#Iris Monarch

[kumakooo]

———-——✧‧₊˚dmc oc˚₊‧✧—————

NAME: Iris Monarch

Ahhhhhhhh I had sm fun drawing her

[fabseg-creator]

My review about Miraculous World: London, At the Edge of Time

I publish my second review about a Miraculous episode. It's Miraculous World: London, At the Edge of Time.

The Paris review here

This post contains spoilers.

And now, time to read:

Plot:

This happens during the ellipse from Re-creation (5.26) between the Gabriel's suicide wish and before the Pool party scene.

It begins in the Lila/Cerise's lair (the Plage in the Catacombs). Cerise, who made an auto-akumatization into Time Stalker, comes back to the place in front of a worried and afraid Nooroo (still captive). She travels to the past (some hours ago) in the moment of the final battle (Bug Noire VS Monarch) for finding out who Ladybug is. She removes her akuma (making her lose her memories from her former akumatization) and reads her book where the Ladybug's identity is written (despite the Noiroo's objection). She reakumatizes herself into a ghost super-vilain named Spectral Looter for steal the Ladybug and Cat miraculouses (+the configured miraculouses) to Marinette. The wish Cerise makes affects the Reality AND the Time itself.

Three Bunnyx (Teen Alix, Adult Alix and Grandma Alix) are playing together a futuristic version of Chess in the Burrow when suddenly the two Future Alix disappear and the portals around Teen Bunnyx disappear too. She discovers someone is making a wish with the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses (at the Marinette's horrification from this corrupted timeline).

I've learned about new elements in the Miraculous lore by watching the special:

This Special is both the Season 5 real finale and the Season 6 prologue.

The main protagonists are in fact Ladybug and (Teen/Present) Bunnyx (Cat Noir only appears in the ending scene).

Cerise/"Iris" is akumatized herself into Time Stalker. She used her phone for insert her akuma. Her superpowers are: to teleport herself some hours ago in the past and return to the moment when she begun her travel. She has been very silent (nearly no Clara Soares' lines 🇨🇵 under this character until the end part).

Nathalie knows Marinette is Ladybug. Teen Alix already knows Matinette is Ladybug, Adrien is Cat Noir and Gabriel was Hawk Moth/Monarch. Ladybug/Bug Noire is aware Kagami knows her friend's identity (Representation retcon).

Bug Noire (thanks to a revived Nathalie's words) knows Gabriel and Tomoe had planned together the Operation: Perfect Alliance (planned on Representation, launched in Conformation/Re-creation) when nearly everybody in the world was turned into a Miraculized army for track down Ladybug and Cat Noir.

When the wish is finished, the living beings still exist (except Gabriel and Émilie who are definitely dead) and Nathalie is healed (I think Gimmi's reality rewrite power is a bad joke from Thomas Astruc). The wish has revived ex-Mayura but there are two people who disappeared in exchange (there must be another person who is revived).

Marinette is remorseful about Gabriel's self-erasure.

Bug Noire lies to Adrien by telling him: "Gabriel, Nathalie and Tomoe were Monarch's hostages. The Butterfly villain forced them to create Alliance rings, to configurate the stolen Miraculouses and finally to launch the Miraculized worldwide crisis. Bug Noire wasn't able to defeat Monarch but Gabriel had ultimately confronted the villain and made the Wish to heal the superheroin and Nathalie in exchange of his and Monarch's lives"

Kagami knows Tomoe is Monarch's accomplice. But she doesn't denounce her. Bug Noire could expose Tomoe but she doesn't too. It looks like Tomoe is the Kagami's only family link. Kagami must clear the things with her in her own way (I guess the better explanations will come on the next Special: Tokyo)

When Cerise akumatizes herself into Time Stalker (off-screen), it means Cerise has been initially unable to find Ladybug was Marinette when the living chameleon girl took the Butterfly miraculous (which was fallen to the water).

Cerise's second (auto-)akumatization is Spectral Looter. Her superpower is: the intangibility. She can pass through the walls and Chronobug doesn't manage to hit her. Under this form, she is still mute. (If the two akumatized forms spoke, Chronobug could recognizes her voice's enemy as "Lila Rossi"'s)

Both Adult Bunnyx and Grandma Bunnyx (the two future Bunnyx) disappear because of the Cerise's wish from the corrupted timeline. They don't spoil to their mini-her how the Teen Bunnyx will save the Time.

Teen Bunnyx saves Marinette from her erasure because of the evil wish.

Marinette takes the earrings in the moment of Origins (1.22-1.23) and becomes Chronobug.

During the Time crisis, Chronobug, from the Burrow, figures out Time Stalker, Spectral Looter (Cerise's second akumatized form) and the new Butterfly holder are the same person.

In the Burrow, Chronobug thought about take the Butterfly miraculous before her adversary can find it and/or prevent Gabriel to make his wish (for save him and Nathalie in her own way) but Teen Bunnyx reasons her to not do that. Because it can alterate the future (for the worst). If Marinette did that, it's possible we could have a timeline when Gabriel and Nathalie are both dead without the wish and Adrien is definitively an orphan (Amelie and Félix as the last remaining family for him).

When Chronobug and Present/Teen Bunnyx manage to take the supervillain's book, yellow Ladybug erases her name and writes "Gabriel Agreste" instead of the former's. The two superheroines give the book back to the villainess.

The Burrow is restored, due to Cerise evil plan's failure.

Marinette/Chronobug is still uncomfortable about lying to Adrien and everyone about Gabriel's fate. But the Three Bunnyx give advices to her about her choices and her future she must decide.

The Chronobug's Lucky Charm brings back Marinette to the present and the past Tikki and the earrings from Origins back to her initial moment. She has erased the Spectral Looter part.

The Time Stalker time incident is the main reason why Marinette decides to bring all the kwamis and their Miraculouses to their respective holders (and the holders become permanent holders as we see that in the epilogue of Re-creation (5.26)).

Cerise/Iris becomes feral 😡🤬👿 after deakumatizing herself and discovering her book has been falsified (Ladybug = Gabriel Agreste). 🤣 She realizes Ladybug (helped by Bunnyx) has sabotaged her plan across the time. Of course, the crazy girl remembers Gabriel is Monarch (she had already double-crossed him when she was Hoaxer (watch Revelation (5.20)). 🤣

If Gabriel silents Nooroo by the will of seal his kwami's mouth, Cerise, as the actual Butterfly miraculous holder, fully immobilizes him (like a statue) with a finger snap. She doesn't let him to have more time for celebrate her plan's failure in the actual timeline. That means Cerise treats the kwami worst than Gabriel. Cerise is not just an evil girl, she is an egotic master manipulator, she is insane, mentally unstable, impulsive, narcissistic pervert and a psychopath too. 😈 Nooroo moves again only to the moment when Cerise orders him to transform her.

When Ladybug and Cat Noir are reunited together, they talk about the Butterfly miraculous disappearance. Ladybug warns her partner about the new Butterfly supervillain. So they prepare themselves together to stop "him/her".

And despite her (first) defeat (as Chrysalis(?)), Cerise still seeks revenge against Ladybug. So it's a Cat-Mouse fame who begins (Road to Season 6).

It's the last time the SAMG animation is used in this episode.

What I liked:

The moment at the train station when Marinette and Adrien are reunified after the Gabriel's suicide wish. ❤

The Cerise anger crisis due to the fact she failed to discover the Ladybug = Marinette Dupain-Cheng thing.

The moment when the Marinette's name is replaced by "Gabriel Agreste'"s in Cerise's book. Get Trolled.

And Nooroo when he jubilates (before Cerise immobilizes him).

Chronobug's design.

Spectral Looter's design (Cerise's second auto-akumatization from the corrupted timeline).

Cerise's new civilian disguise as a blong girl with blue eye lenses. I guess it's Iris Verdi form.

The moment when Spectral Looter roasts Chronobug in the Miraculous Grand Theft in Marinette's room was so funny.

Placide I.T. (Adrien's bodyguard)'s moment. Sounds badass.

When Adrien repels Bug Noire after the "revelation" about his father's death. We can understand Adrien is saddened and angry toward his own dad.

The fact there are three (3) Bunnyx who simultaneously coexist in the Burrow: Teen Bunnyx, Adult Bunnyx and Grandma Bunnyx (I called the older Alix like that).

Marinette says her adventures happen like 10 years (4th wall). Miraculous has begun in 2015 and we are in 2024. It's 9 years.

The final scene with the new animation.

What I disliked:

The Felix/Argos' absence. He lives in London. He sees Kagami for secret dates. He was normally in London during the Miraculized crisis. I understand he and his mother must be hidden because Monarch and Tomoe knew Felix has the Peacock miraculous. And if he intervened, the boy could lose the Peacock brooch because of the Miraculized people.

The Time Travel explanations (modifying the chronology, time paradoxes) are too complicated for me.

Bug Noire is supposed to search the Butterfly miraculous in the water below the Crypt. She even told to Alya and Su-Han she transformed into Aquabug for that. But it's off-screen.

Cerise transforms with the Butterfly miraculous happens off-screen (We will see her form in Season 6).

The weird fact for me is Cerise doesn't remember what she have done during her auto-akumatization as Time Stalker (even deakumatizing herself). But Alya, Nino, Marinette and Kagami (when they rejected Hawk Moth/Shadow Moth/Monarch's akumas and removed Betterfly's kamikos) had kept her memories. Is it because Cerise is a teenage girl and Gabriel was an adult ?

What I want to know for the future:

How Cerise has managed to take the Butterfly miraculous ? Her future self (as Time Stalker) hasn't done nothing but stalking Bug Noire and write the Marinette's name in her book.

Cerise/Iris Butterfly miraculous full transformation (and her full form)

In this Special, Cerise (who is wearing a new disguise) akumatizes herself into Time Stalker in the evening (just some hours after Gabriel/Monarch's disappearance). Meanwhile, In the Re-Creation last scene, Cerise is surprised by a supernatural light in her lair (it happens AFTER the Time Stalker incident). What is it ?

ML Theory:

It's possible Re-creation Cerise has picked up the brooch when Bug Noire and Nathalie were in the room where the kwamis were imprisoned. She has possibly deactivated the system cameras with Tomoe's laptop for preventing to be caught ans for infiltratring the Crypt (before Bug Noire cataclysms everything). It happened before her first (auto-)akumatization as Time Stalker.

I even think Cerise can transforms into the Butterfly supervillainess (while she keeps her civilian form intact)

My personal aggregation on the London Special:

I think this special episode is good. It's the transition from season 5 to season 6. Meanwhile, it lets some questions without answers: How Cerise has really managed to take the Butterfly miraculous ? When Adrien will be ready to accept the truth if he finds out ?

Let's waiting the Season 6.

Result: 7/10

The salting moment:

The annoying detail I heard about from the fandom is: the fact Marinette/Bug Noire decides to lie to Adrien about "Gabriel is dead as a hero".

Some of you has been pissed off about that. But I think ONE thing: An Adrien who knows his dad was Monarch will be shocked, mentally devastated and outraged. He would hate his dad AND Ladybug. And Butterfly Cerise would have good reasons for use him as her own advantage for destroy Ladybug and take revenge against Marinette.

It's too easy to blame Marinette for this detail but there is this fact:

Nathalie, Tomoe, Kagami, Félix, Marinette, Alix and Cerise know Gabriel is Monarch.

So the all of them can tell to Adrien. But Tomoe (as Monarch's accomplice) should be jailed.

Nathalie should be jailed.

Marinette, Felix and Kagami keep the truth secret from Adrien.

Alix could tell to Adrien, but her older selves adviced her to not do that for the Time's safety.

Cerise is the only perfect candidate to reveal to everyone (and especially to Adrien) the Monarch's real identity. But instead to expose Ladybug's lie, Cerise preferred to make an evil, sneaky and dangerous plan to stalk Ladybug by time travel and directly stealing to her the Miraculouses for make her own wish (just some hours after the final battle).

Adrien will knows the "Monarch = Gabriel Agreste" thing in another time. Thomas Astruc and the writers will continue to surprise us/you.

[faiirygrahamdevanily]

🦋where is lila going to send all her akumas from?

🦋garbiel being home all day gave him an all time access to his lair but lila? where will she send all her akumas from?

🦋I know she has her own lair but other than gabriel she goes to school, seems to befriend marinette and therefore will probably spend a lot of time around other people so realistically speaking I wonder where she will send them from

🦋will it be a random alleyway, *super discreetly* behind a bush in that park or ...? like what are her options?

🦋do we even know where her lair is located?

🦋where is she going to breed those butterflys too?

🦋this hiatus is taking FOREVER I want to know more about her arc

[dailaz]

World Champion and his Elite Four(in my opnion). Part 2.

[plumsaffron]

Never forget. The smug statue is a reminder of what Buffoonette did.

[ttccprojectoverdrive]

Ayo who’s this bug woman??

Irie Monarch, Prethinker’s mother

She used to look more like a normal cog btw, she did this to herself through means that weren't overdrive

She's the size of the cog bosses btw

[ask-team-misfit]

Curiosity Didn't Kill the Cat, but We're Not So Sure She's Coming Back

Imagine you were on your way home from work. It's been a rough day. Maybe your boss was ranting about some nonsense that'd only make sense to close-minded people. Maybe you have that annoying coworker that got on your last nerve, and you have to cover for them like always. Or maybe you're just not that fond of your job to begin with, regardless of the likeability of your peers and superiors.

Or maybe you quite like your job, but a break would be nice. Anyways.

Imagine making your way back to the solace that is your home, be it messy, or very clean, and everything in between.

Then you turn a corner to hear this.

??: "E-excuse me. Um, I just need to g-get by… please?"

CRUNCH.

There goes another car.

??: "Oops…"

It was evening, the last leg of rush hour. Typically in this part of the Sciliva region, let alone in most places of the world, one wouldn't expect the appearance of a twenty-something foot tall Twileon trying to make her way down a busy street barely wide enough to accommodate her. One may not also expect, upon beholding the above scenario, for the giantess to successfully do such a thing without some sort of accident or some element of chaos to otherwise ensue; in which one would absolutely be correct.

While such accidents have been limited to the destruction of property for the moment, her appearance alone soon attracted a crowd. Reactions ranged from disbelief on part of her being some sort of hybrid or mutant Pokemon, to displeasure from her blocking traffic, and everything in between. Some even took to recording the event with cameras, or reporting on it. Some yelled at her directly.

Speaking of yelling, she heard a lot more of it right then, regarding that smashed automobile. When she spoke again, she sounded even more hushed and timid.

[ ID: A grayscale drawing of Pikavee gazing down with unease at a crowd of people before her. Among the crowd are characters from other ask blogs, featured here as cameos. The characters and blogs in question are listed further below. Pikavee's appearance is as described here. End ID ]

??: "Oh, I know I'm m-making a mess… a-and I'm really, really sorry…"

Surely with self awareness that she's disrupting the commute will come the realization that she probably shouldn't be here.

But the giantess, Pikavee, persisted anyway.

[ featuring the following characters: Hendrik and a bonus Sol doing the pointing Wojak meme from @ask-sarah-and-co ; Venus from @borealis-siblings ; Kats from @luckykatsranch ; Iris from @phantomguild ; Monarch from @ask-noonescity ]

[ next ]

Character page for Pikavee reestablished unlocked.

[phoinexboi]

Currently working on a post about why the finalie of Miraculous Season 5 (AKA: The end of the shows first arc) was underwhelming.

I have 7 main points rn but I may add or subtract from them 👍🏾

[vincentspork]

"Tag your female blorbos" every girl is my blorbo. personally

[heavenboy09]

Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 To You

The Youngest & Rising BiRacial American Actress In Hollywood Today Of Very Well Known Independent Films, Big Budget Films TV Shows & Is The Main Co Star Of The Fastest Man Alive's  DCEU Movie 🎥 Of 2023 & Now Is Starring In The Apple 😳 TV's📺 Original 1st TV Show Adaptation Of The Monster-Verse Franchise 👹 🤖 🐉 🦍

Clemons was born on December 17, 1993, in Pensacola, Florida. She grew up in Redondo Beach, California. Clemons is biracial, of African-American and white heritage.

She is an American actress. She is known for her role in the 2015 comedy-drama film Dope, playing Cassandra "Diggy" Andrews. Subsequently, she went on to co-star in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), Flatliners (2017), Hearts Beat Loud (2018), and played Iris West in both Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and The Flash (2023).

She had recurring roles in numerous television series, including Austin & Ally (2013), Transparent (2014–2015), Extant (2015), and Easy (2016–2019), and had a main role in the final season of the comedy series Angie Tribeca (2018).

Please Wish This Young Amazingly Talented& Radiant BiRacial Actress, A Very Happy Birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊

MS. KIERSEY CLEMONS 🤎 AKA IRIS WEST OF DC COMICS'S THE FLASH ⚡🔴 

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 TO YOU MS. CLEMONS & HERE'S TO MANY MORE YEARS TO COME

#KierseyClemons #IrisWest #Extant #Dope #TheLadyandTheTramp #Scoob  #ZackSyndersJusticeLeague #TheFlash #Monarch

[msb-lair]

Clutch #3363 - Vee/Yee

Mated On: 2023-10-05 # of eggs: 2 Hatched On: 2023-10-10

Progeny:

Hatchling 8946 (Seraphine) - Sandsurge Male, Obsidian Bar/Iris Butterfly/Forest Monarch, Unusual - 15,000 on 2023-10-29

Hatchling 8947 (Celia) - Sandsurge Female, Obsidian Bar/Sky Alloy/Turquoise Monarch, Common - 15 gems on 2023-10-21

Comments: 

[cyn-if]

CORRUPTANT

Chained up, locked away. Tortured and forgotten. At least that is how it has been for as long as you remember. Suddenly you are freed. Your mind is shredded, all memories lost to the overwhelming agony that you endured. The very people that imprisoned you demand for you to assist in preventing a looming threat, one that has the entire world at stake. Just who are you? Why were you imprisoned? What about those you knew? Remember it all and cope with the tattered remains of your psyche. Maybe even save the world. Or not, what has the world ever given you?

Corruptant is a 172,000 (so far) word dark fantasy interactive fiction game (book?) that sees you play a cursed amnesiac coping with the situation they find themselves in.

-Play as Male, Female or Non-Binary. -Deal with the lingering effects of your imprisonment. -Give into 6 different extremes. -Romance one (or more!) of 5 (6?) characters that find themselves on your team. -Save the world and earn your freedom. -Or maybe burn it all down as revenge.

Romance Options:

The Binder: [M/F]

They are the first person you really interact with upon being freed. Gentle, timid and soft spoken, at least around you, they are going to be a constant in your life for now. Finding themselves bound to you, they try to do everything in their power to make sure you are comfortable. Can you forgive them for working for your captors? Can you get over the power imbalance that lies between you two? Male: 5’9 with short styled brown hair. He has warm brown eyes and is clean shaven. Female: 5’6 with medium length brown hair, often worn in a ponytail. She has gentle, inviting brown eyes.

The Second Born. [M/F] The second born child of the reigning monarch, they find themself placed on the team that you are on. They seem to take things easy, flaunting rules and wearing a lazy smile. They seem to treat you like a friend (or more), easily chatting and joking with you despite your curse. Can anything come from these interactions? Male: 5’11 with messy chin length blonde hair. His face is framed on the left side by strands of his hair being a dark blue. His bold violet eyes and stylish beard add to the look. Female: 5’7 with spiky short blonde hair and smoky violet eyes. Her bangs are highlighted by strands of dark blue.

The Best Friend. [M/F] Your best friend from childhood. You remember them as a person filled with wonder and optimism, genuinely caring about you and always lifting you up. Are they still the same person from your fragmented memories? You recall HE had short ginger hair and bright green eyes. You recall SHE had short ginger hair and bright green eyes.

The Scholar [F] An obsessive and eccentric scholar that specializes in your curse among other things. She has been assigned to your team and seems to be captivated by you. Can you get over the scholarly eye she has for you? And what about her not even being human? She has glimmering silver eyes and medium length hair matching her eyes. She is 5’5.

The Cultist [M] A captured member of a cult that is attempting to bring about the end of the world. He seems to fanatically revere you as some sort of savior. He is placed on the team to lead you to your targets. Will the fact you two are both outsiders draw you two together? He has short black hair and a beard, his blue eyes are etched with tiny black runes around the iris.

Note on Game Mechanics:

This IF is geared towards storytelling, and while the personality stats and skills will have impacts on the narration as well as the outcomes of certain scenes, they are not the focus. No personality stat checks will bar you from content should you choose a certain personality, so feel free to explore around. The personality stats are there for flavoring (mainly).

Note on Content:

This story is on the darker side of things. Featuring some pretty mature topics and depictions. Below is a list of some things encountered in the book. Please be advised. -Torture. -Coercion to perform jobs. (NOT ANYTHING SEXUAL) -Blood and gore. -Extreme Violence. -Death. -Abuse.

Here’s the link and hope you enjoy it!

[ultraericthered]

Richard Sphinx, the true Monarch who should've been.

I can see TA tries to make LIla/Ceries/WhateverThisBitchName as "briliant, mysterious" psychopathic mastermind to excuse marinette irrational hatred not merely because she try to steal "her precious" Adrien by turn her into PG-13 version of Leena Klammer.

If they keep this shit, I will not surprise if they make Lila is a "grow-up paed00 midget woman who hunt a handsome boy" to excuse why they will not give a redemption for Lila, and make her a "brilliant master manipulator" and dangerous than gabriel

It feels like the writers had no idea who to make the next villain, eventually settled on Lila, but realized they needed to find a way to make her more interesting and mysterious in order to draw intrigue for next season. It's just that they chose to do something completely absurd and hoped audiences would buy it.

Outside of the whole "fake identities" thing, we know nothing about Lila as a person, why she hates Marinette and Ladybug for such petty reasons, what she even wants to do besides mooch off famous people, or who she really is. The writers just hope the idea of a mystery will be enough to sell Lila as the next main villain.

For a show heavily influenced by Spider-Man, they basically turned Lila into their own Judas Traveller, a character designed to be mysterious and compelling with no actual plan for what his backstory was.

[city-of-ladies]

Genmei (661-721) was Japan's fourth empress regnant. She was Empress Jitō's half-sister and her match in terms of ambition and political skills. Her rule was characterized by a development of culture and innovations. 

Ruling after her son

Like Jitō (645-703), Genmei was the daughter of Emperor Tenji but was born from a different mother. Jitō was both her half-sister and mother-in-law since Genmei had married the empress’ son, Prince Kusakabe (662-689). She had a son with him, Emperor Monmu (683-707). 

Kusakabe died early and never reigned, which led to Jitō's enthronement. The empress was then succeeded by her grandson Monmu. The latter’s reign was short. In his last will, he called for his mother to succeed him in accordance with the “immutable law” of her father Tenji. Genmei accepted. 

Steadfast and ambitious 

Genmei was made from the same mold as her half-sister. She proved to be a fearless sovereign, undeterred by military crises. 

She pursued Jitō's policies, strengthening the central administration and keeping the power in imperial hands. Among her decisions were the proscription of runaway peasants and the restriction of private ownership of mountain and field properties by the nobility and Buddhist temples. 

Another of her achievements was transferring the capital at Heijō-kyō (Nara) in 710, turning it into an unprecedented cultural and political center. Her rule saw many innovations. Among them were the first attempt to replace the barter system with the Wadō copper coins, new techniques for making brocade twills and dyeing and the settlement of experimental dairy farmers.

A protector of culture

Genmei sponsored many cultural projects. The first was the Kojiki, written in 712 it told Japan’s history from mythological origins to the current rulers. In its preface, the editor Ō no Yasumaro praised the empress:

“Her Imperial Majesty…illumines the univers…Ruling in the Purple Pavillion, her virtue extends to the limit of the horses’ hoof-prints…It must be saif that her fame is greater than that of Emperor Yü and her virtue surpasses that of Emperor Tang (legendary emperors of China)”.

In 713, she ordered the local governments to collect local legends and oral traditions as well as information about the soil, weather, products and geological and zoological features. Those local gazetteers (Fudoki) were an invaluable source of Japan’s ancient tradition.

Several of Genmei’s poems are included in the Man'yōshū anthology, including a reply by one of the court ladies. 

Listen to the sounds of the warriors' elbow-guards;

Our captain must be ranging the shields to drill the troops.

– Genmei Tennō

Reply:

Be not concerned, O my Sovereign;

Am I not here,

I, whom the ancestral gods endowed with life,

Next of kin to yourself

– Minabe-hime

From mother to daughter 

Genmei abdicated in 715 and passed the throne to her daughter, empress Genshō (680-748) instead of her sickly grandson prince Obito. This was an unprecedented situation, making the Nara period the pinnacle of female monarchy in Japan. 

Genmei would oversee state affairs until she died in 721. Before her death, she shaved her head and became a nun, becoming the first Japanese monarch to take Buddhist vows and establishing a long tradition.

Feel free to check out my Ko-Fi if you like what I do! Your support would be greatly appreciated.

Further reading

Shillony Ben-Ami, Enigma of the Emperors Sacred Subservience in Japanese History

Tsurumi Patricia E., “Japan’s early female emperors”

Aoki Michiko Y., "Jitō Tennō, the female sovereign",in: Mulhern Chieko Irie (ed.), Heroic with grace legendary women of Japan

[mishapeep]

Uh, I saw your post and you mentioned that you teach the kids... how do I put it... that are given to you at social functions due your park ranger aura for safekeeping how to tell the difference between predatory lightning bugs and normal lightning bugs.

And then you didn't tell us that secret! May I ask you to share the difference between predatory lightning bugs and normal ones?

Thank you very much :)

By popular demand and because this was the most polite ask: how to tell the predatory lightning bugs from the non-predatory lightning bugs.

First, there are over 2000 species in Lampyridea. I am not qualified to distinguish between all that. I grew up in Northern Ohio (71 species) and every year summer wasn’t official until the lightning bugs came out in the evenings (usually the first or second week of June).

This is our first clue. The first lightning bugs out each evening are a species of non-predatory chaps. Their glow goes in a special pattern. Flash, pause, “J” shaped flight about 2 -3’ off the ground. Repeat. Their glow is more yellow and lingers. These are the males of Photinus pyralis or the common eastern firefly. They look like this:

(Photo from iNaturalist: a lightning bug beetle, mostly black with gold lines around the wing casing. Head shield is yellow with a red “eye” with black iris in the center. Rounded front and back, long down the center.)

Their females hide in tall grasses waiting for the right suitor. If you’re lucky and clever you can see her dimmer flash in the grass beaconing the males closer.

As the dark of night progresses you’ll start to see a quicker, brighter, greener flash. Blip, blip, blip, blip, long pause. They are FAST! They’ll also mimic the flashes of Photinus females. These are usually higher up off the ground. Even in the trees! These lightning bugs aren’t looking for love.

Photuris (not gonna get to specific epitaph on this one without a sample and a key) are looking for dinner!

(Photo from blog.greatparks.org another lightning bug beetle. This one is slightly larger than the non-predatory bug. It has “shoulders” and extra gold lines running through the back. Its legs are longer and its shield is more “sharp”. The shield marking is less like an eye and more like a yellow D where the inside is a red triangle with a black line running through.)

Another way to tell is to go out at night and catch a bunch of lightning bugs (if you can; I hear they’re getting scarce). Offer them a slice of apple. If you wake up in the morning to only a few and the rest are dead, good chance you found some predators. (This is how I found out about them! Wooops!!)

Lightning bugs are freaking magical. I’m so sad to hear that they are yet another wonder that we are losing at an alarming rate. If this bugs you as much as it bugs me there are a few things you can do to help them:

1) do not spray for mosquitoes! That spray is not-species specific. It’s bad for lightning bugs. It’s bad for monarch butterflies. It’s bad for birds. It’s bad for bats. It’s bad.

2) kill your lawn. But Misha! You said they breed in the grasses! True! However native plants are going to provide so much more habitat for these guys than a gross monoculture of Kentucky bluegrass ever will. The Midwest has some of the best native plant nurseries in the country! Use that resource!

3) Advocate for them and donate to conservation if you’re able. Bugs don’t have voices and they fight an uphill battle just for being a bug.

Thanks for joining my ranger talk! Support your parks.

[plumsaffron]

One day left til it ends. Meanwhile the eng version stalled for like months or many days.