#because my existence is fucking political

[skitchune]

#01 G8 Draw-in-your-style Challenge!

I believe that this is an old challenge, but I decided that there’s no better way to dust off the old gear than seeing the boys in my style. Really liked playing around the filters. I liked given them this old, Sunday Morning Comics style. The grain is just beautiful.

I guess…I should give a little explanation?

Basically, in how I write Hetalia, there was ONE major event that changed the course of their timeline during WW2. Though the world mythos in itself is very different, suffice to say that it was that ONE event that changed the course of their world moving forward. Currently, the Nation Folks assemble as their own private entity to develop livelihood and development projects for underserved communities across the globe, instead of other global matters. Still, many retain a degree of political connection, Nation Folks, in general, all agree that they will always put first the good of humanity over the gain of any singular country. That being said…

🍝 Feliciano Vargas - more actively sexual and flirtatious, pretty much a ladies man, has a problem keeping his dick out of places it shouldn’t be but he’s a lovable tramp regardless and knows that he can get away with a lot. He has a good heart and a good head, but maybe a little bit of too much casual machismo that makes his comeuppance so fun to watch.

📋Ludwig Beilschmidt - still pretty much stiff and serious, efficient but also too much of a stickler, is the youngest of the bunch and always has something to prove, Gilbert helps him here and there but he doesn’t want Gil to meddle, it may frustrate him that everyone treats him like a kid, but he also knows that it sometimes works in his favor being the ‘spoiled’ baby brother to many.

🐉 Seiryuu Honda - to keep things short, Seiryuu is and always has been this universe’s Nation Folk for Japan but Kiku does/did exist for some time for [story reasons] Sei is calm, level-headed but can come off as rather aloof and dazed, he can act a little too familiar with new people and is quite affectionate to friends. He’s a bit of a Casanova and likes the game of courtship like a round of Shogi. In many ways he might not be stereotypical, but in many ways he comes off as traditional and anachronistic.

🤠Alfred Jones - Heroism runs deep in this hot-blooded cowpoke, not the flashy guns or the prestige, but the hard work of running down the pavement for change. He’s charming, mature, headstrong, and value honest and just work. He’s the singular cause of the ONE event, becoming a catalyst to multiple OTHER notable events during WW2. Unfortunately, this has caused him excommunicated from the US government, which suits him fine as he can more actively participate in projects.

🎸Arthur Kirkland - No one fucks around with the ruling class more than Art, who has historically been a thorn in many administrations throughout the colorful history of his homeland. He is a rebel with a cause down to his core, sticking it up anyone’s arse if it means fighting for what’s right. Boston Tea Party? He was also pissing on the cartons before throwing them overboard? The IRA? Girl, he was a damn recruiter. Has he been beaten, threatened, and killed because of his insolence? Sure, but no one is gonna look good as him doing it.

⛱️Francis Bonnefoy - (P.S. I meant to draw him removing his shirt because someone accidentally spilled wine on him) Residing far away from the bustle of Paris, Franc lives the coastal orchard life along the south of France. He’s a country boy at heart who likes living the simple life. He is very introspective, usually keeps to himself, but isn’t really afraid to voice out his measured opinions. Some might say he is a tad but wistful, but many friends know he’s just daydreaming of being back in his orchard surrounded by good company and a glass of the finest wine.

💅Ivan Braginsky - No one can take this MATERIAL GWORL. Daddy Russia is a Mama Bear who claps back at heartless Capitalism and works tirelessly as the acting Chairman of the Union to increase wages and living conditions across the social classes. He is tongue-in-cheek, no nonsense, and fabulous, but above all, a big and caring figure who thinks much for others more than himself sometimes and is just grateful to come home and be wrapped around by a certain Lithuanian’s strong arms—Big Mama deserves some honey after a long day’s work.

🍜Yao Wang - Wang is a funny characters to me. He can come across as uncouth and overfamiliar, but he just doesn’t take life as seriously as the others. It’s been a long ride and there’s too much more ground to cover than he wishes to put the effort into. He likes to complain about the silliest things, but damn, if he isn’t telling the truth every time he opens his mouth.

Alternate gradient map styles under the cut

[cptapathy]

Transition timeline time

10 years ago (I had to go for 10 years ago because I refused to be in solo photos much of the time)

Is she happy?

How about her first dress

Do you think she felt confident the first time out femme? Even if she was "still cis thou"

And now? 10 years on? 3 years HRT, 4 years out?

Do you think she feels confident and happy now? Do you think she's content now?

Because the answer is no, she's had a taste now. Being "content" is the last thing on her mind.

[girlgerard]

hey! ik you have a big following, and you’ve mentioned visiting israel and palestine on school trips— i really think your voice would be valuable in speaking out on the injustices happening in that region. you always speak so eloquently on race/gender issues on your blog and i’m really interested in hearing your take! plus i think your platform is large enough to really make a good stand!

i appreciate that you sent this ask, and i appreciate that you thought of me. i agree with everything you’re saying, and i wanted to respond to this immediately because of that, even if i don’t have much of an answer to share.

i’ve studied the conflict for years and, like you said, was in israel and palestine (as in the territories named as such) six months ago; i was at the gaza border in may. i actually disqualified myself from birthright because i wanted to be able to go on academic dispensation specifically (i couldn’t go to the west bank otherwise). i study sociology and jewish studies in my degree program. i’m jewish, i’m south asian, i come from a family of refugees, i come from a family of jains, i come from a family of, like, californians, i come from a family with just as many intersections as any other. suffice to say, i have a lot, a lot of emotions tied up in the levant.

the thing is, because i’ve studied it for so long, and because i study sociology specifically, i also know that saying something before i’ve processed it well enough is irresponsible. this conflict is wrapped up in linguistics; the wording you use is everything. i’m really aware of that, i’m also really aware that i’m not in a place where i feel comfortable enough to articulate myself properly. for my own safety, for responsibility’s sake, and because i’m aware of how nuanced and linguistically fucked discussing this conflict is, i don’t want to make a large statement on it while i’m not in a place to do so.

what i will say for now is that if you’re viewing this conflict as a soccer game between two teams, you are not viewing this conflict in a humanist way. normal civillians, palestinian, druze, samaritan, jewish, israeli arab, armenian, any normal person who lives in the land, should be the only “team” you’re on the side of. listen to people who are from the land, read sources in arabic, read sources in hebrew, read multiple perspectives in multiple languages for every event you want to understand better. understanding how important history, generational trauma, and narrative are in this conflict is essential to understanding why any of this is happening, and if anyone says there’s a simpler way to do it, there’s not. no one tribe in the land can leave, and no one tribe in the land deserves anything less than peace and self determination. personally, my first thought about war is how much i care about people, not which state i feel like backing.

i may post more on tumblr, i may post more on other platforms, i may choose keep my activism in-person rather than purely online. navigating all of this while also being pretty devastated and horrified is complex, and i ask for understanding.

[invinciblerodent]

me studying history (reading everything in World of Thedas about the Tevinter Imperium) the night before the exam (two months before the release of Veilguard)

[brick-van-dyke]

If there's one thing I've respectively noticed from Zionists and defenders of Israeli war crimes, it's that every source, argument and potential avenue to explore each explanation is riddled with cherry picking, moving the goalposts and mental gymnastics to explain why their conclusions, which typically are barely even related to the sources they use, somehow overshadow literal reality and what we see with our own eyes.

While scrolling, one example I came across was the repetitive misrepresentation of BLM, antifa and quotes from Martin Luther King Jr, as well as statistics, scholarly journal articles and government website information. These are all good sources, yet every single time they're mangled completely until the only possible "interpretation" of any of them is "well Israel is right to defend itself after shorting rockets beforehand because the retaliation was brutal and all Arabs are bad by default therefore". As if any of these sources are even about individual exceptions of Israel versus hatred towards Arabs.

I think what I find most absurd, as someone in the middle of their own studies, is how every bit of critical thinking and logic goes out the window as they do every single thing possible to do what professors worldwide say NOT to do when evaluating sources. It's like watching a race to see who can tangle and misconstrue scientific information to fit their world view the fastest. Then said people say "um actually I studied at university before so it's actually not wrong that I'm doing this exact this everyone is warned not to do because I have a permit". Ignorance I can forgive, but willful and arrogant manipulation? That's another thing entirely.

[uncanny-tranny]

The hyper-veneration and almost fetishization of the USA's troops have honestly given rise for some of the worst types of people who want power without effort, I think.

It's why you see some entitled asshole troop who think they can do whatever to civilians because we "owe" them for them "putting their lives on the line" or the type of person who thinks they personally will stick it to a random Afghan civilian for what "their people" did on 9/11 (a racist institution fostering racism? Colour me shocked (sarcasm)).

As a US citizen, I'm personally really concerned with this attitude we have toward troops. As somebody who hates the institution of the military, I also hate that it fosters a genuinely toxic mindset - it's much like the mindset that is instilled in cops; however, when you are overseas, the people you harm are not typically US civilians, so people can sweep under the rug the injustice of terrorizing civilians who aren't "like us."

[daily-whistlepaw]

daily whistlebreeze until spo becomes PoV day 1398

I like seeing how different I can make gray cats by throwing Whis at them; anyways, Spotfur's been on my mind tonight

[here-there-were-dragons]

i'm seeing three times as many people bitching in the tag about the very idea that someone might not like this breed than i see people actually expressing unambiguous dislike for this breed

[murderofsomeone]

I turned the rbs back on for the neutral ass bitch post and people are already misbehaving. this post isn't about you it's about ME MONDAY MURDEROFSOMEONE who needed to bitch about an experience, but your guy's thing is cool too I guess

[so-otterly-jaded]

I really don't want to talk much about this, because I'm not about to get into the weeds about this matter here. I just want to mention that, as of yesterday, this is where the results have settled thus far(didn't see anything concerning it being the full count, and I'll be getting into things later) and, no matter whether or not anything substantially changes between now and January, this image is absolutely infuriating to look at. For the time being, I'm going to go ahead and say that this is the final, totally accurate and undisputed result so we can focus on that option.

If you voted third party, you potentially lost this election for the US. The difference between 45 and Harris is covered within a margin of error by everyone who voted for someone else entirely. This is hardly a matter of "turn out" at this point, like we thought initially. Yeah, we see a bunch less votes than last time, but the margin is almost a third of what it was when we started saying that. This is so frustrating. No matter what does or doesn't change, this needs to be remembered.

Alright, now that we're done pretending it's that simple, I'll get to the part I need to say somewhere for the sake of my sanity:

We know that ballot boxes were attacked in late October and that at least one person was arrested on such charges

We know that Republican voters substantially engaged in voter intimidation enough to warrant arrest

We know that several bomb threats were called in at various locations, which necessarily led to those locations being fully evacuated and the ballots being left totally unattended for a period of time

We frankly have just an absurd amount of things that happened, that we have proof of, that are problematic to the voting process

Now what we *absolutely do not currently have,* and I really cannot stress that enough, is proof that interference was widespread or substantial enough to have directly impacted the final results. We do have theories which have yet to be tested, which suggest but do not prove, that further interference not only occurred, but ultimately played a role in deciding the outcome. These are currently nothing more than theory, and should be treated as such unless investigation is deemed necessary and turns up supporting evidence. For the sake of keeping as objective as possible, I will not be linking to any such theories in this post, and I don't really recommend that anyone reading this seems them out, as basically all of them that have plausibility can be tested by either audits or recounts which we frankly should be asking for just given how close things got.

It's absolutely within our rights to want such a close race(2% deviation) where we have Proof of direct and indirect interference(see any of the links above, I tried to use as many varied sources as I could to minimize bias arguments) to be checked for errors, if nothing else. It is not unreasonable to see everything that's been said and done this go around and say "I'd like to be sure". With 45 saying he "doesn't need votes" because he "has plenty" during a Town Hall with Fox News, the failed new CEO of Twitter giving away huge amounts of money in PA to people in a lottery you had to promise to vote for Trump to enter, and all the other sketchy activity that actually happened, there's reason to be suspicious that things aren't exactly up to snuff.

Now let's just be absolutely clear about something here.

We are not crossing the line, we are holding it. If no investigation happens, if nowhere has a recount or an audit, and this follows the rules in play, we accept that, prepare, and move forward. We are not crossing the line, we are holding it. If there *is* an investigation, and they find absolutely nothing beyond what we already have proof and record of, and the election is effectively clean by all measurable metrics, we accept that, prepare, and move forward. *We are not crossing the line, we are holding it.* If there is an investigation and it's found that there is a difference, but it's an error and changes nothing, or it's not severe enough to look deeper and doesn't change the outcome, or any effectively identical result where nothing changes; we accept that, prepare, and move forward.

We are not crossing the line, we are holding it.

If there is an investigation; if there is evidence found that severe interference changed the outcome of the election; if they stole it, or whatever; we accept it, prepare, and move forward. Because even if the result changes, even if we don't have to deal with Project 2025 or the horrible picks 45 is looking at or whatever his awful economic plan is, we didn't "win", we just pushed the ball forward a bit.

We are not crossing the line, we are holding it.

We will not respond with violence. We will not riot. We will also not surrender to despair and just let things get worse *no matter who takes office.* We do not need to just accept that there wasn't more going on than we've already seen, but we do need to accept that no matter what happens in January, we have a lot of work to do. We need more people running for local office. We need more people running as independents for local, state, and federal legislature. We need better community interaction. We need to be taking steps to take our country back into the hands of the people.

We need to hold the line, because nobody else will. We will not cross the line like the MAGA cult last time, not only because it didn't work for them(thankfully) and we don't need to waste energy like that, but also because we don't need that to succeed in moving forward. We. Are. Not. Crossing. The. Line! We. Are. Holding. It!

Oh, and just to add, in the event we do have to deal with 45's return, don't refer to him by name. He's a lame, miserable little puppet. He's a useful idiot. This means he deserves no recognition, and we should also avoid putting anything that happens under an upcoming second presidency to his credit. Credit/blame the Republican party for everything, not 45. Do not use his name, and do not use a name that has any associations with power, charisma, leadership, or historical significance. 45 is ironically okay here, purely because it references his previous failure and denies his attempts at recognition for the currently announced victory that he wants to claim through being called the 47th, which is incorrect, but serves as a declaration of sorts. If you can come up with other ways to refer to him that don't give him any recognition he wants, and doesn't deserve, tag them, share them. Let's find a way to completely remove name recognition for the traitorous fuck. Just remember to avoid being ableist or using descriptors like "old" or "fat" that can cast a harmful net and drag people through the mud that have done nothing more than exist.

Resist, but resist responsibly, and prepare for anything. Gather the tools you can wield and use them for the good of your community. And never forget: the spanner, the sword, the scythe, and the scalpel all go to war. They do not serve the same purposes, but they're no less important in the effort for a better world. Violence is not the only answer, and anything you can offer to protect the people you care about is valuable.

Alright, that was pretty heavy, and I accidentally added a poll that I don't know how to remove. So, since I don't know what hitting post with it empty will do, and I think it's important to give yourself space to process anything, let's just have something silly.

[shoechoe]

i don't consider myself a punk but the way so many people who call themselves "punk" seem to have no idea what punk is is so... annoying

[twpsyn-who]

Talking a little bit about 'boycotting Eurovision' under Keep Reading, feel free to scroll down if is not what you want to see.

The most used argument on the matter of banning Israel from Eurovision is the fact that Russia got banned from Eurovision, which is the worst argument anyone could bring.

Kindly reminder that Russia didn't get banned because of the war with Ukraine. Russia got banned because many countries has threatened to withdraw from the competition. Sadly, that's a big difference.

Yes, the countries has threatened to withdraw because they support Ukraine and see Russia as the party in the wrong. That was their reason. EBU's reason for banning Russian was because those countries threatened to withdraw, not because the war was bad and Russia must be stopped.

This situation isn't the same. Why? Because many countries support Israel in their genocide. Because this time around Palestine is the party in the wrong. Because we're taught to believe that Israel isn't in the wrong here.**

Boycotting Eurovision won't work. There are people out there who don't know the truth and want to watch Eurovision. There are people out there who don't care and will watch Eurovision regardless of the situation. There are people out there who, despite having the facts, still don't see Israel as the bad guy in this situation and will watch Eurovision. Sadly, boycotting won't work unless everyone does it.

The only way Israel will get banned, in my opinion, is by going through the same thing as Russia. If other countries threatened to withdraw- and not any countries, but the ones investing the most in Eurovision, then yes. That will get Israel banned.

Otherwise? The only thing we do is hurt artists that don't deserve it. Artists who use Eurovision as a way to get more exposure and experience. Artists who deserve to be heard.

Don't vote for Israel's entry. Don't stream their song either. Heck, turn off the TV when is their turn to perform.

**This whole situation (the war, not Eurovision) isn't only black and white. Civilians die daily because of this, all of them from both sides. Innocent people who has no fault. Let's not forget that

[charliethemanticore]

Hi btw being trans does not automatically grant you supernatural understanding of all esoteric trans knowledge. You actually need to put effort into learning or put effort into keeping quiet about things that don't pertain to your specific experience

[docmerlin]

public perception on illness has shifted so far that people think i'm insane for not wanting to hug them when they're visibly sick but if they see a medical mask in any context they freak the fuck out

[icannotgetoverbirds]

saw an exclusionist post so here's a reminder

specifically in reference to transmasc lesbians and trying to draw lines in the sand on who can and can't claim the lesbian label, about how being a lesbian is exclusive of loving men, with someone referring to the people they're attempting to exclude as "fandom gremlin transmascs and neo-mogai crazies."

I don't have the spoons for a proper response but i do feel like i need to make something clear.

on this blog we support fucky genders, fandom gremlin transmascs, and neo-mogai crazies. reblog if u love ur fellow fandom gremlin and neo-mogai crazy queers.

[queerasian]

succession is simultaneously a:

shakespearean tragedy

postmodern tragicomedy

drama about dysfunctional families and cycles of abuse/trauma

comedy about the absurdity of the ultra wealthy

surreal circus of repressed queerness

political critique of the toxicity of late-stage capitalism

trying to pinpoint exactly what kind of show it is feels impossible, and that's what makes it good – you can rewatch it and experience it from a different lens each and every time and i love it for that