#can we do that?

[andorerso]

actually I will say one thing before people jump on us again: the reason people are upset isn't the rekindling of the romance, we've known about that a while. that doesn't ruin rebelcaptain. but a reviewer claiming that what happens between them in s2 "derails any hopes" for rebelcaptain IS kinda eyebrow raising however.

could the author be exaggerating? sure. or maybe that's just their interpretation and not necessarily true. but you can see why it gave some of us a pause.

[cultivating-wildflowers]

the place I interviewed for yesterday sent me a clerical assessment link as a follow-up to my interview. the requirements include me giving a random website access to my webcam and making sure no other tabs are open while I complete the assessment.

do people actually live like this?

[graviconscientia]

Which present would you pick:

- A silver bag with dark red tissue paper

- A large box wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine & fresh flowers

- A shoebox-sized gift wrapped in colorful patterned paper with a bow nearly as big as the box itself

Oh! An excellent question. I am so curious about what is in each, but I would pick the second one. Fresh flowers are a carefully chosen touch! Whatever is inside was selected with thought and love, certainly.

I do think 1 and 3 are striking in presentation, though. They must hold something remarkable, too!

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

I think part of what this can mean for us is that if the manners we learned are not clicking, then we can sit down, have a think about what we WANT other people's experience of us to be, and aim for that, even if it's a little different than the manners we originally learned. The point is less the manners and more the agreed upon process of conveying the idea "i care about you as a person and want you to find my presence in your life a met positice, so even when my brain is being kind of an asshole to everyone, including me, I have set lines in the aisle for myself to direct me towards that end goal all the same."

After years of living in the adulting world, I think I’ve come to a realization: Manners exist to guide you to good conduct even when you’re in a bad mood.

When you’re happy, when you’re feeling generous, when you’re pleased with your gift or your service or your outcome, it’s easy to be nice. It’s easy to tip the waiter well when you’ve had a good day. It’s easy to thank the teller or the clerk when you got what you wanted out of the transaction. It’s easy to smile and chit-chat with strangers on the road when you’re in a good mood.

It’s hard to tip the waiter when you didn’t enjoy your food. It’s hard to thank the clerk for their time when you’ve just been told there’s a problem with their account and they weren’t able to fix it for you. It’s hard to think of something nice to say when your aunt gave you a crappy sweater you neither need nor want. It’s hard to be nice to people when you’ve had a shitty day. It’s HARD.

That’s what manners are for. Scripts and phrases that you learn by rote to say when you can’t think of a single nice or good thing to say from your own volition. Yes, they’re scripted. Yes, the sentiment is empty. But the scripts work in every situation, and the emptiness provides a buffer between your own unhappiness and the rest of society.

Because most of the time, it’s not the waiter’s fault that the food you ordered wasn’t what you expected. It’s not the clerk’s fault that your account is overdrawn. It’s not the fault of the barista or the stranger on the subway that you got fired today or your favorite aunt died. But even when you can’t summon a smile or a cheery word, you can still have manners, because they will serve you the same in sunshine or rain.

[word-count-bullet-count]

I've been seeing a lot of knight posts recently. pretty great

[crabussy]

slightly furious reminder that fish do in fact feel pain and do in fact experience fear and distress when in pain since people seem to love spreading the myth that fish don't feel pain. what is it with people assuming a creature is incapable of feeling pain or emotion just because it doesn't have complex facial muscles. come on gang

[mysillycomics]

[coleopterabyte]

Part of the reason I'm so adamant about encouraging people to get comfortable with bugs, my own interests aside, is because we cannot have a bright, solarpunk future without them.

A green future is not a bugless future. It is, in fact, a fairly bugful future. If you care about ecological stability, then you need to start with bugs, because they're the most at risk with our current use of pesticides.

[beaft]

it is legit bizarre to me how hard video game creators and film directors and showrunners try to pretend that fat people don't exist. can you think of the last time you saw a fat person in a lead role? god forbid a fat woman? i can walk down the street or go into a shop or restaurant and see fat people everywhere but then i switch on the tv and suddenly it's like a glimpse into an alternate universe where no one has a bmi over 24. insidious and weird

[bloodmoonlich]

[star-pup01]

I was promised a vessel and got thrown into a teenager who has their own shit to work through that is not being helped by this situation, and if I ever give up then the world is covered in darkness.

[skoofie]

Friendly reminder that you should

Write that fic

Draw your OC

Redesign that blorbo

Plan that comic how you want

Create the content you want to see

Be cringe

Be free

The only thing that matters is you having fun! Not what others think!

[batcavescolony]

Katniss is such an unreliable narrator. She says "Then something unexpected happens. At least, I don't expect it because I don't think of District 12 as a place that cares about me" girl you deliver strawberries to the Mayor, you hunt and trade for the district, when you fell at Prim being chosen someone caught you, when you went to Prim people parted for you, when you volunteered EVERYONE stopped. Idk how to tell you but I think you're a pillar of the community.

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

guys is it weird for your 20 year old son to build your ex husband out of trash in your house after youve gotten divorced