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Meerkat-meow In reply to LunaPura [2014-06-27 15:03:02 +0000 UTC]

Me too!

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frogsfortea In reply to FreakieGeekie [2014-02-16 10:34:36 +0000 UTC]

Hahahha would you?

I don't know...maybe we can trust his desire to win more than his desire for mischief!

but you are right...Thor can not trust him!!

Thank you so much dear!!!

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FreakieGeekie In reply to frogsfortea [2014-02-16 22:08:55 +0000 UTC]

Yes because he can skate and I've never been near an ice rink or iced-over pond in my life. Without help, I'd fall on my face
Well, if they're competing together, he can trust Loki. If he's just trying to teach Thor, well...Thor shouldn't trust Loki
You're welcome!

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frogsfortea In reply to VMenFangirl [2014-02-16 10:35:10 +0000 UTC]

aww thank you so much!!!!

And to you as well my dear!!!!!!

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frogsfortea In reply to mikamoni [2014-02-16 10:35:23 +0000 UTC]

aww thank you so much!!!!

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frogsfortea In reply to NikiMaweird [2014-02-16 10:37:12 +0000 UTC]

hahah so do I dear, and I was thinking of you when I made this one cause I was

"damn....I told her I'd never do thorki and here I am..." So I'm truly

relieved you didn't mind this one!!!

agggh! you my dearest are way too kind to me! Thank you so much!!!You really made my day!!!!

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NikiMaweird In reply to frogsfortea [2014-02-22 18:45:16 +0000 UTC]

Oh really? I am honored that you remembered me at all.
Well yeah, but if you ever do Thorki again you're a dead frog, dearie.
Am not. Just telling the truth. But you're welcome anyways. I like making people's days.

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frogsfortea In reply to XxintothemoonxX [2014-02-16 10:39:04 +0000 UTC]

aww no...come, have some chocolate with me!!!Chocolate makes everything better!!!!

And thank you so much dear, it makes me super glad to think you liked this one!!!

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XxintothemoonxX In reply to frogsfortea [2014-02-16 16:42:02 +0000 UTC]

Well, don't mind if I do. You're welcome.

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frogsfortea In reply to DeerAzeen [2014-02-16 10:39:18 +0000 UTC]

aww thank you so much!!!!!

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frogsfortea In reply to Mikhal-Strange [2014-02-16 10:39:55 +0000 UTC]

Knowing that I made you giggle totally makes my day!!!

thank you so much!!!! XD

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Mikhal-Strange In reply to frogsfortea [2014-02-16 16:58:23 +0000 UTC]

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frogsfortea In reply to Bjarru [2014-02-14 16:01:04 +0000 UTC]

I apologize. I replied to your message in a hot blood and I realize I probably didn't make much sense and I was rude to you, I'm sorry about that, hope you can forgive me.

It's just that since I usually mainly upload silly things I'm not used to discuss serious topics on deviantart and I must confess I felt hurt being accused of Russophobia.

The thing is that I truly dislike national-based-hate (and I'm not too fond of nationalism in general). The truth is that I don't believe much in the concept of nation. What is a nation?Is its people?Its culture?Its government?And how can you hate a whole people? It is a ridiculous concept and I can safely assure you I don't hate any country.

As corny as it will sound I firmly believe in a sense of brotherhood among men that goes past the political borders of our nations and that homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto= “I am a human and therefore everything that is related to human concerns me as well”. Basically I feel it my right to worry about other countries' people as I do about my own.

Honestly I don't like those laws passed last summer and I side with Lyudmila Alexeyeva when she condemns the law prohbiting gay pride for the next 100 yrs. But not liking Putin doesn't mean not liking Russia. (I'm Italian, my own country was “ruled” on again, off again for 20 years by an idiot such as Berlusconi, I'm the last person on earth to want for a country to be identified with their leader...).

I was worried about those laws when I first learned about them some months ago. As worries as I'd be if it happened to my country, because as I told you I don't feel that strongly about political borders. However unfortunately nowadays the international attention can only be alerted by great things, such as the olympic games which become the chance to talk about other social issues (It happened the same last summer in Brazil...nobody seemed to care about their crysis until there was the world cup...).

So I was simply trying to take the chance to tackle a subject I feel strongly about and show my support to those Russian who are fighting against those laws.

I believe everyone has the right to have their opinion (as well as their sexuality) so my message is not nation-directed but it is indeed to support human rights, no denying it.

It is a message of love and support, it is not* against *some one.

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Bjarru In reply to frogsfortea [2014-02-14 16:40:50 +0000 UTC]

Eh, don't apologise, I shouldn't have made assumptions myself. It's kind of hard though, currently it feels like the Cold War began once again, tension is hiiigh.

It is a new and a good trend. Globalisation, I think it is called? Borders between nations, races, genders etc start to fade. Not purely, but it world-widely. 

And if you worry about gays here, well, there is no law forbidding being gay or bi. This law forbids talking about this stuff to minors, but there is already a law forbidding showing or discussing sexual content to minors so that was illegal anyway (they have already tried to ban some channels for broadcasting South Park and some "questionable" websites can not be visited anymore. It is not cutting off fingers for watching Pokemon like in some countries, but they are dang serious)

And problems with human rights... well, that's the Russian/Slavic/Post-USSR way, I guess XD Nothing new here

So, eh, I see now, sorry for being rude to you

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frogsfortea In reply to Bjarru [2014-02-16 11:09:27 +0000 UTC]

Sorry it took me so long to reply!XD

 You know, thanks to this misunderstanding I've had the chance to think about a lot of things in matter of "international relations" and in general how much of a distorted view one gets when reading news of other countries.

I think you are right that all this matter has been blown out of proportion. I honestly don't know how it "really" is the situation in Russia and how a Russian gay lives their life there, I only know what western newspapers write (and that is hardly un-biased reports...).

I spent 1 year living in the UK and reading what was written about my own country often made me go "but you don't understand...not that it is not true, but you're missing the sense of the Whole picture" . I mean, it is Always difficult to get the "Whole picture" if it is about something you think you should know quite well, say your hometown itself, so it is understandably even more complicate when it comes to a different country, so another culture and history and often we think we have the right to have our opinion while lacking very important information...

You reminded me all of that and I'm truly grateful. It is very easy to offend and be offended on the web and it is even easier to just ignore what we don't like. You could have simply unwatched me and never write a word to me, but you didn't.

As bad as I felt after the first message, I felt a hundred times better with the last ones when the misunderstanding was fixed. And you were not rude, I guess it's just that when you feel strongly about something everybody gets more passionate in the discussion, I think it's normal!

So, what I'm trying to say is that I thank you for the patience you used me and for teaching me more about your country!

About that you say the problems with human rights are due to the CCCP past. I Always wondered (because in the history books I studied they only get up till 1991, and then I read the news but there is a very important gap in between XD)how is really the situation like in Russia? Is Europe (and the US)perceived like a judgemental entity? How popular is really Putin? (I'm sorry if I'm harassing/bothering you with question, but I think that, as much as globalization flattens borders and makes a blurry mess of everything, on the bright side it gives me the chance to actually *talk* to a Russian girl of pretty much the same age and maybe I can actually learn more about Russia! )

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Bjarru In reply to frogsfortea [2014-02-16 11:31:24 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, it is important to study a problem from different point of view. Especially when you know that the sides are biased: even just watching news is totally different, Euronews say one thing, our news say the opposite. And unless you are in the middle, you'll never see the whole picture. And when it comes to Russia-USA relationship I'd say people get especially paranoid. Not without a reason, but still.

Ah, thank you for this discussion, it is always nice to meet a person who can calmly and thoughtfully discuss some subject

I'll gladly answer your questions :3 Though I do not represent a general mass, so my opinion is just one of millions.

1) Currently the situation is rather calm. It is not the best, but it is far from the worst. Prices are skyrocketing, but the middle class still can afford a life, the problem is with the old part of population and villages, our government doesn't give enough resources and even if they do, a part of it gets stolen just every time. I was born in 1992 so I do not remember how things were after USSR crash, but all of my friends and family members say it was hard. The capitalism and freedom were good sides, corruption, poverty and unstability were bad ones.

2) Yep, my people are generally not fond of the Europe, years of the Cold War do that to mentality. Lots of biased and prejudged opinions, not enough personal experience. I guess the thing is that we are used to feel like outsiders, neither Asian or European, at odds with powerful Europe and spicy East. Also there is a lot of people who actually like Europe and dislike government and even our culture. But that's nothing new, it is even classic: we just can't decide if we want to follow Europe steps or be on out own

3) Putin is tricky question. At one hand he is becoming like a new Tsar, a bit of Stalin and Lukashenko (Belarus), he is strict, his party is unfair, corrupted and discriminating. But on the other hand, we really don't have anyone better. The good thing is that the West actually fears (?) and takes his opinion in consideration, even if they don't like him. So we kind of feel safe, as long as we don't get into politics. There are plenty of people who oppose him and he just destroys them if they become too popular, but there is also a lot of people who prefer him to other candidates. After Perestoyka and all the chaos, poverty and criminal that occured during it, most of my people just want peaceful and calm life

Ah, I wonder how is the situation in the europe? There are talks about economic crisis in the europe and I wonder how does it affect people of our age?

Huh, this is what I love about the Internet, we can actually learn about other cultures from real people, and not just our own mass media :3

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frogsfortea In reply to Bjarru [2014-02-16 14:20:05 +0000 UTC]

Alas you're too right! Unfortunately we have to depend on the news (both for

national and international info) and usually the “truth” is out of reach for us

common people!

And yes, years of cold war do that (and now the Snwoden thing to top!)I'd never

only rely on US news when it's about Russia. (I generally trust more the British

news but nobody can ever really be objective, I've to accept that!XD)

(up till a few years ago many “baddies”

in American movies had a marked Russian accent...

Now it's more fashionable to have them have a terrorist attire, even better if it looks

Middle-eastern. If it's low-life gangster then they are Italian/Mexican looking...

The power of stereotypes!)

Hahaha I know, and I too, when I speak about my country it is after all just one

of the possible interpretations out of millions, but then again, I think it's really

really interesting to hear your own personal opinion!

situation! My parents visited St Petersbourgh in 1992/3 and they have family friends there

who told them it was really hard and cahotic for the common people . So prices are still

going up? How is the unemployment situation?

Eh..I imagine it must have been really hard. What you said about Putin matches what our family

friend says...I guess that after the confusion following the USSR crash it is normal to long

for stability and a politician that promises that and seems strong and reliable is undeniably

appealling. (From what I know of history, whenever there's crysis it's easier for “strong and

forceful” leader to emerge, along with nationalism because the country feels weak and threathen.

It happened in Italy in the 1920's and in Germany, and now again in Europe because, yes, there's the

economical crysis and the concept of Europe itslef is really going down the drain. When things

go bad solidarity is soon forgotten and it's “everyone for themeselves”. All around Europe irredentism is coming back (Scotland wants out of the UK, so does Catalonia in Spain, in Italy too my region which is the richest wants out so they don't have to “share the burden” of the rest

of the country. SO if countries themselves risk falling apart, Europe itself seem more and more

at stake as a community.)

to Europe it has always represented the border with the east. Though they never could make up their mind on whether Russia was or not “western”. (There always seems to be such a desperate need for label!). I was suprised to discover a few years ago that there was such a strong cultural connection between Russia and France on a literary level! I guess in the 19th century there was a lot of exchange with Europe, perhaps more than with the east?

But then again, perhaps the best solution would be to overcome such labels and accept that Russia is Russia, with its own traits, some of which similar to Europe, other to the East and that this unique mix of traits determines the identity of the nation. (Isn't it always the case with every country, after all?)

Hah... “follow Europe steps”...I wonder where the heck Europe is going!XD I believe the next

few years will be crucial for the EU. The thing is that while being a comunity on a certain econmical level, since every country has its own politcal independece it is a very tricky situation and many countries dislike Europe. Or rather. In every country there is a least one politcal party

against “Europe” (so, you see! You are very European in having an “against Europe party”!XD)

I agree with you, a strong leader has obviously his charm and it seems that the main characteristic of living in a democratic country is not to vote for the one you think is the best and the one that represents you, but to for the lesser evil! It always bothers me when a single person stays in power for a long time (you say he's becoming the new tzar and he has indeed been in power for...how long is that? 14 years? And Italy too seems to have acquired a penchant for tzar as we've had the same idiot for almost 20 years...-you'd think we'd have learnt our lesson after Mussolini...you'd be wrong! ). Did you know that according to Forbes (not very un-biased ) he's the world most powerful man? (Just read it on wikipedia, I don't read Forbes! ).

Yep, to answer you there is the economical crysis in Europe and it's pretty bad in Greece, Spain and Italy, but even the northern country are not faring too well. People of my age in my country are more and more drawn to emigrating in other countries (the American dream is back, but it's not only towards America nowadays but northern Europe and Germany is particular!).

Sorry for the wall of text!!(I'm a chatterbox! Now you know!)

Thank you so much for this lovely discussion!I'm absolutely loving it

and I never would have thought that drawing silly things could one day lead

me to such an interesting exchange!!

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frogsfortea In reply to Bjarru [2014-02-14 15:11:37 +0000 UTC]

Russophobia??? How so?

I've nothing against Russia, quite the contrary if anything! (or I wouldn't be sending love,now would I?)

I'm simply showing my concern regarding the recent laws approved last summer regarding homosexual rights in Russia.

Personally I feel very strongly about human rights and therefore gay rights as well and I'm not afraid of sharing my opinions.

My intention is not to offend anyone, but simply to state my point of view (and I think everybody is entitled to do so).

I honestly apologize if you feel offended as a Russian, but in that case let me assure you it is absolutely not my intention as I love Russian culture and its people and you misunderstood the point I wanted to make with this picture (and in this case it means I failed as an "artist" if my message was so unclear!XD)

However if you are offended because of my opinion on homosexual rights feel free to do whatever you want with the watch as I don't care much for those who can't accept that some people might have different point of views

.

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Bjarru In reply to frogsfortea [2014-02-14 15:24:50 +0000 UTC]

If you're concerned with human right I'd recommend turning your attentton to Arabian, muslim countries, where being gay is punished by executing a person. Not to a law which forbids people from showing sex-connected material to minors which was illegal to begin with anyway. Putin just wanted to show off I guess? Ugh, so much pointless drama. If you're concerned with the fact that our culture is homophobic... well, nothing can be done with it The attitude the europe shows to us only strengthens it, 'cause we may be lazy asses, but when we feel cornered and insulted for some reason or not, we become supah-patriotic 

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frogsfortea In reply to Bjarru [2014-02-14 16:18:08 +0000 UTC]

Sorry, didn't see you replied here in the meantime!XD

hahah yes...I am indeed concerned with human rights and I find it normal.

And indeed you are right, there are some countries alas with much stricter laws concerning homosexuals based

on intepretation of religious texts and that worries me too.

I am perfectly aware that it could be much much worse, but this is no reason not to worry. (I think).

Here I am talking about LAWS not culture. Italian (my own) culture is quite homophobic (being called "gay" is to this

day a very common insult, this just to see how deeply ingrained homophoby is in my culture). But things are changing a lot in the past 20 years and gay people can lead an almost normal life here.

You can't change a culture by enforcing law. But you can change people's lives.

Because of my utter ignorance in the matter I can't talk much about muslim countries, but there are many historical and cultural connections between Europe and Russia and I have many Russian friends so I feel like I know a bit  about Russian culture.

I told you above how I feel about nationalism, but here I'm not speaking on behalf of "Europe" to "Russia" but as a person who has an opinion about something. Is that a crime?

The only point I wanted to make was to show support to the Russians (people like Lyudmila Alexeyeva)and sending them my love.

I understand if you have something against me for my opinion, it is absolutely in  your right, but please don't take it for Russophobia or Eurocentrism or things like that because it couldn't furthest from the truth!

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Bjarru In reply to frogsfortea [2014-02-14 16:47:22 +0000 UTC]

To be honest our homophibic culture is likely a result of USSR, rather than religion. Sure, our Church has always been opposing such things, but prior to USSR and late Russian Empire it was mostly like "plz don't do it guyz it iz wrong plz" and people (mostly men, poor wives sometimes wouldn't see their husbands for months cause they preffered male lovers) carried on anyway (even monks XD). Since in our history there was no real equivalent of an inquisition, most of strong homophobes I've met aren't even believers

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