#baltic pride

[imaginal-ai]

"Happy Pride 2024" (0002)

(More of The Celebrating Pride Series)

0001

Shoutouts to Key West Pride, Baltic Pride, Milwaukee Pride, and New Orleans Black Pride Weekend, to name a few!

For more info: IGLTA Pride Calendar

[voetballers]

“And I’m not afraid of this world after all” - source

[peemotikeskus]

Plakatite töötuba 6. ja 8. juunil || Sign Workshop on June 6th and 8th

FB üritused || FB events: 6. juuni || June 6th: https://fb.me/e/XBaBUcVl 8. juuni || June 8th: https://fb.me/e/1cr9QnPkC

🇪🇪 Tule tee meiega plakateid 10. juunil Tallinnas toimuva Baltic Pride rongkäigu jaoks! Meil on kohapeal olemas mitmeid kunstitarbeid, aga võid ka enda materjale kaasa tuua.

🌈 Kui Sa Tallinnasse rongkäigule minna ei saa, tule julgelt lihtsalt meiega kunsti tegema.

🕕 Töötoad toimuvad 6. ja 8. juunil kl 18.00–20.00 Tartus Peemoti keskuses.

💜 Meie projekti (ja seda üritust!) rahastab EMP toetuste Aktiivsete Kodanike Fond, mida vahendab Avatud Eesti Fond koostöös Vabaühenduste Liiduga.

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

🇬🇧 Come and make signs with us for the Baltic Pride march on happening in Tallinn on June 10th! We have a lot of art supplies available at the centre but you can bring your own materials along as well.

🌈 If you cannot attend the march in Tallinn, you are welcome to come and make art with us nevertheless.

🕕 The workshops take place on June 6th and 8th at 18:00–20:00 at Behemoth's centre in Tartu.

💜 The project (and this event!) is funded by the Active Citizens Fund of the EEA Grants, operated in Estonia by the Open Estonia Foundation in consortium with the Network of Estonian Non-profit Organisations.

[amymon-arachne]

I bought this rainbow variegated yarn with the intention of making pride-themed projects awhile back and I’m trying it out now.

Obviously, the drawback is that you can’t control the order of the colours, so I’m not sure the pride theme is coming through, but I still like it.

It’s not actually easier than warping 7 different colours, since you still have to cut and tie on in the same places, but this way I don’t have to juggle 8 balls of yarn. I can also do patterns with fewer or more pattern threads.

[ximenasleave]

Estonia is legalising gay marriage in 2024! 🌈

[nerdsbianhokie]

one of my favorite regional rainbow flags is one i recently learned about and isn't in the link provided

so, this is the Sámi flag, which is already a fantastic flag, tbh

and this is the Sápmi Pride flag

Do you know if pride flags are universal? Just wondering if any other countries use flags that have been created there. I'm guessing not because I think maybe we'd see them on Tumblr, but I also realize that lack of evidence on Tumblr doesn't make that a certainty☺️ anyway, I thought this blog would be a good place to ask. Also, I guess where were all the current standards designed?

Depending on what one thinks of in regard to pride flags (the progress flag, the rainbow flag, the asexual flag, etc.) they are fairly universally used. There is photographic evidence of them being used globally to represent queerness around the world!

That being said, there are customizations galore, both to represent individuality and intersectionality. This can mean similar colours but different configurations, additional elements added to flags, or multiple flags melded.

Flags in general usually start with an individual design from an individual person, such as the rainbow flag by Gilbert Baker. But localizing the rainbow design to represent a more specific intersection of identities is relatively common!

While researching, I found this great resource for localized versions of the rainbow flag and their individual uses and meanings: https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/qq-rb_v.html

Here are some that I enjoyed learning about!

Dominican Republic gay pride

Hong Kong LGBT Flag

Lebanese gay flag (Lebanon)

LGBT Flag (South Korea)

I want to thank you for asking this because researching it was an enlightening experience for me! I enjoyed learning about it and am excited to share this information!

[austeregreen]

Let's drink to everyone we're not allowed to love. Let's drink to the days when we're allowed to. Let's drink to the hope.

[songoftrillium]

Hi!!

I saw your reblogged ask about WtE redesigning the Get, and I'm curious what you can share?

I'm working on my own rewrite project (it's mostly a redesign of the W5 system, designed to work with either my patchwork mess of lore or with WtE lore) and I've been having some trouble with the Get, so I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I'm sharing this as someone who has always held a deep affection for Fenrir.

When redesigning the tribe I wanted to do it from a few angles at once.

What motivates a warrior? What is, what is it that makes a society one that is oriented so closely around battle prowess?

What history can do to shape a society into a society of warriors

How does the warriors outlook shape society at large?

What parts of Fenrir history can have direct parallels with minimal effort?

What key parts of the Fenrir are absolutes that cannot be removed without making the tribe unrecognizable to fans?

So, I did exactly that.

The first thing I did was I talked to scandinavian, sami, and slav people actively living in europe and got some pretty deep lessons on outlooks and culture, as well as numerous history lessons from a first-person perspective on things. I then befriended a polish-speaking pagan that was happy to teach me about cultures on sacrifice as both a literal practice and one that affects outlook. In that light, I rewrote the tribe to be one that went from 'seeking a good death' to a tribe that 'seeks causes worth dying for.'

Actually, why don't I just share with you the Get! (glyph used with permission by Feral Noesis)

Get of Fenris (see below the cut)

Dziewanik. Fenrir. Gummoš. Feriksen Suku. Vilkati. Vukarci. Legends, clothing, and common parlance from Sápmi to Carpathia speak of lupine spirits, warriors and deities all linked to the wilderness, hunting, society, and even to some of the oldest creation myths, and in each of these societies, a tribe of fearless Garou emerged. Even among a race of warriors, the Fenrir stand out as the one tribe well and truly composed of warriors from the top down. They throw themselves heart-first into a worthy cause, wearing scars with pride, howling the defeat of their enemies, and maintaining a reputation built on Glory wrought through great sacrifice and determination. Theirs is a culture of warriors whose history is etched in rocks and ancient temples deep in the wilderness.

Their origins can be traced to before the crusades, following the emigration of Germanic and proto-baltic-slav tribes fleeing the Huns both west and northwards. Regularly raided from the Carpathians, it would be Fenris’ wolves who came to find human tribes espousing their very ideals, worshipping the plants and rocks around them. Taking up the hammers and axes these people used in everyday life and now had to use to defend themselves, these became the symbols for the tribe itself—the weapons of the common man fighting alongside kin against insurmountable enemies and overcoming side-by-side.

This culture of adoption, cause, and sacrifice remains unchanged to this day. Lineage alone doesn’t make a Get of Fenris. If a cub cannot stand up to the tribe’s brutal and often bloody trials, they stand no chance against the kind of enemy the Get pursue. Fenrir maneuvers and tactics were first developed deep inside the mountains, combating the Jotunn. Long ago, these twisted and vile giants battered Fenrir around like playthings.

Since the beginning, those espousing the ideals of Fenris seek worthy causes they can throw themselves into body and soul. Their fearlessness lies in their determination weighing their strikes. To a Fenrir, nothing in life worth having comes without significant personal work to obtain, from the manner in which they maintain their spirit affinities to their very homes they always build by hand.

Heroism is not without its drawbacks. The life of a Fenrir is often short and violent. This has led to a belief that the tribe is comprised of mindless warriors with insatiable bloodlust. Those who run with the Fenrir find them to be direct, plain-worded, and espousing deep convictions for the causes they’ve dedicated their lives to.

Leadership in the tribe follows the philosophy of Fenris, that seniority has no meaning. Those most capable of leading in their position do so. Their zedakh’fa, or jarls, earn their right to rule with iron and fang; the leaders of their packs are those most capable of instilling valor in their wolves, and the leader of the household is the kin most knowledgable and skilled in navigating the specific needs and boundaries to be navigated at home.

The combat prowess inherent in every Get of Fenris Cliath is one that is hard-earned and, if they learn to appropriately harness their rage, often ascend to become unparalleled champions in their septs once they ascend the ranks to Adren and beyond — assuming they live that long.

Appearance

Extant Fenrir lineages reveal themselves to be massive gray wolves with broad shoulders and hard-set jaws. This trend, however, peters out significantly, given the diversity of their tribe members. The visual marking of their tribe members are what truly helps them stand out.

The tribe observes a skin marking tradition originating from packs among 9th century Lechites, where Fenrir, lacking battle scars for their prowess, took to their Galliards, adorning them with glyphery. These Get chronicled their deeds for all to see, with both ashes rubbed into fresh wounds to make them clearly visible. In modern times, this has grown to represent multiple kinds of tattoos across numerous cultures, with the glyphs appearing in the negative spaces between the tattoos.

To quote the late Mother Larissa: “Covered in Blood is the natural state of a Fenrir.” In ceremony, a Fenrir is nearly always marked with blood in some way, from adornments of glyphs touting their latest deeds to bearing the bloodspatter of their fallen allies (and their enemies) so as to gift the sept’s lupus with their scent.

Tribe Patron

Fenris is himself one of the original 13 Garou of the First Pack before; the one who held strength and honor most dearly in his heart. He and his wolves waged war against the ancient Jotunn, deep in the mountainous Fjords of Norway. It was here he learned how to think before acting and listen before thinking. Beyond a Warrior, Fenris was a believer in sacrifice, whose tactics espouse his own personal participation in battles. His chiminages to Gaia were of great personal loss, but also strengthened his packs.

All Fenrir espouse these values, that nothing in this world that is worth having is merely given, but gained through personal sacrifice, be it time, task, or blood, expecting no quarter, and giving none.

Character Creation

A well-made Fenrir is a fighter first and a lover second. Physical prowess matters more to this tribe perhaps than any other. Dexterity, Brawl, and Melee are great investments, with Strength and Stamina coming in a close second. A stoic tribe places very little stock in Expression; a Fenrir simply speaks their mind. Where you can however, give them a little empathy. This helps them read through those hard exteriors.

When it comes to Gifts, Fenrir are known for their unshakable will. Willpower, that is, Resolve and Composure, are key to using most of their Gifts. For other Gifts, plan to invest equally in Intimidation and Primal-Urge.

Outlook

The philosophical foundation of a Fenrir is one grounded firmly in materialism. That is, a Get will seldom concern themselves with the affairs of their afterlife and will often consider the things they will leave behind when they go. A Fenrir hero is one whose communities venerate them, whose stories are told, and whose values are upheld as philosophies by the families affected positively by a Fenrir.

The journey to finding motivation to equiring considerable effort on behalf of these warriors to make such a legacy. But, once established, there is no hesitation, no fear, when they take up arms to protect those they love most. This is where the stalwart, unshakeable resolve the Get of Fenris are known for comes to the surface, leading to the bloody tales of glory and unfettered violence that hallmark their mythology.

Spirit Affinities

Bear, Champion, Fenris, Wolf

[misfitwashere]

The 3 Baltic States — Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia — are all very much aware that they are Putin’s next target if he wins in Ukraine. So they are understandably nervous about our election, as their future is at stake as much as ours.

We just wound up a 10-day trip to the Baltic capitals — Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn — and are now in Helsinki, so I thought it a good time to report on what I saw and heard.

One local quoted to us Putin’s 2005 claim that the collapse of the Soviet empire “was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century”. Not World War I, or World War II, or the Holocaust, and certainly not Stalin’s planned famines, but the breakup of the Russian/Soviet Empire. He means to restore it, including not just Ukraine but the Baltic States. And Byelorussia — but he already owns it in all but name. And Central Asia, and Poland, and anything else he can. He wants to make Russia as powerful, as respected, and as feared, as the old Soviet Union was.

The Baltic states are doing more than watching Russia in Ukraine; they are acting. All 3 states, but especially Lithuania (being the closest) have taken in many many Ukrainian refugees. Ukrainian flags fly on official buildings in all 3 capitals, and in many other places. I didn’t get a chance to visit the Russian embassy in Vilnius, but in Riga and Tallinn, there are protest signs and messages — some quite nasty — in front of and facing the embassies there. (See the photo on top for an example.)

These are not exactly actions calculated to make the Russian bear play nice. Putin already hates the Baltic states, Lithuania in particular, because their declarations of independence in 1991 are what helped trigger the final breakup of the old Soviet Union. (It’s more complicated, but that’s a decent short summary.) Yet the Lithuanians, the Latvians, the Estonians are speaking and acting in ways that will anger Putin even more. Their love of freedom, pride in their heritage, and sense of responsibility all demand it of them. In one city, we visited volunteers making camouflage netting for Ukrainian soldiers, and even helped (or tried to help) weave a few strands. More important than trying to help, though, was our showing up, hearing their stories, and encouraging them to persevere. They are spending as much as 5% of their GDP on their defense (the exact numbers are not clear). They are preparing for war. One expert told us that it is an open secret that their plan is to hold out for 72 hours, long enough for the West to respond.

Which we will be obliged to do. All 3 nations have been members of NATO since 2004, and entitled to Article 5 protection which proclaims that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all, and that all will respond to such an attack with all means necessary, including armed force.

This is why I called the Baltic States the canary in the coal mine in my title. They are members of NATO, while Ukraine is not. If Putin attacks any of them, the United States is obligated to come to their defense. Putin is very well aware of this, and so will only attack if he has calculated that we will not respond as we ought. When we read reports about Russian interference in our elections, we must understand what Putin is trying to accomplish: the destruction of NATO so that it will not be able to respond when he invades a NATO ally like Lithuania, or Latvia, or Estonia.

We are with a group of Americans and not supposed to discuss US politics, but I managed several private talks with locals, including a diplomatic contact. All of them are very aware of our upcoming election and very concerned about what it will mean for them if Trump manages somehow to regain power. They know very well what he’s had to say about our NATO responsibilities.

The US has generally been fortunate in its wars (the Civil War being a major exception). We have not had to fight on our home ground; when we go to war, we fight on other people’s land. That allows an illusion of safety which we can no longer afford. It’s not just the missile threat; it’s cyber threats and terrorism. A Latvian reporter for the New York Times wrote the other day about how Putin is able to reach out anywhere in the world to attack individuals who oppose him (or who even decline to support him by joining the army): Putin Is Doing Something Almost Nobody Is Noticing

There are also the hundreds of thousands of Russians who left home because they did not want to have anything to do with Vladimir Putin’s war or were forced out, accused of not embracing it enough. These low-profile dissenters are subjected to surveillance and kidnappings, too. Yet their repression happens in silence, away from the spotlight and often with the tacit consent or inadequate prevention of the countries to which they have fled. It’s a terrifying thing: The Kremlin is hunting down ordinary people across the world, and nobody seems to care.

One cannot travel to the Baltic States without becoming aware of just how fragile our freedoms really are. ALL our freedoms — for if the Baltic States fall, so too will the rest of Europe, and so too will we. It is critical to defeat Trump and elect Harris for many reasons, including reproductive rights, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to dissent, freedom to think. In addition to that, it is critical to stop Trump in order to stop Putin (with the recognition that Putin will still keep trying even if he fails to put Trump in power). In the United States, this can seem a bit abstract. Here in the Baltic States, it is much more immediate and real.

[imaginal-ai]

"Happy Pride" (0011)

Worldwide Pride celebration dates and locations

(More of The Celebrating Pride Series)

0010

0009

0008

0007

0006

0005

0004

0003

0002

0001

[hygienic-soap-dispenser]

HWS Nordics as DnD Characters - Part 2

Sooo as pinky promised here is part 2!! With the total stars Den and Swe! 🥰✨✨

Part 1 (Fin, Ice, Nor)

Again, I have made them Level 1 for simplicity; hence, no subclasses are listed here. And again, there are still some things to work out due to DnD Beyond and its shenanigans, but I hope this captured the vibe for them!

✨ Their backstories, subclasses, and combat styles can be found under the cut ✨

Sweden

Race: Human

Class: Paladin

Subclass: Oath of Vengeance -> Oathbreaker -> Oath of Devotion

Background: Guild Artisan

As a young paladin, Swe took an Oath of Vengeance to defeat his rivals and take control of the Baltic Sea. His greater evils were his enemies, his oath was their defeat. But wrath turned to pride, vengeance turned to malice, his oath into selfishness. Eventually, his pride led to his downfall: his empire in ruins, his beloved Ranger departed. After re-examining his life and reconnecting with loved ones, he redeemed himself and started a new path: one focused on his family and that which is right in his heart. He still has his flaws and baggage, but he is wiser and kinder because of it.

In combat, Swe is focused on physical damage, greatswords, heavy armour, and smites. Prefers to fight up front, and can lack flexibility in and out of battle. Will always prefer to avoid conflict if possible, and always prefers diplomacy. Acts as one of the main healers of the group alongside Nor.

Denmark

Race: Human

Class: Barbarian

Subclass: Path of the Ancestral Guardian

Background: Sailor

Being the oldest of the Nordics and being in charge when all were Viking kids, Den always felt that it was his responsibility to protect the others in his found family. Like a big brother, he took it upon himself to watch over and protect them from harm, but not always well, as big brothers do. Despite his past mistakes and impulsiveness, his family is the most important thing to him, and he cherishes his loved ones deeply. Too much strength for magic, too unfocused to be a fighter, too free-spirited to be a paladin. That's why Den chose to train as a Barbarian, acting as a guardian for his family.

A hyper golden retriever inside a muscled body, Den lets his whimsy and adaptiveness define his battles and combat style. But despite the stereotype, Den is not one for rage. Instead, with his greataxe held high, his rage is a trance focused on one thing: defend your family, and have fun while you're doing it!

[twinliches]

you sail!! tell us more about that. i did a course and got a licence last year but idk what to do with it now except for go online and look up people going on those long as hell trips from gdynia to mallorca and Yearn

I sail indeed!! my dad and my brother have been/are professional sailors respectively, so that sport is taken very seriously around here, and i basically grew up on sailing boats. i never became as good as my brother, who does international racing and is a captain now, but I pride myself in being a good navigator and being great at anything on the foredeck except the spinnaker, so i can stand my own. me and my brother have this beautiful boat right here, the VILA!

she is a Cayenne 42, twelve metres long, an absolute beauty but definitely not built for high sea voyages we take her on throughout the baltic sea (we bought her from lake constance, where the wind is not that strong, so she was rigged for much fairer seas) and is therefore the ship equivalent of a nervous horse - one wrong move and she tries to throw you off - but once you get attuned to that, she is one of the fastest boats i have ever been on, and that is saying something.

we spend on average a month a year on longer voyages and go racing every wednesday, so i am definitively spending a lot of time sailing, but it's absolutely worth the money, sweat tears and pain of shipyard time, and general chaos, because there is nothing on this earth better than having a beer in one hand, sheet rope in the other, staring out at nothing but blue skies and bluer water, waiting for the next maneuver. nothing.

[focsle]

I've seen you answer a few asks about whaling history before, so hopefully I'm not offbase asking you questions out of the blue? But anyway, how did people bathe (or keep clean if not by bathing) during long sea voyages?

Not off base at all! Out of the blue whaling history questions are some of my fav asks to receive; I find them thrilling. I can’t help but write an essay every time.

It was particularly hard to keep clean on a whaler, and whalemen were often disparaged by those in other maritime professions. In 1839, naval Lieutenant Charles Wilkes said of the crew of the whaleship America, 

“I have seldom seen at sea a more uncombed and dirty set of mariners than his crew.“

J.E. Haviland of the Baltic, 1856, complained of besmirching his journal pages with the grime that he was unable to scrub off his hands after tarring the rigging, self consciously saying:

“My hands + clothes would look beautiful for a ladies Parlor. I see they even collor the paper but I cannot get the tar out. The Old Man says he intends to have me tar down the rigging a few days before we get in New Bedford so that I shall not forget too soon that I have been a sailor.”

General ships’ work  such as tarring could be messy, but a whaler’s work was even messier. When trying out blubber it was futile to attempt maintaining any semblance of cleanliness during the process. William Abbe of the Atkins Adams, 1859, said that during boiling, a watch would turn in to their bunks a few hours rest, merely ‘after wiping off your bare body with oakum to take off the thickest of the oil”.

But the gore and oil wasn’t forever. After the particular job was done the ship would be meticulously cleaned, and the whalers would tend to themselves too. As Herman Melville wrote,

“The crew themselves proceed to their own ablutions; shift themselves from top to toe; and finally issue to the immaculate deck, fresh and all aglow, as bridegrooms new-leaped from out the daintiest Holland. Now, with elated step, they pace the planks in twos and threes, and humorously discourse of parlors, sofas, carpets, and fine cambrics; propose to mat the deck; think of having hanging to the top; object not to taking tea by moonlight on the piazza of the forecastle. To hint to such musked mariners of oil, and bone, and blubber, were little short of audacity. They know not the thing you distantly allude to. Away, and bring us napkins!”

Haviland expressed gratitude in getting a chance to get clean after all the work of boiling blubber was done:

“I feel much better to day I have given myself a good wash + a clean shave + got in all clean clothes. You would not have known your own son if you could have seen him yesterday. I was nearly black with smoke + dirt. (with shame) I say it was the accumulation of 2 months dirt + 4 months beard. Everything looks as clean + bright as it did before we took the whale”

Being able to bathe was such a highlight that Abbe titled one of his journal pages “Washing myself!!” With TWO exclamation points!

“I write with pride in my fastidious journal that this morning I washed my face + hands with castile soap + fresh water — when shall I do the like again? When shall I write the pleasant and comfortable fact that I have shaved? The future and fair weather only can tell.”

The ship’s slop chest—its general store—had toiletries for sale, often at a very high premium. Whaling account books show men buying pounds of oil soap for their own personal stores. The fresh water was often rainwater collected for this purpose, rather than the casks set aside for drinking.

“This has been a rather squally day,” wrote Mary Lawrence, whaling wife who accompanied her husband on his ship Addison in the 1850s. “Considerable rain has fallen, and everybody on deck is using an abundant supply of rainwater for washing purposes.” She also added, though this is speaking of laundry rather than bathing, “Having stopped up the scuppers, the use the whole deck for one grand washtub.”

They’d use the sea, too. John Martin of the Lucy Ann, wrote of bathing via rain and sea whilst near the equator on January 24th, 1842.

“Towards noon the rain came down in torrents. The weather being sultry the watch on deck shipped off their shirts to it. John the boat steerer went entirely naked with the exception of a handkerchief tied around his privates. In the afternoon it cleared away, when I asked permission from the Captain for the crew to take a bathe over the side. He said we might do it if we rigged a studding sail over the side, which was soon done & all hands that could swim were to be seen jumping from different parts of the ship. Some went out to the end of the flying jib boom & jumped off there. Even the dog was thrown overboard & got his share of washing. I like bathing at sea but for one thing, and that is sharks. I always have a fear that one might be hovering about and give one a nip before he was aware of it.”

It was challenging for whalers to keep clean by nature of the job, but man when they were able to they really seemed to revel in it. For many of them it was more than just a bath; it was a symbolic return to a home they were long away from, or to the man they perceived themselves to be back on shore, or of a society that they felt cut off from in their line of work.

If you’re interested I also wrote a thing about doing laundry on whaleships too, yonder!

[aotopmha]

Since it is Election Day in the US today, here is my obligatory request to all of my US followers to not vote Trump or any third parties.

Or if you're planning on voting for any of those two and really, really don't want to vote Kamala Harris, don't vote at all.

This will have to be a decisive "blue" victory because it'll basically also be the end of democracy for you guys: laws passed by the US congress and words said by Trump are really loud and clear if you have not bought into his dictatorship cult, particularly if you look at Project 2025 in any depth.

I'm someone from the Baltic states, which are next on the list for Russia to invade and continued US military aid to Ukraine is an easy way to stop them invading anymore countries in general.

Trump has made it loud and clear he will stop support for Ukraine, masking his rhetoric in the idea of "stopping the war", when in reality it means "giving Russia everything it wants" because he loves all of the dictators of the world.

I can't control anyone's vote, but I can give you my perspective on the potential negative consequences to my country: invasion and genocide, the repeat of the late 1930s and early 1940s, when much of the population was deported to Siberia against their will.

History shows dictators never stop. Chamberlain's appeasement strategy did not stop Hitler. And appeasement will not stop Putin. More people will die if he will not be stopped and people like me, a disabled woman, is probably one of the most vulnerable groups to the consequnces of it.

A friend I know on here has become a victim of persecution by the Russian government in really horrible ways, as well, struggling even before the war in Ukraine started.

This system must fall and I don't know if it'll immediately help my friend, but Russia's total collapse will certainly stop the war in Ukraine.

So I ask, to please fight for freedom with those suffering. Is that not what the US prides itself upon?

Freedom for all, not just yourself?

Many women already went to vote because of their reproductive rights being overturned and many PoC and minorities went to vote because of the disparaging comments about minority communities by Trump and his cronies.

This is simply another reason I can give to you.

[hetaestoniahq]

You mentioned that you worked with the Estonian and Scandinavian embassies and found out that there's a lot more closeness between the countries than people would expect. What are some interesting and unexpected things you learned about the relationship between Estonia and the Nordic countries?

(Modern-day connections would be preferred, as I would assume the historical conflicts are well known. In a Nationverse context, I would like to write about the friendship and cooperation between their personifications in the modern day 👀)

Out of the Nordic embassies the most I've worked with is Danish Embassy, but also I have connections in the Swedish embassy and have spoken to the Norwegian embassy asking about facts of culture etc. (There are in fact a lot of culture and history facts the average person will not know.) I'll note to myself to make a post about Norway especially - even if the facts they were able to give were limited at the time. (I will also refer to my uurimustöö and take the facts I used from there too.)

Unfortunately Finland's embassy has ended up unreachable most of the time, with their cultural institute also being slow about responses (but my guess is that being such an important neighbour has left them very busy, same situation with Latvia.) And Iceland does not have a direct embassy here, needing to contact the one in Helsinki for any cooperation (which I tried and never got a response, again, alright.)

A keyword to know about the embassies is HELPFUL. They're very nice and open to anyone who approaches and wants to know things. They can also be generous about giving free stuff (ESPECIALLY Denmark :''D though I've noticed they just seem to have a higher budget compared to Norway's embassy for example.)

The Estonian embassies in the Nordic nations have also made 100 year timelines of diplomatic relationships, many of which really bring together a nice picture. (the Danish one actually made me cry). Unfortunately they exist mostly in Estonia, which only some having a translation into the other country's native language (Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish) if anyone speaks those then I can easily send the timeline for you to read.

I've found that the Nordic embassies (especially Sweden and Denmark which have active social media accounts (primarily Instagram) also like to actively participate in social events or matters such as Arvamusfestival (opinion festival) and other events that discuss Estonia's quality of life and development. They've always been economically close with frequent meetings about "increasing cooperation". This does not just apply to economical matters but also education and in recent times a lot lot more about defense too (especially now with Finland and Sweden having joined the NATO gang, something which was seen as a HUGE deal in Estonia to the point Estonia made a stamp of Finland about it.) I'll note to myself to also make a post about all the specific times I can recall Denmark being very active about the topic of defense to the point that I often use it as a point in arguments about faith in NATO.

The Nordic embassies have also been very vocal about and advocating for LGBT rights for years, possibly decades. They have always participated in LGBT events such as the recent Tartu pride. They even posted about having spectated the Riigikogu meeting in which the voting about legalising Gay marriage happened. You can say the Nordics have been one of the closest friends of the LGBT movement in Estonia, often raising rainbow flags in solidarity. (So YES to content about the Nordics celebrating Estonia's progress because of how much they've been supporting it!)

One thing I must bring attention to is NORDIC-BALTIC 8! It is a group that has existed since the 90's, right after the Baltics regained independence. This is another reason for why the "can Eesti into nordic" is incredibly stupid, because we already are considered together. (UN officially views the Baltics as Northern European too, grouping us together further.) Besides some international events wanting to put us far away from each other it is quite acknowledged on a nation relationship scale that the Baltics are in region friends to the Nordics. Some say that this regional friendship is the reason the Baltics are among the better countries in the Eastern half of Europe, because we have good developed countries to be influenced and supported by while some other countries were left with not the best options.

(I like to HC that the NB8 all sit pretty close by to each other in meetings.)

I intend to work on posting some of the information I've found, especially when I get time to read some sources I've received but not had the time to fully go through them.

Hope this response at least satisfies you a little <3