#The City School

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

we need more hero/arch-nemesis duos whose backstory is being bitterly, bitterly divorced

[wardingshout]

apple season

[chillyfeetsteak]

I first became fascinated with it a few years ago when I noticed it out an airplane window on a flight from Texas to Southern California. In an expanse of endless desert, suddenly, a vast body of water. When I got home, I immediately looked it up on a map. The Salton Sea.

It’s the largest landlocked body of water in California. It sits right on top of the San Andreas Fault at over 200 feet below sea level. It is more than twice as salty as the Pacific Ocean. It is completely toxic. And I had never heard of it before then.

(photo essay under the cut)

In the early 1900s the Colorado River was diverted through a series of irrigation canals in order to provide water for the farmlands of Imperial Valley. One of the head-gates broke during a flood, and the desert basin filled with water for 2 years before it was fixed. The unexpected lake soon became a popular vacation destination; it was stocked with fish, and resorts and hotels popped up along its shores. It became known as a great place for sport fishing, waterskiing, and yacht parties. Big name celebrities visited. At one point, it had more annual visitors than Yosemite.

Salton Sea has no outlet, and is only filled via agricultural runoff. As the water evaporated in the hot desert sun, the lake became more and more saline. Chemicals began to build up from the run off causing toxic algae blooms, and mass die-offs of fish and birds started in the 80s. By the 90s, the beaches were littered with fish gills and bird bones and the resorts were abandoned. The lake began to dry up as irrigation run-off was diverted away. The exposed lake bed is also toxic, and the high desert winds kick up the dust, making the air poisonous. 

Despite the unpleasant odor, the noxious air and the summer temperatures regularly reaching 120°, a renaissance of sorts began in the early 2010s. Artist and nomad colonies began to spring up around Salton Sea. Bombay Beach, once a popular resort destination, is now mostly a ghost town, but the folks who remain have turned the ruins on the shores into an outdoor art installation gallery where the found-art sculptures are cyclically destroyed by the elements and then replaced with new ones. Many of the houses and RVs in town are themselves art pieces.

In nearby Slab City, a settlement of off-the-grid lifestylers, you can find even more folk art. Salvation Mountain is a manmade hill painted with bright colors and bible verses and maintained by a community of volunteers. East Jesus is a sculpture garden and art installation. 

This past weekend my partner and I finally made the pilgrimage to the Sea. California has the benefit of being home to a huge array of biomes. In just a couple of hours you can travel from snowy mountain peaks to lush oases to endless sand dunes. Driving the hour or so south from Palm Springs towards Salton Sea is like driving towards the end of the world.

Bombay Beach especially enamored me. The beach is crusted with salt and millions of tiny shells and bones. It smells awful, like sewage and chemicals and low-tide and rotting fish. You drive out onto the beach and park anywhere amongst the sculptures and deteriorating resort ruins. The art feels raw in a way I haven’t experienced before. It reminds me of seeing paleolithic cave art. Humans made this, with no motivation other than to create something intriguing or beautiful or sad. Not much can live out here, but what you find fills me with a great adoration for humanity. Despite the asphyxiation of the natural world, the human spirit persists.

[technicallyclassyperfection]

Steinar Lund, Morris Scott Dollens, Ray Feibush, and Robert McCall.

[da-janela-lateral]

Dia dos namorados? Today!? NO!!!! Post aro Tsubomi right now

[weaponizedducks]

you know what i think kids/teen books do 'fantasy romance/fantasy books' way better than any of the adult fantasy books booktok raves about. i try and read some of them and 90 percent of the time its just smut and abusive relationships disguised as 'dark romance'. then i read books like Keeper Of The Lost Cities, The School for Good and Evil, Percy Jackson, Land of Stories, the Nevermoor series, that kind of thing, and they are all actually so amazing because they have fleshed out characters with flaws and an engaging plotline instead of just badly written romance. and when they do have romance it's well written and about the people rather than the tropes.

[kensatou]

the unholy nhl x disney union and obama throwback i never knew i needed

also, further proof that trina crosby was 100 per cent right:

[jays-doodle-spool]

not-so-vigilant vigilante has not noticed the sound of rain over his explanation of how to get himself on a “Which Vigilante Are You?” FuzzBeed quiz

hgcz fanart using @mumblesplash’s design bc nepotism or smth

this whole project is so cool

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 183

There’s a loud snarling noise outside the window. 

Not that Jazz is concerned. She’s just also trying to study for med school and would appreciate some quiet. And preferred her brother not contracting rabies whenever he tried to square off with the local rogue or three who tried to use the alley. 

As he had put it, it was his alley, he’d claimed it for tinkering. Though perhaps she should maybe ask him to quiet down on his insisted territorialism, even if she understood it. She would also probably maul someone if they tried to enter their apartment flat. It came with the territory of being ecto contaminated, or as the rest of them were now calling it, with being a liminal. 

Once the more draconic aspects started to emerge well, one wasn’t just contaminated anymore after all. Hence the whole school-worth of them leaving Amity while all their parents waged war against the guys in white. Last she heard it was going well. 

Which meant she could focus on her studies as soon as- okay it wouldn’t be quiet, it seems the rest of the kids joined in on mauling the poor idiot who tried to steal their things from the alley. Damn…

[glorious-spoon]

controversial eddie munson opinion, but tbh i think eddie has not the slightest fucking clue about hanky code; he wears a bandanna in his back pocket because james hetfield did it, because 80s metal aesthetics were playing a game of telephone with the gay leather scene courtesy of rob halford and a huge chunk of their fans had no clue

[vietcrepes]

what is this, injury city?

he winced at the burning sensation of alcohol on his injuries. you'd think he'd be used to it by now, but he was far too focused on other things. namely, you. his heart was racing faster than he'd ever admit and he couldn't bare to look you in the eye. if you inched any closer he swore his brain wouldn't be able to handle it, his body tensed in a prayer that he wouldn't embarrass himself. your fingers grazed his cheek, assessing the damage, and he hoped you were ignoring the crimson dawning his face.

the close proximity was enough on it's own, but your touch on his skin and your attentive eye had sent his entire body aflame. by the time you pulled away to get some miscellaneous supply he couldn't care less about, he had felt his heart drop to his stomach and his hands become clammy.

"so how'd you get injured?" your query was met with silence, as his expression shifted in sour distaste for the situation that landed him these injuries.

"fine, you don't have to tell me" and as you reached to cup his face again, he swore he would spend the rest of his life with you. he felt himself melt into your touch, after all, when would the two of you be in such close proximity again?

୨୧ TYLER HERNANDEZ, ben clark, aiden clark, LOGAN FIELDS (sbg); LUKA, BLADE, aventurine (hsr); IZUKU MIDORIYA, shoto todoroki, any hero if you squint hard enough (mha); mondo owada, fuyuhiko kuzuryu, nagito komaeda (danganronpa), karma akabane (ooc) (assclass); your faves <3

writers note: I ❤ this scenario specifically, I intended this to suit more characters but it ended up being too ooc for most of them 😓 even karma is a huge stretch I fear + the ending is super abrupt but I was never good at ending my writing </3

[yodaprod]

A computer class in a New York City High School (1980)

[nekupilled]

Me and you and miles Kane

[violent138]

Gotham's the one city in the world where a chemical attack is not even close to a valid reason for being late to work/school.

[speakergame]

Progress Report - 4/29/24

hello and happy birthday!

...is how this was going to start when I intended to post it this past Friday. But I spent my birthday as a side character in the hit 1996 movie Twister. By which I mean there was a really big tornadoful storm here, the likes of which I've never seen before. It's never a fun time when the words "historic" and "record-breaking" are involved.

But anyway! My birthday was a few days ago, and to celebrate I have a slightly belated gift for all of you!

A release date

That's right, we're back in business here in Speakerland 😁 I'm so relieved to finally return to some semblance of normalcy, and I'm very hopeful that I'll be able to get back to doing regular monthly updates again.

As for this one, the update will be going up on Patreon TONIGHT! I'll be uploading that momentarily, in fact. That means that, barring any strange game-breaking bugs or overly tangled code, the update will be out for public release on Tuesday, May 7th!

I just want to thank everyone one more time for your patience, and for all the messages of support 💙 it really does mean the world to me.

I think that's it for this time! I hope you all have a fantastic week with only mild-to-moderate tornadoes, and I'll see you all next week! 💙💙🌪️💙

[timdrakesbussy]

Haley: *Pointing at Sebastian* We can't manipulate, Haley: *Pointing at Alex* mansplain, Haley: *Pointing at Sam* or malewife our way out of here. Abigail: *Wielding a sword* MANSLAUGHTER IT IS THEN