#Tkaronto

[dogsharkbutch]

next week, there’s going to be an anti-trans and anti-queer protest in tkaronto/toronto, at queen’s park.

if you have any queer and trans friends in the area, please let them know you are an ally and be there for them when they need you.

there has been a large influx of anti-trans politics in tkaronto/toronto in the past couple of years, and queer people in this city need safety and support

[glcarissa]

ART PRACTICE

Texture is an important component to my art practice and hints at the unspeakable stories that lie underneath the surface of both the art and the artist.

The geometric patterns in this work illustrate the range of movement associated with the process—sharp edges colliding, shattering and realigning— and allude to the ways that oppressed groups might eventually break through.

[thepermanentrainpress]

GILLIAN STONE: SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHS

Spirit Photographs – Gillian Stone Release Date: November 18th, 2022

Track Listing:

1. June 2. Amends 3. Raven’s Song 4. Solitude 5. The Throne

Gillian Stone’s Spirit Photographs is sonically and spiritually stunning. A beautiful and meaningful conceptualization of the grief journey. Stone’s pristine and ethereal vocals carry the project calmly through emotional waters. She is a natural storyteller, crafting lyrics that simultaneously feel light and cut to the core.

Described as post-rock and drone folk, the album glides through Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Specifically, the album was inspired by Stone’s experience with a mental health disability, along with spirit photography, an art form popularized during the Spanish Flu to see remnants of lost loved ones behind a portrait subject.

“June” is steady and peaceful. Acoustic strings resonate alongside slow, echoing drums. The track conveys a feeling of exhaustion, while at the same time touting a new beginning and the shedding of heaviness. Lyrics speak of rebuilding amidst devastation: “I dropped off the weight and grew / away from the wall to the west of you / I smelled like truth and your shampoo / in the warmth of the pavement in June.”

Sadness and pain erupt in “Amends.” A toxic hold spilling out through the lyrics: “In my 20’s / filled with piss and pining / filled with limerence and grieving.” Regret and humiliation permeate under angelic vocal harmonies and intensifying guitar melodies. “I felt you under my breath / growling, mewling in my chest.”

“Raven’s Song” is haunting and dark. Natural lyrics, ritualistic singing and deliberately minimal drums soak in suspense. Occasional strums and clashes of sound accompany a desperate and self-destructive hope: “I will drown in the river to snuff its life / Drowning in the river to stay alive.”

To symbolize the depression stage, Stone includes a graceful rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Solitude.” Electric notes slowly confront inner-judgement: “The world is a lonely place – you’re on your own / Guess I will go home – sit down and moan / Crying and thinking is all that I do.” The negative rumination and self-awareness encapsulate the feeling of never-ending despair.

“The Throne,” which is the last song on the album, represents acceptance. The light of healing after overwhelming anguish. Fast-paced drums and Stone’s powerful, crystal-clear vocals build up to a beautiful release. Lyrics reflect on a new evolution: “I love him, oh I love him / I kissed him round the ankles / I nuzzled at his skirts / as he pulled me from the sea.” With hindsight, the struggle and suffering morphs into personal growth.

Written by: Jenna Keeble

Spirit Photographs by Gillian Stone

[kc5rings]

The Reserve Ops A1 crew as the Letterkenny steak skit

[i-am-a-reunion-soldier]

49.3227287, -67.3791806

We're still here

those are Columbian coordinates actually who is this

do we even operate in Columbia

what

[handweavers]

i love when theres an issue on subway and the ttc driver goes on the intercom and is just like "man I don't even fuckin know what's going on anymore"

[burstfoot]

tags via @leithaniawnt

I would whale for Saskatchewan for sure

So we have a chick named Texas and a chick named Arizona so what would be the best US state to name an anime girl after next. I think we should have a Kentucky or perhaps Illinois

[destroyingangelneveragod]

Hey y'all. I'm homeless again, couch surfing. I have a place for three weeks. Hopefully another friend can take me if I don't find a place. Right now, I have 1645.58 to my name. However, I have first and last (and rooms are not cheap here), student loan payments, food costs when I'm out going to appointments medically and for housing stuff and school prep, school supplies + textbooks, laptop repairs (hoping they're covered by warranty), transit costs, a medical appointment in Tkaronto on the 31, 1, and August 21 that come with a ton of expenses, and I don't know if my student loans will come in before tuition is due. So I need a lot more than I have given many rooms are 700+, especially any above code and accessible enough, my student loans are 105.78 every time, and I have two coming up in the next two months, Tkaronto appointments cost around 100 each time and more if they're multiple days like the next ones. Food is expensive, bus tickets are 13.00ish for 5 and each day takes at least 2, school supplies are expensive and I want to get textbooks before too long so I can study and read them before the courses if by some miracle I can get enough for that.

Please help. I'm trans, queer, and complexly disabled with probably minimum 3 medical appointments a week so work is very hard to find. Especially because I have autism too.

[cartoonistcoop]

ShortBox Comics Member Interview: Jona Li

Throughout the month of October, the Cartoonist Cooperative will be sharing interviews with members of the Co-op who have a new comic available at the ShortBox Comics Fair 2024! 

NOTE: The Cartoonist Cooperative is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way formally connected with ShortBox.  

Today’s spotlight is Jona Li and their new comic for ShortBox, Rewired

We’d love it if you could introduce yourself and tell us about your background in comics.

Jona Li: Hello! I’m Jona and I’m a comics artist based in Tkaronto. I’m an animation school grad so I was originally working in the animation industry before I decided to do comics full-time, which was possible largely thanks to an arts grant I got from the Canadian government. I’ve always drawn short comic strips and one-pagers in my free time, and comics have always been my go-to medium for storytelling. My first real foray into comics was exhibited at ShortBox Comics Fair 2022, and since then I’ve done a couple of other short comics for anthologies and zines organized by friends. Even though my professional background is largely in animation, the comics medium is still something that has stayed a passion of mine, both with consuming and making them. I’m excited to continue to possibly make comics full-time.

Tell us more about your new comic?

JL: My new comic Rewired is a speculative short using surface-level sci-fi elements to tell an interpersonal story about someone who’s willing to change anything about themselves for someone they love. I guess it’s an inherent tragedy where you know it won’t go great either way–you can’t really change who you are without consequences and you can’t fully understand another person enough to fully cater yourself to them. The MC thinks interpersonal relationships and romance can be solved like a math equation, but the worst and best thing about people and relationships is that it’s unpredictable and indefinite. In many ways, it’s also an allegory for neurodivergence–wouldn’t it be great to simply program yourself to behave a certain way so others will like you more? That’s kind of what I was trying to do with this comic.

Tell us about your creative process; how did you develop this comic and what are the steps you took to bring it to the final stage?

JL: I had a lot of trouble at first coming up with a short and concise idea for something that’s ideally just twenty-ish pages long. At first I tried out a more lighthearted, comedic short about two friends reconnecting and having a blossoming romance while trying to give a burial to a dead cat they found. I guess I never grasped the characters enough for that one, so I looked around for other inspiration. 

I really like the concept of mundanity mixed in with the fantastical, something like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, where an android girl runs a café in a post-apocalyptic setting. That was kind of the blueprint for the comic I have now. From there, I wrote out the general beats for how I want the story to go, and then I wrote the script and did my thumbnails. 

This was actually the first time I ever had a proper thumbnail stage while doing a comic, the last few comics I did were purely just me making it up as I go…in the end I still changed a lot from my thumbs to the final sketch. Then I decided on the general look of the comic, which is what you see now! 

Read the rest of the interview HERE! And dont forget to check out the Shortbox Comics Fair to support these lovely creators!!

[burstfoot]

"I know it sounds weird Lanns, but it's not actually a tail... it tastes really good I promise!! C'mon, you brought us all the way to Tkaronto, you might as well try it! ...Big sis, I see the way you're lookin' at it... you know Sandbeast can't have any!!" Inktober (2024) Day 28! I like to think that her cute new jacket is one of Ray's old ones...

[glimmr-mag]

First Glimm*r artist in the lineup‼️

Jona is a comics and other things artist living in Tkaronto. They like to lie down for long periods of time. You can find them at wormfriend.com or @kiddycup.

[erismourn]

it’s colonialism weekend. give native people your money. here are some of my personal recs, but you must do more research yourself. don’t let me be the only native you see on your timeline.

beadsagainstfascism - BAF is one of the coolest people I’ve known and does a lot of great harm reduction work with high risk folks in tkaronto

nunaraqcrafts - mango makes really cool beadwork and is a low-income inuk from my province trying to provide for their family

irvingnator - irving is a great artist and single parent struggling to pay bills. please help them out!

ontario native women’s association

toronto indigenous harm reduction

decolonizemyself - 2s cree who posts a TON of decolonial news every day

i also follow 800+ indigenous artists and activists on my insta.  you can peruse that list here

additionally if you want to support me (disabled indigiqueer artist) today, you can look at my beadwork, my prints, or send me a tip

[foxgirlknot]

kinktober 2024 day 17: intox // sparring (perfumer/mudrock/pallas) (ao3)

"My friend, I... feel I may be inebriated."

"Huzzah!" Pallas raised her bowl of wine in a salute. "I say, Miss Mudrock, it has long been a dream of mine to see you in such a state."

"Is that... so?"

"Absolutely." Perfumer set another bottle down on the low table in the center of the gazebo where the other two were lounging. "She's been theorizing about who a drunk Mudrock will be for weeks."

She slipped off her shoes and settled down as Mudrock turned to Pallas, a puzzled look on her face. "Who...?"

"Ah! Tis simple." Pallas leaned forward. "You see, alcohol is a window into one's soul."

"Ah. Simple."

Perfumer snorted halfway through opening the bottle, and Pallas held up a finger accusatorily, spilling wine across her front.

"My friend, I was not finished! I was merely beginning to elaborate upon my thesis, if you would -- Lena, stop laughing -- If you would allow me to continue?"

Perfumer waved a hand gently. "My apologies, Pallas. Please."

Mudrock nodded, watching Pallas shed her now wine-soaked cloak. "I would... like to hear what you have to say."

"Ahem." Pallas held her bowl out to Perfumer to be refilled. "Now, as I was saying. Alcohol is... Lena, what turn of phrase did I use not mere moment ago?"

"A 'window into the soul.'" Lena shrugged off her jacket, folding it neatly beside her.

"Absolutely correct, thank you. Yes! You see, inebriation has a way of distilling oneself. Everything we learned, consciously or not, seems to simply... fall away. And we, you, are free to... exist. Just as you are, inside."

"I see." Mudrock slowly nodded. "And so, friend. How... would you say I truly am?"

"Ah!" Pallas shook her head, sipping loudly at her wine bowl. "No no, you see. This 'stripping away' is but the platonic ideal of drunkenness. It is yet further colored by the type of drunk you consume! And we have been imbibing ourselves tonight on nothing but the finest of Minoan wines, that I have carried with me since I first ventured forth from my homeland."

"Is it?" Mudrock stared into the amber iquid in her glass.

"It's a Columbian Riesling I had Provence pick up from a vinyard near Tkaronto," Perfumer whispered conspiratorily.

"As I was saying," Pallas continued with a glare, pulling the belt loose from her tunic and letting it fall behind her. "Wine will color ones character in but a few directions. It can be a taste of the elegant, the luxurious, the refined. It can be melancholic, despondent. Or... "

Mudrock found herself drawn in to the Forte's storytelling. "Or?"

"It can be passionate. Sweeping you off your feet, with the fire it stokes in ones loins. A desire, nay, a need, to engage in the most intimate acts until your lust for vigor has been satisfied."

"It... makes you... horny."

"Indeed it does." Perfumer purred, gently reaching a hand to rest on Mudrock's arm, who was suddenly becoming very aware of the state of undress her two companions were in.

"So, friend Mudrock." Pallas tried to let the shoulder of her tunic slip off her shoulder, before shoving it loose with her free hand. "Are you inebriated enough to indulge with us?"

[scriptlgbt]

Help.

[Fri 19 May 2023] [death, terminal illness]

Hey, it’s mod nat again. My last living grandparent is terminally ill and I’d like to visit her for her birthday, and have her meet my partner of more than 8 years for the first time. My grandma has idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which she’s had diagnosed for about 3 years. (Life expectancy with PF is 3-5 years on average.) I only was able to for the first time in roughly 10 years last fall due to my being no contact with my parents (+ rest of family by extension) from 2014-2021.

We need to fundraise for transportation to the greater Tkaronto/Toronto area from so-called “Ottawa” where I live. Both my partner and I are disabled and on social assistance, so can’t otherwise afford transportation.

Me at 3 1/2, playing with plasticene with my grandfather. I wouldn’t have had access to this photo, or any from my childhood, if you folks hadn’t helped me fundraise to get to my grandpa’s funeral back in 2021. It means a lot and I thank you.

Breakdown of funds needed:

~$80 CAD for transport there (we’re getting a ride part of the way there through my sibling)

~$100 CAD for transport the way back

$??? CAD for lodging (I don’t know the amount but want to reimburse the person covering it for me)

$?? CAD for food/other necessities

Helping would mean me getting to talk to a grandparent as my real self, when I wasn’t able to before, despite coming out as trans a dozen years ago.

If you want to help but can’t provide funds:

please consider registering to be an organ donor so that when you’re gone one day, other people can live. here’s the ontario link.

if you’re local to the GTA and can provide a place to sleep (especially an accessible one) in the future please reply (don’t DM, this is not my personal account)

if you’ve benefitted from the work I’ve done here, vouching for my character and realness in the reblogs makes a real difference in this kind of thing.

[ Link to donate ]

[flowersforaerith]

Drab Majesty at Queen Elizabeth Theatre (Tkaronto, ON)

23/09/23

[handweavers]

found good malaysian hokkien mee in tkaronto and it's not expensive and it's in one of those restaurants where they have like a useless nephew standing around doing nothing and half the menu is handwritten in chinese & it feels like i won