#biofacts

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

Super cool docent cart at the San Francisco Zoo today! This Nile hippopotamus was a previous zoo resident and his skull is now helping educate guests.

I’ve never see a hippo skull irl, much less gotten to touch their ivory, so I spent a ton of time talking with them. I’ve been super impressed with all the docents I’ve encountered here!

[kaijutegu]

Jima and I had a very good time at the MSI Kickoff to Summer picnic! Normally we try to have two volunteers but it was just me and her today and we had a ball. The biofacts were much easier to manage than a second live reptile so I think that's gonna be my go-to when flying solo from now on.

[daily-fantasy-ideas]

Had a new idea for a kind of bastard spellcaster, the Invoker:

Invoking the power of other beings is not something particularly strange in the world of spell-casting, there are in fact numerous (typically at least somewhat religious) varieties of spellcasters whose primary method of casting involves invoking the abilities of some higher power.

Now invokers on the other hand are seen as different. Unlike with the other invocative casters, there is no exchange or communication between the one invoking and the one whose power is being invoked.

To do this invoker requires a remnant of some powerful thing (most often biofacts are used), for example, a mythic hero's strand of hair, a dragon's scale, the fragment of a legendary sword, or a divine's blood droplet suspended in glass.

In order to invoke the power contained within the remnants collected most invokers use a three-staged magical device.

Stage one is the holder where the remains physically go, they're often suspended within an open casing of some sort so they can be swapped in and out with ease.

Stage two is a connector inscribed with the words of rituals that connect the remains to the final stage of the device.

Stage three is the casting head, this is from where the invoked power is sent out and made a tangible force in the world

An example of one of these devices could be a traditional-looking wizard staff with the remnants placed at the top, with the ritual words inscribed upon the shaft of the staff, with a sharpened point acting as the casting head at the staff's base.

An alternative example could be could involve a waist bag-esq holder for the remnant with an inscribed leather cord connecting the holder to a swand acting as the casting head.

Additionally, while most people upon gaining new knowledge and experience of the world increase their own power and become stronger and better people for it, invokers can instead pour this developmental potential into the remnants they possess to increase the power and number of feats remnants are able to perform.¹

Further, if needed an invoker can also pour their own life force into a remnant to give it a temporary boost.²

Additional idea stuff I couldn't add in the main text.

¹ Yes that is just me saying they can level up the remnants instead of themselves, but it's a bit of a gamble as they might not get something good from it (at first at least).

²Yes that is just me saying they can sacrifice health for more powerful abilities, but again it's a gamble but one which can be rerolled if the invoker has placed levels into certain skills. The amount of health sacrificed is also proportional to the power boost gained.

The particular method of invocation used by invokers is descended from a school of assassination spells that sapped people's power at range to either weaken or kill them.

Invoking too much from one entity into short of a timespan can weaken the entity's power temporarily.

Invoking the power of just like some normal guy can drain them so much power that they die.

The things that the remnants are taken from might become aware that their power is being invoked.

Invocation can go massively wrong and the invoked power can turn explicitly against the invoker.

Sometimes the things being invoked will attempt to take revenge against the invokers, by either destroying them or manipulating them with the promise of more power.

Some invoked entities are actually just fine being invoked, as the invoker might actually be spreading their will.

Some people technically fall under the label of invoker but they gain the permission of those who they invoke, these types of invoker are more rare and less disliked and more simply seen as weird.

There can be remnants of intangible things such as forces, these too can be invoked.

The dead can be invoked.

The invoked power of most dead things is generally less potent than the invoked power of those that live.

This idea was created entirely because the word "invoke" sounds cool to me, everything else just kinda spiralled out from that

[antique-symbolism]

Learning to make videogames isn't really on my realistic to-do list but I think it would be fun to make a cozy game where you curate a museum. You get to go out into the field and find artifacts or biofacts or live specimens or what have you and bring them back to expand your collection.

[grxmincvdescxnce]

( sobhita dhulipala, she/her, spirit warrior ) To LEONORE VEN VISHAL, the whole world looks like an open page. With a leap of faith, their ability of DIVINE EARTH MANIPULATION grows a little stronger. They’re pledged to the ORDER of ATH to defend the enchanted lands of Cagliostro with their SOULSHARD BROADSWORD. For THIRTY-FOUR years, they have survived a world of magic with both their FORTITUDE and VENGEFULNESS. They work as a KNIGHT CLERIC and BODYGUARD, but if they could change their fate, they’d want to FIND REDEMPTION THROUGH A GREATER PURPOSE. + renegade knight skeleton

inspo includes the likes of the following: cassandra pentaghast of dragon age, geralt of rivia of the witcher series, erza scarlet of fairy tail, xena of xena: warrior princess, haruka tenou of sailor moon, nicholas d. wolfwood of trigun, senju tsunade of naruto, juri arisugawa of revolutionary girl utena.

&. ⸻ BASICS

name — leonore ven vishal

aliases — veyn vishal, veyn the visceral, the holy knight, the celestial champion, the lady justice, the huntress

birthdate — january 17

zodiac — capricorn

birthplace — rigbarth

sexuality — homoromantic homosexual

alignment —  lawful neutral

temperament — phlegmatic-melancholy

element — earth

primary vice — pride

primary virtue — faith

house — previously fraser. now order of ath.

occupation — knight cleric and bodyguard

markings — her back has a tattoo similar to this, a purified sigil of her former religion that has warped with the cursed energy she’s absorbed over the years, permitting a berserker tendency given its influence

weapon — called the kamakshi ishmerai, meaning ‘keeper of loving eyes’, a supposed gift from many years ago that requires her life energy within it. an enormous broadsword capable of either shattering into metal slivers as sharp as daggers or reforming into an energy variation of twin hand canons, it serves at her beck and call. the slivered form is summoned by the phrase ‘sway, kamakshi’, with the cannons forming with ‘ishmerai, burst’. the blade is often fastened to her back with cloth covering. a combination of here + here + here

&. ⸻ HEADCANONS

despite her more brutish nature, she is in fact quite academically-inclined, most notably bearing knowledge of great ruins, biofacts, artifacts, and older languages. this includes the language of ath, which remains among her more favored

very few tend to address her by her first name these days, with ‘veyn vishal’ being her designated choice in name in her rarer moments with the public to avoid calling full attention to the bounty against her. considered a traitor to both her family and the crown, her travels tend to take her on less common paths as a consequence, shrouded in cloak and shadow, in the hopes of avoiding undue attention and needless encounters

the order of ven vishal was her original religion, a more familial belief system that favored the dragon goddess, yet drew on deciphered teachings with a more vicious hand than the remnants of any possible compatriot. somewhere along leonore’s familial line exists the so-called ‘founder’, and the knight fell away from what little remained of them upon joining the royal guard, considered an enemy to the order by at least the order’s standards

she’s further strayed from either entity ( the crown and family ) by joining the order of ath, wholeheartedly believing in change for her fellow countrymen and a need to pull away from the established world for the sake of true prosperity. in the very least, they offer protection when needed, share her lack of love for shades, and allow her a chance to study the lost language she’s always been fond of

she has a white, armored horse named jakken, who remains a constant companion on the road

her own armor can take on various forms and hues, on account of the magic inherent within it. most often, it resembles dragon scale armor in gleaming silvery white. her wear in the evenings or occasions that call for minimal protection tends to resemble this

her favorite flowers are yellow and white chrysanthemums, and foxgloves

despite any harbored doubts towards her new mission, her admiration for ventuswill seems mostly unwavering these days. she holds to the belief that the great deity saved her from the makings of hell, amid her doubts against the crown and its trappings. it’s to the point that she’ll easily seek retribution should one sully the deity’s good name

&. ⸻ ABILITY

divine earth manipulation permits her to manipulate earth-like, and by extension some metal, material while also allowing for talents like purification and exorcism.

one fun fact about her power is that her capacity as an exorcist is not considered standard by any means, with those who seek her aid in this regard brought to near death if not actual death should the task involve a living being. this is mostly due to the nature of her magic and how it operates, with her capacity to absorb the sins and afflictions of those around her corrupting her over the years. this was made worse by an encounter with another who seemed to amplify this weakness and has resulted in spells of just rather unfortunate luck on her end these days. of those who survive or find themselves resurrected, they are often exposed to side effects such as bouts of insanity, similar strings of bad luck, severe weakness, or some general form of weirdness. how long this lasts varies from person to person

&. ⸻ HISTORY

some time ago, leonore was a member of the royal guard, betraying her mother’s teachings in an effort to seek more solid truths of the world she found herself within. serving crown and country as a loyal executioner does not find her solace, however, and she earns a reputation as a fierce and callous shell of a woman

her life prior to the guard is one mostly shrouded in mystery, though rumor has it she hunts for a great love. and she in fact does — if only to see the light leave their eyes by her own hand. the entity in question is a dreamshade, one she’d fallen for in youth and now seeks to end their reckoning by any cost. ( wanted connection )

despite her best efforts, religion has always held a presence in her life — acting as a dull beacon since youth, calling to her in ways she never realized. the child of an illicit affair between a holy woman and a married man of little value, the knight felt herself born unworthy, compounded by the treatment she received from those who were meant to love her most. in her fear, her uncertainty, leonore sought to snuff out its divine light, to drown its holy call in waves of blood, in desecration, in debauchery. she believed herself a lost cause, deserving to be forsaken for her crimes of birth, of life, in keeping with the wishes of demons and devils. the call of her lady divinity from the depths of her dreams would bear resemblance to renewed truth, however. a purpose restored

leonore has since sworn fealty to the priesthood, forsaking any prior ties and renouncing death save for in special circumstances. with her new mantle as knight to the dragon priesthood, she serves her lady divinity as an armed guardian to her designated ward, the tested follower, seeking to purify and cleanse the lands of all malefic might in the process of fulfilling their journey

[thebreakfastgenie]

B G for the fanfic asks

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Yes, but only in highly abstracted ways. I do have some WIPs that are more direct, but in terms of finished, published work...

Chianti, as I mention in the author's note, was inspired by me carrying a bottle of chianti into the house and walking across a very slippery, icy driveway. I had the thought "what if I slipped?" though I didn't in real life. In a separate experience, I held a flashlight for an acquaintance who was cleaning up broken glass from a dropped bottle of beer in a parking lot in the dark.

I got this incredibly kind comment on The Emergency Room wondering if I'd drawn on personal experience for the ER part... I did draw on the last time I was in an ER, when I was 15 and got an earring back stuck in my piercing. The conversation about what blood thinners he's still taking also came from me remembering my time taking aspirin and wanting to account for that being an issue.

Some of the banter between Josh and his mom in The Apple is lifted from conversations my family has had.

Hawkeye's concern with keeping the skull from touching the ground in the play's the thing came from a rule we had about biofacts at the zoo when I volunteered. Biofacts are all parts of real animals that died from natural causes--pelts, feet, skulls, etc.--and we handle them a particular way not only to preserve them physically but to show respect for the fact that they were once alive. I thought Hawkeye might feel similarly about a human skull.

Pretty much all Maine references draw from my experiences in Maine in one way or another.

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I primarily write from start to finish. I find it easier to maintain a flow this way. Plus, I use the scenes that come easily or that I'm excited about as anchors, so I don't want to write them all at the beginning. I will go out of order occasionally, if I'm worried about forgetting a scene, or if I need to know exactly how something later goes, or for some other reason. But it's in order with a few exceptions.

[the-foley-knoll-horror]

Biofact: Women require a higher calcium intake, which is why you often see them gnawing on the bones of their vanquished enemies

[tauforged]

the first time i found a ray tooth in the touch tank i was really confused as to how it was meant to like, work. it baffled me cuz to me it was just a weird rectangle. i thought it was like a piece of coral on the sand or something. i actually have one on me right now that i found last week and forgot to take out of my jacket pocket. look at this shit

and then one of the educators went and got the ray jaw we have in the biofact cabinet to show me and i was like. ah. i see

stingray jaws are so fucking weird

[factzada]

Your Daily Dose Of Facts 💡

[scienceroughbook]

Science #humanbody #science #finger #humanbiology #humanscience #humancell #brain #nerves #humanfinger #bodyscience #biofacts #biology #humanscience #scienceexperiments #microscience #gkfacts #biofacts #gkscience #amazingfacts #unique #scienceexperiments #sciencefiction #scientistlife #sciencelover #scienceclass #scienceforkids https://www.instagram.com/p/CAvYEI7pdjp/?igshid=1by5fkthgh9ee

[alphabetsoup-blogposts]

The two people were first discovered in 1933, in what Pompeii archaeologists have called Casa del Fabbro, or The Craftsman's House.

They were slumped in the corner of the dining room, almost as though they were having lunch when the eruption occurred - on 24 August 79AD. One recent study suggested that the huge cloud of ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius could have become lethal for the city's residents in less than 20 minutes.

[yuukialexkubota]

Wow just in time Indigo 🐍is on his Process Of shedding., Emerald tree boas can grow to a length of 6 ft and have some of the largest teeth of any species of non venomous snake. They have these long teeth to help ensure that they don't drop their prey when hunting high in the forest canopy. . . . #emeraldtreeboa #reptiles #reptilesofinstagram #beautiful #gorgeous #pretty #coolpets #animalfacts #biofacts #biology #zoology #photography #reptilesofig #snakes #snakesofinstagram #herpetology #herplife #lifeisgood #herpinhippie https://www.instagram.com/p/BoljOWhFHqV/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9yfwbtn35gyu

[biofacts]

Breathing Underwater: The Beetles’ way

Let’s start with: insects must breathe. They need oxygen, like us, to survive. However, they don’t have a nose: the air diffuses through little holes on the side of their body, called spiracles.

There’s no problem on the ground, where the O2 atmospheric concentration is quite high. But when they go underwater, they have to come up with new ideas to keep breathing. 

The predaceous water beetles (or the dytiscidae family), evolved quite a trick to breathe under water. They hold a large bubble between their upper wings (yeah, they can fly as well) and their body, using the air under there to keep breathing while diving. Sometimes there’s one attached to the end of their abdomen as well.

Some of them spend their whole life underwater just like this, going up to the surface only to change their air supply when needed.

Source 1, 2, 3

[lorettaelizabethretired]

⋆ ◦ ° ☾ haley lu richardson + cisfemale + she/her — have you met buffy laurel? they are a twenty five year old known around town as the barbie girl. they’ve been in the gang life for five years, and currently work for the cobras as a lookout. they are a bisexual leo, which means they are passionate + humorous, as well as stubborn + self-centered. strawberry milkshakes, flower crowns, the entire discography of ariana gande. × ooc clara. twenty five +. she/hers. cst. ×

Elizabeth Marie Laurel; goes by Buffy, Lizzie, Kiddo

Born August 1st, 1993 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Bonnie and Warren Laurel

TW HURRICANE, DIVORCE, ABUSE, DRUG MENTION, ADOPTION

ABOUT 

Buffy was the youngest of three children; she has an older sister, Margot, and a younger brother, Calvin.

Buffy was raised in a very strict Christian home -- church twice every Sunday, Christian education. Strict emphasis on the ten commandments and chastity.

With their parents constantly working to pay rent and put food on the table, Margot did the majority of raising Buffy and Calvin -- but their parents were always sure to eat breakfast with them before they went off to school. Buffy never doubted her parents love for her and her siblings.

Buffy was twelve when Hurricane Katrina hit. Her family lost everything. FEMA relocated them to a Habitat for Humanity home in Ohio, but things were never the same after that.

Her father was the first to move out after having an affair, Buffy was fourteen. 

At age fifteen, Buffy got pregnant after getting her first real boyfriend (he didn’t want a thing to do with her after the test came out positive). Knowing that she did not have the means or maturity it took the raise a kid, Buffy put her son up for adoption. The adoption is technically closed, but the parents of her child send her a picture every year on his birthday.

Buffy’s pregnancy was rough on her relationship with her mother. First, her mother nearly disowned her for having sex out of wedlock, but also her mother intensely wanted Buffy to keep her son -- her mother still makes her feel guilty as often as possible for “giving away her only grandchild”.

Buffy skipped town with her latest boyfriend the summer she graduated high school. (She had a history of being in blind-puppy love with any guy who gave her the least bit of attention -- no matter how big of an asshole he really was.)

Her boyfriend was a small time weed dealer, who decided that he wanted to set up legit shop in Colorado after the drug became legal. 

To help with extra money, Buffy started working as an escort under Jax.

The boyfriend (for reasons she doesn’t enjoy going into) didn’t last and he skipped town a few months after Buffy started work as an escort.

Jax, knowing that the Cobra’s were going to split off and that Buffy wouldn’t ever be able to live with herself as an escort permanently, put her withing the newly forming ranks as a lookout.

Buffy is surprisingly good at her job. She’s ever observant, and she doesn’t draw suspicion -- no one ever thinks that a girl in a pink sundress with a hello kitty phone is up to no good.

PERSONALITY

Buffy is, above all else, a glass half full kind of girl. Nothing brings her greater happiness than bringing smiles out of other people. When she’s sad she keeps that shit to herself. She loves to be goofy, laugh loud, and have fun. Nothing brings her more joy than a stupid meme or a finely placed Vine quote. Her loyalty for the Cobra’s is purely bound by her love of the people there.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

I’m gonna be pretty freewheeling with this girlie! Always welcome connections are one night stands (she loves love!), friends with benefits, friends, found family, coworkers, bar buddies, flirtationships, someone she holds a secret for, maybe some unrequited romances! DAZZLE ME, I’m open to pretty much anything!

[technocast]

Hibernation :- when an animal slows its heart rate to save energy and survive the winter without eating much. ... During hibernation the animal's body temperature drops, and its heartbeat and its breathing slow down. • Share this Amazing Info & Visit Profile For More Contents ! • • • #factofindia #factinenglish #dailyfactinhindi #amazinghindifacts #factbox #factkiduniya #helthtipshindi #helthtips #helthtip #swasthika #factaboutbody #bodyfact #bodyfacts #biologyfact #biofact #factsbiology #biologicalfact #biologicalfacts #factinsight #factonpage #factonfacts #factoflove #factofhealth #factoflife💯✔️ #factofworld #amazingfactsmedia #amazingfacts💯 #amazingfact #thefactspedia #factsonfacts💯 (at Raipur : Heart of Chhattisgarh) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXOVRIdtiTU/?utm_medium=tumblr

[liberalbumpkin]

Sometimes I think about how absolutely wild it is that people generally don’t understand how vaccines and your immune system works. People be like “I don’t wanna get the flu shot cause one time a friend of a friend got the flu shot and then the next day the were so sick with the flu and it was the worst one they’d ever got” or like “ i got the flu shot and then i got the sniffles and my arm hurt.” Bud of course your arm hurt a bit, you got stabbed with a needle and also those symptoms are how you know your immune system is working. When you get vaccinated, your body is introduced to the virus and so your body builds antibodies to the virus so that it can fight the virus off next time it sees it. The fever and arm pain and fatigue is your body’s natural immune response to seeing and virus and boosting a response, they’re not necessarily part of the virus itself. You can’t get the flu from the dead flu vaccine! If you ‘got’ the flu from the vaccine, you almost definitely had the flu prior to or while getting the vaccine and your immune response is reacting to both. It can take up to 2 weeks to build immunity to the flu and you need to get the shot every year as the immunity provided is typically only for one year.