#(they're a migratory species)

[funkylittlebats]

I've been writing more again recently and I've been rereading some of my old stuff and I kinda wanna share some of it. But first,

I'd also have to come up with a tag for them so they're all searchable (to the extent that you can search tags on tumblr)

Here's a cute bat for your time

[lakesbian]

animorphs is funny because the kids spend almost the entire series turning into birds of prey to fly in virtually every scenario while complaining about how they have to space themselves out so it doesn't look suspicious that all these rare raptors are grouped together, about how birds of prey often have to do a lot of hard flapping work to fly in some situations they're not meant for, about tiring out easily, etc. to the point where it starts getting weird and confusing that they literally always use those bird morphs instead of thinking to turn into e.g. migratory geese for certain situations as per their general capacity for pragmatism. and then in literally one of the last books in the series some of them turn into geese to fly long distance and spend the entire time going "wtf this is great why the fuck didnt we do this earlier holy shit." and also the answer to that question is at least in part "one of the animorphs is just literally on all levels including physical a hawk that gets snooty about bird species he thinks suck and would have been really annoying about it"

[rebeccathenaturalist]

It may seem unthinkable to us today, but once it was normal for the response to hearing a species was in danger of extinction to be "Let's go shoot a few before they're all gone!" This wasn't just among trophy hunters and wealthy collectors who felt entitled to acquire any species they wanted regardless of the impact, but biologists, museum curators, and other naturalists of varying sorts. Today conservationists and scientists have a much more enlightened and informed view of how to respond to a species' impending extinction, but this attitude has been hard-won over the past century.

Arthur Augustus Allen may not be as well-known as John James Audubon, but this ornithologist was incredibly instrumental in getting people to stop shooting rare birds with guns--and shoot them with cameras instead. As chairman of the American Ornithological Union's Committee on Bird Protection, he used his role to establish ethical resolutions that prohibited the taking of rare birds from the wild (in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, no less) and emphasized the observation of live birds in the wild over killing more for preservation and study.

We would do well to emulate Allen's example. Today there are still greedy people who look at a forest and only see dollar signs, or whose only interest in an open area of wilderness is the mineral rights under the soil. They see a pair of antlers as a trophy (and leave the meat to rot), and consider any inconvenient animal like a gray wolf or prairie dog only fit to exterminate. Yet Allen is a symbol of resistance against the purely acquisitive, extractive approach to nature, and how education can change minds and hearts.

So to those of you working to inform the general public about the value of nature in its own right, and not just for what we can get out of it--keep up the great work! Arthur A. Allen certainly wasn't the only person who worked to get the word out about the need to protect dwindling species and their habitats, but I think his efforts deserve to be added to more popular knowledge of conservation.

[ckret2]

Chapter 66 of that fic about human Bill but he's not in this chapter so forget about him: Ford and Dipper go cryptid hunting!

This is pretty much a standalone chapter so if somehow you stumbled on this without seeing the rest of the fic, u can just, read it by itself as a standalone Dipper and Ford adventure. It's funny. Promise.

####

The camera turned on to reveal Dipper, illuminated sunset orange and cast in heavy shadows, holding the camera out at arm's length. "Welcome back to Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained, anomaly #175: the Fremont Nightwigglers!" He held up a paper title card in his free hand. "I'm Dipper Pines, and today I'm honored to introduce our special guest star—" he turned the camera around to focus on Ford from behind, "—the one and only Dr. Stanford Pines, PhD times twelve—"

Ford laughed self-consciously. "Dipper, nobody's going to recognize my name outside of a few highly specialized academic fields—"

"—the scientist who developed the Theory of Weirdness—"

"That paper isn't even ready for peer review yet, and I can't take all the credit—"

"—and the coolest dimension-hopping monster-fighting mystery-investigating great uncle in the world!"

Ford paused thoughtfully. "Okay, I'll take that one."

"Tonight, we're on the trail of the Fremont Nightwigglers." The recording cut to CCTV footage from a much higher-budget cryptid-hunting show (which Dipper had recorded by aiming the camera at the TV). The footage showed two marshmallow-like creatures that seemed to consist solely of heads, long legs, and feet—smooth, ghostly white, and featureless except for black eyes. They wore denim jeans that covered their bodies from ankles to waists, and their legs seemed to bend jointlessly, like an octopus's arms or an elephant's trunk. "These weird armless creatures have been seen up and down the west coast states, leaving behind a wave of jeans thefts at clothing stores; but by the time local law enforcement has ruled out any human suspects, the true culprits are always long gone."

The recording cut back to Dipper, who'd taken the lead so he could turn around the camera and aim it at both himself and Ford. "Based on investigative research done by Dr. Pines in the 80s, we believe the Nightwigglers have a migratory route several years long that passes through California, Oregon, Washington, and Canada. More research is needed to find out if they travel as far as Alaska or Mexico. Locals believe each Nightwiggler creates an individual burrow around a communal gathering spot to hide in during the day, and at night they assemble in the communal spot to travel or forage in nearby towns."

Ford threw in, "Based on what the townspeople told me about their habits, they've been in Gravity Falls much longer than usual. It typically takes them a week or two to pass through the area, but this year there have been sightings for more than a month. Perhaps we'll find out why."

"And thanks to a hot tip from an in-the-know local"—the recording cut to a few seconds of footage of Wendy proving she could do a handstand on the split-rail fence around the Mystery Shack—"we know which assembly spot they're currently camping around! Tonight, we're trying to get the first deliberate footage of a Nightwiggler..." Dipper lowered the camera and turned toward Ford, "Hey, what'll we call a group of them? A flock? Herd? Meeting? If we're the first investigators to officially document the species, we get to come up with the name , right?"

Ford considered the question. "What about a wobble of Nightwigglers? Since their legs are so... wobbly."

"Sure, that works."

"Is this really your 175th episode?" Ford asked. "I've missed quite a few."

"Ye—well..." Dipper lowered the camera. It recorded his shoes as he walked. "So far I've got a list of 175 anomalies I want to do an episode on, but I've only recorded and posted thirty-something. I think you've seen them all except the two I've done this summer." He sighed. "I'm... kinda disappointed by it, honestly."

"Why? You should be proud of your work so far! You're the only person in the world who's caught footage of the Hide Behind."

"By accident."

"Because you learned how to identify its call, chased it through half the forest, and were prepared with the right equipment to record it. That wasn't luck, Dipper—that was your hard work."

"I guess," Dipper said grudgingly. "I just... wanted to have a lot more produced by now."

"Wh—You started these last June? That's about one every two weeks. That's a very impressive output."

"I made most of them last summer, I hardly did any over the last school year or this summer."

"You've been focusing on your studies, that's good."

"Yeah, but what about this summer? All I've done so far is borrow some of Robbie's music video footage to make an episode about zombies and record some footage I haven't edited yet about Pacifica's alpaca thief. I didn't even get any footage of the haunted doll crane game before it disappeared. Most of the time I've been just... hiding in Soos's room playing Bloodcraft: Overdeath"—(under his breath Ford muttered "Blood-craft over death?")—"or hanging out with Wendy and her friends, or helping Soos with the Mystery Shack, or just trying to avoid..." He trailed off, suddenly conscious of the camera still aimed at the ground. It had started recording footprints drying in the mud after the recent rain: soft indents like the pads of paws, but with no distinct toes, about the size and length of human feet. Dipper lifted the camera to better record the trail they were walking down.

"Well... there's nothing wrong with taking a break during the summer," Ford said. "Especially considering that your last summer was... quite a bit more exciting than most kids'—"

"That's just it!" Dipper said. "Last summer I did so much! I investigated your disappearance, I filled half of your third journal, I helped stop the apocalypse, I wrote a book with Mabel about solving mysteries and doing fun stuff, I recorded like twenty Guides to the Unknown... Compared to that, this summer I feel like I'm—falling behind."

"Falling behind what?"

"I don't know. But—I just—I... feel like..." He trailed off with a frustrated sigh. "I don't know."

Ford offered, "Maybe, like you're not living up to your own potential?"

"Yes! That's it," Dipper said. "I'm not trying to grow up too fast, I'm just worried I'll grow up before I've done all the stuff I'm supposed to do now. Like I'm already running out of time."

"Hmm..." Ford let out a long, thoughtful sigh. "Dipper, I'm probably the wrong person to be giving this advice, considering that I'm not exactly... the paragon of moderation when it comes to pursuing professional ambitions. But—remember that you're only thirteen. Right now, you don't need to be worried about graduating valedictorian and starting up an anomaly-hunting show and doing groundbreaking research into previously-unknown strange and wondrous creatures," Ford said. "You just need to focus on graduating valedictorian first. That's all I did with my high school years, and after that I still managed to rack up multiple PhDs before age 30. You've got plenty of time!" He said this with the confidence of a man who didn't realize having his life derailed by a manipulative alien villain was the only reason he didn't burn out hard by 1984. "Outside of that, just... worry about being a kid."

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Thanks, Grunkle Ford," Dipper said. "I keep worrying, though. I keep thinking, what if I'm wasting all my time on stuff that... just... doesn't matter? What if nothing I'm doing is actually important?"

Ford was silent a moment. "That's... a very existential question for your age. How long have you been worrying—"

Dipper hissed, "Grunkle Ford!" He jerked his camera up. "Is that fire?!" There was a faint orange glow in the distance between the trees.

"I think it is!"

Dipper whispered, "That's where I found the Nightwigglers' abanadoned campsite last time!"

"Did you see any signs that they knew how to start fires? Remains of a campfire?"

"I didn't notice anything."

"It could be a Scampfire..."

As quietly as they could, Dipper and Ford edged through the trees, Dipper all the while pointing the camera toward the light, until they found a narrow gap between two trees from which they could peer into the clearing.

There were three or four dozen Nightwigglers milling about in little clusters. Several had lit torches—sturdy sticks with the ends wrapped in fabric—which they carried by sticking the ends of the torches into their jeans' pockets.

"Dipper, look at the tops of their torches," Ford hissed. "Is that shredded denim?"

The camera zoomed in on the nearest torchbearing Nightwiggler. "I think so."

"We already knew they wore clothing—but they can make tools, too? How advanced are they..."

Ford trailed off as the clustered Nightwigglers separated, spreading out evenly into several rings. As the camera recorded, they began emitting a synchronized muffled humming; and then they began dancing, kicking their legs and turning in circles together. "Whoa," Dipper whispered. "Is this some kind of ritual?"

"What's its purpose?" Ford whispered back. "Recreation? Religion? Some sort of cultural event—?"

"Hold on. I think I recognize the song."

Ford and Dipper fell silent, watching in silence as the dance repeated a couple of times.

The Nightwigglers were doing the Hokey Pokey.

"Fascinating." The camera lurched sideways, and then turned toward Ford. Ford had stolen Dipper's journal from out of his vest pocket and was hastily taking notes on a blank page. "I had no idea Nightwiggler culture was so influenced by human culture. An hour ago, we didn't even know Nightwigglers have a culture. When could they have observed and learned the Hokey Pokey? It's not exactly a nighttime dance—do they spy on humans during the day?"

Dipper said, "What if we learned the dance from Nightwigglers?"

Ford stopped writing, looked up, and stared at Dipper, mind blown.

Dipper jerked the camera back toward the Nightwigglers as they filed out of the clearing. "Hey! Where are they going now?"

Dipper and Ford waited until the last Nightwiggler had left; and then they quietly followed.

####

After several minutes of silence except for the sound of footsteps, Ford said, "Are we headed toward Mabel's Fault?"

Dipper groaned. "I got enough of this place last week."

"Agreed." 

"Hey, you know Bill said we should rename it 'Bill's Fault'?"

Ford huffed. "Did he really? I don't believe it."

"Yeah. He tried to play it off like, 'oOOoh, I just want creEDit—'"

"That sounds like him—"

They came to a stop as the camera spied the Nightwigglers standing in the clearing around the fault, then they quickly moved off the path into the brush and crept closer. "What are they doing?" Dipper asked as they inched up to the tree line.

"I don't know—they're packed too tightly together for me to see."

"I've got an idea. Hold this." The camera bounced as Dipper passed it to Ford, who watched as Dipper climbed up one of the pine trees around the clearing. 

"Careful! There aren't a lot of low branches that can hold your weight."

"It's okay, Wendy showed me how to do this." Dipper held out his hand for the camera.

Ford passed it up to him. "What do you see?"

The camera foused on Mabel's Fault. "The Nightwigglers closest to the fault are taking off their jeans, ripping them into two separate legs, and... tossing them in the fault? Have you ever heard of this?"

"Never."

"Like a dozen have done it so far."

"Perhaps that's why they have to steal so many pairs of pants? But why..."

Dipper gasped. Tiny Nightwigglers had begun squirming out of the fault, each wearing a single denim pant leg, crawling around like inchworms with half the pant leg trailing behind them. The bigger Nightwigglers picked up the little ones with their feet and swaddled them in the excess fabric. "They're—I think they're baby Nightwigglers! Coming out of the fault!"

"Amazing! Is this how they reproduce?" Ford asked. "Is that why they travel the west coast—are they following the San Andreas Fault and the volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest?"

"Maybe that's why they've been in town so long," Dipper said. "Mabel's Fault wasn't here the last time they passed through."

"We'll have to find out what other towns they stay in the longest. How far is Fremont from the fault line—?"

"Hey," Dipper said, "A bunch more Nightwigglers took their jeans off. They're tying them in a circle." One of the torchbearer Nightwigglers knelt down and bowed forward, setting the jeans ring on fire; and it was tossed into the fault. The Nightwigglers that weren't carrying infants formed a circle and began Hokey Pokeying toward the fault.

"That definitely looks like a ritual," Ford said, "but why? To celebrate the births...?"

The ground rumbled. Dipper gasped and slipped several feet down the tree before he caught himself. When he refocused the camera, Mabel's Fault was several feet wider, and a fiery glow was rising up from within.

An enormous Nightwiggler, fifteen feet tall, climbed out of the fault. It wore a crown of flaming denim and tattered pants formed by stitching together many pairs of decades-old jeans. The Nightwigglers bowed down.

"Good lord," Ford breathed. "What is that? Did they summon it, or—or was it always down there?"

The giant Nightwiggler watched regally as its subjects danced around it. As they spun around and completed another repetition of the Hokey Pokey—that's what it's all a-BOUT—the giant punctuated the end of the dance with a ground-shaking stomp.

Dipper lost his grip on the tree. He and the camera crashed to the ground with a yelp. 

"Dipper! Are you alright?!"

"Ow... fine, probably just bruised."

The camera caught Ford kneeling to help Dipper sit up, and then Dipper grabbed the camera again as he stood. He pointed it back at the clearing.

Every single Nightwiggler, babies and giant included, was staring at them with wide black eyes.

Ford said, "Uh oh."

The giant let out a bellow like a muffled hunting horn.

The Nightwigglers charged.

Dipper and Ford ran away through the brush, screaming.

####

Dipper pointed the camera at his face. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat and his cheeks and arms were covered in small branch scrapes. "Still works," he reported to Ford.

"Great," Ford said. "That thing's hardy."

The camera jerked as Dipper tried to set it on a tree stump.

"Well, we got away with our lives," he said. "But... not without some losses."

He got the camera settled and backed up. He was wearing his vest zipped up around his hips like a skirt. Ford's trench coat was conspicuously buttoned up, and his legs were bare between his coat and boots. They both looked sheepish.

Ford said, "We've acquired some invaluable anthropological data, though."

"I'm calling this investigation a triumph," Dipper said.

Ford offered a hand. "High six!"

In the background, a skinny-legged Nightwiggler wearing Dipper's shorts darted through the trees.

####

(It's about time Dipper get a little personal attention. Hope you enjoyed and I look forward to hearing y'all's thoughts!)

[wachinyeya]

A historically and culturally significant lake in California's San Joaquin Valley that first disappeared in 1898 has returned after last year's atmospheric rivers flooded the region.

Tulare Lake, known as Pa'ashi — or "big water" — to the local Tachi Yokut Tribe, was "once the largest body of freshwater west of the Mississippi River," per Earth.com.

Vivian Underhill, who published a paper on Tulare Lake as a postdoctoral research fellow at Northeastern University, noted it was mostly sustained by snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada mountains and was 100 miles long and 30 miles wide at its peak.

The lake served as a key resource for Indigenous Peoples and wildlife and was once robust enough to allow steamships to transport agricultural goods throughout the state.

However, government officials persecuted and displaced the indigenous communities in the late 1800s to convert the area for farming through draining and irrigation.

"They really wanted to get [land] into private hands so that indigenous land claims — that were ongoing at that time — would be rendered moot by the time they went through the courts," Underhill told the Northeastern Global News. "It was a deeply settler colonial project."

While Pa'ashi periodically reappeared during the 1930s, '60s, and '80s, the barrage of atmospheric rivers California experienced in 2023 revived the lake despite the region receiving just 4 inches of rain annually. According to Underhill, Tulare Lake is now the same size as Lake Tahoe, which is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide.

Its resurgence has led to the return of humid breezes at least 10 degrees cooler than average and native species, including fish, amphibians, and birds. Lake Tulare was once a stopping point for migratory birds traveling a route known as the Pacific Flyway.

"Something that continues to amaze me is — [the birds] know how to find the lake again," Underhill told the Northeastern Global News. "It's like they're always looking for it."

The Tachi Yokuts have also returned to Pa'ashi's shores, once again practicing their ceremonies and planting tule reeds and native sage.

[homunculus-argument]

I'm pretty sure I've made a post about this exact specific thing before, but I'm going to type this out anyway, because I can't get over how Tove Jansson's work depicts masculinity, and the idea of gender in general.

While she was - and still 100% is - absolutely a wlw icon (being the first woman to bring a same-sex date to Finland's annual independence day ball in the Presidental Palace), and her work doesn't focus on men or masculinity, she had no resentment towards the male sex as a whole. In her works, the male characters are mainly amusing creatures, up to their silly masculine antics that men are bound to do just the same as squirrels are bound to build their certain type of nests and migratory birds are bound to fly to the south for winter.

There are characters - whole species, in fact - that more or less represent people trying to perform their respective gender roles, like the Fillyjonk who manages to be a strictly normative Housewife without any mention of her having a husband, and the masculine counterpart of generally male hemulens. While there are both fillyjonks and hemulens that are happy being Traditionally Feminine and Traditionally Masculine, there's one short story of a fillyjonk who doesn't enjoy micro-managing an immaculate household, and another one of a hemulen who doesn't enjoy any traditionally masculine hobbies but tries to arbitrarily pick one anyway, because of societal expectations to have one.

But the thing is, the characters who don't fit into standard strict gender presentations are perfectly comfortable with themselves and neither they nor anyone else really gives a shit. Jansson was born in 1914, and it's remarkable how neutral the characters' depictions are to a modern eye. Being personally finnish and introduced to her works in a language that doesn't have gendered pronouns, I literally did not know what gender a few of the characters were before encountering their english or swedish descriptions with pronouns. And I never wondered whether they're supposed to be male or female. Hell, even the character representing the love of her life is depicted like this, and it never crossed my mind to wonder whether Too-Ticky is male or female. She's just Too-Ticky, who dispels wisdom.

But coming back to masculinity, the way Jansson depicts male characters and The Masculine Urge To Do Shit isn't depicted as either superior nor inferior to her female characters' ways of doing their own thing. Sure, men cause problems on purpose from time to time, but the narrative doesn't depict this as inherently bad any more than it is inherently good. The protagonist Moomintroll is a boy and does his best to perform some ideal of being manly, but it's depicted as a part of him trying to grow up. His father's misadventures in trying to be either a wildhearted Manly Adventurer or a Stable Provider For His Family - and the conflict between these two ideals - aren't depicted as bad things to want, or something he shouldn't want, but just an inherent part of being a man.

The protagonist's girlfriend Snorkmaiden is depicted as vain and frivolous as much as she is kind and loving, but her girlish silliness and genuinely kind heart aren't depicted as being contradictory to each other, it's just who she is as a person. The protagonist's mother, Moominmamma, is the platonic ideal of a loving and patient mother and wife, and The moomins' TvTropes page actually goes as far as describing her as fitting the definition of the platonic ideal of the perfect traditional japanese woman, being gentle, loving and hospitable, but strong and unhesitant to protect her family. She doesn't humour her husband's whims out of some schooled and practiced dedication to the role of feminine submissiveness, she puts up with his stupid shit because she loves him.

Tove Jansson was a splendid woman and her work and art are rightfully one of Finland's proudest gifts to the world, and whether she was gay or bisexual, it clearly shines through her work how as much as she loved women, she didn't dislike men. The Masculine Urge To Do Shit is aknowledged with a jovial shrug: "Yeah, they do that sometimes."

[soup-mother]

benthic zone lenin: actually migratory species that stop at vent ecosystems and then die on the seafloor (thus transfering energy from the vents to the seafloor) are a very significant source of deep sea nutrients and we shouldn't ignore their contribution to the foodweb simply because they're not whales.

[soshadysoquiet]

If TUA had bird wings indulge me:

What birds do you think TUA crew would be if they had wings of the species that best matched the combo of their personality, powers, physiology and birth country? (Just dealing with the OG 7 here)

I'm thinking:

Luther - A strong bird obvs / powerful, more known for strength than agility, maybe a Condor / Vulture - both are fairly social birds which I feel is where Luther should have been able to thrive / truly wants to be. (Also why then he would have been messed up further as a kid if the birdy-bit of him wanted to bond and was limited in this). Both species can be monogamous which fits with him and Sloane. *Then I remembered he's from Sweden and looked up Swedish birds and the biggest is the White-Tailed Sea Eagle.. Potentially could he be an Albatross?

Diego - Gotta be a bird of prey, right? I think he'd suit an ornery bird species, ideally one that's agile - I found there's a species called a Laughing Falcon and as he's always teasing and testing his siblings that sounded fun. They're typically very solitary though (fits the lone wolf vibe he rocks in S1 but are they enough of a mummy's bird for him?) The Caracara sounds like an interesting option too though and is agile and more social though less high-flying. Or should he be a water bird - the Neotropic Cormorant?

Allison - I wondered about birds that could mimic other sounds to suit her abilities in a way - like a Mockingbird, or are capable of some form of manipulation / cunning / 'acting' in a way like a Raven, Magpie or a Cuckoo (apparently American birds aren't allowed to act btw? Also never knew that there is an extinct Carolina Parakeet). But I'd also like a flashy-plumaged bird for her in a way to signify that aspect of her interests.

Klaus - Again we need a mischievous bird / and the obvious choice would be one associated with death. I do quite like a Crow for Klaus, because they're cawing often sounds like cackling laughter and humour is very much a go-to defence for him, they're also (I believe) typically smaller than say Ravens and I feel he has a less powerful build and more a nimble one. However Magpie would work well too and I worry that a 'death bird' is too obvious a choice; he could be a more flashy bird to show off his personality - the Baltimore Oriole, Indigo Bunting, or Blue Jay could be fun for him (Plus I feel Reggie would look down on frivolous birds)

Five - I feel this is a good opportunity to use an Owl species - known for their silent hunting style which works for someone who can appear and disappear at will along with his potential for being an assassin. Also they're methodical and pair / family-orientated rather than colony birds typically. The barn owl is the one that screams which lets be honest kinda fits. But they're not the most intelligent species and most Corvids would fit him well too. (Could also poke fun at him by making him a tiny aggressive bird like a Robin, or a Seagull - also with the screaming).

Ben - Loons live in Korea which I didn't know before today - and they can have a very unsettling cry if you don't know it's a bird (a sound that's often used in horror films) so that could work. Albatross is also here, and the migratory nature of them makes them feel other-worldly to me. Heron; because they lurk. Or potentially a Crane -they have elaborate courtship dances, which links nicely to the romantic /artistic side of Ben's personality.

Viktor - I kinda wanna say a Goose because you don't fuck with Geese. But then maybe a more musical bird - the Eurasian Blackcap is meant to have a beautiful song. A Bullfinch could be quite fun for Viktor because the male has bright bold colours and the female is more subdued in colouring; which could signify his confidence and happiness increasing following his transition. (Transgender peeps feel free to advise on whether this would be appropriate or not I do not mean to harm anyone)

Any other bird offerings please to say!

[fallershipping]

I've been using this map as my imagined visual of the Japanese Pokemon regions. (Kitakami is an actual real world city located south of "Sinnoh" aka Hokkaido! Actually there's a whole mountain range in that area known as the Kitakami Mountains)

Mossdeep City, the location of the Space Center is actually 1:1 where Japan's Space Center is, not kidding. A bit weird, right? While in the games, we think as Mossdeep being East of Mt. Chimney, but it's actually South of it when oriented the correct way.

Whether regions do make up an entire country when put together is not confirmed, there might not be a typical government that we see IRL, but regions that are very close to one another probably have unity in very similar cultural identities.

Anabel in my verse is Japanese, and I'm wondering about the the idea that she is Kanto born and her parents have business HQs in Kanto (Celadon City is where Tokyo City should be! Gosh, but every city in Kanto looks so small even in remakes! They need to fix this because Celadon is LITERALLY TOKYO i should know i went there) -- and while Anabel is Kanto born, she spent the majority of her life in Hoenn or at least near Hoenn with her grandparents/extended family.

Looker in my verse is European, but he speaks in a distinctly American accent... Wondering if perhaps he was born in a region equivalent to Germany or whatnot and spent a lot of time acclimating to America? Or he's only ever grown up European and he just developed an American accent for hiding identity purposes... Also! Kalos does have two regions! North and South. The mountains that border Paldea are primarily belonging to Southern Kalos. (Just wait until Legends Z-A destroys this with a random line of dialogue or random map asset.)

EDIT: The Legendary Beasts and the Kanto Birds are migratory and have been spotted all over the place! It's interesting to note that Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres go north as Professor Oak said "it is part of their migration," possibly implying they are a Japanese species. Legendary Beasts can appear in Kanto! (Don't hunt for them, FRLG Beasts have three IVs set to 0 due to a glitch they're practically useless) and additionally, Regirock/Regice/Registeel seem to have units in Sinnoh, though another Regigigas can be encountered in Hoenn. Perhaps Wherever there is a Regigigas present, there will be Regi Pokemon somewhere buried in the area?

[aahsharks]

🦈Shark Of The Week!🦈

todays very long awaited shark of the week is,,

the blacktip reef shark!! (carcharhinus melanopterus)

Physical Attributes:

they usually range from 3 to 5 ft (91 cm - 1.5 m) with females being on the larger size than males. their max length is generally around 6ft. (1.9 m) though there have been records of sizes slightly larger!

they seem to average around 30lbs (13 kg) to 50lbs (22 kg) with females being on the heavier side

like the name suggests, they have black tips on their fins that help them camouflage!

they give birth to their pups live instead of eggs, with litter sizes around 2 to 4 pups

blacktip reef sharks live around 10-12 years on average

Personality:

These cute little puppies of the pacific are inquisitive and a bit timid! their size along with their shy but curious nature means they don't pose much of a threat to humans outside of maybe startling an unsuspecting diver when the shark swims up to investigate

as with all sharks, the best way to interact with the blacktip reef shark is to admire its beauty from afar and do not touch!! they're still predators with sharp teeth after all!

Diet and Hunting:

Blacktip reef shark have a diet consisting of many kinds of small fish that vary depending on their habitat

They have the typical style of hunting most sharks have where they stalk their prey, as well as having been observed to herd schools of fish closer to shore for easier hunting!

Other Facts:

They're found in the shallow waters of the pacific and indian oceans!

Blacktip reef sharks are a migratory species who often migrate in the spring time

They're very fast! so fast i couldn't find an accurate consistent number for this fact, no thoughts only speed!

They tend to live in shallow waters, watch your ankles! they've been known to mistakenly bite people thinking their ankles are prey

[pokemonranch]

So uh. My sister (9) just found a scatterbug in the forest while we were camping despite being right outside Castilia City. I know they're a migratory species, but Unova seems too far from Kalios for this to be natural. We did check with the local center and its wild, so? She is pretty insistent in keeping it and I think our parents would be fine with it but do they have special needs we need to look out for?

Sometimes, descendants of feral 'mons can end up in wildly different habitats because of human intervention, so it's not that uncommon! We're actually dealing with a Venipede outbreak in Sinnoh; they're an invasive species introduced by trainers here.

Scatterbugs, on the other hand, are a good choice for a kid to have as a 'mon! They're really resilient and can live in a variety of climates (that's probably why you found one!), and that also means that your sister won't have a hard time providing what it needs.

They eat exclusively leafs and roots, and they get their poison from them. A mix of Wiki, Tanga, and Roseli plant leaves works best, but I've heard of Bug Catchers giving 'em shed Oddish leaves as well!

Only thing to keep in mind, be sure to not spook the 'lil guy. Their poison is not potent enough to harm humans, but it can cause numbness and possibly an allergic reaction worth a trip to the P'center!

[thegreenwolf]

Howdy! I stumbled across a broken link to your WordPress blog where you mentioned your views on people who believe their religious/spiritual practices exempt them from wildlife laws. I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts, since this is a topic I have a hard time getting through to others about. If you don't have the time (or don't want to), don't sweat it! Have a wonderful day ^-^

@raspberrysquid Well, it's something I've primarily run into in the Pagan/etc. arena. These religions, as a general rule, are recently created, though they may seek to emulate older polytheisms to varying degrees. (There are also polytheist reconstructionists who do not consider themselves under the modern Pagan umbrella for varying reasons, FTR, but that's a whole other discussion I'm not going to get into here. The Venn diagram is complex, and not everyone fits under the Big Tent, so to speak.)

The attitude I seem to run into repeatedly is the idea that Neopagan religions should be on an equal par with indigenous American religions with regards to access to restricted items such as eagle or other migratory bird feathers. For example, Lady Suzy Bunnysnuggles picks up a red-tailed hawk feather that a bird molted, and decides that this must be a sign from [insert deity or other higher power here] that she must incorporate that animal's energy into her spiritual practice somehow, and so she takes it home.

Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with interpreting an encounter with an animal (or its shed bits) as being personally, spiritually profound. However, if Lady Suzy Bunnysnuggles is--like many of us Pagan folk--an American citizen of varying European origins or otherwise not in a federally enrolled* Native American tribe, she is breaking the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) which prohibits the possession of almost all native wild bird parts, other than a few exceptions like turkeys. This law is in place because in the latter 19th and early 20th centuries bird populations in North America were being absolutely demolished for both restaurant tables and the feather trade. Since you can't really tell the difference between a feather that was naturally molted, and one that was torn off of a poached bird, the law has a blanket prohibition on possession regardless of origin.

There are some exceptions to the MBTA, and to the Bald and Golden Eagle Act, for federally enrolled people to have access to otherwise prohibited parts for religious or cultural use. However, people like Lady Suzy Bunnysnuggles, when informed of the laws, huff in indignation that they, too, should have religious exemptions, and that they are not, in fact, going to put that feather back where they found it. In fact, they may very well hang it from their rearview mirror or on a ritual staff, in blatant violation of the MBTA, and with the assumption that they will not run across a USFW law enforcement agent or other authority who is familiar with the laws. If pressed, they may claim "Oh, it's a TURKEY feather**!", but they're banking on the idea that no one is actually going to recognize what they have.

My thought on it, as a longtime Pagan of various European descent, is that it's my people who basically screwed up everything for everyone else by coming over here and overhunting species and systematically destroying their habitats. I've been working with hides, bones, and other remains in my practice for over a quarter of a century, and I am totally fine with staying within the confines of various laws. I have plenty of things I can legally work with, AND I am creative and flexible enough to come up with legal alternatives to prohibited items. My traditions are my own, and they don't pre-date me. Indigenous people, on the other hand, have been dealing with over 500 years of physical and cultural genocide, and the previous ban on their possession of eagle feathers and the like is just one more manifestation thereof; reversing that ban and making allowances for feathers/etc. for their spiritual and cultural practices is a TINY piece of trying to undo centuries of damage.

I am not going to try to argue that the erasure of European polytheistic traditions by Christianity many centuries ago affects me in the same way that the ongoing oppression of indigenous Americans affects them. They're not even comparable. Any problems I may have experienced as a relatively out Pagan in the United States are nowhere near in comparison to the immensity of 500+ years of active racism and other violence enacted upon Native American communities by both individuals and governmental entities.

Moreover, if we open exceptions to Neopagans and other followers of modern nature spirituality, then anyone can step up and say "Oh, hey, I'm a Wiccan/Druid/etc., can I have some eagle feathers?" that would then open up a greater demand for otherwise prohibited animal remains, and feed into a still-substantial black market. Therefore, I think it's best if I and Lady Suzy Bunnysnuggles simply find alternative ways to work with the archetypal spirit of Red-Tailed Hawk, rather than argue that our supposed religious oppression is somehow on par of that of indigenous Americans, and use their plight to try to weasel our way out of following a law that is in place to protect wildlife after other white people have demonstrated time and again that they couldn't be trusted to hunt wildlife at a sustainable level. Is it a case of some bad actors ruining things for everyone else? I mean, sure, maybe. But it's one of those things that I've long since made my peace with.

*This is with the understanding that there are also significant problems with federal recognition of some tribes, but not others, and the immense amount of bureaucratic bullshit a group of indigenous people have to wade through just to prove their legitimacy to the BIA.

**I once pointed out to a fellow vendor at an event that some of the feathers on their wares were, in fact, from various species of owl, because the last thing I want is for someone who is simply ignorant of the law to get in trouble, and generally speaking people are pretty cool about removing the illegal bits of their work and grateful that they met me before they met someone who could actually issue a ticket and/or cause trouble for the event runners. This person instead insisted repeatedly, both to me and to event staff, that they were turkey feathers, in such a manner that it was clear they knew what they were but was assuming we all played the "wink wink, nudge nudge, yeah, those sure are TURKEY feathers!" game. Needless to say, they had to take down anything made with owl feathers in order to stay in the vendors' row.

[proton-wobbler]

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Chadron State Park - Fall 2023

A bit of a compare-and-contrast between this adult male robin and a young, unsexed bird. When robins are young its often hard to tell if they're male or female, as both sexes will be brown in color and have a duller breast color. There is the added bonus that this young robin is so young, in fact, that he still has all his spots! I've banded plenty of robins before but its not often I still see the dappled scalloping on their backs as fledgling birds.

The adult male has some brown on his face and his wings werent quite a rich black yet, which means he's still likely a young bird in the grand scheme of things, just not born this year. His chest, however, shows that a white scalloping along the typically red feathers. In some birds, this is a way to protect their plumage over the winter. As the season goes on these white edges will wear off, and once breeding season rolls back around the robin will be in his Very Best breeding plumage! It seems that bigger birds, such as American Robin, Red-winged Blackbird, and European Starlings tend to employ this method of feather protection more than smaller species, but it's fairly common among migratory birds as a whole.

All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey's BBL. Permission to share images was granted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (BCR).

[wild-special-interests]

Bat Profile: Eastern Red Bat

Barbastella barbastellus

Source & Photo credit: J. Scott Altenbach

RANGE: Eastern United States

CONSERVATION STATUS: Least Concern

HABITAT & DIET: Eastern red bats come out early in the evening to eat moths and other insects. They typically hunt in woodland clearings and around street lights in areas closer to humans.

They roost in trees and because of their color and clever hanging techniques, they can be mistaken for pine cones or dead leaves. They're generally solitary, only gathering for mating and migrating seasons. Each Fall, they follow the same migratory routes as many birds, along the Atlantic seaboard. Very little is known about their winter behavior. But we do know that they can survive extremely low body temperatures. Not only does their long fur help make the bitter cold tolerable, but they are also known bundle up with their furry tail membrane, using it like a blanket.

FUN FACT: In the 1870s, there were reports of huge groups of migratory bats (believed to be, if not confirmed to be the eastern red bat) passing over some states during the day. But such sightings have not been reported since. This is one indication that the eastern red bat's population has drastically declined in the last 100+ years. Because of their solitary nature and migration habits, the population of this species has been difficult for scientists to monitor.

[dubylou-draws]

*Aggrieved pufferfish noises*

[Translators note: "You’re always whining about not wanting to go to work, you’re always hitting on girls, and you snore SO loud!"]

(no, I don't know what a pufferfish sounds like either)

____

Merman Zenitsu and pufferfish Chuntaro!

I was backing up some files earlier, and stumbled across this dumb AU doodle from a few years ago. Seemed appropriate to colour it with watercolours!

Cute little Chuntaro is a prickly pufferfish in this AU... but that raises the question: what marine species would the rest of the corps use to communicate underwater?

Swordfish are extremely fast swimmers, have convenient weapons/ letter clips stuck to their faces, excellent eyesight, are highly migratory loners with a massive range, and... ugh, fine. They're the obvious choice, aren't they?

Most members of the seaman slayer corps use swordfish.

Further fishy ideas beneath the cut:

Tanjirou:

My first instinct is to say sunfish, but the mental image of one of those massive creatures drifting menacingly behind him at all times is just too ridiculous.

And yet... somehow it makes perfect sense? A gentle giant that acts like a shield, patiently sheltering his sister from the sun whenever they travel near the surface.

Shinobu/ Kanao/Kanae: Butterfly fish, of course! All with polite and graceful personalities.

Shinobu fights using a variety of marine animal venoms including stonefish. Stonefish stings are treated with the applicaton of heat to denature proteins in the venom... so if Douma's an ice guy in this AU too, he's in for a rough time.

Inosuke: Briefly had a cute little pigfish, but he ate it within a day. Now he just has a regular corps- assigned swordfish. They're also tasty, apparently... if only he could catch it!

Tengen: Really wanted a Fireworks fish/ some other absurdly flamboyant tropical fish. Instead, he was assigned a bland- looking, tiny little fish that's well- suited to stealth missions.

It's been thoroughly ✨bedazzled✨by now and loves him. The most popular family member by far. Very plump and spoilt.

Gyomei: Green humphead parrotfish. These guys are massive, pretty docile, and spend most of their time crunching through rock- hard coral with big teeth to scrape off yummy algae, pooping out the rest as sand. They are cleaners that are instrumental in maintaining the health of coral reef ecosystems.

Gyomei's parrotfish is no exception; however, it used to be an insatiable glutton, to the point of destroying the coral reef it once resided in and being ostracised by its peers as a result. Wracked with guilt and with nowhere else to go, it received an invitation to serve in the corps. Its new master helped it learn self control.

Rengoku: There's no shortage of bold, flame- coloured fish species out there... but I reckon this guy just has the same generic swordfish species assigned to the rest of the corps. The only difference being that his used to be his father's loyal companion, and it's aged a bit, so it's not as speedy as it once was. It should've retired years ago, but refuses to abandon its self- imposed duty of keeping its master's son on the right path.

Was a rebellious playboy in its youth. Now it's a straight- laced military type, follows corps rules to the letter. Doesn't trust that slimy sea slug Nezuko one bit.

Sanemi: SAILFISH, hands down. Aggressive, vaguely wind- themed predator, and the fastest swimmer in the ocean. Both of them are pretty smug about that last point.

Genya: An archerfish would make sense thematically... but again, Genya just seems like another corps- assigned swordfish kinda guy to me? He definitely has a pet snapping turtle though. It's very small, and VERY grumpy.

Muchiro: A sweet natured blue- ringed octopus who wants nothing more than to be friends, but suffers from crippling social anxiety that makes it seem aloof and unapproachable.

Everyone is TERRIFIED of it except Tengen, who thinks it's flamboyant as heck, and Shinobu, who is simultaneously obsessed with it and wants to stab it dead.

Muchiro just ignores it, for the most part.

(Giyuu can relate).

Mitsuri: Blobfish lacking in self- confidence. Mitsuri thinks it's cute, and is absolutely correct in her opinion. Accepts cuddles from Mitsuri and Obanai only, and blushes at compliments. It's also insanely flexible, just like its master. Copes well under high pressure!

Giyuu: This man has a manta ray, no doubt about it. A creature of few words with a serene and peaceful disposition... yet inexplicably a huge social magnet that effortlessly draws everyone's attention (away from Giyuu). Especially popular with young merchildren, whom it often allows to ride on its back. Holds a deep respect for both its master and Urokodaki (who has a manta ray too, by the way).

Obanai: Had the toughest time deciding this one. A striped beakfish would match his colour scheme perfectly, but... I just don't think it suits him. A striped marlin, maybe? Anyone with more ideas, let me know!

Kaburamaru is a sea snake, obviously. A black- banded sea krait.