#Like their forms are influenced by what people think of them

[izzyzt]

𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 (𝟎𝟐)

𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐱 𝐅/𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

| 𝐀 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫, 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬. |

The roar of the crowd still pulsed through the backstage halls like a living heartbeat. It was 1986, and neon lights buzzed erratically above Y/N’s head as she stepped into the cramped dressing room for her interview. The worn carpet and peeling posters of bands long past couldn’t mask the electrifying energy left over from the concert.

Inside, Namjoon and Jungkook lounged on a scruffy velour couch, exuding the kind of casual confidence only rock stars could. Their hair was teased high in true glam-metal style—Namjoon’s a wild platinum-streaked tangle, a black bandana around his forehead, while Jungkook’s looked as though he’d just stepped off the Sunset Strip: jet-black, voluminous, and artfully tousled. Tattoos and leather gleamed under the flickering overhead light, and a haze of cigarette smoke curled lazily above them.

Namjoon lifted his head first, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he noted Y/N’s arrival. “Well, hello there, sweetheart.” His voice was smooth, carrying the slightest rasp from hours of singing and shouting on stage.

Jungkook let out a quiet chuckle, his darkly lined eyes trailing up and down Y/N’s form. “Nice of you to drop by,” he teased, fiddling with the zipper on his ripped leather vest. “Thought maybe you’d lost your nerve and bailed.”

Y/N swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She stepped forward, feeling the weight of their combined gaze pressing down on her. “I’m here to interview you both,” she said, trying to steady her voice. “I’m Y/N. Thanks for agreeing to this.”

Namjoon swung one leg off the couch and leaned forward, forearms resting on his knees. “You’re welcome,” he drawled, “though I can’t promise we’ll behave.” A lazy grin appeared on his lips, revealing a silver lip ring that glinted under the harsh lighting.

Jungkook reached over to the side table—a makeshift bar cluttered with half-empty bottles—and poured some whiskey into a glass. “Wouldn’t be much fun if we did,” he murmured, tossing a wink in Y/N’s direction. “Drink?”

She shook her head politely. “Maybe later,” she managed, pulling out her notebook and tape recorder. “I’d like to start with the new album—your influences and the vibe you’re going for…”

They bantered about the album, dropping names of 80s metal legends and giving half-teasing, half-honest answers. Y/N tried her best to keep the conversation on track, but the tension in the room was nearly tangible, especially whenever Jungkook’s gaze lingered on her or Namjoon’s smirk curved just a little wider.

Halfway through her question about their wildest tour stories, Namjoon stood up, strolling over to the cluttered side table. He grabbed a glass and filled it with whiskey, all the while tossing her a glance from over his shoulder. “Keep going, sweetheart,” he said, swirling the amber liquid. “I’m listening.”

Y/N tried not to falter as she continued, “What do you think sets you apart from the other bands on the Sunset Strip right now? Is it the lyrics, the… stage presence?”

Namjoon returned, sipping his whiskey with a slow, almost provocative ease. Then, as he passed behind Y/N, he brushed his hand across her shoulder, fingers drifting lightly but purposefully over the fabric of her shirt. A warm jolt shot through her nerves. She forced herself to maintain composure, but her voice wavered on the next sentence.

He dropped back onto the couch, letting his arm drape across the back of it. “We’re not just a band,” he replied, giving her a knowing look. “We’re an… experience. People come to our shows wanting to forget who they are for a while. We’re good at helping them do that.”

Jungkook exhaled a soft laugh, setting his own glass aside so he could lean closer to Y/N. “Some say they can’t tell where we end and they begin,” he purred, dark eyes unwavering. “That we have this way of… persuading them.”

Her pulse hammered. She turned her gaze to Jungkook, pen tight in her grip. “I’ve heard those rumors,” she admitted. “That when people are around you—especially the girls—they can’t say no.”

Namjoon took another sip of whiskey, the silver rings on his fingers clinking against the glass. “Maybe they don’t want to say no,” he offered, a flirtatious edge to his tone. “Maybe we just bring out what they already feel.”

“Especially when it’s something they’re too shy to admit,” Jungkook added. He paused, letting the implication hang in the air, then grinned. “What about you, doll? You manage to say no just fine?”

Y/N’s cheeks burned, but she steeled herself. “I’m just here to do my job,” she replied, attempting to sound cool. Inside, her stomach churned with a conflicting mix of attraction and caution.

She continued her questions about the band’s rise to fame, the chaos of touring, and their plans for future releases. The entire time, Namjoon and Jungkook volleyed answers back and forth—sometimes playful, sometimes cryptic, but always with that undercurrent of flirtation that made her breath catch.

At last, with her notebook filled with scribbled notes and her tape recorder now silent, she said, “I think that covers everything I needed… for now.”

Jungkook stood, running a hand through his teased hair, sending it bouncing back into place. “For now, huh?” he echoed, stepping close enough that she caught the whiff of leather and faint cologne. “Does that mean you’ll be back for more?”

Namjoon drained the last of his whiskey and set the glass aside, coming to stand on her other side. “We do have a habit of leaving people wanting more,” he said lightly, turning to face her. The corner of his lip curved. “Speaking of which…”

Y/N blinked as Namjoon extended his hand—a handshake to wrap up the interview. She took it, expecting a quick, polite press of the palms. But he held on, letting his fingers tighten gently around hers. The silver rings pressing into her skin served as a reminder of the power and confidence he radiated.

“You’ve been a delight, sweetheart,” he murmured, eyes flicking down to her lips for a heartbeat before meeting her gaze again. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she tried to pull back, but his hand lingered just a moment too long. The warmth of his grip spread through her arm and made her pulse quicken.

Then Jungkook leaned in behind her, close enough that she could feel the heat of his body. His finger brushed a strand of her hair, twisting it gently before letting it slip away. A heady mixture of smoke, whiskey, and something distinctly him enveloped her senses. “Come back any time, doll,” he whispered, his breath fanning against her ear. “I have a feeling you’re not done with us yet.”

A rush of heat flooded Y/N’s face. She slipped free of Namjoon’s hold and managed an unsteady step backward, her notebook clutched tight. “I—I’ll see myself out,” she stammered, trying to keep her composure. With one last glance at both men—torn leather, teased hair, tattoos, and dangerously inviting smiles—she hurried toward the door.

Just as her hand grasped the doorknob, Jungkook’s voice followed her, laced with lazy amusement. “Don’t forget that drink next time, doll!”

Namjoon added, “And maybe, sweetheart…” He paused, letting the sentence dangle like a tempting piece of bait. “We’ll show you just how persuasive we can be.”

Y/N’s cheeks blazed at his words. Without a response, she slipped out into the hallway, the door closing behind her. Adrenaline thrummed in her veins, and it took her a moment to steady her breathing. She could still sense the ghost of their touch—the press of Namjoon’s rings, the soft brush of Jungkook’s fingertips in her hair.

The interview might be over, but something far more had just begun.

The sun had barely risen when Y/N stepped off the rattling elevator and into the cramped newspaper office. the place was a cacophony of clacking typewriters, ringing phones, and the pungent smell of coffee that had been burning on the hot plate since dawn. She clutched yesterday’s edition in her hand—her article about Namjoon and Jungkook’s band was splashed across the entertainment section. The headline boasted some sensational line about rock ‘n’ roll’s new kings and the rumor that nobody could say no to them.

Her boss, Mr. Hayworth, spotted her the moment she walked in. He was a stern-faced man in his fifties with a perpetually creased brow and a tie perpetually loosened around his neck. “Y/N!” he barked over the din, waving her into his cramped corner office. “Close that door behind you.”

She complied, stepping into a space cluttered with stacks of papers, film reels, and an ancient rotary phone perched on the edge of his desk. Hayworth gestured for her to sit, but she couldn’t miss the slight excitement in his eyes. It made her heart flutter nervously—her first piece for the paper had already caused a stir.

“You see these?” he asked, slapping the front page of the entertainment section with his palm. “Your piece on those glam-metal hotshots is selling better than we expected. We’ve had folks calling in, wanting to know more.”

Y/N’s breath caught. She recalled the interview all too vividly: Namjoon’s teasing smirk, Jungkook’s intense gaze, the way they’d both touched her just enough to send her nerves into a tailspin. “That’s… great,” she managed, not sure if she felt relief or dread.

Hayworth’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s good. But it’s incomplete.” He jabbed a finger at the article. “You barely scratched the surface of that band’s history. Readers want the juicy details—childhood stories, drama, any scandal we can dig up. They want the real dirt.”

Y/N swallowed. “You… want me to go back?”

A smile tugged at the corner of Hayworth’s mouth—a rare sight. “That’s exactly what I want, kid. We’ve had calls from rock magazines asking who got the scoop first. That means we’re onto something big. And I want you to go deeper.” He plucked a half-crushed pack of cigarettes from his desk, tapping one out. “You’ve got the rapport with ‘em now—so use it.”

Y/N’s mind flicked to the image of Jungkook leaning in, the smell of his leather vest and whiskey, and Namjoon’s lingering handshake, the heat of his rings pressing into her skin. Her pulse kicked up at the memory. “Sir, they’re not exactly… easy to handle,” she admitted carefully. “Last time, I barely—”

Hayworth waved her off. “Figure it out. They like you, or they wouldn’t have given you anything. Go find out how they got started, what makes their fans so obsessed, and if these rumors about ‘nobody saying no’ are true.” He lit the cigarette and pointed it at her. “That’s a killer angle. People eat that stuff up.”

She knew arguing was pointless; the paper needed another front-page splash, and she was the one who’d opened the door. Still, a twist of anticipation curled in her stomach. Was she ready to face Namjoon and Jungkook again? She could still feel the crackle in the air from that dressing-room encounter—how close they’d gotten, how part of her didn’t want to leave.

Hayworth glanced at the clock on the wall. “No time to waste. They’re still in town for a few days before heading to the next city, right?”

Y/N nodded, resigned yet tingling with something she couldn’t fully name—excitement? Fear? Both? “I’ll get in touch with their manager today,” she promised, rising to her feet.

“Good. And Y/N?” He gave her a curt nod of approval. “Don’t hold back this time. The bigger the story, the better for all of us.”

She stepped out of his office, her mind whirring with possibilities—and the memory of two rock stars whose teasing smiles and confident touches had left her sleepless the night before. Another interview, she thought, pressing the folded newspaper to her chest. Guess it really wasn’t over after all.

[fastest-yeast-in-the-east]

The more I think about it, Midori was kinda an idiot and not even because the players fooled him during the banquet. Midori likes to act powerful and like he's always the one in control, but then you remember his job description is 90% just:

Die

And when you really think about it, it doesn't seem like ASUNARO valued or liked him. I mean, if nothing else, they at least trusted him to go and get all the participants to sign a consent form, which, from what we know, was a pretty important task, but aside from that, ASUNARO really just told him

Like, at least the other floor masters, Miley and Gashu weren't just flat out told to die (Gashu just sorta decided to, anyways). It really makes you wonder how ASUNARO viewed Midori. From what we know, he was originally intended to be a participant himself until he "died", which just further implies that ASUNARO was itching to get rid of him. Who replaced him, if anyone (ASUNARO could have planned for 21 participants, counting Midori, or they replaced him with Kai), is unclear, but if Kai was meant to serve as a substitute for him as ASUNARO's traitor within the participants, and knowing how Kai was considered a non-candidate who wasn't meant to win (and we all know what happens to losers in the death game), it all just heavily supports the idea that ASUNARO wanted nothing more than to kill him off.

If you were working for a company that wanted nothing more than to put you in situations where you were all but guaranteed to die, you wouldn't want to work there anymore, would you? But Midori does. That plus his overwhelming fear of death, makes him look like a really big idiot, and to be honest, I think he may really be one. Sure, he's smart in a lot of ways, being skilled at manipulation and pressing people's buttons, not to mention reprogramming Maple forget her original purpose is to kill him, but he also just couldn't see that his boss clearly had it out for him.

So if they hate him so much, why even hire him? I believe, that in Kai's mini-episode, a silhouetted figure appears whose hair resembles Midori's. This has led many to believe she is Midori's mother (which might explain why he's so screwed up, if he was raised in ASUNARO). If his mom already worked there, and probably outranked Gashu, that could have influenced ASUNARO's decision when it came to employing Midori.

AKA Midori is a nepo-baby.

ASUNARO hired him even though they didn't want to and either his mom didn't actually care that much about him (otherwise she might have objected to the killing of her son) or has retired or died and then ASUNARO had an employee who they don't want nor need. In other words Midori's relationship with his employers is more like

As the only floor master whose death is actively sought out by ASUNARO, Midori might actually be pretty low down on the totem pole, I'd say below the other two floor masters, but just above Ranger and Safalin who aren't really floor masters. Midori clearly doesn't understand that ASUNARO would 100% let him die, seeing as how he pleaded to Meister right before he died. At the end of the day, to them he's just a problem child they can finally do away with. The experiments ASUNARO let him do on other people "until they broke or he got bored" were probably just ASUNARO keeping him entertained to shut him up for a while, more or less treating him like a literal kid.

The more I think about it, ASUNARO clearly values Midori especially little, and it's honestly a little funny to think about. Him and his experiments really just make him the death game equivalent of a tablet kid.

[subukunojess]

Details About The Monster Odysseus AU

I might be the only one yelling at the void, but I want to brainstorm about the EPIC musical AU I thought of in more detail:

In terms of how it starts, at first, I thought of the obvious answer being Poseidon curses Odysseus in rage to become a "monster" but then my brain thought of: What if it were Zeus? Not only it would fit the bill of things a Greek god could do (which I think any of them could since Athena turned a human into the first spider), but it would come full circle from "The Horse and The Infant"/"Just A Man". Could you imagine Zeus seeing this mortal having this moral dilemma of "when does a man become a monster" and he's like: "Guys, guys, I have this perfect idea for a joke" only for the odyssey to happen with the monsters and gods influencing Ody's monster form? But I'll put a poll:

Now to the monster features. I went through the people and monsters that Odysseus has faced significantly. I did not include the sirens and such because they were obstacles and such. However, I ended up adding one more person since it would be symbolic to have 9 people = 9 Sagas. So in order:

Polyphemus: Not much is taken from the Cyclops. You can argue that the Cyclops for a time is a chosen monster from the Circe Saga, but for this AU, Odysseus adopted his brutality and sometimes when he acts like Polyphemus, Odysseus closes one of his eyes.

Aeolus: Perhaps wind/storm powers. Mostly he could attract/summon Winions. Symbolically, he struggles with trust now.

Poseidon: Ruthlessness, obviously, and Odysseus ends up becoming a sea creature themed hybrid with scales and such.

Circe: Odysseus can act like a siren/seduce. He also has slight puppeteering powers.

Hermes: Whether he likes it or not, Odysseus adopted Hermes's laughter/vibe. Also big motivator

Tiresias: It does not happen often but Odysseus gets visions or foresight. Maybe attuned with the Dead.

Scylla: Sizeshifting and all things monster! Tentacles, hydra heads, sharp teeth, the works.

Zeus: Odysseus has scars after being struck by Zeus's lightning. Plus he plays around with ethics.

Calypso: At first, I wanted to skip Calypso entirely. I didn't know what to do with her and whether or not Odysseus could take away something. I guess for now, just the sense of being trapped for a long time and he learned persistence.

So you might think, hey wouldn't this make the King of Ithaca OP more than he normally is in the musical? Yes but also to counter it, I want the powers/features to be tied to his emotions/trauma.

And that's what I have so far!

[puppetmaster13u]

*points* I, am in the mood to write small Cryptid!Batfamily (they’re straight up not human) prompts. Like, what role each Batfamily member is to Gotham.

Sadly, for the life of me, I can’t think of any ideas of what to write.

If you’re willing to share some ideas- I am sitting here with wide open eyes and ears.

Oh man, I have so many ideas. But for now I suppose I shall stick to just one lol

SO, cryptid batfam, originally human according to everyone. Perhaps even known to be human (even if falsely) before some sort of thing happened. Perhaps that something being when a certain robin died. Even if they cannot die. There’s so many rumors and whispers through Gotham about the bats. Some claim them to be demons, other angels, and yet more say they’re Gotham’s own children. Ones she’ll never let go and never let death take permanently. 

Everyone knows about limbs that the guardians make mimic capes, truly wings or fins or something else. They whisper of people who sacrificed their everything to Gotham, who died and couldn’t stay that way. That begged not Gods or Deities, but begged to Gotham Itself. 

Everyone knows the city is a vicious mistress, but she’s not always needlessly cruel. 

There are many tales of how the bats came to be, some spread more than others, so much that the true origin has long since been buried. Perhaps it is done purposely, pointed whispers from fanged teeth as white eyes watch quietly. Perhaps it was done accidentally, a simple joke taken as fact. 

[kyouka-supremacy]

:/

[horsemage]

I think we should bring back basic etiquette lessons such as shutting the fuck up when you’re watching a movie in a group that is not exclusively your friend group 🙂

[fleshprocessor]

jesse i need to start conlanging again

[adore-gregor]

Yeah whatever but you're still my goat 🐐 either way Gregor 😌

[lesbianpegbar]

kind of terrified of a) getting in a relationship rn and b) getting in a relationship with someone within a friend group esp when i no longer have friends at school outside of this friend group. but

[shieldwife]

"the lash of duty" what if I killed myself

[crossbackpoke-check]

Oh these all look so lovely. May i ask about good dog bad dream for WIP files?

of course!!! 🥰💕 i answered a little bit about it here, but this is one of the tag stories i really, REALLY want to actually become a fic so i did promise a little snippet of the 2K that is done:

Things that Dylan should do: turn off the light, shut the door, walk back inside to the rumpled sheets still warm from when he left them to grab a glass of water. Leave the creature outside to the lightning bugs and the quarter moon and the shifting shadows of the woods along the gap-toothed fenceline of his yard, and then come out in the morning to nothing more than a paw print and the clean reassurance of sunlight to tell him nobody’s there, to ignore the prickle of discomfort that shivers its way across his body as goosebumps and raised hairs when he thinks about turning his back on the memory of those red eyes.

Things that Dylan does instead: whistle.

[gayfranzkafka]

(insane post incoming) okay i've been a taylor swift re-recordings hater since the beginning but the Speak Now re-recording is making me INSANE i think it's partially just that i'm having a weird time emotionally anyway but like "Timeless" made me TEAR UP like bro WHAT like something about it being soooo essentially of that era but new like the novelty of it BONKED me over the head with a reminder of what it felt like to hear all those songs off Speak Now for the first time when i just had this IDEA of what love was & hadn't actually experienced it yet (& wouldn't for many years!!) like way before i even knew i was a lesbian just listening to taylor sing "enchanted" alone in my bedroom wondering who the guy she was singing about was & if she ever saw him again (because i was #blessed to not have internet access and therefor not know it was the dude from owl city she was singing about alsdfhaklsdhfasdh) & i remember just pouring through the little lyric booklet & its pictures & intro & mostly it was just me & the music & this picture of her in a ballgown in my head & this made up but hopeful romantic idea of what love is and like S C R E A M

[cryptidm0ths]

moth needs to read obbligato again

[kaijutegu]

Alligator Body Language and You, or: How To Know When An Alligator On Social Media is Being Stressed for Views

Alligators are wild animals. Despite the idiotic claims of animal abusers like Jay Brewer, they cannot be domesticated, which means they are always going to react on the same natural instincts they've had for millions of years. Habituated, yes. Tamed, yes. Trained, definitely. Crocodilians can form bonds with people- they're social and quite intelligent. They can solve problems, use tools, and they're actually quite playful. Alligators are also really good at communicating how they're feeling, but to somebody who doesn't spend much time around them, their body language can be a bit mystifying. And it doesn't help when social media influencers are saying shit like this:

That is not what a happy gator looks like.

That's a terrified, furious gator who isn't attacking because the ogre handling her has her in a chokehold. She's doing everything she can to express her displeasure, and he's lying about it because he knows his audience doesn't even know how to think critically about what he's doing. He knows that because his audience doesn't know anything about these animals, he can get away with it. This I think is why I hate him so much- he deliberately miseducates his audience. He knows what he's doing is factually inaccurate, he just doesn't care because attention means more to him than anything else in the world.

Let's change that! Here are two really important lessons for understanding alligator body language on social media.

Lesson 1: Alligators Don't Smile (in fact, most animals don't)

So what's going on in this video? Jay Brewer is aggressively choking his white alligator Coconut while scrubbing algae off of her with a toothbrush. And make no mistake, he is digging into the creature's throat while she is visibly distressed. He claims she's happy- but she's not. He is willfully misrepresenting what this animal is feeling. That's a problem, because people... well, we actually kind of suck at reading other species' body language. The reason for this is that we tend to overlay our own responses on their physical cues, and that's a problem. For example, let's look at an animal with a really similar face to ours, the chimpanzee. Check out Ama's toothy grin!

Wait, no. That's not a happy smile. That's a threat display. When a chimpanzee "smiles," it's either terrified and doing a fear grimace, or it's showing you its teeth because it intends on using them in your face.

How about a dog? Look at my smiling, happy puppy!

Oh wait no, this is a picture of Ryder when he was super overwhelmed by noise and people during a holiday party. He'd hopped up in my sister's lap to get away from stuff that was happening on the floor and was panting quite heavily. See the tension in the corners of his mouth and his eyes? A lot of the time when a dog "smiles," the smile isn't happy. It's stress! Why Animals Do The Thing has a nice writeup about that, but the point is, our body language is not the same as other species. And for reptiles, body language is wildly different.

For instance, look at these two alligators. Pretty cute, right? Look at 'em, they're posing for a Christmas card or something! How do you think they're feeling?

Well, I'll tell you how the normal one is feeling. He's annoyed! Why is he annoyed? Because the albino just rolled up, pushed another gator off the platform, and is trying to push this guy, too. I know this because I actually saw it happen. It was pretty funny, not gonna lie. He's not gaping all the way, but he was hissing- you can actually see him getting annoyed in the sequence I took right before this shot. Look at him in this first shot here- he's just relaxing, and you can see he isn't gaping even a little bit.

By the end, he's expressing displeasure, but not enough to actually do anything about it. He's annoyed, but he's comfy and that's where one of the best basking areas is, so he'll put up with it.

Reptiles open their mouths wide for a lot of reasons, but never because they are actively enjoying a sensation. Unless they're eating. No reptile smiles- they can't. They don't even have moveable lips. If a reptile is gaping, it's doing so because:

It is doing a threat display.

It is making certain vocalizations, all of which are threats. Alligators are one of the rare reptiles that do regularly vocalize, but most of their calls aren't made with a wide open mouth.

It is about to bite something delicious or somebody stupid. Check out this video- virtually all of the gaping here is anticipatory because these trained gators know darn well that the bowl is full of delicious snacks. (I have some issues with Florida's Wildest, but the man knows how to train a gator AND he is honest about explaining what they're doing and why, and all of his animals are healthy and well-cared for, and he doesn't put the public or his staff at risk- just himself.)

It's too hot and it has opened its mouth to vent some of that heat and thermoregulate. This is the main reason why alligators will often have their mouths part of the way open, but sometimes they'll open all the way for thermoregulation. This is what a thermoregulatory gape looks like- usually it's not all the way open, kinda more like < rather than V, but you can't say that 100% of the time. Additionally, a thermoregulatory gape... typically happens when it's hot out. If they're inside, maybe they've been under their basking light for too long. Heat's the dominant factor, is what I'm getting at.

There is another reason that a captive crocodilian might be gaping, and that's because it's doing so on command. Some places have their gators trained to gape on cue, like St. Augustine Alligator Farm and other good zoos. They have the animals do this in presentations that are genuinely educational. They ask the animals to open their mouths so that they can show off their teeth and demonstrate how their tongues seal off the back of their mouth. They'll also do it as part of routine healthcare, because looking at their teeth is important.

In this case, the animals aren't gaping because they're stressed, they're gaping because they know they're gonna get a piece of chicken or fish if they do it. And what's more, they're doing it on cue. They have a specific command or signal that tells them to open wide. It's not an instinctive response to a situation. It's trained. If the animal provides the behavior after a cue, the situation is much less likely to be negatively impactful.

It's also important to remember that there's a difference between a partially open mouth and a gape! As discussed above, alligators will often have their mouths a little bit open just to maintain temperature homeostasis. It helps them stay comfy, temperature-wise. These guys are all doing thermoregulatory open-mouthed behavior- that slight open and relaxed body posture is a dead giveaway. (That and it's the hottest spot in the enclosure.)

Lesson 2: A Happy Gator Is A Chill Gator

So if alligators don't smile or have facial expressions other than the :V that typically signifies distress, how else can you tell how they're feeling? One way is stillness. See, alligators subscribe to the philosophy of if it sucks... hit da bricks.

Basically, if they hate it, they'll leave. Unless, y'know, somebody has their meaty claws digging into their throat or is otherwise restraining them. (Restraint isn't always bad, btw. Sometimes the animal is going through a medical thing or needs to be restrained for their safety- which a responsible educator will explain.)

Let's look at a very similar scenario, in which a captive alligator is getting his back scrubbed.

As you can see, it's quite different. First, he's not being restrained at all. Second, look at how relaxed he is! He's just chilling there vibing! He could simply get up and leave if he wanted to, because he's not being held. Towards the end of the video, as he lifts his head, you can see that his respiratory rate is very even as his throat flutters a bit. I'm not sure what this facility is, so I can't comment on care/general ethics, but like. In this specific case, this is an alligator enjoying being scrubbed! And you can tell because he's not doing anything. A happy gator is content to be doing what they're doing.

Why Should I Listen To You?

Now, you should ask yourself, why should you listen to me? Why should you trust me, who does not own an alligator, versus Jay Brewer, who owns several?

Well, first off, there's no profit for me in telling you that what you're seeing on social media is in fact not what you're being told you're seeing. I'm not getting paid to do this. That's the thing with people who make social media content. The big names aren't doing it just for fun. They're doing it for money. Whether that's profit through partnerships or sponsorships, or getting more people to visit their facilities, or ad revenue, you can't ignore the factor of money. And this is NOT a bad thing, because it allows educators to do what they're passionate about! People deserve to be paid for the work that they do!

But the problem starts when you chase the algorithm instead of actually educating. A "smiling" alligator gets the views, and if people don't know enough to know better, it keeps getting the views. People love unconventional animal stories and they want those animals to be happy- but the inability to even know where to start with critically evaluating these posts really hinders the ability to spread real information. Like, this post will probably get a couple hundred notes, but that video of Coconut being scrubbed had almost 400,000 likes when I took that screenshot. Think about how many eyeballs that's reached by now. What I'm saying here is that it's just... really important to think critically about who you're getting your information from. What do dissenters say in the comments? What do other professionals say? You won't find a single herpetologist that has anything good to say about Prehistoric Pets, I can tell you that right now.

Another reason you can trust me is that my sources are not "just trust me bro," or "years of experience pretending my pet shop where animals come to die is a real zoo." Instead, here are my primary sources for my information on alligator behavior:

Dragon Songs: Love and Adventure among Crocodiles, Alligators, and Other Dinosaur Relations- Vladimir Dinets

The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles- J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, Gordon M. Burghardt

Social Behavior Deficiencies in Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Z Walsh, H Olson, M Clendening, A Rycyk

Social Displays of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)- Kent Vliet

Social Signals and Behaviors of Adult Alligators and Crocodiles- Leslie Garrick, Jeffery Lang

Never smile at a crocodile: Gaping behaviour in the Nile crocodile at Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa- Cormac Price, Mohamed Ezat, Céline Hanzen, Colleen Downs (this one's Nile crocs, not American alligators, but it's really useful for modeling an understanding of gape behaviors and proximity)

Thermoregulatory Behavior of Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Cheryl S. Asa, Gary D. London, Ronald R. Goellner, Norman Haskell, Glenn Roberts, Crispen Wilson

Unprovoked Mouth Gaping Behavior in Extant Crocodylia- Noah J. Carl, Heather A. Stewart, Jenny S. Paul

Thank you for reading! Here's a very happy wild alligator from Sanibel for your trouble.

[akajustmerry]

people treat bisan, motaz and plestia like they're influencers instead of, you know, people who have endured/are enduring war crimes beyond imagining and ethnic cleansing. what I mean is, they never asked to be spokesperson for their people's humanity, or planned to be so visible. they're just people, ordinary people who can never go home, who are surviving colonial violence. what they're doing and what they have done defies any term of admiration or respect I could apply. But I wish that people would stop thinking of these individual Palestinians trying to survive in war zones like celebrities or politicians with actual power because it's just another form of dehumanisation. Ask yourself, what will you do if something happens to Bisan? If she is killed or goes dark or inshallah she escapes? Everyday I see posts like, "if Bisan dies, I'll riot!" riot NOW. speak up, now! Palestinians and Lebanese and Syrian people who aren't going viral on social media are being murdered by the occupation in the 100s everyday. I am begging people to stop hingeing their faith in the free Palestine movement and the movement to end the Zionist occupation on individuals. I love Bisan and Motaz and Plestia with all my heart and pray for them every day, but I'm begging people not to reframe Palestinian liberation through individualism. Support BDS, donate to UNRWA or the Red Crescent Society, listen to Palestinians across Palestine and the diaspora. Your belief in the freedom of Indigenous peoples has to transcend the ones most visible and palatable to you.

[dante-and-dragons]

I think TMA is bleeding into some of my D&D worldlore. Some of my gods are more like... people who have committed themselves so much to a concept/ideal (eg. luck, ambition, family) that they became the gods of those things. And then some of them are just... the raw, unfiltered/unworshiped ideals themselves.

For instance, there isn't really a god of war, but there is just straight up War, an entity, or the essence of war itself, which... exists.

I guess to some extent, the more concrete/person-shaped gods could be taken as avatars of the more essential forces/ideals.

I'm still not sure exactly how I want to do my pantheon, to be honest. I have a few gods developed, and some have names and take on physical forms, but others are... thereish.