Cave of shame

I would love to make one post about aotearoa without people bringing up hobbits on it to be so honest with you guys

listen I understand. they're amazing movies and I do think it's awesome that they were filmed here!!!!! but holy shit! it's the only thing anyone seems to be able to talk about when there is ANY discussion of these islands!! I would super love to be able to discuss our ecology, politics, culture, landscapes, and people without needing to hear about hobbiton every single time

I don't knowwww. it shouldn't be a huge deal but at the same time, the image an overwhelming amount of people have of aotearoa comes from those movies. our struggling ecosystems get overshadowed by fields and grassy hills and other non-native biomes that were explicitly chosen to depict the england-inspired fantasy land of middle earth. these same biomes only exist here because english settlers historically slashed and burned massive swaths of forest to create them, and now they're framed as famous and beautiful. mass deforestation of precious native forests. I don't know man. it annoys me juuuuust a little when every other post I make about this place gets a lotr joke plastered on it.

hey, do you have any cool facts about aotearoa i can pivot to when people bring it up in conversation

Maybe if I just work harder, this empty cup will pour again

Maybe the cup needs a bit of time to rest and refill?

Maybe the cup needs to lock the fuck in???

Wake up babe, new meta layer just dropped

best polish phrase that doesn't exist in English: I have a battle task