#coastal rain forest

[jamesmassino]

Coastal Rain Forest - Oregon, North America

[briwhosaysni]

I do not regret going to grad school, and I do not regret moving for my program, but I am absolutely sick and tired of living in the fucking desert

It should not be 97° F in fucking May

I wish we still had our chest freezer so I could curl up inside it and take a nap

[no-passaran]

Genocide experts warn that India is about to genocide the Shompen people

Who are the Shompen?

The Shompen are an indigenous culture that lives in the Great Nicobar Island, which is nowadays owned by India. The Shompen and their ancestors are believed to have been living in this island for around 10,000 years. Like other tribes in the nearby islands, the Shompen are isolated from the rest of the world, as they chose to be left alone, with the exception of a few members who occasionally take part in exchanges with foreigners and go on quarantine before returning to their tribe. There are between 100 and 400 Shompen people, who are hunter-gatherers and nomadic agricultors and rely on their island's rainforest for survival.

Why is there risk of genocide?

India has announced a huge construction mega-project that will completely change the Great Nicobar Island to turn it into "the Hong Kong of India".

Nowadays, the island has 8,500 inhabitants, and over 95% of its surface is made up of national parks, protected forests and tribal reserve areas. Much of the island is covered by the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, described by UNESCO as covering “unique and threatened tropical evergreen forest ecosystems. It is home to very rich ecosystems, including 650 species of angiosperms, ferns, gymnosperms, and bryophytes, among others. In terms of fauna, there are over 1800 species, some of which are endemic to this area. It has one of the best-preserved tropical rain forests in the world.”

The Indian project aims to destroy this natural environment to create an international shipping terminal with the capacity to handle 14.2 million TEUs (unit of cargo capacity), an international airport that will handle a peak hour traffic of 4,000 passengers and that will be used as a joint civilian-military airport under the control of the Indian Navy, a gas and solar power plant, a military base, an industrial park, and townships aimed at bringing in tourism, including commercial, industrial and residential zones as well as other tourism-related activities.

This project means the destruction of the island's pristine rainforests, as it involves cutting down over 852,000 trees and endangers the local fauna such as leatherback turtles, saltwater crocodiles, Nicobar crab-eating macaque and migratory birds. The erosion resulting from deforestation will be huge in this highly-seismic area. Experts also warn about the effects that this project will have on local flora and fauna as a result of pollution from the terminal project, coastal surface runoff, ballasts from ships, physical collisions with ships, coastal construction, oil spills, etc.

The indigenous people are not only affected because their environment and food source will be destroyed. On top of this, the demographic change will be a catastrophe for them. After the creation of this project, the Great Nicobar Island -which now has 8,500 inhabitants- will receive a population of 650,000 settlers. Remember that the Shompen and Nicobarese people who live on this island are isolated, which means they do not have an immune system that can resist outsider illnesses. Academics believe they could die of disease if they come in contact with outsiders (think of the arrival of Europeans to the Americas after Christopher Columbus and the way that common European illnesses were lethal for indigenous Americans with no immunization against them).

And on top of all of this, the project might destroy the environment and the indigenous people just to turn out to be useless and sooner or later be abandoned. The naturalist Uday Mondal explains that “after all the destruction, the financial viability of the project remains questionable as all the construction material will have to be shipped to this remote island and it will have to compete with already well-established ports.” However, this project is important to India because they want to use the island as a military and commercial post to stop China's expansion in the region, since the Nicobar islands are located on one of the world's busiest sea routes.

Last year, 70 former government officials and ambassadors wrote to the Indian president saying the project would “virtually destroy the unique ecology of this island and the habitat of vulnerable tribal groups”. India's response has been to say that the indigenous tribes will be relocated "if needed", but that doesn't solve the problem. As a spokesperson for human rights group Survival International said: “The Shompen are nomadic and have clearly defined territories. Four of their semi-permanent settlements are set to be directly devastated by the project, along with their southern hunting and foraging territories. The Shompen will undoubtedly try to move away from the area destroyed, but there will be little space for them to go. To avoid a genocide, this deadly mega-project must be scrapped.”

On 7 February 2024, 39 scholars from 13 countries published an open letter to the Indian president warning that “If the project goes ahead, even in a limited form, we believe it will be a death sentence for the Shompen, tantamount to the international crime of genocide.”

How to help

The NGO Survival International has launched this campaign:

From this site, you just need to add your name and email and you will send an email to India's Tribal Affairs Minister and to the companies currently vying to build the first stage of the project.

Share it with your friends and acquittances and on social media.

Sources:

India’s plan for untouched Nicobar isles will be ‘death sentence’ for isolated tribe, 7 Feb 2024. The Guardian.

‘It will destroy them’: Indian mega-development could cause ‘genocide’ and ‘ecocide’, says charity, 8 Feb 2024. Geographical.

Genocide experts call on India's government to scrap the Great Nicobar mega-project, Feb 2024. Survival International.

The container terminal that could sink the Great Nicobar Island, 20 July 2022. Mongabay.

[Maps] Environmental path cleared for Great Nicobar mega project, 10 Oct 2022. Mongabay.

[aliscience]

भारत के मुख्य जीवोम

Major Biomes of India भारत के मुख्य जीवोम जीवोम (बायोम)  एक बड़े पैमाने के भौगोलिक क्षेत्र (large-scale geographic area) को दर्शाता करता है जो विशिष्ट जलवायु, वनस्पति और पशु जीवन की विशेषता रखता है। यह एक प्रमुख पारिस्थितिक समुदाय या पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र है जो तापमान, वर्षा, ऊंचाई और मिट्टी के प्रकार जैसे कारकों से आकार लेता है। बायोम वनस्पतियों और जीवों का एक विशाल संयोजन है जो एक विशेष जलवायु के…

[marshmallow-phd]

Genre: Regency Gothic AU

Pairing: EXO x Reader

Summary: A stormy night brought you to the manor in the middle of the woods. Nine strange men occupied its halls. They won't let you leave. A dangerous secret haunts this estate. Learning it might either be your saving grace or it could lead to the last breath you ever take.

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

**

Lightning lit up the thin curtains covering the two small windows on either side of the carriage. Thunder rumbled and you felt it deep within your chest. Tugging your silk cloak closer, you closed your eyes and prayed that the driver would get you through the storm. There was no one to comfort you, to reassure you that a little rain and noisy sky wouldn't delay your journey.

Your father had insisted you take your sister or even a friend, but the two day’s journey didn’t  seem consequential enough to need a companion. Besides, what would they have done once you arrived? Your elderly aunt had only asked for you. From what you could decipher from her letter, she needed you to be a companion as she traveled to the southernmost coastal town. Apparently, it was now the ultimate fashion to travel to for the summer. Just the idea of rolling waves made your stomach churn. But what was worse was who else would be there–

The carriage jolted to the right. You spread out your arms, only barely catching yourself from falling to the floor. No sane person would have endured such dangerous weather. This storm had come from nowhere. Skies blue and cloudless as you had ever seen bid you farewell in the late morning. Most of the day's journey had been uneventful. Then the joyful light faded. Thunder shook the walls of the carriage. Rain pounded on the roof. When would you reach the inn? Bile rose up in your throat, burning the sensitive tissue as the carriage continued to rock violently. The horses neighed over the sounds of the storm. 

The carriage shifted hard to the left. And kept falling. You slammed into the door, nearly opening it with the force. You didn't know what was happening. The floor was now the wall and the wall the floor. A downward momentum made it impossible to stand. Screams ripped at your throat.

Then it stopped. 

The rain continued to pour and the thunder roared on but the carriage was still. Your legs wobbled as you slowly stood. With your palms, you pushed open the door. The thin wooden panel clapped against the outside of the carriage. Immediately you were pounded by the storm. Large drops pelted your face, obscuring your vision. It was dark. You could tell that much. And there were trees. In every direction. 

You climbed out of the carriage, calling for the driver. Your feet slipped in the mud, but you managed to keep your balance–for now. The mud was thick and sticky as you trudged to the front of the carriage.

 No. No, no, no. Both of the horses were gone. And so was the driver. Somehow, the carriage had fallen down a hill or ravine. With a storm this terrible, you needed to get to higher ground or risk possibly being carried away–or drowning. Clawing and digging your hands and feet into the soaked dirt, you climbed the hard incline back to the road. 

Once you could make out the road, you called for the driver again. No answer. He was nowhere to be found. You needed to find shelter. The storm gave no promise of letting up. You wouldn't survive the night in this forest, even if you went back into the carriage. The only choice was to find sanctuary. You stared in the direction you believed you came from. Nothing but trees and darkness. You turned to the other choice. All the same–wait. 

There was something... when lightning brightened up the sky. Your heart began banging in your ears. Spires, towers. Not trees. It was some distance away, but it was shelter nonetheless. 

With near tears in your eyes, you picked up your skirts–your fingers numb from the cold–and hurried towards the castle that could be your saving grace. 

*****

The manor was calm tonight. Odd, considering the amount of bodies roaming around these haunted halls. Only the beautiful storm outside and Chanyeol's sorrowful melody from the piano broke the silence. Jongin had draped himself over one of the arm chairs as he inspected the wine mixture within his goblet. The taste was… adequate. The cellar would need replenishing soon.

In the corner, a rather lax game of cards covered the small, round table. Minseok smirked at his winning hand. The faded wooden chips with bits of white painted around the edges were piling up in front of Yixing, who leaned back carelessly, sure of his next win. Little did either of them know that the youngest among them had a little... trick his sleeve. As the quickest, Sehun had perfected sleight of hand long ago. None had caught him yet.

A fire roared, coaling the usually gray and brown room in flickering orange. With how close he stood near the fireplace, Kyungsoo's silhouette was visible through his loose shirt. He leaned his palms on the mantel and let the warmth of the flames engulf him. Warmth was all they could feel after all these years. It could be an addiction so strong it was tempting to throw himself into the fire. 

Junmyeon joined him at the fireplace, leaning his shoulders against the brick. The bite of the edge hardly registered in his mind. Pain of that measure... it was only a ghost that had nearly crossed over. 

“Such strong thoughts for a night like this.”

Kyungsoo didn’t look from the fire, but raised a questioning eyebrow in response. 

Junmyeon shrugged a single shoulder. “I can’t read minds, but it's obvious you're turning something over more times than a praying rock.”

“It's the same thoughts,” Kyungsoo murmured in his strange, monotone voice. “Always the same thoughts.”

“One day you will have to let it go,” Junmyeon sighed. “This is our existence now. And forever will be.”

“Acceptance of the present doesn’t erase the past.”

“But it does make the present more enjoyable.” The red liquid sloshed against the rim of the goblet as Jongin draped an arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulders. He wore a mischievous smile. A clear indicator of his true intention. 

Junmyeon shook his head. “We’re not going out tonight. There’s nothing out and about in this storm.” Hunting in these conditions would wield no trophies. Tomorrow would be a better night. 

“Jun’s no fun tonight,” Jongdae teased as he and Baekhyun emerged from the hallway. 

“If you want to go out in this mess,” Junmyeon waved towards the front door. “Be my guest. Just don’t you dare get mud on the rug–”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Help! Please! Help!”

Nine pairs of eyes snapped to the echoing sound. None moved. 

Bang! Bang! 

BANG!

One of the double doors burst open and a figure fell to the floor, landing on its knees and palms. It looked up. A flash of lightning illuminated the face.

The face of a beautiful young girl. 

*****

Your knees vibrated when they hit the wooden floor. Water fell from your loose hair that clung to your cheeks. The chances of  the door opening when you pushed on the handle had been low–yet the barrier that kept you victim to the storm fell open and you crashed downward with it. 

Greeting you in this strange hall were several men, their jaws hanging open in a mirror of your own surprise. More men appeared from a side parlor, curious as to who dared intrude on their evening. One, two, three–you counted nine total. Nine men. This was not ideal–a bit terrifying, really–but you didn't have a choice. The storm raged outside.

"P-please," you stammered past chattering teeth "The st-storm overturn-overturned the carriage.” 

The men stayed silent as they exchanged unreadable glances. One raised a questionable brow. 

"Jongdae, go run a bath," ordered the man closest to you. One of the shorter residents nodded and disappeared into the darkness that led into the rest of the manor. 

That's what this place was. A grand old manor, not a castle. Isolated. When you'd first run through the rusted iron gate, you'd feared it abandoned. A long dormant instinct whispered that you might have been better off if it had been. 

The first man approached, each motion slow, deliberate, and hauntingly graceful. He crouched down in front of you and captured your frightened stare. The fear in you began to melt away. He was… beautiful. Obsidian fell over his forehead in gentle waves. His tunic was of a fashion your grandfather would have worn. There was something strange about this man–all of these men. Something... different. 

"Let's get you warmed up." He held his hand out and you were up on your feet before you even realized your fingers were resting on his. "Don't worry," he murmured. "You're safe here. My name is Junmyeon." 

You nodded, somehow believing him, but unsure if you should. Through your violent chattering, you managed to stammer out your name in response. 

Bang! 

You jumped at the sudden noise. One of the other men had somehow appeared behind you to shut the door you'd fallen through. 

"Thank you, Yixing," the man beside you said. The one named Yixing nodded and then shifted his eyes to you. “Come.” A hand pressed into the space between your shoulder blades and guided you down the hall, leaving a trail of mud in your wake.

The man led you down several halls until you reached an unoccupied bedroom. Red blankets draped the oversized bed. Matching curtains hung limply from the canopy. All of the wood was a dark sort, rich in color but not quite welcoming like other, brighter woods. 

Jongdae emerged from another door on the other side of the bedroom. Steam rolled out after him as if it were following him for its next set of orders. “Anything else?” he asked drily. 

“No, thank you.”

Jongdae strolled the from the room without a glance either of you and closed the door behind him. Your breath hitched in your throat. The two of you were… alone. It wasn’t appropriate. It was…

You looked to the man still with you, fear causing your heart to pound painful against your chest. You tugged your cloak closer to you, but it was soaked from the rain. Shivers violently raced down your arms and spine. The man didn’t seem to notice as he walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a long white cloth. 

“These should suffice for tonight.” He held up the cloth for you to see. A nightgown. An old one by the cut of it, though thankfully it hadn’t been devoured by moths or mice. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.”

You nodded. “Thank you.” 

He visibly suppressed a laugh at your small voice and waved you into the adjoining bathroom. Taking the nightgown, you tried your best to avoid his gaze. You scurried inside and shut the door. 

*****

Junmyeon smirked at your mousy state. It was understandable why you were so frightened. The women of this period were warned of being alone with a man. And now you were alone with nine. 

Nine very dangerous men. 

The proper action for him to take was to leave your room now that you were safe inside the bathroom, but his feet didn’t move. Somehow, the storm had stranded you in their forest. What had happened to the driver, he wondered. Surely a gentlewoman such as yourself was not controlling the carriage. And yet, you were all alone. Circumstances were… ideal.

A small hiss echoed in the bathroom. It stretched out, along with the sound of sloshing water. Junmyeon frowned. 

Hm.

He stood there for a few minutes more, listening to you sigh as your skin grew used to the scalding water. The sound of soap scraping against skin reached his ears, followed by more sloshing water. Soon, you would be getting out of the tub. Time to leave. 

He emerged from the bedroom, careful to close the door as quietly as possible. Everyone had gathered out in the hallway since they were too curious about their visitor to go about their night. Junmyeon found Jongdae blending in with the cluster. He glared at him as he hissed, "The water was too hot." 

Jongdae merely shrugged. Why would he care about water possibly being too hot? It would never hurt him. 

On the opposite end of the group, Yixing cleared his throat. "What are we going to do with her?"

Junmyeon glanced at the door behind him. There was only one best option, for all their sakes. "Tomorrow morning, we will send her on her way." 

The eruption was instant. 

“Enough!”

In an instant, the hissing ceased. 

Baekhyun huffed and folded his arms against his chest, collapsing against the wall. Jongin scoffed. "Such a waste." 

“A waste that will keep this household from tearing itself apart,” Junmyeoun countered. It was an outcome none of them wanted. No one wanted to cause a fight, but resisting was difficult. The temptation was great. The quicker you left, the better off they would all be. 

"Do you really think it’ll end so well?" Minseok’s mocking comment hung in the air. Silent agreements rippled through the air. 

Junmyeon looked to Kyungsoo, whose answer was to look away. "No one touches her," he ordered. They all would try, he knew. But their strength would only get them so far. He stared down a few of them especially, so they knew he meant it.

Sehun pushed off the wall with a roll of his eyes. "Just get her out of here so I can get some peace." 

Junmyeon started to call after him but was interrupted by a soft thud from the room behind him. Confused, he opened the door to find you lying on the floor.

[timkarr]

Unsettling Sound The Puget Sound is an unsettled sea that lies above the tectonically active western edge of the North American Plate. This large body of frigid water is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Olympic Mountains to its west and the Cascades to its east. Glaciers crowded into the Sound during the last ice age, advancing from the north. When they retreated some 13,000 years ago they left behind deep deposits of interglacial sediment. These sand and clay remnants, in turn, were carved by frequent rain, sea and wind erosion to form high, unstable coastal bluffs, which were soon blanketed by dense evergreen overgrowths of cedar, hemlock and fir, and undergrowths of alder, blackberry and fern. As erosion progresses this cover slides from high bluffs in slow cascades that often take decades to complete from hilltop to shore. The process is sped up when the northwest rains are heaviest. Landslides can carry trees and their understory to the beach in an instant. Once arrived on the shore, the upended forest enters the marine ecosystem, where it functions as nutrient, shelter and barrier. In the last centuries, human structures have been added to this tumult. Houses perched on bluffs afford spectacular views and command high prices, but they face the disturbing prospect of being splayed across the beach following a prolonged downpour. Slides in the Northwest earn frequent headlines, and were even the subject of a popular book and film set on the slopes of Queen Anne Hill. Much hilltop construction in the area occurs with little immediate awareness of the role erosion plays in maintaining both the geological and biological integrity of the Sound. A common response to the inevitable is to line the bank with black basaltic stones quarried from ancient lava beds. The proliferation of these bulkheads throughout the Puget Sound has resulted in a phenomenon called “shoreline hardening.” According to some government statistics, approximately 30 percent of the Sound’s shoreline is now armored with stone and concrete reinforcements. This happened along the beach where my family has lived for nearly a century. in the 1970s and 80s, property owners piled stone bulkheads to shore up against sliding —attempting to fix in time something that’s always in flux. The results of our obstinance has been devastating. Within years this beach began to lose much of its value. As a child, I can remember clawing a hundred Native Littlenecks from the sand and clay beneath beach rocks. We let these clams sit for a couple of hours in a bucket of seawater. My grandparents taught us to sprinkle in cornmeal so they could spit out stomach sand as they fed. Once full, they were transferred into a steaming pot where they open latticed shells to offer up their tenderness. Today I’m lucky if I find a single Littleneck after 30 minutes of raking. When I visit the Sound, I think of Sue and Payne, who were privileged to live on this shore and loved what it could yield to any of their grandchildren willing to put some time into it. They left us more than 20 years ago, and a new generation of family has built modern homes on the foundations of those Sue and Payne left behind. In time, ownership may be handed to successive generations, or we might drift away, passing the beachfront to someone with no memory of what it meant to a family that gathered there. And while the Sound may retain much of its scenic beauty, this too is fleeting. The tides will rise and fall revealing stretches of rocks and sand, again and again, and still something will always remain unsettled until it’s gone.

[just-another-star-47]

Scents 🌹

How does each and every person in Hogwarts smell?

Slytherin edition 🐍

Plonbraw edition (OCs) • Gryffindor edition • Hufflepuff edition • Ravenclaw edition

Sebastian 🦊

Its own odour tickles the nose like warm, damp earth on a walk after the first drops of rain have touched the ground. It envelops without being intrusive and awakens an indefinite anticipation of more whenever dark clouds gather in the sky.

He was and is often responsible for the fieldwork at Feldcroft, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes to escape the house and Solomon. To soften the traces of hard labour, he uses a nourishing balm for his hands, the delicate smell of chamomile and marigold accompanies him even into the castle walls at Hogwarts, as his rough hands are often seen by him as very unpleasant. He also takes care of the rest of his appearance, regularly buying hair gel in Hogsmeade to tame his slightly curly hair, the delicate smell of yang-yang is the result, mixed with the rose of his hair soap.

However, the slightly sweet note of his care products does not make the soft woody odour of his skin disappear, but rather embeds it in a sweetish warmth.

Anne 🐈

A field full of flowers in May, surrounded by the light tartness of the strawy grass - the nose can't miss it and makes anyone passing by think of cheeky children's pranks on balmy summer days.

Anne doesn't use perfume per se, but perfumed soap, in memory of her mother, with whom she associates the smell. The delicate scent of violets blends wonderfully with her own floral scent and is more restrained than overpowering. The soap is one of the few luxuries that Solomon allows and eventually buys himself, ignoring the objections of Sebastian, who was previously responsible for buying it and had often helped out in the neighbours' fields in Feldcroft to earn the necessary money.

The moment Anne's spring-like odour was replaced by the stench of medicines and hospitals was the moment when hopelessness sank its claws into the siblings' minds - the delicate smell of violets now strangely alien and a mere, sad reminder of days long forgotten.

Ominis 🐇

Fresh and cool, like the smell on a path that leads through a dense forest, where you have lost your way and yet feel only security. Ominis has a fine nose and therefore refrains from using any perfumed products - they only make him feel woozy or give him a headache. Nevertheless, the smell of cleanliness always clings to him, which seems almost minty. To escape the clammy smell of the Slytherin rooms, he stores his clothes between bags filled with lavender, which adds a hint of flavour to his watery inherent odour. In addition, the purple flower helps him against his restless states, which always afflict him.

Imelda 🐍

She spends most of her time in the air, Quidditch training not only a part of her that is ingrained in her blood, but that also affects her scent.

Leathery like a well-groomed Quaffle, slightly tart and spicy, the smell of the salty coastal wind of her home village never quite fades.

Imelda wears a perfume that her brothers gave her for her birthday - a slightly smoky note with a splash of invigorating lemon and exotic vanilla.

[pockymun]

Maps of Galahd by Pockymun

I've been writing fic for FFXV for a few years now. One of the obstacles I've run into again and again was not knowing where the characters were at all. This made it hard to plan logistics like travel time, weather, and climates. So I decided to look at what maps we have from FFXV and create my own for the lesser-traveled regions (which is everywhere except Lucis, and even that map isn't that great).

This task in itself was frustrating because it's impossible to tell where the equator and the tropics are supposed to be. The climates of Lucis and Niflheim only confuse it further. If Lucis is based on America, it's pretty far up from the tropics. Accordo doesn't appear a warm enough climate to be in the tropics, either. (Accordo has a very coastal Mediterranean climate; just a note for the future).

There has been debate regarding where Galahd is in Eos. Most agree that it is the islands located behind Insomnia. It makes the most sense because of reaction to Galahd's invasion in Insomnia's news: Niflheim conquered land in Insomnia's backyard, and were knocking at the door. When Niflheim slowly conquered much of the mainland Lucis, nothing was mentioned regarding a reaction from Insomnia.

Being where it is, Galahd should be a much colder climate than what I have it as. It should be more like Norway or Finland. However, the Kingsglaive anniversary artwork depicted a scene with a lot of South/Southeast Asian influences. The proper places of climates never seemed to matter to the developers of Final Fantasy.

In a rudimentary attempt to map the ocean currents of Eos, I drew a warm ocean current that runs westward on the north side of Galahd. This would cause the islands to have a slightly warmer climate than what it should have considering its placement. Logically, it wouldn't be warm enough to be considered subtropical, but I really wanted there to be a jungle climate in FFXV and I think that's what the developers originally intended as well.

On the southern coasts of Galahd, there is a cool ocean current that runs westward. These waters are much calmer and are ideal spots for large fishing enterprises. The warm ocean current in the north brings storms and a lot of rain; the north side of the islands are much wetter.

The climates I described in the climate map are classifications that can be found on Wikipedia. I tried sticking close to climates found in Southeast Asia, while also giving some more temperate areas as well. While much of the material culture is SE Asian, there are some things, such as the braids Nyx and Lib wear, that seem to stem from ancient Indo-European/Iranic influences. There was a custom among one of these people in which only warriors braided their hair.

For place names, I used fantasynamegenerators.com and selected random South/Southeast Asian town names. There are two straits, the oceans, and the seas that I haven't named yet. The map became very cramped with one names I already put on it.

Some headcanons I came up with while working on this:

Galahd's climate provides some challenges to the transportation infrastructure. There is no major roadway nor any major settlement on the north edge of Lhasgar due to the dense forest and the risk of annual floods. Cities and towns are more firmly established further in the island.

When Lucis still controlled the islands, they attempted to improve the infrastructure by establishing major roads and railways. The climate did not allow much leeway for railway, however. Around the same time, Lucis relaxed its control over Galahd and allowed for autonomy.

The most common forms of transportation are by vehicle, bus, or boat along the waterways.

There are cities and towns. These were there before Lucis took over, although they had looked much more traditional back then. Most of the world believes Galahd to be a couple of islands full of small backwoods villages, but they were as sophisticated as any other culture at the time they were conquered, and modernized with everyone else. While modernizing, Galahd had also managed to stick with their traditional culture.

While the map looks crowded, there is still a lot of open land and wilderness. The rivers and lakes shown are only the major rivers and lakes; there are more, just as there would be for any other regional map. Water and wilderness are defining features of Galahd.

The mountain ranges had once been connected, just like how the Appalachian and the Little Atlas Mountain Ranges.

Feel free to use these maps when writing your own fics or headcanons! I would greatly appreciate being credited. These maps are just my interpretation, and don't stand in for canon material. They are flawed, but I worked with what I had. I made these using Inkarnate.

[dragons-and-magic]

More question time, lol!

Other than James, is there any other hybrid dragons?

How do dragons react to lemon? (LOL)

What’s Emily’s origin?

Other than villain dragons and humans, are there anymore rivals or villains they face against like wolves?

Is Henry gentle to the forest animals and acts like a Father Nature type?

Is there any dragons that loves the beach or the coastal region?

OH MY GOSH. I'M ABOUT TO DROP SO MUCH LORE. THIS WAS MY EXACT REACTION WHILE MAKING THIS.👇 I AM UNHINGED. :D

Anyone reading this, you're gonna want to pull up a seat! This is gonna be long! Lol!

Other than James, is there any other hybrid dragons?: I would say yes. But they are very far and few between. At first. Let me explain a few things! So, in the golden days of dragons, there were many species. And they were all sorted into different classes. Titan, Standard, Dwarf, and Fey. (And there's Leviathan Class, but it's too big to show here.) In addition, they are subclasses like Seadragons, Serpents, Wyverns, Drakes, (Normal) Dragons, Fey Dragons, and Longs (Eastern Dragons). They sometimes also are sorted if they had any kind of magical abilities. And each of these would almost always mate only within their own species.

But then something happened. Humans got even smarter and started using tougher and more deadly weapons. Slowly dragon numbers began to dwindle and dragons began to migrate out of their usual habitats and into other species. These dragons started to find mates from other species in the areas they wandered to. Sometimes it was simply a matter of their species just dying out. Or the smaller territories crossing over. Either way, Hybrids were the results. They weren't super common at first. But by the time this AU's version of Journey Beyond Sodor comes around, they're WAY more common. In fact, Hurricane is a cross between a Titan Class (Gordon's Class) and a Standard Class (Thomas's Class)! EDIT: I forgot to mention! For this same reason, clans made up of multiple species also started to occur. Before, Dragon Clans were usually made up of only one species. But after families got separated and almost whole species killed off by humans, dragons began to bond with others outside their kind. Found family baby! :D

2. How do dragons react to lemon?: Weeeeeeeell...

That's a definite NOPE from Thomas.🤣 Yeah, I don't like they would like them much. Lol!

3. What’s Emily’s origin?: Okay, so here's the thing. She is literally NESSIE. Aka The Loch Ness Monster!

Well, she's what started the legend anyway. Albeit accidental. Lol. Here's the story. Emily is chilling in her Loch one day, minding her own business. She had just gotten up, so she isn't really paying attention to her surroundings. A camera flashes. Emily freezes and looks toward the shore. Two very nervous photographers are standing there. She panics and dives back down! But, she's a bit too late. Because, blurry as it is, that photo is enough to start a whole monster hunting craze. Suddenly the Loch is swimming with boats and flashing cameras, and Emily's whole clan has to relocate! And that's how she ended up on Sodor.😂

4. Other than villain dragons and humans, are there anymore rivals or villains they face against like wolves?: Do ghosts count? Sailor John is a pirate ghost in this story! But he disguises himself as a normal hooman. He has to find his old treasure chest, so he can become mortal again and rain terror across the seas again! Also, there's a few dangerous monsters and such. Trolls, Rock Monsters, Sand Worms, etc. (Beresford the crane is a bridge troll in this!) Sodor is actually part of an archipelago called The Golden Isles. So there's plenty of habitats for monsters to dwell. As for wolves, that's not such a bad idea! Perhaps something like Wargs could exist. They're the giant evil wolves from Lord Of The Rings. Something like that maybe.

5. Is Henry gentle to the forest animals and acts like a Father Nature type?: Absolutely! He loves the animals! And knows a lot about them! Because he's closer to animals than the others, he doesn't like to partake in hunting. And he has a more vegetarian diet.

Of course, most dragons are predators, and need food to survive. And of course, if there was too many prey animals, the ecosystem would be unbalanced. So there has been a compromise made. Any animal located within fifty feet of Henry's den, (Located under the Wishing Tree!) is safe from hunting. Also, one more cool fact about him is he has plant magic! He can grow plants, and has something called Root Connection. He can basically telepathically sync up with the trees communication signals and find out what's going on anywhere in the forest! His horns and eyes get all glowy and everything!

6. Is there any dragons that loves the beach or the coastal region?: Definitely! There's three whole clans that live by the beach! Salty's clan is on the Southern Coast of the island. And you know Salty loves the ocean! His clan is made up of himself, Porter, Cranky, and eventually Big Mickey and Carly. Cranky is a big Leviathan Class Seadragon as you can see. Porter and Salty can ride him.

And then there's Belle's Clan! (This AU's version of the Sodor search and rescue team!) They live on the northern coast and watch out for incoming dragons and ships! They're like the watch men of the island! They live on a sea mount called The Roost! Her clan is made up of Flynn, Harold, Captain, Butch, and Rocky. Don't have designs for them yet. Sorry.😅 (Flynn x Belle is thing in this too!)

And then lastly, we have Duck's clan. And while they live more inland than the others, they are still located on the northern coast! Duck's clan has Donald, Douglas, Oliver, Skiff, Daisy, and Ryan!

I don't have concepts for everyone yet. But here's Ryan, Daisy, and Duck's prototype designs! (Oh, and Ryan x Daisy is a thing in this!❤️)

And that's everything! For now.😉

Thanks for sending in so many questions! I had a ton of fun making this!

[promptsforpoemproseandplay]

Woods

As the sixth part of my instalment for ‘places we don’t know the names of', following Paths, Bodies of Water, Holes, Grounds, and Vegetation, I will be covering woods – which you may know as jungles, forests, and all the others.

So, here's a totally not comprehensive guide to

✨Woods✨!

Woods

boondocks: an uninhabited area with thick natural vegetation, as a backwoods or marsh (usually preceded by the)

boscage: a mass of trees or shrubs

bosk: between a wood and a thicket

bosket: between a grove and a thicket

chaparral: a dense growth of small trees

coppice: copse

copse: a small wood

covert: a thicket giving shelter to wild animals or game

forest:  a large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush

grove: a small forested area with no undergrowth

hinterland: the land lying behind the coastal region

jungle: a wildland overgrown with dense vegetation, often nearly impenetrable, especially tropical vegetation or a tropical rain forest

orchard: an area of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit or nut trees

spinney: small thicket

thicket:  a thick or dense growth of shrubs, bushes, or small trees

vineyard: a plantation of grapevines

weald: wooded and uncultivated country

woods: a large and thick collection of growing trees

woodland: land covered with trees

There aren't quite that many words that mean forest, which leads me to believe I have covered all of them. But, English always finds its own way.

~Nyx

[wardenv5]

So I was already working on this, but I saw a post that made me want to finish it. It's a mix between a realistic climate map and the original map, though it was hard to make it anywhere closely accurate since 1) There are hundreds of different factors for any environment, including magic in this setting, 2) There isn't really an accurate height map of the entire landmass, 3) To keep it somewhat in game accurate involves stretching the rules a bit, tho sometimes i threw game logic out.

Also, I may have miscolored here or there.

Tropical Monsoon - This biome is across the southern coasts of Tamriel. While still heavily forested, there is a stark difference between the long dry period and heavy rain period, especially in southern Hammerfell, which does not get as heavy of a Monsoon period nor would it be forested, but it does bloom with vegetation during the summer months.

Tropical Moist Forest - This biome stretches across inner Cyrodill, most of Black Marsh, W Valenwood and NE Summerset. Perpetually warm and wet, with the highest biodiversity in all of Tamriel. Black Marsh would also be heavily inundated, with a lower canopy and denser forests. Cyrodiil would also have some marsh but more importantly have dozens of rivers and streams between its hilly terrain. Valenwood would def have the tallest (and oldest) trees still present, and Summerset, as an island, would have some unique animals (assuming the high elves are tight knit about invasives). Skyrim also has its own pocket of Moist Forest, but in reality its more a separate biome for just Mangroves like it would be in Black Marsh.

Tropical Dry Forest - This biome is heavily forested and always warm, but suffers from long dry periods without necessarily the heavy rains of monsoons. Cyrodiil, Valenwood, Morrowind and bits of other provinces have this biome. While less diverse, it would have a larger biomass and have more room for some of the larger animals that can't navigate the denser forests.

Grassland - This biome is present in Morrowind, Elsewyr, Summerset, Hammerfell, High Rock and Skyrim. Grasslands, both semi-arid and semi-humid, don't receive the rain necessary for forests but are home to large beasts like Mammoths and used for ranching. Hammerfell's grasslands are due to either coastal proximity or high altitude. Summerset's grasslands are due to the rainshadow effect from its mountains.

Temperate Forest - Mainly occurring at the feet of mountains where the temperature is cold enough and water is plentiful, only found in High Rock, Cyrodiil and Skyrim.

Arid and Semi-Arid Desert - Putting these two biomes together because this post is getting long enough. Found in three provinces, mainly occuring due to the rainshadow effect from the mountains and being far enough into the interior. Morrowind's arid desert is unique because it comes from Volcanic ash which is so dense it somehow stops vegetation from growing unless its mushrooms but you make that a biome not me.

Montage Forest and Alpine Tundra - The mountains of Tamriel, tho not all of them have this climate, mainly the large mountains found in the northern half and mainly in Skyrim. While Dawnstar isn't shown to be as mountainous as Winterhold or Solitude, shut up. It most likely wouldn't be as drench in snow as it would be year round, but also IDK if seasonality is canon in TES so assume the snows from a freak weather event ala El Nino.

[prototypesteve]

Solo Travel: Find Magic.

Venturing out on a solo vacation can be daunting. There’s a shit-ton of adulting you’ll need to do:

It’s up to you to make your flight. It’s up to you to not lose anything. It’s up to you to stay hydrated and healthy and mindful and motivated.

It can be easy to give in and say “hard nope” and stay home, even if you really want to start travelling solo.

How do you get past all that, and find the will to save up, plan, gear-up, get a passport or a reliable road-trip vehicle, and go? Magic. You believe in magic and you let yourself want it.

When I was in my late teens I was in a waiting room and idly flipping through a magazine (it was the late 80s). I turned the page and there was a two-page tourism ad with a massive photo of Lake Louise, in Banff National Park. Supernaturally milky blue water, tiny red canoes, backed by a colossal wall of mountain capped by an ancient glacier. I remember murmuring aloud, “I want that.” I wanted to feel what that photographer felt. I wanted awe. I wanted magic.

Years later, I finally had enough of my shit together to go there, and it was everything I expected, and it made all the hard adulting worth it. (I wound up moving to Calgary so I could go to Lake Louise any time I wanted to.)

Photo 1: Lake Louise, Alberta. (This is from 2012, and taken with an old iPhone 4S, but it most closely resembles the view I saw in the magazine ad.)

In 2003, I saw a video about Tofino and Pacific Rim National Park. By 2003 I had plenty of experience going on budged-friendly road trips to Vancouver, where I’d stay in the (at the time, affordable) Jericho Beach Hostel. But Tofino would cost more, require a longer vacation, and take me way out of my “there’s always a city close by” comfort zone. But I wanted to see real waves, walk through a real coastal rain forest, and see the ocean fog roll in. I wanted magic,

Photo 2: My (used) 1998 Pontiac Sunfire, and a budget kayak, and my mediocre Norco mountain bike, somewhere at a rest stop along the trans Canada Highway, in British Columbia

By 2005 I had the right gear, a decent budget, and enough self-confidence to drive out and hike down sketchy wooden stairs to Half Moon Bay near Uclulet and see the actual Pacific Ocean—not the Salish Sea between Vancouver and Vancouver Island—for the first time. That week I felt the magic of being at the edge of my world. It made all the adulting easy.

Photos 3 & 4: The first time I saw the Pacific Ocean without Vancouver Island or the Olympic Peninsula lining the horizon, and the first time I saw fog move in over Vancouver island from the Pacific Ocean,

Ever since my 8th and 9th grade teachers told us stories about the old Globe theatre, I’ve dreamt of seeing a play in the rebuilt Globe in London (back then, even rebuilding the Globe was still a dream that wouldn’t be finished until the late 90s). But I live an ocean away, in Canada, I’m introverted, and no matter how much money I make, I have always felt like I’m out of my class-depth at any social gathering. Wrong childhood neighbourhoods, wrong schools, wrong career field. It took me until my 2nd trip to England to work up the nerve to buy a ticket to see a play at the Globe. I wanted to be there like one of the people I imagined during English class as we studied Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar, and The Scottish Play. I wanted the magic.

Friday night, August 23, 2024, I spent two hours almost dizzy with a flood of feelings I’m going to need months to process, because I sat in Bay H, Row C, Seat 29, at Shakespeare’s Globe, in London, and watched a beautiful, perfect, magical performance of Much Ado about Nothing, and like I said, I’m going to be sorting out my feelings about this for months.

Yes there’s the Osemanverse overlap, Much Ado appears in Loveless. There’s the Aroace angle, watching two seemingly aro characters get shipped by their friends and family, bla bla bla. There’s a lot. But whatever. For me the magic was being the adult who teenage-me grew up into, sitting there in my seat that I absolutely belonged in, on my trip that I put together for myself, to chase down dozens of my other lifelong dreams, sitting there, and feeling that I was allowed to be there, and then delighting in the magic of live theatre, compounded by the magic of loving myself enough to push through every excuse not to be there.

Photos 5, 6, and 7: The Globe Theatre (there’s no photography during the performance, and I don’t think I’d have bothered, if there was.

Find your magic. Thrive. It doesn’t have to cost a lot: My first solo trips cost me a tank of gas and a tenting campground fee, or a night’s stay at a hostel. It doesn’t need to be risky: Backpacker hostels and modern hotels often have more sophisticated security than your home or workplace. It doesn’t have to be ambitious: Maybe it’s lunch at a diner in a small farm town nearby, maybe it’s a low-key late summer concert in a park, maybe it’s building that sandcastle you never got to build because you grew up far away from water. Whatever it is, go find it! Let it change you.

[willtheweaver]

A writer’s guide to forests: From the poles to tropics, part 2

Dearest writers, and all who find this guide, big shout out to you. Now let’s get back into things and move ever closer to the equator.

Temperate rainforest

While most people think of rainforests as being a purely tropical environment, several exist in more seasonal areas of the planet.

Location- Coastal regions. The North American temperate rainforest is a thin belt stretching from California, through British Columbia and up into southern Alaska. In the southern hemisphere, the largest forest is found along the southern stretches of the Andes.

Climate- Temperate to subpolar. Conditions are wet, with moisture coming in the form of rain and sea mist. Seasons are variable, with summers being warm and winters cold and snowy.

Plant life- Conifers dominate these forests, with deciduous trees restricted to lower altitudes. In the north, the primary species are Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, red cedar, western hemlock, and giant redwoods. Southern forests are dominated by Podocarps, Monkey puzzle, and southern beech. High humidity means that moss, lichens and ferns grow amongst tree trunks and the forest floor.

Animal life- Whilst more densely populated than the boreal forests, the amount of wildlife is limited by resinous conifer needles, and the lack of plants on the forest floor in denser areas. Most species are arboreal, with weasels, squirrels, and various birds along up the majority of life. Moist conditions mean that there are many types of amphibians and invertebrates that live on the forest floor. Southern hemisphere forests have become host to many invasive species, such as deer, beavers, rats, and ferrets.

How the forest affects the story- The most obvious challenge for characters will be the changing of the seasons. What do your characters do as the days grow shorter and colder? And let’s not forget that rain and mist are common. Damp conditions are a breeding ground for mold and rot, so people will have to come up with ways of keeping them and their possessions dry.Then comes the vegetation. What kind of culture would develop among the tallest trees in the world? Do they live on the forest floor or up in the trees? The density of the canopy can make farming impractical, unless done in clearings or tree top platforms. If your characters and their society are arboreal, then how do they travel between trees? Bridges? Zip-lines? Or do they take inspiration from nature and glide between trees? Imagine if people on the ground meet those from up above. How would these two cultures be different? Would interactions be peaceful, antagonistic, or do they have no contact (at least until the plot requires it)? Being close to the coast, does the sea have an influence on characters and their culture? How would you explain this to someone not familiar with this environment? And you are not limited to the Earth. Remember, the California forests were the stand-in for the forest moon of Endor from Star Wars.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil’s Flood of Austerity and Climate Catastrophe: The Twenty-Second Newsletter (2024)

From 28 April, heavy rains, strong winds, and widespread flooding have lashed the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, killing over 160 people and impacting 2.3 million. The waters rose and rose again, rushing through houses and fields, erasing not only homes and the memories built there but also many crops in the country’s largest rice-producing state and agricultural powerhouse, the impacts of which are likely to reverberate across the nation.

Meteorological agencies and officials predicted the events with eerie precision. A week into the flood, experts pointed to the extraordinary rainfall as the primary cause. Estael Sias, managing director of the weather forecaster MetSul, wrote that this was not ‘just an episode of extreme rain’, but ‘a meteorological event whose adjectives are all superlative, from extraordinary to exceptional’. The seemingly unending rain, she wrote, ‘is absurdly and bizarrely different from what is normal’. It will take a very long time for this region of Brazil to recover from the flood.

Last year, after a much less serious flood impacted Porto Alegre (the capital of Rio Grande do Sul), the Brazilian architect Mima Feltrin, drawing from the work of hydrology professor Carlos Tucci, warned that the state faced an imminent risk of flooding equal to or worse than the historic floods of 1941 and 1967. The analyses of scholars such as Tucci and Feltrin have repeatedly warned about the impact and looming threats of carbon emissions-driven climate change across the world as well as the deficiencies of policies put in place by reckless climate change denialist politicians.

As floodwaters rose in Rio Grande do Sul in 2023, so too did they inundate Derna (Libya), central Greece, southern China, southern Nevada (United States), and northeastern Turkey. The immediate explanation for these floods is that they are caused by carbon emissions-driven climate change, intensified by the refusal of Global North governments to contain their outsized carbon emissions. But the broader explanation is that the climate catastrophe is largely the product of reckless capitalist development, particularly in cities located within areas that are predictably dangerous to inhabit (such as lowland coastal settlements built next to savaged mangrove forests and badly managed river flow or beside forests that face long periods of dry weather). This reckless development is exacerbated by the rampant underfunding of environmental regulatory agencies and the deliberate slashing of budgets that maintain and revitalise infrastructure that is crucial to protect people from adverse climate events. With the flood in Libya, for instance, the state – already destroyed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s harsh bombardment in 2011 and pickled in confusion and corruption – neglected the crumbling dams of Derna. Much the same kind of attitude has been on display in southern Brazil for the past several decades.

Continue reading.

[theverynothumankai]

More About My Nonhuman ‘Types

Theriotypes:

Vancouver Coastal Sea Wolf: They’re a rare, semi-aquatic subspecies of wolf. They live almost entirely/exclusively off of aquatic animals. Personally, my favorite food is salmon. I have lots of reddish-brown undertones, with contrasting dark brown/black fur and warm gray fur. I am very fluffy. 

Canada Lynx: They’re one of the four living species in the genus Lynx. They are specialized to hunt snowshoe hare, but can eat other things when that is not abundant. I do adore snowshoe hare. I am quite large and fluffy, with giant paws and legs. 

Red Fox: They’re the largest of the true foxes. They live mainly in the Northern Hemisphere, but adapt very well and are seen in many different habitats. They are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals. I love birds and eggs especially, but will not deny some tasty berries. I am very friendly towards humans, so I’m a bit domesticated. I am quite fluffy, yappy, playful, and vibrant orange/red.

Nurse Shark: They’re a small, bottom-dwelling, slow-moving shark that is native to Atlantic and Eastern Pacific oceans. They are known to be calm and docile. They eat lots of crustacean, as well as squids, octopi, and some fish species. I am dark brown, long, and very content. I love humans, I love the sea, and my favorite food is squid. 

Snow Leopard: They’re a large cat that is native to the mountains of Central and South Asia. They have big paws that keep their weight well distributed on the snow, and their fur is spotted white-grayish. They eat blue sheep, ibex, Himalayan tahr, marmot, pika, hares, small rodents, and game birds. They tend to be alone, they can’t roar, and they are quite nomadic. I personally am gray and white with lots of faded black spots all over, and I’m quite fluffy. My paws are huge, as well as my thick tail. I love sheep loads, and I love rolling around in the snow.  

Maned Wolf: They are a large canid native to South America. They have long legs, red coats, and raised black manes. They actually are neither wolf nor fox, but a distinct species. They are omnivores, and they eat rodents, armadillos, birds, eggs, fruits, and plants. I have very long legs, black socks, deep red fur, and am very long and angular. I love birds and plants especially. I will very happily be the creature of your nightmares, but just know I actually quite like to socialize and will definitely cuddle on sight. I love to play with my fellows, and tag is my favorite game in the world.

Norwegian Forest Cat: They are a large long-hair domestic cat bred in Northern Europe. They are known for their muscular builds, diverse colors, and double layered fur. They are known to be tough and able to endure long, cold winters. They eat (or need) high quality animal protein. I’m very fluffy and varying shades of orange, with hints of white here and there. I love the snow, the outside, and climbing things. Fish is my favorite, and I love hunting them and mice too.

Coyote: They’re are a medium-sized wild canid which is native to North America. They are nocturnal, and hunt in packs. They are very visual predators, but also use scent and hearing. They are omnivores, eating both meat and plants/fruits. I love howling and the night sky, and playmates. Humans spook me a bit, but I also am curious towards them and often test my limits interacting with them. I have reddish brown, with gray and white here and there. My ears are pretty big. I love the rain.

Side-Striped Jackal: They are a canine native to Africa. They specifically dwell in woodland and scrubs. They are omnivores, and they eat insects, fruits, small vertebrates, carrion, and plant material. I love howling, the night, and I have incredibly large ears. Thunderstorms scare me, and I love the woods. Humans are my best friends, and I am incredibly playful. Carrion is my favorite.

Dhole: They are a wild dog native to Asia. They are known to be great swimmers, runners, and jumpers. They have auburn fur, amber eyes, black tails, and upright rounded ears. They are hypercarnivores, and over 70% of their diet is meat. Personally, I love deer and rabbits. My face and neck is very fluffy, my coat is thick, and my eyes are gentle. I feel a lot of peace and contentment as a Dhole.

Kintypes:

Raccoon: I look like a regular raccoon, but with small gold feather wings behind my shoulders and little straight gold horns at the top of my head. I love human junkfood and sweets, so chips and ice cream. I also adore fruit. I am very fluffy and pretty darkly colored. 

Dragon: I’m a SeaWing/SilkWing hybrid, and I grew up around SkyWings/was raised by SkyWings. I have dark blue, almost black, scales with hints of purple in them. I have webbed talons, gills that allow me to breathe under water, and antenna with fins on them that I use to sense vibrations in the water. I have bright white glow-in-the-dark scales all over my body, as well as bright white glow-in-the-dark freckles on my snout and spots and stripes on the edges of my wings. I have four wings that are the shape of SeaWing wings, and I grew up with wing buds like SilkWings do. I’m a vegetarian, but will eat meat if I must. I love the sky, and flying, and I often forget that I’m not a SkyWing due to being raised by them and treated the same as them. I am a great fighter due to being raised by them, though. I’m also a great swimmer since my wings allow me to have more momentum. I cannot spin silk, but can speak aquatic. I mostly am in the sea now, because my SkyWing family is now gone/out of my life somehow. 

Dragon: I’m a Night Fury/Light Fury hybrid. I can shift the colors of my scales to be either white or black (or along that spectrum) for camouflage or preference. When I’m not using them for camouflage, they’re usually a combination of white and black. I love the sea, the snow, and fish. I love to loaf, play with humans, and play in the mud. I had really bad tears in my right wing, which rendered me incapable of flying for quite a bit, until humans patched me up and I was able to heal and eventually fly again. I’m not too sure if I have a rider or not, but I do know I like to hang around humans. 

Dark Fey: I’m a Forest Dark Fey, from the Maleficent movies/universe. I have dark brown wings, brown horns, pointed ears, and love the forest with my whole soul. I find peace in trees, love my fellow Fey, and adore to fly. 

Avian: I’m a feather-winged human-looking creature with a feather tail as well. I’m still not sure what my wings/feathers look like, but I do know I enjoy flying really high in the sky and running around on all fours.

Hearttypes:

Whale Shark: They’re the largest known species of fish, and are endangered. They’re found in tropical oceans around the world, and are known as gentle giants of the sea. They eat krill, jellyfish, and crab larvae. I see them as my family, and I would protect them with my life. I wish I was one, sometimes feel I may be, but know I am not. I love them loads. 

Flickertypes:

Hylian: Hylians are a race of humans, although they are different from them. Hylians have pointed ears, are usually shorter, and have some magical abilities too. I mainly look like myself, except with pointed ears and am much more adventurous and nomadic. 

Orphinki: Orphinki are an OC species of mine. They’re like large lizards, except with feather manes, wise eyes, extra long tails, and colorful scales. They live for hundreds of years on average, and there are many types of Orphinki seen in many different habitats/environments. I am a Woodland Orphinki, have green scales and green and brown feathers, and love to eat fruit. I don’t like humans, but more in an afraid of them way. 

Sable: They’re a species of marten, they’re fairly small, and they’re omnivores. They’re found in the forests of Asia. They eat smaller mammals and hares, as well as other things. I’m quite small, have little black and white markings on my face, and love to eat hare. I am ferocious, yet playful and friendly at the same time. I will bite you very hard, but it is purely friendly 90% of the time. 

Owl: I’m all kinds of owls, but often connect with the bigger species, and the Barn and Snowy owls. I love to hunt (mice especially), I love the night, and I’m fairly curious of humans.