#(except the developers and house-flippers; fuck them)

[marzipanandminutiae]

still not over the absolutely braindead take that "if you say brutalism looks dystopian, you care more about your aesthetic than people having homes!!!!"

like

can't criticize Shein or you must want their workers to be unemployed

oh you don't like that restaurant? guess you want the people eating there to STARVE

fuck both roses AND bread; nutrient-dense gray EnergyCubes would keep you alive so wishing for a better sensory experience is basically capitalist bootlicking

(I agree that considering Soviet-era brutalist apartment buildings in the context of "shit we need housing; put something up quick" is important for those specific structures- though I think that can coexist with "wow that's ugly" -but. this person did not stop there)

[crystalrose555]

Don’t make me slap you pt. 5

Reblog if you want more!!!

Mochi released a drawn out yawn as her eyes fluttered open. She rolled off her back only to discover that she was floating in a body of water. With a splash, she was upright in a decent sized inflatable pool in a bedroom with leafy vines and foliage spread throughout. She snorted as she looked around, looking for any potential danger before she pulled herself out of the makeshift pool and onto the surprisingly plush floor. Turned out she landed on a thick beach towel that lined the pool’s border. 

Mochi shook her head in disbelief as she focused on the room and looked for a way out. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any windows except for the skylight above her that reflected a night sky, thus leaving her the door frame that was lined with cutesy thick curtains. If she had eyebrows, one of them would be raised out of reaction to the questionable design choices but she shook that from her mind as she bounced her way out of the room. She had to find a window, she had to figure out where in the world she was since she failed to take in her surroundings due to her sudden kidnapping and forceful relocation by the mysterious men.

Mochi grumbled to herself, thinking about how she should have taken at least one of them out to better her chances but as she bounced down the hallway, it began to sink in how that wouldn’t have turned out well. However, she still toyed with the idea that if she could have taken out the big guy in the red coat, she would be the one in charge. She snickered in her mind as she quietly made her way to the stairs. Her heart sank inside her chest as she noticed how steep the staircase was. She knew if she iced the entirety of the stairs to slide down it would take a lot out of her and she would overheat but she was definitely not a fan of the second option. Her third choice crawled into her head but she knew that she had to keep that one hidden no matter the cost, at least until the odds were in her favor. So she went with option two.

She scrunched her head and neck into her body and condensed herself into a ball, tucking her flippers in and lining her side with the edge of the stairs. Then taking a deep breath to inflate her blubbery body rounder, she closed her eyes and rocked herself to tumble down the stairs. With each step, her pudgy body bounced harder and faster. She held her breath and prayed for the stairs to end. However, she didn’t account for the amount of momentum she built as she reached the landing and crashed into the waiting wall. 

The hanging portraits and paintings rattled and shook from the force as Mochi tried to get her head to stop swirling. Once she shook off her dizziness, a large painting slipped from its spot on the wall and bounced off her plentiful blubber, leaving it leaning against the wall over her body. Mochi released an audible sigh as she developed a minor headache, wishing she had something to relieve it.

“What the hell was that?”

Mochi tensed immediately as she pulled herself together and balled up behind the sizable painting. The sound of footsteps grew closer as Mochi remained as still as she could, cursing herself for attracting unwanted attention. 

“Looks like a painting fell from the wall.”

“Well that would explain the thump but what about the squeaking noises?”

“Guys, I just checked Mochi’s room and she’s missing.” Asmo pointed out.

“The beast is loose!?”

Mochi rolled her eyes as Satan sighed.

“Mammon, you really need to calm down.”

“Oi, you calm down when she tries to bite you.”

“Whatever, let's just split up and find her.”

“Why should we? The blubber bucket is Levi’s responsibility, I say we don’t do jack.”

“Scummy as usual, besides if she gets eaten by Beelzebub then we all get in trouble.”

Mammon grumbled as the sound of footsteps echoed away. Mochi remained still and refused to move, she felt as if she wasn’t alone. Mammon, on the other hand, refused to move the landing.

“Why do I have to find the stupid seal? Besides, how far can something that fat go? It’s probably stuck somewhere.” He commented as he checked his phone.

Mochi wanted to hold in her growl but pieces leaked out the corner of her mouth. Cold escaped her body from her current aggression of being insulted.

“Huh?”

Mammon turned his attention back to the painting which seemed to be icing over to the point of being a solid rectangle of ice. Mammon backed away with his eyes wide and his cheeks puffed from a stifled laugh.

“No fucking way she can be that fucking dumb?” Mammon snorted out.

That was it, Mochi had enough of his mouth. With all the power she could muster, she bounced out of the corner of the landing and launched herself down the stairs on top of the frozen painting, riding it to the bottom but not before running Mammon over with her icy chariot. The further she went, the more joyous she felt. While keeping her balance, she raised herself up enough to clap and laugh at Mammon’s dumbfounded misfortune. By the time she reached a lower floor, her joy exploded at the thought of breaking out. However, it was short lived as her momentum dragged to a crawl. She lost her smooth patch of ice from knocking it against the stairs but she was on her way out and that’s what counted.

Mochi bounced down the hall softly, making sure she remained in the corner out of sight. She finally got a glimpse of the outside through a window but all she saw was night time and an eerie looking tree with a number of dark birds flying around. She trembled at the thought of being outside. However, that no longer mattered upon hearing the growing swears of a recovered Mammon. She bounced faster, looking for a room to dip into to avoid him.

“Mochi, where are you~”

She froze, realizing that someone was close by and actively looking for her. Quickly she hid behind one of the hallway decorations and peaked to see a puzzled Asmodeus looking around.

“Hmm, where did she go?” He questioned out loud.

Mochi gave a small snort, figuring Asmodeus was no better than Mammon since he also wanted to make a coat out of her. She, however, remained silent as she looked around for a new hiding place. 

“Oh, I know, I’ll get Beel to sniff her out!” He excitedly claimed as he began to text his brother.

Her fur suddenly stood on end as the name of Beelzebub rang in her brain. For her, his eyes and hunger reminded her of sharks and leopard seals whom she could take on in the water anyday. However, she was out of her element and she needed to get to it. She waited till Asmodeus walked past her and down the hall before she bolted towards an open area. Confused by her name being called throughout the house, she picked a random hallway that wasn’t calling her. She could feel fatigue picking at her since she used a good amount of her energy on the stairs and Mammon but her hope was rearing its head as she heard water.

Hoping it was outside, she went faster only to end up in a dead end. The room was lined with windows with a fountain in the center. She sighed in disappointed relief, at the very least she found water to refresh herself. While approaching the fountain, she took in the planets and stars on the ceiling. It would be nice if she wasn’t running for her life. However, her hope was short-lived as she felt her back flippers being pulled by a pissed off Leviathan. 

“I am not missing the Ruri-chan semi-seasonal virtual VIF conference! So get back in your room, you stupid seal!”

His serpent tail, glowing orange eyes and his pointed coral like horns would strike fear in any mortal but Mochi was no mere mortal as her own anger had reached its peak. Like a rubberband pulled past its breaking point, the room was filled with a sharp slap noise. Levi stared in astonishment, not only was he slapped in his face but it wasn’t by a flipper. There in front of him was a young ample woman with fierce purple eyes and frown on her face. Pearls seemed to drip from her fluffy black aquamarine hair as she covered her naked front with what looked like Mochi's fur. However, before his brain could process, he found himself being pulled down to the level of his short attacker.

“Haven’t anyone ever told you not to pull a lady by her flippers, ‘cause it fucking hurts!” She hissed.

"W-Wa-"

"And the next one of you to call me stupid is going to get their brain rattled! You got that, Geek Boy!?"

"Wa-Waaaaaaah!?"

[wesleyv21-blog]

Galapagos: Been there, done that(;

Hello once again!

Quito has never felt quite like home until now. After about 6 hours total of travel (including the hour I lost due to the time difference) from the Galápagos back to the Andes, I’m very glad to be back home-loosely speaking. There’s so much to tell yet so much that words can’t express, but I’ll give it my best shot to review everything that was our excursion to Guayaquil and the famous Galápagos Islands.

Last Wednesday we flew from Quito to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. Nicknamed the Pearl of the Pacific for its beauty and the pride of its inhabitants, Guayaquil is the financial hub of Ecuador and really always has been. It’s named after the legendary figures of Guayas and Quil, an indigenous couple who according to legend led the resistance against the Spanish in what is now the area around the city. It was damn beautiful—and hot as hell compared to Quito! Upper 80s with 100% humidity and no clouds! Our first stop was the centrally-located Parque Histórico, where we took a tour of the zoological/botanical gardens that featured animals and plants from all over Ecuador. Crocodiles, otters, parrots, mangroves, monkeys—it was pretty cool! After that, we ate lunch on the famous Malecón (Boardwalk) that sits right on the River Guayas. Then, we toured an art museum that housed an impressive collection of pre-Columbian art from all around Ecuador. Ecuador is home to the first culture in South America to make pottery (the Valdivia culture). The Ecuadorian coast can also boast to be the home of the Manta-Wantawillka culture, the best and only ocean navigators in the southeastern Pacific. In addition, the infamous Spondylus shells are found in the depths off the Ecuadorian coast. These shells were traded as far north as Baja California and as far south as Chile and formed an important part of the economies of various ancestral societies. Alas, our time in Guayaquil was limited to a day, but what a day we spent! It’s a beautiful city that doesn’t have a tradition of tourism interestingly enough, yet I couldn’t recommend it more.

Thursday was the big day, the one we were all looking forward to: the arrival in las Islas Encantadas, the Galápagos Islands. The word “Galápagos” comes from old Spanish and means a saddle; it originally referred to the various species of tortoises that inhabit the islands and then came to refer to the islands themselves. We spent Thursday and Friday in San Cristobal, the capital and home of the oldest human settlements on the islands. Unlike mainland Ecuador, there is no history of ancestral communities living on the islands. Even though the Manta-Wantawillka were the first to discover the islands, they didn’t settle them because they’re very inhospitable. Only 2 islands have natural sources of fresh water. Only 4 are inhabited. I never knew the meaning of “desert island” until I came here. Yet they’re a curious mix of tropical, desert, and high altitude. On the same island (such as San Cristobal or Santa Cruz), you can encounter 5 different micro-climates, each with their own vegetation, animal life, and weather. And then there are the islands that look like they’re otherworldly, such as Bartolomé or Baltra. Bartolomé is red and rocky with an occasional cactus sprouting out of the lava flows and this scraggly grey lichen sprawled out over the entire surface of the island. Baltra has completely red soil, like deep red soil, and the same grey lichen except in much vaster quantities. There are also ruined buildings all over the island—probably dating from the WWII U.S. military base—which give the island an Old West-type feel.

But anyway, Thursday we spent on San Cristobal. We checked into our hotel and chilled the rest of the day, heading down the boardwalk to the beach and swimming with sea lions (which are called lobos marinos in Spanish, or sea wolves, which to me makes a whole lot more sense than sea lions). Sea lions are literally everywhere on San Cristobal—on the benches, on the beaches, on the sidewalk, on the outdoor patios of the restaurants, sometimes on the street. They’ll chase you sometimes if you get too close—as some of the students found out! The way human settlements work on the Galápagos is that 97% of all the territory of the islands is reserved as the national park, leaving 3% for human development. San Cristobal boasts a population of about 8,000 people; Santa Cruz is the biggest in population with around 18,000. So yea, Thursday we spent exploring and swimming and trying to avoid sunburn (which would prove a losing battle the entire trip, as there was hardly ever a cloud in the sky all the days we were there. The sun would be roasting us from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. every day).

On Friday we took a boat out to a tiny rock called León Dormido to go snorkeling! This was the first time I had ever gone snorkeling and it was amazinggggggg. We wore wetsuits, flippers, and masks—the whole outfit lol. The current around this rock was such that you could just float effortlessly while looking at all the wildlife literally right below you. We swam with schools of fish, sea lions, sharks, and even sea turtles! It was absolutely incredible to be only 10 feet from all these animals you see at the aquarium or on TV. One of the students brought a GoPro camera and got the whole experience—including the animals—on video! After eating lunch on the boat and taking a wonderful nap in the sun (which I later came to regret due to sunburn), we returned to San Cristobal to hear a talk by a local political activist about the tourism industry and local relations of power. This to me is far more interesting than the wildlife, although it’s never emphasized. The activist told us that some people come to the Galápagos not realizing that people actually live on the islands lol, which is indicative of the image projected to the rest of the world. There’s basically 4 entities that run the islands. There’s the Charles Darwin Research Station, which has the most funds of any of the entities I’ll discuss and enjoys the most privileged access to all of the islands—such unrestricted access that not even the local politicians or national park people have. Their agenda, which is ostensibly one of conservation and study, often prevails over the local interests of the people who inhabit and try to make a living on the islands. Second, there’s the Parque Nacional Galápagos, which is the administrative body of the national park aspect of the islands and is overseen principally by the Ministry of the Environment. Their agenda often meshes with that of the Charles Darwin Station, yet the key difference is the amount of money the two have. Whereas the Parque Nacional is funded by the state (meagerly), the Charles Darwin Station is an NGO affiliated with the Charles Darwin Foundation, which receives much more money from international donors. Third, there is the political system on the islands which includes local governments for each of the 4 inhabited islands as well as an overarching political body. Whereas the local governments are elected directly, the Minister of the Galápagos is appointed by the president and thus often a) is corrupt, b) is unpopular, c) does not govern with the interests of the local population in mind, or d) some combination of a, b, and c. Finally, there is the tourism industry, which really comprises two sets of individuals and companies: local and foreign. The foreigners are technically not allowed to operated in the islands by law, yet one always sees the fleets of international cruise ships circling the islands like vultures with their tourists on board. The corrupt politicians allow the international cruise lines to operate illegally, and the fucked up thing is that the conservationist agenda usually goes along with it because the rhetoric of tourism in the Galápagos is ostensibly to minimize the environmental impact of tourists by having them take up as little space as possible for as little time as possible. So, it’s very common for a trip to the Galápagos to be spent almost entirely on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship or another similar one, which then lays anchor at various ports only long enough for tourists to disembark to take pictures, buy things, eat, etc.

We’re not taking this route obviously. In fact, this piece is important for yall to know in case you ever want to come to the Galápagos or have friends/family who do. It’s vital that visitors to the islands DO NOT rely on big-name, international travel agencies to visit the islands. In addition to the environmental impact these companies leave behind, they siphon money out of the local economy. Only 1/3 of the money spent in the Galápagos stays in the pockets of the local galapagueños. Even though the islands are the richest province in Ecuador, they should be a lot better off. Instead, their environment and their jobs get auctioned off to foreign companies because of corrupt politicians and because tourists don’t know any better and go with the household names over the local establishments and tours. The latter is wayyy more fun, trust me. And part of the fun lies in knowing that I’m contributing to a responsible tourist ethos. I came into this trip thinking that tourism was inherently exploitative. Now I understand that that’s not the case. However, when big transnational companies appropriate the livelihood of the local population, that’s when tourism becomes a problem. Now yall know and can plan a smart, eco-friendly, and relatively sustainable trip to these magical islands.

On Saturday we arrived on Santa Cruz, the biggest island population-wise and the tourism hub. We stayed on land and checked out the Center of Environmental Interpretation, a system of trails with cool information about the formation of the islands as well as sociological information about the human aspect of the islands. We hiked up breathtaking (literally and figuratively) trails and spied frigate birds, boobies, big spiders, marine iguanas, giant cactuses, etc. I found out that the colonists as the residents are called have their residency pretty much for life; the only way they can lose it is by failing to renew it once every 10 years or so. Yet obtaining residency in the first place is tricky: one must marry someone with residency or be born to parents who have residency. Living on the islands is so exclusive so as not to upset the delicate ecosystems or overburden the economy. This whole time we had been eating fabulously. I’ve never had seafood so fresh in my life. Lobsters, tuna, shrimp—out of this world delicious. At dinner some of us met this random U.S. dude touring the islands after having just graduated college. He rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning, but then he mentioned how he really wanted to try ayawaska recreationally. Ayawaska, or ayahuasca, is an entheogen that combines two vines found in the Amazon—one contains a neurotransmitter released at birth and at death, and the other contains an enzyme that allows for the metabolization of the neurotransmitter. This combination is distilled into a drink and taken by shamans (yachakuna in Kichwa, where the term ayawaska comes from) of various Amazonian nations in order to divine the future, receive instructions or warnings, or cope with loss or other powerful life events/emotions. It is a sacred plant, and partaking in an ayawaska ritual requires years of dedication, preparation, and for outsiders, trust and bonds of communion with a local population. It cannot be taken recreationally, and the fact that this tourist expressed an interest in doing so even after one of us pointed all the above out to him just really irritated me. However, it’s important I use him as an example and continuously strive to root out my own ignorance and prejudices toward cultures different than my own.

Sunday was the best snorkeling day by far. We took a boat from Santa Cruz to the little island of Bartolomé, which is home to perhaps the most iconic image of the islands (Google Galápagos and you’ll probably see it, or check out my Facebook as I posted a picture of it). Bartolomé is so inhospitable that it’s been used as a site to film movies that take place on Mars. There’s dried lava plumes, ridges, cliffs, and tunnels everywhere, and the sparse vegetation only adds to the merciless landscape. With no trees and no clouds to shade us, we were sizzling as we climbed up to the summit to look down on the bay. But it was all worth it once we jumped in the water! We snorkeled and swam with penguins! The second smallest species in the world. They were adorableeee! And they zoomed in the water right past us as we snorkeled! We also saw numerous sharks lurking on the seafloor, as well as seastars and tons of fish. There’s this giant fish called a parrotfish that is as brightly colored as its namesake. They are absolutely breathtaking. And the water was a bright turquoise—I’ve only ever seen water that beautiful in the movies haha. We also ate lunch on the boat (an incredible experience), and on the way back to Santa Cruz (about a 2 hour ride), I sat up top with the captain and jammed out to his playlist of reggeaton classics while the wind whipped my hair and the sun beat down on my back. Simply beautiful.

Monday was our last full day. We visited two sinkholes that are named Los Gemelos (the Twins) because they’re right next to each other. They were pretty cool but uneventful haha. Then we visited the famous Charles Darwin Research Center. We toured the tortoise breeding program and saw baby tortoises! They were absolutely the cutest things ever—only like the size of your hand, moving all around their enclosures exploring to their precious little hearts’ content, and eating leaves like you’ve never seen anything eat a leaf. The day passed far too quickly and left us all with sadness and nostalgia. We played classic group games like Hot Seat and the question game and games of that sort through the night. As we were leaving today, I couldn’t help but feel that this is an adios and not a chao—a goodbye forever and not an “until next time.” I certainly would love to return but I just don’t see how I’ll ever be able to for the rest of my life. Then again, I’m one of the 1% of the world population who has ever visited the islands. And what a fulfilling trip it was. Still though, returning to Quito has filled me with a profound sadness. It’s not just leaving behind such a paradise and knowing that I’ll never be able to recreate that experience in the same way. It’s also returning to the daily grind of classes and homework. But even more than that—being in an airport for the first time since January has filled me with homesickness for one of the really only times so far. I can’t really explain why beyond that just physically being in an airport made me recall the flight to the unknown that took place what feels like eons ago. The domestic and international arrivals share the same exit point, so I was literally back in the same place I was when everything was so new and I didn’t know anybody or anything. It was a weird feeling.

So, there ya have it—the Galápagos episode over and done with. These words fail to do justice to the sights, smells, sounds, emotions, and thoughts that comprised this trip. I encourage yall to go and see for yourselves, because the Enchanted Islands will certainly enchant you—as they have done me.