#happy aboriginal day

[kari-berry]

[lostmymojo]

[paperbackribs]

Tags: steddie, getting together, featuring the chaotic friendship of Eddie & Dustin

🤎🌱🤎

Steve's hands are already at his hips, “Eddie, what are you doing down there?”

Eddie glances up from the hole he’d dug in the woods beyond Steve’s backyard. Looking at the dirt nearly up to his shoulders he belatedly realises that he may have become a tad fixed on his big idea.

Dappled sunlight falls through the tapestry of foliage above and the chirping of birds nearby cheerily fill the lush landscape, but none of it seems to distract Steve from his concern as he squints down at Eddie.

“Where’s Dustin?” Eddie counters like he doesn’t currently resemble a cartoon villain digging traps for the native wildlife. He resists twirling an imaginary moustache over his bare upper lip, but Steve must have an idea of his thoughts because he squints suspiciously over his arms as he folds them.

“I don’t know,” Steve says slowly from high above, “should he be here while you create what looks like your own grave?”

Eddie props his arms over the lip, tilting his chin up and aiming for charming. Playful even. “Now, why would I do that, Stevie? Life is a magnificent thing, worthy of delight and whimsy.”

“Whimsy,” Steve repeats sceptically, “like you practically digging up my backyard. You know, someone could fall and sue me, right?” Despite his scolding tone, Steve bends to kneel on the ground, his delicious thighs by Eddie’s folded hands and head hovering over his.

Eddie flutters his eyelashes as Steve waits on him, nearly close enough to kiss if he would just tilt down a fraction. “You could get in here with me, make it so there’s no room for anyone else.”

Steve’s bright hazel eyes flash and Eddie wishes he could get a handle on whether it’s because of Eddie’s suggestive tone or if it’s that Steve is simply annoyed with his antics.

Just when the silences stretches for a second too long, enough that Eddie thinks Steve might lean forward, close the gap and take Eddie’s lips in what would surely be a spectacular first kiss, he instead smirks, slyly pushing a handful of loose dirt into the hole from the high mound above Eddie’s head. It rains over Eddie’s right shoulder, which he shrugs fatalistically — he’s fairly covered at this point anyway.

“Eddie, tell me why you’ve dug a hole near as tall as you by my backyard.”

“Or what, you’ll bury me with all the other bodies out here?”

“Something like that.” Another handful rains down and Eddie sighs, “It’s a compression hole.” Steve’s hand halts, “Like the socks?”

Eddie takes the opportunity to reach out and clasp Steve’s hand, ostensibly to stop it from pushing more dirt over his shoulders but really just taking the opportunity to touch Steve. Hold the warmth of his hand within his own, stroke the silken back of it with his thumb.

Eddie steals many moments like these and Steve always lets him, but he never knows whether it's because of Steve's generous nature or if it's because he wants Eddie touching him, specifically.

“Like the socks,” he agrees, eyes sharp as Steve’s cheeks flush a faint red. Yet he retains a sceptical mien about him so Eddie further explains. “Dustin has this book—”

Steve snorts, “Here we go.”

“Dustin has this book and it says that the Aboriginals from Australia have known for ages how to take care of deadly snake bites.”

“With a hole.”

Eddie is always fascinated to see the evidence of Steve’s smiles in the shine of his eyes, and he delights in being one of the few people who often brings out its brightness. “With a hole,” he agrees with a cheeky grin, happy at Steve’s amusement.

“Bit by a Red-belly then you're in the hole for x amount of days. By a King Brown then for an nth amount of days. Placed in the hole and buried up to your neck, the compression of it all works the venom safely through your system.”

He's sad to see those pretty eyes hidden from him as Steve closes them with a deep, bracing breath. “Eddie,” he begins in a warning tone, drawing his hand away, “is Dustin finding a poisonous snake to bite you with.”

“No, definitely not,” Eddie hedges but at Steve’s stern look he squirms, “because poisonous would mean that I can’t eat them?”

“Venomous then!”

Eddie thinks that maybe he’s losing his capacity to charm Steve if the ire rising in his eyes is anything to go by. He shifts uneasily on the hard dirt below him, feeling particularly trapped as Steve’s frown deepens while looking like he’s considering burying Eddie without the bite and definitely above his head.

The sounds of eager feet crunching over dry leaves and fallen branches sound behind Eddie and he tilts his head in time to see Dustin fly through the trees with a long, wriggling animal in his hands. “Found one!” He calls triumphantly, the curls around his face bobbing in excitement. There's a smudge across his cheek that Eddie suspects was made by crawling through the dirt and bushes to find his captured prey.

About twenty inches long, thin with yellow stripes framing its scales of green and brown, the garter snake wrapped around Dustin’s left arm tastes the air in front of it with its pink forked tongue. Simultaneously looking unhappy at being captured while utterly disinterested in the humans surrounding it.

Dustin’s face crinkles in confusion as Steve starts laughing behind Eddie’s back. “What? What is it?” He asks Steve who, Eddie looks over to see, has fallen back onto his butt, head tilted to the sky as he snorts and chuckles at the harmless animal Dustin has procured for their experiment.

“Never mind,” Steve waves an expansive hand towards the two of them, “carry on. As you were.” Humour dances over his brow and broadens his smile, “Here, I’ll even help. Pass it over, Dustin, I’ll throw the terrible monster at Eddie myself.”

It’s Eddie’s turn for his cheeks to flush now and he might be more embarrassed if it weren’t for Steve catching his eye, sharing a look of amusement with him rather than at him, and Eddie finds himself charmed by Steve Harrington once more.

It's not the first time and he knows that it won't be the last. Steve has had Eddie firmly wrapped around his little finger for far too long to say now, and Eddie's only waiting for the barest hint to step forward.

He sighs and turns back to Dustin, “Let the snake go, it’s a bust.”

Dustin opens his mouth to protest, but Eddie heads him off, explaining that the only creatures in danger of the carnivore in his hands are worms and maybe a mouse or two.

Eddie reckons that if Dustin were a mouse his tail would drop in disappointment right now, looking as sad as one can as he trudges away to release the snake in a safer place deeper in the woods.

He turns back to Steve to find him crouching now, braced with a hand outstretched towards Eddie. His eyes are still bright from his earlier laughter, but an invitation now winds its way through them.

“How about I help clean you up?” Steve asks in a dark murmur and Eddie lights up, finally finding an answer to the question that's been jittering in his heart.

“Why don’t you,” Eddie grins in agreement, clasping Steve back and pushing up to meet him halfway. As he scrambles out of the hole, Eddie pats the lip of its edge in affection as he continues to hold onto Steve’s hand. He silently thanks the soon-to-be-forgotten experiment and winds their fingers together, following Steve home.

💚 More steddie here

[absurdthirst]

Do you think you could do one with the Pedro boys who are a/b/o and who have a omega reader in heat but she doesn't want to spend it with them but just be alone? If not that's totally cool and I love your writing:)

When You're In Heat & Want Nothing To Do With Him:

*** When reblogging or talking about Omegaverse, please remember that ‘a/b/o’ without the slash punctuation marks (/) is considered a slur for the Aboriginal people in Australia.

**Female Reader

Javier Peña: Pouty for sure. He had even told Steve he was taking off work, dreaming of having you on his cock the entire time. Now his ass is traveling back to Medellín with Murphy in the passenger seat. Deciding that getting out of town was the best option.

Ezra: Now that's just not going to work for him, little bird. The aphrodisiac that your body produces calls to him like a siren. Beckoning him to take what your very nature wishes to give him. In that tent, there's no privacy. While Ezra might not lay a hand on you, he will not shut up about what he would do if you would give him permission.

The Mandalorian: Takes the kid, engages the ground security protocols on the Razor Crest and leaves. He will be back in 3-5 business days, with multiple bounties to throw into carbonite and then takes off for the next world on his parsec tour. He doesn't even seem mad about it, it just is what it is.

Pero Tovar: He still expects you to ride your horse. If you aren't needing to be holed up in a nest with his body wedged between your thighs, then you must be moving. He cannot lose more time on this journey to the East and you are attracting more alphas that he will just have to kill.

Frankie Morales: Confused. Wondering if everything that has happened has made you think that he's no longer your alpha or maybe not the alpha you want. He wants to talk to you about it, but he knows that you are vulnerable right now, so he packs up the kids and they all go stay at Uncle Benny's for a few days so you can be alone like you want.

Marcus Pike: He's disappointed. He had everything planned. He was going to make sure that your every need was met and you were in as little pain as possible as you worked through you heat. Instead of being able to do it in person, he decides that it might be best to sleep at the office until it passes so he doesn't overstep. However, he has meals delivered to you and your favorite ones at that.

Max Phillips: Tilts his head at you and gives you that fake pouty look. The one that says he doesn't believe you for a second. You don't want orgasm after orgasm? That's strange, and people said he's the one without a beating heart.

Dave York: Angry. He is not happy that you want nothing to do with him. He needs to take care of you and you are denying him that. In a huff, he takes on a target and takes his aggression out on them. It's a little more messy than his normal jobs.

Oberyn Martell: Finds it fascinating. You are a mystery. An omega who doesn't wish to be cared for by an alpha. He sighs, thinking that it's a pity, it would have been fun, but he leaves you in peace. He will spent the time in the whorehouse, drinking and fucking while you have your wish.

Zach Wellison: It hurts. It makes him think that he's not good enough and it will definitely tap into that inferiority complex that he had. But he will give you what you want, you won't see him for days while you are going through your heat.

Marcus Moreno: Doesn't understand it, but that's not for him to decide. If you don't want him around, he needs to figure out a game plan. Do you want to stay somewhere else? Do you want him and Missy to go to his moms? Once you tell him exactly what you want, he's doing that and nothing more.

Max Lord: You were in heat? He didn't even notice. He was too busy trying to save his company.

Javi Gutierrez: Heartbroken that he cannot take care of you himself. He wants to pamper you and comfort you. Instead, he sends you to one of the best resorts for Omegas who wish to ride out a heat without an Alpha. Leaving them to pamper you.

Dieter Bravo: Whiny. He can smell how horny you are. How can you not want him to fuck you? Keep you full of his cock and cum? Aren't you about to tear your skin off???? You actually have to throw him out of the damn house in order to have a moment's peace.

Tim Rockford: Honestly? That's a relief. He's got this case that is eating up the hours and he doesn't have time to focus on you. He ends up sleeping at the office for two weeks straight and you have to call him to come home.

Joel Miller: He thinks you're stupid. He knows you will suffer more, but if that's what you want, be stubborn. He will give you the space you need, but he will also be standing guard around the decrepit house you are holed up in, making sure that no other alpha gets a whiff of you.

Marcus Acacius: Doesn't understand why you would not want him to be around you. But he's not going to fight you on this. He has his most trusted guards posted around his villa, they are betas so you will not be harassed by them. They will protect you because he has already been called before the emperors to discuss yet another bloody campaign on behalf of Rome's glory.

[dedenneblogs]

HEARTBREAK HIGH S2 ANALYSIS PART 1 (buckle up this is going to be a doozy)

so... it's out (the trailer).

my excitement cannot be expressed...

BUTT! today, i will be doing my iconic mouse analysis of this trailer (this is actually the first time im doing something like this so it's not rlly iconic BUTT it will be soon) with the most comprehensive inspection i can using under 2 minutes of video as a basis....

with that said lets

BEGIN!

the heartbreak highers are back for another "cursed" term....

so glad to see the trio back in action. like. actually so happy. MIGHT explode from excitement... as always, their outfits slaylay.

the boyfriends... friends? boys? BUGS??? found out on hh s2!

these goons are back... gayer then ever,,, seriously. when will these two have an episode long make out 'sesh? unlikely, to much dismay....spoiler alert...you'll see....

MISSY!!!!! and sasha, i guess

SPOILER ALERT AGAINNNN missy looks like she'll be more prominent in this season so...WIN!!!!

also why is she mewing who is rizzing up

and new on the the chopping block-- Rowan Callaghan!

we'll get to rowan when we get to rowan

in other (more important) news-- SHE'S HEALING! HARPER IS HEALING!!!

i... *sobs* i she's growing her hair out oh my GAW...... she's getting better...she... there's a lower chance she'll cock-block amerie (oh but she'll get cock [spoiler-- again!])

butt let's not celebrate just yet-- it's still "everyone hates amerie" up in this joint, smellas

may as well... shot them. huh. well. pop off, i suppose... (amerie asserts her right to bear arms-- truly patriotic coming from an aussie!)

...touché coming from the (still) most hated student in heartly who only adds salt to the wound by... using the pink 'ildo from s1 as a mic... chat... she's lost it.

(unrelated but in the background-- MISSY AND MALAKAI!!! they were building up a relationship between them in s1 and how she and her brother (i think? 'memory's fuzzy) helped him heal from the shit he had to go through in s1 and even better connect him with his aboriginal roots. i hope to see more of these two interact come april 11th and i binge the whole season)

ALSO also ANOTHER new character-- Zoe Clarke!

we will ALSo get to zoe when we get to zoe

anywho-- cue: AMERIE'S ONLINE HARASSMENT ARC! becuz every show needs one...unfortunately. Give a cold welcome to Bird Psycho, heartbreak highers (we will get to bird psycho when we get to bird psycho)

(who ever is doing this shit is a bitch but either way: "you dont get to be the hero" shut your goofy ass up)

oh that's gore. that's core of my comfort character.

ok so maybe this bird psycho cuck isnt fucking around because clearly he's gotten to our girl ams :(

(dw they uh...take her out for ice cream. after this. proabably.)

moving foward-- STAND BACK I SAID STAND BACK WEIRD GIRL QUINNI

oughh im gonna be sick. of course. OF COURSE SHE WOULD GO FULL SHERLOCK HOLMES TO HELP HER BESTIE.

yeah anyways with this in mind she'd totally try and crack the fnaf lore wouldn't she. wouldn't she.

she's slay she's girlboss but at the end of the day she's a weirdo

anywho nuff of my rambling there--

ominous of you to say zoe

BUT ENOUGH OF HER CA$$HHHHHHHHHHHH

ca$h omg eshay eshay eshay pspspspsp,,,

i am so happy to see him (spoiler alert for 2 secs throughout the whole trailer) but anywho remeber? remeber right he's in prison. but seems to be doing okay... (maybe for the best heartly drama is really coming to a boiling point)

<3

and-- oh. uh... chicken dumbell... okay... pop off, missy...

when i said i wanted more missy i didnt expect this

spider seems to be into tho maybe what ??1/1/111.1/?!??!/1/1/1

missy x spider was NOT on my bingo card

WHEN MISSY SAID SHE WAS STARTING TO LIKE WHITE BOYS I DIDNT THINK SHE MEANT THIS.

BUUTTTttttt-- i. am. down. for. it... somehow. frankly, spider needs someone to put him in his place and low and behold, missy seems to be the student to do so..........

hey. if they're both happy with their...chicken dumbells, i am too.

amerie dont be alarmed but there's a white boy to your right

in other news this love triangle scares the diarrhea out of me

look at them. they're the perfect couple (malakai x amerie 4life) and rowan is--

well he's a nice boy but cmon

LOOK AGAIN IM DOWN FOR THEM TO BE HAPPY BUTT when it comes in between THE BEST SHIP IN THE SHOW (looks at amerie x spider shippers with affectionate disdain) i draw the line.

but who knows? rowan seems nice enough, and if he's able to make amerie happy, let them have each other! <3

also knowing malakai's track record i wouldn't put it past him to get freaky with rowan too (threesome attempt 2??? actually no wait thats a horrible idea NEVERMIND [gets s1 ep4 flashbacks])

also also "classic love triangle" scene gives major "erm...well this is akward!" vibes from ams (we stan cringey amerie in this household tho)

and well. shart. max limit of 30 photos. oh well-- ill make a second part! tune in for the update heartbreak highers :3

[claraameliapond]

For Australia, 26th January is invasion day, and that's literally it.

Today is a horrifically sad day in Australian history. Invasion day.

That's literally all it is.

Please please please do not join in the chorus of racism wishing anyone a "Happy Australia day" on the 26th of January

We can, have and are moving forward together as a country,

But we cannot truly do so if a celebration of our country and identity is held on the literal anniversary of the brutal and long-standing invasion, massacre and occupation of Australian aboriginals, the first peoples of Australia.

This invasion and subsequent violent Colonisation was full of many horrors that lasted well into the late twentieth century, and the long-standing repercussions of which have lasted to this day.

The stolen generations , in which generations - multiple generations of young aboriginal children were literally stolen by white colonists from their families, sent to missions, (detention boarding "schools ") , in which they were converted to Christianity and prepared for menial jobs, punished if they ever spoke their own languages, and subsequently put into the service of white families, with the intention to be bred out, never to see their families again. Never to be educated about their home, their families, their land, their culture, their languages, their history; they are the oldest continuing culture on earth. The last of these missions were in effect until 1969. By 1969, all states had repealed the legislation that allowed the removal of Aboriginal children under the policy and guise of "protection".

The indigenous health, longevity and poverty gaps still exist. Access to medicine, medical care, healthcare, a western education, all things we deem human rights by law, are not accessible to many rural communities still. They are provided, but in western ways, on western terms, with a gap of understanding how best to implement those services for an entirely different culture , that we do not have a thorough understanding of - that was what the referendum was about: , how best to implement the funds that are already designated to provide those services, because it's not currently working or usable by those communities. Our aboriginal communities are still not treated equally, nor do they have the same access we all enjoy to things like healthcare services, medicines and western education.

It is horrific and insensitive to therefore celebrate that day as our country's day of identity, because it's literally celebrating the first day and all subsequent days of the invasion, the massacres, the stolen generations, the subjugation and mistreatment, the inequalities that still persist today. It celebrates that day, that act committed on that day, of invasion , violent brutal massacres of Aboriginal people, as a positive, 'good' thing. As something that defines Australia's identity and should define an identity to be proud of.

That's nothing to be proud of.

Our true history is barely taught in our school curriculum, in both primary and secondary school. Not even acknowledged.

It needs to be.

We cannot properly move forward as a country until that truth is understood by every Australian, with compulsory education.

January 26th is Not 'Australia day'. It's Invasion day. It's a sorrowful day of mourning.

Please do not wish anyone a "happy Australia day " today.

It's not happy and it's not Australia day.

Australia day should be at the end of Reconciliation week that is held from the 23rd May to 3rd June.

A sentiment that is about all of us coming together as a shared identity within many identities, accepting and valuing each other as equal, a day that actually acknowledges Australian aboriginal peoples as the first Australians - because they are.

This is literally about acknowledging fact - that is the truth of Australian history. Aboriginal cultures should be celebrated and embraced, learnt from, not ignored, treated as invisible and especially not desecrated by holding celebrations of national identity on anniversaries of their violent destruction.

Australian aboriginal peoples, cultures and histories, should be held up as Australia's proud identity of origins, because it literally is Australia's origins.

That's a huge, foundational integral part of our shared identity that must be celebrated and acknowledged.

Inclusivity, not offensive exclusivity. Australia day used to be on 30th July, also 28th July, among others. Australia Day on the 26th January only officially became a public holiday for all states and territories 24 years ago, in 1994. It's been changed a lot before. It can certainly be changed so it can be a nonoffensive , happy celebration of our shared Australian national identity for everyone, that respectfully acknowledges and includes the full truth of our whole shared history, not just the convenient parts.

There is literally no reason it can't be changed, and every reason to change it.

#Always Was Always Will Be

[radiofreederry]

Happy birthday, Burnam Burnam! (January 10, 1936)

An advocate for the rights of Aboriginal Australians, Burnam Burnam of the Woiworrung and Yorta Yorta was taken from his parents as an infant, one of the Stolen Generations. He was raised in the brutal assimilationist culture forced upon such Aboriginal children and forced to endure racist abuse from the white adults in charge of him. As a young adult he reconnected with his heritage and joined the struggle for Aboriginal rights. He participated in the successful campaign to have the skeleton of the last Native Tasmanian to be removed from the Museum of Tasmania and given a proper burial, among other accomplishments. Most famously, Burnam Burnam planted the Aboriginal flag at the White Cliffs of Dover on the day of the Australian Bicentennial, "claiming" England for Aboriginal people in the same way England had done to the land of Burnam Burnam's ancestors. He died of heart disease in 1997.

[demigoddessqueens]

Nazi dumbfuck

Oh so we’re calling each other names now? Mhm ok ✌️

Alright, well I hope you’re having the worst day ever you capitalist, scum sucking inbred unwashed fascist pig 😁

Here are your daily reminders to donate, march for Palestine and Aboriginal causes today as it is a day of mourning because of colonialism,

and call representatives to demand a #CeasefireNow despite the ICJ rulings.

Keep making noise and boycotting!

Donate to PCRF.net

https://arab.org (daily click to donate!)

[ducktoonsfanart]

Scrooge McDuck in Australia in search of a shiny crocodile egg - The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck - Donald Duck and Joey the Kangaroo - Daddy Duck - Australia Day - Duckverse

Yes, I am late, because Australia Day is celebrated on the 26th of January, but for some reason I didn't get to finish it until now. However, since I'm currently in the spirit of Australia, I'm going to publish some drawings of our heroes related to that country.

By the way, Australia Day is celebrated because on that day, in 1788, the first fleet made landfall and raised the British flag under the command of Arthur Phillip and founded Sydney there. Admittedly, the first settlers were prisoners.

The first drawing I drew was related to The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck and the comic "The Dreamtime Duck of the Never-Never", which was the seventh part of the cult album by Don Rosa and tells about Scrooge's trip to Australia and his many misadventures . Scrooge met the highwayman and saved the aborigine from that highwayman. That aborigine is called Jabiru the aborigine and he is a representative of the indigenous people who lived in Australia. Scrooge found a brilliantly decorated egg that was worth a fortune, yet hearing from Jabiru the dream stories, otherwise known as Dreamtales, which were painted in the cave, he gave up on it and moved on in search of greater riches. I drew Scrooge, Jabiru, and a bound highwayman in a cave that was painted with various images that foretell Scrooge's future (you can see the Money Bin and Scrooge's future family members Donald and Huey, Dewey, and Louie). By the way, I used painting motifs as used by Aboriginal people and as used by Don Rosa in his comics, but I combined them in my own ways. Yes, and music related to these drawings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLVPgNjQ5kg

The second drawing is a redraw from the Donald Duck classic short "Daddy Duck" from 1948, directed by Jack Hannah, where Donald adopts a baby kangaroo named Joey the Kangaroo. Although mischievous, that kangaroo still loved his adoptive father Donald, as he loved him, and in my opinion it is one of the few moments (at least as far as Jack Hannah is concerned) where Donald finally had a happy ending. Yes, I drew it, because after all, kangaroos live in Australia.

I hope you like these drawings and these ideas and feel free to like and reblog this! And happy belated Australia Day!

[gettingfrilly]

Out chapter 2

Hello! Here is chapter 2 of this fic! Beta'd by @fish-bowl-2! Read it here or on ao3!

The Logical Ed

120 days, 14 hours, 32 minutes.

120 days, 14 hours, 33 minutes.

Deep breath. He rubs his eyes.

120 days, 14 hours, and 34 minutes.

Edd finally tears his eyes away from the digital clock on his bedside table, staring up at the ceiling instead; a marginal improvement, he’ll be more motivated to actually get out of bed if he’s not being held captive by the slow march of time. Now he just has to keep his eyes off the clock and focus on building momentum. Curse Newton’s first law of motion. 

His eyes burn. His fingers twitch. He glances to the side.

120 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes.

“Gah!” Edd lets out an exasperated cry, spurring himself into motion and raising off the bed, keeping the kinetic energy flowing until his feet hit the floor and he can stand. Once he’s up on his feet, he quickly tucks himself back into his pants and places his dirty tissue into his trash bin, then fast walks out the door of his bedroom and into the hallway. He keeps his eyes trained straight ahead, staunchly refusing to look at the layers of unexcavated sticky notes lining the walls, marching through his own home like a horse with blinders on. He keeps those blinders on in the bathroom as well, ignoring not just the sticky notes within, but also the mirror, unwilling to see his own reflection. It gave him quite the fright last time.

Turn on faucet with elbow. Wet hands first. Dispense soap. Scrub for 20 seconds.

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…” He mumbles the lyrics under his breath as he scrubs his palms and then cleans each digit, gets under each nail, brings the soapy water all the way up to his elbows. He’s gone through the song twice now.

Satisfied, but not really, but almost, he rinses and dries, then quickly absconds back to the safety of his bedroom. Predictably, irritably, his eyes immediately turn to the clock.

120 days, 14 hours, and 39 minutes since he last saw either of his parents.

Not that they haven’t been home—they clearly have if the ever thickening layer of sticky notes clinging to every surface of his house is anything to go by. Edd assumes they must come home during the night, maybe grab a nap or something to eat before rushing off to their next destination. No reason to wake up their only child to say hello. Places to be, things to do. All very important. Far more important than him, in any case.

‘Their work truly is important ,’ Edd reminds himself. His father is an anthropologist, and a renowned one at that. The work he’s done to research and preserve cultures on the brink of extinction under the hands of imperialism is admirable and necessary, and Edd often imagines himself doing something similar. His last published research on the Gamilaraay language of Australian Aboriginals was an enlightening read, and he couldn’t help but feel jealous of his father’s freedom to travel the world and meet people from different cultures. His mother travels, too, often as a guest speaker on her years of medical research into Lou Gehrig’s disease. Sometimes her talks get uploaded online, and he watches each one with rapt attention.He’s proud of the work his parents’ do. He’s proud to be their son. And soon, he’s going to use the financial support they’ve graciously blessed him with to educate himself in a field of equal import; willing and eager to stand alongside his parents in their quest to better the world.

It would just also be nice if they had any interest in having a relationship with him at all.

It would also be nice of him to obey his parental sticky notes and keep the house they let him live in tidy, but tit for tat and all that.

He still cleans his bedroom, the upstairs bathroom, and the kitchen , but the rest of the house can go to rot for all he cares. This place has been rotten for a long time, anyway. He feels a fool for never noticing it before. Especially when Eddy tried so hard to convince him of it.

Loneliness creeps up his spine like a winter chill, and he hugs himself tightly in an ineffective effort to stave off the cold. Desperate for some form of connection to the outside world, he walks over to the warm glow of his computer monitor and takes a seat in the same small wooden chair he’s had since he was a kid. Most of his bedroom hasn’t changed much since then, though a few modernizations have been made to his . Everything still has its neatly labeled place, from his socks to his Legos to his chemistry set; an old salve on the ever fraying nerves within his skull. The one major change he made was moving his drafting table under the window and putting his steel pedal guitar in the garage to make room for the desk he borrowed from the auxiliary bedroom. That’s where he and his computer sit now, under his cork bulletin board and butterfly collection, pressed neatly behind the glass, dead and dry and stuck through with pins. The only other change of note is the empty plant pot labeled ‘Jim’ whose resident died months ago once he outgrew the confines of his small soil home and had nowhere else to go.

Looking up, he sees the acceptance letters he pinned to his cork board. Cornell, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania have all sent praise for his grades and SAT scores. Using excessive flowery prose about how their own school will be the best to assist him in making an impact on the world. Offering full rides in a bid to snag him first. He supposes he should feel happy about all this adult and academic approval; it used to be what kept him sane, after all. But now he just feels paralyzed with indecision, worrying his lip as he clicks through the folders on his desktop, neatly aligned and organized and labeled and filled with .html files leading him to relevant web pages of the different programs offered by each school. He’s torn between the humanities, sciences, and a pre med track. Re-reading all the same course offerings he’s been reading for the past few months. Etymology, climatology, biology, archeology, geology, and all the other ologies rattle around in his head, pinging mercilessly against the bruised sides of his skull. What would best allow him to join his generation’s greatest minds in saving our dying world? What would take him the farthest away from home? What would carry him a few rungs higher on the always unraveling ladder between him and his parents?

He exits all applications and pinches his eyes shut. Holding the bridge of his nose as he takes a deep, frustrated breath, as if he could blow that last thought out of his head if he filled his lungs deeply enough. After some irritated mumbling and pinching the skin of his nose tighter between his fingers, he allows his eyes to drop towards the top desk drawer, leering at it wearily. Pressing his lips together in a thin line, he reaches forward to open it, pulling out the opened envelope within, taking out the letter and letting his eyes settle on the header at the top .

UB interlocked together in giant blue text. Neatly typed next to it in the same shade of blue, University at Buffalo.

He still remembers just how morose he had started to feel when the three of them started their freshman year in high school. Adulthood was fast approaching, and with it decisions that he couldn't see not fracturing their friendship, considering the very different paths they all were on. It wasn’t until fall break that Eddy was able to pry out what his ‘pissy mood’ was about . He can recall the smell of decaying leaves mixed with Eddy’s cologne and Ed’s joint easily, as if he were still there under the oak tree, sweating and tearing up and trembling in the tight grip of Eddy’s fists. It came out of him mixed with choked sobs, panic finally reaching its peak as he blubbered about the inevitable dismemberment of their found family once it came time for higher education. Cardigan sleeves soaking through with the salty deposits of his lamentations. Once he had calmed enough to show his snotty face again, all he found was his two best friends giving him equally bewildered looks.

‘What the hell are ya talkin’ about? Me n’ Ed are just gonna come with you, ain’t we?’

The relief was so powerful, it took all of his strength to prevent himself from grabbing his straight best friend’s square face and smashing it into his own.

Well. Presumed straight. It’s one of the few things he was thrilled to be wrong about. In retrospect, he probably shouldn’t have been. Just look where pursuing a relationship got them.

Before his and Eddy’s break-up, SUNY Buffalo had been his top choice . It’s not Ivy League , but it is an R1 research school. Besides, these are his undergraduate studies. As long as he's in the Ivy League for his graduate studies, an undergraduate degree at a state university is perfectly adequate. The real advantage is that it’s only an hour drive away from Peach Creek. It seemed the easiest location for the three of them to move into together out of high school, and even if Ed and Eddy couldn't come right away, the short ride to and from made it ripe for weekend visits.

SUNY Buffalo holds no allure now. If anything, its close proximity to Peach Creek has become a disadvantage. He tastes something sour at the very idea of staying in a place where people he knows might see him.

A bell chime rings from his speakers, the sudden sound combined with the red flash he sees on his monitor startles him into dropping the letter and choking on nothing, throat closing in panic. He relaxes marginally when he realizes he just got a notification, moving his mouse down to the trillian application in his taskbar and clicking on it. Relaxing even further, a small smile graces his lips when he sees who is messaging him.

sn@zzyn@zzy: hey dd! can u help me w/ smth?

Edd.Mar.Eid: Certainly, Nazz. What do you require assistance with?

sn@zzyn@azzy: cool ty dude! my final paper for this smmer course is kiiiiiiiillin me

sn@zzyn@azzy: can i email it 2 u 4 editing

sn@zzyn@zy: i ttly kno what i wanna say but figurin out HOW 2 say it is bleh

sn@zzyn@zzy: u kno how it uslly is w/ me -_-

Edd.Mar.Eid: I do indeed. Not a problem, Nazz. Attach it to an email and send it to my hotmail account and I will get to it as soon as I am able. :)

sn@zzyn@zzy: ur da best!

sn@zzyn@zzy: hey hav u picked a school yet?

Edd.Mar.Eid: Not officially. I am getting closer to making a decision, however.

sn@zzyn@zzy: awsum :D hooooow aboouuut SUNY buffalo??? :D :D :D

Edd.Mar.Eid: The State University of New York at Buffalo is still one of my top considerations, I assure you.

sn@zzyn@zzy: gud! i miss havin u as a study buddy lyk bad

sn@zzyn@zzy: alot of freshmen here r soooo immature

sn@zzyn@zzy: its not all that diff from PC high

sn@zzyn@zzy: PLUS ill b a junior next year and ill be ur cool junior friend and then ull be the coolest freshman on campus B)

Edd.Mar.Eid: All very good points in favor of me attending the same university as you, Nazz. Don’t forget, I still have my senior year to get through. Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch, shall we?

sn@zzyn@zzy: pssht as if itll be a prob 4 u

sn@zzyn@zzy: ull breeze thru senior year lyk u did evry other year

Edd.Mar.Eid: Your continued faith in me is invigorating and much appreciated.

sn@zzyn@zzy: just picture me followin u around school w/ a pair of pompoms ^_^

sn@zzyn@zzy: hows evry1 doin btw? gotta admit 1 of the reasons ive been pesterin u bout comin here is that im a lil homesick

sn@zzyn@zzy: could use a familiar face round here @_@

Edd.Mar.Eid: I am delighted to inform you that everything is peachy keen over here in Peach Creek. Kevin and Eddy still work at the candy store together. Last I heard from Ed, he was adjusting well at his new school. He misses home, but is “soldiering on” one might say. Sarah and Jimmy are still tight bedfellows, and recently went to some extravagant event called “Aaron Carter’s Jukebox Tour” in Michigan. They’ve been in quite the tizzy about it since. Rolf is the same as always, reliably working away on his family’s farm. Him, Kevin, and Eddy gallivant about on occasion. No one’s moved into Jonny’s old house yet, but the neighboring cul-de-sac is almost finished being constructed and has quite a few new families. The Turner twins miss you and ask about you quite frequently. You had quite the impact on them as their babysitter.

sn@zzyn@zzy: awww

sn@zzyn@zzy: gr8 glad evry1s doin gud

sn@zzyn@zzy: wbu? i hope ur not just in ur room mumbling 2 urself about school all teh time

sn@zzyn@zzy: the*

Edd.Mar.Eid: I am touched by your concern as always, Nazz. Not to worry, though. Eddy would never let me fall too far behind in my “social cred” as he puts it.

sn@zzyn@zzy: gud im glad the 2 of u have each other

sn@zzyn@zzy: NE way ive got debate club

sn@zzyn@zzy: l8er!

Edd.Mar.Eid: Adieu, Nazz. Just picture me there with a pair of pom poms, cheering you on. Laughing out loud.

sn@zzyn@zzy: XD

“Filthy, filthy, filthy.” The smile on his face has long since been replaced by a scowl, blunt nails digging deep as he scratches the top of his hand. Filthy liar. Cowardly cur. What did dear, sweet Nazz ever do to deserve his mouthful of empty words? Empty like him. Emptied out then filled with filth. He reaches for his bottle of hand sanitizer, squirting some in his palm in what he knows is an irrational attempt to kill the deceit on his guilty hands, rubbing to distribute it evenly over them. Air hisses sharply through his teeth when he feels a sharp pain, looking down to find that the scratching had broken his skin, stinging alcohol and small specks of blood mixing together in a pink hue. He swallows and looks up at the ceiling, eyes closing as he rubs his hands together through the pain.

“Filthy, filthy, filthy…”

He doesn’t stop until his hands are bone dry. His scaly, over-washed skin rubbing together unpleasantly. After taking a deep breath and clearing his throat one, two times, he bends over to collect the letter and envelope he dropped earlier. It brings him to eye level with the bottom drawer of his desk, squinting his eyes and frowning when he notices it’s crooked.

“Oh for goodness sake.” He complains, tucking his acceptance letter away in the appropriate drawer before getting down onto the floor (the floor where his feet go and now his knees are there where his feet usually are but he’s trying not to think about that) to better assess the problem. After uselessly jiggling the hunk of wood, he gives a frustrated grunt and opens it, full pill bottles rattling inside as he lifts the drawer off of the rails and removes it completely from the desk. He mumbles a ‘darn it’ to himself when it’s too dark inside for him to see the problem, getting up and returning quickly with the small flashlight he keeps in his toolbox. Neither track is bent or blocked, so hoping the drawer simply fell off the track at some point, he carefully places it back in, making sure everything is aligned. He sighs in relief once he’s able to slide it in and out smoothly a few times. He does it a few more times for good measure, listening to the wheels glide along the metal track. Frown carved deep into his face, he lifts up one of the orange plastic pill bottles and reads it.

EDDWARD EID

215 RETHINK AVE PEACH CREEK, NY 14273 (716) 7491736

TAKE 1 TABLET BY MOUTH DAILY

SERTRALINE 25MG TABS

Jaw set, he puts the bottle back in its place, neatly lined up with all the other unopened bottles in the drawer. ‘ Sedatives. That’s all they are ,’ he thinks to himself sourly as he slides the drawer shut.

DING DONG.

He jumps, forever easily startled as he clutches his chest and lets out a garbled squeak. He doesn't move from his place on the floor, breathing shallowly as he waits to see if he was just hearing things or not.

BANG BANG BANG. DING DING DING DONG.

There’s only one person Edd knows who tries to enter other people’s homes that rudely.

He’s up on his feet and out his bedroom door in a matter of seconds, tunnel vision guiding him to the stairs and the front door . He glances at the phone in the hallway, confirming it's there and plugged in, just in case it’s not who he thinks it is and he has to call the police. He’s sure, though. He’s so sure. With a twist of his gut, he realizes he’s been waiting for this.

There’s no sense of smug satisfaction at being right when he sees who is on the other side of the peephole; just deep seated pain from seasons of yearning coiling in his chest like thick thorny vines, wrapped tight around his heart and lungs. His sweaty palm slides uselessly against the doorknob before he’s able to get a decent grip and pull the door open, calling the name that hasn’t touched his tongue in months out into the muggy evening air.

[halo-eater]

happy Indigenous peoples day. remember to listen to all indigenous voices this year.

listen to the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon and others who are battling for the land they've managed to hold onto.

listen to the Indigenous Bedouin peoples of land occupied by Israel who will remain displaced regardless of the progression of the war.

listen to ndns and inuit people who try to tell you things about your country and your people that are painful to stomach.

listen to australian aboriginal peoples who are fighting tooth and nail for the meagerest scraps of recognition and assistance from the Australian government.

listen to Polynesian peoples whose islands are being desecrated gleefully in the name of tourism and space exploration

we are all over the world and we all need your allyship and your ears. learn something new about an indigenous nation near you today.

[notahorseindisguise]

What do you think of this? Personally I’m happy about it, I’m aboriginal and I don’t even celebrate Australia Day, in fact I often forget that the holiday exist until my friends remind me

fuck yeah! thats super cool

[sweetzscore]

Happy Australia Day! Why are we still celebrating this.

Literally whyyy are we celebrating the Indigenous people’s land being colonised

Why are we celebrating the Aboriginal people who were killed, kidnapped and whitewashed

It doesnt make sense mannnnn

happy invasion day.

[faithintaiwan]

july 27 - taitung rice museum, green tunnel, & aboriginal museum

It’s our first day back to our program! Last night in the hotel was definitely an experience I would not like to repeat. I was so exhausted after traveling all day only to be met with the dustiest hotel I had ever stayed in. It didn’t have a shower head in the tub rather the shower head was hung next to the toilet with a flimsy curtain separating the two areas. In my complacency, I had not bought slippers like I said I would before I left and it was definitely needed for this. The hotel had two pairs for us in the room but they were absolutely not ones that had been replaced or cleaned anytime recently. Fanny and I trekked in the rain to Family Mart where I bought more disinfecting wipes and a travel set of soaps. After wiping everything down, I was able to take a shower which went better than I thought it would. The room also had a door that led to Andy and Eli’s room so we had fun yelling at them through it!

After eating convenience store food for four days straight and tons of it before the typhoon I am so sick of it. Luckily we had the best hotpot today! There was so much pork, lamb, and beef I almost cried of happiness. I have never craved a homemade meal more in my life but we don’t have a kitchen so it isn’t possible. The hotpot definitely saved me, though.

Unfortunately, it was raining all day so some of our activities were cut short. Our first stop, the rice museum had the cutest cat and a store full of snacks but not much in the way of educating about the industry. After not getting to pet the adorable kitten at the hotel because she was so skittish, I was so happy that a cat had come up to me to be pet!!

The second thing on our itinerary was the “green tunnel”. Imagine for a second what that would look like. Maybe a tunnel through the mountain that’s been painted green or a cave with moss. No. It was a normal road with trees on either side. We stood outside it and stared at it as it poured rain. A low moment in my life for sure.

But it’s ok because the aboriginal peoples museum was incredible. There were so many exhibits detailing the prehistoric details of Taiwan and the history of the native people. It even went up to modern day with commentary about harmful stereotypes and major contributions to Taiwanese society and culture. I’m really glad we got to explore the museum and read about everything! Even if I was suffering through the rest of today this definitely made up for it and was a highlight of the trip!

Luckily there is only one more night at this hotel before we go to Kaohsiung. I am so excited for there to be more than only two wall chargers, a shower with an actual barrier, and food that’s not an hour away by bus!

Academic Reflection

On the party bus before we reached the rice museum, Peter told us about the industry. He said that Taiwan is self sufficient for rice with the biggest producer being in Taichung. The new generation is also not demonstrating as big of a demand for rice resulting in many governmental efforts to increase the popularity of it. People are now going for pasta or other goods that have to be imported making it more expensive and putting rice farmers out of business. He said to eat some rice while we’re here to support the local industry! This definitely made me feel better about spending so much money on sushi in the past few weeks.

Our next major stop was the prehistoric and aboriginal people’s museum. Here we learned about how Taiwan was created out of a complicated tectonic boundary that remains active resulting in destructive earthquakes like the one a couple months ago. Much of the infrastructure is thus created with earthquakes in mind reducing the deaths that the country unfortunately experiences with each major one. Taipei 101’s giant ball is one example we’ve seen of anti earthquake measures. Taiwan also boasts tons of mountains with many of the volcanoes now dormant and only two active ones left. The museum also detailed the history of the aboriginal people. Similar to the Native Americans, the people here crossed 30,000 years ago when the Ice Age lowered sea levels enough to expose a strait between China and Taiwan. They then created villages and cultural regions with differences in beliefs, lifestyles, and even themes in pottery. One particular thing that stood out to me was in the 1970s and 80s the Taiwanese government dumped dangerous nuclear waste under the guise of a fish cannery onto Pongso no Tao. The waste infected the water of the fishing grounds that the people survived off of and greatly harmed the local population. Rising levels in fish mutations, cancer, and more have been effects of this dump

[tartlette1968]

I've been trying to write a deeper analysis of the Voice To Parliament.

In doing so, I've learnt more about it.

So, I'm voting "Yes", I was always voting "Yes", and I have two firm reasons for doing so.

The first is that Indigenous people asked for a Voice to Parliament.

The second is that installing it in the Constitution means it is more than a trendy "for now" piece of legislation.

That second reason is because as much as our pollies may have the best of intentions, they find all sorts of ways to drop the hard and heavy things, no matter how worthwhile these heavy things are.

Make no mistake, shaping and ensuring a Voice To Parliament for Indigenous Australians is definitely a heavy thing.

I have realised something, though.

There are two very broad categories people voting "No" fall into.

There are those who simply are scared to mess with the Constitution. They support, at least for now, the Voice.

Then there are the people who absolutely oppose the entire notion of an Indigenous Voice. Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price just presented a speech to the National Press Club arguing this position. Justifying it by maintaining that colonisation was good for Indigenous Australians. Then she actually said "they have running water, now". Her words speak for themselves.

Surrounding this debate is this misty halo of talk about Aboriginal culture, the nature and composition of the Constitution, and the fairness of the voting procedure in a referendum.

The 14th of October is the date of the referendum, and now that we're getting to the pointy end, things have gotten a little more uncoordinated. It reminds me of watching people trying to merge at peak hour. The overt racism has oozed out, and that is not helping any of us. It is the character of Australia, the nature of the nation that is naked, and on show here, and some are not happy that it has been brought out into the open. Yet this is the Australia that some of us encounter every hour of every day. The rest of us can turn a blind eye to it without much effort, usually. But not right now.

Anyway it is exciting, interesting, and worrying, too.

[rockbottomwithashovel]

In Honour of Invasion Day <3 (/sarc)

I would like to be proud of my country. I want to celebrate the culture of mateship, siding with the underdog, telling the pollies to piss off and multicultural diversity... but how can I??

How can I be proud of my country when the day we celebrate the country is the very day that this nation got stolen from the 'traditional owners'. There's already a problem with that term, see, a lot of Aboriginal people (First Nation Aussies and Islanders) see it as they belong to the land, not vice versa. I would like to appreciate Kevin Rudd's apology speech back in 2008, but not much changed, so where's the apology in that??

The people who's land I am currently writing this on deserve better than being seen as "lesser". What people don't realize is that the racism in this country is far from gone. Did you know that the stolen generation legislation didn't stop being a thing until 1969? Sounds a long time ago, right? That was only 55 years ago. My mother is older than that. Let that sink in. There are 55 year old men and women out there who were stolen from their families and given to white people for some wankery of an excuse "so they can have a better life" more like so they can be "civilized" and assimilated to our culture which we deem correct and anyone who stands in the face gets murdered, thrown in jail or worse.

I would love to celebrate, crack open a tinny, play some cricket and sing waltzing fucking matilda but that's not right. I have no rights to celebrate when fellow Australians have little rights in general and are being put in jail left and right, beaten to a pulp and left to die in prisons. And of course their deaths get covered up. The police brutality in Australia is horrific because it's insidious (I'm about to write another post about this with statistics, so stay tuned). A lot of cops around here will let you off with a warning, chilled out... but that's my experience. As a white girl who can cry tears at her "mistakes". I remember once I talked myself out of a $200 on the spot fine for sneaking onto a train, said I lost my ticket and fake cried over it (shitty move, right? But to be fair, I couldn't afford the train ticket, let alone a fine). The officers were nice, gave me a warning. But how nice would they have been if I weren't white? I'd probably have been taken in to the station even if I genuinely had been crying, bought a ticket, and lost it.

There is so much fucking racism in this country. I remember being 10, disgusted as the class threw the new, Aboriginal kid under the bus for a missing toy in the class room. He didn't steal it. We found it months later. But the hell he got as the students and teachers blamed him for it? He moved schools (Darren, if you're reading this, I'm so fucking sorry for not doing more). This system is against them. And my country, my people, have the nerve to celebrate this culture on the day that marked genocide of people who were perfectly happy just living??

Sometimes I hate being white. It's an unfair advantage and I don't want anything to do with those colonizing aka land stealing genocidal bastards, but what the fuck is the point in having this privilege if I don't use it? If Indigenous people aren't getting heard then I'll stand with them, maybe this racist system will listen to a white girl.

(Final note, you're not punk if you don't fight the system, you're a poser, if you don't stand up for people who are dying you're an asshole, if you're part of a minority and let other minorities get squashes what the fuck is wrong with you, and last but not least, if you don't have an opinion on things like this, you might want to check your privilege.)