#we will be a better species for it

[fishofthewoods]

while i'm imperialposting. imperial dragon lore that makes me want to tear my hair out. web weave

[pwurrz]

truthless recluse really disassociated so hard he basically became a completely different person. he fought so hard to convince shadow milk cookie that all the torture and torment he was putting him through wasn’t effecting him, that he was finally broken down and apathetic to all that was happening around him.. but on the inside he was terrified.

the trauma of everything he’d experienced, of learning his entire life, everything he worked for, what he had decided was his entire worth and purpose in the world was destined for a path of corruption before the moment he was even born shook him to his very core, but he couldn’t let that show. he couldn’t even hint at how lonely and full of pure despair he was because that’s a sign of weakness, and he knows very well how shadow milk cookie responds to that.

i can’t imagine how utterly miserable pure vanilla must have felt at that moment in time. the light inside his eyes died, nothing left but a lifeless husk of the person he used to be. when he offered to become a cookie of deceit, to share his soul jam with shadow milk so they could rule the world together through chaos and lies… i almost believed him.

and then he pulled the rug out from underneath everyone’s feet by taking control of the soul jam, once he had gotten shadow milk to trust him and put his power into it, shattering it and creating a new one using nothing but sheer willpower. do you understand how insane that is?? the soul jam was given to the ancient heroes as gifts from their ‘gods’, granting them immortality as well as unprecedented power. it’s divine power, a power that took a team of the world’s greatest scientists with the most advanced technology to figure out how to borrow and wield even a fraction of its power.

and pure vanilla not only broke that, but then proceeded to forge an entirely new one.

i lost the plot somewhere along the way, but the point was originally supposed to be: don’t let anyone tell you cookie run kingdom is a childish game for children. it absolutely is not. the fact that they’re all cute cookies is a way to lower your guard before ambushing you with the most fucked up and traumatizing establishing lore ever seen in a mobile game about fucking baked goods.

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Mammalia - Dasyuromorphia

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

As marsupials finally made their way into Australia they began to diversify even further. The order Dasyuromorphia represents the vast majority of “carnivorous marsupials”, marsupials which fill the niches of the placental carnivorans. This order contains the living families Dasyuridae (mulgaras, Kaluta, Kowari, quolls, dasyures, Dibbler, marsupial shrews, antechinuses, phascogales, planigales, Kultarr, ningauis, dunnarts, and the Tasmanian Devil) and Myrmecobiidae (the Numbat). Famously, this order also contained the extinct Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus).

Most Dasyuromorphs are small and mouse or shrew-like, though the group also contains the cat-sized quolls and Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) (image 2). They have many features considered primitive to marsupials, such as seperate toes (in many other marsupials, the second and third toes are fused) and some lack a full pouch. Instead, many species have a simple fold of skin surrounding the teats, to provide some protection to the developing young. Dasyuromorphs are primarily insectivorous, but they will also eat small lizards, birds, frogs, mammals, fruit, nectar, and flowers. One of the few exceptions to this rule is the Tasmanian Devil, which subsists mainly on carrion but can feesibly take on prey up to the size of a small kangaroo. Adult dasyuromorphs are typically solitary, or travel in small groups of two to three individuals.

As in other marsupials, dasyuromorph joeys are born as relatively undeveloped “jellybeans” and must crawl their way from the vagina to the pouch or teat and latch on. Once the young makes contact with the nipple, it expands, locking the joey in place and ensuring it doesn’t fall off the mother or out of the pouch while they finish their development. Smaller dasyuromorphs generally reproduce at least twice a year, but the larger Numbat, quolls, and Tasmanian Devil generally only have one litter a year.

Dasyuromorphs have existed since the Late Oligocene, 33 to 23 million years ago.

Propaganda under the cut:

Quolls (image 1 and gif) are sometimes referred to as "native cats" and occasionally "marsupial cats" or "tiger cats", due to their cat-like size and behavior.

Although they are nocturnal, the New Guinean Quoll (Dasyurus albopunctatus) is known to spend its daylight hours basking in the sun.

The Paucident Planigale (Planigale gilesi) is also nocturnal and enters a state of torpor in unfavourable conditions to reduce energy expenditure in times of inactivity. However, it also exhibits basking or sunning behavior as an energy-conserving strategy. The Paucident Planigale is the smallest mammal to display basking behavior in the wild in order to reduce energy requirements, particularly in winter.

The Western Quoll (Dasyurus geoffroii) is at the top of the food chain in Western Australia, and eats lizards, birds and their eggs, frogs, spiders, insects, and small mammals, even bandicoots, parrots, and invasive rabbits.

The current major threat to the endangered Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) is the spread of the Cane Toad (Rhinella marina). Native to South and mainland Central America, the Cane Toad was introduced by European colonists as biological control of agricultural pests in 1935. The toad was unsuccessful at controlling the targeted cane beetles, but was successful at spreading across Australia and poisoning many of its native predators, who had not evolved alongside the toad to develop a resistance to its toxins or aversion to its taste, and did not recognize it as poisonous. Like many other native Australian predators , Northern Quolls are poisoned after eating or mouthing cane toads. Immediately after the Cane Toad invasion of Kakadu National Park, Northern Quolls became extinct at one study site and declined from 45 individuals to 5 at another site. The Northern Quoll may cease to exist in most areas in the Top End once the Cane Toad population completely overlaps the Northern Quoll's range. Scientists sought to reintroduce quolls who had been trained to avoid the toads, and released them into the park. This was at first successful, however, the quolls had lost their ability to recognise and avoid both feral dogs (dingo) and cats due to being raised in human care, and the population was lost again. Some Northern Quolls persist in Queensland, and seem to naturally be “toad averse,” as well as on islands where the toads have not reached.

The smallest dasyuromorph is the Pilbara Ningaui (Ningaui timealeyi), which is also the smallest of all marsupials, and one of the smallest mammals, averaging 4.5 to 5.8 cm (1.8 to 2.3 in) in body length.

Another tiny dasyuromorph is the Long-tailed Planigale (Planigale ingrami), which averages 5.9 cm in body length and weighs 4-6g. Despite this, it is an active and fearless hunter, preying mostly on insects and their larvae, small lizards, and young mammals almost as large as itself. With larger prey like grasshoppers, an initial pounce is often insufficient and the planigale bites repeatedly until the prey stops struggling.

Following the extinction of the Thylacine in 1936, the Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world.

The Tasmanian Devil's large head and neck allow it to generate among the strongest bites per unit body mass of any living predatory land mammal, with a Bite Force Quotient of 181 and exerting a canine bite force of 553 N (124 lbf). The jaw can open to 75–80 degrees, allowing the devil to generate a large amount of power to tear meat and crush bones; sufficient force allows it to bite through thick metal wire. The teeth and jaws of Tasmanian Devils resemble those of hyenas, an example of convergent evolution.

The first European Tasmanian settlers ate Tasmanian Devil, which they described as tasting like veal. As it was believed devils would hunt and kill livestock, a bounty scheme to remove the devil from rural properties was introduced as early as 1830. In areas where devils were eradicated, poultry continued to be hunted by quolls. Over the next 100 years, trapping and poisoning brought Tasmanian Devils to the brink of extinction. More than 900,000 Tasmanian Devils were hunted in 1923—and this resulted in a continuation of bounty hunting of devils as they were thought to be a major threat to the fur industry, even though quolls were more adept at hunting the wallabies and possums typically hunted for fur. After the death of the last Thylacine in 1936, a conservation wake-up call, the Tasmanian Devil was finally protected by law in June 1941 and the population slowly recovered.

Since the late 1990s, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) has drastically reduced the population of Tasmanian Devils and again threatens the survival of the species, which in 2008 was declared to be endangered. This aggressive, non-viral, clonally transmissible cancer manifests itself as lumps of soft and ulcerating tissue around the mouth, which may invade surrounding organs and metastasise to other parts of the body. DFTD is most often spread by bites, when teeth come into contact with cancer cells. It can also be spread by ingesting of infected carcasses and sharing of food. Adult Tasmanian devils who are otherwise the fittest are most susceptible to the disease. Starting in 2013, Tasmanian Devils are being sent to zoos around the world as part of a Tasmanian Devil conservation and breeding program.

Tasmanian Devils are fully grown at two years of age, and few devils live longer than five years in the wild. Possibly the longest-lived Tasmanian Devil recorded was Coolah, a male devil which lived in human care for more than 7 years. Born in January 1997 at the Cincinnati Zoo, Coolah died in May 2004 at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.

Male Little Red Kalutas (Dasykaluta rosamondae), all antechinuses, and many other small dasyurid species die shortly after a frenzied breeding season, probably due to stress or exhaustion. In human care, males can live from 2 to 5 years, but will no longer be able to reproduce after their first year.

The Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) was once widespread across southern Australia, but after the deliberate release of Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) by European colonists for sport hunting, the entire Numbat population in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory, and almost all Numbats in Western Australia were wiped out. It is now restricted to several small colonies in Western Australia. By the late 1970s, the population was well under 1,000 individuals. An intensive research and conservation program since 1980 has succeeded in increasing the Numbat population substantially, and reintroductions to fox-free areas have begun. Perth Zoo is very closely involved in breeding this native species in captivity for release into the wild.

As an adaptation to a diet consisting almost entirely of termites, the Numbat has a long, sticky anteater-like tongue which it uses to catch its prey. Although the Numbat finds termite mounds primarily using scent, it has the highest visual acuity of any marsupial, and, unusually for marsupials, has a high proportion of cone cells in the retina.

Every night the Fat-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata) consumes approximately its own body weight in food. During periods of food shortage it decreases its duration of activity while also increasing its intensity of feeding. It uses specialized, sharp teeth to grind its prey into fine pieces.

The Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was the last of the Thylacinids, a family of dasyuromorph marsupials. It lived from the Pleistocene to the Holocene in Australia and New Guinea, driven to extinction in the 1930s by hunting, human encroachment, disease, and feral dogs (dingos). The Thylacine was already extinct on the Australian mainland and New Guinea by the time European settlers arrived, with the island of Tasmania being its last stronghold. Settlers feared the marsupial would attack them and their livestock, demonizing it as a “blood drinker”, and bounties were put in place that drove the Thylacine to be overhunted. As they became rarer, there was a push to capture Thylacines and keep them alive in captivity, but unfortunately it was too little, too late. Conservation and animal welfare was not at the level it is today, not much was known about their behavior in the wild, and there was only one successful birth in captivity. Studies show that with continued successful breeding, a campaign to change public perception, and protections put into place much earlier, the Thylacine could have been saved. But the last captive Thylacine died in 1936, and official protection was not put in place until that year, 59 days before his death. Sightings continued into the 1980s, and even today some claim to see them, but all of these sightings are unconfirmed and unlikely. The Thylacine is definitively extinct. Today, carnivores such as wolves and coyotes are demonized in the same way the Thylacine was, and there are some who wish to also wipe them out entirely, even having succeeded in many places. While some of the Thylacine’s closest relatives, like the Numbat and Tasmanian Devil, survived the European persecution which killed off the Thylacines, they are still endangered today due to introduced predators and disease. Instead of continuing to search for, or trying to resurrect the lost Thylacine, perhaps it is best we channel that attention, love, and regret onto the species we still have. Extinction is forever, and it is easier to save those who are still alive.

(source)

[narsildur]

So because of the length of the new DW seasons, Ncuti has been doctor for I believe only 5 more episodes than Christopher Eccleston. Now I love 9 he is one of my favourite Doctors I think it’s an absolute crime he didn’t get more time and the situation around that is criminal too, but I’m gonna put that aside for a second.

A Doctor who has had 2 companions, the return of multiple major Classic Who characters, references to the MASSIVE lore changes during the previous era, as well as involvement in currently two specials has FIVE more episodes than one of the shortest incarnations of the Doctor.

Now I can’t find anything concrete that Ncuti’s run is ending after this season, only comments that he hasn’t been ‘axed’ but no dispelling of the rumours of regeneration (or show cancellation lets be real), but if he is leaving??? That feels so wrong.

The length of these seasons is appalling we don’t get enough time to develop ANYONE properly, almost every episode seems to be out competing the others, and the huge classic Who things the entire fandom is talking about have taken place over what is to be THREE episodes. Obviously they’ll likely continue into possibly further seasons but now? With Ncuti? With Varada? It’s three episodes.

Eight episodes will NEVER be enough to tell stories like these. Longer seasons allow for an episode or two that feel a little out of character because we have enough to come back around with whereas eight episodes doesn’t do that - Belinda’s immediate forgiveness and affection after seeing the Doctor torture someone is the best example so far, she literally Would Not Act Like That.

I hope this isn’t the end for Ncuti, him as the Doctor is what’s keeping me watching every week because I LOVE where he’s taking it. I just wish the plot and scripts allowed for more exploration of his version of the character and his wants and wishes (lol) and Ruby and Belinda’s character arcs (if you can even call them that).

I hope I eat my words I hope he gets more time I hope characters start to feel fully fleshed out. Mostly I hope we see the end of 8 episode seasons and go back to actual creative freedom and not a streaming set up show. I hope a lot of things.

[ferretfyre]

Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role:

Can you please not fight in here? I don't think I can take it. For some reason, my Xanax isn't kicking in.

Cate Blanchett as Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis in Blue Jasmine (2013, dir. Woody Allen)

[thorough-witness-enjoyer]

Maybe it’s my experiences with my culture and having relatives who are immigrants, but the conflict between humanity and the eliksni reads more to me than just a message on xenophobia.

To me, it’s also about how groups who have experienced oppression are often pitted against each other by the circumstances created by their oppressors to keep them stuck in a cycle of violence and mistrust with one other. This cycle keeps groups who share similar pain and plights from extending mercy to each other and joining forces to fight against the systemic forces that brought them both into a hostile state, which is exactly what those forces want as it keeps those groups powerless and unstable.

[moss-ridden-owl-creature]

*Violent angry screaming* I’m pissed tf off I wanna go back to the pizzeria. Don’t care which one I just like- I need to. Whether to bother Evan or eternally torment William (that’d be helpful hehe) I just NEED to. A la creachur in me (the really intense Cassidy shift) is gonna start fuckin shaking and I need to do something about it. - Cass

(Can you tell I’m having issues rn-)

[kitkat-the-muffin]

Moral of Evbo’s PVP Civilization: Genocide is okay, actually

[fappellmoan]

and ok! maybe i hate answering the sex life questions like girllll its lacking 😩😵‍💫 ‘nothing but your hand’ and a vibrator is not cutting it but ughhhhhh everything sucks and i’m back in my hometown like who’s even gay here. 😐🫤but lets not linger on that! ok but also i dont wanna talk about drinking or drugs either. ive been trying to work out more a little bit i took i nice long walk today and have been trying to do some richard simmons workouts its so like. ok come on movement! 😻 my body deserves to feel good… sleep is never gonna be a strong point but in my defense i’m not trying to limit the screen time that much and i love to sleep and nap during the day. cause im inexplicably exhausted all the time …. and well i don’t like to lie to the doctor like they need to know what’s going on 🙄 and yes i stopped taking that new medication cause it sucked badly

[nyaskitten]

It's so crazy to think about how these two almost certainly come from the same realm, as part of the same tribe

[uncanny-tranny]

It's really freeing when you learn that rationality isn't going to be feasible in the long run, not because rationality is this thing that only Truly Enlightened people get the privilege to experience, but because humans are just irrational.

You can know when you're being irrational, and sometimes, it is in big ways. But pretending like that irrationality doesn't exist or can only exist if you're "stupid" only sets you back from growing. Irrationality is part of the human condition - it is impossible to actually be this enlightened person people like to project themselves onto.

[mantisgodsdomain]

Now that we are being followed by people, we need to make some thoughts and opinions clear so that people are not later Shocked And Disgusted or whatever by thoughts we have held for many years. We think it's weird and also bad to treat queer people like they're a different species from cishet people, and we think that treating things like Having A Sexuality makes a character better than if they have a different sexuality is bad no matter what way you put it.

We also think that, if in your setting queer folks are widely accepted and straight isn't a "default", it may be worth noting that, say, a straight woman might need just as much self-discovery to work out she's straight that a lesbian does nowadays. In the same manner that, in Ace Attorney, Larry Butz needs to tell Phoenix that no matter how many photos of handsome men he shows him, he's tried, he's just not attracted to men,

[dilbobloggins]

girl :( I hate replacing my shit :( I want the same shit FOREVER. why must the passage of time ravage us all :(

[idiosyncraticrednebula]

I think most Latinos do not give a damn about the race of who their daughter dates. Stop listening to what some extremist racist Latino says on the internet LOL

[quietwingsinthesky]

the last unicorn post from earlier has me thinking about the master. that yana is still in there, you know? is still someone he was, if even for a brief flash across the life of a time lord. there’s no way to unlive that life. there are ways to twist it later, sure, to make utopia into hell on earth. but the life was lived. in much the same way that the doctor can remember, can feel, the love he held onto as john smith even as that life is ripped out of his hands. the doctor choose denial and then grief and then to shutter it all away. and so john smith died, and so professor yana died, and the doctor and the master live on. the doctor has done this before, and he lives in orbit around humanity, trying to keep the best parts of them and hold them deep enough to take root (which he can pretend he gets to choose, as a time lord. as a human, it all floods in and can’t be dug back out.) but what about the master, right?

to borrow a turn of phrase: i think there are two time lords left in the universe, and they both learned how to regret.

[bikananjarrus]

a little bonkers to me how the make-up and practical effects for jecki lon and tasi lowa actually looks really good; their make-up blends well and actually looks really natural. and yet, star wars make-up department still can't figure out how to do green face-paint that doesn't look god awful :/