’s; halwo and vanilla cake from Albi Kitchen (also the sambusas here are great); malawax (sweet crepes) from Karmel Mall (yes, Hamdi is  excellent, but if you wander around the ground floor you’ll find a number of other stalls selling their own equally delicious versions). For dinner: salmon and spaghetti at Mama Safia’s; smoky pozole from Habanero Tacos Street on Lake Street; Homi Restaurant’s entire caldos menu over in St. Paul; 18-inch, pastor-filled machetes from Taco Libre; fried tilapia and pilaf rice at Wiilo Restaurant & Bakery in Karmel Mall; pork belly gorditas at El Taco Torro in Midtown Global Market. For tacos: True Jalisco-style quesabirria at Taco Taxi; tacos de canasta at Las Charolas on the ground floor of Plaza Mexico and barbacoa de chivo at El Chivo Crazy just upstairs; tacos al pastor at Taqueria La Hacienda. If you’re feeding a crowd, Tacos El Primo does amazing catering-sized meals. 

A key note, though. As you’re visiting and eating, please don’t take photos—given the very scary and inflammatory nature of the moment, doing so could potentially make staff or customers feel unsafe. 

Restaurant Closures

Unfortunately, ICE’s presence throughout the metro has caused a number of restaurants and businesses to temporarily close to prioritize the safety and well-being of their employees. We’re keeping track of them here, but things change fast, so it’s wise to check your favorite spot’s socials before you head out for a meal or a cup of coffee. The MOST important takeaway is that even a few days of lost business can be a significant hit for a restaurant. The best way to support these places is to show up and eat there as soon as they reopen. 

Grocery Stores Offering Free Food Delivery

A number of grocery stores around the metro are offering free food delivery given that many of their immigrant customers—including those who are citizens or are documented—are afraid to venture out in public due to ICE’s presence throughout the Cities. Their customer bases have also taken a hit, so they’re great businesses to support if you’re able. 

Restaurant Specials 

As of January 9, 10 percent of all sales at Mothership Pizza Paradise will go toward a fund supporting restaurant staff, and the restaurant has created a Venmo account where you can donate directly toward staff who are unable to work right now due to ICE’s presence in their neighborhood. 

The Gnome is serving free barbecue, no questions asked, on January 14 from noon to 4 p.m. 

There's never been a better time to order a cold brew (no ice) from Workhorse Coffee Bar. A portion of proceeds will be donated to Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee. 

Sweet Lou’s Meats is using $5 gift cards to fundraise for MIRAC’s current food card drive. 

Wrecktangle’s pizza fundraiser is over, but kudos to the team for distributing 600 (!!!) frozen pizzas, plus non-perishables and toiletries, to families in need.

On January 14 and 15, 15 percent of every check at Surly Brewing's Beer Hall and Pizza Upstairs will be donated directly to Keystone Community Services, which is bringing food directly to neighbors through their Foodmobile and grocery delivery programs.

o lord, make me an instrument of your peace. where there is hatred, let me bring love. where there is discord, let me bring harmony. where there is pain, let me bring joy, and where there is despair, hope.

the flowers of st. francis (1950)

her voice break raked across emmrich's heart. the camaraderie of corisande hawke and varric tethras was famed. "where there was one, the other wasn't far" or so the stories went. emmrich empathised with vast clarity of an inexplicable pain. he had been part of a two-headed creature.

master tethras was himself to the end. johanna became unrecognisable. she was a stranger whose countenance resembled emmrich's once dearest friend. everyone impetrated they surrender their wish to reason with her. hope was an empty cot.

emmrich, and their thoughts, pivoted. "as you wish. follow me."

valeria  opens  her  dark  mouth  to  speak,  then  closes  it  again.  how  easily  they  disarm  her  with  just  a  few  words.  (  five,  for  those  counting.  )

it  was  the  same  when  they  first  met. 

as  she  agonised  over  her  return  to  the  necropolis  –  what  to  wear,  what  to  say  –  valeria  remembers  spending  a  little  extra  time  at  the  vanity,  studying  her  reflection  &  imagining  the  worst  that  might  be  said,  or  whispered.  she  was  lucky,  in  that,  a  new,  greater  crisis  loomed,  demanding  petty  slights  be  buried,  &  unlucky  in  that  this,  too,  was  entirely  her  fault  &  might  also  be  aimed  against  her.  so,  she  spent  some  time  arraying  her  defences  so  that  no  knife  could  strike  unseen,  or  sink  deeper  than  she  was  used  to.

&  there  he  was,  warm  &  welcoming,  even  after  he  learned  who  she  was.  understanding,  of  her  discomfort  &  the  way  her  answers  thinned  to  the  barest  sentences.  even  now,  she's  half  surprised  she  kept  a  steady  grip  on  the  stones,  that  muscle  memory  from  a  lifetime  of  climbing  carried  her  through  the  cavern  &  the  conversation  as  though  they  were  discussing  something  as  ordinary  as  research  projects.  &  that  he  never  pushed,  or  dimmed  around  her.

here,  it's  the  same,  although  she's  mercifully  in  a  comfortable  chair  while  her  world  sways  &  doesn't  have  to  worry  about  a  steep  drop.  it's  a  rare  person  who  can  take  the  moment  she's  bludgeoned  herself  with  for  years  on  end  &  find  something  genuinely  positive  there  to  salvage,  even  if  she  can't  imagine  what  it  is,  the  praise  rings  like  tinnitus  in  her  ears.  but,  then,  emmrich's  always  been  that  kind  of  person,  someone  with  a  generous  perspective  &  heart.  her  face  warms,  &  not  from  shame,  &  she's  very  glad  no  one  else  is  around  to  witness  how  fast  she  folds  on  what  should  be  the  solid  ground  of  her  convictions. 

she eyes  them  cautiously,  like  a  stray  too  scared  to  eat  from  a  gentle,  offered  hand. like they're too good to be true.  ❝       you…  were ?       ❞ 

valeria  cannot  bring  herself  to  ask  why,  or  if  they've  read  the  full  transcription  of  the  verdict  from  the  tribunal  before  deciding  that. 

he fought to command a neutral expression. the shell was chiseled away within seconds. emmrich was categorically perplexed. "... i see."

the plate of berries from rivain was pushed aside. creating an unobstructed pathway, emmrich reached for her hand. valeria's disbelief was a blow to his solar plexus. he ought have not permitted the topic to fester.

"i've no love for the gentry whether they draw breath or not. my family was amongst countless condemned to rot in squalor and disease, for the unforgivable crime of bearing a commoner's name," emmrich swept their thumb across her knuckles, "i'm well aware of the fate such indifference would have been subjected me further to without the mourn watch's interference."

the mourn watch saved a child from perishing in the cold dark, alone and afraid.

they furrowed their brow. "but, please, do not misconstrue my... sense of duty to the order. the council were fools not to stand alongside you."

emmrich forsook johanna in her time of greatest need. history wouldn't repeat itself here.

"we protect the land of the living so the dead may know peace," their valeria's newfound fealty to the grey warden order was neither here nor there. she remained a fellow watcher to them, "you upheld your oaths, my darling valeria; in the face of inequitable odds, you walked tall. whyever would i not be impressed?"