#combat ostriches

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Dark Prophecy: Chapter 16 (SPOILERS)

"In my four thousand years of life, I had searched for many things . . . and a 1958 Gibson Flying V." Image below. They sell for ~$9,999. Apollo's fine with $15,000 Tater Tots but draws the line at a rare $9,999 guitar.

"If we die here, I'd just like to say you aren't as bad as I originally thought." Aw hey, they're making progress.

"And alas, I was all out of Tater Tots." I love how his Plan B is to try negotiating with the Tots. Actually, those are pretty pricey. Maybe he can pay his own ransom money with that.

"Good cheap labor is terribly difficult to find." [Insert comment about inhumane Chinese factory wages here]

"My friends call me Lit, but my enemies call me Death!" That's not nearly as cool a line as you seem to think it is.

"I changed my mind. First, that roof collapsed on me." Fair counter. If anything were to change your mind about taking someone alive, it would be an attempt on your own life. "Then my bodyguards got swallowed by a stand of bamboo." Say what now? I was wondering why Lit was here but the Germani weren't.

"My pulse boomed like timpani" TIMPANI (n.): kettledrums, especially when played by one musician in an orchestra

"Surely Zeus would intercede." They're probably going to find a way out of this situation before it becomes too close of a call, but if Apollo were to actually die, I think Zeus would actually intercede. At worst, his intentions for Apollo's punishment might be to live and die permanently as a mortal, but dying a month into his punishment might cross the line there. Besides, if Apollo died, he'd have to find a new Sun god.

"the crossed blades of Meg McCaffrey." Knew it would be her. They've been building up the anticipation with the plants.

"Hyacinthus the time he wore that amazing tuxedo on our date night" They... did not have tuxedos back then. Whatever, Apollo has the gift of prophecy. Of course he would use it for little things like this.

"THIS is Meg?" Oh yeah, forgot they've never met. I bet Apollo's been hyping her up and all and with the way he embellishes stories, Calypso at this point probably thinks she's some great hero to rival Hercules.

"Yep . . . You're stupid." Very Meg. "Now she would stay by my side" These very words instantly convinced me that she would not stay by his side.

"Now it was clear that our master-servant relationship could not be so easily broken." Okay, so even Meg can't release Apollo from her authority.

"no child can match the Reaper of Men." Okay, so once he said this to Meg, I started wondering how old Lit was and after some Googling and being careful to avoid spoilers, I found everything I need to know about him except his age. He's also a child of Demeter! Meg's bro! That makes "Reaper of Men" a marvelous pun. He has a sister named Zoe, unrelated to Zoë Nightshade. Also, his Wikipedia page is depressingly short and part of his fandom wiki page is literally a copy-paste of the Wikipedia article. According to Wikipedia, he challenged people to harvesting contests and beheaded the contestants when they lost. Guess he's really good at that. Then Hercules came along and turned the tables on him and that's how he died. Apparently the PJO series is the only ever piece of pop culture poor Lityerses appears in. I still don't know his age.

"leaving Calypso behind to the blemmyae . . . I'd like to say that wasn't a serious thought, but it had been, however briefly." Wait, he was serious about that?!

"run over by a herd of armored ostriches." THE OSTRICHESSSSSSSS! Man, Lit's really taking a beating today. First he gets run over by a roof and then he gets run over by a bunch of big birds. Now I see where he gets all the scars from. Does this happen regularly?

"She howled in rage and the net blasted upward, ripped from its moorings" She does still have magic? Holy shit, she can do more than sing!1!!1! She seems surprised by it afterward, though. Has this never happened even once when she was in the Sea of Monsters? Surely she'd be in equally dangerous situations. Or maybe she's surprised she was able to conjure enough power to rip out the whole net.

"I was quite content to be annoyed, once again, by Meg McCaffrey." I like this ending line. I dunno, I just like it.

Also, this chapter made me realize that the cover art is not, in fact, the two of them flying under a bridge. That's netting and if I looked closer, I would have seen the arena. So sue me, the blue looked like water. I just thought the ostriches could walk on water.

[witchhazelevesque]

today’s evidence that r*ck hates Aphrodite kids: their mother’s symbol is the dove and pigeons are doves and New York is full of pigeons but he didn’t let the Aphrodite kids weaponize the pigeons in the Battle of Manhattan even though that is the EXACT sort of thing that would happen in this universe

[funnyscienceman]

i think one thing i'm never gonna get over about the movie is that the memorial wall full of art — some of the drawings are of shadow nimona. i can't get screenshots right now but like. shadow nimona smiling. beaming. getting hearts and smiles and hugs, from the kids, from other shadow creatures. it's just. it's so sweet. like it's the kids who drew that taking all that raw hurt and vulnerability from the final act and giving it the hug and empathy and solidarity it needed. and it's like, look at nimona's line after the kwispy incident, look at the cereal ad, the board game billboard; look at gloreth being taught hate, and then look at the drawings. and i just lose it every time i think about it

[stinkylandersuwu]

name headcanons

i *really* like the idea of codenames/stage names in place of proper existing names here, so i threw together some names + some additional headcanons. please enjoy <3

*putting transcripts in case you can't read my garbage handwriting

Mack Thresher "Terrafin" (he/him)

Despite being a dirt shark, Terrafin isn't quite the same species of dirt shark as the others in Iron Jaw Gulch

He's been off-duty a long time, but still tends to find himself acting on lifeguard instincts.

Probably trains people in boxing sessions in his off-time

Liang Xià "Flameslinger" (he/they)

While they do wear a blindfold, he does see through the flame on the tip of his arrows

He is trilingual and speaks English, Elvish, and French*. Elvish being his first.

Ambivert. Usually loves being around people, but every now and again, HAS to shut themselves in.

*he learned French solely because he thought it'd sound cool. Very likely also forces the accent.

Finnigan "Finni" Ryder "Fright Rider" (he/they)

He's rather disconnected from his culture compared to his fellow elves, isn't entirely familiar with his native language, traditions, etc. He often feels alienated from the other elves in this aspect.

Ozzy, his ostrich, serves as emotional support for him, even if Ozzy is much more fearful.*

Additionally, Ozzy serves as physical support, as Rider also deals with OSD and has episodes of being unable to stand (at least not without being in pain.)

(* Headcanon loosely based on something someone once said here, raise your hand please <3)

Hura Crepitan "Stump Smash" (he/it)

It constantly feels chronically unwell/unrested since being logged, usually being what contributes to his mood.

He dehydrates far easier, and often needs to soak before doing anything combat related -- being on the dryer side makes it difficult for him to move.

Despite being generally bitter, being around Flameslinger has taught him significant patience (although likely, not a whole lot)

(these may change with time, and these definitely won't be the last of the skylanders. I plan on doing npcs for my next one of these though <3.)

[anonymous-ace72]

Some of my favorite ToA quotes

I was a dramatic god.

 I thought my last statement was a great line. I expected gasps, perhaps some organ music in the background. Maybe the lights would go out just before I could say more. Moments later, I would be found dead with a knife in my back. That would be exciting! Wait. I’m mortal. Murder would kill me. Nevermind.

Hidden Oracle, p.201

--

“If you pull out a brochure, I will make you eat it.”

Hidden Oracle, p. 235

--

VERILY, THOU ART DENSER THAN A COMBAT OSTRICH CUBE. 

Dark Prophecy, 125.

--

What was proper? Commodus intended to live forever. He would drive away the darkness with the roar of the crowds and the glitter of spectacle.

But he generated no light. 

Not like the Waystation. Marcus Aurelius would have approved of this place. Emmie and Josephine lived properly with what time they had left, creating light for everyone who came here. No wonder Commodus hated them. No wonder he was so bent on destroying this threat to his power. 

Dark Prophecy, p.370

--

Leave it to McCaffery to be tactless about love to a child of Aphrodite, while simultaneously starting a fire in front of a satyr.

Burning Maze, p.122

--

I remembered how disgusted Poseidon had been, watching Caligula tootle around the Bay of Baiae, though I think Poseidon was just jealous his palace didn’t have rotating statues.

Burning Maze, p.221

--

I had never been a fan of felines. They were self-centered, smug, and thought they ruled the world. In other words… All right, I’ll say it. I didn’t like the competition.

Tyrant’s Tomb, p.76

--

Nothing is quite so disconcerting as having science explained to you by a supernatural creature.

Tyrants Tomb, p.116

--

I could imagine a younger Meg exploring these tunnels, doing cartwheels in the muck, and growing mushrooms in forgotten locations.

Tower of Nero, p.28

--

NERO IS NOT WORTH A FIG, HE SEES NOT MY BRILLIANCE.

Tower of Nero, p.247

[same-picture-of-benson-every-day]

How to beat an ostrich. Why are there answers, holy shit, there's a WikiHow. You think you can take me? Think you can take me?

"Can you give us, like, a dramatic reading?"

"Use a long weapon. If you are forced to defend yourself against an ostrich, avoid close-quarters combat. Keep as far out of reach of its legs as you can. Use the nearest, longest object that could be used as a weapon"

There's a sidenote here: "If you have a gun. AIM for the ostrich's main body"

"Keep to the ostrich's side. Consider yourself at the most risk when the two of you are face-to-face. Stay behind or to the side of the bird as much as possible to keep clear of its most powerful weapon."

STEP THREE

"Aim for the neck. Consider this to be the ostrich's weakest body part, despite their considerable size. Strike it where it is most vulnerable and least protected to defeat it more quickly."

"Go for its legs. If you find yourself behind or to the side of the ostrich with an easy shot to one of its legs, comma, take it. PERIOD. If given the chance, deliver one or both a blow to upset its balance, speed, and striking power."

Anyway, I'm gonna leave you guys with this image. POV: You're Ostrich.

[libraryofmoths]

Moth of the Week

African Wild Silk Moth

Gonometa postica

The African wild silk moth is a part of the family Lasiocampidae. It was first described in 1855 by Francis Walker. It is also known as the Brandwurm in its larval stage in Afrikaans, Kweena in its pupal stage in Tshwana, and Molopo moth/mot in English and Afrikaans.

Description The female of this moth is much longer and larger than the male due to having to carry eggs. The male is about half the size of the female and much thinner.

The female has a light brown abdomen with a dark brown thorax and head. The female’s forewings are striped light brown, dark brown, and gray. The hindwings are a yellow-brown with a dark brown edge.

The male has a dark body and wings with a transparent portion of the hindwing.

Female Forewing Range: 35–42 mm (

Male Forewing Range: 21–25 mm (

Diet and Habitat Larva of this species eat Acacia erioloba, A. tortilis, A. melifera, Burkea africana, Brachystegia spp., and Prosopis glandulosa. The larva will feed from the same tree it’s entire life unless there are two many other caterpillars. When there is a large number of caterpillars, they may defoliate the whole tree and the larva must move in order to not starve.

This moth mainly inhabits savannas with many Acacia trees, especially in drier areas. These moths contribute to the Acacia environment by providing food to predators and nutrients to plants through feces. Cocoons are usually found on Acacia tees.

Mating Males detect females’ mating pheromones with their antennae. Males fly to the females because the females are weighed down by the eggs. The female contains about 200 eggs which are laid on the food plant after fertilization. Eggs hatch in about two weeks. Eggs are laid in clumps and the newly hatched caterpillars grow as a group and become more solitary with time.

Predators This moth is preyed on by parasitic wasps and flies. These insects lay their eggs on the caterpillar and feed off of its resources until the moth larva cocoons. The parasites live off the cocoon and grow to adulthood while killing the pupa. Specifically, these larva are subject to parasitism by Diptera and Hymenoptera, the most common parasitoids being Palexorista species from the Tachinidae and Goryphus species from the Ichneumonidae.[6]

To combat external predators and weather, the caterpillars build a tough cocoon. Caterpillars and their cocoons are also covered in stinging hairs to deter predators from touching them. Female cocoons are larger than male cocoons.

Fun Fact In Madagascar, wild silk has been harvested for centuries, and this knowledge has been introduced to southern Africa. The cocoons are harvested commercially in Namibia, Botswana, Kenya and South Africa, and the species also occurs in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. They are difficult to harvest due to the cocoons being covered in calcium oxalate. Oxford University discovered and patented a method known as demineralizing using a warm solution of EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) that soften the cocoons by dissolving the sericin. This lets the silk unravel without weakening it.

- Wild African silk moth cocoons are also used as ankle rattles in southern Africa by San and Bantu tribes. They are filled with materials such as fine gravel, seeds, glass beads, broken sea shells, or pieces of ostrich eggshell.

- Furthermore, the cocoons have long been known to cause the death of cattle, antelope and other ruminants in the Kalahari. During drought periods, the cocoons are eaten, probably because they resemble acacia pods. The silk is indigestible and blocks the rumen of multiple-stomach animals, causing starvation.

- Finally, the protein found in this species’s slik contains many basic amino acids making it a potentially useful biomaterial in cell and tissue culture.

(Source: Wikipedia, SANBI)

[molagboop]

What are your headcanons regarding chozo newborns/fledgelings?

OH BOY do I have information for you.

A few basics:

Chozo lay eggs.

Most Chozo are born with an egg tooth on the tip of their beak which helps them break free of the shell to be born.

"Boriha" is a Chozo word used to describe children who have yet to fledge.

Chozo hatchling (very new guy edition) with an egg tooth.

The Chozo tribes evolved with different traits on their homeworld, which have only diverged further following their departure.

Mawkin and Thoha hatchlings are altricial: they're born blind and depend wholly upon their parents for the first few months. It takes two weeks for altricial babies to gain a full coat of down.

Thiloo (a tribe of penguin-like Chozo) hatchlings are semi-altricial: they open their eyes within the first 24 hours of hatching, and are born with a thin coat of down that reaches full thickness within three days.

Hatzu (ratite Chozo: think emu, ostriches, and cassowaries) babies are precocial upon hatching: their eyes are open, and they're covered in natal feathers. The strong-legged Chozo of the Hatzu tribe are the only ones capable of walking fresh out of the shell. The Hatzu are the only Chozo who lack an egg tooth: instead, their babies kick their way out of their shells.

There are more tribes than I've listed here, but the Thiloo and Hatzu have the most notable differences upon birth.

Pictured below: a Thoha baby, a Thiloo baby, a Hatzu baby, and two images of newly-hatched baby Raven Beak. The altricial babies look like little naked old men (not unlike many real baby birds: shout outs to baby pelican).

The Hatzu kid pictured above is being picked up by an adult: the most stable method is to place your hands under the kid's chest and lift. Most Hatzu hatchlings will start to panic if their legs are restrained: it's a survival instinct.

Most Chozo babies use their sharp talons to grasp the downy feathers on a trusted adult's neck, chest, and back. It takes about two months for a hatchling to be able to reliably grasp. Grasping is how baby Chozo get around for the first few years of their lives. 18 months is around the time Chozo will be able to stand and walk independently, but they still rely on their parents to carry them around long distances.

That's not to say they'll rely solely on their parents for locomotion: once those babies can run, they run.

A few examples. The large compilation image is of Raven Beak's mother with a cameo from the big (little) guy himself.

Baby Chozo ask for food by nudging the nearest adult's throat or negging them with screechy cries. The corners of their beaks are flexible and pronounced at this age so they can open their gullet wide for room service. They can eat some solid food (little bits torn off of an adult's dinner, grubs, small insects), or their parents can regurgitate nutritious, partially-digested matter from their crop.

Raven Beak and his dad. Baby guy opens very wide for optimal screechage and to ensure oncoming food makes it into his face-hole.

Pictured above: a Thiloo hatchling (left) and a Thoha hatchling (right). The corners of the Thoha kid's mouth are brighter and more flexible than that of an adult, allowing it to open comically wide.

Doodles of a newborn baby Mawkin and one with natal feathers (not to scale).

Hatzu hatchling doodles.

Chozo kids begin to fledge properly around five years old and learn to fly at seven. Mawkin children can start the preliminaries for their combat training as early as four and a half, but training starts in earnest at six.

This post talks about child-rearing practices and feeding. This post has more information about Chozo eggs and a basic child development roadmap.

[ecargmura]

Wonderful Precure Episode 2 Review - Cure Friendy Takes No L's

This episode surprised me a lot. First, there’s the debut of a second Precure already. Second, the formula seems a lot different than previous iterations. Third, it makes me wonder what will happen later on. Regardless, I really liked what I saw in this episode.

I’m still new to Precure, but is it normal to have the second Precure debut in the second episode? Hirogaru Sky had it so that Prism debuted in Episode 4, as well as Delicious Party. I feel like this was to make it so that Wonderful has a motive to keep doing Precure stuff. Despite that, Cure Friendy’s transformation sequence was legit amazing. While Wonderful’s is good, Friendy’s is super well done from the hair animation to the brooch animation to the running animation. I love it a lot! My only gripe about Cure Friendy is that her skirt is poofy like Wonderful’s. Given that Nyammy and Lillian have different skirt patterns, it made me wonder why both Wonderful and Friendy have the same skirt. Also, Friendy? Really? That’s the name you’re going with? Not Friendly? I guess her design and transformation rocked so hard they took the L off of her name. She takes no L’s.

The formula is a bit different from previous series as it seems to revolve around healing corrupted animals without using finishers or combat. I guess it’s to tell kids to not hurt animals in a way? I said that it’s a bit different because the focus character isn’t Komugi but Iroha in a way. She feels more like the main character, which makes sense because she’s a human while Komugi is a dog meaning she has the intelligence of a dog and not a human’s. Because of that Komugi is rather simplistic as a character compared to Iroha who’s more prone to worrying about Komugi because she cares about her so much. I really liked the part where she starts thinking back to the day she met her dog and how her life changed because of her. Despite Animal Town being known as a harmonious place where humans and animals coincide, Komugi was abandoned. This means that Komugi is from outside of the town or there’s someone in Animal Town cruel enough to abandon their pet. I legit felt a bit emotional when I saw Iroha shielding Komugi from the rain with her umbrella. I am a HUGE sucker for any scene where someone shields the other from the rain.

Speaking of Komugi, I was worried about how they were going to handle her human form but it turns out that she can change back into a dog; as a dog, she can finally talk now, which is a whole new set of shenanigans for her as Komugi’s animal instincts have a hard time helping her keep things a secret. She accidentally tries to speak to Yoko, which Iroha covers her mouth and then speaks again when Satoru was nearby. Dogs do have short term memory, so it makes sense if she had forgotten about keeping her newfound talking abilities a secret.

Mayu makes another appearance in Iroha’s family’s pet center. It turns out that Yoko is a veterinarian and Tsuyoshi is a pet groomer as he’s the one who made the collars that Mayu seems interested in. I hope Mayu paid for that blue collar. Satoru seems to be a familiar face at Iroha’s place as he comes in with Daifuku and asks if he could use the dog park. Daifuku is so adorable. There’s a very soothing aspect about Satoru in a way, like his demeanor and aura. The official website for Wonderful Precure states that Daifuku is male, so I will be using male pronouns when talking about Daifuku going forth. I do wonder if Daifuku and Satoru will be mid season Precures.

The animals of this show are so cute. The ostrich was cute and the GaruGaru form was rather adorable looking compared to Mey Mey’s GaruGaru form last episode.  Mey Mey is super adorable! Maybe I’m just biased because I like sheep but look at him! He’s a fluffy sheep! His schtick of saying “Dameeeee” with him crossing his arms reminds me of Lacey in the Indigo Disk DLC who does the same thing with her arms. Mey Mey is from Niko Garden where animals live harmoniously, like Animal Town. I do wonder what sort of darkness befell the garden that it caused all of them to become GaruGarus. It’s also the first time I’ve seen a Precure show where the villains haven’t shown up—just the monster of the day but not sight of a villainous team anywhere. Will they appear later on? Or is the villain just darkness? Mey Mey is voiced by Shinnosuke Tachibana. He’s actually not a newcomer to Precure as he voiced Prince Kanata in Go! Princess Precure. I haven’t watched that show yet, but I’ve heard so many good things about it. Speaking of returning casts, I looked up that Atsumi Tanezaki, Cure Friendy’s voice actress, has voiced Puka in the All Stars F movie, which I haven’t seen yet. It’s cool that they’re getting many returning voice actors to play new characters.

I can’t wait to see what Niko Garden looks like and what our heroes need to do to restore peace and balance to the other world. What are your thoughts about this episode?

[artzychic27]

Blame @msweebyness’s post for this… I call this au Miraculopolis

@imsparky2002

Marinette: Goddess of Luck and Chance. Her symbols are ladybugs and clovers

Adrien: God of Family and Children. His symbols are domestic cats and carnations

Alya: Goddess of Messaging and Facts. Her symbols are spectacles and pigeons

Nino: God of Protection and Defense. His symbols are shields and turtles

Nathaniel: God of the Fine Arts and Inspiration. His symbols are paintbrushes and peacocks

Alix: Goddess of Time and Memory. Her symbols are clocks and rabbits

Juleka: Goddess of Serenity and Inner Beauty. Her symbols are mirrors and ravens

Rose: Goddess of Romance and Love. Her symbols are roses and doves

Sabrina: Goddess of Loyalty and Companionship. Her symbols are rings and wolves

Chloé: Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity. Her symbols are gold coins and bees

Kim: God of Sportsmanship and Victory. His symbols are palm branches and eagles

Max: God of Statistics and Possibilities. His symbols are abacuses and horses

Ivan: God of Poetry and Ballads. His symbols are quills and mice

Myléne: Goddess of Nature and Grains. Her symbols are cornucopias and bears

Marc: God of Literature and Epic Tales. His symbols are fountain pens and roosters

Aurore: Goddess of the Sun. Her symbols are parasols and lions

Mireille: Goddess of the Moon. Her symbols are wool and sheep

Reshma: Goddess of Craftmentship. Her symbols are a needle and thread and spiders

Ismael: God of Mischief. His symbols are apples and foxes

Lacey: Goddess of Siblinghood. Her symbols are rope and frogs

Jean: God of Theater and Entertainment. His symbols are comedy and tragedy masks, and songbirds

Cosette: Goddess of Masking and Adaption. Her symbols are a makeup pallet and chameleons

Zoé: Goddess of Rebellion. Her symbols are broken handcuffs and a tiger

Simon: God of Technology and Surveillance. His symbols are eye-shaped pendants and hawks

Denise: Goddex of Strength and Health. Their symbols are barbells and bulls

Luka: God of Music and Emotional health. His symbols are lyres and snakes

Kagami: Goddess of Combat. Her symbols are swords and dragons

Ondine: Goddess of the Sea. Her symbols are a trident and orcas

Different nations, different mythologies and deities

They’re all powerful deities, but they still act like teenagers, get crushes, drink a lot of wine, have wild parties up in the heavens, and crash mortal parties whenever they please

Being the goddess of Masking and Adaption, Cosette can shapeshift into any animal she pleases while the others only shapeshift into the animals they’re associated with

Cosette: Random animal exit! *Shapeshift into a shark and starts flopping around on the ground before shifting back and gasping for air* Random… Land animal exit! *Shapeshifts into an ostrich and walks away*

Zoé: Even as an ostrich, they’re still gorgeous.

Marc and Nathaniel have been crushing on each other for eons

Rose and Juleka have been girlfriends for centuries now. Juleka is not affected by Rose’s romance-inducing aura, and Rose is not affected by Juleka’s almost ethereal beauty. They just love each other

Adrien has almost this maternal instinct due to being the god of family and children, and as such, he adores mortal infants

A former member of the gods and goddesses of Miraculous is Lila, the goddess of deceit and trickery. Her symbols are jackals and masks. She still has her divine powers, but she’s not allowed back in the skyward abode of the gods and goddesses for a multitude of reasons, and has offended each of the others gods in some way

Also… She was just annoying as hell

*During an outing in the divine garden, long before Lila was banished, Myléne is telling the others about a new tree she had come up with. The others are listening intently when Lila suddenly interrupts*

Nino: Someone, make her stop!

*Nathaniel summons his paintbrush staff and slathers a bit of red paint over Lila’s mouth. It dries in an instant, and her words come out muffled*

Nino: *Sighs* Much butter.

Ismael possesses an object called The Golden Apple of Chaos. Basically, when he throws it, it causes some sort of havoc somewhere

He’s always tempting mortal children to cause a little chaos

Ismael: Just think of it, Manon. You, me. All the chaos. All the discord! ALL THE FREE CHICKEN!

Legend from both Miraculous and Prodigious mythology tells of a monster named Kiku, once a mortal man who wanted to become stronger. One night, he snuck into Kim, Denise, and Kagami’s temples, and stole one of Kim’s medals, one of Denise’s barbels, and one of Kagami’s swords. When they discovered this, the god, goddex, and goddess punished him by turning him into a monstrous bear-like creature. He had impenetrable skin and could tear through entire villages with his claws

One quirk about him is that whenever he gets flustered or excited, a peacock tail will fan out from behind him

A tale from mythology of Miraculous talks about how Nino developed feelings for Alya when she protected him and several mortals from a dangerous monster while they were visiting the mortal realm

Wherever Marinette steps, four-leaf clovers grow

When they arrive in the mortal realm, their entrances are all a sight to behold that you’ll wanna punch yourself if you miss them

According to Miraculous mythology, whenever Rose travels to the mortal realm, she descends from the sky in a flurry of rose petals. And when she lands on the ground, several doves appear at her side, and she emits a pink aura that causes people to momentarily fall in love with the first person they see

When Nathaniel comes to visit the mortal realm, the sky becomes an array of colors as his beautiful, iridescent chariot is drawn by several peacocks.

Reshma descends from the sky, performing aerial tricks using spider web silk. Her feet never touch the ground as a clutter of spiders carry her about, almost making it look like she’s gliding

Lore has it, that centuries ago, Denise nursed a young injured bull they named Aithen back to health, and infused him with some of their divine magic, helping him grow stronger over time until he was able to pull their heavy two ton chariot on his own

And, there is a tale stating that Simon won Denise’s heart after using his wits to vanquish a monster attacking the mortals

According to mythology, Lacey bestows blessings on mortal children and their siblings, helping to strengthen their bonds and know when their siblings are in need

While Lila may be the goddess of deceit and has done some terrible things over the centuries, she still has standards. As such, she refuses to ever interact with Lucien, the god of Onedience and Power, and Emani, the god of Manipulation, who were also ousted from their heavenly abodes

Max’s sacred object is his golden abacus, gifted to him by Kim. Centuries ago, Kim melted several of his prized golden medals to create it for him

During the annual Olympics hosted by the Miraculous, teams from different nations come to compete for glory. The gods and goddesses watch from the stands while disguised as humans or the animals they are associated with. Kim, meanwhile, is in his god form and loudly cheering for the team representing Miraculous

While Nathaniel is one of the kindest gods of Miraculous, but he also has a fiery temper. When provoked, he’ll fly into a rage, and even the other deities know to approach with caution

One way to piss him off is by claiming you’re a better artist than him. He’ll curse you so that any piece of art or art material you touch will turn into dust. *cough* Louis *cough*

Due to being the Prodigious god of not only Theater, but also Entertainment, whenever there’s a party happening in the mortal realm, Jean is known to make a grand appearance. This is usually when he feels as though the party’s reaches its peak. Guests are to be advised that whenever Jean attends a mortal party, it doesn’t stop unless he wants to stop. The longest was a week

Zoé, the Prodigious goddess of Rebellion is also known to frequent parties, usually ones thrown by teenagers who plan and attend it without their parents knowing. From the heavens, she descends using a charriot drawn by two majestic tigers. She describes parties such as that as, “Rebellion in its most premature form!”

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Dark Prophecy: Chapter 25 (SPOILERS)

"Big birds are evil / They charge me with razor legs" Are the ostriches back? :D?

"Frenzied young women threw their strophiae at me." Holy fuck, that's an ancient type of bra. This is still a kids' book?

"six combat ostriches" The big birds.

"The demigods of Commodus's Imperial Household" They're like Meg, basically? I wonder if any effort will be made to free them or turn them to their side. "And, predictably, an entire section of the stands was filled with wild centaurs." Fifteen bucks they're not even working for or with the Triumvirate. They're just here for the show. Are they Party Ponies or just centaurs? "They blew their vuvuzelas" VUVUZELA (n.): a long horn blown by fans at soccer matches in South Africa Google also notes that the name is trademarked in the UK. I think they are Party Ponies due to the party supplies mentioned. Guess they're chaotic neutral. They'll go anywhere a bloodbath is promised, no matter if it's the good or bad side. I can get behind that lifestyle.

"glimpse of a golden-brown racing suit." Again, what kind of race is this going to be? I see no cars or chariots or horses. Best I can guess is they're going to race on the ostriches, but idk if they can handle the weight of a person and still run. Wasn't there a war fought against them once in Australia? No, that was emus. Are ostriches just as vicious?

"This was exactly the sort of welcome I'd been longing for." Yayyyyy. Clap clap clap. Meg. What have you led yourself and Apollo into? You did not need to check this out. You could've just left! Wait a minute, was the audience just sitting there hoping these two would show up? What was their plan B if they didn't? Nah, Commodus doesn't strike me as the type to have a plan B.

"I wondered if she might have betrayed me once again" Yeah, I thought that for a second too, but it would've been ridiculous to stage all those fights with Lit and the sea serpent just to get them here. She didn't do this on purpose.

"This is just the dress rehearsal" This is the dress rehearsal??? If this is the rehearsal, then the real event is going to be a waking nightmare! Does Commodus... does he have eyes? Can he SEE the monstrosity that is before him? I guess his advisors were too scared to tell him to tone it down a notch. Or maybe they did and they're six feet under now.

"You're next. But Meg couldn't have known about that... could she?" Yeah, no. That's a coincidence.

"My throat made the sound of a vuvuzela." Sorry, I couldn't keep a straight face at that. Anyway, I bet the Dark Oracle told him something vague and he immediately interpreted that as I should rename the city and set up the worlds biggest eyesore. "Not me personally." Whoever he sent definitely just told him what he wanted to hear 'cause if they said anything else, they'd be beheaded.

"revealing a one-piece racing suit of Nemean Lion hide" Hey, it respawned! "Indy-Colt-500-Double-A Gladiatorial Championship" Four words or less. Any respectable sporting event should be named with four words or less. The only comprehensible words in that title were "Gladiatorial Championship." Try "Commodianapolis Gladiatorial Championship" or "National Gladiatorial Championship" or even "Ultimate Gladiatorial Championship" instead. Literally anything else.

"Three Formula One race cars" Oh, this is a car race. Huh. I was kinda hoping for superstrength ostriches.

Exotic animals, gladiators, race cars, reverb country music, and monstrous audience members in a football stadium... This is the sporting event equivalent of a crackfic. Even the name of the event... Commodus, you've made a real-life crackfic. What do you have to say for yourself? No, I don't want to hear it.

"I raced after her, the Throne of Mnemosyne" NO, he still has the chair on his back! "a new death haiku" Ayo the title! "Basketballs ex machina." Literally.

"[Meg] grabbed one's neck and swung onto its back" Hey, so they can at least hold a small human. "her plan: kill Commodus." Can they still be killed? Idk how far along the Triumviratees have come with the god-emperor thing. I'd hate for them to get so close to taking down 1/3 only to find out they don't have the necessary whatever-it-is-you-need-to-kill-a-god-emperor.

"Southbound Pachyderm." PACHYDERM (n.): a very large mammal with thick skin, especially an elephant, rhinoceros, or hippopotamus

"I smashed him in the face with my combat ukulele." So that's what the combat part is. It doubles as a club. Nice.

"a late-night road trip in search of vindaloo" VINDALOO (n.): a highly spiced hot Indian curry You could probably find that at a restaurant, but I guess regular old mortal vindaloo isn't going to do it for you gods, huh? Istg Apollo goes on journeys in search of the most ridiculous things you could probably get to with a fifteen-minute car ride.

"Can you save him before he bursts into flames?" So we know it's not Leo.

"the karpos Peaches." NOOOO PEACHES IS GOING TO BURST INTO FLAMESSSSSSSS pls save him

[wardog-of-the-endless]

Jeff Satur Black Tie Fashion Breakdown

I can do all things through spite, which sustains me.

I love the fashion in Black Tie. Jeff's really living his best Valentino life, and I wanted to break down what I could determine. Granted, his coats almost all seem to be custom, and while I worked in the industry it was not with Valentino, so I would hesitate to guess. (I mean, I will if you want, my DMs are open). But everything else I could more or less find on the website and I thought, why not? My besty already got slapped with it, why should you guys escape?

Let's Do This.

Opening Look

Coat: Full Length Likely Custom (Ostrich)

Top: HEAVY COTTON POPLIN LONG SLEEVE SHIRT $ 950.00

Tie: WOOL AND SILK VALENTIE TIE WITH METAL V APPLIQUÉ $ 520.00 (*See Author's Note)

Slacks: LANA STRETCH PANTS $ 1,250.00

Shoes: M-WAY ROCKSTUD ANKLE BOOT IN CALFSKIN LEATHER $ 1,550.00

Earrings: VLOGO SIGNATURE METAL AND GLASS BEAD EARRINGS $ 850.00

Secondary Look:

Coat: Half Length (Assumed Custom) Jeff Satur Chevron Feather

Nose Stud: ROCKSTUD METAL NOSE RING $ 190.00

Lip Wrap: VLOGO SIGNATURE METAL LIP RING $ 190.00

Tie: WOOL AND SILK VALENTIE TIE WITH METAL V APPLIQUÉ $ 520.00 (*See Author's Note)

Top: Unknown

Shoes: ROCKSTUD M-WAY SINGLE MONK STRAP SHOE IN CALFSKIN AND MATCHING STUDS 50MM $ 1,150.00

Tertiary Look

Coat: DOUBLE-BREASTED WOOL AND CASHMERE COAT WITH EX CHESS ALL-OVER INTARSIA PATTERN $ 8,850.00

Tie: WOOL AND SILK VALENTIE TIE WITH METAL V APPLIQUÉ $ 520.00

Top (assumed): HEAVY COTTON POPLIN LONG SLEEVE SHIRT $ 950.00

Slacks: LANA STRETCH PANTS $ 1,250.00

Shoes: M-WAY ROCKSTUD ANKLE BOOT IN CALFSKIN LEATHER $ 1,550.00

Earrings: VLOGO SIGNATURE METAL EARRINGS $ 1,370.00

Final Look:

Coat: Full Length (Assumed Custom) Jeff Satur Red

Nose Stud: ROCKSTUD METAL NOSE RING $ 190.00

Top: Existence Cannot Be Confirmed

Shorts: LANA STRETCH BERMUDA SHORTS $ 1,250.00

Shoes: ROCKSTUD M-WAY COMBAT BOOT IN CALFSKIN WITH FEATHERS 50MM $ 2,850.00

Author's Notes: (Image from Jeff's Instagram)

The finale red look seems to have at least 2 iterations, the heavier solid piece that may involve a tie (social media) and the lighter almost-chiffon that Jeff got rained on in the MV.

Author's Note: At least one of the Valentie ties in the opening/secondary look appears to have been customized (embroidery) per social media images (Jeff's Insta) rendering it priceless. (He does wear alternate Valentie Ties in appearances that do NOT appear to be embroidered with JS).

Not to be all The Devil Wears Prada about it but:

"Are you wearing the-?"

"The Valentino Feather Boots? Yes, I am."

p.s. hi @markmybirds. love you marmar.

[quirkwizard]

What about an ostrich Quirk?

I've actually done something like this with "Cassowary", but I think I can still cover something like this.

I see it working as a Mutant type Quirk that alters the user's body, granting them all the traits of an ostrich. The user's body has a surprising amount of endurance, being able to run and go without food and water for days. The user's covered in feathers that grant them greater resistance to their environment and act as a mix of a glider and parachute. The user's vision increases in both range and scope to the point where they can see fine up to several kilometers away. The greatest trait of this form is the user's mobility. The user's strong legs have a much greater aptitude for running and jumping, easily outrunning cars. This is in addition to the claws on their legs that can be used for cutting and climbing. This gives the user a good mix of options, their natural mobility supported by their other options. They can scout around an area, using their various modes of travel to get around, nimbly dodge around attacks, batter foes with their kicks, or simply carry their allies around. Though the user is lacking in bulk, making them less useful in combat. The feathers may end up working against the user if they are not careful as they can get caught or grabbed. A possible name for the Quirk could be "Ostrich".

[miniar]

Human beings are not sexually dimorphic.

This is the biological fact ignored by every misogynistic and/or transphobic person on the planet because their bigotry hinges on believing otherwise.

When a species is sexually dimorphic it has two distinct and different sexes.

What that means is that there are traits that apply to all of the males of the species and none of the females, and there are different traits that apply to all of the females of the species and none of the males.

Think of birds for example. A male ostrich has black and white feathers. A female ostrich has brown feathers. They are sexually dimorphic.

There is no trait that all human men have that no woman has.

Beards? Nope. Some men do not grow beards and some women do.

Tits? Nope. Some women don't grow beards and some men do.

Height? Absolutely not! The difference between the tallest percentile of women (taller) and the shortest percentile of men (shorter) is about five times greater than the difference in average men's (taller) and women's (shorter) heights.

Etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

There is no biological difference between men and women that is Universal and Distinct.

So every single argument that operates from the idea, the basis, that men and women are "inherently" different is an argument based on a cultural idea and that cultural idea exists to justify the different treatment of men and women and nothing else.

That cultural idea is the very core justification for All misogyny.

It exists For that purpose.

You can not hold to this idea, this myth, and not participate in the justification of all sex and gender based bigotry.

You can't hold this falsehood to be true without giving permission for sexism, transphobia, and homophobia to exist.

The myth of human sexual dimorphism is what that bigotry is built upon.

Our experiences differ. Our access to society differs. Our lives differ, YES!

And they differ because of a myth.

A myth that is so pervasive, so widespread, that it can feel near impossible to disbelieve it, it's built into our societies at every level, it's the building blocks of our inequality and of what tools we are given to combat it, it's everywhere.

But it's still a myth.

It's not true.

It's been used to condition us from the day we were born. It affects how we treat our own children from the day they are born. It's in our music, in our movies, in our books, in our games, in our clothing, in our food, in our drinks.

It's in everything we consume and everything we are exposed to.

But it's still a myth.

It is not true.

And we will not be rid of the harms done by this myth unless we start to call it what it is and start doing the work to dismantle it's influence upon us, our thoughts, our emotional reactions, our beliefs, our behaviours, our self image, our ideas of who and what we are.

Without that work, we will never be free of our own sexism, our own internalized misogyny, and we will never be able to free ourselves and each other from the myth's grasp on our whole society.

It's hard. It's asking a lot.

But if we want a society that is just, that is fair, that treats us all as human beings, we have to stop holding onto the myths that are used to justify an unjust world, and that includes this one.

The biological fact is that we are not sexually dimorphic and many of our so called differences in averages are likely created and maintained by that myth and how it affects our treatment from infancy.

It's time we stopped pretending otherwise.

[ahamkara-apologist]

Ok I saw your alien junk post (love it, I'm a huge speculative bio nerd) and read "ostrich + duck" but not as horrifying as you think it is?

Now I gotta know

okay so i'm either about to ruin ducks for you or you already know about how they mate and is unphased by it. I'm going to assume the former and just go ahead and explain what the fuck is going on with ducks

Rhulk and the subjugators remind me of terrorbirds, so I based Lubraean anatomy off birds- specifically birds with penises. Birds don't usually have penises. This is because a penis is an extra dead weight when flying, and birds (most of them, anyways) are as optimized for flight as possible, so they simply did away with them altogether. Penises are exceptionally useful for mating on land, however, so in the ratites (primitive flightless birds) there was the re-evolution of an intromittent organ (which is the fancy scientific way of saying penis on non-mammilian animals, since technically I think we're the only ones who have 'true' penises? Which is fucking stupid imo) so that copulation would be more efficient than a cloacal kiss, which is what most birds do. Interestingly, erections are produced by filling the penis with lymphatic fluid instead of blood, which is unlike that of mammals and the rest of the reptiles. We still don't know how they evolved a lymphatically-driven penis, but it's an interesting case in evolutionary history, and I really want to do more research on if its a retained ancestral condition present in the primitive birds (ratites, anseriformes, galliformes), or if they lost and then re-evolved a penis, which is a rare but not unheard of occurrance. The problem is that they're the last lineage of dinosaurs left around, so we don't really know if it's a dinosaur characteristic or something unique to birds- I'm getting sidetracked.

ANYWAYS, waterfowl- like ducks- have penises because they have a 'coercive mating' system, which is the scientific way of saying that a mating system is based on rape without the social connotations tied up with that word (as rape is a socially-driven act of harm among humans, which animals do not do). Male ducks evolved to have long, corkscrew-like penises so that they can quickly penetrate a female for insemination, while females have long vaginal canals that corkscrew in the opposite direction and have many blind pouches in order to foil an unwanted suitor from having as much success as her preferred mate, giving her more control over who sires her eggs. In fact, the reason that male ducks have the long corkscrew penises in the first place is as a result of the odd layout of a duck's vagina, as they're locked in an evolutionary arms race that's bringing their genital configurations to new extremes

Coercive mating is actually pretty rare in the animal kingdom- as a rule, female choice prevails, and a male's attempt to influence that choice is typically done through courtship, mate guarding, and sperm competition, where he tries to get a female to mate with only him/get one over the other males who might mate with her by preventing rival sperm from reaching the eggs, or giving himself a greater chance of fertilizing them by lengthening mating. Species where the males attempt to aggressively combat female choice tend to be the ones where really dramatically weird genital configurations come about, such as bedbug knife penises or spinny duck vaginas.*

In the case of the alien specbio- Lubraeans struck me as a pretty violent society from what we get of the Shattered Suns lorebook, so while they don't have a mating scheme that is as extreme as ducks, needing to prevent forceful, unwanted insemination is still necessary. I figured that for them, a corkscrew vaginal canal evolved among females so that mating can only occur when they're aroused, with males evolving a twist to their penis so that they fit together in a lock-and-key mechanism. They evolutionarily stalled before they ever got to something as extreme as what ducks got, and their genital configuration is a relic of that time. Their dicks look something like this, which I scribbled on the bus real quick:

This def. needs revision, bc it dont even look like its twisting, but the general gist of it is there. Pretty identifiably phallic, not a full corkscrew, also not tied to the whole reason duck dicks are...like that. Important to note here is that this is NOT actually what Rhulk's cock looks like- that, like the rest of him, got revamped by the Witness, because it was nothing if not an obsessive perfectionist. I drew his penis once (also on the bus, funnily enough), but I have zero idea where that picture went

*Fun fact! Some duck penises can grow to 18 inches long, and are shed once the mating season is done, to be regrown at a later date. Shits fucking wild. I almost wish I didn't know this, so now you get to know it too