[thelonely-shepherd]

i really like him

[thelonely-shepherd]

hamerkop

[birds-in-posts]

Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)

[guooey]

New bunny just dropped (prairie chicken)

[all-mammal-creechur]

Big Bonneted Bat Eumops dabbenei

Also known as Dabbene's mastiff bat, it is native to South America. Big bonneted bats are insectivorous, and roost in hollow trees and artificial structures such as houses. They have been reported to emit audible "piercing shrieks" when they are foraging for food.

img source

[cinnamonthebunbun]

[dailycatsblog]

[teaboot]

When I was visiting historical churches out east I remember taking 1-2 pictures of the architecture, but also lots and lots of photos of the stray cats.

And I remember people laughing at me, cause we’d be in like. Buildings and ruins that were THOUSANDS of years old, so of course here’s this uncultured little millennial idiot taking photos of CATS of all things.

But some of them actually asked me WHY, and to them, I’d explain:

Look. This place has been here thousands of years. People more skilled than me have taken photos and drawn pictures from every conceivable angle for generations, and if the place itself doesn't outlive me, then those have no hope either.

But this stray cat, napping on a statue? This kitten staying cool on the old box fan? They’re only here for a blink. They may not even be here in six months, never mind millennia.

And sure, I could take photos for ME, but holy sites feel wrong for me to snap selfies in in a way I don’t really know how to describe as an agnostic. Like cracking jokes at á funeral.

Structures don’t have feelings. They’re important, but nothing I do here has anything to do with ME.

But me and this cat? This wormy little stray that’ll probably give me ticks if I pet it bare-skinned? She and I are the same here. We’re both short-lived, and fleeting, and capable of both love and comfort. And we’re both just kind of HERE, through no choice of our own.

So I do that at every important historical place I go now. Because other people are doing plenty to preserve THAT, but me? This little guy? The grifters selling tickets and overpriced chachkis outside? We existed too. And what’s preserving us?

Who’s going to remember THEM?

And if I can remember them like this, if I can pass their memory on forwards, then maybe that act of remembrance will keep me going, too. Because once upon a time, a nameless, faceless person lost to history believed a worthless and common cat was worth treasuring, even in the shadow of humanity’s greatest feats.

And I hope that people will continue this, long into the future. I hope as long as the earth exists, people work to remember the little creatures.

Because more than art, or lineage, or history of rule, I want people of the future to know that compassion, love, and pure childish whimsy are our connecting constants.

If I could connect anything, any message from the beginning of our species to the end, it would be that We Were Here, We Loved, and we were Absurd, just like you.

[basic-banshee]

I keep using my girlfriend with unusual work hours to get out of coworker interactions and happy hours and hanging out.

But now the company holiday party is upon us.

And I’ve been lying about the girlfriend.

I suddenly really empathise with the characters in Hallmark Christmas movies.

[basic-banshee]

I like that people have two reactions to this post.

Reasonable: “just say she couldn’t make it!”

Chaotic: FAKE DATING AU

Well, which one is it going to be?

[basic-banshee]

And so it begins

having the DMV area Craigslist bookmarked has never come in handy before but now

[basic-banshee]

Update, Craigslist has flagged my post as inappropriate.

[basic-banshee]

Apparently you can’t solicit a date as a “gig”

I now see my mistake

[basic-banshee]

Update: a date has been acquired. This is true lesbian solidarity in action.

[justluckyiguess]

My wife has now read this and wonders how baby gays are even meeting and mating

[basic-banshee]

Can confirm I am meeting and mating just fine 😂

[basic-banshee]

By the way I’m in a relationship with this woman now

[cooliopumpkin]

[basic-banshee]

This is the feedback I’ve been looking for

[charlesoberonn]

[hearted-words]

Tumblr meets Hallmark

[eminemisnotverytalented]

[catshatefire]

This whole fucking post is a rollercoaster

[what-even-is-thiss]

You know how it is with Skyrim

[knightofleo]

[mananabuffins]

I've never seen a more deserved cat slap

[teaboot]

Oh he had SO MANY WARNINGS

[somecunttookmyurl]

i can tell i’m sleep deprived bc i just made myself cry about tutankhamun and i have, like, negative interest in the kid

[somecunttookmyurl]

have now made the rest of the discord cry about this little boy who had multi-coloured ducks sewn onto a tunic that he loved so much he wore it to a Very Important Event because he was EIGHT and have you SEEN my DUCKS

[somecunttookmyurl]

sorry no i’m not done i’m gonna make you all cry some more i’m bringing you down with me

there was once a little boy.

he is born disabled. his body hurts, and he can’t walk properly the way the other children do. he doesn’t understand why. he’s a little boy. but he plays with wooden boats and pulls toys on a string.

somebody makes him a tunic. they sew ducks onto it in red and green and yellow and blue. the bright colours of a child.

the little boy is eight years old, and he’s going to be king now. there’s a big ceremony about it. he doesn’t really fully understand what’s going on, because he’s eight, but he wears the tunic with the brightly coloured ducks for the occasion because he loves it. look at his ducks! aren’t they great?

he is a child. the adults around him manipulate and coax him to gain more power for themselves. he still plays with toys.

as a teenager, not yet an adult, he fathers children. they do not survive. he’s not even old enough to have full agency in his job and is still being manipulated, but he had babies and they died.

he does not make it to his twenties. at eighteen or nineteen years old he dies, and is buried. his babies, so tiny, are buried with him.

and so is his tunic with the little ducks that he loved so much he kept it long after it no longer fit.

there was once a little boy.

[somecunttookmyurl]

yeah i think that like. especially with historical figures in your mind people who were kings and queens or important nobles were adults. even if you know how old they were it doesn’t really click. it doesn’t seem real

but then you get something like a little tunic with brightly coloured ducks on it and it hits you like a fucking truck that this really was a little kid and no matter how far removed you are a little kid is still a little kid. their brains didn’t develop any quicker back then. he was just as developed/mature mentally as any 8 year old now. he had cartoonish animals on his clothes and he played with toy boats and probably terrorised the local cat population.

tutankhamun was a child and he didn’t make it to adulthood because he was unfortunate enough to be a very important child

his dad died when he was 8. he saw his own babies die when he was still just a boy himself.

but he had brightly coloured little ducks on his favourite shirt, and he kept it.

[somecunttookmyurl]

and he did not just keep the duckie shirt either

tutankhamun had a little pair of sandals with ducks on them. he had earrings decorated with ducks. he kept those, and other items of childhood clothing. some toys. keepsakes. things he loved, and treasured. he kept them all in a little wooden chest. the chest… was carved with ducks.

and that little duck chest, filled with things he kept from his childhood, was buried with him. maybe he was keeping them for the little babies who did not make it. maybe they just reminded him of good days and fun times.

but he was a little boy who thought ducks were just the best

[somecunttookmyurl]

WITH PLEASURE

(greyscale makes it hard but the duck head is on the right above the toe strap. always takes me a while to find it too)

[beggars-opera]

[libriamore]

Ok but this is how to teach history. This is how you get people to pay attention, to care. Find something small and make it personal, then zoom out to the wider context. History is best taught as a story, with people who lived their lives in ways that came together to create something remarkable that we still talk about today, but who were still just human at the end of the day. They kissed, argued, cried, and dreamed just like we do. And sometimes they really liked ducks.

[cinnamonthebunbun]

[cinnamonthebunbun]

[marinella-ela]

[sushigrade]

[canadian-kazoo-god]

[cinnamonthebunbun]

[cinnamonthebunbun]

[cinnamonthebunbun]

[cinnamonthebunbun]

[jaubaius]

[aeforvirra]

Aw he’s just looking for love

[oarfjsh]

are you his beautiful wife? you are not his beatiful wife? sad snooting