#don't like it here

[tleeaves]

alright had to ask, what is it about australia or living here that you don’t like?

Okay, I apologise but this might be nonsensical (and totally political). Also, I get pretty heated in some of my discussion. Please know that it is not directed toward you, this turned into something of a vent/rant.

I point out the obvious right now based on current events, how Australia failed our Indigenous population by the "No" votes succeeding in the referendum for the Voice, and how disappointing that is. Let me paint a quick picture of what it looked like the day I voted: outside the town hall, there were three elderly folks holding signs and loudly telling my father and myself to vote no right on the steps of the entry. We walked straight past them to the one lone old woman who had pamphlets for the yes vote in hand, heads held high, and took two pamphlets with grateful smiles. I come from an immigrant family on both sides. This land was never ours. At least half of my heritage is made up of people and cultures that my British ancestry have historically oppressed too. The Indigenous peoples of this land are the rightful caretakers of it and always will be, no matter the people that come here. I gladly voted "Yes" and would have done it hundreds of times over if I could.

Unfortunately, it seems my long-standing suspicions have come true: many Aussies can be some of the most ignorant, lazy bunch of tall poppy syndrome mob-followers I have ever had the displeasure to know. Many voted against the referendum simply because they were uninformed and misinformed about it. I'm sure there's a great number that just did not care, because "what's it got to do with me? What if it affects my life negatively? Just say no to change to be safe and be done with it." It is appalling to me that apparently so many people are willing to just bury their heads in the sand and call it a day; not doing the research, not inquiring, not even appropriately weighing up multiple reliable sources to determine how best to vote. This is not their country. If I could, I'd tell those who voted "No" to leave it. Just leave. "Go back to your country" and I don't give a fuck if they were born here since this is the kind of argument white as hell ignorants tell every one who doesn't fit their picket-fenced lives.

Because that's what Australia feels like to me. Just another version of that illusory "American dream". We follow the footsteps of America in a lot of things, I've noticed, particularly in politics and media. We have more freedoms, yes, but how long will that last? I do not trust this country, especially now. We cannot seem to escape the ghosts of British colonisation either.

And do you know what I have also learned while researching Britain for many years (primarily for writing purposes and settings)? Australia is pretty much a watered down version of it, from our houses to our laws. It makes sense. But we are a pale, ugly shadow. Australia was built on by and for the convicts, not European elegance. I keep seeing in my mind the country town I used to live in. Those houses are uniform, old things commissioned for the immigrants and whatnot that came to work at the power station and mines. You can see echoes of English culture. But that's just it. Only echoes. That is Australia. I do not see anything recommending this place even aesthetically, anything particularly unique. In Victoria it's dark and rainy and can get icy, and you're basically in Britain. Melbourne is New York, as @faithfromanewperspective has pointed out, and so we are also American-influenced. Queensland has been referred to as "the Florida of Australia" by Americans and Canadians I've met. Everything contemporary Australia seems to be, is just a melting pot of Western culture. Our own politicians laud that we have so many different cultures from all across the globe, but I do not think some people realise that Aussies are not an accepting people historically, and many of those who were around when immigrants from Southern Europe and the Middle East first came here for work in the decades that followed the world wars are still alive and still allowed to vote and campaign.

And look, I'm almost definitely not the first person to point any of this out. But it's all this knowledge that's been a thorn in my side for a great deal of time. I cannot truly like or love Australia, not when there is also all of this.

Onto more minor things: the public transportation? Pretty good, I can't really complain, and it's especially good in Victoria. The weather? Can be really nice in certain parts of the country. We so far have not reached the insanity that is America, and we fortunately have no border-neighbours to war with (though I admit we are neglecting our Islanders and their well-being in at least a few ways, and I think we may be able to expect rising tensions after the "No" votes won). Personally? I prefer colder weather and would move from here if I could -- maybe in future -- back down south or overseas. Our environment can be beautiful, thoroughly enjoyable and peaceful, but the bush and even rainforests are not exactly my favourite. There's something so dry and alien, even about the plants here. And the rainforest/tropical areas here are good for carnivorous plants, which I tend, but the constant weather changes haven't been very kind to my bones (or to my plants, actually, and I have to wonder about the role climate change is playing in making the environment increasingly harsh, even for Australia). Also, I hate humidity. The air? In summer, it makes you wonder if there is air. I've had panic attacks because I feel like I can't breathe, that everything is too thick, too close, too everywhere, if that makes sense (keeping in mind I have water-related trauma). I don't like that places outside of the cities have such small Balkan populations and so I struggle to meet many people with the same life experiences and culture that I do, which makes carrying on language and traditions passed down in my family feel like a losing fight. Really, I just do not want to live here in Australia. It is both home and not. If I have to stay here, I'll go back to Victoria or might even try out Tasmania (gone on trips there, but have not lived there before). But that's if I truly have no capability of leaving the country.

One more thing: something about the places I seem to live in this country is very anti-knowledge and learning. Especially Queensland when compared with Victoria. Everything is so fitness and sports heavy, there is simply a general lack of respect for education. I'd talk more on this but I've run out of brain juice.

Anyway, that was my long-winded, rambly rant of things I don't like about Australia and living here. I'm pretty sure I have more to add but this is mainly the stuff at the forefront of my mind currently.

[inkskinned]

it's extremely critical that you see the photo of the perp walk for luigi mangione as being propaganda. i've seen so many people wave it off and instead fawn over his looks. and trust me, i know it ended up being kind of pathetic and weird - but please don't brush it off as a "modelling opportunity" for him. it's a fucking terrifying message the police are sending.

i want to make a few comparisons here, in case you're not from the US or familiar with why the perp walk thing is something to pay attention to. just to set the groundwork for why this is a purposeful, unusual, and cruel act by the nyc police - for why this is not a common occurrence and for why that matters.

the prosecution alleges the show of force is due to the charge of "terrorism." for comparison, in june 2015, tsarnaev was found guilty for the boston marathon bombing, which killed 3 people and injured hundreds. his actions are considered to be an act of domestic terrorism. i have spent the last hour looking through google for pictures of similar to mangione's perp walk - and so far, i have found zero. i also just do not personally remember a moment like that, despite living in boston at the time.

they allege that luigi is a stone-cold killer who carried out a longterm plan, making him particularly dangerous. again for comparison: in nyc, recently cory martin was found guilty of the killing of brandy odom. the murder was planned and premeditated to steal insurance money. and yet no staged perp walk. why didn't her life matter enough for a "show of force"?

but mangione gets paraded by a veritable army of police officers as if he is a rabid animal. for a single citizen who allegedly killed one other single citizen, the "largest perp walk ever" occurs.

so what is the "strong message" that the mayor and the police were trying to send here? the mayor speaks as if mangione is already convicted of terrorism. there is a very thin number of people who feel threatened by the CEO's death. none of us felt like mangione needs to be under massive armed guard.

the message is that you shouldn't resist. they are trying to "make an example" of him - that if you behave badly and kill a single rich person, you'll be treated as if you killed hundreds of people. you will be treated worse than a man who was found guilty of terrorism. you will be considered guilty without trial. the message is that the rich are a protected class, and you cannot touch them without massive punishment. they are trying to prevent a revolution by showing dominance and force against you.

the message is that the police are a puppet of the wealthy and that the law is not equally applied across class disparity. it is "some are more equal than others." it is "one life is more precious than another."

the show of force wasn't for luigi. it was for us. it was a warning. they are trying to remind us who is really in control.

[mochasucculent]

The gang all together 👍

Sketch v final + refs below!

First pic was reffed from My Own Private Idaho, which ended up being a really bad idea because this focal length was ridiculous to try and flatten out and match with the others lol

Second pic was obvi The Pieta by Michelangelo, but shoutout to my partner for suggesting the role reversal cause I was initially gonna draw Viktor in Jayce's arms again, but having it the other way around gave me the idea for the last piece where they're mutually in each other's arms and on equal ground in the composition

Third pic was reffed from The Blossoming Of Love by Miquel Blay! Had to move Jayce's hand to Viktor's shoulder because he was too yolked for his arm to fit between them lmao

[daisywords]

One of my biggest nitpicks in fiction concerns the feeding of babies. Mothers dying during/shortly after childbirth or the baby being separated form the mother shortly after birth is pretty common in fiction. It is/was also common enough in real life, which is why I think a lot of writers/readers don't think too hard about this. however. Historically, the only reason the vast majority of babies survived being separated from their mother was because there was at least one other woman around to breastfeed them. Before modern formula, yes, people did use other substitutes, but they were rarely, if ever, nutritionally sufficient.

Newborns can't eat adult food. They can't really survive on animal milk. If your story takes place in a world before/without formula, a baby separated from its mother is going to either be nursed by someone else, or starve.

It doesn't have to be a huge plot point, but idk at least don't explicitly describe the situation as excluding the possibility of a wetnurse. "The father or the great grandmother or the neighbor man or the older sibling took and raised the baby completely alone in a cave for a year." Nope. That baby is dead I'm sorry. "The baby was kidnapped shortly after birth by a wizard and hidden away in a secret tower" um quick question was the wizard lactating? "The mother refused to see or touch her child after birth so the baby was left to the care of the ailing grandfather" the grandfather who made the necessary arrangements with women in the neighborhood, right? right? OR THAT GREAT OFFENDER "A newborn baby was left on the doorstep and they brought it in and took care of it no issues" What Are You Going to Feed That Baby. Hello?

Like. It's not impossible, but arrangements are going to have to be made. There are some logistics.

[mroddmod]

they are like puppies. 2 me

[hinamie]

morning glory

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Hey now, Let her cook!

[krysmcscience]

I have some questions about karaoke night, Alex Hirsch. Very Important Questions. Which I will happily scream at a poor hapless baby triangle who can have no answers for me, and possibly also does not have object permanence yet.

Follow-up that is I guess suggestive, but let's be real here, Bill's a fucking triangle:

Dude slipped right into his birthday suit, lmao

this is so stupid :D

Anyway, I don't care what anyone says, this brilliant individual knows what's up - Bill is absolutely way more of a monsterfucker than Ford could or ever will be, full stop.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

I am incredibly serious right now when I beg you all, please, and if you have Twitter or Tiktok or whatever to please spread the word: click on an author's profile on Ao3.

You want to know if an author has written more? Want to know if they're still writing? Want to see more from them? Want to know if they've written a trope or kink or sex scenario you enjoy?

Click on their name. And look at their profile.

I cannot tell you how many times in the last six months someone has read a new or newer fic of mine and said they (a new reader who has read nothing else I've done) "can't wait to see what you do next!" I've written 50+ fics and over a million words already.

"I don't know if you're still writing..." click on my profile. I am. I literally wrote a 128k+ fic for that ship last month.

"Would you ever do X?" "Please do Y!" I already did. Click on my name and look at my works.

Archive of our Own is a library. It's an archive. Not social media. It is your responsibility to fight back against the laziness that corporate algorithms have trained into you.

Click my author name. Just click it. Just click it.

Before you demand more, or ask if a writer will do XYZ, or wonder if the author still writing, or anything - click on their profile. Click on the author's profile.

I'm not trying to be mean or condescending or anything like that. I'm just exhausted. It's disheartening and frustrating to repeat myself ad nauseam, because someone couldn't take thirty seconds to do the tiniest bit of work to see if I've written lately, if I've written more for their ship, or scan my works to see if I've written what they're asking for. Please. Please. I'm begging.

Click the author's name, and explore before you ask.

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

The stewards of the old world are always keen to give you a glimpse of their might... According to legend, the ancients built specialized chambers to seal away false prophets.

The Arcane is waking up.

[inkskinned]

this is just my opinion but i think any good media needs obsession behind it. it needs passion, the kind of passion that's no longer "gentle scented candle" and is now "oh shit the house caught on fire". it needs a creator that's biting the floorboards and gnawing the story off their skin. creators are supposed to be wild animals. they are supposed to want to tell a story with the ferocity of eating a good stone fruit while standing over the sink. the same protective, strange instinct as being 7 and making mud potions in pink teacups: you gotta get weird with it.

good media needs unhinged, googling-at-midnight kind of energy. it needs "what kind of seams are invented on this planet" energy and "im just gonna trust the audience to roll with me about this" energy. it needs one person (at least) screaming into the void with so much drive and energy that it forces the story to be real.

sometimes people are baffled when fanfic has some stunning jaw-dropping tattoo-it-on-you lines. and i'm like - well, i don't go here, but that makes sense to me. of fucking course people who have this amount of passion are going to create something good. they moved from a place of genuine love and enjoyment.

so yeah, duh! saturday cartoons have banger lines. random street art is sometimes the most precious heart-wrenching shit you've ever seen. someone singing on tiktok ends up creating your next favorite song. youtubers are giving us 5 hours of carefully researched content. all of this is the impossible equation to latestage capitalism. like, you can't force something to be good. AI cannot make it good. no amount of focus-group testing or market research. what makes a story worth listening to is that someone cares so much about telling it - through dance, art, music, whatever it takes - that they are just a little unhinged about it.

one time my friend told me he stayed up all night researching how many ways there are to peel an orange. he wrote me a poem that made me cry on public transportation. the love came through it like pith, you know? the words all came apart in my hands. it tasted like breakfast.

[hellenhighwater]

I was walking out of court yesterday and the deputy working the security desk goes 'stay safe out there!" And I go, yeah the sidewalks are pretty slippery. He responds, "hey, do you carry?' and I said no, because we're very much not allowed to bring guns to court. And he goes, "You want some mace? or a knife? we got extras"

so now I have some random mace and a knife.

Just in case.

[tossawary]

This is petty fandom salt, BUT... I've been chewing on this phenomenon that I've been calling "Fandom's Darling". It is related to things like "Author's Darling" and "Mary Sue / Gary Stu" and "Protagonist Halo" and all that jazz, where one character gains a peculiar narrative weight in a story.

"Author's Darling" is when a writer has a favorite character, and the world and all other characters sort of get... warped to put the Darling in the spotlight. It's most noticeable in TV shows with multiple writers, when a character you personally like suddenly has their previous characterization destroyed to make another character look good somehow. Every other character might become weirdly incompetent. The Darling's feelings are treated as The Most Important Feelings in any given situation. The logic of the fictional world seems broken past suspension of disbelief in order to validate this one character's beliefs or skillset or some other fantasy. And so on.

"Fandom's Darling" is what I've been calling the pattern where a fandom essentially crowns a New Protagonist for their fanfiction stories (it's often a side character rather than the original protagonist, but it can also happen to protagonists). This character becomes the self-insert for all sorts of indulgent fantasies, gaining special powers or backstories, and/or becoming the focus of extreme whump, and/or hooking up with all the various hotties, starring in all sorts of tropey AUs, and so on. They're not always an obvious Mary Sue version of themselves, but the character's original personality and interpersonal relationships tend to get warped or dropped completely, and other characters tend to become a little flat around them. I call it "Fandom's Darling" because it's not just one self-indulgent fantasy fic (you do you! Have fun!) with characterization choices that I don't vibe with (I have neither the time nor the desire nor the authority to police anything, I am just venting), but rather a prolific mini-fandom of sorts revolving around this empty doll / fanon version of the chosen vessel character, so it becomes a little unavoidable.

I am salty about this (mildly frustrated) (imagine a soft sigh of disappointment before I just go do something else) because you are FUCKED if you actually liked the canonical version of this character and their interpersonal relationships. It's almost worse than liking an obscure character that no one cares about. There's about a thousand fics starring your fave, but maybe only about a dozen of them are actually rooted in any kind of recognisable canon.

[sardonicdoll]

wanted to do my photo project this semester on the notion of mobility aids being extensions of our bodies, the yarn was done by a friend

edit: the shibari comments are one thing but if you put these non-sexual photos of me in my wheelchair on your porn blog i'm blocking you 👍🏻