#subjects on paper

[turtleblogatlast]

Leo learns something about himself 🏳️‍⚧️

Based roughly on this old post.

Bonus:

[Leo is taking the fact that he was born biologically female simultaneously very well and also not so well but overall he’s mostly coping with the fact that it was Draxum that just essentially gave him the turtle equivalent of ‘The Talk’.]

[hinamie]

bw sketch practice before i leave on holiday !!

[chronicowboy]

It's the fourth month of Eddie's absence when Buck stumbles across the video. It's nothing special, really. A five minute clip on YouTube cut from a bigger documentary. A woman and her dog. He doesn't even know what to expect when he hits play. It's just. He sees the title card:

A Dog Who Knew When His Owner Was Coming Home

Thinks about Blaze running to his family before he'd even seen them, probably caught the scent of home on the wind. And maybe he's been scrolling through no end of shelter websites and falling in love with every pair of big brown eyes staring up at him through the screen.

He's not getting a dog. Can't. Wouldn't be fair to it. He works too many hours. Would barely see it unless he managed to convince Bobby to let him bring it to work, but even then. And besides, it wouldn't be right to get a dog and leave it alone so much just so that Buck wouldn't have to feel so miserable about coming home to an empty house.

He's not getting a dog. But he can learn about them. Press his thumb into the bruise of Blaze's absence, so he isn't tempted to poke at the open wound of Eddie and Christopher's, that gaping chasm torn into his chest. The ugly incision from the base of his throat all the way down to his sternum from Christopher's departure, the cracked open ribcage from Eddie's, the hollow space where his heart should be with both of them out of reach.

He hits play on the video just to drown out those thoughts.

Bad idea. The dog on screen is a scruffy little terrier. Closer to Hoover than Blaze. And then Buck thinks about the little dog that made a big mess when Eddie and Christopher tried to leave the house. Thinks about Eddie shipping him off to Chimney's because nobody wants a bad dog.

A woman leaves her dog at her parents' house for work. Almost without fail, the dog goes to wait by the door roughly ten minutes before his owner returns home. Whether by her own car, a friend's, taxi, even train, bike or foot, the dog goes to wait by the window within ten minutes of her return. No routine to her return. A different time every day. But the dog knows. Sits in the entryway expectantly. Tail wagging furiously when the door swings open to reveal their owner.

An ache bursts to life behind Buck's sternum, something fierce and deep and unwieldy. He finds a peer reviewed paper attached in the video description. Reads the whole thing back to front. Sticks on number 5 of the "normal explanations" for the behaviour: going to the window more and more the longer his owner was absent.

Buck thinks he understands that little dog. Thinks about the night he went out for a drink a week or so after Eddie had left. Thinks about drinking entirely too much and stumbling home. Thinks about sitting with his back to the couch, eyes trained on the front door just in case. Thinks about waking up on the living room floor the next morning, hand stretched out towards the door. Reaching, reaching, always reaching. Always too late. Never enough.

Buck knows what it is to fear your best friend won't come back. So, he thinks he understands that little dog, sitting at the window and waiting. Wonders if maybe the dog didn't know anything at all, maybe he was just scared, maybe he thought if he wanted really, really hard, his owner would come home. Maybe it was hope that kept him chained to the front door. Hope. Devotion. Love.

When Buck closes his laptop, it's dark outside. Something prickles at the back of his neck. Figures it's just that unease of lost time. He gets up and heads to Eddie's—his— room. He's just about to climb into bed when he realises he forgot to lock the front door.

It's there, with his hand on the lock, that he hears it. The rumble of an engine. Almost imperceptible. Nothing out of the ordinary. But Buck waits. He waits and waits and waits. The rumble grows and grows and grows. And, yeah. Holy shit. That's a rumble he'd know anywhere. An engine Buck has stuck his hands into more than once. It grumbles and growls and shuts off all at once. Buck flings the door open, hope, devotion, love seizing in his chest.

Eddie clambers out of his truck.

"How'd you know we were here?"

I'd know you anywhere.

"Your fuckoff loud truck," he chokes out.

And Buck's not patient enough to wait to greet his best friend like that little dog.

[qulizalfos]

personally i like to think theyre planning how they'll stop the unknowing

[bonefall]

a while ago you said that Starclan cats design kittens and customize them with patterns and colors from their parents genes. So, do the clan cats raise any eyebrows when it comes to people who know cat genetics? Is there a geneticist who is holding their head wondering how these two cats have this colored kit while their starclan designer was just playing around? Or do the Starclan designers still have to stay within the rules?

Basically, do the humans notice that some of these clan cats are sparkle cats lol

I try to not get too "lost in the weeds" since the humans aren't the focus of the story, just taking care that they DO have real motivations behind their actions rather than construction crews materializing out of nowhere to Do A Chaos, but...

First, the genetics of cats in Albion are different than humans in equivalent Great Britain.

Partially, this is because I honestly just don't really enjoy learning about in-depth genetics or applying them realistically. I like drawing anime characters and writing anime battles, so they have anime genetics. But more than that, off-screen, the intelligence of cats has altered the timeline of this world.

If cats really were capable of higher thinking, that totally would have had some butterfly effects. I like dropping crazy alt-history and then not elaborating on it, because it's funny. Archimedes' cat helped him invent a death ray, btw.

On that note of genetics though, you guessed right. StarClan designers DO have to work with what they have. Whatever the genetics of this alternate universe of cats are, every kit born still abides by the laws of nature.

Which brings me to...

Second, the researchers do notice that the Clan cats are special. In fact, there is a "study of magic" in this universe-- Thaumatology. "The science of wonder."

(There's no world where magic actually factually exists that science isn't all over it lmao)

Thaumatology facts I haven't shared so far since it's all offscreen and just Bonus Worldbuilding;

It is a "soft science," not a hard one.

It has a LOT of problems with replicability. Thaumatologists and Quantum Physicists have a lot of in-jokes.

The most well known (to the point of being a cliche) is "magic and quantum particles both hate being watched."

Magic is highly variable based on a bajillion very personal factors, like emotion, environment, culture, personal background, etc, so it's severely difficult to re-create it in controlled environments.

Thaumatology has a lot of overlap with sociology, archeology, and theology, so people from these fields work together a lot.

There was absolutely not a dedicated Thaumatologist working in the Research Team early on, sadly.

It was probably discovered when the Battle of the True Eclipse blew out a bunch of field cameras.

It's pretty common that photography equipment fritzes out a bit during "supernatural" times like eclipses, but the damage was extensive enough to be noteworty

The Clan cats were initially notable just for the fact they had advanced culture.

Cats are usually comparable to crows and monkeys, in this universe. So cats with fire and a crude writing system were enough to SHAKE the field of zoology.

The fact they're cats helped a lot. The public loves cats, enough that since their discovery after Speckletail attacked a bulldozer, massive outcry has secretly helped the Clans several times.

The discovery that the culture also has Thaumatological elements is more of a goldmine for a scientist than the public, though.

It's common knowledge that "animals are magic," because humanity projects traits onto them. "Of course they do, they're cats...?"

The Thaumatologist is freaking out because "THE CAT IS PROVABLY DOING ITS OWN THAUMATURGY"

Most people don't know the difference between Thaumaturgy (the functional work it does on the world) and Thaumology (the study of that as a whole), so this particular scientist is going to have a hard time explaining WHY this distinction is so special.

(And possibly even offensive to certain groups, who would insist only humans are capable of this)

In any case, eventually there would be Thaumatological interest in the Clan cats, but they weren't there in the mid to late 2010s when BB!ASC takes place.

[rapidhighway]

trying to paint after months of no painting (I have to go now they are making me go do work for class now 😔)

[axl-awesome]

BEHOLD; YOUR (EASILY PORTABLE) NEW RULER!!!

[quartergremlin]

Could you perhaps

Uh

Explain the comic you jst posted? Sorry! I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what's going on, like w the blood test n all- sorry again

He's doing a pregnancy test! A blood test is more accurate than the classic consumer stick version. It's done at doctor's offices, and i figured it would be better for the turtles considering their mutation.

[dr9com9ge-ix]

I was gonna animate these also for Mar 10 but… I kind of want to make sure these get seen so- Getting silly with it- My Blorbos (And Tenebrae/Black… ) in the SPM style. I like doing style replications c: !

[steampunkhobo]

I’m sure I’m so late to this conversation but I’m so confused/curious about what intersex disorder Cardinal Benitez is supposed to have. Like- it’s implied if not outright stated that he presents externally as a “typical” male and doesn’t have ambiguous genitalia (that in combination with the idea that all that was requested by the papacy was a hysterectomy and not any kind of “sex reassignment” or genital alteration- which I highly doubt would have been accepted anyway- more likely anything more and he would have been defrocked, the church being how it is. Though also possible he has a microphallus or hypospadias which both could easily be overlooked at birth/in the seminary, as well as being common in cis men and therefore “acceptable”) and we know for certain that he has ovaries and a uterus- that much alone makes me think persistent Müllerian duct syndrome. But Benitez also says that his chromosomes would make some classify him as a woman, and individuals with PMDS have XY chromosomes. But it also can’t be de la Chapelle syndrome or Klinefelter syndrome, giving him a mostly “typical” male body (potentially smaller build, less hair, genital variations like a microphallus or Hypospadias) but XX or XXY chromosomes, because a uterus and ovaries aren’t present in those conditions. Ovarian tissue can be present, but not a fully developed set. (Amendment: there are, though rarer, cases of a developed uterus and ovaries in de la Chapelle syndrome. There’s very limited data about this specific variation, and things will vary from person to person, but it’s usually caused by congenital adrenal hyperplasia, which causes significant health issues. If Benítez has de la Chapelle syndrome, it would most likely be due to CAH, and he’d be quite unwell without treatment. Though again, it’s under-researched and reported, especially variations that don’t cause major health issues. Much rarer and more complex, but certainly possible that this is his situation- potentially from exposure to certain hormones in utero. It’s complicated. Thanks to everybody that helped me explore this subject/syndrome further!) Because the uterus and ovaries have been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to exist, I’m assuming the mention of chromosomes was a mistake/misunderstanding and Benitez is supposed to have PMDS, but that condition is pretty damn rare- not that this writes it off, but it’s something to consider. Still, unless I’m overlooking something that seems to be the best fit?

It’s probably just details being muddled by the writers, but I think it’s interesting. And the ambiguity is kind of nice, because people can tailor their headcanons how they see fit. Lots of potential for representation in this one character. (No matter what body your Cardinal Benitez has I love him. Forehead kisses muah muah)

[opossumfury]

Awhile back I saw a post saying Tim getting sued by Red Robins and I'm now imagining the person trying to serve him papers in more and more wacky ways.

And then Red Hood offers to do it for $15 and a pb&j just to fuck with him.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Rip Cheato

Debut: Paper Mario

Hello! I am glad you made it. You are just in time, because some guy is here. He's here looking for You! He wants to sell you a Dried Mushroom for 64 coins. Will you buy it? It's not a good deal, but consider this: he has a sort of lamp antenna growing from his scalp. I think that is pretty cool, personally.

He probably makes good use of his lamptenna, since he lives in the sewer. I bet a Sewer Man would know his fungus! Maybe his Dried Mushrooms are impeccable. Maybe he even dries them with his lamp. Don't be judgemental, now. Don't judge someone because his name is derived from "ripoff" and "cheat". Are you the kind of person who would immediately assume someone smells bad, just because their name is Poop Fartley? You better not be. Rip Cheato's name is a little deceiving because while he does sell junk for 64 coins, if you buy what he offers, he'll also sell Star Pieces for 64 coins, and Hoo-Wee! That's a Hot Commodity! I trust him. I think he's just being cheeky for fun.

Name: Chet Rippo

Debut: Paper Mario

Now this guy is whuzzah! What's the deal with this guy! Rip Cheato is weird, true, being strangely human in a game where those are quite limited, but he has a theme going on. He looks like a Sewer Man. Now here we have Chet Rippo, who is some sort of alien platypus clown umbrella? I don't know what he is, but I think it is absolutely splendid. To quote an ancient philosopher:

"Sometimes in life, there is a weird guy." -Opabinia

If I didn't know any better, I might think Chet Rippo would appear from a UFO or circus tent or perhaps a dimensional portal. He doesn't! He just hangs out in Toad Town. He's a weird guy, but a weird guy is still a guy, you know? Except this is no normal guy because he can alter Mario's abilities! For 39 coins he will raise Marios HP, FP, or BP by two points, but- and this is important- he says "heh heh". That means he's shady! For each stat he increases, he will decrease the others each by one!

This makes Chet Rippo far stranger of a guy. Someone in real life could sell you overpriced garbage. But someone in real life altering your stats for a low price? Scary to think about! Imagine someone granting you the ability to remember twice as many bug facts as you currently can, but also making the vision in your left eye worse and making you 25% more sensitive to cold. Frightening magic! But at least the guy doing it is a funny creature.

Chet Rippo appears in The Thousand Year Door as well, but like, does he really? This is a whole different design, and it's not nearly as fun... Eyes In A Void Wizards are fun by default, and so is wearing a barrel on one's head, but this game has a bunch of Eyes In A Void Wizards, and this guy used to be one of the weirdest creatures in the entire game! To hell with this guy. Let's look at his better version again.

Look at him go! Like a flapjack octopus! His arms are even like the fluttering fins! Could he truly just be a big octopus wearing a weird hat? We may never know...

[marc--chilton]

house finding wilson ""interesting"" amongst a literal crowd of thousands is one thing but then to be proven right later when wilson flips his lid at a bar. theyre literally fanfiction but real but not

[xx-j4nu5-c4t5-xx]

i really like this guy

(I didn't think about what a hat would do to his mohawk though 😭)

[bittersweetresilience]

so do you think he succeeded?

[honeygrahambitch]

A thing I will have in common with Hannibal Lecter (other than disorders, cooking and Will Graham) will be that by the time i finish my degree, we will both have written a paper on the subject of social exclusion