#This should be the norm not the exception

[gemsofgreece]

is it really true that there is a lot of stray cats in greece ? If yes where are there the most concentrated and how do greek people think of them ?

Absolutely. They have large populations everywhere, in pretty much all populated areas. They generally seem to get by, reproduce and find food without a lot of problems. Stray dogs, which are also not few, definitely have way more trouble whereas the cats are adjusted to this way of life. I mean, technically they live like wild animals, hunting, mating, raising their kittens, fighting, except in an urban background. Of course there are dangers for the stray cats, like getting run over by a car or hiding under cars to get warm without the driver knowing.

The Greek people don’t think much of the stray cats in particular, their presence is perceived more or less as a norm. It should be noted that this is not a new phenomenon at all, cats have always been roaming around like that in Greece. In rural areas with houses with yards, even the pet cats tend to come and go, as they have a good sense of orientation. My grandparents in the village had cats. The adult cats would go out on their own, either to mate or just to walk around, and then they would return hours later. Cats do a lot of pest hunting too, which is convenient to humans.

In the cities owners don’t allow this to happen because it’s way harder for the cat to find its way back and there are more dangers with the cars and all. In the suburbs maybe. But sometimes the cats lose their way for good or escape their owner’s notice and that’s how you get even more strays.

A nice thing I see very often is people leaving bowls with a little food and water outside of their houses for the stray cats and dogs. This is one source of food for the stray cats, others being hunting mice, snakes and birds and searching the trash cans. And going to the restaurants.

A very classic Greek image is that cats and dogs visit the open air restaurants and taverns, knowing that a charmed customer will give them a little something.

Stray cats and especially stray dogs are vulnerable to animal cruelty and even poisoning attempts. Animal crimes are punished with fines or imprisonment depending on the severity. But overall the biggest danger for the cats is car accidents.

There are sanctuaries and foundations for stray animals in Greece, if anyone is concerned for the wellbeing of the cats in their area. Many volunteers take sick or injured stray animals themselves to the vet or the shelter. Occasionally there are some sterilisation projects, when the cat population has blown up way too much but in general the state does not support non-profits almost at all.

[that-ineffable-devil]

I'm processing a lot of emotions tonight and I keep being drawn back to Good Omens--not just because it's the new hyperfixation or because it's so good. That's what I thought it was, at first.

But this year--hell, the last 3 or 4 months especially, I finally started taking steps to accepting and being myself. I'm rapidly approaching middle age and I'm only just now beginning to feel like I'm allowed to be me. I came out to the people in my household, a few select friends, and a few select family members--most of whom were wholly supportive. I started testosterone injections. I stopped trying to be someone I'm not. I stopped hiding who I am and who I love.

What does this have to do with Good Omens? Nothing. But also... Everything.

So much queer representation is in characters vastly younger than me--and that's good! I want queer kids to feel safe and loved and accepted in ways I never did. They deserve better than we had. And it gives me hope for their futures. I bawled like a baby when I watched The Owl House with my son and he was totally unphazed by the queerness. It's just how people are to him.

But when something like Good Omens comes along and not only grabs every opportunity to show average, everyday old(er) queer representation... It just. I've never felt more seen. More accepted. More hope for all our futures. And season 2 just knocked that out of the fucking park. And the nonbinary, genderfluid, and genderqueer rep? My God.

And it's not subtext, it's not it's own separate plotline where they're fighting for acceptance or dealing with hateful bigotry... It's just... Accepted. It's normal. No one questions it. No one even comments on it.

It's people of any age (even millions of years old) being unapologetically themselves and loving who they love openly and fully (with one notable uncommunicative group of two ineffable idiots, but they'll get there).

I just.

I can't express how grateful I am to see older queer rep at this time in my life. It's been a rough year, and I expect it'll get rougher before it gets better. But I've never been happier in my own skin, and it means the absolute world to see my literary and media heroes like Neil Gaiman, David Tennant, and Michael Sheen (and Terry Pratchett and everyone who worked on Good Omens, honestly) making this beautiful, messy, adorable, excruciating, wonderful, heartbreaking, ethereal, down-to-earth tale.

There aren't enough words in all the languages of the world to express how I'm feeling. "Thank you" just feels... Insufficient.

I just hope they know how much it means to people like me, especially after a lifetime of buried subtext and overt queerbaiting and media ridicule and general lack of acceptance, to experience this story with them.

[onebillionghosts]

man i remember when nevermore first came out i was sad it was so underrated.. but now after all the drama, i wish it had stayed underrated, because a big fanbase (especially one with a lot of minors) ALWAYS brings drama

[cannedpeachlover]

hello to like 2 other aries fans

[summergoodwife]

"If you want well-written women/queer representation/nuanced character arcs/less wish fulfillment/etc. just consume something other than shounen" completely misses the point of the original complaint. Like no, I don't just want representation. I want representation in shounen, the genre that I otherwise love but that never seems to respect people like me. And shounen can have representation. The idea that there's somehow a contradiction between those two things may come from a different place when it's shared by underrepresented people themselves, but it ultimately arrives at the exact same conclusion as anti-woke dudebros who think trans people and women existing is an assault. I have had too many other marginalized folks recite anti-representation, anti-diversification, pro-identity-based-gatekeeping arguments to me word-for-word without seeming to realize the logical end of what they're saying.

[smileyobrien]

one day I will make the gifset that lives in the back of my head about how mike mcmahan said on lower decks everyone is baseline bisexual (not today. but one day)

[francisforever2014]

streaming is actually so fucking evil like i’m so mad about it. binge watching shows is so boring like where’s the community where’s the anticipation where’s the payoff. i cant live like this i should’ve been in the crowd of people watching the seinfeld finale in times square and instead i’m HERE

[mango-nectars]

The increase of spaghetti/woody chicken makes me consider vegetarianism so much lately. I truly cannot imagine the pain associated with having your muscle degrade and fall apart inside your own body. It's fucking cruel ??

[warmothered]

i'm just collecting bits and pieces of information here but i like that even though there's one (1) father everyone kinda knows/assumes is ashe's biological father it doesn't matter because what matters is all 5 of them (for my own reference, they're called yrael, grimshall, logren, ereen and rorn) swore themselves to her mom and to raise and protect ashe and they did and they're all her dads and i just think it's neat

[look-better-in-gold]

one thing i think one piece fans forget is that for most of the characters in it having the d initial doesn’t mean anything. we don’t find out it’s anything to think about until skypiea while robin is talking to gan fall (who met roger) and he says “d.? i see. one letter of his name… that can’t just be a coincidence!!!” and laughs. we only know what we do bc luffy’s the main character. i guess you could argue kureha saying roger’s name is gol d. roger at the end of drum counts but it’s brushed off and you’re not like. encouraged to think about why it’s different. she only knows this bc she’s a REALLY old lady who was around when roger first set out. and gan fall met roger. law knows about it from cora, Who Used To Be A Celestial Dragon. nobody who knows about it is a normal citizen. the world government wants it to be a secret. they successfully wiped out 100 years of history. “the will of d.” or those “eat like a d.” jokes are NOT something everyone is making!!! GUYS. WE ONLY KNOW BECAUSE WE’RE THE VIEWERS. WE’RE WATCHING THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. NOT EVERYONE WILL KNOW WHAT THEY DO!!!!

[fawnydoe]

not trying to diminish the work and effort put into these works but three works two of which had massive following prior to their pilots and one which was produced by a studio with the actual cash to make it should probably not be considered representative of the whole of indie animation and seen as the standard to reach to

[nulfaga]

do you ever have an exceptionally crisp depression day after a very long interval without. Feels like my soul just smoked 4 packs dude. -_-

[frilledshark-enthusiast]

Hot takes but it’s just me being autistic

[e77y]

Seriously need to make more friends or go outside more (both things are easier said than done) bc I am a little bit tired of relying on content creation for attention and connection :(

[victimized-martyr]

Do you, like, get criticized on how u draw them? That's what drove me off of the fandom... Like, apparently i have to draw them a certain way for it to be 'postable' and respectable???🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ (I'm talking about Kyle's hair) ... Like, sorry ladies, drawing curly hair curly enough to ur taste is just soooo ??? To me. Why y'all commenting huge ass essays on my art about... this dude's Hair??

Lmao, 2020 was wack.

But like, seeing u be chill here and stuff has kind of made me peek back in the fandom a lil bit. So, like. Kudos to u, man!

I understand that point of view, where it’s important to portray characters as they appear instead of homogenizing their design since doing so risks erasing important features of their ethnicity. Even worse when those decisions to homogenize defining features are defended on the basis of “efficiency” or it simply being “easier” for the skill level of an artist, implying that western features are more accessible and easier reaffirming it as the default. ah but it gets so long to get to these talking points and blah blah all that political talk— Ultimately it’s up to the artist how they want to interpret in what’s basically Peanuts level of simplicity in character design.

It’s the harshness which ppl convey the first talking point above is like totally uncalled for. That I’m not okay with. I’m sure most artist are unaware how these features could be drawn, and giving them the encouragement to do so from a place of inspiring them to improve on their art instead of like, “correcting ignorant decisions” yields better results. Ppl don’t like bein told no esp from internet strangers smh ppl gotta learn how to talk to each other. Yea it would be cool if ppl learned how to draw a variety of noses so when the time came to draw kyle, he’d have a believable nose, but also if the artist ends up drawing a Sorthand Default Button Nose it’s like… it’s not the end of the world? So yeah, I’m sorry you faced that backlash nony, i’m sure you didn’t come from a place of harm. You just wanted to express your love for a character in the way you know how!

sorry jfkfkf random ramble aside, I haven’t faced criticism and maybe it’s bc I strive to stay close to the established designs of the show. Even when I do aged up art, it’s usually within the style of sp. I just like seeing how I can translate south park’s graphic art style into something more dimensional! I’m glad my chill presence has been some kinda help in ya comin back to sp. It’s the silly goofy offensive raunchy paper cutout show! Straight Hair Kyle is not as bad as stan canonically jacking off his dog. like. I think we’re okay jfkfkfjf

[lionesscersei]

Yeah, there are valid reasons to be against polyamory, not valid reasons to be against LGBT.

Most people are capable of having feelings for multiple people at the same time. Whether it’s ok to act on all those feelings at once is a matter of opinion and debate; not a sexual orientation. Being against polyamory is not the same as hating LGBT people. Don’t attack people for it if it doesn’t effect you, but don’t create false equivalencies either.