You’re In Love And You Go…..

no revenge because I forgot what you did #memoryloss

did you know that the well-known factoid that male anglerfishes degenerate after attachment until they’re basically just a pair of testes is false? i knew of course that they don’t just become “growths” on the female because I’ve handled dozens of attached pairs and every male I’ve ever seen has been very much obviously a whole and complete second fish, but I sort of assumed there was internal degeneration, perhaps muscle atrophy, etc. i can’t believe no one ever corrected me on this but this just doesn’t happen. in obligatorily parasitic species, the male actually continues to grow and increases considerably in size after he attaches to the female, because the two of them can only reach sexual maturity together. me, an octavia butler fan: is this the height of romance??

what is true is that attached males do have hugely enlarged testes proportionate to the rest of their bodies & organs, and that they receive all nutrition from the female’s bloodstream so their stomachs are always empty, though their own gills seem to still be functional, as are their fins and muscles—you can even induce movement and swimming motions on recently dead attached males. I can only assume that at some point someone said that basically the only biological function a male anglerfish needs to perform is sperm production and this got taken out of context and luridly exaggerated over time. he’s not just a pair of testicles! he’s her forever partner! one flesh one end!

he looks like a-luo... he looks like a-luo!

(from the return to childhood extra)

just got a second official warning for my use of "from the river to the sea, palestine will be free" on the OTW volunteer slack

people are also currently asking board to ban saying that the founding of israel was colonialism—equating this to saying racial slurs—and were complaining about my status back when it was "palestine will be free", too

suffice to say, fuck that place, don't give the OTW your money, and don't fucking volunteer there

(the second screenshot is from the warning I got a few days ago)

writing prompts for the soul

-“i’ve been on this claw machine for 5 minutes straight feeding it dollar after fuckin dollar and i just went to get some change and YOU swoop in and steal my fucking prize in one shitty go and i hope you feel my eyes burning holes in the back of your head” au

-“i’ve been in love with you since we were kids and im unhealthily reliant on music so i absently make mixtapes that remind me of you but i’m also a massive wimp so i just let these labelled tapes collect in a desk drawer next to my computer and when you come over one day i go to get a drink and come back to see you with these tapes scattered in front of you and whoops look at the time it seems like the perfect hour to confess my undying love” au

-“i have literally never laid eyes on you before in my life and i see you and these people and one of them calls you an insulting name and i step in to try and defend you only to discover the rude one is your sibling and you always joke around and do you have time to help me bury myself” au

-“your shitty child is screaming enough on this plane to sound like they’re hacking up a lung and oh my god im so tempted to slam myself through a window but im a naturally intimidating-looking person so i just give the monkey a glare stony enough to startle medusa herself and they start LAUGHING and i dont think ive been equally embarassed and relieved in my life” au

-“before this i have never felt attraction to anything and have always been the reliable stoic shitbag of my friend group but i see you in this outfit that literally says ‘fuck you, gender roles’ and im pretty sure im going into cardiac arrest” au

-“i live in a rlly high apartment in a city and you’re the window cleaner who decides to come wash my windows and you’re literally gorgeous but you seem to be afraid of heights and im starting to think you might need to consider a change of career” au

-“i work in a tech store and there’s tvs that are always on and for whatever reason you always come in to subtly watch one and when i ask a co-worker they say you’ve been doing it for months and i approach and find out that your asshole cat keeps breaking your shit and im sorry for laughing but holy fuck” au

Cats Stealing Food in Paintings

Still Life with Cat (1705) by Desportes, It's no use crying over spilt milk (1880) by Frank Paton, Still Life of the Remnants of a Meal with a Lunging Cat (18th Century) by Alexandre-François Desportes, Fish Still Life with Two Cats (1781) by Martin Ferdinand Quadal, Still Life with a Cat and a Mackerel on a Table Top (18th Century) by Giovanni Rivalta, The Collared Thief (1860) by William James Webbe, Cat Stealing a String of Sausages (17th Century) by Abraham van Beyeren, Still Life with a Cat (1760) by Sebastiano Lazzari, Kitchen Still Life with Fish and Cat (ca. 1650) by Sebastian Stoskopff, An Oyster Supper (1882) by Horatio Henry Couldery, Still Life with an Ebony Chest (17th Century) by Frans Snyders, Still Life with a Cat (1724) by Alexandre-Francois Desportes, A Cat Attacking Dead Game (18th Century) by Alexandre-François Desportes, Still Life of Fresh-Water Fish with a Cat (1656) by Pieter Claesz, Still Life with Fruits and Ham with a Cat and a Parrot (18th Century) by Alexandre-Francois Desportes, A Cat Holding a Fish in Its Mouth (18th Century) by Sebastiano Lazzari, Still Life with a Cat and a Hare (18th Century) by Desportes, Still Life with Cat and Rayfish (1728) by Jean-Siméon Chardin, A Cat with Dead Game (1711) by Alexandre-Francois Desportes, Still Life with Cat and Fish (1728) by Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin

Via James Lucas on X/Twitter

women!!!! my photo of a rare orchid is "research-grade" on inaturalist. please send letters and tiny portraits of yourself to my rare orchid castle and i and my attendant cadre of male homosexuals will convene to choose for me a suitable bride