#the word is SURPRISE

[tintenfischie]

It doesn't matter how rare they are walruses E X I S T ! ! !

I already explained why a walrus is extremely surprising to me specifically, so I'm gonna break down my points of reasoning in this whole Walrus v Fairy Incident, and why it's actually really due to the polls' wording and use of a fairy as opposition to walrus.

The first point is use of the word 'surprised.' It's an immediate reaction, in play upon first seeing the being at your door. It's not, 'which one would most change your view of reality' it's which one would SURPRISE you the most.

Unless Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is on this site, virtually none of us are, upon initial sighting, going to believe this fucking fairy is actually REAL. I would think it's an advanced toy, a drone with crap stuck on it, some kind of prank for the latest TikTok meme or whatever. Faking a fairy, a made-up ass being, is easier to fake than an extant species, especially one as BIG as a walrus.

Even if I were to be convinced this fairy is in fact real, that would take time and wouldn't play at all into any initial surprise. It would definitely challenge a lot about reality as I know it, but that's not what the initial poll was asking (goal posts have been moved over and over by later additions and caveats, but I am only looking at the OG poll, and it used the word SURPRISE. It also never said you somehow automatically know the fairy to be REAL, so of course most of us in the year 2024 would assume a hoax.)

Of all the beings to use, a fairy honestly just fucking sucks. It's easy to fake (see last point, these fuckers were faked over a century ago with nothing but black and white photos and some art projects.) No matter what iteration of fairy we're talking, it's not even that surprising to see. Neither Tinkerbell nor older iterations of fairies are going to immediately make me think it's anything other than make believe, be it a toy or some nerd in a costume.

Shoulda picked something more immediately surprising to behold, like virtually any yokai. Even if I fully believed it to be fake, I would absolutely be WAY more surprised to see this at my door, walrus be damned:

6. Lastly, I think if it was something supernatural but earnestly believed in more widely than fairies, it would have gotten a larger vote. Ghosts, for example, I think would actually have gotten more surprise, since so many folks already genuinely believe in them and are ready to accept seeing one and immediately identifying it as a supernatural being. It confirms a belief, rather than challenges it, so there's no period of just...''wtf the fuck is this bullshit? Are the neighbourhood children pranking me?''

[captainjonnitkessler]

The second you start talking about some mysterious "they" that are controlling society in some fashion, you are engaging in dangerous conspiratorial thinking even if you're being woke about it. "They" did not institute the 40 hour work week specifically so you would be too tired to revolt. "They" did not invent the sleek minimalist aesthetic in order to crush the spirit of art in the common people. "They" are not pushing mediocre media into the mainstream in order to poison people's critical thinking skills.

Your best case scenario after that is you talk to someone who actually knows what the fuck they're talking about and you get embarrassed because you can't answer basic questions about your own ideology because you never learned anything past "the ruling class/capitalists/politicians are making things bad and if we got rid of them the bad things would all go away!"

Your worst case scenario is obviously the woo-to-fascist pipeline and you end up believing Jews are poisoning American food supplies with GMOs in order to turn us all into beta cucks, so like . . . maybe just stop blaming "them" before you fall down that route.

Obligatory round of disclaimers: Yes, sometimes people do bad things. Be specific about exactly who is doing what instead of ascribing it to some vague group of shadowy elites. Yes, sometimes things in society are bad. Learn to identify the root causes of complex social issues instead of assuming that they're actually extremely simple to fix and we're just not doing it because of some vague group of shadowy elites. Yes, minimalism isn't for everyone. Learn that some people don't share your tastes and get the fuck over it for the love of god.

[rythyme]

today i learned that the English word "turtle" might be related to birds, but the Old English word for turtle ("byrdling") is not related to birds

[bbygirl-aemond]

it makes me so insane that rhaenyra is doing to jace exactly what viserys did to her. while obviously rhaenyra cannot acknowledge her children's parentage publicly, this episode makes it clear that she has refused to acknowledge it to said children, even in private, ever. even though said children have been forced to live through stares and bullying and derision their entire lives because of it. and she continues to do things that undermine jace's claim, such that he is set up to face a potential civil war of his own when he tries to ascend to the throne. she is content to leave the consequences of her actions in having bastards for jace to deal with once she is dead, just as viserys was content to leave the consequences of his actions in making rhaenyra heir for rhaenyra to deal with once he was dead.

[thatsbelievable]

[ierotits]

so to be clear: 100% of the credit for jaskier finally being canonically queer and having a full romance story thats treated well in season 3 goes to joey batey

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Congratulations to Dungeon Meshi on the first episode of the animation adaptation!

(June 2024 Redraw)

[qimir-the-stranger]

We get it, Disney. We get it.

Star Wars is not for women.

Star Wars is not for Black people.

Star Wars is not for Asian people.

Star Wars is not for Queer people.

Star Wars is not for anyone who is marginalized and has different lived experiences.

Nope. Star Wars is ONLY for cishet white men. We hear you loud and clear. We know you don’t care about us at all.

[iero]

SCREAM 2 — Wes Craven (1997)

[woo-wahhhh]

[ too much energy ] "kaji..."

"what?!"

"did you seriously just walk into my shop, before class, and already injured?" you scowled back, rolling your eyes as you regarded his relaxed figure in the doorway. a part of you marvelled how he looked perturbed by your disbelief than he was of the blood freshly running down his arm. "you have way too much energy this early in the morning, dude."

"look, clown me all you want, but let's get one thing straight," he grit out. he jabbed a finger vindictively at you, followed by the insanely loud clacking of his stupid lollipop against his teeth. "i didn't get into a fight."

"colour me impressed," you couldn't help but quip sarcastically, though you motioned him to come closer to where you were rummaging under the counter. you were grateful that being so early, no one had come into buy flowers yet, since it would be a bit of a jump scare to find a man bleeding out.

"shut up," he hissed, glaring perpetually while he took a seat behind your counter, and sticking his arm out. it was amusing, how someone could look annoyed yet so charming in the same action. you almost wanted to comment on the his childish appearance, but you had a feeling he'd slap his headphones on and dash out if you did.

"well?" you prompted, pulling out a first aid kit and setting it on the counter. "what happened to your arm then?"

you could feel his hawkish gaze trail after your every move, scrutinizing each action with such intensity, you couldn't tell if he was pissed off or if he was under an enchantment.

"that granny lost her cat again," kaji said simply.

this boy, you cursed internally as you pulled out disinfectant and bandages. "and?"

"what do you think happened?" he scowled, canines flashing as he grit his teeth at the sting of the ointment. "it fucking scratched me when i caught it." he shook his fringe out of the way, perhaps to properly express his annoyance.

"you look much more handsome when you're angry," you blurted out, reaching up to push his hair back without thinking too much– after all, he was your boyfriend. but more importantly, it was much to his incredibly visible chagrin– by habit, he flinched, automatically trying to grab at his headphones, but he couldn't shake off your grip on his arm, leaving him to clutch one side like a damsel in distress, eyes wide and horrified.

but he calmed down quickly enough when you didn't pay him mind, too accustomed to his shenanigans, humming lightly as you focused on the bandages and keeping the heat from dancing up your spine. there was a simmering tension between you; unspoken, though his eyes were dead set on your nimble movements, the distinct weight of his gaze telling you he wouldn't look away, or more properly, he couldn't.

once you finally looked up from your finished work, you noted his eyebrows were knit together, the permanent glare on his face still written in stone, but his tone was somehow gentler than he let on. "look me in the eyes if you're gonna say stuff like that."

silence ensued, of course, your eyebrows quirking up as the obvious dangled from your tongue.

"kaji, you just looked like you were about to bolt outta here,"

"well, yeah, how else am i supposed to act when you say that?"

"i- i don't know," you stammered, suddenly hyperaware of how he wasn't looking away, how his eyes were practically tracing over every contour of your face with the intensity that could burn. "maybe- maybe act a bit more touched?"

"touched?" he echoed, a bit of incredulous sneer in his voice as he hopped off his seat. the abruptness of it all startled you as your back unwittingly hit the counter, and before you could make your own grand escape, he placed an arm on each side of you, effectively caging you in.

the sudden change up from the incredibly flustered kaji to this steamrolling behaviour made your head spin as you gaze up at him with wide eyes that were only met with a grey, smouldering gaze with the intensity of a storm.

"here," kaji swiftly popped out the lollipop from his mouth, holding it to you. you hesitantly took it from his hand, the question of "what the hell, dude?" bubbling at your lips when without a warning, he grabbed your face and kissed you.

short and sweet, but somehow still awfully fierce for that early in the day– you expected nothing less from ren kaji.

"now what was about?" you giggled as you pulled back, dotingly reaching up to smear your lip gloss onto his chapped lips. an act of giving and receiving, one could even say, since he'd left you with the sickeningly sweet taste of caramel on your tongue. "do you like it when i call you handsome?" you teasingly chimed.

"shut up," kaji grumbled once again, pushing his hair back and pressing his forehead against yours. "you looked cute and i just felt like it, that's all." maybe to someone else, that wasn't a fulfilling response, but you knew how straightforward kaji was, and that he wouldn't lie about something like that.

"well, if you're feeling like it then," you whispered, your lips bumping into his as you spoke, "you should kiss me again."

"demanding," kaji huffed out, though he hoisted you up onto the counter anyways without breaking a sweat, a small, but cocky smile on his face when you grabbed onto his shoulders for dear life.

"oh my god, at least warn me!" you complained. maybe you really should have kept an eye on the door, but with his figure before you, and slotted between your legs and the his hand gently coaxing you forward by the nape of your neck, it was hard to care.

"you have way too much energy to yap in the morning," he chided indignantly, but the way he was already leaning up suggested otherwise.

"hey, you're the one who–!"

"morning, (name)! did kaji already pop by– oh,"

"w-w-we'll just– uh– s-see you at school, k-kaji!?" enomoto managed to croak out before they both scurried away with mildly red faces, reminding you less of the teenage gang members they were and more of children.

you almost fell off the counter, had it not been for kaji's reflexes, but the damage had been done, and the lollipop he'd entrusted you with fell to the floor with a dull thud as enomoto and kusumi blinked at the two of you with horrified expressions.

"hey boys," you greeted casually with a wave.

"oh my, we've made a scandal, darling," you joked– regrettably, or so you thought later in the day when the rest of the tamon team's second years started cooing at at poor kaji. perhaps it was a lesson to not be so energetic in the mornings from then on.

[yvesdot]

[image description: a photo of the UCSC Quarry filled with students protesting for Palestine. Some hold a sign in the background reading GAZA GENOCIDE Funded by U.S. The beginnings of an encampment can be seen.]

As of 5/1/2024, UC Santa Cruz students have now officially set up their own encampment in support of Palestine.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP STRIKING STUDENTS:

Supply Drop-Off | Community Agreements | Donate Funds (alt.)

****

SOURCES:

[KSBW] [Lookout] [Marisol LeBrón's photographs of the encampment]

[original ucscsjp instagram post] [UCSC FJP statement]

[source on Venmo links]

****

CONTINUE TO SUPPORT GAZAN FAMILIES EVACUATING!

[sableeira]

this is the same man btw. what is in that poison? gay juice?

[riverswater]

she loved me, yes, that I'm still loving her.

1. Mahmoud Darwish // 2. The Separation, Edvard Munch // 3. Holding On To Heartache, Louis Tomlinson // 4.+5. The Banshees Of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh // 6. The Voice I Owe to You (#63), Pedro Salinas // 7. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Michel Gondry // 8. Poem for a Blue Page, Natasha Rao // 9. Feeling Your Absence, Mathilde Roussel-Giraudy // 10. White Ferrari, Frank Ocean // 11.+12. Silueta Series, Ana Mendieta // 13. There Is No Absolution For The Fallen, Only Dying, P.D.

[sysig]

Rainbows (Patreon)

[cocogum]

What do y’all have against Amalia, man???

First it’s Sipho who’s telling her how he’s genuinely confused that Yugo can love her and now it’s Qilby?? (even tho he at least admitted she was pretty unlike that ugly lizard Sipho). Literally what is going on??

Since when did people around Yugo think it was weird for him to like sassy flowers???

[s-sextape]

i am writing an accidental haiku to attract haiku bot