#Rowan I suppose also was used for a bit but definitely not SUPER long

[pineflowerart]

A little sketch of all my DND characters through the years! Very few made it far, but it's cool to see them all together in a row :)

[agentnorthdakota]

4, 7, 8, 14, 17, 22, 24, 26, 31, 33, 34, 44? :3

Thanks Spencer!! uwu ilu <3

Answers under read more b/c long lol

4. how often are you on tumblr? Way too often lol. I check it many times a day, most of which are out of boredom :p

7. can you swim? I can! No, like, 'proper' styles or super well or anything, but I can swim! The last time was like 2 years ago tho and it's way harder than I remembered lol, I think it was easier when I was a kid and much lighter :p

8. have you had water today? uhhhhhh. I. can't recall. the last time I had just normal water. I've never really like the 'taste' of it, and still don't. p much the only time I drink it is if it's summer and I was exercising and am Super thirsty, in which case cold water is great. Otherwise I'm drinking something else, iced tea or juice primarily, I do still try and stay hydrated.

14. do you admire the clouds and color of the sky? Very much!!! Clouds are so pretty and there's so many variations, I absolutely love them. I'm admiring the clouds and/or sky at least once a day.

17. an earliest obsession you remember? Hmmm I mean I'd probably say Pokemon honestly. I had so much Pokemon merch as a kid (and still own much of it in storage boxes), and I'm p sure I had a Pokemon themed birthday one year (probably 2001? 'cause we went to see Pokemon: The Movie 3 in theatres, which would've made me 7).

22. do you have a collection of cool rocks? Heck yeah I do! Primarily ones I've bought from mineral shops. I used to also just have some cool river rocks I found, but I don't think I have any of them anymore.

24. what have you learned about yourself? Gosh this is such a broad question. I love bonding with friends over the same creative hobbies (cosplay, DnD, etc), I love fashion and eccentric clothes and shoes and heels now, especially after top surgery as I get to actually enjoy how they fit me! I'm a slut in theory but not in practice u.u I'm not 100% settled on a sexuality label, but I also don't have to be, sexuality and romantic orientation are fluid and also a spectrum. I have some poor behaviours I picked up from my parents that I'm not proud of. I've definitely improved some quite a bit, but I'm also still wary there's more that I haven't realized or had pointed out.

26. do you believe in aliens? I think the universe is far too unbelievably vast for other life to not exist out there. So in that sense, yes! Same goes for sentient life. But do I believe they've visited Earth, or even our solar system? Nada.

31. have you gotten bit by a dog? Depends on how you'd define 'bit' I suppose? There's only ever been one (or two?) cases in which it was enough to draw blood. Which was shortly after I got Rowan, and I was giving him a chicken treat before leaving for work, and I looked away and he snatched it out of my hand, and accidentally bit my pinky as well as the treat. He defs didn't mean to, and I wouldn't really consider it a bite, myself.

33. a song that gets stuck in your head? Oh boy this varies all the time. Like, daily or multiple times a day. Often I wake up with a song stuck in my head. It's usually just a song I like and have been listening to recently.

34. when you hear “ peace ” what do you think of? I mean, if this were one of those 'answer with your first thought/off the top of you head' things, it would just be the peace sign ☮ Or the two-finger peace sign. More philosophically though, just a beautiful nature view, a river or mountains or something, on a nice day that's not too hot. Beautiful scenery and relaxation.

44. do you collect anything? Yes!! The aforementioned rocks/minerals, and also feathers that I happen to find. And shed antlers that we've found out hunting (tho now that I don't go any more I haven't added to them in years), and some animal skulls and bones~ Oh and dice. As I ponder this question and look up to see my shelves full of Chessex dice lol (I thought I had photos handy but uh. apparently I don't. and my phone's storage is too full to take some whoops)

[charincharge]

Cruel Summer, Part 3

cruel summer masterlist

AN: I’m really sorry I like posting at 1AM, I guess? Same warnings apply. Drinking, swearing, sexual frustration. Excited to hear what you think about this one... 

There are nice neighborhoods in Wendlyn. There are suburbs with sprawling lawns and white picket fences and wraparound porches and two car garages. But Rowan has never seen anything like the Ashryver’s Terrasen summer estate. It took him a full fifteen minutes just to walk up the driveway. He supposed he could have parked on the driveway – he sees most everyone else has, but he’s certain his loud clunker of a truck would have only marred the view.

The house is stunning. It sits on top of a stony cliff that overlooks the North Sea. He cranes his neck up, taking in the mansion. It looks as if it’s four stories tall, and each window has its own personal balcony. The front door is wide open, so he walks through, admiring the high ceilinged foyer. His flip flops clop across the beautiful black and white marble floor, echoing loudly with each step, making him feel more and more self-conscious.

He’s already running extremely late. It took him forever to decide what to wear. Stupid, he knows. But he’s fucking nervous. He’s never been to a party like this. With people like this. He ultimately decided on a t-shirt and board shorts and flip flops – it was a pool party, right? But as he looks around the back patio, at the caterers and full bar, Rowan’s not sure he made the right choice. He looks over his shoulder, desperate for some reassurance from the girl he brought with him for moral support, but can only gape, horrified.

His roommate Manon, has taken off her leather jacket and revealed her outfit underneath – an oversized band t-shirt she’s wearing like a dress, which… barely reaches the tops of her thighs. He knows the t-shirt well, and though it promotes the Beastie Boys innocently on the front, he knows when she turns around, in large yellow block letters it will read: GET OFF MY DICK.

“Fucking A, Man. Put your jacket back on. That is so not appropriate. We’re at my boss’s house.”

Manon flicks a piece of lint off her shirt with her long black polished nails and narrows her eyes at Rowan. “Maybe if we hadn’t just walked four hundred miles down the driveway I wouldn’t be so fucking hot.” She smiles, baring her white teeth from under her dark lipstick. “Anyway, no one’s going to care soon. It’s open bar.”

“I don’t know why I asked you to come to this,” Rowan sighs, running his fingers through his hair. This was a bad idea. Manon isn’t exactly… work friendly, he thinks, as he takes in the ferocious-looking dragon tattoo that wraps itself around her forearm and disappears up her shirtsleeve.

“You couldn’t bear the thought of leaving me alone,” Manon coos, batting her heavily lined eyes at him. “Despite my many protests.”

“You’re a pain in my ass.”

“Don’t fucking slander me like that, Whitethorn. You know I’m the best you’ve ever had.” Manon winks. It’s a joke between them. They’ve lived together now for two years. Manon saved him after a particularly terrible run of bad roommates, and they’ve been cohabitating since. He made the mistake of telling her she was the best roommate he’d ever had one night, and she’s been taunting him about it ever since. Manon loves being the best.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re the best I’ve ever had.” Rowan blows her a kiss, and she pretends to catch it and throw it back at him. He clutches his heart, wounded from her rejection. Though it’s par for the course with the two of them.

A throat clears loudly, and they both turn. Rowan’s boss stands with the one person he wanted to work himself up to seeing today. Aelin looks just as good as she did the last time Rowan saw her — if not better, all warm sun-kissed skin and long wavy hair in an ethereal white dress. Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes glint with fire. Rowan’s beginning to think that’s just their natural state.

“Lorcan!” Rowan, stutters, unprepared.

Lorcan’s lips tug into a small smirk as his eyes slide over to Aelin. “Aelin, I wanted to introduce you to—”

“Rowan Whitethorn,” Aelin drawls his name and holds out her hand out to shake his.

“I guess your connections came through,” Rowan says with a smile, but it’s not returned, and Rowan feels self-conscious again as he pulls his hand back.

There’s an awkward pause as Rowan wonders what the hell to say next. Aelin doesn’t seem interested in continuing a conversation, and Lorcan isn’t exactly the most amicable guy in the world.

Aelin’s eyes narrow and turn to the girl on Rowan’s right. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?”

“What?” Completely flustered, Rowan’s forgotten that Manon is beside him. Manon looks at him, annoyed. “Oh. Uh, yeah.” He shrugs. “Sorry. This is Manon.”

“I’ve just been standing here the whole time, you asshole,” Manon chides, and Rowan sends her a warning glare, but she smiles widely and ignores him, holding her hand out to shake hands with Aelin.

“Manon Blackbeak. Thank you so much for having me.” Though Manon sounds sincere, Rowan knows Manon is being anything but. She’s going to be mocking him about this party for days.

Aelin returns her handshake, and gasps upon seeing Manon’s nails — intricate black and white designs on long talon like shapes. Manon says they’re coffin shaped. Because that’s apparently a thing. Rowan shudders. Manon’s nails are the one thing about her that truly frighten him.

“Oh, I love your nails,” Aelin says, admiring them thoroughly. “But it’s such a shame you’ve broken two of them.”

Manon’s amber eyes flash with glee as she gives Aelin a practically feral grin. “Oh, sweetheart, those aren’t broken. I keep those two short on purpose, so I don’t hurt pretty things like you.”

“Jesus, Manon,” Rowan barks out, blushing for Aelin. Watching Manon flirt with the girl he’s had his eye on is enough to send him into an early grave. Rowan scans Aelin’s face for any signs of offense. He doesn’t see any, but feels the need to apologize for his roommate, regardless. “I’m so sorry for her. Honestly.”

Aelin looks confused, her eyes darting between Manon and Rowan at a rapid pace. “…I don’t get it,” Aelin admits, and Manon is about to explain when Rowan cuts her off.

“It’s better that way.”

Manon rolls her eyes and twists her long platinum hair over her shoulder. She preens, admiring her manicure and picks off a nonexistent hangnail before looking back at Aelin. “Something you should know about Rowan is that he’s absolutely no fun.”

“So it seems,” Aelin says, her brow furrowed. Aelin’s demeanor changes in an instant again, giving them a terse smile. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Manon. And to officially meet you, Rowan. Enjoy the party.” And with a flounce of her skirt, she’s gone.

As Rowan watches Aelin disappear back into her house —

“What’s the story there?” Manon asks. “You piss in her cereal or something?” Rowan quirks an eyebrow at Manon, and she laughs. “That girl does not like you.”

Rowan crosses his arms defensively. “Why would she not like me? I’m very likable.”

Manon poked a sharp talon into his arm. “That’s debateable. Regardless, I know you did something.”

“I didn’t do anything!” Rowan can feel the anger swirling around his stomach. There was some fundamental reflex to being disliked that always got the better of Rowan. It wasn’t that he had a compulsive need to be liked, but — okay, maybe it was that a little bit. But also, he hadn’t done anything wrong. And why was he so damn upset about being blown off by a person he’d spoken to just a handful of times?

Lorcan snorts as he finally pipes up. “Aelin’s a handful. Steer clear that drama.”

It’s the most candid Rowan has ever heard Lorcan ever be, so he nods, taking in his warning. Though he’s not a hundred percent sure he’s going to adhere to it.

“Let’s get drinks,” Rowan suggests and Manon follows him willingly. Drinks are definitely an idea she can get behind.

Rowan meets up at the bar with the rest of the Cadre — that’s what the group of his coworkers has named their text thread. He’s not exactly close with any of them yet, but it was nice to be added to the group chat. Fenrys and Gavriel are already wet from the pool and the twins, Connell and Vaughan, pass around beers to everyone.

Rowan’s taken his first swig of beer when he realizes he’s lost Manon along the way. He finds her mid-conversation with Elide, one of the other Playland managers. Rowan isn’t super familiar with the petite girl, and he’s shocked to see that his roommate is.

“You found a friend,” Rowan says, handing a beer to Manon.

“Manon was my Resident Advisor my freshman year at University of Terrasen. Can you believe that?” Elide squeals. “She was the absolute coolest. She always let me sleep on her couch when my roommate kicked me out for slutty sleepovers.” Elide leans into Manon’s side, and Rowan expects the cold, white-haired girl to shake her off, but she doesn’t. She shocks the hell out of Rowan and wraps her arm around Elide’s shoulders and squeezes her, looking down at her with a fond smile. A small pang of jealousy blooms in Rowan’s stomach. He didn’t expect Manon to have her own friends at this party. She was here to be his support. Which he obviously, desperately needs. He’s floundering here.

As Rowan tunes in and out of Elide and Manon’s conversation, giving the appropriate mhms and wows, his eyes wander the patio, searching for the blonde who disappeared on him earlier. He can’t shake her dismissal. He wants to talk to her. Know what’s behind those blue and gold eyes of hers. Know why the hell she walked away from him. He spots her by the pool. She’s reemerged from the house with her hair tied up in a messy bun, wearing only a white bathing suit and freshly painted bright red lips. Rowan can’t help but stare as she slowly makes her way into the pool, the water rising until it hits right at her chest. It’d be indecent if the swimsuit weren’t so modes. The girl certainly knows how to command attention.

“Rowan.” Manon snaps her long claws in front of his face.

“Hm?” Rowan brings his attention back to his evilly grinning roommate.

“I asked if you wanted to get into the pool,” Manon says, her eyebrow raised.

“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

Manon raises up onto her tiptoes and whispers into Rowan’s ear. “Think she’d be down for a threesome? She is fire.”

Rowan’s cheeks heat as he pushes Manon away. “Stop that.”

Manon grins. “But you’re so easy to rile up.”

Rowan finds a free chair for their things and strips off his t-shirt, and Manon does the same. He sighs upon seeing Manon’s black mesh strappy bikini, which looks more like lingerie than swimwear, showing off the artwork inked all over her body. Not that he can talk. He has his own tattoo, which runs up his chest and down his back.

As they make their way towards the pool, Rowan pauses. Aelin is in the pool with another man. He’s pale with floppy brown hair, and Rowan can tell he’s a rich kid just by looking at him. Their hands are all over each other. Aelin smiles and lets him kiss her cheek as she hoists herself onto his back.

“Uh ohhh,” Manon drawls. “Looks like Barbie’s already got herself a Ken.”

Rowan elbows her in the ribs. Perhaps a little harder than intended. Manon scowls at him. “I’m never taking you as a wingman anywhere ever again,” Rowan grits out.

“Ahah! So you admit it. I am here as a wingman because you have a crush on the boss’s daughter.”

Rowan flicks his pine green eyes at Manon. He doesn’t have to confirm anything. Manon has figured him out. So what? He thought Aelin was cute, and yeah, he thought maybe today would be a good opportunity to talk to her again. Get to know her a little better. Maybe start a friendship. Maybe more. Who knows? But it looks like that’s not in the cards. The dismissal was her way of letting him down easy. She’s already involved. Whatever. It’s better this way, Rowan thinks to himself. This way he won’t put his job at risk. Or his heart. It’s fine. He doesn’t know anything about the girl other than how good she looks in a bathing suit. He’ll get over it. He’s sure of it.

Except he doesn’t. The rest of the day is torture. Aelin avoids his gaze, shifting away from him at every opportunity. And it drives him absolutely insane. She splashes around the pool with her cohort, whose name he overhears is Dorian. He swears if he hears her shout out “Dor!” with unbridled affection one more time, he’s going to crack his teeth by how hard he’s grinding them. He tries to distract himself by racing with the Cadre, who’ve taken up the entire deep end, but he tires quickly.

Water-logged and exhausted from the sun, Rowan pulls himself out of the pool. He leaves Manon in Elide’s company and tells her he’s going for a walk. Rowan needs to clear his head. He grabs another beer and heads down the walkway to the beach. There’s something about the salt air and the sand that soothes him. Rowan walks a ways down, admiring the row of mega mansions that overlooks the water, though he can’t help but feel like even more of an outsider than he already is. He does not belong in this neighborhood. By the time Rowan makes his way back to the Ashryvers’ the sun is halfway dipped into the horizon, and dusk is upon them.

He finds a side gate to the house and makes his way through it, surprised that it leads to a beautiful rose garden. Vines crawl and wind themselves around arched trellises creating a magical canopy of flowers. His mom would love this garden. He sits to take a picture for her when the garden lights turn on, lighting the flowers with delicate twinkle lights, giving the garden an ethereal glow.

Rowan’s phone buzzes with a text from Manon. People are leaving. Where u at, bitch?

He laughs to himself and texts her back quickly. Be right there. Just paused to take a pic.

Loser.

Rowan ignores Manon’s reply and snaps another photo of the garden. He wishes he had his real camera and not just his camera phone to capture the light of the garden, but he thinks he manages to take an okay snap of the lit roses with the fading sun over the ocean in the background.

He’s about to head back to the patio when he hears a voice from overhead call out, “Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou, Romeo?”

He looks up, and sure enough, Aelin is dramatically leaning over her balcony, hand placed over her brow, as if she were searching through the crowds for her paramour.

Rowan is positive she doesn’t see him in the dusky twilight, so he chuckles somewhat loudly and gives her a short wave to get her attention.

Aelin straightens up immediately, her posture suddenly rigid with tension. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t see anyone out here.”

“I figured,” Rowan says, running his hands through his hair, a nervous habit of his. He spots a silhouetted shadow emerging from behind Aelin and smiles sadly. “By the way, I think your Romeo is behind you.”

Confused, Aelin turns, and sure enough Dorian appears next to her. He pulls her into his arms, and Rowan’s heart gives a small sad tug as he watches Dorian spin Aelin and lower her into a low dip. His footsteps feels heavy as he walks away and hears her peals of laughter ring out into the slowly encroaching darkness.

~*~*~*~*~

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[nightwingshero]

OC Interview

I was tagged by @ja-crispea thank you, love!

Name: Wren Marie Blake

Are you single: Nope. I’m with John Seed.

Are you happy: *laughs* Overall, I suppose.

Are you angry: Uhm...I mean, I’m not...I’m not normally an angry person per se. I think...I have a lot of unresolved emotions that just kind of build up over time, and I’ve just never really dealt with them. Which explains the drinking and self-harm issues. But I guess, with how everything hit the fan and with all the violence, it just turned into anger. So, in a way, maybe I am angry. I don’t know. Next question?

Are your parents still married: Super tempted to do the whole Batman thing, you know, the “my parents are dead!” dramatic bit? But my mother died when I was young and my father died a before I moved to Hope County. So, no, I suppose they aren’t. 

Nine Facts

Birthplace: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Hair color: Black

Eye color: Blue green, though mostly green. They change sometimes. 

Birth date: June 24th, 1989...yeah, I’m a Cancer. I know that matters to some people, so...

Mood: Hmmm. A bit energetic, I had a Monster this morning. Other than that, I guess I’m at ease a bit. Generally happy. 

Gender: Female

Summer or winter: Honestly, neither. I prefer Spring and Fall. But if I had to choose one, summer. I love the cold, but I like to swim more. 

Morning or afternoon: Afternoon. I’m not a morning person. It takes me too long to just get started on my day. 

Eight things about your love life

Are you in love: I don’t know how he did it, but yes, I’m in love.

Do you believe in love at first sight: *laughs* My future husband and I tried to kill each other the first few times we met...I think that one answers itself, hun.

Who ended your last relationship: Okay, this is awkward. He did. I was...having an affair with my college professor who, surprise, was married. He broke it off when, another surprise, I ended up pregnant. So....yeah. 

Have you ever broken someones heart: Maybe, I think so. 

Are you afraid of commitment: Yes and no. I want commitment and to be loved, but I guess I’m just scared of being abandoned, you know? Makes it a bit hard to open up to people when you’ve had bad experiences doing so in the past. 

Have you hugged someone in the last week: Sure. John, that’s a no brainer. Adelaide, Rowan, Jacob does this side hug thing, so I’m counting that. 

Have you ever broken your own heart: Guilty as charged. I started a fight with John when things started to get serious because I was falling in love with him, and was afraid he was faking everything just to get me to join. So...yeah. Looking back, if I would’ve just talked with him, maybe things would have been a bit different. 

Six Choices

Love or Lust: Love, for sure. Don’t get me wrong, Lust is definitely one of my sins, and its a lot of fun. But I value love over it, for sure. 

Lemonade or Iced Tea: Tea, I really love the taste of it.

Cats or Dogs: Cats. Peaches is a badass, and I love how independent cats are.

A few Best friends or Regular Friends: Best friends. I’m fine with a small circle. I’m introverted anyways. 

Wild night out or romantic night in: *laughs* Yeah, I’m an introvert. A wild night sounds...terrible. Romantic night in, hands down. John is also super good at making a romantic dinner. I wouldn’t pass that up for anything. 

Day or night: Night, for sure. It’s fun to swim, watch the stars, and the view of Holland Valley by the YES sign at night? Gorgeous! But most importantly, that’s the best time to watch a scary movie.

Five Have You Evers

Been caught sneaking out: Never. My father kept me on lockdown a lot of my life, so I never really...did much of anything. 

Fallen Down/Up the Stairs: I’ve slipped down the stairs from not paying attention. John makes me use the railing on a daily basis now. 

Wanted someone/something so badly it hurt: Oh god...you have no idea. 

Wanted to disappear: *sighs* Yeah, unhealthily so.

Four preferences

Smile or eyes: *sighs heavily* Oof, that’s a tough one. I love both. I would say eyes. They’re the windows to the soul and all that. 

Shorter or taller: I’m 5′4. I definitely prefer taller, and its not hard, honestly. Sharky makes fun of me all the time. 

Intelligence or Attraction: I mean....the more intelligent you are, the more attractive you are to me, so I don’t really think it matters? But I value intelligence any day. I love having deep conversations. 

Hook up or Relationship: Relationship. I get too emotionally attached, and I just can’t do it. 

Family

Do you and your family get along: Uhm, before my mom died, we were super close. My dad and I hated each other, even though I constantly sought his approval. I get along pretty good now with my in-laws. And my friends and I are really close, too.  

Would you say you have a messed up life: *scoffs* Where would you like me to begin?

Have you ever ran away from home: No, I didn’t have the courage to try that with my dad. I left as soon as I turned 18, though. 

Have you ever got kicked out: No, my dad had a major control issue. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere and he always wanted me under his thumb. Which is why I left as soon as I could. 

Friends

Do you secretly hate one of your friends: No, why would I? What’s the point of being friends if you hate them? *laughs* kinda defeats the purpose, don’t you think?

Do you consider all of your friends good friends: Absolutely. I chose my friends very carefully, and they’re amazing people. 

Who is your best friend: Rowan and Adelaide. They’ve always been there for me no matter what, and Addie has stuck by me from the very beginning. I love them both. 

Who knows everything about you: *laughs* Oh, that’s easy. John for sure. John knows me like the back of his hand, and vice versa. We don’t keep anything from each other.

Tagging: @chazz-anova @fadedjacket @joeyhxdson @xbaebsae @seedlingsinner @returnofthepd3 @shallow-gravy

[hazyheel]

Money in the Bank 2019 Predictions

Money in the Bank has suffered from a pretty lackluster build for the most part. The ladder matches really don’t feel like that big of a deal, and the wildcard rule has made everything confusing. But, the card looks pretty good on paper, so lets see who will win on sunday, shall we?

First up, we have Elias vs. Roman Reigns. This is basically a surrogate match for Shane vs. Roman at Summerslam or some other show, because Elias doesn’t have that huge of a problem with Roman. Elias was supposedly the biggest acquistition in Smackdown history, and Roman upstaged him by also being drafted. So he is pissed about that. But mostly, Elias is just Shane’s crony right now. So, as such, Roman can and should win here, because the only other place that this feud could go is a No DQ match with a guitar shot in there. Should be an alright match, unless Elias really turns on the gas, in which case it could be great. But I’m not getting my hopes up.

Next, Shane Mcmahon vs. The Miz in a steel cage match. This feud has stretched back a while, and it was really well built. Miz was in the finals of the world cup tournament back at crown jewel last year (ew.) Miz got hurt during the match, and for some reason, Shane was allowed to fill in for him. Shane ended up winning, and he became the best in the world. So, Miz started to hero worship Shane, and wanted to tag with him to make his dad proud. So they tagged together, won the tag team championships at the royal rumble, lost them at elimination chamber, and failed to get them back at Fastlane. During fastlane, Shane turned heel and beat him up. So, Miz challenged him to a falls count anywhere match at Wrestlemania, where Miz’s dad got invovled and Shane beat him up. Shane beat him after Miz delivered a superplex off of some scaffolding and like twenty feet down, and Shane just happened to roll onto Miz. So, Miz was pissed, and kept beating up Shane for a few weeks, and eventually challenged him to a steel cage match. And that is where we are now. I don’t know if the feud will continue, but Miz needs his win back. Its a fun stip, but I doubt its the end of the feud. This could be fun, but idk. I didn’t expect to like their Falls Count anywhere match so much, and I really did, so maybe this will be good too.

So now its Ariya Daivari vs. Tony Nese for the WWE Crusierweight Championship. Daivari was just sorta thrown into a #1 contender match against Oney Lorcan and got the win to qualify, but the story has been okay. He and Nese are really trying to get into each other’s head, and Nese seems to have the edge. They both have been saying things like, “I could have attacked you, but I didn’t. Just know that.” Either way, Nese just won the belt, so he should retain here to be a good champion. Daivari is undefeated in 2019, but that is a streak that I am willing to sacrifice. Should be pretty good, but not a show stealing cruiserweight performance. 

Then we have Daniel Bryan and Rowan defending their smackdown tag team titles against the Usos. The Hardy’s had to vacate the belts, and Shane was gonna just give them to Bryan and Rowan, but the Usos came out to say that they wanted a shot. Usos lost, Bryan and Rowan are champions. The Usos feuded with Rowan and Bryan a bit for like a week, and now we have this match for the pre show. So not a spectacular build, and the fact that the Usos are a Raw team confuses me, and I hate the wildcard rule. Either way, Bryan and Rowan should retain, and this could be good. But still, weird that a Raw team is challenging for the Smackdown belts.

Next is Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship. They had a match that was unfortunately cut short at Mania, with Joe winning quickly. They had a rematch a few nights later, which Rey won, and then celebrated with his son. Joe intimidated his son backstage a bit, and now we have this match. So, Joe probably should retain here, and this should be a great match, but that is weird and lazy storytelling. 

Into the first of Becky’s matches, Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. This feud has stretched back a while, but this latest chapter only concerns Wrestlemania. Lynch pinned Ronda Rousey in a match that was for both the Raw and Smackdown Women’s Championship. So Charlotte lost her belt without being pinned, and she wants a rematch. She beat a couple people to get there, and the rematch is happening. I think this will be a long match, but Becky is gonna still win here. But she will be brutalized. I hope this is a good match, and I think it will be, but if it is booked the way I think it will be, then it could kinda flop.

So after that, Lynch defends her Raw Women’s Championship against Lacey Evans, in her first pay per view singles match. Evans just was inserted into this spot, and she doesn’t quite belong here. But she is talented, so this push isn’t super unwarranted outside of kayfabe, but in kayfabe, this doesn’t make much sense. I think Lynch will win this by the skin of her teeth. She will be battered from a much more competitive match with Flair, and will get beaten a lot by Evans, but still pull out a roll up. If that is how it goes, then this will probably suck. But if they choose to make it competitive, then there is no reason for it to be bad.

For the WWE Championship, its Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens. Owens came back from injury as a babyface, and replaced Big E in the New Day while he was injured. That lasted a week, because he attacked both Kingston and Xavier Woods. He says that Kingston was never supposed to get to the WWE Championship, and that he will be torn down. I like this build, but I think it is happening a tad early. Unless big E is coming back soon, Owens should have stayed in the New Day until Summerslam. If it was a bigger pay per view, I would think Owens would win. But it’s right after Mania, and Kingston only has 2 defenses so far, neither on pay per view, so I think that he will retain. I don’t know if this is the end of the feud, but I could definitely see Owens beating Kofi for the belt. It could be here, this is a tough match, but I’m going with my gut. I think this will be a very good match though.

The last of the championship matches, Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles for the Universal Championship. AJ beat Rey Mysterio and Samoa Joe in a triple threat, and then Baron Corbin in a singles match to qualify for this. Their feud is pretty simple: Styles doesn’t feel like Rollins has enough respect for him. So, AJ attacked him one week, and then abandoned him during a tag match on another. AJ has justified his actions so far, and done it pretty well, but this is heading towards a heel turn. I think Rollins wins this match, and then AJ turns heel. If they want to be smart about it, he should turn heel, but not get another match until Summerslam. This is a huge match, and there is no reason to be doing it right now. I am sure this will be match of the night, and I’m really trying not to get my hopes up, but the smark inside of me is so happy that I get to see this. 

Into the ladder matches, it’s Natalya vs. Dana Brooke vs. Naomi vs. Bayley vs. Mandy Rose vs. Ember Moon vs. Carmella vs. Nikki Cross for the Women’s Money in the bank briefcase. There is a little bit of story here, but not a whole bunch. In the real world, Sasha Banks has refused to come to work since losing the tag titles, so Dana Brooke replaced her in this match. As for kayfabe, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville are on their way to splitsville, and Mandy just cost them a tag match last week. So i could see Deville turning on her partner in this match, costing her the briefcase, and then they can have a nice midcard feud. It sucks to lose such a great women’s tag team, especially when we need them, but it’s coming. Also, Bayley has been pissed that she hasn’t had many opportunities at singles gold in forever, so that’s happening. For me, this is between Bayley and Mandy, because no one else has any momentum. Naturally, this thing fits best on a heel, but Mandy may be turning face soon. And she is literally the only heel, unless they forgot what Dana Brooke was again. I’m going to go with Bayley, because she really does deserve something for singles competition, and this is how you get her back there. My heart says Ember Moon, but I’d also be happy with Bayley. The talent is present for this match, but not much of the momentum.

And lastly, for the men’s money in the bank briefcase, it is Sami Zayn vs. Ricochet vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Baron Corbin vs. Ali vs. Finn Bálor vs. Andrade vs. Randy Orton. Another match without much story though. Zayn beat Strowman for the spot on Raw last week, so that will definitely factor into the match. McIntyre and Corbin are kinda friends sometimes. Andrade is currently feuding with Balor (the IC Champion), while Orton is feuding with Ali. So, this match has a lot of candidates. but I’ll go through who won’t win. Zayn will definitely be taken out by Strowman, so then they will feud. Orton and Ali have their own thing going on, and both of them don’t have too much upward momentum right now. Ricochet is too new, and is only in this match because he does flips. Balor is the IC Champion, and he still needs to cement himself in that role. So that leaves us with McIntyre, Andrade and Corbin. Corbin has won before, so I don’t think he will win, but given how much the company loves the fact that the fans legitimately hate Corbin, they might do it to be dickheads. So that leaves me McIntyre and Almas. I think that Andrade needs this win a bit more, because McIntyre is a beast, so he can get to the world championship without the briefcase. Andrade can too, but it would take a bit longer. Plus, if Andrade gets the briefcase, then he has a reason to lose his feud with Balor over the IC championship. It just seems to work the best for everyone. I think that this match should be really good to great, because these ladder matches tend to be, and there is a lot of talent here. 

All in all, I am looking forward to the show. The build hasn’t been great, but ladder matches are one of the best stipulations in wrestling, and the Money in the Bank Briefcase is an awesome and exciting concept. Plus, there are a couple great matches on the undercard as well. Hopefully WWE pulls there stuff together for the stories though, because before I started writing this I really didn’t care much. Here’s hoping for a fun show.

[marvel-broke-my-heart]

hi :))

1. my friend taylor told me she was trying to shift and so i was curious and she told me our friend rowan got her into it so i asked rowan about it and she told me her shifting experience and i got super excited!!!

2. none, haven’t shifted yet :/

3. i started about a year ago. tried january-february and a little bit into march before taking a break that was only supposed to last a little bit… started up again last month

4. i made myself a little blueprint of my bedroom in the avengers compound to help me visualize! i find the more detailed my visualizing is the more symptoms i experience

5. at first it was about getting into a relationship lol, but now i have a bf here in my CR and i’m very happy with him, so now it’s really just about getting to experience my fav books/movies/shows for myself!! having cool powers!! making new friends!! :D

6. MCU, LEGO Ninjago, httyd:rtte

7. still working on finding a consistent routine. as of late:

1.get all ready for bed

2.listen to music pertaining to my DRwhile going thru my DR pinterest boards; for my MCU DR i have ones for my wardrobe/clothing style, bedroom elements, and general aesthetic

3.read my script while still listening to music pertaining to my DR

4.meditate. still working on the details of this aspect bc i keep switching up meditations but generally 10-15 mins

5. put on a subliminal and attempt to shift

8. my friend rowan. she sent me this “shifting note” with background info on shifting, scripting suggestions, meditation and subliminal links and more.

9. my script are pretty long and extensive. i use google docs and make it all pretty and print them out. i’m a bit of a perfectionist lol so my scripts are usually several pages long, separated into sections such as “About Me,” “Shifting Conditions,” “Character Changes,” “Health,” “Appearance,” “Talents/Abilities,” “Relations,” “Living,” “Desired Reality Entry,” and “Affirmations,” with affirmations tailored specifically for that script.

10. “My comfort character is Bucky Barnes” :)

(i’ll give you another- “I can shapeshift into different animal forms”)

11. one finished; five still being edited and changed

12. (MCU DR) myself, but an animal shapeshifter. a year or two older, a few inches taller, more confident and athletic and happy.

12.5. i script myself mostly as i am in my CR, so yes, definitely weaknesses lol

13. the EFFORT it takes

14. technically i haven’t yet, but getting to experience things that are impossible in my CR. just having control over how my life turns out, i guess.

15. (MCU DR) i’m an avenger animal shapeshifter. bestfriends with bucky and loki, as well as very close with steve and nat, with peter as a younger brother figure. we mostly just chill, train a bit with the occasional mission. at least, that’s how i picture it. (Ninjago DR) action!!! i basically am just imputing myself into season 4 the tournament of elements as a new elemental master, and just experiencing the whole tournament and becoming friends with the ninja. (httyd:rtte DR) same idea as my Ninjago DR; basically inputting myself into the events of the race to the edge tv series as a dragon rider and hanging out with vikings and dragons😄

16. (MCU DR) i’m letting the universe pick! i’m happy with my CR boyfriend so they universe can choose whether or not i get a S/O in my DR

17. don’t have one since none of them have been working for me :/

18. raven method. hasn’t worked for me :/

19. i’m not sure, actually!

20. also not sure…

1.she/her

1.5. straight. i think. probably. maybe…

2. i’m a libra! leo moon and rising aquarius

3. favorite color light purple!!

4. currently obsessed with the encanto soundtrack. otherwise my music taste is a mix of indie pop (?), 80’s rock and musical theatre. so: let go by lynnea m, back in black by ac/dc, and sunday in the park with george from sunday in the park with george sung by annaleigh ashford

5. i love to sing and write! i also play soccer :)

6. there’s this one my boyfriend told me once but i can’t remember the name of it!

7. taken <3

8. oops- i already said lol. idk, it’s just really pretty!!

this was super fun!!! @bones-shifts

Shifting Ask Game!

An excuse to talk about stuff!  Shifting 1- What made you start shifting? 2- Weirdest experience?  3- How long have you been trying?  4- Any general advice? 5- What is the important thing about shifting? 6- Where are you going?  7- What is your usual routine? 8- Best resources? 9- How do you script? 10- Give me a line from your script! 11- How many scripts do you have? 12- What is your DR self like (specify DR name; I’ll list my DRs in the tags)? 12.5- Do you script weaknesses in your DR or do you make everything perfect? 13- Least favorite part about shifting? 14- Favorite part about shifting? 15- Tell me about your DR (specify DR name; I’ll list my DRs in the tags)! 16- Tell me about your DR S/O (specify DR name; I’ll list my DRs in the tags)! 17- Favorite method? 18- Least favorite method? 19- What do you wish you’d known before starting shifting? 20- Unpopular opinion on shifting?

Personal 1- Pronouns 1.5- Sexuality 2- Star signs 3- Tell me a random fact about yourself! 4- Favorite song 5- Tell me about one of your interests! 6- Give me a poem! (doesn’t matter if it’s one you’ve written or one you found cool) 7- Relationship status 8- Favorite color and why? Also an invitation to tell me how you perceive me (on anon or not)–I’m kinda curious now jsfdkls Also also anyone doing this has a right to say in the tags what questions they will not answer; you are not obligated to answer anything if you don’t want to.

[phoebemartellcrawford-blog]

Welcome to the jungle

Not sure where to even begin with this one. I just got back from a week in the Amazon Rainforest and it was the most incredible experience of my entire life. We left early Monday morning to catch our 8:20 am flight where we flew to Coca, Ecuador where we got on a boat on the Napo River. After about an hour we made our way to a bus on the Maxus Road which is within the Amazon Rainforest, but also within a number of oil reserves and indigenous communities. We stopped along the way at a home of an indigenous family who was selling bracelets, necklaces, etc. We continued along the road where trees had been cut down and there were clear signs of oil companies that had moved in a number of years before. Finally, we got to another boat and headed down the Tiputini River for about two hours until we arrived at our station which was far out in the jungle. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. All the noises were bugs or birds (sometimes mammals) and it was so separate from the world I forgot immediately that there were actual things going on out there. There was only electricity on the camp for 6 hours a day, 10am-1pm and 6:30pm-9:30pm and there was absolutely no wifi or service. The first day we got there we had a brief orientation and then had some downtime before dinner. A couple of my friends and I went swimming in the river for a little bit (I accidentally peed a little when I laughed and you’re not supposed to pee in the Amazon river because there is a little parasite fish that goes up your pee stream so I got kinda nervous and got out because I wasn’t about to get a parasite on my first day). After dinner we went for a night hike and of course the first thing we saw was this long ass snake on a tree right near my cabin. It was a harmless snake and some people held it but I stayed a solid couple arm’s lengths away from that bad boy. After the night hike we went to bed because, well, no electricity makes for early nights.

On Tuesday we went for a really long hike in the morning to a lake where our guide took us out on a canoe. After about thirty minutes canoeing around the lake and looking for wildlife Jose (our guide) stopped us in our tracks and said he saw an anaconda. Sure enough, about 10 feet away deep in the bushes was a big ole anaconda. We sat and watched him for 20 minutes, and it was definitely watching us too. It moved its head to get closer to us and get a better look, wiggling its little tongue at us. It was a surprisingly calming experience watching the anaconda. I really hate snakes and the thought of actually seeing one before I got there freaked me the f out, but we were just silently observing the dude and he was silently observing us and we were all going to be alright and it was fine. We finally made our way back once we were starting to get a little uneasy watching the anaconda and finished our hike by having to tread through the river. Because of the rain the river was 3meters higher than normal so the bridges we had to cross were completely submerged. Standing in the water after seeing an anaconda wasn’t IDEAL necessarily but I made it back. We went out for another hike later that day when it was beautiful and sunny but a rain storm quickly moved in while we were in the forest and the trees were going nuts. One huge branch flew from the sky and almost took out my friend Brady. We had to hustle on back home.

On Wednesday we had a solo observation where we were placed in the woods alone and had to chose something to study and write about for an entire hour. I chose a dead tree with a bunch of mushrooms growing on it but there is only so much you can write about mushrooms and eventually 5 tamarin monkeys crashed through the trees above me. Right before we went into the woods my professor explicitly said not to go monkey chasing but I mean they were SO CUTE I had to. I didn’t get lost though don’t worry. 

Thursday was probably one of the Top 5 days of my life. We started the morning at 5:30 with a walk up to the canopy tower to watch the sunrise. It was a pretty grey and misty morning, but it was still amazing to be on top of the Amazon Rainforest watching as day broke through and all of the animals woke up (or went to sleep for the nocturnal homies out there). After the sun rose, we walked down to the salt lick where animals go to clean themselves/eat some minerals. We sat there quietly for 30 minutes and after about 20 we smelled some peccaries (Amazonian pigs) and then heard them close by. I had developed a cough recently and coughed shortly after smelling the stinky guys and they got scared of me and ran away. We then walked to this place with a bunch of dead plants except for one tree and Jose opened up the tree and there were a bunch of little tiny ants and he told us to eat them and they tasted like lemons. Then there was a bush that he cut and we could paint our fingernails with it so basically we had a spa day in the middle of the amazon #spoiled. After the hike we had some downtime so I took a nap in a super nice hammock then we had lunch then got to play soccer with the workers of the station which was sooooo fun. They couldn’t pronounce my name so apparently they were calling me “Hebe” when they would pass me the ball and I wasn’t paying attention so I let them down a lot because I just definitely did not get the ball. Then we went on a float down the river. We were given life jackets and told to jump off the boat (mind you this was RIGHT AFTER we went piraña fishing) and float for an hour back to the station. The entire float we just sang songs like a bunch of idiots and laughed a lot (didn’t pee this time!!!!) and had an incredible and magical time being swept away by the current. Before dinner a couple friends and I hiked back up to the canopy to watch the sunset. It was such a moving experience getting to watch the sun fall under the canopy and disappear into the trees. The sky turned red and then eventually black and the forest grew quiet. Once we climbed down (28 flights of stairs) we had a nice big group hug and started on back to camp. I’m kind of a sucker so as we were walking and talking about how lucky we all are I started crying (happy tears) and was quickly engrossed by another group hug. Just felt so lucky and blessed to be surrounded by amazing people in an amazing place. After dinner we ended the night by playing a competitive game of spoons with the workers of the station. One worker showed us a picture of a 24hour snake he had found a couple days ago so that was less than ideal. (24 hour snakes are snakes that bite you and then you’re dead in 24 hours soooo... nice.) 

We left on Friday feeling so lucky, and happy and humbled to have had that experience. It was humbling because I was really shown the things that matter in life. There are things out there bigger and far more important than the every day little things we stress about- things like the loss of habitats for biodiversity or species going extinct- things that are going to affect us and things that are being affected right now. The world is a really big place, but its also so beautiful and its so important but I’ll get off my soap box now because I could definitely get preachy.

Our flight back to Quito was booked for Friday, so we had to spend the night in Coca where we weren’t allowed to leave the hotel. It turned out to be a nice hotel and we left at 12:30pm on Saturday so it wasn’t too bad. Saturday night I got to see Rowan and then we spent all day today (Sunday, January 28) at La Carolina park which is huge and fun and beautiful. We went to the botanical garden and learned about trees and flowers native (and not native) to Ecuador. Then there were food tents set up so we go some food, hung out in the hammock and just chilllllllllllled. It was a really great ending to a really great week.

I do have an essay that I am avoiding writing (I only have 50 more words yet can’t seem to bring myself to write them) so I’m signing off for now! 

[nuudoodles]

hi i love your art style! and your dnd characters are so cute, can you tell me more about them?

!! thank you, im glad you enjoy them ´ v`

Misko Kiirasilmä was my first ever ttrpg character, a wizard made in Age of the Tempest. I… didnt really expect him to become a serious character he sort of started as a walking bear joke (his name essentially means bear bear, etc), but currently hes like my #1 dearest child. He was a herbalist/healer before he briefly got into the adventuring business, hes caring, fiercely protective of those around him and very outgoing, to a point some would consider it annoying. Hes also got a husband and a kid :3c

Kalmari…. is definitely not a serious character. He was made for a one-off sci-fi comedy game in Risus. Hes s squid, technically his name is Humboldt (unrelated to the other squid called humboldt i drew a while ago, im just shit at coming up with names on the spot so i went with the easy one) but i guess thats more a surname and everyone just calls him Kalmari. Hes an old space pirate, a struggling author and a conspiracy/UFO theorist (yes, even though the game takes place in space with literal aliens). Hes a bit cranky and takes himself and his job very seriously.

Amar Das is a mechanic from India, made for a victorian fantasy-steampunk campaign in Savage Worlds. In the game hes kinda freelancing for a branch of englands secret service in charge of the more… out there cases with supernatural elements or like, villain technology (?? idklmao), but he served in the army as an airship mechanic for a few years before that. And he REALLY loves machinery and airships especially. Hes not super sociable but is very driven and a “im going to fucking do this” type of person, and like, super hardy. If Miskos thing was bears Amars would be staying alive, his name means immortal/undying, his two edges are about ignoring wound penalties to rolls and he survived losing his right arm in an accident during his army days. But now he has a sweet robot arm he helped build.

Morris Grey is a fighter and actually the only character ive made in D&D. Hes from a baker family but didnt inherit the business and chose to join the town guard, but he ended up fucking up so bad (somebody ended up dead? idk man) he was p much like welp time to fake my own death and leave forever out of guilt and shame. Since then hes worked as a personal body guard etc and generally do good stuff while travelling to make himself feel somewhat useful and less awful. Hes Tired™ and kinda has a resting bitch face and likes to keep things as simple as possible. what an edgelord

Rasmus is an elf ranger made in Dungeon World, and hes like two weeks old so theres not that much ive figured out about him yet but heres some stuff. Hes the happy-go-lucky, yay adventure type, his main motivation being to see cool and dangerous places for the thrill and wonder of it. Ive called him an extreme tourist a couple times, because he also wants to keep a record of his travels in the form of sketches he carries with him in an album. Hes got a fox companion called Pihlaja (’rowan’) who helps him in combat etc, although shes getting a bit old and forgetful. One bit i liked was when rasmus missed a shot which she was supposed to follow she sort of went “uuhhh what do i do, did we go through this scenario in training?”

also absolutely nobodys straight ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿  (including the squid ig i… havent thought about that much)

thank u for lovely message, hope this wasnt too long or dull writing isnt my strong suit 

[roseknows20-blog]

Day 19 Long a$$ day- Blue Lake hut to Anne Hut

January 28th 2017

What a delightful morning! As I got ready and conversed with the other TA trampers, I felt overly enthusiastic to start the day. We had an ambitious day ahead of us, aiming to hike 42kms to Anne Hut. Gee wilikers. The reason being, Anne Hut was the next fully serviced hut after Blue Lake Hut. We also had to make up for our unplanned zero day. I tried to remind myself I’m capable of anything I put my mind to, because 42 sounds like an absurd number of kilometers!? I was the last one to leave the hut besides Dyl, and crushed the first section, passing the majestic Blue Lake, and heading up hill through the forest. At the top of the hill, I reached Lake Constance. Wow, what a sensational view! Nature is truly remarkable- noticing dazzling tributaries and picturesque waterfalls as I tramped along as well. The glorious landscape made me the jolliest girl in the world, and served as a good reminder as to why I’m hiking the TA! After a short while, I caught up to Warrick and chatted with him a bit. We traveled up the scree together, until it came to a point where it levels off and you walk along side the mountain. It’s always inspiring seeing Warwick out here on the trail, and made me realize that I shouldn’t lament about my own aches and pains! That legend truly crushes the trail! After a bit, we ran into the U.K. Girls, Adam, and Hamish, and we all tramped together alongside the lake. I accidentally fell at one point, the awful spanish grass scratching my arm and legs up pretty good! Rawrrrrr. Similar to the North Island bush, the plants were grappling with me again! Thankfully, I was feeling well rested though, and ready to take on the day! As we followed along Lake Constance, the scenery was some of the most captivating that we’ve seen on the whole TA! We continued our quest through the valley, to the start of the Waiau pass. Dyl and Luzie caught up, and we all relished in a snack break before climbing uphill. The scree was fairly loose, and the track was a bit hard to follow. I was also remaining extra cautious not to slip and fall down the 1000 plus meters below me! However, getting up the mountain safely was the main goal, and as long as that’s achieved, then we’ve conquered the main objective! Wahooo! Lake Constance was visible the whole trek up the mountain, and the summit offered us phenomenal 360 degree views as well. When we got to the top, there was a bit of cell phone service, and I was able to message Rowan about plans for the next section. Certainly, a snickers break and sweet D-pics were also in order! We eventually headed down the mountain side, scrambling over large rocks, and sliding down steep slippery mud. I was as agile as a mountain goat and found the descent overtly exhilarating! The landscape was so beautifully overwhelming at one point that I could feel my mama dukes with me and I started to tear up. She stayed with me the rest of the day, and helped me carry on through the agonizing endless kms. It was especially ironic we were heading towards Anne Hut, which was my mamas middle name. Eventually, I passed Johannes, the Older German dude, and other TAers, cruising all the way down the mountain until I met the Waiau river. After going way ahead of the rest of the gang, I was a bit worried that everyone was ok. As I tramped along, feeling the sweat excrete from my exhausted body, the track was a mixture of rocks, stream crossings, and a well formed bush track. Hopping over rocks can be a bit tiresome, having to remain cognizant of each step and every move you make, and I always happen to twist my ankles! So, I took a ten minute breather to regain my strength and have a water break. The sun was also a blazing, and I could feel the beginning of a sunburn. Yet, I was thankful for the blue bird skies! Eventually, Hamish caught up to me, and him and I walked the rest of the way to the Caroline Creek Bivy together. It was 12kms from Blue Lake Hut to the Bivy, following the raging river mostly the whole way. For lunch, I had a delicious sun-dried tomato and salmon tapenade wrap, and another snickers. Hamish and I then waited for the others to join us for about an hour! The Bivy was a real simplistic hut with only two bunks and no toilet or water. It doesn’t look like the most comfortable place to stay, but if the weather was bad I suppose it would be a good shelter! From the Bivy, the 30kms to Anne Hut was fairly simple, passing many grassy flats, swamps, meadows, and a bit of classic NZ native bush. I enjoyed frolicking through the easy terrain, taking notice to the blooming flowers, diverse plant life, colorful butterflies, and chirping birds! There were lots of camping opportunities along the way, but we were determined to get all the way to Anne hut. Hamish and I pushed along, taking a tactical snack break every few hours. Dyl momentarily caught up to us, and we all walked the remaining 15kms to the hut together. There were definitely some sketchy river crossings, one in particular right before the trail veers right towards the hut. Also, the track was a bit ambiguous some of the time, and there were a few other trails that intersected with the TA track, making easy to get sidetracked. The last 5kms or so was on an old gravel road though, and super simple to follow. We were also hitting almost 6kms an hour. Cheyah. After we crossed the dodgey swingbridge, it was only a few more kms to Anne Hut! We can do it! When we finally arrived, there were a few new non TA people we chatted with! Having not seen Adam and Luzie for 30kms though, we were worried about them and hoped they were safe! Using the word “knackered”, as the kiwis say, would be an understatement. Hamish even fell asleep while in the middle of eating his pasta. Lolz. As soon as I laid down I was out. Though, in the middle of the night, I went outside to use the toilet, and saw the brightest shooting star I’ve ever seen! I could feel it was my mama up in heaven reminding me she’s okay and sending me some extra love :)! (42kms)

[smartphone-science]

When people think of scientists, they typically think of – white men in lab coats. However, LOTS of us do not look like this. When I first entered graduate school, I didn’t feel comfortable expressing my fancier side because I didn’t think people would take me seriously. I didn’t feel like myself though. Over the years, I finally decided to be me and embrace my fancy side. Ever since I embraced “Fancy Scientist” as my social media handles, I have noticed there are a lot of other people out there!

Let’s take the time to meet them! Every Friday, I feature a scientist who has a fancy side on my Instagram. There are no limitations to age, gender, or level of education. They are listed in the order that they were posted on my account. Here is the gigantic and ongoing list of fancy scientists out there!

From field to fancy! Me collecting elephant dung for research (bottom left) and me going out to dinner (right). I decided to embrace my fancy side and use it to counter stereotypes of people in science. Did you know that kids usually draw old, white men in lab coats when they are asked to draw a scientist (upper left)?

90. Anna Zakrisson

Today’s #FancyScientist is another fashion chameleon. Her photos showcase a spectrum of lewks and a range of styles. @annazakrisson she studied marine ecology, specifically nutrient cycles and cyanobacteria for her Ph.D. Now she promotes scientific literacy and skeptical thinking. Anna wants people to “re-learn their childish awe of the world” and does this by working with artists and musicians as a performance lecture. She describes her place in the world as between systems; “to act as a link between scientists and non-scientists; academia and business; high school dropouts and professors.” She also has her own consulting and macerating business and is a scientrepreneur (a term I came up with for people like me: scientist + entrepreneur) like me. I especially love this quote from her “You can be both creative and science-minded. You don’t have to pick a side.”

89. Elizabeth Mendes

Today’s #FancyScientist is a scientist and a patent writer: @thepatentscientist. Elizabeth studies biomolecular sciences, does research on Rheumatoid arthritis, and works with dopamine signaling in C. Elegans (a nematode that’s a model system). Outside of school and the lab (as if that is not enough), she also work as a technical Patent writer! She helps her attorney draft and put together patents for novel inventions in the biotech and cannabis industries. Her long-term goal is to work in the patent industry and be heavily involved in technology transfer and innovation. I love seeing all of the applications of science through this weekly feature. I am constantly surprised!

88. Tahlia Perry

Today’s #FancyScientist is another one that I met in real life – at the Citizen Science Conference. @Tahliajperry studies echidnas, one of only 2 egg-laying mammals in the world, and is using molecular tools (like DNA sequencing) to help with echidna conservation. Because echidnas are very hard to study in the wild, Tahlia created a citizen science project called #EchidnaCSI where thousands of people have submitted echidna sightings from across Australia and even collected their poo! There’s an abundance of DNA and hormones in the poo, which can tell you all about an animals’ lifestyle and health. Tahlia is super passionate about wildlife conservation, women in STEM and science communication – talking about her science anytime she can. When she’s not science-ing you’ll catch her with a glass of wine (or 3), she loves to travel and is a major music theatre nerd. Me too!

87. Ceri Brenner

Today’s #FancyScientist is @ceribrenner! She is a senior scientist who specializes in high power (PW-class) laser-plasma interaction physics and laser-based acceleration of electrons and ions for generation of laser-driven sources of MeV x-rays and neutrons (um, wow!). She has particular interest in nuclear and aerospace applications. For example, using high-power lasers for scanning nuclear waste containers to give 3D visualizations of the hazardous material inside. As acting group leader, she develops and implements the innovation and impact strategy of the Central Laser Facility, by leading a cross-facility team consisting of scientists and engagement officers working alongside industry partners for innovation projects. Again, WOW. And check out her laser manicure!

86. Rowan Collins

Today’s #FancyScientist caught my eye from their amazing makeup looks! @queermoth is an entomologist and is particularly interested in the evolution of and interactions between insect hosts and parasitoids. Projects Rowan is currently working on includes the transmission of fire blight (a bacterial disease that can kill plants) by Anthomyiid flies, the influence of pest insects such as tarnished plant bug on low-tunnel-enclosed strawberries, and the invasion of Drosophila suzukii (a fruit fly). They hope to eventually become a professor and a mentor to young LGBTQ people in science. Their favorite bug is the rusty tussock moth (Orgyia antiqua), and they share their home with their fiancée, a mouthy cat, and too many hissing roaches.

85. Dr. Von P

Today’s #fancyscientist has so much style that she even looks like a different person on different photos of her feed! She is @dr.dvonp, a social psychologist and sexual and mental health advocate. She’s dedicated the majority of her work in examining psychological mechanism’s impact in health decision-making and applying these findings to real-world interventions. More specifically, she investigates both explicit and implicit psychological factors impacting HIV prevention strategies, such as HIV testing and PrEP initiation. I have so much respect for @dr.vonp’s fashion game AND her attitude. I especially love this statement on her post where she is wearing the pastel rainbow-colored wig: “Did your professors ever look like this? Yeah mind didn’t either honestly a motivating factor for me at work is the ability to look any way I want on any given day and not care one bit what anyone thinks because my CV speaks for itself. I hate feeling limited in my self-expression because I’m supposed to be an academic 24/7, and academics definitely aren’t supposed to be giving you thirst traps on the weekend. I go back and forth with these feelings a lot but I have decided to just let you all see every aspect of me as a person beyond my title. Hopefully soon it won’t be so weird to have a professor that wears unicorn wigs in her down time and also can slay a data analysis the next day.”

84. Holly O’Donnell

It’s #FancyFriday! This week’s #FancyScientist may not look so fancy because she posts a lot of photos of her in the field – but don’t let that fool you! @hollyodonnell_conservationist is a conservation biologist who studies mammals large and small. She’s worked in Paraguay and Peru extensively, studying how mammal abundance varies across different land use types such as reserves, ecotourism lodges, and extractive industries. She now works as a research assistant studying spotted hyenas for the Trans Kalahari Predator Program at WildCRU Wildlife Conservation Research Unit). She still returns to Peru every summer as an expedition guide, where her speciality (besides mammals) is frogs! She hopes to begin a PhD shortly.

83. Ashley Hall

Today’s #FancyScientist is one of the nicest people on Instagram and has tons of biodiverse style! @lady_naturalist is a multi-faceted scientist: a zooarchaeologist by degree and a paleontologist by training, but has spent her career focusing on informal education in zoos and natural history museums. Her love for educating the public especially through social media has led her to her current role as the Marketing Coordinator for the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. Ashley’s describes her style as “creepy cute” (LOL). Black is her favorite color, but she mixes in fun pops of science-themed jewelry and lots of pink. And you can always know it’s her from her signature platinum blonde hair and cat eye eyeliner. She loves science fashion so much, that she has a second account dedicated completely to it: @dresslikeascientist. She and other scientists curate photos of science-inspired fashion and home accents.

82. Caileen Brison

Today’s #FancyScientist, @caimarison, is an enologist at Big Basin Vineyards and PhD student in at UC Santa Cruz. I had to look up the first word myself. An enologist is someone who studies the science of wine. How fun (and fancy)! Caileen works with the winemaking team to ensure the fidelity and stability of aging wines from harvest to bottle. This includes methods such as chemosensory analysis, microbiological plating, and cellar management. In Caileen’s Ph.D. research, she focuses on researching the mechanisms behind cell cycle regulation. She is specifically interested in on how post-translational modifications regulate the activity and interactions of a central transcription factor. Fun fact – like me, Caileen had a theater major in college, but decided to switch to science because she felt like she could better society as a whole and pursue her other passion in life – curiosity. I personally hope she stays curious about wine.

81. Shani at the Grad Perspective

We have our first chemical engineer! Today’s #FancyScientist, @gradperspective, works on improving the delivery of drugs using polymers. She does this by creating tiny microscopic plastic capsules called polymer nanoparticles. Inside these capsules, she can insert one or multiple drugs. The nanoparticles protect the body from any negative effects of the drugs and target the drug to specific areas. Her research is focused on understanding the effect of delivering multiple drugs in different sequences. She relates this to pizzaa! (I love this) “When we make pizza we have a specific order for how we make it to make it taste good: make a dough, add sauce, then cheese! So my idea is that we can find an optimal sequence of delivering drugs that can interact in a specific way with our cells to produce the most beneficial effects.” Outside of the lab, she enjoys fashion, crafts, and blogging. Check out her blog!

80. Niba Nirmal

Today’s #FancyScientist is ANOTHER model and again, a fancy scientist with too many photos to choose from. You absolutely have to visit her account to see all of her amazing fashion and photos. @notesbyniba studies genes, specifically how plants adjust their genes for growing properly. Her research focuses on the creation, manipulation, and fine-tuning of genetic networks in synthetic biology. She studies the positive feedback loop in the root gene regulatory network within Arabidopsis (a specific plant), which controls cell differentiation. She believes that by discovering more about the biology of plant genes, we can learn more about our own genes as well!

79. Elizabeth Delery

Today’s #FancyScientist is a medical researcher passionate about science: @PhDelery. Elizabeth Delery is a postdoctoral researcher interested in the neurobiology of pain and addiction, and the subsequent neuroinflammation, to discover therapeutics to increase quality of life. Her research examines the effects of HIV, alcoholism, and opioid addiction on neuroinflammation, and vice versa, using a simian (monkey) model of HIV. Elizabeth is also passionate about celebrating women in STEM and has pinned stories about some amazing female scientists on Instagram.

78. Courtney McGeachy

Today’s #FancyScientist does amazing work for our oceans! @peachmcgeach is a Senior Associate with the Pew Marine Fellows Program where she oversees the management and administration of Pew fellowships and works to support and enhance social science connections to the program. Courtney has also worked for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation where she managed The Fishing for Energy program, Emergency Prescott/Marine Mammal Stranding, and the Killer Whale Research and Conservation Fund. She studied marine and environmental science her current passion is Incorporating social and citizen science in global marine conservation.

77. Melissa Cristina Marquez

Today’s #fancyscientist is not only a fancy scientist, but a fancy artist and podcaster as well. @melissacristinamarquez is a marine biologist who studies the habitat use of sharks, trying to figure out why sharks are where they are, and investigates how people feel about these predators and if there have been changes over time due to social media and films. Melissa has her own Etsy shop where she uses digital water color art to bring the beautiful skins of sharks and their relatives to life and is highly engaged in outreach. She created “The Fins United Initiative” to provide scientifically accurate and free materials for teachers worldwide. In her podcast, ConCiencia Azul, she addresses marine conservation to the Hispanic public in Spanish. She talks about many issues related to marine conservation and issues that affect Latin American countries in particular.

76. Annora Thoeng

@NoraFinds is another #fancyscientist with incredible fashion sense! Again, I had the hardest time choosing photos. Her expertise is in vintage fashion as she is obsessed with bygone eras. She studied medical science and specialized in molecular biology and protein work. Her research in various labs consisted of cancer and Drosophila (fruit fly) studies and studying the C9orf72 mutation in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The C9orf72 gene is a common cause of both FTD and ALS. As a vintage fashionista and scientist, she likes to use her instagram feed to break stereotypes about both.

75. Louise Bullen

I am so in love with @Louisebullen03’s style! She is a #fancyscientist who really knows how to to work some biodiverse fashion including snakeskin, leopard, and zebra prints. Louise Bullen is studying stem cell biology for her Ph.D. She’s especially interested in the mechanisms that cause a cell to reprogram from and adult stage cells to an embryonic-like state called induced pluripotency. She’s especially interested in this can give researchers insight into disease mechanisms, particularly neurodegenerative diseases. Louise not only does super important work, but her insta makes me really want to step up my fashion game!

74. Alyson Brokaw

@alyb_batgirl is a #fancyscientist who loves to embrace #biodiversefashion. I first noticed her when she participated in my biodiverse fashion challenge and you can see some of my favorite pieces that she wears here. Alyson Brokaw is a doctoral student who studies – you guessed it – bats! She’s broadly interested in animal behavior, physiology, communication and sensory ecology. With over 1200 different species located around the world, bats are an amazing group of animals to investigate these topics. Bats make up ~25% of all mammal species! You can find tons of amazing bat photos and facts on her insta.

73. Susan Finkbeiner

@scientificmodel is a true #fancyscientist! Susan Finkbeiner (@fink_about_it on Twitter) has two jobs: an international model and scientist. In her TEDx talk, she discusses living a “dual life,” and challenges the stereotypes of both professions. As a scientist, her research involves understanding the variation (in color and patterns) across a rapidly diversifying lineage of butterflies. The central goal is to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes that shaped the temporal and spatial patterns of biodiversity. I had a very hard choosing the photos for this one too, but I HAD to include a photo of her in a beetle elytra (modified, hardened forewing) headdress by designer @sigrun_vikingart.

72. Nika Larian

I had such a hard time choosing photos for today’s #FancyScientist! Make sure you go to her feed at @nikalarian to check out all of her amazing outfits. Nika Larian is a Ph.D. candidate in pharmacology and nutritional sciences studying nutritional interventions for cachexia. This is the weight loss and wasting away of fat and lean mass associated with chronic critical illnesses such as sepsis and cancer. She is particularly interested in the role of pyocyanin, a blue-pigmented virulence factor released by sepsis-causing Pseudomonas aeruginosa (a bacterium). Nika is also passionate about community outreach and received a grant to provide nutrition education and cooking classes to local youth! So cool! Outside of the lab, Nika is an advocate for science policy and serves as the Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students. You can see photos of her at Capitol Hill on her feed!

71. Rhiannon Morris

Today’s #FancyScientist got her start on Instagram by posting a of something sciencey every day for a year and has had quite the following since then (17K followers!)! @sci.with.rhi is a biochemist and crystallographer studying signaling in blood cancers. Her research looks at the JAK-STAT pathway, which is a series of interactions between proteins within a cell that play a role in immunity, cell division and death, and the formation of tumors. Outside of the lab, Rhiannon is passionate about communicating science (as you can see from her insta account) and is especially interested in advocating for women in STEM. She also loves coffee, cheese, and dogs (not necessarily in that order).

70. Naomi Koh Belic

Today’s #fancyscientist loves to break stereotypes about what women in science are supposed to look like. Like me, @naomikohbelic used shy away from looking too “girly” at science events thinking people wouldn’t take her seriously. And also like me, she stopped caring and started being herself! Naomi Koh Belic is a stem cell researcher, science communicator and university educator. Her research involves stem cells that are harvested from adipose tissue (fat!) which can be extracted from liposuctioB. These stem cells can differentiate into neurons, the building blocks of your brain and spinal cord. Your body however has a limited capacity to regenerate neurons on its own in response to trauma or neurodegenerative diseases. Her research focuses on using adipose stem cells to better understand Multiple sclerosis, the most common cause of chronic neurological disability in young adults. I’m addition to being an amazing scientist, she is also heavily involved in science communication and gives lots of talks and posts videos on her website.

69. Daisy Shu

Today’s #FancyScientist is @eyedaisyshu! Daisy studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in ocular (relating to the eye) wound healing. The aim of her research is to explore how excessive wound healing results in scar formation, which drives the formation of fibrotic eye diseases. Using molecular biology techniques analysing protein and gene expression, her research seeks to eavesdrop on the cellular conversation mediating the wound healing response (I LOVE how she phrases this!). This can help with treatments. For example, she worked on a project exploring the wound healing mechanisms following glaucoma filtration surgery. The most critical determinant of the success of glaucoma surgery is scar formation and by understanding the signaling pathways involved in scarring, novel anti-fibrotic agents can be developed to maximize the surgical success. Finally, I am totally obsessed with her dress on the right!

68. Rukia Henry

Today’s #FancyScientist is @lifewithrukia! Rukia is an international, first-year Molecular Biosciences Ph.D. student studying cancer biology. She created the blog “Life with Rukia,” to share how she is navigating through graduate school. She delayed her decision to get a Ph.D. because at first she didn’t consider it a suitable career option. Growing up in Guyana, she never saw scientists who looked like her or were from the Caribbean. Her goal is to create content that not only showcases the amazing world of science and her pursuit of a Ph.D., but also features her love for God, fashion, beauty, and health. She hopes that young women of color can be empowered to know that they can be scientists too!

67. Debbie Gale Mitchell

I learned of today’s #fancyscientist because she had some amazing chemistry-inspired makeup that someone tweeted to me: carbon as diamond and graphite (bottom left). @heydebigale (on Twitter) is a biophyisical/inorganic chemist interested in using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to monitor fast biochemical reactions including redox and free radical chemistry. EPR is a a technique used to study chemical species with unpaired electrons. She is working to apply EPR imaging to monitor these reactions spatially and in real time. Bringing EPR to a broad audience is an interest of hers. She tweets about it and is developing labs for undergraduates on EPR. She believes chemistry is central to all aspects of science and medicine and therefore is always looking for better ways to help my students learn and apply chemistry. As you can tell, her science outreach is not just limited to her students and she goes above and beyond with social media and fun makeup.

66. Georgia Atkins-Smith

Today’s #fancyscientist is @someblondescientist. Georgia Atkins-Smith studied biochemistry and Immunology, investigating how key white blood cells in the immune system undergo a dramatic dance of death to generate small fragments. She uncovered key regulators of this process, its role in homeostasis and infectious disease, and developed novel methods researchers can use to study the disassembly process. Now, in her postdoc, she is further dissecting our understanding of cell death during the progression and treatments of blood cancer. In addition to research, she is also a passionate science communicator and advocate of women in STEM. She believes all scientists have a responsibility to communicate what we do, and communicate it honestly.

65. Samantha Ballard

Today’s #FancyScientist is usually in a bikini, but I could still tell she was fancy! @air.sea.sam studies the coastal air-sea environment and uses spaceborne Synthetic Aperature Radar (SAR) images for wind and wave retrievals to explore surface roughness patterns in the coastal zone. Her goal is to improve SAR wind retrieval algorithms, which are developed for the open ocean, in coastal areas, where the relationship between surface roughness, wind and waves is more complex and less understood. She is a master coder and knows R, Matlab, Python, IDL and Fortran. I’m sure she spends a lot of time with her computer, but you can’t tell by her insta – she’s always on the beach or by the water!!

64. Lila Higgins

In honor of the Citizen Science Association’s conference, this week’s #fancyscientist is an expert in citizen science (AKA community science): @colilaoptera. Lila Higgins is an entomologist and museum educator and can usually be spotted in her signature black hat and red lipstick. At the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, she oversees the Community Science office, focusing on bringing urban nature and community science to the public in new ways. She co-founded the City Nature Challenge, a global effort to document biodiversity in the world’s cities. To date 150+ cities have taken part, with over 18,000 people collecting almost 600,000 wildlife observations!! These data help us understand urban nature and work towards making our cities better for humans and wildlife. @colilaoptera‘a insta is full of so many amazing finds in nature!

63. Lauren Callender

Today’s #fancyscientist is immunologist @lozcallender_ ! Lauren studies the effects of ageing and age-related diseases on the human immune system. She is passionate about science communication and an amazing artist. This is reflected in her YouTube channel called “ScienceScribbles” where she teaches about scientific concepts by drawing along. If you look through her feed you’ll see she has a strong selfie game too.

62. Julia Ravey

Today’s #fancyscientist is next level fancy! I mean, look at those photos! Julia (@me_mycells_andi) is a PhD student researching Alzheimer’s disease neurobiology. She is an amazing science communicator on Instagram and also writes a blog on all things neuroscience in relation to normal life – for example, the neuroscience of exercise. Her hope is to help others engage in science by making her content accessible to everyone. She would love for more people to understand the ins and outs of the neurodegenerative diseases that affect people so deeply. She also is quite the artist and has fun drawings, including a dendritic Christmas tree!

61. Kristin

Today’s #fancyscientist has such a fun insta feed – so much natural history information, a hiking kitty, and so many funny lab stories. @kaydubsthehikingscientist is a plant pathologist that studies Ascomycotan fungi and how they cause diseases to forest trees. She gets to spend half of her time in the forest looking for specific plants, fungi, and insects, while the other half of her time is spent in the lab. She really enjoys hiking in the remote wilderness and learning about the ecosystem she is in and you can certainly tell by her Instagram feed!

60. Megan Prescott

Who says that art and science don’t mix? Today’s #fancyscientist’s account is at the intersection of science, art, and popular culture. @designingscience interprets scientific concepts through fashion design, explores the science in our everyday lives, and shows the real side of grad school through the “occasional melt down in her stories” (haha, her words, not mine!). Megan Prescott is a PhD candidate in microbiology studying the bacteria that causes tuberculosis to find new candidates for vaccines. She even has pants inspired by bacteria! She is also committed to active changes that will improve the lives of scientists, and even created a grant for childcare support for women scientists attending conferences!

59. Sara Ruane

When I posted about my love for the online consignment store the Real Real, this #fancyscientist, tweeted right back with a photo of her closet full of Chanel (swipe right to see it #closetgoals). @Sara_and_snakes (on Twitter) is an assistant professor at Rutgers University-Newark interested in reptile systematics, especially of – you guessed it – snakes. Her research focuses on the phylogenetics of a family of snakes in Madagascar. She uses molecular data and traditional Sanger-sequencing approaches, as well as ecological and morphological data to aid in understanding what factors promote speciation in these snakes. Sara’s love of snakes come through in her fashion. Check out her snake tights!

58. Sam Zwicker

I found today’s #fancyscientist because she had a post about being in a fashion show to support conservation! How cool is that? I had to reach out! @sjzwicker is a scientist AND executive director. Her Ph.D. research involves assessing the effects of land use change on felids and their prey in the Amazon, estimating densities of jaguar populations, and research on the reintroduction of threatened species. She founded @HojaNueva, a nonprofit center for research, conservation, and education in Peru and cofounded @FashionforConservation, an organization which aims to reverse fashion’s impact on the planet by putting a media spotlight on critical environmental topics while raising funds to support on the ground conservation efforts. This woman is seriously speaking my language!

57. Amanda Hipps

I KNEW today’s #FancyScientist was fancy even though she mostly posts photos from the field (hint: I saw her nails). I love @biophiliamanda‘s instagram! Not only because it is filled up with SUPER cute photos and videos of gopher tortoises, but she also has fantastic conservation messages. Although Amanda’s feed is full of tortoises, she actually studies the animals that depend on their burrows (outside of the tortoises themselves) and how they help the tortoises. Some insects feed only on gopher tortoise dung (ew), but these insects provide important dung removal services within the burrow. They may benefit the tortoises by reducing pest flies and parasite loads. Amanda is studying their range and habitat requirements to determine which species can be found in Southeast Florida and where. These insects are found nowhere else in the world, but these burrows! Amanda also showcases a lot of other Florida critters found in or near the borrows such as snakes, frogs, lizards, and even my favorite – manatees! Her feed is super fun.

56. Colby Ford

Today’s #FancyScientist is Dr. Colby Ford AKA @c01.by. His handle is perfect for what he does. Colby is a computational biomathematician and data scientist with a passion for mathematics and genomics research. He uses machine learning and visual analytics to help with the research. He currently works as a researcher in the Department of Bioinformatics an Genomics at UNCC and as a data scientist for BlueGranite, a Microsoft partner consulting firm focused on delivering data and AI solutions. His resume is seriously amazing; it spans multiple programing languages, advanced statistics, web design and even music. And he is stylish. I have a hard time with just one programming language.

55. Teresa

Today’s #FancyScientist does medical research for some of our most special friends (if you’re me): cats and dogs! @tluci88 is a doctor of veterinary medicine with interests in endocrinology, immune mediated disease, and minimally invasive procedures using endoscopy. Teresa’s research includes understanding a serum biochemical marker to facilitate diagnosing pancreatitis in cats and dogs. Her favorite part of being a vet is the problem-solving aspect of obtaining a diagnosis. She spends her free time listening to heavy metal, watching horror movies, and loves all things spooky.

54. Nicholas Montoni

Today’s #FancyScientist is @nickmontoni, a Physical Chemist studying light-matter interactions at the nanometer scale. He is another scientist I found from @500queerscientists, and as a graduate student, Nick was an advocate for LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented students in STEM. Nick now works as a freelance science policy consultant and is pursuing a career in science policy and public service. After hearing some inspiring talks from Science and Technology Policy Fellows in the American Association for the Advancement of Science program, Nick had a career change. His goal is to ensure that science can be done by and used for the benefit of everyone. Finally, he wears amazing biodiverse shirts.

53. Cristian Sandoval

I found today’s #FancyScientist through the amazing account @500queerscientists. Cristian Sandoval, @keepingupwithmycamera, is a medical technologist and Ph.D. candidate at the University of La Frontera in Chile. His research is in molecular biology within the medical field and is very vast. His publications range from burn treatments to alcohol consumption effects on cancer to the effects of stress on livers, spleens, and adrenal glands. Cristian first discovered his love for science in college and “found the best way to shine and to do amazing things” was through science. He is currently looking for a postdoctoral position and a new place to do research and improve his scientific skills. “I know the power is in our hands and we can change the world.” YES, we can!

52. Vanessa Cesário

I am super excited about today’s #FancyScientist because I work in a museum! @thestylishphd is working on a degree in Digital Media in Portugal. Vanessa is investigating the experiences of teenage visitors inside natural history and science museums. Specifically, she is trying to understand how combining digital storytelling and gamification can enhance their experiences. Vanessa believes that digital and interactive content for children and teens has immense potential to be uncovered and further developed inside museums! I agree and can’t wait to see her results.

51. Montgomery Spillane

Today’s #FancyScientist, @garb.by.gumbo, is part scientist, part fashion designer. She uses her love of geology to inspire fashion, specifically textile designs. Her designs are based on micropetrographs, which are thin sections of rock used to determine the mineralogy of the rock in question. She puts them on scarves, bags, leggings, and even phone cases. I am definitely a print girl and I am in love with these kaleidoscope-esque looks! By day, @Garb.by.gumbo has a very important job that affects us directly in our daily lives. She is a consulting geologist whose work involves monitoring important environmental protections (AKA regulations) for us. She conducts assessments and remediation of properties that are affected by hazardous substance or pollutants, and more recently, she started working on coal combustion residual rule monitoring. Aren’t these fancy scientists so surprising?

50. Lisa Buckley

Today’s #FancyScientist is all about makeup, especially eyes – my favorite! @LisaVipes does #BirdGlamour, where makes up her face to look as glamorous as different birds. While I am biased towards mammals, they are some of the least fancy animals. Birds on the other hand, can be super fancy with lots of color and shimmer. Lisa recreates these looks and even poses in their habitat! Lisa is a vertebrate paleontologist that studies the tracks and traces of of Cretaceous-age dinosaurs and extinct birds. Part of her research involves remote field work where she observes birds interacting with the environment in their natural habitats. She documents and collects replicas of their traces and tracks and uses that information to better understand the fossil tracks of ancient birds. In addition to #BirdGlamour, she also runs #NameThatTrack on Twitter, a fun game to help people use and refine their tracking skills.

49. Hilary Nicholson

Today’s #FancyScientist is Hilary Nicholson who is a member of the Science Cheerleaders! I saw the Science Cheerleaders perform at @usasciencefest. They are a non-profit comprised of 300+ current and former NFL, NBA and college cheerleaders pursuing STEM careers. The goal of the Science Cheerleaders is to challenge stereotypes about scientists, engineers and cheerleaders and engage people in citizen science and inspire young women to consider careers in STEM. Hilary is a Medical Oncology Research Fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institue/Harvard Medical School. She works on research to increase the specificity of chemotherapy through synthetic lethality, which is an interaction between two genes where when either gene is perturbed alone it is viable, but when both genes are perturbed simultaneously, it results in the loss of viability. These interactions with tumour-specific mutations can be used to develop anticancer treatments. Hilary cheered for the Colgate Raiders in college and faced stereotypes about being a scientist and cheerleader. She now works hard to try to break them in both fields!

48. Faviola Dadis

Guys, today’s #FancyScientist is so fancy she used to be a model! @neurosciencebarbie spent her first career as a an international model for 15 years and three running a PR firm in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Faviola decided to make a drastic change though, and returned to university full-time to become a clinical neuroscientist studying cognitive deficits in stroke patients. Faviola is now a doctoral candidate and her research focuses on traditional and virtual reality neurorehabilitation with stroke patients. She is also an entrepreneur like last week’s fancy scientist! She funded her research through a medtech startup company called NeuroReality, which specializes in the development of medical software using virtual reality to create an immersive and gamified neurorehabilitation program for individuals who experience cognitive deficits following a stroke. What can’t this girl do?

47. W. Shawn Carbonell

His Instagram name says it all – he dropped out from his dream of becoming a neurosurgeon. But that wasn’t because @brainsurgerydropout didn’t have passion, it’s because he wanted to be a bigger part of the solution! #FancyScientist Dr. Shawn Carbonell saw too many people die from brain cancer and started his own biopharma company. Along with his wife @fashionsurgeon, he is now researching and creating new classes of drug therapies for patients! His vision is for his drugs to be one of the go-to tools for oncologists to treat virtually any cancer. Not only do he and his wife run a company together, but they also dress up together. But my favorite part of @brainsurgerydropout’s style is his cat pocket square. Obsessed!

46. Christy Lane

Today’s #FancyScientist is not only a scientist, but also an entrepreneur as you can tell by her handle: @thetravelingmompreneur. Christy has a PhD in Rehabilitation Medicine and studies exercise as medicine for clinical populations. She is especially interested in the abilities of wearable technology to promote behavioral changes. This is where the entrepreneur side kicks in: She founded and is the Co-CEO of Vivametrica, an insuretech company that uses data from wearable devices to predict mortality and disease risks, and engage customers in wellness. It’s also clear from Christy’s instagram that she is a very good mom and loves Disney (like me!).

45. Katelynn Perrault

Today’s #FancyScientist is @kateprofesses! Katelynn is an Assistant Professor of Forensic Science and Chemistry at Chaminade University in Hawaii (jealous!). Check out how cool her research is – she has done extensive work profiling the volatile organic compounds that form the odor from decomposing remains! Why would we need to study such gross smells? Well it turns out her research is essential in understanding the sensory mechanisms behind scent-detection in canines. In other words, this helps us understand how dogs can detect decomposing bodies. How cool is that? In addition to posting photos of her in the lab, it’s clear that Katelynn also loves the outdoors. You’ll find photos of her hiking, surfing, and doing yoga on the beach in Hawaii. Did I mention that I am jealous?

44. Kristina Poljak

Today’s #FancyScientist is a scientist by day and blogger/fashionista by night! Kristina AKA @beneaththecoat describes herself as “a scientist who, in daily laboratory work, beneath her lab coat hides a wonderful world of colours, textiles and designs.” I can relate! (except I don’t wear a lab coat). Kristina works at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK. She is currently investigating the role of distinct cargo receptors in protein trafficking through and out of the cells. In other words, how the cell makes sure that every protein, once it has been made new, makes it to its destination. Kristina has an amazing blog full of fashion and travel posts. Her blog is dedicated to “all of you who like to play fashion and are not afraid to show it.” Can I get amen?

43. Helen: Makeup with Chemistry

Today’s #FancyScientist is very fancy on the face. @makeupwithchemistry is a – you guessed it – chemist! Helen’s Instagram started with her research, but she’s expanded into posting about beauty from a chemist’s perspective. Her research focuses on the energy exchange at the gas liquid interface, which has applications to liquid aerosol particles in the atmosphere. Her beauty posts include a #thursdaystheory where she shares infographics about beauty products or ingredients. My favorite posts are her eyeshadow posts. Not only is she an amazing makeup artist, but she also uses them to explain scientific concepts. If you want more from Helen, she just launched a YouTube channel delving into these concepts more as well as results she gathers from testing make up in her lab.

42. Daniel Toker

Today’s #FancyScientist is @the_brain_scientist. Daniel’s research is SUPER cool. He breaks down brains! (The science of that is.) He studies the neural underpinning of consciousness using insights from graph theory and information theory. In other words, his goal is to better understand what the brain is doing when it’s conscious, and what changes when it’s not. He is an avid fan of using social media for science communication. His Instagram account is amazing obviously, he blogs about brains, and he has at least TWO brain ties! Image of rainbow brain from Jack Gallant.

41. Friderike Möller

Today’s #FancyScientist is not on Instagram, but you can find her on Twitter under @DrMoon. Dr. Friderike Möller is another neuroscientist, but she left the bench to share her passion for science with young minds (something I love to do too!) at @scienceworldca in Vancouver. She is the Program Specialist for the “Scientist and Innovators in the Schools” program and the curator of the Body Works gallery. I found Friderike through @500queerscientists, a campaign to bring attention to the LGBTQ+ STEM community. Follow @DrMoon and give @500queerscientists a follow too to see other amazing queer scientists!

40. Vanesa Stojanovska

Today’s #FancyScientist is @neurosciencewithness! Dr. Vanesa Stojanovska is a recent PhD grad that studied neuroscience and immunology. She is now conducting research that will help premature babies breathe at birth. Her research focuses on how inflammation during pregnancy affects the nerves that control our breathing, and whether anti-inflammatory treatments can restore breathing functions. Follow her for the coolest lab and microscope photos with easy-to-understand explanations for non-neuroscientists like me. You know you are a fancy scientist when your nails are on point in the lab and you have sparkly shoes in the background.

39. Kelsie Putman Hughes

Today’s #FancyScientist is our first geologist! @CorvidBlue studied how sea water temperatures fluctuated across time over 400 million years ago. She did this using stable isotope mass spectrometry on conodonts, which are extinct, eel-like animals that leave fossils. It blows my mind that we can find things out from that long ago. She found that there was an inland sea in North America sea during this time. She spends her spare time working on a photography project called “Our Land,” which focuses on the land use and issues facing public lands. Her friends call her the “lipstick geologist.”

38. Susanna L. Harris

Today’s #FancyScientist is someone I greatly respect, @susannalharris. Susanna is a PhD Candidate studying bacteria communities in plants. She believes that bacterial interactions might affect the ability of a plant to colonize and also change the health of the plant. Understanding these processes could inform agricultural practices and potentially replace chemical pesticides with bacterial probiotics! Not only is her researche super cool, but I admire her for her work in supporting the academic community and their struggles with mental health (which is huge!). She founded The PhDepression LLC to increase visibility and provide resources to those dealing with mental illness in Higher Education. In addition to her account, you follow @ph_d_epression. I love the tie-dyed lab coat!

37. Priyamvada Natarajan

I found today’s #FancyScientist by watching a NOVA episode on black holes and was so impressed by her! Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan is a theoretical astrophysicist and professor at Yale University whose interests span cosmology, gravitational lensing, and black hole physics. Her research involves mapping dark matter in the universe, especially within clusters of galaxies, which are the largest known repositories of dark matter. Not only is she an accomplished scientist, but incredibly prolific in her public speaking and writing with published articles on CNN, The Huffington Post, and The Washington Post. You can also watch her on PBS. Also, how amazing is that necklace?

36. Tyrone Hayes

Today’s #FancyScientist is not on Instagram, but is one that definitely has style (he is wearing !). Much of Dr. Hayes’ work revolves on the effects of the herbicide atrazine in the environment. He studied frogs, which are often a good indicator of environmental health. Because of their amphibious lifestyle, their skin is permeable to water, and they can therefore absorb and feel the effects of things we put in the water more readily. Hayes’ research found that atrazine was an endocrine-disrupter for frogs; it made male frogs more feminine. While continuing his scientific research, he advocated against the use of atrazine and even came up with an anti-atrazine rap. Sygenta, the company that makes atrazine, was not amused and has attacked Hayes’ scientific credibility. The thing is, that the studies that show that atrazine doesn’t impact frogs are all funded by Sygenta. Hayes is bold in two ways: not only is he taking on a large company, he also is an advocate for public health. Scientists are expected to be completely unbiased in their research, which he claims to be, however, some scientists worry that when one takes on an advocacy role, they can appear to lose scientific credibility. Hayes is a professor with hundreds of papers in peer-reviewed journals, so he is legit, but he still gets criticized.

35. Farah S.

Today’s #FancyScientist is a doctor and may even be a Dr. doctor. @dresmerelda is an Infectious Diseases and Microbiology doctor in the UK undertaking a National Institute for Health Research project in the hopes of doing a PhD in the near future. She studies the gut microbiome, a community of microbes (bacteria, viruses, and fungi) that naturally lives inside us. Her research looks at the effect of antibiotics on the gut microbiome and human breath and her methods include extracting DNA from stool and running chromatography on breath samples. Her style is vintage, hippy/boho, and a mix of the two, and keeping up with dying her hair is pretty essential.

34. Katy Wimberly

I love working on #FancyFriday #FancyScientist because I get to meet so many fancy scientists outside of my field! Today’s is @astronomouse, a PhD student studying the evolution of galaxies! How cool does her work sound? She studies “quenched” (suppressed) star formations on a galactic scale using optical observations and cosmological simulations. She also loves outreach and focuses her efforts on underrepresented minorities and on special needs children (including those on the Autism Spectrum and with Down Syndrome). You can tell from her insta that this scientist has some major style and of course I love her star-and-moon-studded jumpsuit.

33. Teresa Ambrosio

Today’s #FancyScientist is chemist and blogger @teresa_ambrosio_com. Teresa’s research focuses on C-H activations, which means she is trying to find new chemical methods to activate this strong and stable bond. Because it is so stable, the only way to transform the C-H bond is to use nasty and toxic reagents. The aim of her PhD is therefore to find more sustainable reactions to activate the bond. She uses inspiration from nature and tries to recreate them in the lab. Teresa is the only female in her lab and is passionate about the #stillascientist movement. She says ‘It is always forgotten that female scientists are female before being anything else. We want to feel female too, we want to look attractive too and this does not mean we aren’t good at doing research. It’s just our nature!”

32. Casey Ah-Cann

It’s #FancyScientist time! Today it’s @scientistcase, a PhD student working on in utero lung development in Australia. Casey is interested in how processes work within in the womb to see if they can be translated into an understanding of disease later in life. She explains that “because development in utero happens so quickly and precisely many of the same mechanisms that regulate normal development can become unregulated by mutations later in life and causes disease (like cancer).” Casey is also very passionate about science communication and doesn’t like how scientists are often portrayed as “stuffy old white men who can’t speak to other humans” (LOL, totally agree!), so she gives tours of her institute to the public and mentors high school students. I also love the photo of her combining fancy with a lab coat. Oh, and she also dressed up as a jellyfish with GFP (green fluorescent protein)! Outside of science, she knows how to turn “off” and spends time with friends and family, gardening, learning how to surf on the Australian coast (jealous).

31. Meriame Berboucha

Today’s #FancyScientist is no Sheldon Cooper! @girl_in_a_physics_world is a super fancy physicist. She loves high power lasers and her research focuses on using these lasers for better particle accelerators and imaging. She’s a very prolific science communicator with her own blog, writes for Forbes , and started a science club at a local school. She also has fantastic and empowering messages on her instagram about the discrimination that women face concerning what women should look like in the sciences. Make sure to give her a follow!

30. Sanae Ferreira

Today’s #FancyScientist is @bluebootsgo AKA Sanae Ferreira! I would describe Sanae’s insta feed in one word – FUN! Sanae is finishing her PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism, specializing in nutritional epidemiology and preventive medicine. Her research objectives focuses on adverse exposures and causes of obesity in children, and she wants to develop interventions to counter such adverse exposures.She has worked in the health and beauty industries for over 10 years as a researcher (! she looks so young). She also is a VERY prolific blogger, written, and artist. Check out her blog “Where the Blue Boots Go” at https://bluebootsgo.com.

29. Treva Brown

Last week I featured an aspiring NASA scientist, and today’s #FancyScientist is one! Dr. Treva Brown (@diva_treva) is a materials scientist who works at the @nasa Stennis Space Center. Her PhD focused on inorganic chemistry, with an emphasis on nanomechanical investigations and characterizations using atomic force and transmission electron microscopy. In other words, she uses techniques in atomic force microscopy to investigate the surface of materials at the nanometer scale. She has a passion for STEM outreach, dance, zumba, the color pink, and organizes a “Party in Pink Zumbathon” benefit for breast cancer awareness. On top of all of that, she has a book coming out soon! Look for “Fit and Fabulous PhDiva.”

28. Anya Tassy

I am so excited about today’s #FancyScientist. When I reached out to @anyatassy, I had no idea how young she was. She is ONLY 17!!! She is dual enrolled in university and high school and has already finished the first two years of her bachelor’s degree! Astrophysics is her passion, but her university does not offer astronomy classes, which is why physics is her major. But don’t worry – she plans to get her PhD in physics and astronomy! On top of that, she also works for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base conducting research for aircraft electrical systems. It is her dream to work for NASA and I’ll say she is well on her way!

27. Meridith Bartley

Today’s #FancyScientist has major style! @alwaysscientist is a PhD student in Statistics working on modeling animal movement and interactions. She made her way into stats through her love of wildlife science and I am very sure she will have no problem getting a job when she graduates because every scientist/university wants to work with statisticians! She requested that I include one of her wedding photos (bottom center) because she felt “maximum fancy” that day. I agree. Now that she’s moved to stats and doesn’t have lab or field work anymore, she can more freely express her fanciness and expand her style. When she isn’t researching or teaching, she loves tending to her ever-growing apartment garden and traveling with her husband.

26. Imogene Cancellare

When I met @biologistimogene last year I knew right off the bat she was a #fancyscientist – presenting on science communication in a pencil skirt and high heels! Imogene is a PhD student studying the genetic structure of snow leopards across Asia. She has an AMAZING instagram feed (if you aren’t following her you should) and a few weeks ago she brought attention to the negative stereotypes fancy scientists face. Someone told her she watered down her message simply through the WAY SHE LOOKED. In response, she started the hashtag #StillAScientist- “to show that regardless of what you look like, what you like, the quality of your science isn’t impacted.” Yass girl! Use this hashtag whenever you post a photo of yourself breaking the rules of what a scientist should look like.

25. Albert Welch Jr.

Being fancy is not limited to females! I love featuring our males (I know you’re out there!) and other genders. Today’s #FancyScientist, @black_scientist_585, has a diverse background in biotechnology, biology, chemistry, and forensic science. He currently works for Ortho Clinical Dianostics in the research and development section for infectious diseases. This company works in in vitro diagnostics, testing platforms and clinical assay tests to monitor disease progression. He’s married and a father of three. The goal of his instagram account is to reach out specially to black and latino communities to show them the amazing world of science! He also likes to feature current and historical African American scientists on his account.

24. Patricia Edem

I’m excited to feature the first chemist for today’s #FancyScientist! Patricia, AKA @PhDfitclub_, works at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen and her research focuses on developing radiopharmaceutical agents to help detect cancer using PET imaging. PET (Positron emission tomography) is a type of nuclear imaging technology that allows researchers to evaluate organ and tissue functions by seeing metabolic processes in the body. The radiopharmaceutical agents she develops emit radiation so you can visualize tumor localization with specialized cameras. This helps detect cancer by providing a picture of the disease process non-invasively. Her insta shows a balance of science and fitness, but even when she’s in workout clothes, she still looks pretty fancy to me.

23. Marina the Marine Biologist

Today’s #FancyScientist @marina.the.marine.biologist found her love for the ocean despite being landlocked in the Midwest. After college, she moved to Oahu to study biological oceanography at the University of Hawaii. While there, she discovered a love of teaching and has been instructing marine science, biology, and chemistry courses, in addition to advising undergraduate research projects. She’s incredibly passionate about increasing awareness about ocean and marine conservation. When she first started teaching, many of her students were older and often mistook her for a student. She started dressing up to set herself apart. Now she loves it and does it to feel her best! Her students and colleagues joke that they can always hear her coming in her heels! I love it!

22. Louise Dutton

The #FancyScientist of the week is the @redheaded.scientist! Louise is a Ph.D. student at the Queen’s University Belfast researching the role of a protein inhibitor called Gremlin-1 in bowel cancer. Gremlin-1 is involved in regulating many important processes during early development in embryos. However, in a variety of disease and cancers, including bowel cancer, it has been shown to be upregulated (increased activity). How this happens is unknown, so Louise’s whole Ph.D. is devoted to solving this mystery. Louise posts lots of cool photos of her research in the lab and provides captions explaining exactly what she is doing. My favorite post though refers to her namesake red. She has been told she will never be taken seriously with such vibrant red hair, but rather than change, she is trying to break the scientist stereotype. YES! And I of course support this.

21. Megan McSherry

Today’s #FancyScientist is my good rafiki Megan McSherry. Can you believe we met in Kenya 13 years ago?!?! Megan is an ecologist who conducts conservation research within coupled human-natural systems. One thing that stood out about Megan working at the School for Field Studies in Kenya was how much she loved and embraced Kenyan culture (I was there for a year and Megan learned more Kiswahili than me in four months). Her love of people shows in her research; she strives to find conservation solutions that are win-wins for people and wildlife. She has studied the effects of grazing management strategies on grassland vegetation and soils in Argentina, Tanzania, and Kenya. She doesn’t think of herself as a fancy scientist, yet there are too many photos of her in fancy dresses to choose from. Nonsense!

20. Bertha Hidalgo

I cannot believe it took me this long to find @chic_in_academia! She is the definition of a #FancyScientist! Bertha Hidalgo is an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she studies cardiometabolic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and Type-2 diabetes. She focuses on Latino populations and is trying to understand if there are genetic and epigenetic differences exist between subgroups of people. In her spare time, she maintains an awesome blog, chicinacademia.com, where blogs about outfits, shopping, and lifestyle tips. Because life in academia especially as a professor is high stress, It’s her way to decompress and have fun, so you will find no academic posts there. I just subscribed.

19. Lebaron Agostini

I came across @lee_the_scientist‘s profile and was completely taken aback to see such style under a lab coat! #FancyScientist Lebaron Agostini is a PhD student at Thomas Jefferson University studying genetics and cancer biology. He originally wanted to become a pharmacist, but changed his career trajectory after spending a summer doing population genetics research. He then started working in a lab that discovered novel antibiotics from soil bacteria, and later to the University of Miami Diabetes Research Institute. Here he narrowed his interests and decided to pursue chromatin biology (DNA, RNA, protein) and cancer initiation as his research topics. Lebaron is also passionate about and amazing at science education and outreach. He is a founder and contributor to Bio is Life Media (http://bioislifemedia.com). Here, he and others break down topics relating to cancer, fitness, diets, among other things. My favorite sections is Fact Check Friday. Lebaron uses Bio Is Life Media “to transcend the current fake news, click-bait, woo quackery media content, that plagues science information on the web.

18. Lea Shell

The #FancyScientist of the day is entomologist (insect biologist) and my friend Lea Shell. @Veganbuglady of has a multitude of interests and projects – ants, microbes, and slime molds are a few. She is fundamental to the Students Discover project that I work on – where scientists collaborate with teachers to integrate real science into their classrooms. The scientists then use the data for real research questions. She is incredibly passionate about getting educators and students excited about insects and bacteria, which was a focus of her masters’ work. She is also passionate about the challenging the perceptions of women in science and wants more women in science to be featured with kids. Not only does she travel with her kids, but she has given two hour-long workshops and presentations while wearing her babies.

17. Rebecca Johnson

I’m so excited for today’s #FancyScientist and am super jealous of her job. Dr. Rebecca Johnson (@drrebeccaj) is the first female director of the Australian Museum Research Institute (in over 190 yrs!). She is a wildlife forensic scientist, conservation geneticist, and is the co-chief investigator of the Koala Genome Consortium, a group sequencing the koala genome for conservation applications (such as diseases). As a forensic scientist, she solves wildlife crimes. Wildlife trafficking of live or dead animals, or their parts is an illegal business worth billions of dollars that seriously threatens the survival of many species. Rebecca’s genetic research can identify endangered species (if it’s animal parts) or where the confiscated item comes from, which provides information on which ports/countries are lacking in adequate protections. Rebecca gets to dress up a lot (jealous!) as she attends lots of galas. All of her clothes are from @cueclothingco, an Australian clothing company where the clothes are all made in Australia. Finally, she was named a Superstar of STEM by the Science and Technology Australia Initiative and was featured in Vogue Australia!

16. DeAnna Beasley

It’s #FancyScientist #FancyFriday and today I’m excited to feature my Students Discover buddy DeAnna Beasley! @flyingscientist is now a professor at the University of Tennessee, and conducts research on how humans, through urbanization and climate change, affect the behavior, development, and physiology of insects. Insects serve as an excellent model system for this because they are often more sensitive to environmental change due to their small body sizes, dependence on external conditions for regulating body functions, and shorter generation times, which can allow scientists to observe changes more rapidly than larger organisms. Like me, DeAnna worked on the Students Discover project and worked alongside teachers to co-develop lesson plans that they use in their classrooms for students to conduct real scientific research. My favorite fun fact about DeAnna is that she hang glides, hence the name @flyingscientist.

15. Stephanie O’Donnell

It’s TGIFF – Thank God it’s #FancyFriday! I met @steph_odonnell at the Society for Conservation Biology conference this past summer and knew she was a #FancyScientist at first site. She not only loves fashion, but loves biodiverse fashion as exemplified by this amazing bird dress she MADE! We met because we both work with tech in wildlife. In her role at Flora and Fauna International she brings together conservationists, engineers, and other techies into a community to collaboratively make conservation efforts state-of-the-art and likely more successful. Her organization Wildlabs.net runs the #Tech4Wildlife challenge, so if you are doing amazing things with tech for wildlife, be sure to tweet out your photos. She is also an amazing artist.

14. Kaberi Kar Gupta

Today’s #FancyFriday #FancyScientist is slender loris expert Dr. Kaberi Kar Gupta!. @lorisesoftheforest is wildlife biologist, social scientist, and founder of the Urban Slender Loris project. She studied the wild slender loris in the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve for about a decade for her Ph.D. research. Now she is combining her degrees in wildlife biology and anthropology to study the ecology of the still wild, but urban-living slender lorises of large cities in India. Because these cute little primates live in cities of 12+ million, you cannot ignore people when trying to plan for their conservation. Her organization carries out nocturnal surveys of the primate to understand current distributions, but also conducts oral history surveys to seek knowledge about past ranges and create awareness. Her project is also citizen science based, meaning that regular citizens can participate in real science. You can tell Kaberi’s home country is an influence in her style – she is frequently seen wearing bright, beautiful colorsand of course can be seen in amazing saris (so jealous). Check our her project here.

13. Kellie Ann

I don’t know where to start with today’s #FancyFriday #FancyScientist. Harvard PhD graduate. Postdoc at Yale. 1st in her undergraduate class. And not only is the @latina_scientist fancy herself, but she has a hella fancy grant. She is one of FIVE recipients of the prestigious Women in Science fellowship from the beauty company L’Oreal. Kellie Ann studies how our immune systems interact with infections from viruses and her fellowship money is applied towards understanding the impacts of the Zika virus within the brain. Not only are her posts super stylish, but they also carry an important message. She shares stories of what people have said about her not “earning” her place due to being a woman and Latina, despite the amazing accomplishments mentioned above and the hard work and effort she had to devote to get them. And that Latina women only make $0.54 cents per every dollar made by a man – the largest gender gap in the US. I hope her posts not only inspire young Latina girls to be ambitious in STEMand non-STEM careers alike, but also bring attention to this important issue for women as a whole.

12. Rachel Smith

At first glance, today’s #FancyScientist may not seem super fancy because she’s frequently rocking bikinis, but when I saw her graduation pic of her red ribbon-tied heels, I knew she was perfect for #FancyFriday! I love following the @theblondebiologist on insta because she often posts strong conservation messages, sometimes reflecting the real-life difficulty of living a fun, fancy life while still making ecofriendly choices. Rachel now lives in Hawaii (so jealous!) as an environmental health specialist and is therefore passionate about conservation, but also marine biology and advocating for women in STEM. Living on an island really makes her think about the purchases she makes because trash can easily go into the ocean. I loved her post on a pool float; it was a fun purchase, but how long will it last? And where does it end up? Is it worth it? These are the types of questions I think we all need to ask ourselves!

11. Iásón Mac Gabhann

In all my years working in the lab, I have NEVER seen a tie! Today’s #FancyFriday #FancyScientist @the_irish_scientist breaks the lab coat stereotype – not by ditching it, but by making it vey dapper! His insta name does not lie – Iásón Mac Gabhann has dual citizenship in Ireland and the US and has conducted research in Dublin and Ireland. His background is in biochemistry and his research interests include the innate immune system of autoimmune diseases (I actually have an autoimmune disease – Hashimoto’s). I love his feed because he shows a lot of cool behind-the-scenes in photos in the lab with great captions explaining what he is doing such as growing bacteria colonies, western blots, and performing ELISAs (nzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).

10. Andrea H: PhD Fashionista

Today’s #FancyFriday #FancyScientist is all about fashion, it’s even in her insta name! Andrea AKA @phd_fashionista is a biochemist and blogger all about defying the stereotypes of women in science (and scientists in general). She originally started her blog to keep track of her outfits that were practical enough to work in while obeying the strict lab safety rules and still being fashionable (a challenge). She loves to blog about lab fashion and has written advice on what to wear for professional conferences, every day work, and weekend fashion. Her PhD research focused on methyl groups on arginine residues of proteins, which is important for the regulation of certain proteins on genes, and can even turn genes on or off, depending on other factors. She is also interested in cancer epigenetics (modification of gene expression, but not the DNA itself) and disease models.

9. Chris Parsons

Who says that #FancyFriday is only for women? Not me. #Fancy is for all! Today I am excited to present marine mammal expert and one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter, Dr. Chris Parsons (@Craken_MacCraic). Chris has studied dolphins and whales for over TWO DECADES. I first met Chris at a the Society for Conservation Biology and I was super impressed by the number of ribbons he had (nearly 5 times the size of his name tag) reflecting his dedication to the society and conservation of the oceans as a whole. Chis has worked on marine mammals in all 7 continents (jealous!) and is EXTREMELY prolific in writing – 140 scientific papers, book chapters, and a textbook on marine mammal biology and conservation. It’s easy to see why Chris is a #FancyScientist. I can’t express how much I love these outfits. Not only do I value fanciness, but it increases value in theme. He holds an annual costume party, so some are from there, but also from presentations at conferences and pilgrimages to #JaneAustin sites.

8. Christine Hawn

Today’s #FancyFriday #FancyScientist is a former postdoc in our lab at @naturalsciences. I don’t think there was ever a day that I didn’t see Christine Hawn dress up! Some days even I felt sloppy. Christine studies animals in corridors, areas of habitat that can serve as a bridge between two larger areas for animals/plants to move and disperse. When I think of corridors, I think of ones in India to connect tigers to reserves, but Christine works on much smaller species that most people don’t think about when it comes to conservation – spiders! Spiders are small, but important predators in ecosystems and Christine has studied how corridors affect their food resources. For their research, Christine painted spiders with nail polish or used stable isotopes as a way to mark them, making them individually identifiable for research (and incidentally fancy). I am deliberately using the pronouns they/their for Christine because they identify as transgender. Christine is also interested in the impacts that pharmaceuticals and personal care products can have on spiders living alongside streams, which can serve as an indicator for human health.

7. Mareike Dornhege

I met today’s #FancyFriday #FancyScientist only once at a Society for Conservation Biology conference years ago, but we became Facebook friends ever since! Mareike Dornhege is a marine ecologist for the @saveourseasfoundation. Growing up in Northern Germany, she learned to love the ocean from an early age, and especially sharks from a book her grandmother gave her. She learned to dive at age 14 and over many years and dives was saddened and confused by how few sharks she saw. She now works in Japan asking fisherman questions about sharks for science. By talking to people and using data collected from catches today, she can evaluate the “shifting baselines.” In other words, what may seem like normal catch now may be dramatically different than years ago. She also uses their information to understand the ecology of sharks. Mareike came to Japan to work as a model(!) so she naturally always loved fashion. Living in Tokyo has changed her style and she has abandoned the greys and blacks that dominated fashion in Berlin for bold colors. She loves classic feminine elements like floral patterns and lace and draws inspiration from both traditional Japanese fabric patterns and modern Japanese street fashion. As a marine ecologist her preferred work attire is bikinis with shorts and rash guards on top.

6. Tatiana Arias

Today’s #FancyFriday #FancyScientist is my good friend Tatiana Arias! Tatiana and I were PhD students together at Mizzou. Now, Tatiana heads her own lab at a private research institution in Medellin, Colombia, where she is from studying the evolution and ecology of tropical plants especially orchids. She works to find solutions to agricultural challenges in Colombia such as using genetic diversity to broaden crop diversity, and preserving and even restoring lost the native biodiversity of plants emblematic to Colombia. She was recently the recipient of the Colombian Young Scientist Award from The World Academy of Sciences and The Colombian Academy of Sciences. She has the cutest kitty Oda, hence her Insta name @odasmama and has literally traveled the world.

5. Sophie: The Scientific Beauty

I am so excited to introduce you to @sciencebeaut for #FancyFriday! I thought I was one of the rare fancy scientists, but Sophie’s feed makes me feel like a #FancyScientist slacker! Sophie’s science is fancy in itself – she has a PhD in bochemistry and writes about the science of beauty, breaking down ingredients in your favorite products, helping you make sense of the scientific claims the industry makes, and explaining science behind red lipstick. She loves fashion obviously, but favors classic couture that lasts a lifetime over fast fashion trends (which is also more ecofriendly). She adores Coco Chanel and Chanel in general and is obsessed with Louboutins .

4. Sarah Jandricic

Today’s #Fancyfriday #fancyscientist is the @theclosetmoth. Sarah has a science job that is fancy too – She works on flowers! Specifically, she works with the Canadian government to help growers manage insect pests and plant diseases sustainability so your flowers look perfect! She loves working with farmers and putting the things scientist develop into real world practice. You can tell her study subject influences her outfits. Sarah has a VERY fashionable Insta feed to prove you can be science-y and a fashionista. Besides fashion, she also loves her Bernese mountain dog Velika, and is obsessed with alpacas.

3. Summer Higdon

Today’s #FancyFriday’s #FancyScientist is @summerhigdon! Summer studies the super cool and super elusive spotted skunk at my alma mater Mizzou. The eastern spotted skunk is a once-common mesocarnivore that is now petitioned for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act. They are difficult to detect, even on camera traps, so she has to bait her camera traps to try to attract them. She studies everything spotted skunk – their home ranges, what habitats they live in, activity patterns and uses their scat (poop) to understand their diet. Summer posts amazing photos of her outside adventures with her sidekick, Peanut, the rat terrier. Her fancy hobbies include drinking craft beer and red wine, and cooking good food. Her not-so-fancy, but badass hobby is learning krav maga (I had to look this up). Summer was also an intern of mine and worked A LOT on our deer vigilance project. I like to think I had a strong influence in her fancy habits.

2. Rae Wynn Grant

Today’s #fancyscientist and fashionista is @raewynngrant at my favorite museum, the American Museum of Natural History. Rae and I met YEARS ago (12 to be exact) in Kenya. She was a student, while I was an intern at the School for Field Studies. She now works as a Conservation Science Research and Teaching Fellow exploring the influence of human activity on large carnivores. She’s another bear biologist and studies how human’s influence black bears’ landscape use, habitat suitability, and connectivity in the Western Great Basin. Rae also helps to coordinate the Education Department’s Science Research Mentoring Program, offering high school students the opportunity to join ongoing research projects lead by AMNH scientists like herself. Rae is also super fun to follow. She is world traveller, a new mom, and posts lots of fun animal pics.

1. Emily Puckett

Today’s #fancyscientist is one of my besties: former labmate and fellow blogger at Widllife SNPits (also founder, wildlifesnpits.wordpress.com), evolutionary biologist @emilyepuckett. Emily studies the distribution of genetic diversity across a species’ range and uses this information to identify where in the genome differences exist and if they are tied to adaptations. Most of her research is on #blackbears, but she has also worked on rats, and soon chipmunks! She is mostly in a lab or at the computer, but has gone to the field a few times for #bear research. Her fancy hobbies include going to the #ballet, #opera, watching indy movies and drinking bubbly beverages (Cava, Champagne, or Chandon). I also love her shirt on the right – from Anthropologie.

Are you a fancy scientist? Or do you know a fancy scientist? Send me a message to nominate them!

The post 90 Fancy Scientists that Challenge the Scientist Stereotype appeared first on Dr. Stephanie Schuttler.

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Amanda Reads - April 2017

Welp! April was busy, y’all, but that should be nothing new, for those of you who have been regularly reading this here blog. It was a super weird month. I had jury duty, and did Tome Topple and have been working 60 hours weeks, between two jobs. But I also finalized the print ARC for Something Beautiful and had some other exciting stuff happen in my personal life, so it’s not all weird/bad!

A reminder of the rating scale:

0 dogs petted: DNF. I couldn't get through the book. It's not a good day.

1 dog petted: It was an okay day. I mean, I got to pet a dog. But it could have been better.

2 dogs petted: A solid effort. May recommend.

3 dogs petted: A really good day, tbh. Would recommend willingly to friends and family.

4 or more dogs petted: Best day. Will be recommending to all the people. Pet all the dogs.

Let’s dive straight into the books. I had deemed last month Backlist April, and I mostly stuck with that!

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

This was my only audiobook listen this month, and I absolutely loved it. Amy Poehler’s narration was top-notch, funny, entertaining, and charming, just like how I imagine AP is in real life. As I may have mentioned when I reviewed Tina Fey’s memoir—why didn’t they talk about Mean Girls more??? That’s the real question. But! I enjoyed it, and if Poehler were to write another memoir, I’d read it. Well, I should say—I’d listen to the audiobook.

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

I’ve had this book on my shelf for YEARS, and it’s about time I actually read it! The perfect start to Backlist April. Mindy Kaling is funny and honest and fresh, but I have the same basic complaints/reactions as I did to Amy Poehler’s book—I didn’t learn anything new, but I laughed a lot. A solid read, and I do plan to read her second book. It’s already on my Kindle, in fact!

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Okay, hi! Welcome to Tome Topple! This book is a whopping 650 pages long! Bleh.

As a reminder of books past, I disliked Heir of Fire A LOT. I was bored, and I hate the whole “girl has to have a much-older mentor/guide teach her how to master her special gifts” thing. In fact, I remember being sad that SJM went there at all, because the first two books aren’t like that. So I was a little nervous for QoS after HoF. BUT I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. I liked being back in Rifthold (I think this is going to be a theme in this series—I tend to like the books set in Rifthold and dislike the ones set elsewhere), and I liked having both Chaol and Aedion as main characters again. Aelin and Rowan’s growing love was swoonworthy in this installment, and Nesryn and Lysandra were solid additions to the cast. And Manon! I still love Manon and the witches so so much. They need their own book. SJM, give the witches their own book!

There was some icky ableism at the end of the book after Chaol gets severely injured, and the cast was predominantly white and revered for blond or silver hair. Those things were in the back of my mind the whole time. But I definitely enjoyed reading this installment in the series.

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

After the ending in QoS, I had high expectations for Empire of Storms. Did it deliver? HELL NO. I was so disappointed in this book. Ugh.

Remember how I said that I didn’t tend to like the books that weren’t set in Rifthold? YEAH. THIS ONE IS NOT SET IN RIFTHOLD. We’re like, a little bit of everywhere, and there’s a lot of traveling and a lot of talk about draining magic and how special Aelin is. Yawn. I will say that Lysandra is amazing throughout the book, as are Manon and Elide. I kind of hated everyone else, although I have found more respect for Aedion and Dorian as characters. The members of the cadre in this book were a fun addition, but the talk of males and their sexual prowess got super old. Speaking of—there was SO MUCH SEX in this book. So much. Like, how is this YA?

The ending though. The ending set us up for the next phase of the story so nicely, and it was completely bonkers. COMPLETELY BONKERS. I’m glad we get a break, though. I need a break from this world. So the Chaol novel is coming this fall (get ready for more ableism bullshit, I bet) and then the final ToG book is coming in 2018. And then I can tie a little bow on this series and read better things.

Rating: 1.5 dogs petted. A semi-solid effort, but not well-executed for how much happened. Also, give us a break, SJM! That book was 700 pages long!

Solo by Lauren E. Rico

I had the pleasure of getting an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review (the full review will be going up on Booknista next week, so this will be short). This was supposed to be a May read, but then I flew through it. Oops?

Things I liked about this book:

It was a fun enemies-to-lovers story.

It was a fun student-teacher romance story.

It was fluffy and light and had realistic dialogue.

The side characters were both entertaining and awful.

Things I disliked about this book:

Drew Markham is supposed to have his PhD, but is potentially the dumbest love interest I’ve ever read. And such a flip-flopper! To the point, near the end, where it didn’t even seem realistic, didn’t seem like he was the same character at all.

There was some shitty stuff said about depression and suicide that is going to make me slap a trigger warning on every single instance of talking about this book. The author talks about depression like it was someone’s fault (which is awful) and then goes on to say that suicide is also someone’s fault. Even so far as to say that people could have prevented it and it was someone’s fault that a character died. I was… shocked. Horrified. And so deeply uncomfortable. There’s one line near the end… oh gosh, I don’t even know if I want to write this. Summation: a character says that the other character that committed suicide was a “psycho bitch.” I’ll discuss the situation in depth in my actual review. In any case, that line and the other instances of ableism in regards to mental illness lost this book some stars for me.

Stay tuned for my full review on Booknista!

Rating: 2 dogs petted. I enjoyed it, but I’ll never recommend it without a huge trigger warning splashed all over it.

While I didn’t read as many books this month, I probably read close the same number of pages. As I stated in my last post, May is ARC May! I’m kicking it off on this lovely May Day and am hoping to get through some awesome books this month.

What did y’all read in April? Let me know in the comments!

Happy reading and dog petting!

-A