#we also had snakes lizards and so many spiders

[rocks-in-space]

This episode of Burrow's End was absolutely incredible (I just started watching D20 and I'm losing it. This isn't scripted how is it so incredible? Like one of the best-"written" things I've ever seen).

So much happened, but I have to wonder if the whole stoats possibly intentionally causing a nuclear meltdown was in any way inspired by the time a weasel (and later, a marten) temporarily shut down the CERN Large Hadron Collider by chewing through wires.

See this article, which contains the incredible line, "It is unclear whether the animals are trying to stop humanity from unlocking the secrets of the universe."

Raccoons also once attacked the Fermilab particle accelerator, leading to this official report from the lab:

"At 1:24 a.m., Operations reported a raccoon attack in the Linac gallery. It seemed to be a coordinated effort. Fortunately, by 1:53 AM, a joint force of operators and Pbar experts managed to drive the raccoons out of their hastily made fortifications. Then at 4:18 p.m., the raccoons made what some thought to be a counterattack on the Division Headquarters, but others believed it to be only a simple reconnaissance incursion. No raccoons were either injured or captured during these encounters. Operator losses were low."

[aziraphales-library]

recently enjoyed this fic!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19407502/chapters/46185148

noticed there's no single dad/parent fic tag, wondering if you got any fave single parent fics out there admin!!!

We do actually have some single dad fics here, and this post is now the second on our #single dads tag, joining our plentiful #kid fic one! These are all fics I remember enjoying and came to mind immediately for including single parents/guardians...

I Hear You're in Need of a Nanny by emptymasks (G)

Aziraphale was trying his best to raise his son on his own, but at a certain point it was difficult to be running the bookshop while also keeping his eyes on Oscar all day. Crowley liked working with children, and children liked him, they’ve just always been drawn to him. A lot of people prefer hiring a female nanny to a male one, and as much as he thinks it’s a little ridiculous, it works out fine for him. He was happy to identify and present as female and tap into his maternal instincts. He’d been wanting to take a job closer to his apartment, but there’s not that many people wanting to hire a nanny in Soho; then he comes across a job advertisement in the local newspaper posted by a Mr. A. Z. Princer. When he meets Oscar, he finds a little girl tired of being told by the world that she's a boy. Single Parent! Aziraphale & Nanny! Crowley, Human AU

Give me a title, I'll give you my heart by NohaIjiachi (T)

Crowley blinked, and the man blinked back. The man currently holding a slipping, squirming Dog, a drenched, light blue shirt sticking to his chest and soft middle, and silver-y blond curls dripping all over the place above a pair of the most steely-azure eyes Crowley had ever seen. Dog seemed to recognize him, because he stopped squirming and started wagging his tail, that went thump-thump-thump against the increasingly flustered looking man’s upper arm. “Hey, Mr. Crowley!” Adam greeted cheerily, popping from behind the man and leaning against the door frame with a cheeky hand-wave. “We were just giving Dog a bath. What’s up?”   “Ngk,” Crowley replied, his brain currently in the clutches of what Crowley intimately called his ‘Useless-Pan-lizard-brain’.

A Journey Into The Unknown (Which Shall Lead Us Ever Closer To Home) by BlackUnicorn (NR)

Anthony J. ‘just call me Crowley’ Crowley is…content – his little queer café in the heart of Soho, his son, his best friend, his snake. Aziraphale is…existing – day in, day out, in the same job, with the same people, and the same half-forgotten dreams. Going through the motions. Never would their paths have crossed if not for a boy, a teenager, really, running away to the city in search of something better. That’s how it starts, anyway…

Fledging by FeralTuxedo (M)

Cool Dad was at the school gate again. Clambering out of his ridiculous sports car like a great big spider, all black denim and designer sunglasses. What a prat. He made his way towards the entrance, followed by his equally lanky son. All the mums' eyes were on him. Which was fine. At least they weren't staring at Aziraphale for a change. Cool Dad high-fived his son goodbye, because of course he did, then sauntered back to his car. Making it look so bloody easy. Aziraphale Fell is much too young to be looking after eleven-year old Pepper. He barely has his life together as it is, with his minimum-wage job and a half-baked dream of trading rare books for a living. And as if adopting a recently bereaved pre-teen isn’t enough, there are some rather more adult problems to navigate: playground politics, the shadows of his own childhood, and the growing question of how Crowley, the only other dad at the school gate, feels about him. A human AU/kid fic.

It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine by Dervila, elf_on_the_shelf (E)

After Adam's parents die in a car crash, Aziraphale is forced to start taking care of him as more than just an uncle. Don't get him wrong, he loves the little devil, it's just that he is completely clueless and could rather use some help. In comes Crowley, Adam's new nursery school teacher with his amazing skills in dealing with kids. Could he be the answer to all of Aziraphale's prayers - Adam-related and otherwise? Well, it looks like he might be just that, judging by the weird things Aziraphale's heart seems to be doing whenever he sets eyes on the man. Now, if only the tall ginger returned his feelings...

Barriers, and the Breaking Thereof by Cardinal_Daughter (M)

Ezra Fell has long been comfortable in his loneliness. He’s content to simply run the Soho Public Library and otherwise keep to himself. However, when a handsome stranger bursts in one evening with a baby, frantic and in need of help, Ezra finds those carefully constructed barriers he’s long maintained begin to crack. Perhaps it’s time to let them fall.

It Was Always You by mltrefry (T)

A chance encounter during one of the worst times of Ezra Fell’s life reunites him with his once best friend and the one who got away. Though, that would imply he ever had him in the first place. Anthony Crowley and his son, Warlock, relocate to the quieter city of Tadfield from that of London. In the process, manages to find again that one person who always made him feel less alone, the one person he was pretty sure he was never going to speak to again. But the road to true love never did run smooth (something that’s been true from their very beginning). Despite the easy way they fall back into each other, their lives don't seem to follow suit, and if it's not one challenge its another. But despite everything they find themselves facing down, the ten years without each other taught them one thing: they’re better together than they are apart.

And because I know someone else will mention it if I don't...

What We Make of It (Shotgun Wedding) by charlottemadison (E)

The important thing, Crowley tells himself -- the most important thing -- is Adam, his brilliant, creative, empathetic nephew. Being fourteen's hard enough; the kid didn't ask to deal with the weight of the world on top of it. And if taking care of Adam means Crowley has to tough it out at a job he can’t stand, so be it. And if Crowley's job means that Adam’s charming English teacher is NOT a romantic possibility, well, that's just how things go. But the occasional drink with Aziraphale proves hard to resist. They frequent the same pub, so who can object to them saying hello? Briefly sharing a table? Perhaps a little conversation? The painful knowledge that it can’t be anything more -- not without somebody getting fired or sued or both -- well, that can't be helped. Until Crowley stumbles onto a terribly reckless idea...

And the one you mentioned...

Safe Haven by McRaider (T)

When Anthony Crowley stepped back into Aziraphale's life for the first time after eight long years missing, it became exceedingly clear with him came a world of trouble and heartache. But Aziraphale never could say no to his beloved Crowley. Can he help Crowley heal after a failed marriage, a gas-lighting ex-wife with an evil plan?

- Mod D

[pencil-urchin]

Doodle of my Mirialan OC, Iria. She's a scholar--Peofessor of Cultural Anthropology/Archaeology, with a minor in Art History: all centered on what she calls "The Culture of Warfare" and how it defines and shapes those cultures which engage in war.

She also put herself through school as an exotic dancer in a not-very-nice place, like you do.

(Hold on because I'm about to word vomit)

***

She has a list of other skills and knowledges, but I don't want anyone crying "Mary Sue!" so a quick note:

All but a handful of her knowledge and abilities are skills I currently have or had at one point, and I promise I am not anyone's idea of a "Mary Sue."

These skills and achievements include:

-Multiple Advanced Degrees (I have an Associate's, a Bachelor's, and 3 Master's degrees)

-Art (I am a professional artist, and although I have a long way to go and a lot of room to improve, I have worked hard to get where I am, and obtained both an MA in Visual Development and an MFA in Concept Art in the process)

-Martial Arts (I stopped one test shy of a black belt when I was 17 because I started college)

-Fencing (I started fencing when I was 21, which is how I met my husband; we were both competitive until and somewhat during grad school, but now we mostly just coach)

-Music (clarinet and vocal primarily, then violin and piano for a short time)

-Writing (creative and academic, my second degree was in Literary Studies)

-Multilingual (I have studied Spanish, French, Latin, and Russian)

-Organization schemes/data analysis and curation (my first Masters was in Library Science, and I was a librarian for over ten years)

-Handling of rare/historic artifacts (I studied special collections, collection management, and rare books in my MLS)

-Cooking (my husband and I love cooking together)

-Fashion (as part of my MLS I worked in a designer and historic fashion archive)

-Metalwork (I have taken metalsmithing classes, worked as a jeweler's apprentice, and even got to try blacksmithing once upon a time)

-First Aid (through my first two years of grad school I was Healthcare Provider certified to offer assistance with CPR, use of a defibrillator, assisting with someone choking, etc)

-Emergency Response (for a while in my late teens, I participated in a program meant to prepare young adults for Firefighter I training, which included a rigorous exercise routine, specialized training in the use of emergency equipment, and learning the most basic foundations of Fire Science)

-Acting (listen I don't think I'm good, but I was in Improv as a kid, love to RP at the game table , and was even a mime once)

-Field Ecology (loved this class, caught so many snakes, frogs, turtles, and lizards: I do not do spiders or insects, and therefore neither do my characters)

Skills I ABSOLUTELY do not have that my OC has:

-social grace (I'm an awkward weirdo)

-physical grace (despite all I have done, I am so clumsy)

-beauty (I am a swamp witch without the swamp)

-confidence (see above)

-dancing (I did dance and drill team when I was in junior high, did swing choir in high school, did the "shimmy" belly dance workout, and took a pole-dance workout class once which was an absolute blast, but JFC I am NOT a dancer, I promise)

***

I'm sure there's more, but you get the idea. A multifaceted character with a collection of experiences that seem disparate isn't different from what we are IRL when we break ourselves down into a list like this. In addition to all the positives, I'm also old (35), neurodivergent and mentally-Ill.

So yeah, not a "Mary Sue."

[shadeslayer]

Would you be willing to talk about the inspiration for you sinti, shunti, kanunuk, & nunni designs? They're really cool!

absolutely !!! :D i usually have pretty explicit stuff that im referencing or am inspired by so im always happy to share <3

*ramble incoming*

[the dr pepper cans are how you know im a real southern usa babe. earlier today there was 5 empty cans in a row until i put them in the recycle bin]

i take a Lot out of the book "sun circles and human hands: the southeastern indians - art and industry" (2001 edition, not the 1957 one) which i have a physical copy of and i have sticky notes tabbing out out and also annotated highlighting every mention of the chickasaw and of sites where i know the chickasaw [or our ancestors, like the chicaza and other early mississippian/SE ntv cultures] so i can reference stuff i know would be from us, but i also take inspiration from all the designs in it because we were all a part of an interconnected cultural network of art

if you are from a tribe that would be from mississippian culture or the southeastern ceremonial complex/southeastern cult as it used to be called, or you know your people wouldve come from places within that like spiro or moundville, and you want to bring more native styling into your art this is THEEE book i would recommend. it is insanely useful. i cant vouch 100% for the text of it, and the second half is mostly kinda grainy b&w scanned photos of pottery and other items lmao, but the first half has lineart depictions OF designs found, with the attribution for the site they were found at. it is a Massive wealth of symbols and style and has been the best thing for wanting to study and emulate SE ndn art. for real i lent a copy to my grandma and then couldnt find where it was and i had to just order a new copy bc i use it so damn much

like i would post pages of it, and before i bought it i survived off the pinterest pics of scanned pages, but i cannot say enough just buy the book and look through it bc its just perfect its so useful. just posting a few pages doesnt do any justice to the wealth of style and art in it. ive tried to make myself some mock style/symbol guides from it, but even those fail to capture the variety of stuff in there and its why i still have it on hand for reference bc every time i get stumped theres so many ideas in there

but ok . book rec rant over (partly.)

i had done sinti homma, the red snake earlier, and i wanted to do a little motley of other simple transparent animals to go with it. so i did! ive got a few different animals that i played with doing, but a lot of them ended up veering too much off of the more hardline ntv style i wanted to do, and the others didnt fit the guideline i had made - i wanted them all to have a pointed tail that pointed to some corner of the frame, and curl around in the square a bit to have more of a sense of motion. i was thinking deer, turtle, spider... but none of those really fit that. so i flipped thru SC&HH for some ideas and came up with some :3

the bottom left one on the first pic there gave me a good idea of what to do with a rat tail, and on the bottom right of that same pic is the Fattest fucking fish and i lifted a lot of that design to use for my fish (and while we're here, the rattler tails on the top right of that pic were what i used for sinti hommas tail), and the bottom left on the second pic gave me the idea for the lizards legs/feet shape, and then i used the chickasaw vocab flashcards of animals to think of animal ideas and so i used the pinti from there to jump me off into doing a rat

theyre all named after the chickasaw words - sinti (snake), shunti (rat/rodent), kanunuk (lizard, specifically green striped lizard, which is why i made it green with stripes lol), nunni (fish) . i use the chickasaw dictionary webpage a lot these days though i should use my dictionary copies more bc they use the spelling style i dont prefer lol

i also want to do maybe a sort of pop art style big print of them, like repeated with different colors behind them? and/or them in a medicine wheel? but those are still wip so we shall see!

[cryptidsurveys]

Saturday, November 9th, 2024.

Do you prefer dark, brown or white chocolate? If I absolutely had to choose, then I would probably go with dark chocolate, but I enjoy them all.

Do you get Easter eggs at Easter? Sometimes chocolate ones. I haven't had an actual Easter egg since I was a child.

Would you prefer a pet rat, mouse, snake, lizard or spider? Realistically, none of the above. I already have cats, and I would be afraid of something happening either to them or the other critter. But again, if I had to choose, then maybe a lizard.

Do you like carrot cake? Yesss. One of my favorite types of cakes.

If you were in a more medieval time period, would you prefer to excel in might, magic, or finesse? Magic.

What is one recipe that you would like to learn how to make? (Can be anything from breakfast to dessert.) Pecan pie. Natasha requested one for my next animal shelter baking contribution. I don't think any of the recipe books I picked up in that giant donation pile have a pecan pie recipe, though, so I will have to look one up.

Is there any specific reason why you prefer to take a shower in the morning or night? In general, I prefer to take them in the mornings because I wake up feeling kind of gross, but I also shower after getting home from the shelter (because then I feel extra gross).

What is your favorite type of muffin? It's so hard to choose… Double chocolate chip, banana nut, cranberry orange…

What is the last expensive item you bought? A carpet cleaner. My mom and I split the expense.

Would you rather be a successful writer or artist? Artist.

Would you rather have a cottage on the beach or in a forest? Forest.

Who’s the last person you talked to about sex? Liv and Riley. It was more about growing up traumatized/unsupported and how that impact carried over into adulthood.

Where is the biggest scar on your body? Inside of my left forearm.

Would you date someone who was addicted to drugs? No. I have empathy for people struggling with addiction, but I wouldn't date anyone still in the midst of one.

Do you know anyone who drinks a lot? Possibly.

Do you have any facial piercings? Snakebites.

What were you afraid of the most when you were a kid? Public speaking, heights, spiders, talking to anyone I didn't know well.

Is your hair long enough to put in a ponytail? No.

Last time you were attacked by an animal? A couple of weeks ago. I was petting Millie (a kitty at the shelter) and turned to talk to River, and Millie thought that was the perfect opportunity to latch onto my arm. She's a sweetheart, but anxiety and overstimulation overtake her from time to time.

If you need to ask a question in class do you raise your hand? Rarely.

How many times have you been engaged (if any at all)? I've never been engaged.

Is the United States really the best country in the world? I don't think it's the best country in the world, but I definitely don't think it's the worst either.

Have you ever gotten so dehydrated that you passed out? No.

Are your eyes sensitive to sunlight? Not abnormally. Except when I have a migraine.

Would you ever change your whole appearance? Probably not.

Do you have a picture of you and your lover kissing? I'm not in a relationship. I've taken kissing photos with past partners, though.

What is a comfort show of yours? Belief Hole, Red Web, Lights Out Library, Tasting History, The Histocrat, Space Matters, etc. Gotta cut the list off at some point because I watch way too much YouTube.

Do you think we were put on this earth for a reason? Maybe there is some grand cosmic reason - not just for "us," but for everything - but who knows. I go back and forth with what I think. Either way, existing at all is such a weird thing.

Animal Crossing, yay or nay? I'd probably enjoy it if I had enough patience and dedication. Same with games like Stardew Valley. They sound fun and relaxing, but I just know I could never commit myself to them.

Did you ever have a MySpace? Yeah.

Do you have a YouTube channel? If no, would you create one? If yes what’s your content? I have an account, but I don't post anything to it.

Do you watch anime? I have, but not in recent years.

Do you like TikTok? I don't use it. I do watch YouTube shorts, though. I guess those are kind of the same concept…?

Do you ever miss Vine? Again, I never really used it.

Would you ever have a pet rat? No. I think rats are cute, but I already went into this above.

Do you think dreams mean anything? There might be some underlying primal symbolism going on that I don't understand. But aside from really bizarre dreams that don't seem to link up to anything in my waking life, most of my dream themes have to do with past/current experiences and worries. Like animal shelter anxiety dreams. I have those the same way some people have school anxiety dreams (and I still have those, too - even though I haven't been in school for well over a decade).

What was the last topic you read about? I've been reading A Short History Of The World on my lunchbreaks, but to be honest, I'm just sort of mindlessly skimming it while I eat. I'm not really retaining much of the information.

What’s the best amusement park ride you’ve ever been on? Roller coasters.

Would you know how to read a house blueprint? Some of it might be obvious or make sense to me, but overall, not really.

What shirt do you wear the most? Animal shelter shirts.

Have you ever used Duolingo to learn another language? No.

Do you remember much from high school? Yeah. The dates are all mixed up now, but the main memories are still more or less intact.

What’s your favorite fruit to snack on? I don't normally snack on fruit by itself. Just grapes for packed lunches. Otherwise, I usually eat it in oatmeal or yogurt, but I enjoy mango, blueberries, bananas, strawberries, raspberries, etc.

Has anyone ever come out to you? Like as a first-time big reveal type of thing? I don't think so.

What was the last album you listened to in full? Precession by Fifty Dollar Dynasty.

Would you prefer cupcakes or a big cake for your birthday? Either would be fine. I don't have a strong preference for one over the other.

How many jobs do you have on your resume? I don't have a resume.

What in your opinion is the best love song ever written? I don't have an opinion.

Pro-life/Pro-choice? Pro-choice.

Was your mother married when she had you? Yeah.

Who is the person you dislike the most? Probably my sibling. Up until recently, I would have said it doesn't matter because they don't influence my life anymore, but…ugh.

What’s your favourite type of cookie? I recently bought some french toast cookies and those are bomb. As for a true favorite, though, idk. You're talking to someone who just loves desserts/treats in general. I'm not picky.

Do you have a pair of Beat headphones? No.

Are any of your electronics not working properly at the moment? None that I currently use.

Are you excited to pick out your wedding dress one day? N/a.

What’s a food that you like every once in awhile but not often? Thanksgiving dinner, meatloaf, steak, etc.

Are you the type of person that enjoys getting hugs? Of course it depends on who's offering, but usually, yeah.

Do you carry a bottle of water wherever you go? Yeah.

Are you afraid that one day you might get cancer? It's not something I really think about.

What age do you look forward to reaching? There isn't one.

What exercise do you hate the most? Idk.

What do you do at a party? I guess it would depend on the type of party.

What was the most unsettling film you’ve seen? Requiem For A Dream bothered me for reasons I don't feel like getting into here.

What’s something people don’t worry about but really should? I know this sounds bad, but I just don't really care.

What movie quotes do you use on a regular basis? None.

If magic was real, what spell would you try to learn first? Maybe something simple like reheating my coffee.

What’s the hardest you’ve ever worked? I'm kind of used to it now, but some days at the animal shelter can be pretty tiring.

If you could have an all-expenses paid trip to see any famous world monument, which monument would you choose? Maybe somewhere like Machu Pichu, Sacsayhuaman, Puma Punku…Gobekli Tepe…heck, almost any ancient monument would interest me on some level.

What’s the most addicted to a game you’ve ever been? It's something of a three-way tie between Maple Story, Dance Dance Revolution, and Rock Band/Guitar Hero (I know that's two games, but it was one obsession).

What’s the coldest you’ve ever been? Maybe that one trip to the Mountain Park. I forget exactly when it was. A few years ago or so.

Do you eat food that’s passed its expiration date if it still smells and looks fine? Yeah.

What outdoor activity haven’t you tried, but would like to? I've technically tried rock climbing, but I would love to do more of it.

[a-random-fandom-friend]

hi I just saw your offer on the infodump blog about anatomy and biology

do you know anything about reptiles? I want to write a fantasy novel about dragons and I would like some fun facts about real-life reptiles to sprinkle in my writing. thanks a lot, have a good day!

Hello ! Sorry for the time it took to answer, I just moved city ^^

I ended up talking a LOT, so feel free to ask me about a specific subject I mentioned ! I started with the Bird Problem, then spoke about scales, shedding, courtship, reproduction and egg laying! Hope this helps you !

So ! First fun thing about Reptile : The term "Reptile" actually doesn't exist in science ! Because to have the group X, we need to say "Every specie of X is part of X group because it descends from one common ancestor". At some point there was One Wolf, grandpa of all wolves. There was One Whale. There was One Spider. There was One Mammal. But there never was One Reptile that was the grandparent of every reptile and only the reptile, and that is because the grandparent of lizards and snakes and dinosaurs and crocodiles and turtles... is also the grandpa of birds. So either "reptile" doesn't exist or... birds are reptiles ! They have the same bones and also have scales on their legs ! I much prefer the second way of looking at things : birds are just just... weird reptiles. So if you want some dragons species to have wings or even just decorative feathers, that's scientifically correct ! (many dino also had feathers ; feathers are actually suuuper modified scales) (and they're made of keratin)

Speaking of : There are species of reptiles that have no scales ! There are snake breeders that have engineered, through selective breeding, scale-less snakes - like ball python (T. It's a mutation that occurs in the wild too (Tho there is a big controversy around the practice of breeding for it, because the scales protect the snake and allow him to move more easily, so that's engineering snakes that would not survive well in the wild, and maybe have a reduced quality of life, even in captivity, because of their impeached movements ). Also by checking this info I just learned that snakes have overlapping scales formed on top of their skin, while crocodiles and turtles have scutes that ARE their skin and they do not overlap. You can decide how your dragons are !

Still scale/scute related : a lot of reptiles shed, or moult. It works by creating a new layer of scales under the current one, and once it's complete, the old one -which usually became too small for the reptile and is already stretched- detaches itself when the snake rubs on things. Some species, mostly snakes and some lizards and geckos, shed in big pieces, while in most reptiles it falls in flakes. Some species eat their shred to consume the keratin in it ! I know that humidity tends to help with shedding, and also getting stuck in a shed is very bad for reptiles : there is a scute over the eyes to protect it and if it doesn't fall, the reptile will not see much, plus if a reptile is caught up in its shed it could cut off circulation of the blood, since, well, it moults for a reason and its old shed is too small. Domestic reptiles tend to shed when they are well fed and comfortable, so not in a stress situation !

Some rapid fire informations that I don't know much about, but is common in most reptiles : slow metabolism (need long rest after eating, so tend to eat proportionally big things), cannot control their own body temperature (so they love to rest on hot, warm spots, like stones heated by the sun, or their enclosure's UV light), either predators or herbivores with a gastrolith (a stone in their stomach to crush the leaves that their lack of teeth left intact), and they have one single orifice for pee, poop and egg laying, which is called Cloaca. Oh and last fact : When a crocodilian is propped on it hands, head tilted upward, eyes closed and mouth open in a smile... They are actually SUPER STRESSED. They are being super tense and showing off their teeth. A relaxed crocodilian will look like Flat Fuck Friday : not a single tense muscle in that body.

Now, my favourite part : How they reproduce :D

For, almost all species, the reproductive organs are internal and come out only in period of reproduction (the exception is the tuarara, the Aotearoa/ New Zealand lizard, who doesn't have any organ at all). So it can be hard to determine in an individual is male or female, if there aren't any other physical differences (change in size, or colour, or even body form between the two sexes). Crocodiles and turtles have one penis, while snake and geckos have two (called hemipenes). The penis hole is hidden between two scales when the penis doesn't come out ! (the male tuarara just presses its hole to the female's hole)

Really cool fact : Aspidoscelis neomexicanus is a specie of lizard that is EXCLUSIVELY FEMALE and only reproduce by... basically cloning the mom's DNA and using that to create an egg ! It is called Parthenogenesis, and a lot of other animals can do it (an unfertilized egg give birth to an individual) : reptiles like the Komodo dragon, insects, fishes, birds... Tho it has its cost : there is a very reduced genetic diversity which means they are less resistant to environmental change. Which is why, to most species that are able to do it, it is more of a last resort than the main way their reproduce. But there are 25 lizards species and one of snake which are uni-sexual ! There is just no male in the specie ! Isn't that incredible ?

Above : a female A. neomexicanus ! (picture by Kit Bezy) But yeah most reptiles still need to be 2 to reproduce. One get on top of the other, or on the side of the other, and boom boom boom boom. To do that they need to attract a mate, however, and reptiles have SO MANY different way of doing it. Some snake get like 50 males in a big ball around a female when she's receptive (up to 30 000 for the Red Sided Garther Snake, which is a bit excessive if you ask me), some chameleon change colours, some have horns that grow, turtles need to shake their head or flutter their fingers, the draco (flying lizards) have brightly coloured throat fans, crocodiles make a lot of sound (and in 2010, some responded to noises made by sonic planes !), the Gharial make ultrasounds so the water along its back will dance, the Eastern Fence Lizard contorts itself to really really show that it has a blue belly, that's not even talking about the birds who can literally decorate a nest with objet of one colour, pick flowers, let themselves free fall several dozens of meters, dance, sing, offer food... They also tend to use pheromones, either to attract a mate (the female in those big balls of snakes, for example) or to stimulate the good reception of the sperm. In some species the males can fight for the right to access the female, like turtle headbutting each other, or male sea-turtle trying to bite the male mid-reproduction. In garther snakes, the male deposit a plug at the end of the fuck so that no other man can access it. So, honestly do whatever you like with the courtship of your dragons.

Reptiles can lay eggs OR give live birth : Boas and most vipers give birth to younglings, and so does a specie of chameleon, lizard called skinks, and at least one aquatic dinosaur. Tho (at least for the non-dinosaurs) they still lay eggs : they are ovoviviparous, meaning they lay egg inside of a special cavity inside of them, and they keep the laid eggs inside until they hatch, and at this point the hatched babies exit their mom. So it looks like they give birth to live younglings when in reality they produce eggs! Most reptiles lay eggs directly, meaning it's an egg that leaves the mom. Some with hard shells, most soft shells, and some snake emit a kind of glue that binds all the eggs together in a little mountain. I know that for snakes you must NOT turn an egg once it's been laid ! Because the development of the correct body parts in the correct order depends on the egg orientation. To exit the eggs, the youngs have a little tooth on the front of their mouth, which is really cute ! it falls later in life.

(Picture by Twin City Reptiles)

For some reptiles, the sex of the youngling is not dependent on their genetic, but on their environment ! For example, in some turtles if the egg is incubated above a certain temperature, it will be female, but under that temperature it will be male ! Another form of temperature dependent sex determination is : "There is a reduced range of temperatures at which male will hatch, and any higher or lower that this range, females will hatch" (that's the case in all crocodiles, and some lizards and geckos, and even other turtles). For both methods, if the egg is incubated at the middle temperature, it can hatch as either one or the other, and very rarely as intersex. To achieve different temperatures the parents can, for example, bury the eggs in the sand (near the surface it's hot but deep down it's colder), or bury them in some leaves (near the top it's cold but closer to the earth and surrounded by the other eggs it's warmer). Of course, this isn't the case for all reptiles, but it is a pretty cool fact ! (and it was discovered by a woman in 1966, so that's cool too)

More rapid fire that i did not know where to put : Crocodilians have a lot of strength to close their mouth, the most powerful bite of the animal kingdom, but not a lot of strength to open it. So to prevent biting, animal rescuers duck tape their mouth shut and it's enough! You decide if the bite of your dragons are especially strong. Also a lot of species or reptiles are venomous but most rent, and some are even more dangerous, like the boa that constrict around its pray and crushes it. Snake exit their tongues to "taste" the air (well, collect the chemical around them, then bring them in the mouth where the taste organs are) but rapid tongue flips means stress ! And finally, the study of reptiles is called Herpetology.

I apologize if I made a lot of errors (english isn't my first language) and don't hesitate to come ask me to elaborate on a particular subject ! Have a good day !

[solarpunkani]

For your roach problem, no one is expecting you to just deal with roaches. But you can live without commercial chemical pesticides and soon you'll have no choice but to do so. Commercial pesticides are also jeopardizing your family's health. Research the suggestions we're giving you and change your family's pesticide habit.

Keep out indoor roaches with:

Diatomaceous Earth

Baking Soda

Boric Acid

Borax

Citrus

Peppermint or Lemongrass Essential Oils

Caulk all Entry Points

And keep out outdoor roaches by laying sticky traps at cracks around doors, windows, and foundations.

Frogs, birds, lizards, and spiders are natural predators of roaches. If you're getting a lot of roaches, then your yard must be a safe haven from roach predators. Attract roach predators by cultivating native plants. And then remove anything that looks like a roach hiding spot so the predators have the upper hand.

From all the reblogs I've been getting on that post, it sure does feel like a lot of yall are expecting people to just deal with roaches.

My family doesn't even have bad bad problems with roaches (asides from that one year we deep cleaned the garage and they all decided to Head Indoors, that was awful). My sister moved into an apartment once that was literally infested with roaches. We had to spend the whole weekend stomping and paranoid and mixing borax with eggs and caulking, and it never really came to an end until we pulled out the pesticides.

I mean. I've tried some of these. And some of them have worked a little (read: barely, not really).

I don't think its a good idea to put diatomaceous earth down in our house because we have a small and old dog, and while it's dry it's incredibly bad to breathe in, and if it's wet it's... not effective. Also we're in Florida.

I actually asked my mom if we'd tried baking soda before, and she said no! She also said it'd probably be extremely slow acting, like borax is. So I guess if you've got forever and a day to wait...

I will admit, boric acid and borax do work! If you're willing to cross your fingers, hope they find it, and wait for weeks to see if the roaches all die. My sister moved into an apartment that had an undisclosed roach infestation, and mixing boric acid/borax with eggs and sticking it on top of shelves and crossing our fingers was one of the things my mom did. We also used sticky traps, and bait poisons. The other thing we did was use Home Defense spray on the outside and stomp or spray any we found inside. And I cannot emphasize enough we did not have the goddamn time to be sitting and twiddling our thumbs to wait for every single roach to find the borax and die. We brought in a pizza and within like 5 minutes there were roaches dive bombing us from the ceiling over the table. And my sister had already signed the lease before we knew it was this bad.

I'll be real, I seriously doubt we've tried the citrus/essential oils thing. Also have heavy doubts it'd be effective in any sense, but also some essential oils are bad for dogs. Which we have. And many people do.

Caulking all entry points works if you know where they're coming in from. If the way they're getting in is 'sneaking in while you let the dog out' (has happened) or 'crawled in while you were entering the house after a night out' (has happened) or 'entered from the garage while you were looking for something' (has happened) caulking ain't such an easy solution.

Regarding sticky traps, while I imagine they'd work great outside, I've also seen a ton of the same people who are anti-pesticide also be anti-sticky trap because they don't discriminate and will also trap things like mice, lizards, snakes, etc.

"Your yard must be a safe haven for roach predator" I can acknowledge that this makes sense! But we also need to acknowledge that not everyone has direct control over making their yard a safe haven for an array of creatures. Was my sister in her apartment supposed to plant native plants in the regularly-mowed patch of grass that sat by the parking lot? Was she supposed to manually remove the roach hiding spot that is the apartment complex dumpster? There are so many situations where people do not have direct control over that kind of stuff--apartments, dorms, HOA living, renting, etc. Are they supposed to 'just deal?'

"Soon you'll have no choice to do so" not being offered a lot of other choices in the long run at this point either. Also I can gently encourage my parents all I want, at the end of the day its their house and they can do what they want. And if they don't wanna wait an extra week to hope some boric acid and sticky traps kills a roach while they continue laying eggs who knows where, I don't really have any direct control over that.

[blubushie]

HI I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS! why did you drink your own pee? what did that taste like? whats your favorite snake? whats your favorite lizard? favorite turtle? whats your favorite australian saying? whats your favorite sea animal besides killer whales? what color is your hair? how about your eyes? how tall are you? whats bushgender mean? do you play any instruments? whats the model of your car? what color is it? can you get custom license plates in australia? do YOU have a custom license plate?

Ah, Christ. Knew telling you cunts that would come back to bite me in the arse.

Why did you drink your own piss?

I was dying and thirsty. My pride and dignity is not more important than my life. So I drank my own piss. On the plus side, it worked. I had enough moisture in me to keep trekking for two days until I found actual water and then I was so half-lucid with dehydration that I almost drowned myself trying to drink it. On the plus side I got one helluva story and a new name!

(Don't do dehydration, kids.)

What did that taste like?

Tangy.

What's your favourite snake?

The one in me daks. Really though, probably Oxyuranus microlepidotus, or the dandarabilla. Most venomous snake on the planet, but not the most dangerous since these snakes are only really found in a VERY small region of the Outback in which VERY few people live, so you're very unlikely to encounter one. That said they do have the most toxic venom of all snake species on the planet (with the highest untreated lethality rate of all snake species at OVER EIGHTY PERCENT) and their venom goes into effect about 30 minutes after envenomation, and fatality usually occurs within 45 minutes of envenomation. So if you get bit you're fucked, basically.

Unlike many snakes, the dandarabilla ALSO has an envenomation rate of OVER EIGHTY PERCENT. That means that over 80% of the time they're going to inject venom. Venomous snakes can do something called a "dry bite," which is usually used as a warning strike and consists of them biting you without injecting venom. But the dandarabilla says "fuck that and fuck you, cunt" and INJECTS VENOM OVER EIGHTY PERCENT OF THE TIME.

Compare that to Crotalus atrox, the western diamondback rattlesnake, who only injects venom 60% of the time.

What's your favourite lizard?

The one in me daks. (For those of you that don't get it, chucking a piss is also called "draining the lizard" here.) My answer is Varanus giganteus, the perentie. I saw one eat a cat once. They scare me. I like them. (Also I fought one for rights to a pig carcass that I shot so they have no fear of humans.)

Favourite turtle?

The one in me- Okay this joke isn't working now. Macrochelys temminckii, the alligator snapping turtle. They're cool as hell, look fucking prehistoric, and can bite my fingers off. I think they're neat.

What's your favourite Australian saying?

"Well I'm not here to fuck spiders." City roos will tell you that we made that up as a joke for tourists but it's bullshit, we actually do say that in the Outback. We also use the alternative "Well I didn't come here to finger dingos." We're very crass, us Aussies.

If you ever want to find an Aussie in the wild just shout "AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE" and any Aussies in the vicinity will immediately reply "OI OI OI!" It's our mating call.

I also love our age-old curse of "May your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny down," which literally translates to "May your chickens (chooks) turn into emus and kick your toilet (dunny) down."

Also "dry as a dead dingo's donger," meaning you're very thirsty, "don't come the raw prawn with me," which means "don't try to pull one over on me," and every meaning of our slang usage of the word "piss."

What's your favourite sea animal besides orcas?

Octopodes are cool as. I love giant isopods. Siphonophores are pretty spiffy. I'd like to see marine iguanas.

What colour is your hair? How about your eyes? How tall are you?

I was born a strawberry blonde, but as I've gotten older it's darkened to a dirty blonde (I've got some neat natural highlights though). On good days (and with a lot of sun) it really lightens up to a golden blonde but that's usually only visible at the bottom of my mullet that gets sunlight. Most of my hair is obscured by my hat so it stays dark. I have light blue eyes that sort of alternate between blue and grey depending on the amount of light (grey in a room, light blue in direct sunlight). I'm a manlet and that's all I'm going to say about my height (I got my mum's shortness).

What's bushgender mean?

Honestly, I just... don't care about gender? It doesn't exist out in the bush. There's just my own biology and I'm not reminded of gender at all until I interact with people. I like it that way. I'm not necessarily nonbinary since I'm a bloke, it's just that gender is a complete afterthought to me so I just don't think about it. My gender is the bush. I am a bushie. The land doesn't care what I think of myself so why should I?

Do you play any instruments?

I can make dove calls with my hands. Also I play the harmonica but I'm terrible at it.

What's the model of your car? What colour is it?

'99 Ford. Not telling you the model because I don't like stalkers lmao but it's a ute with a camper in the tray. It's white. The paint reflects heat instead of absorbing so my engine is less likely to overheat in the Outback sun. Also white's an inoffensive colour so it stands out less in the bush than, say, black or blue or red or whatever.

Can you get custom number plates in Australia? Do you have a custom number plate?

Yes you can and yes I do! I run a business after all! I need to have something that identifies me!

[1greenameba]

Ok goldfishes can recognize pepole , have a decent memory and are all around an extremely badass animal with an intresting genetics , a long story of domestication with humans and a lot of intresting adaptations for the conditions in wich we put them in ( such as making alcool if you put then in warm oxygen poor water , and being able to survive extreme cold by storing the alcool in their tissues )

However this does lead to a broader discussion on animal intelligence and using classification :

Speaking of "mammalian" is rather improper i feel sometimes ,

I hope we agree that sloths , dolphins , free tailed bats and horses have rather little in common behaviorally despite all being placental mammals ...

And this same applies to the ofthen compared and contrasted "reptiles"

Wich if we form cladistically would be close to the most diverse group of vertebrates ever , since it would include birds as well :

If we where to devide things more smartely we get roughly three groups :

Squamates , snakes and lizards , wich btw have evolved placental birth like 5-6 times separately and some can even preferentially lay eggs or give live birth ,

Turtles ,

And archosaurs , crocodiles and birds ,

Now considering the previus mammal example of behavioral diversity ( mammals have 5400 species ) and we apply this same reasoning to squamates ( 11000 species )

Or birds ( 10000 species ) you see how speaking of common "reptilian caracteristics" is kinda improper i'd say ...

It's also somenthing that kinda irks me about the way some pepole talk about animal psychology :

Whenever emotions are talked about in a human or a mammalian context they are held as this deeply subjective intimate and unknowable thing wich is kinda devine ,

Meanwhile reptile and bugs have "instincts" wich are this almost orientalized thing upon wich they have no steaks and wich is not theirs and deeply mechanical ,

From my limited understanding of the subject , the major distinction from our emotions to the emotions of lets say a frog , is the fact that our prefrontal cortex can shut off or change the emotional reaction to specific emotions , meanwhile frogs do act in a really reactive way ...

However your emotion are your instinct , and their instincts are their emotions ...

But now back to the main point :

Fishes are ofthen described also as "primitive" while in reality they had as many generations as we land dwellers had ...

And they dwarf us tetrapods in terms of species numbers : there are 27000 species of ray finned fishes ...

As such , they have many sloths and oatzins with simple behaviors and instincts ,

As well as they have many orangutans and parrots with deeply complex social systems , multiple steps problem solving behaviors , and communication systems that may be extremely hard to understand for us land dwellers as ours may be hard for them ...

All of what i said also applies for bugs : insects , spiders , and even annelids and molluscs have emotions of their hown , what changes are several things

1) their nervous system is a lot more decentralized across their body , so they have a "first pair of legs brain" , wich allows cockroaches to survive decapitation , however imenoptera (ants, wasps, bees) can't survive decapitation , wich hints at their head being more important than the rest

2) they obviusly have different sensory abilities : an earthworm doesn't have eyes or ears , so it can't see or ear like us , their world is one of smell , vibrations and electrical currents ...

3) stuff like clams and barnacles wich completely atrophied their brains likely don't feel in the same way we do , and may be closer to plants or fungi in their cognition ...

TL;DR:

intelligence and capacity for emotional complexity should be evaluated on a case by case basis ,

And we shouldn't assume some clades are inerenthly dumber or more capable of specific things , unless it's a specific thing that is present in the clade itself ...

[chuluoyi]

https://www.tumblr.com/chuluoyi/739464723579437056/hello-chuto-you-its-your-cat-anon-here-i?source=share

Hi!

How's ur day?

Ur so right about LYK..the cheater role isn't for him. And that actress doing soomin also not it😭😷 please save me from this drama so disappointing BYE I wish there was someone else for soomin role 😭

I don't have any pets. I wish I had, though. I did have a dog around 8 -9 years ago, but we gave it away. It takes effort to take care of them. im still a student, so I don't have one. Besides, I'm living with my parents. I'll get a retriever and an orange cat🥹 when I start living on my own. Actually, I am scared of dogs.

Flashback to 5 years ago, I went out to get something from a local store, this dog they had was out. The dog kept barking at me (maybe because of my mask), and then it almost bite me. I was crying for my life. That shop owner just kept saying "shh shh." I was so pissed at him lol, but I just came home. I actually think animals hate me or something. There's some cows/ox on my way to college. I have to hold onto my dear life every time I pass them. One time, I got hit by one of those (thanks to my neighbor guy who saved me. It was embarrassing for me. The save was heroic, and I fell in love with him, my savior 😩jk) I took a different path one time when I saw a group of them standing, it felt like those bastards were waiting for me. I took like extra 5 kms to walk and to make the day worse, some guys(I hate) in my class made fun of me. The day is printed on my head!

I do keep attracting reptiles(hate em) and insects. Like snakes, all kinda lizards (they are ewww), skinks!

Story time 2:

2016/7, we used to live in a very foresty(I forgot the word) kind of area, the grass was tall as my dad (6 ft). Basically everything lived there. It's a place straight out of horror movies. Had to live there because of my parent's job there. One day, I was going to take my books from the shelf to study. This shitty huge ass skink jumped onto my lap. I didn't know it got there. IT WAS SO HUGE I didn't know they can get that big. Still gives me goosebumps and nausea. I seen too many snakes,centipedes and I'm not bothered by them atp. Oh and ants and other insects love me, they always kiss me on the lips[sarcasm] (istg they always bite my lips😭😭 I don't even know how they get there)

I had a spider as a pet. I loved it but someone killed it..probably they were scared of my baby.

That was long! We got diverted from the og path.

Do you have any pets?

cat anon!!🥹 i'm sorry for taking a long of time to reply, i just went back from my vacation and i prefer to answer long ask through my laptop :'))

my days are going okay lately! thank you for asking🥹 what about yours??

RIGHT?! omg maybe i'm biased but i still think he's best with comedic roles rather than serious... murder-y roles, like it doesn't suit his personality (or face) at all😭 HAHAHAH the way you scrapped it omg, and now i'm too because yeah... i can't take this farce any longer😭

ahhh i so relate!! my parents didn't allow pets because it'll take a lot to care for them and such, and my househelper isn't that reliable either so yeah, pets are banned in my house😭

omg... that's so scary😭 if i were you i'd be scared shitless too! that shopkeeper grrrrr why didn't he do anything to help🥲 cows?! okay... that's new... i never know that cows can be aggressive🥹 but isn't that sweet that your neighbor helped you out!? i'd swoon over being saved from cows too!!🥹 and experience like that would totally be printed in my head for as long as i live :')))

SNAKES JASDKA i know i hate them too they're scary and dangerous🥲 and insects! i think i also have this magnet for attracting roaches... ew i hate them so much, they look so dirty and what's more... can fly?! i was screaming my head off when i saw one flying over my head ajdsdsdas and centipedes... i'm so scared of them, is it true that they're poisonous?

the "everything lived there" took me out😭 omg cat anon, if i were to be put in your place, i'd do everything you were doing too ahahahah... but spider? i'm also scared of spiders too... (now that i think about it, there are many things i'm scared of lmao) i kind of admire you for having spider as a pet!🥹

pets that i had is limited to fishes and fishes only🥹 they are in an aquarium, you only need to sprinkle food and leave them🥹 they're peaceful and that's why my parents allowed me to have some...

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #176

Do you think you could handle a job in the medical field? Why or why not? No. I could never handle a patient dying, and there's also a lot of gross stuff I don't want to see.

What is one electronic device you own that you have not used in a long time? A Nintendo DS Lite.

Do you prefer to play chess or checkers? I only know how to play checkers.

If you had to go an entire week without using any technology, what do you think you would spend most of your time doing instead? Reading, drawing, writing, probably exercising extra. I'm sure I'd be way, way more productive...

Would you rather travel to Asia or France? Asia, I think.

Do you prefer dark, brown or white chocolate? My preference is milk chocolate, but I also do enjoy dark. There are very few cases where I've liked white chocolate, it's too sweet.

Would you rather visit Australia, Germany, Croatia, or Jamaica? I fully intend to visit Germany at least once.

Would you prefer a pet rat, mouse, snake, lizard or spider? If I could only pick one to have period, snake. At this moment though, like what I most want to add to my family now, is a tarantula, either a Brazilian black or skeleton leg.

Have you ever fallen into a hole or crevice whilst hiking? I've never even been hiking.

A romantic meal, a trip to a theme park, or go to a concert? In general I'd prefer to go to a concert as a date, however Girt actually doesn't enjoy concerts so I wouldn't drag him to one. With him, I'll take the theme park, when my legs are a-okay.

How often do you wear necklaces? Basically never because all the ones I have start to bother my skin really quick/turn it greenish. I want a necklace I can keep on so bad, I really love how they look. If I'm putting any of my necklaces on now, it's for going out somewhere.

Would you rather wear a bracelet or a necklace? Necklaces, I actually don't like bracelets for the same reason I don't like long-sleeved shirts that thin out/get stretchy at the ends (I know that is so specific and you probably have no idea what I'm talking about), I don't at all like feeling something tight-ish around my wrists. I'm the same about pants that only reach my ankles.

When was the last time you had a donut? Maybe like, a month ago. Or more.

What’s your favorite song by Miley Cyrus? I genuinely do love "The Climb."

Who do you absolutely adore? My boyfriend and his immediate family, my own mom, nieces and nephew, Mazzy, and Tez. I care about more people, but as far as "adore" goes, it's them.

Have you ever had a crush on a kinda-country boy? lol no, I don't think I've ever been romantically attracted to a notably "country" guy.

Do you care about any of your exes at all? I care most about Jason, but no longer in a romantic sort of way. Of course I still feel some amount of softness towards Sara, but I can't truthfully say I "care" about her anymore. I just have nostalgia with her.

Who last slapped your butt? Probably my friend Chelsea, we used to be really close when I was still friends with her sister, and we were sexually playful with each other in a completely "just joking" kind of way, neither of us actually felt anything romantic. She's married with a kid now.

Where have you lived throughout your life? The same general area of eastern North Carolina, near the coastal plain/Piedmont divide.

What kind of cake did you have for your last birthday? I actually didn't want a cake, we got donuts instead.

Have you ever had a panic attack? Many. I'm more prone to anxiety attacks, but panic attacks have definitely happened.

Anyone’s birthday coming up soon? Yes, my mom's at the start of next month and my nephew's in the middle of August.

When at a restaurant, do you put your napkin on your lap? I probably would if it was messy food.

Do you prefer electric or manual pencil sharpeners? Electric.

Are your biceps at all noticeable? lol no

When are you moving next? I don't know. It's looking to be very possible that our landlord will be selling this house and getting us into another somehow, things are very uncertain right now, and if that doesn't happen it will probably be whenever Girt and I hopefully move in together.

Have you ever had a bad concert experience? No.

Have you ever carried a concealed weapon? No.

Do you call your boyfriend “Monkey”? I've seen this question appear in so many surveys over all the years and I have never understood why, I know literally nobody who does this.

Would you rather go to Greece or France? Greece.

How would you spend a day at the beach? At this moment I wouldn't go to the beach, not until my legs are stronger; the last time I visited the beach, my muscle atrophy was kinda early on, and I struggled VERY BADLY walking in the sand. While great progress has been made, I just don't think I'm ready to where I'd be able to enjoy the experience. But anyway, to answer the question in general, I tend to stay in the water; I hate the feeling of sand but love being in the ocean. I'm sure we'd bring a tent thing for shade, so I'd probably sit under that with the people I'm with, maybe have some snacks or read. I'd definitely bring my camera to try to get some nice pictures. Hopefully one day soon I CAN go on a vacation like this and not be in torment lol.

Have you ever experienced altitude sickness? No. Like everyone though I've definitely experienced the ear popping in planes and even when driving through mountains.

Was the last show you watched a re-run? Not for me, no; Ma and I were watching Deadliest Catch, some of the first season. She's seen it at some point.

What’s your biggest priority right now? Improving my physical health, I think. I've gotten too far to let it start slipping again.

What does it feel like to fall asleep in someone’s arms? If I'm not hot, I absolutely love it. In the spooning sense anyway lol, if we're PROPERLY lying down so we're actually comfortable, I am such a cuddlebug. If I'm sitting up in some way, then I'm uncomfortable/am gonna wake up feeling like death lol.

Do you recall the first time that you learned the truth about sex? 5th grade, sex ed/"family life" classes. I feel like a rare exception where my parents actually never taught me about this stuff, so my education on it was very aggressively abstinence-based and made HIV/AIDS sound like a total death sentence that you'd contract from your very first pre-marital intercourse. I am very unhappy with how I was taught about my own body parts and men's, like there is still probably so much stuff I don't know and it's honestly pretty embarrassing.

Do you need the opinion of others to make yourself feel worthwhile? uh... admittedly, right now, yes. I am very, very bad about needing external validation, because otherwise I'm convinced I'm an awful person who shouldn't treasure herself. This is a very major problem with me that I'm still trying to fix.

Have you ever rubbed anyone’s feet? ugh ew no, I hate feet

What is one thing you fantasize or daydream about doing? Being able to support myself with nature photography, going all over the world seeing amazing things...

What would you rather: lethal injection, electric chair, or hanging? Lethal injection sounds by far the least painful... I'd think. I guess I don't know exactly what the body experiences during these.

Have you taken someone's virginity? No.

What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy? I'd be pretty fucking pissed off, especially when one of his relationship dealbreakers is cheating, so wouldn't that be ironic. I'd break up with him immediately and probably stop talking to him. Wow I don't like this question, even when I have full trust in him to never do this.

Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do? lmfao yes he's very aware

Why did you kiss the last person you kissed? He was leaving to go home.

Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today? No.

Who would you like to see in concert? Rammstein is fucking obviously #1 lol, even before I was super super into them I woulda gone because their concerts are very highly praised. I'd also really like to go with my mom to a Metallica concert (she would fucking die), as well as In This Moment, who she also likes a whole lot. I would include Ozzy here, but he seems to be done touring and probably should be with his health state. There are plenty of other bands I'd go see, I really like concerts, but those are the immediate, strong answers for me.

Who was the first person to ever ask you out? I think one of the boys that harassed me in pre-k, but honestly I don't even know if we knew what "asking out" was yet, there were just two boys who would chase and try to kiss me during recess.

What's one thing your partner must be able to accept about you? Sometimes I need time to myself, and also that I'm a mentally ill person that is not always going to be in happy shape.

Are there any videos of yourself on YouTube? No, not to my memory. Certainly not on my current account.

What’s one thing that’s annoying you about the book you’re reading now? It doesn't majorly annoy me, but Sutherland has a very strong habit of overusing separating paragraphs for emphasis, in my opinion. She's slightly more dramatic than I prefer in reading.

Do you have trouble letting friends go when you need to? YUP SURE FUCKIN DO

If you had a daughter, would you allow sleepovers? I'm going to guess you're implying her sleeping over with a boy, because obviously I'd allow her female friends to????? I probably would allow sleepovers with a boy she's actually dating only once she hits 16; I know what I did at 16 with my boyfriend, and I was abstinent then, I'm not inviting my teenage daughter to get pregnant if we can avoid it. I also include the fact they'd better be actually, officially dating because I'd likely wring a fucker's neck if he tried to lead my daughter on by never committing.

Which do you like better, your first name or your middle name? My first, I'm thankful I actually like my first name lol. My middle name is pretty imo, but it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO common.

Where is your brother? He lives in Tennessee, but I actually don't think he's there right now; he's been traveling the country doing track races in I think he's aiming for every state.

Do you like using terms of endearment? Yes, I am extremely verbally affectionate.

Do you have any plans for tomorrow? Yeah, Girt's gonna be coming over.

What's the longest movie you've ever seen? I THINK Troy, but I'm unsure. I don't generally like super long movies, by like around two hours I'm done.

What was the last thing you wrote down in the notes app on your phone? I have one list of drawing ideas, and I added something to that.

Would you ever want to visit South Korea? Nah, I'm not particularly interested.

[uncle-mojave]

Where's that breathe in pic that Ivan drew?

Let me rant about the desert for a bit, because it's been my absolute love for 42 years now.

Deserts in general are some of the most important ecological biomes to the planet. They act as carbon sinks and regulators for moisture distribution as well as spreaders of nutrients with windstorms. Places like the Sahara and Gobi have wind take the mineral rich dust and sand and deposit it into areas that need it such as the rainforests of South America, Africa and Asia. They also are teeming with life. Even something as vast and as seemingly barren as the Sahara is full of life. I live in the Mojave and I adore deserts. I also try to live off the land as much as I can through foraging, hunting and scavenging. The desert provides. It's just about three weeks now before the Prickly Pears mature from green to read and are ready to harvest. I pick buckets of them and process them to make them into candy, juice, wine and other products as well as eat the pads or Nopales and then there's also Ocatillo flowers in may which make a lovely tea that is very good for the body, tastes great and is awesome cold. Mormon Tea too grows wild out here and is a natural energy drink and it helps clears up the lungs when you're sick. There are so many damn things in the deserts just there to take advantage of but also you need to be conservative and leave things for future generations to enjoy. The animals and plants are highly adapted to arid condition and in the spring when we get rain everything blooms for about a week or two and there are patches of sand that are suddenly turned from rusted red to vibrant purple and yellow as flowers pop up. Then you have bees and tarantula hawks and moths that pollinate the entire ecosystem not to mention the billions of bats we have that eat all of the flying insects plus the spiders and lizards and snakes galore.

Short of it is, we need the deserts, we depend on the deserts indirectly to maintain the health of the planet and our own societies. The desert is not barren, it's a wellspring of life and purpose that is incredibly harsh to those who do not respect it.

Camel Corps too was a plan to use Camels in the Southwestern US. It did work but not well enough to keep using them. There were signs of Camels that had escaped and gone wild in Arizona up until the 1990's but it's though they're all dead now. They thrive in Australia though and they have to cull the herds or they kill the outback plants and ecosystem.

we really did the desert dirty when we culturalized it as a barren wasteland

[drowsyirisarchive]

Now I'm suuuper curious, if you had to name some of your favorite animals (because I know how hard it is to pick just one🤭), which one would they be?👀

Okay soooo

This is going to be so ramble and all over the place but here we go. 

Sharks - thrasher, mako, black tip sharks, white tip sharks, great white. You name the shark and I love them. Recently learned about the epaulette shark and I’m also obsessed with them. Oh!! And hammerheads,, really love scalloped hammerheads. 

I love the upside down jellyfish (no long tentacles on these guys) spotted lagoon jellyfish, deep sea coronate jellyfish. 

Octopus!! Not got a favourite (although the dumbo one is 🥺) 

Rays are so graceful and pretty,, don’t really have a favourite. 

I love fish as well!! I haven’t really explored this topic that much so I don’t really know any,, there’s just so many. But I do love piranhas and flying fish. 

Love foxes and wolves. I love watching videos on YouTube because there’s a couple of channels I adore. 

Love otters, both sea and river otters. They’re so cute 🥺 and there’s just so many cool facts about them. Love seals as well - monk seals are my favourite. 

Oh!! Love crabs!! The yeti crab is my favourite (mostly because I love the idea of yetis, and bigfoot - a whole other thing I could go on and on about) I also love blue crabs. Crabs are so so fascinating and I could say so many things but let’s move on. 

Snakes!!! All time favourite. Rainbow boas, Vietnamese rat snakes, hognose snakes, green tree pythons. Could go on and on. 

Love alligators and crocodiles,, can’t pick which one I love more. 

Bears!! All types of bear, just want to give them a cuddle and ruffle their ears. Really love spectacled bears though and sun bears just because they’re so ridiculous. 

Wolverines, 6 banded armadillos, turtles and tortoises, lizards of various types (have you heard about legless lizards?? So so cool and thorny devils) 

Lynxes!! So so cute 

Love birds!! Don’t know much about them either yet but there’s just so many types. 

Love bats!! I think fruit bats might be my favourite?? 

Oh!! Frogs - don’t know much about frogs either but off the top of my head I love strawberry poison fart frogs and the rainbow frog. 

I’ve always loved ring tailed lemurs. Love bush baby’s. Love ocelots!! Oh and blue tongue skinks, and tegus!! 

Love love love bugs! Beatles especially! But there’s so many types of spider that are super pretty. Love crickets!! 

Love deers!! Can’t pick a favourite although I love spotted deers (fun fact Bambi has been a long term nickname of mine - it was even a running joke that my name should be changed to Bambi) 

Oh pumas!! And snow leopards!! I really and truly could continue on forever. I’m probably forgetting something I love. 

[equalseleventhirds]

fdsjflsk hello i have had the magnus archives and the web specifically on my mind AGAIN and this is only tangentially related to the convo last night BUT

a lot of ppl have shown up on my & other ppl's posts abt 'wow manipulation and spiders? why??' going 'well but there are spider tricksters in mythology'

and like... yeah, ok, there are. but are there that many, compared to other animal tricksters, and spider not-tricksters? enough to justify the exclusivity of spiders to the one entity??

so i. made a list, as i do. (you can't judge me for this you should know by now i make lists at the SLIGHTEST provocation) actually i made TWO lists, one of spiders in mythology & how they line up with tma's entities, and one of tricksters in mythology. (i knew some of these already but i also got a lot of them off of wikipedia. also tried to avoid detailing the uh. worse aspects of mythologies. we all know abt it but that isn't the point here.)

(we are ignoring for now my theory that the web's actually shit at manipulation and mostly just does control, and considering any spider that does manipulation OR control to be web-aligned)

spiders in mythology (and how they align w/ tma's various entities, if they even do):

anansi: okay i'll give you this one! yeah he is the trickster spider! yeah he lies & manipulates! he's not really uhhhh evil in any way or would inspire ppl to generate fear for the entities to shape themselves to, but ok yeah i'll give you that one as web!

arachne: she literally just wove tapestries? got into a competition with athena and wove a tapestry detailing the infidelities of the gods. like, if anything she is eye, going around revealing truths and stuff.

uttu: mostly seems to be about creation? weaving & plants. hid herself in her web, which isn't manipulation at all, it's just hiding. not rly entity aligned at all, at worst she's probably a victim of like, the hunt? maybe?

iktomi: another trickster! p much the same boat as anansi, where he's not particularly evil, but we'll let him be web.

spider grandmother: she just is helpful!! she creates & guides & protects! no entities.

ai apaec: creator & leader god again. only sometimes a spider.

djieien: just a very strong spider who hid its heart so it couldn't be killed? like, if anything, end.

great goddess of teotihuacan: associated with spiders, maybe not a spider herself? doesn't seem to be much known abt her, but potentially underworld, darkness, earth, creation, lots of things. no mention of manipulation or control.

nareau: another creation god. i guess he does do some arguably flesh-aligned stuff in that creation, but like, so do a lot of other creation myths.

areop-enap: again creation! hmm what a pattern emerges. doesn't seem particularly aligned with any entities.

tsuchigumo: ok i can give you web here i guess? bcos it does trick ppl, even if that tricking also kind of slides into spiral/stranger territory. and hunt territory obvs it literally is there to consume prey. also can give you evil here.

jorogumo: can also be web! there is lying & shapeshifting here, like the tsuchigumo, but slightly less pure evil? there's like, a couple of neutral depictions, but also evil ones. anyway. web.

gamba: not on wikipedia but wikipedia only talks abt the filipino story of the spider who wanted to marry the fly, NOT gamba, and i LOVE gamba. anyway she just created things. got too into her work and turned into a spider. idk what entity is 'fear of being a workaholic' but it's not the web. maybe lonely, since she neglected her family relationships abt it?

conrad of constance: not a spider himself, but drank out of a cup with a spider in it, showing that the cup was not poisoned even tho ppl thought spiders were poisonous. i don't... i don't think this is an entity. hey jonny maybe take some hints here, spiders are not that bad--

robert of bruce: my dude saw a v persistent spider and was inspired! it's chill it's cool! spiders helped scotland gain independence one time! wow no wonder fucking smirke hated them--

pan twardowski: again not a spider himself, but he lives on the moon and a spider hangs out with him and brings him news. a friendly spider! pan twardowski himself can be lonely ig, maybe the spider is eye, but like, a friendly eye.

vedic philosophy: now this is not technically mythology but i thought it was interesting, in this one a spider's web hides the true reality from ppl. could be argued as web but seems pretty much spiral to me? but like, a not v evil spiral, just like. neutral? it's fine.

overall... majority creation gods, actually. very few even evil depictions? wow jonny, rude.

anyway, list of animals (besides spiders) shown as tricksters in mythology:

humans! majority humans!! also like. specifically clowns several times? like, specifically clowns.

just kinda non-animal spirits/beings/whatever? sometimes vaguely humanoid.

rabbits & hares

foxes

coyotes

wolves

g...goats? sort of?? half a goat, anyway, thank you pan.

cats

ravens

mouse-deer! look up mouse-deer you will LOVE them.

monkeys

raccoons

also raccoon dogs

snakes

horses

praying mantises

tortoises

lizards

also a bunch of tricksters who shapeshift into like, a multitude of animals, but given that those are not their primary or even main secondary forms i guess we will not go into those (mostly that would just. take so much time omg.)

i didn't do a full tally, but foxes especially show up a TON, and rabbits or hares quite a bit, so either of those could've been the fear-god of manipulation. if like, we're relying on the 'there are stories about spider tricksters' thing (which we are not, in fact, i think jonny just picked a Cool Literary Symbol and did not think abt the worldbuilding implications so much)

EDIT bcos ppl keep misunderstanding: i don't think tricksters are the main source of the fear of manipulation. i don't even think tricksters should be considered a reasonable source for the web's manifestations. BUT people kept bringing them up when i had issues with the web's spider exclusivity (when both spiders and manipulation SHOULD have multiple metaphors and not be exclusive to each other) and that is why i made this list, thank you.

(also i'm aware there are ways to justify spiders meaning control sometimes. given the worldbuilding of tma, i don't think there's a way to justify them meaning control always. but that's a different post.)

[sternenhimmel-mond]

Oh dip, there was an attempt to tag me. I'll take care of this, then.

Name: wouldn't you like to know, weatherboy. People mainly call me Stern on here, an easy abbreviation.

Pronouns: They/them

Where do you call home? Northern Nevada in the USofA. That's as specific as I'll get.

Favorite animal: similar to tea, it's hard to choose. I like a lot of things, many different kinds of birds, lizards, snakes, cats, dogs, a lot of amphibians, I even like a lot of bugs and spiders and such. I would like to have a cat again, but that's not going to happen for me for a while.

Cereal of choice: I can't really choose. I like a few of them, but the ones I gravitate more towards are honey nut cheerios for a simple and easy cereal that doesn't make things worse if I have a migraine, another one of those would be kix, but I do occasionally partake in the sugar-hell fruity cereals, maybe a chocolate one if I really don't care about how it'll affect my head.

Are you a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? I'm not sure. I like being able to see howthings are done, and hear how they're done, and try it myself. So I guess I'm a mix of all three.

First pet: I can't remember if my dad's rottweiler or our little gray cat came first. The rottweiler died when I was very young and my cat was put down two years ago and she was my age. We didn't have the cat at first, though. She belonged to my aunt before she was ours but my parents are pretty sure she was the same age as me and she was in my life for almost the entire time.

Favorite scent: this is a pretty easy one for me. Petrichor is a very good smell and living in a desert makes it all the more potent when it does rain here. I love it. There are some candles that I've had that I really like the smell of and some old spice deodorants and soaps that I like the smell of, and there's many more I'm sure, but I think I have to go with petrichor as my favorite.

Do you like astrology? Sometimes it's fun to talk about birthsigns but for the most part I do not participate. I know I'm a Taurus and that's all well and good, but I don't go any further into it than that.

How many playlists do you have on Spotify/Apple Music? Well, I don't have either of those, but I do have SoundCloud and I use YouTube for any music I don't have on SoundCloud. And I have so very many playlists on both of those platforms and I'm too lazy to count. I make a new playlist every time I want to hear certain songs played together. I used use Amazon prime music but last November they changed it from being more like prime video where you get a good amount of songs included with your prime membership, and you pay extra for more but now it's more like unpaid Spotify, which I hate. I don't like listening to music exclusively on shuffle, in fact I don't like shuffle at all, especially if I'm listening to a game or movie soundtrack. So I stopped using it. But I only had one playlist on there since I am mooching off of my mom's Amazon prime account and she had her own music on there too. I also used it to listen to some podcasts and albums from artists I like. But not anymore.

Sharpies or highlighters? I haven't used a highlighter or a colored sharpie in years. Being an engineer, though, I use black sharpies a lot.

A song that makes you cry? Hm. Not entirely sure, sometimes a song will make me cry and sometimes it won't. Sometimes I cry while listening to a song for unrelated reasons that the song reminded me of. Last time I cried during a song was I think Gone by Dymer, maybe.

A song that makes you happy? I think I'm going to have to go with anything by ANZE, he's a good musician and does primarily electronic music.

And finally, do you write/draw/create? If so, use this as an opportunity to shamelessly promote yourself!

I used to draw but I don't anymore. I also like to create things, I work with jewelry wire from time to time, I've made a crown of mushrooms for myself and I have made and am in the process of making staves. I'm also in the process of developing a fantasy world, but I've hit a pretty deep rutt with that and sometimes think about showing Tumblr, but then I just never get around to making any posts about it or anything. I am currently working on a project where I'm using a Skyrim character to tell a story, and I recently had a poll asking if anyone is interested based on an outline I provided and it got pretty good results. I'm currently in the "write everything down while I play through the various quests" stage, and then I'll refine and proofread and make any changes I deem necessary. During this first refinement period I also plan on breaking it up into the different acts of her story. If I feel it's ready to start releasing after one round of editing, I'll go through and make the chapter breaks and release them. If not, I'll get some other people involved to help me figure out if it sounds good and what I can do to make it sound better if needed. Help it flow better.

Maybe I'll talk more about my fantasy world soon, maybe I'll keep going about my day to day forgetting to make any posts about it. But I do intend on releasing my Skyrim character, Serelynn's story at some point. I'll also have to make a tag for her. And maybe I'll draw again later on in my life but for now I'm just not feeling it. I do want to keep making things like my jewelry wire things and the other crafts projects I used to do but I like being able to give them to people, and right now I don't really have anyone to give them to.

I guess I'll tag @niiary @c0smicdusk @gameguy20100 @jacks-wack-attack @lady-lessobian @trice-thenobling @pilot-doodles @bread-tab @jkl930 and any of my followers and mutuals who want see this and want to.

Community-building Tag Game

Tagged by: @anchored-trident

Name: Internet safety 101, kids. Keep 'em guessing. ('Tea' is fine.)

Pronouns: he/him

Where do you call home? Northwest Canada! Nice and grey.

Favorite animal: Honestly I love pretty much all of them but if I had to, like. Cohabitate with one? Cats. God's favourite bastards. Also partial to polyphemus moths, the common brown bat, june beetles, golden moles, the silky tree anteater, poison dart frogs, hawks, chimney swifts, and nautuluses, too.

Cereal of choice: I am. Not a cereal person. Fruit loops?

Are you a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? Visual. 100%. Everything I do and use is organized by color. I will remember your birthmarks and tattoos and piercings and scars long before I remember your name or anything else about you. I forgot my own name once. It's bad

First pet: A big black cat.

Favorite scent: Oh, this is hard. I have a coconut shampoo that reminds me of my mom, and a white musk and oud perfume that makes me think of Cairo, and a plum/vanilla/white musk lotion that smells like the last week of school before summer vacation. A bottle of my dad's cologne he let me keep for my 16th birthday. Frankincense. Lilacs. Sunscreen. Cedarwood. Pine chips. Pumpkin. Clean laundry. I dont think I can pick just one.

Do you believe in astrology?  Not even a little bit. Sure is fun, tho!

How many playlists do you have on Spotify/Apple Music? Playlists in general? Too many. Couple dozen, probably. One for every occasion.

Sharpies or highlighters? Sharpies. Though I use highlighters more.

A song that makes you cry: Right now? "Dear Fellow Traveller" by Sea Wolf. Also "Cain" by Cousin Marnie.

A song that makes you happy: "Art Hoe" by Call Me Karizma, "Cannibal" by Naethan Apollo, "Wanted To" by Infected Mushroom, and "Daywalker!" By Machine Gun Kelly X CORPSE.

And finally, do you write/draw/create? if so, use this as an opportunity to shamelessly (😉) promote yourself!

I love to draw and oaint and sculpt and sew, but spend a lot of time at work and have some issues with hypersomnia so it doesn't happen as much as I'd like. Wish I could promote myself better because I miss creating but... I don't know. Maybe I'll make something in the morning.

@anchored-trident thanks for the nom'! ♡ This one was fun :)

Nominations (either because we're mutuals or I find you interesting): @melancholysage @naamahdarling @sterninhimmel-mond @mist-the-wannabe-linguist @smlmsworld @mangotarot @genderfuckedpigeon @twofaced-gemini-withnobrush

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Real World Inspiration

for additional physical features you can add to dragons! (previous post was an edit of the D&D black dragon. Next post will be some examples of dragon designs I made.)

The classic european dragon design used in a lot of mainstream fantasy is already kind of a mashup of many different animal features. Bat wings, long swan-like neck, lizard scales and tail, feet that look like reptilian lion feet or bird of prey talons, heads that are partway between a horse and a crocodile, horns like a goat or ram. They’re chimeric and that’s fun to work with. But they do often end up being mostly just big scales, a pair of horns, and then a lot of random spikes. And that’s fine, but there are so many weird physical structures that exist on real world animals which could easily be used on dragons. Let’s look at them in a series of specific categories.

(Under a cut cuz it got so very very long sorry)

(Description: a collage titled "spikes", showing real world animals with lots of spiky structures on their bodies. Photos of an iguana and a crocodile are labeled "osteoderms". A photo of an echidna is labeled "modified hair". And a photo of an inflated porcupine fish is labeled "modified scales". End description.)

Since dragons are usually depicted as reptilians, osteoderms and modified scales would be the most common way to add lots of spikes in a realistic manner. Iguanas have a whole crest of tall osteoderms on their spines, and the bumps all along a crocodile's back are also osteoderms.

Osteoderm means "bone skin" and they're basically just calcified skin deposits. Boney, but lightweight, not as sturdy as bones, and not at all connected to the skeleton. Armadillo armor is also a form of osteoderm.

Scales are made of a similar material to fingernails, hair, and feathers, and sometimes they get really spiky without necessarily including osteoderm structures. I used a porcupine fish for that but it turns out science is uncertain what their spines actually are. The thorny devil lizard is a good example though, that thing is nothing but spiky scales (even its big facial horns have no bone underneath)

And of course things like echidna, porcupines, and hedgehogs are covered in spikes that are just really thick sturdy hairs. Evolution is bizarre.

And those are all very effective ways to put lots of spikes on a dragon without adding extra weight from bone spikes that emerge from the skeleton.

(Description: a photo collage titled "dangly bits" showing several animals that have extra flesh hanging from parts of their bodies. Photos of a turkey, rooster, and long wattled umbrella bird are labeled "wattles". A photo of an anole lizard showing its throat display and a photo of a moose are labeled "dewlaps". And a drawing of a catfish is labeled "barbels". End description.)

Wattles are pretty common in many bird species. Extra neck flesh that usually starts by the jaw and may be connected further along the neck but doesnt have to be. The umbrella bird here has a retractable wattle covered in feathers which it can move to make it look like it has a very long pinecone hanging off its neck. I love how weird it is.

A similar structure is the dewlap, which can be found on lizards like anoles and iguanas, but can also be found in birds and even mammals. It's a fleshy protrusion from the neck which can be small and dangly or rather large. Sometimes it's ts flat, but sometimes it's chubby, like on some rabbits.]

And of course we have catfish barbels, which are like thick fleshy whiskers. Lots of asian dragon depictions include barbels because they take inspiration from carp, like the koi fish.

(Description: a collage titled "frills" showing animals which have various flaring body parts. Photos of a frilled lizard, a chameleon, and a photo collection of birds I couldn't identify, are labeled "crests". Photos of a betta fish, a black bass, and a lionfish, are labeled "fins". End description.)

I'm not sure the frilled lizard counts as having a crest but I had to include it somewhere. I did not look hard enough to learn exactly how it raises its frill, but I did find that the frill only has two very thin bones in it, right by the jaw. The rest is just really precise musculature I guess.

Chameleon crests are built on bone structures, like the ceratopsian dinosaurs bony neck frills. And of course, there are countless bird species that have feathery crests of all forms.

I know I said on my posts correcting official dnd dragons that I disliked the neck fins on those, but fins can look like that with sturdy points and scalloped edges. I just dont like the way they're usually drawn on dragons, with a singular lonely neck fin that has thick bones in it. It would be much more fun if it was accompanied by other fin structures to create a more cohesive creature. May as well go all the way if you're going to add any frill, right?

(Description: a collage titled "bizarre extras" showing animals that have really weird and unique physical features. Photos of a bat, a star nosed mole, and a mandril, are labeled "noses". Photos of a sage rouse's mating display and a frog's vocal sac are labeled "ballooning". And a photo of the spider tailed viper is labeled "lures". End description.)

This is the section for the weird miscellaneous stuff I basically never see in dragon art. Which is a shame because the real world is full of the weirdest creatures. Weird noses serve purposes by interacting with scent in complex ways, or in the mandril's case, being a point of display. Noses with weird structures can also create different noises for communication.

Lots of creatures have ballooning display structures. Usually for the purposes of attracting a mate and competing for territory. Sage grouses, prairie chickens, frigate birds, and of course frogs, all have weird throat structures they can inflate for communication, attraction, and intimidation. Dragons could even use it as part of their breath weapons. Why not have an extra sac in the throat to carry a special gas or something?

And lures! Angler fish, snapping turtles with tongues that look like worms, and this absolutely bizarre snake that has evolved modified scales on the tip of its tail to resemble a spider. Many animals use specially adapted body parts to lure prey, which then allows them to hunt without expending too much energy. Being a predator is hard work, and most predators will back away from a fight because they do not want to spend the energy or risk injury when they can find an easier target.

Dragons are huge! They must need so much meat to maintain their energy stores. I think it's sensible for some dragons to live quietly, spending as little energy as possible while they use adapted body parts to lure prey. A dragon in a cave with a modified tail that resembles treasure? A green dragon disguised as a small hill in a field with a long tongue that resembles a delectable plant to lure in cattle? Dragons in dark environments with bioluminescent lures? I know big dramatic dragon battles are fun, but this is just such a good concept I'm sad I don't really see it used.

Anyway theres a lot of real world physical features that I think could be used on dragons more. My method of finding interesting and unique ideas for dragons is usually to just google "weird/cool (insert animal here)".