#interesting mix of activities

[halfelven]

i like waking up in the middle of the night and doing things and then going back to sleep to wake up again to a fresh batch of rolls

i also think i get more things done at night because there are fewer options of things to do so choosing one thing is from a narrower list of things to be done.

i wonder if i could use this in my daytime life by breaking my to-do lists into smaller sections of related activities and then picking out one from a list of, say, three things, rather than a list of fifteen or more

[vhsdruid]

terribly sorry if this is a weird question but i would LOVE to hear more about wasps . funky little dudes

wasps are a relatively new species in terms of insect evolution, having appeared in the jurassic period alongside the first dinosaurs. there are hundreds of thousands of species, which could include ants and bees depending on your exact definition. they're all included in the group apocrita, or the "wasp waisted" hymenoptera. they are some of the most successful insects on the planet.

DID YOU KNOW?: the stinger of apocrita is a highly adapted ovipositor, the organ used for egg laying.

STEP ONE: their ancestors, the sawflies, had evolved a serrated ovipositor that could bore into plant material as a safe place to lay their eggs.

STEP TWO: the first wasps would use the ovipositor to instead lay their eggs inside of other animals (parasitoidism), which then provides the developing young plenty of food. many of these wasps would develop a unique variety of venoms to aid in the capture of prey, often by paralysis.

DID YOU KNOW?: there are more parasitoid wasps than any other kind of wasp, with an estimated 100,000 species! this includes the iconic cicada killer wasp.

STEP THREE: the transition from egg laying to defense is not entirely understood, but is believed by some to have been a direct response to predation by vertebrates. if you think about it, it's not all that easy to sting through a tough exoskeleton (though it can be done), it's much easier to sting soft, fleshy things that are trying to eat your delicious grub children. these wasps no longer lay eggs with the ovipositor, instead having an opening at the base of the stinger. the venom would be adapted to illicit a pain response, a harsh lesson to not mess with wasps!

DID YOU KNOW?: male wasps CANNOT sting as they do not have an ovipositor. though, some males will still mimic stinging, or even have pointed abdomens to help sell the illusion.

QUICKFIRE ROUND:

while wasps are famously eusocial and will often live in large communal hives, the vast majority of wasps are solitary and live on their own.

the largest species of wasp is the northern giant hornet, who's queens are around 2 inches in length. the smallest species of wasp is also the smallest insect ever! dicopomorpha echmepterygis males have been measured as small as 139 micrometres in length.

its common knowledge that wasps can sting multiple times and honey bees cant. this is a unique adaptation of the honey bee, who deliver a more potent sting by leaving the stinger embedded in the victim as it continues to pump rounds and rounds of venom. unfortunately, the stinger is directly attached to many vital organs, which are then damaged in the process, causing the honey bee to die.

insects breathe by absorbing oxygen directly into their "blood". wasps aid in this by rapidly expanding and collapsing their abdomen to force air in and out. if her butt is vibrating, shes just taking a breath :)

the iconic coloration of the wasp, usually yellow and black, is part of their defensive strategy! this is a form of aposematism, the advertising of danger to potential predators. they want you to notice them, so you know to steer clear!

the coloration is SO iconic that thousands of insect species mimic it in hopes of also warding off predators. this includes flies, moths and butterflies, and even their own ancestors, the sawflies.

parasitoid wasps are very specific in their choice of prey, likely due to the unique cocktail of venom they must possess to influence any given species. for any arthropod, there is a species of wasp that specializes in parasitizing THAT specific arthropod.

because i know some people are wondering, the venom of parasitoid wasps can only effect arthropods, there will be no wasp based mind control within the next few million years. some parasitoids have been known to sting defensively, which is still quite painful depending on the exact species.

some wasps are HYPERPARASITOIDS, meaning they will lay their eggs on other parasitoids that are already parasitizing something. its parasitoids all the way down.

one of these hyperparasitoids is the velvet ant. despite it's common name, they're actually a species of wasp with flightless females. the males do possess wings, and in some species, will assist the female by carrying her to an environment with better resources.

the venom of gall wasps will, when inserted into a tree or other vegetation, cause it to grow a mass, known as a gall. basically a bootleg fruit, filled with nutrients. these wasp galls will then safely house the wasp's young which eat it from the inside out, before emerging as adult wasps.

obviously, theres wasps that parasitize the gall wasps inside the gall.

fig wasps are the only animals that can pollinate figs, and do so by crawling inside to lay their eggs before dying inside the fruit. well, the only animal other than humans, which find figs quite tasty but don't typically enjoy eating dead wasps.

i probably wont ever get a better opportunity to share this information, sorry: the queen honey bee mating with a drone is audible to the human ear, making a popping sound. the drone's endophallus (penis) is violently detached in the process and he dies soon after.

lastly, lets just marvel at the beauty of the wasp. they have some of the most striking appearances of any animals on earth.

i am just fillled with awe when i look at them. a powerful and intimidating predator that takes great care in raising the next generation. perhaps my favorite animal.

[halfusek]

shepherd

[mtx-lol]

a little more froma bit before in reblogs soon just give me a sec

[cinnamonsikwate]

i'm really curious about what marcille's mother's deal is. seems like she's not too big on the rest of elven society. here's what we know about her so far:

mage at a human royal court (adventurer's bible)

courtship with marcille's father donato lasted 17 years (adventurer's bible)

specialty is roast pork, which was also donato's favorite (chapter 81)

had a cheerful personality up until the point donato got too sick to eat his favorite food. her extreme emotional reaction to this left a lasting impression on marcille (chapter 81)

remarried to a gnome and moved away from the city at some point after donato died (adventurer's bible)

several portraits of her appear in marcille's nightmare (chapter 42); this is the second time we see marcille dream of her (chapter 3)

preferred non-elven food and didn't introduce marcille to any traditional elven dishes (chapter 74)

from the canaries' reactions in chapter 74, it appears elven society looks down on elves who go to live among and work for short-lived races. they seemed especially put off that she would have a mixed-blood child. when they're talking about the lyrikmumare to get marcille to trip up, marcille envisions her mother saying that the food "here" (i.e., the northern continent) tastes so much better. so the picture we're getting here is of an elf who has removed herself from elven culture, but the question is, did she do it willingly or was she forced to?

keeping her other actions in mind, i'm leaning more towards the former. the most intriguing thing for me is that she eventually married a gnome, despite elves and gnomes having infamously waged war against each other over differences in the practice of magic and presently tending to discriminate against the other on sight. (one thing's for sure — marcille's mother is winning the idgaf war!)

marcille never talks about her gnome stepfather though, and it's unclear what she thinks of her mother's remarriage. the timing of the remarriage is also a mystery. donato married marcille's mother when he was 32 (after having courted her for 17 years) and died at 82, meaning they were married for 50 years. marcille is also currently 50 years old, but we know she wasn't born immediately after the marriage: in chapter 81, donato's doppelganger says marcille was born when he'd started "getting on in years." based on marcille's memories of him and the established fact that the average tall-man lifespan is 60 years, i'd hazard that he was in his 50s then. this gives him 30 years or less with marcille — definitely less than 35, which we know is the age at which she left for the magic academy.

we don't know if marcille's mother remarries before or after marcille leaves (if before, than that's definitely a shockingly short time), but it's interesting that she chose to marry someone from a long-lived race this time. maybe this is her way of ensuring she spares herself another heartbreak? or maybe she *is* still heartbroken and is trying to cover it up.

but. i can't help but kind of agree with chilchuck in chapter 81, that marcille's parents are not blameless for marcille becoming the dungeon lord. since it's apparently well-documented, they surely must have known — as well-educated people — that mixed-blood children face not just discrimination but also mental anguish that comes with their unstable aging (not to mention the sterility). so the way they raised marcille feels frankly irresponsible 😭

anyway. i'd love to get spin-off content where post-adventure marcille and her mother meet again. i feel like there's a lot of unresolved issues there (that can of course be hashed out over a good meal).

[mystxmomo]

Hello! Would you mind answering 6, 7, and 29 for Enclave? Please and thank you! 🙏

6. Who will they take advice from, no matter what it is? Who won’t they take advice from, no matter what it is?

Vhaeraun feels like cheating, so I'll give a better answer, but it feels worth reminding occasionally that for all I play up the comedy of their PvP enabled zone of a relationship, she does actually respect his thought process and opinions (Which is really unfortunate for her, honestly.) She genuinely thinks he has a very interesting way of seeing the world, and even if she doesn't follow whatever advice he gives her she's at least willing to let him pick at her brain and help walk her thought whatever she's thinking.

The god she's always pulled along with aside. Ilphaer also feels like a bit of an obvious answer too, but she IS someone Enclave has had in her life for a while and Enclave trusts her judgement. Actually as I'm writing this, I'm going to take it in a slightly different direction. The framework of the question is specifically in the lens of "Take advice from no matter what" but I do think it's worth mentioning that I kind of do envision Enclave as a character that. Values understanding how other peoples minds work? If she's working with you for whatever reason, she's at least going to try and hear you out. Especially as she gets older and more involved with Vhaeraun's church. I think she does make a genuinely effort to collect everyones thoughts in a group setting.

The catch there being if she's working with you. Good luck getting her to work with you. GOOD LUCK GETTING HER INTO A GROUP SETTING.

On the counter end of things, if she feels like you don't respect her or drow she won't take your advice. There's no one specific I have in mind for that, just as a general rule of thumb. I'm talking complete disregard for the opinion of the second she clocks that you're looking down on her.

7. Describe them in three words. Now let them describe themself in three words.

My description: Lonely. Curious. Exhausted.

Anyway, related to the above answer. I've mentioned it before, but I think the most positive trait Enclave is defined by is her curiosity. She wants to know more all of the time about any given situation before she passes judgement, and she's someone that does place a lot of value on (not being lied to) knowing all of the details of any given situation. It's THE thing that got her to where she is now. Too much... questioning. For a solider to be doing.

Outside of that. Loneliness speaks for itself. I think, for anyone she's surrounded by, she's always going to struggle to connect with people on a sincere level ++ She's so tired all of the time. Just as a character trait. I don't think she knows HOW to rest.

Her description: (I don't think she'd have the introspective chops to immediately come up with something so the first thing you'd get out of her is, "Uh," and then a blank stare for about 20 seconds while she processes what you asked) and then something like, "I don't know, I guess I'm an bit of an asshole," And then "Why are you talking to me."

She wouldn't say the other two outloud, but I think Enclave considers herself funny (In a very specific way, but funny nonetheless.) She's also not unaware of the fact she's a deeply paranoid person, so that would probably be the third thing she focuses on.

29. What recurring dreams do they have?

Funny you ask, because she canonically doesn't dream outside of Vhaeraun using her dreams to rummage around in her head and send visions. I forget which ficlet I put that into, but I think that's something I put pen to paper on. I think, even if you did force her to lay down and sleep instead of trance, she'd sleep in pretty disruptive fits, which doesn't really give much in the way of dream-space.

[masadd]

my oc's mind doodle

[wiklm]

i’m trying so hard to unnecessarily mash my interests together and i recommend it to everyone!! yes girl put those billy joel songs on the hannibal playlist i believe in you!!!!

[ajdrawshq]

hi i am not dead 👍

[sevenines]

i legitimately got “i like your shoelaces”ed irl. i was showing a friend my dorm and she made a hesitant joke about how ‘haha the floor is red… like a children’s hospital….’ and i took the bait with ‘of course, it’s perfect color theory’ and we both just. looked at each other before she dropped it on me

[inktheblot]

The rotation of Christmas music that plays in the store I work at includes the following:

Any version of “Last Christmas” you could think of and then some, EXCEPT Wham’s

Various people trying to come up with weird new verses to “Jingle Bells”

Joey Ramone’s cover of “What a Wonderful World”

This one cover of “Do You Want To Build a Snowman” that’s sung in like. That specific really breathy way that pop singers do Christmas songs sometimes y’know?

The song from the Victorious Christmas episode

Three songs from the Phineas and Ferb Christmas special

“I Have a Dream” by ABBA except not the ABBA version

- DO YOU REMEMBER THE 25TH NIGHT OF DECEMBER

[depressedtheatrekiddo]

I found someone in my classroom!!! She's so cool and I've sat next to her last year and she always loves to talk and I loved to listen to school recent gossip and this year she's on my latin classes and we've been getting back in touch and!!! And!!! We discovered we both have similar ideas!! I'm explaining her anarchist theory and she shares acab media she just discovered, we circle the 13/12 date in the classroom blackboard and run, I send her tutorials I've discovered on how to do moss graffiti and she asks for information about world events and if I don't know about them we investigate together and then we exchange opinions!! And this, this is so special to me, because I've been trying to connect with someone in my surroundings, and there wasn't— interest. Like I talk and there's this tight smile on my friends face. And. And sometimes it breaks my heart? But this. This is so fucking cool.

[good-wine-and-cheese]

Really appreciate from the visuals so far that the characters don't look too glossy and "modern anime" if you know what I mean. Like for sure the animation is much more smooth and dynamic in a modern way, but I can look at character stills and it has a mid 2000s early 10s vibe.

[coolspacequips]

I gotta give black sails it's flowers for having multiple bisexual poly relationships, mmf AND ffm at that lol

The first was such a delightful and unexpected twist that really puts a new light onto the entire thesis of the show, and then the second was literally one of my fav dynamics in the entire series, they were my favs and all got together??? Usually this only happens in indulgent fic, but not this time!!

(also something high-key funny (in a sad way) that it kinda starts as 'I'm so co-dependant I need you to hold my hand while I hook up with someone else that I was dubiously cheating on u with 🥺' and then they became a power throuple)

[street-corner-felines]

Zero Day Director commentary - With actor Andre Keuck