#what kind of habitat do they require?

[angelnumber27]

I think it would be incredibly cool to have an aquarium of nudibranchs as lil pets..

[reasonsforhope]

"In 2021, scientists in Guelph, Ontario set out to accomplish something that had never been done before: open a lab specifically designed for raising bumble bees in captivity. 

Now, three years later, the scientists at the Bumble Bee Conservation Lab are celebrating a huge milestone. Over the course of 2024, they successfully pulled off what was once deemed impossible and raised a generation of yellow-banded bumble bees. 

The Bumble Bee Conservation Lab, which operates under the nonprofit Wildlife Preservation Canada, is the culmination of a decade-long mission to save the bee species, which is listed as endangered under the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation...

Although the efforts have been in motion for over a decade, the lab itself is a recent development that has rapidly accelerated conservation efforts. 

For bee scientists, the urgency was necessary. 

“We could see the major declines happening rapidly in Canada’s native bumble bees and knew we had to act, not just talk about the problem, but do something practical and immediate,” Woolaver said. 

Yellow-banded bumble bees, which live in southern Canada and across a huge swatch of the United States, were once a common species.

However, like many other bee species, their populations declined sharply in the mid-1990s from a litany of threats, including pathogens, pesticides, and dramatic habitat loss. 

Since the turn of the century, scientists have plunged in to give bees a helping hand. But it was only in the last decade that Woolaver and his team “identified a major gap” in bumble bee conservation and set out to solve it. 

“No one knew how to breed threatened species in captivity,” he explained. “This is critically important if assurance populations are needed to keep a species from going extinct and to assist with future reintroductions.”

To start their experiment, scientists hand-selected wild queen bees throughout Ontario and brought them to the temperature-controlled lab, where they were “treated like queens” and fed tiny balls of nectar and pollen. 

Then, with the help of Ontario’s African Lion Safari theme park, the queens were brought out to small, outdoor enclosures and paired with other bees with the hope that mating would occur. 

For some pairs, they had to play around with different environments to “set the mood,” swapping out spacious flight cages for cozier colony boxes. 

And it worked. 

“The two biggest success stories of 2024 were that we successfully bred our focal species, yellow-banded bumble bees, through their entire lifecycle for the first time,” Woolaver said. 

“[And] the first successful overwintering of yellow-banded bumble bees last winter allowed us to establish our first lab generation, doubling our mating successes and significantly increasing the number of young queens for overwintering to wake early spring and start their own colonies for future generations and future reintroductions.”

Although the first-of-its-kind experiment required careful planning, consideration, resources, and a decade of research, Woolaver hopes that their efforts inspire others to help bees in backyards across North America. 

“Be aware that our native bumble bees really are in serious decline,” Woolaver noted, “so when cottagers see bumble bees pollinating plants in their gardens, they really are seeing something special.”"

-via GoodGoodGood, December 9, 2024

[the-apotheosis]

still thinking about the person who called our nature centre and asked if they could bring their pet bird in a backpack for a walk on our trails

[endursent]

Hi Ma’am! I’ve recently come across your “my partner turned into a cat” series and it’s wonderful. I was wondering if I could request something similar where reader turns into their partner’s favourite animal? Preferably with Kaveh, Neuvi, and Dottore (if you write for him). If not, that’s all good. Have a nice day!

【 content; established relationship , humour , gn!reader , temporarily turned animal (reader) 】

【 characters; il dottore, kaveh , neuvillette 】

【 note; i haven't actually written for dottore before strangely enough considering how much i love him, so it might take a while for me to get his personality and mannerisms down... thank you for the ask! 】

【 word count; 1.454 | masterlist 】

Il Dottore;

Never had you considered what his “favourite animal” is, mostly because you’re convinced Dottore doesn’t have a “favourite” anything—his interests are too unpredictable and subject to change at any moment. 

  Though you should have seen it coming that one day, his experimentation would strike you—thankfully you’re not dead, you’re luckier than some assistants that have been zapped a time or two and carried out in body bags. However…

  Why are you a fat little platypus, and why does he seem so excited about it?

  You look absolutely ridiculous, you imagine—and feel, having four legs and a beak is peak body horror that is unfortunately eating at your brain right now. And yet, Dottore picks you up like one would a cat and dangles you in front of him with both an excited and thoughtful expression. “How unexpected—and interesting. I made little change to the formula…” he plops you down on the table next to the damned formula he had been adjusting… never will you inhale “experiment fumes” again. Not that you’re supposed to be doing so in any case.

  “A fascinating specimen indeed,” he pokes around your fur and you shake yourself, but he is relentless with his prodding! “One of the few mammals capable of electroreception! I wonder if you've maintained those sensory capabilities... This requires immediate testing."

  He doesn’t leave you alone for a single second that you’re like this, always either checking something—one time you were freaking out about the fact that you had no idea how to eat or drink like this… and Dottore took out a notebook and tried to get you to bite his fingers to “test the venom”... you bite a bit harder than he likely bargained for. 

  Dottore does try to “help” in his own way, while he brainstorms how to turn you back, he creates a “suitable habitat” with burrowing zones and a “pool”. He means well, but he’s also using it to observe you like a specimen so you kick up dirt and splash water on the floor and tables in spite.

  Out of anyone, Dottore is the fastest to get you back to normal… or he could, if he wanted to. But he kind of likes seeing you waddle around trying to walk with webbed feet and seeing you knock your tail into things and make weird noises. He has plenty of experience pressing your buttons and what makes you tick as a human, why not enjoy a new side of you?

Kaveh;

He’s more traumatised than you are when one moment you’re standing next to him—and the next there’s a random ass deer there. He looks around and searches for you frantically, thinking you might have fallen into a creek or rolled downhill… very unaware of that same deer following him around and trying to get his attention. 

  He does love deer, he thinks you’re unimaginably cute but also kind of silly in the way horses are silly but not huge and terrifying. 

  Kaveh almost needs you to headbutt him for him to realise that you are, in fact, in front of him and not soaking around in a nearby river hanging out with the frogs. Thankfully, he’s smart enough to put two and two together after he snaps out of it—but now he’s just confused.

  How? You had just been right there! There wasn’t even a rustle of leaves or anything!

  In any case, he needs to get you back to the city… you walk like a human in a deer suit, unused to the long four legs and strange join positions—and as soon as you enter his and Alhaitham’s home (after getting your antlers caught in the door like an idiot if you have those) you suddenly stop. 

  “What is it?” Kaveh peeps from behind you, confused as to why your ass is just standing in the doorway.

  The house has hardwood floors.

  He doesn’t realise this, of course, and gives your behind a firm push—only for you to slip and slide and nearly tumble inside like a freshly born animal. Kaveh rushes in behind you, apologising for nearly knocking you over and trying to make sure you don’t fall against anything and break things… Alhaitham would never let him live it down if he saw this.

  It’s not exactly easy to… navigate this, you’re not a small animal nor are you yourself particularly knowledgeable about your new proportions. 

  He can barely stop himself from continuously stroking your fur and feeding you crunchy things to be able to watch you munch on them. It does kind of kill the fascination he had with deer, as he’s never really interacted with them so closely until you happened to become one.

  You follow him around like a lost puppy, even as he had a very important client meeting—you didn’t let him get away… and thus, Kaveh had to improvise a bit. 

  The client, an older woman, squints at you standing slightly behind Kaveh and trying to munch on the blueprints in his hands (you haven’t had food for two hours, which is disastrous with this huge stomach you have now). 

  Kaveh clears his throat, pushing your snout away. “Yes, we can change the—no, you see, this is… yes, it’s okay, this is just… a friend.”

  He has no idea how to explain this so he just chooses not to. “Anyway… about that garden idea, if we put a patio by this side—”

Neuvillette;

You can’t believe he’s keeping you in a bowl. 

  Somehow, and for some reason, when you had accompanied Neuvillette for an evening walk along the seaside just outside of Fontaine’s walls—you had stubbed your toe on a shell that stuck out of the ground, and with a sudden zap… you had turned into a blob.

  Neuvillette looks up from his desk as he hears your soft body pound against the bowl next to him—and toss up some water that almost splashes onto the documents splayed out before him—and frowns slightly. “I know it’s not very spacious… I apologise, my love. But I don’t have anything larger at this moment, hopefully the pet store will find a more adequately sized fish tank soon.”

  He doesn’t understand how you had suddenly turned into a jellyfish, you had been behind him for a brief moment before he heard your curse (likely because you stubbed your toe) and then a poof… when Neuvillette had turned around, you were like a deflated balloon on dry land. 

  Thankfully he had created a pocket of water for you from the saltwater nearby to float in as he brought you back to the city, but the situation puzzled him greatly—how could you become such a creature? He wasn’t entirely sure you were fully conscious in that body, but judging by your frustrated movements in the small bowl, he suspected you at least had partial awareness. 

  Neuvillette doesn’t want to leave you alone while you’re like this, he’s both worried you might suddenly transform back, without any clothes—which would be terribly awkward to try and depart his office in that state—or possible hurt yourself if you broke the bowl with the transformation and cut yourself.

  Thus, thankfully after you’re given a larger tank in his office (and at home, he’s not leaving you at his office overnight alone!) there is a smaller one placed in the Opera Epiclese, next to his chair. 

  During a court proceeding, Neuvillette had to present the evidence in a firmer manner than usual, as the representative to the one being judged was being rather contrarian—which was far from productive and consumed far more time than it needed to. 

  Every time he successfully made an argument that couldn’t be refuted or argued with, you released a faint bioluminescent glow—as if applauding his expert navigations of the evidence and arguments. No one seems to notice (it’s difficult enough to see Neuvillette so high up above the stage) but he still feels a bit sheepish when you do it—you’re likely not doing it on purpose, he doubts you would know how.

  Neuvillette is very careful with the temperature and the salinity levels of the water you inhabit for the time being, he creates a careful schedule to check it every few hours as well as adjusting it depending on day and night. He’s very determined to ensure you’re as comfortable as you can be, whether you realise you’re a weird blob with tentacles or not. 

  And he hopes he can figure out how to change you back soon… as cute as it is to watch you twirl around and show off when he stands before your tank, he would rather you show off your moves as yourself—where he can properly talk to and touch you. 

[markscherz]

Can I ask how you feel about your Tumblr fame?

I get the impression you just made this account for normal casual funsies reasons, but it kinda blew up by happenstance. If that's right, I'm curious if now you feel like it's kind of a more serious thing, where you have an opportunity to sorta act as a science communicator with a reach you otherwise might not?

Or maybe something else? You gonna see if you can somehow leverage your Tumblr fame to get research funding? Deputize us to harass polluters and developers destroying habitats? Crowdsource name ideas for new species?

It's a bit bizarre, in that it has very little real-world-ness to it. I showed my mother the ongoing tumblr celebrity poll, and she was like 'how many people could possibly be interested in frogs?', to which I replied 'well as of today about 46,000 and counting'.

I have always had an unhealthy relationship with fame. I spent most of my teen and young adult life fawning after it, as is I suppose very often the case.

More after the cut…

I always really wanted to be famous, but I was never really interested in changing who I was or what I represented in that pursuit. That is to say, I wanted to be known for what I was already doing, or for things that were already interesting for me, rather than things that might have much higher chances of success but require more effort or be less in line with the things that I am interested in.

I had my first brush with virality in 2012, when a poem I wrote went a little viral (largely thanks to StumbleUpon). I remember the rush of seeing how much attention it was getting, and staying up late to keep refreshing the page as the visitor numbers went up and up and up.

But not long after that, I had some closer encounters with fame and people becoming famous. That was extremely eye-opening. I witnessed first hand how strongly that can affect someone's life, for good and for bad. That experience also made me realise, quite jarringly, that famous people are still just people; that celebrity is something extrinsic to them; that they also wipe their own butts (if they are able); and that in many cases, it is a substantial inconvenience if not downright pain in the ass for them. I think this is why we see so many of the big celebrities having mental health crises or trying to live as much of their lives out of the public eye as possible.

That experience pretty much stifled my desire to achieve fame, and really changed my relationship with it. I should add that I could say much more on this topic, but nothing so coherent or insightful as John and Hank Green, who have given me so much clarity on this topic over the years through their thoughtful commentary on youtube and their podcasts.

Anyway, in spite of the fact that fame itself doesn't really appeal to me anymore, I do still have a problem wherein I quickly became addicted to the microdosing of euphoria associated with every reblog and like and follow. So I put huge efforts into social media in order to try to gain traction in the space that I felt I could really compete in—Very Niche SciComm™—and build up a following.

Tumblr was the first platform where I felt that really succeed; I managed to fight my way to a few thousand followers with a thick queue of regular posts about herpetology and other science. At that time, there was a great community building up in the rudimentary private messaging system—I am still friends with several other tumblr bloggers from that era (none of whom I have ever met in person). From that early time (2013), I think my most successful post was probably this one about germination of 32,000 year old seeds—a post that, as of today, has 836 notes, but at the time felt huge and exhilarating.

As I went through gradschool, I got more and more active on twitter, and less and less active on tumblr (by the time I wound down, I had about 8,000 followers on tumblr). This was partly because of the pornbot takeover on tumblr, which meant I basically could not go on the platform in public or at work, but also because the audience and interactions are just fundamentally different. Twitter had a different kind of vibe and energy than tumblr, and there were real SciComm experts there, who were doing it just completely differently. More importantly, I became more focussed on doing outreach aimed at colleagues, rather than non-experts.

Then, in 2017, I hit headlines for the first time. The description of Geckolepis megalepis made it big on social and traditional media, and I had my first experience with real media attention. I had a flurry of late-night phone-calls with journalists in the US. This was a different animal altogether than the few viral posts I had had until that point. It was extremely stressful, but exhilarating. Then in 2018, our chameleon fluorescence story made similar headlines, and in 2019 the Mini frogs, and in 2021 with gecko fluorescence and the smallest chameleon.

Seeing my name on the BBC News website and in the New York Times and National Geographic—those things have been the most surreal moments of near-fame I have experienced so far. The number of followers on social media is quite difficult to conceptualise, but seeing your own name in a media outlet that you consume regularly, or have grown up with, is more palpable.

In any case, I continued to run with twitter as my main platform for years, because I found the interaction with colleagues and other academics highly stimulating. In 2021, I even posted a twitter thread about a different species of frog from Madagascar every day for the full year. All this work was ultimately greeted with mediocre success; I just crested over 10,000 followers a few months before the Musth takeover. But then the platform became basically unusable. And in the fallout, I came back to tumblr, where, just by chance, I happened to find a post about the Mini frogs and reply to it and it went properly viral and now here we are. In the space of a year, I went from having 8000 followers to having >46,000.

How do I feel about that? It's bonkers. I think it is great that so many people are interested in hearing the Good News about frogs and other creatures. But I also feel like I am not really on the same playing field as most of the others in that poll mentioned above, in that I do not have any of the celebrity that several others have. And I know for a fact that there are fanblogs with far, far larger followings than I have. But perhaps that is the great thing about tumblr; that the playing field is somehow levelled…

What's the point of this ramble? Well, first I guess it is to outline that I have given fame a lot of thought over the years, and I have a long-standing and complicated relationship with it, and take it quite seriously. Second, to illustrate that I have been working on as a science communicator or person in outreach for many years—it has kind of been my social media brand since I started gradschool in 2013. And third, to kind of outline how we got here, because I often feel like you have to know where an arrow has come from in order to figure out which direction it will continue to fly.

You asked if I would somehow try to leverage my tumblr fame to get research funding—I already do that. In fact, my social media activity had a signfiicant role in landing me my current job, and will continue to help me achieve tenure. Outreach is an important part of my job, and funders like it too.

I would love to have the community-building power and tenacity of the brothers Green; Nerdfighteria has achieved some incredible things over the years, and the power of that community is now being seen at an unprecedented scale in their battle for equitable access for tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment. But I do not have that in me; this platform is the wrong one for community activation, and my community is still too small for that. Moreover, it is not organised or structured, in the way that I think effective deputisation would require.

As for the crowdsourcing of name ideas, that is currently off the table. I like to try to name things on my own or with my colleauges; it is a very good part of the process. And I have yet to hear a suggestion for a Mini species epithet that I had not already come up with myself, so I am not convinced that this would really augment the experience.

So for now, I hope that the main way I use the platform, and the power that comes with a few thousand followers, will be to spread the Good News about frogs and other wonderful animals, and the other kinds of science happening around us (and occasional other off-topic content). I hope that you are encouraged to explore the world around you, and to do your own reading to find out more about the subjects that interest you. And also I will continue to try to make meme-worthy content, because it does nice, if addictive, things in my brain when I get the clicks.

Thanks for asking, anon, and sorry for the Wall of Text.

[notdotspot]

Dp x Dc We Meet Again

Masterpost

Tim was waiting impatiently in his normal corner of the Bat Burger. He finds it difficult to sit still when he is so close to clues about his dreams. Despite his anger at Bruce for benching him, the ten hours of sleep did grant him reprieve from his visions. He thought sleeping would have reawoken the nightmares, but Tim had dreamless sleep for the first time in years. In retrospect, he does not even have clear memories past the forty-eight-hour mark, so his research after that time was nothing but jumbled thoughts. At least now he is not plagued with paranoia and that creature lurking in the outskirts of his vision. He could take the chance to get some fuel in his body, though Damian would argue a burger and fries are not sufficient nutrients for their nighttime activities, and put his rest towards quality investigation. 

The door chimed as new customers walked in. Tim glanced up to see Jason walking towards him. Tim would have directed his attention back to his food if he had not noticed Jason speaking to someone behind them. Leading the mystery person to the table where he was sitting. 

“Trust me he is chill. He might actually be able to help.” Jason’s attention turns to Tim. “I brought someone for you to meet. I do not think he is working for Ras but I think he knows something about the Lazarus Pits.”

“Hi, I am Phantom,” says a boy as he pops out from behind Jason.

Tim freezes the second their eyes meet. Those green eyes sent him right back to the clearing he found himself in four nights ago. The black figure whose whole being radiated fear and death. A glowing green aura and eyes to match. Eyes he has seen a thousand times since his dream. Eyes that were burned onto the back of his eyelids. Eyes that he thought he escaped after sleeping off his exhaustion. Eyes he had nearly chalked up to being a fictional dream and a symptom of delirium. 

He squeezes his eyes shut, but the darkness does not cover the blazing green of those eyes. His ears are ringing and his heart is pounding out of his chest. A firm hand grips his shoulder and his eyes spring open, meeting Jason's clear blue eyes. 

Tim finally registers his voice, “Hey, Timmy! Are you good?”

A voice off to the side speaks quietly, “Is he okay? Should I  leave?”

“No!” Tim forces out, quickly. “Stay. I need answers.”

The boy, Phantom he remembers, hesitantly slides into the booth.

“I can try.”

“What are you?” Tim asks with a bit too much aggression. Jason smacks him on the back of the head. 

“Do not be rude, dipshit. He is willing to help and he does not seem like a threat.”

“Were you not just chasing him through the city earlier?” Tim accuses.

Phantom interrupts, “Yes, but it was all fun and games. I try not to interfere with human realms.”

“So, you are not human?” Tim’s scrutinizing gaze tears through him. Jason goes to slap him again but Tim catches his hand, giving him a dirty look.

“Be nice.”

Tim raises his hands in surrender but his guarded posture remains. “Okay. Okay. Can you, please, queue us in on your existence?” 

“Sure! I am a ghost from a different realm,” he says, casually, “It can not be that crazy. You have a Kryptonian on your planet and he is a ghost, too.” Phantom points at Jason.

“I mean, well, kind of. Not in the same way that I am but he reeks of tainted ectoplasmic residue. He has seen death. I can feel it.” 

“What? I am a ghost?”

Phantom turns to Jason. “Not quite. It is like the difference between fish and aquatic mammals. Ghosts, or for the sake of this analogy fish, survive within water. They rely on it for habitat and food sources, but they also breathe it. You are like an aquatic mammal, you seem to also rely on the water, or ectoplasm, for survival, but you do not breathe it. If my inference is right, you require your human functions to be alive but without ectoplasmic energy, you would unravel. You would be like a beached whale, still alive, but slowly shutting down without water. There is likely a more scientific approach but no way to know for sure without a lab.”

“Cool.” Jason stands from his spot. “Good enough for me. I am getting food. Your usual, Tim?”

“Sure,” Tim says blankly, eyes never leaving Phantom. 

“Anything for you, kid?”

“Not a kid, but I will take a number three. Thank you.” Jason walks around the corner to place the order. Tim’s eyes harden.

“My turn. Why are you haunting me?”

“I am not. Haunting is not a real thing. Just some GIW propaganda to make people subconsciously fear ghosts. A haunt is a ghost’s safe space and a term stolen and twisted by humans,” he replies, cooly. There is a tinge of bitterness in his voice.

“Okay, so why did I see you in my dreams? What is the GIW?”

“The GIW stands for Guys in White. Some secret government organization under the guise of public security. They research and hunt ghosts. To the dream question, I do not know, but I am flattered.”

“I am serious. Night terror level dreams.”

Phantom seemed to soften. “Look, I really do not know. Maybe you had a recent brush with death. Sometimes close encounters wear down the line between our realms. I am sorry. They will go away with time.”

Jason slams the food tray down, sliding into the booth next to Tim. 

“Thank you, uhh?”

“Red Hood,” Tim answers for him, seeing as Jason had already slid back his helmet for a bite of burger. 

“I am Tim.”

They eat silently as Tim and Phantom’s eyes flicker back and forth. Jason finishes quickly, and with his helmet back in place, turns to Phantom.

“So, is the Lazuras Pit ectoplastic?”

“Ectoplasm? Umm. Do you have a picture?”

Tim wipes his hands and grabs his phone. He takes a moment to scroll and type before turning the screen, displaying a picture of a glowing green pit.

“Oh. One hundred percent ectoplasm.”

“Is there a way to fix me? Should I swim in it again?”

“Again? No. You never should have in the first place. It looks dirty. I can infuse you with fresh ectoplasm. With the right amount, it should last you about the same time as a normal human lifespan. I would need a few days to do the calculations and maybe consult some colleagues.” 

“Colleagues?” Jason questions.

“People I know. They would know more than me about ectoplasm specifics. I will make the trip soon.” 

Tim speaks up, having tucked his phone away, “Could you get rid of the Lazarus Pit?”

“I think so. It would need some purification but, theoretically, I could send it back to the ghost zone.”

Tim turns to Jason, “I think you need to brief B. We could solve more than one issue with Phantom’s help.”

Phantom’s phone begins to ring. He pulls it from a pocket that was definitely not there before.

“I have to take this. Thank you for the meal.” He exits the booth, answering the phone. 

“Hey, Frostbite. Perfect timing! I have some questions for you.”

As Phantom neared the door, already engrossed in his conversation, Tim calls out, “How will we contact you?”

“I will find you!”

-----------

Linked the master post bc I am lazy and don't want to link each part individually

I can't stop writing. I am about to get busy with personal work, so updates may slow down. I was posting a chapter a day but I don't know if I can keep up with that as this story gets longer. I will try to find a schedule quickly!

Thank you for reading!

[eldritch-spouse]

Caius getting obsessed with the most forbidden of fruits: a nun.

TW: Descriptions of blood-drinking.

A forbidden fruit that, when you think about it, he has plenty of access to.

You're even more vulnerable than the average person he could have obsessed with. Presuming Caius is visiting your convent, you've certainly heard the word "exsanguinarius" being thrown around.

As the world begins to accept monsters anew, churches have progressively toned down discrimination towards monsters. Where once they were openly shunned and vilified, they began to be tolerated, and now, included, in a resurgence of monstrous religious cultures. Naturally, practices of old are now a lot more popular and sought after, which is why dear Magister Draug is traveling just about everywhere, spreading his teachings and performing "purifications".

Your convent receives him in order to learn. Learn about the past roles of monsters in churches, no matter how shortlived, the ranks that have long since been extinguished, and of course, what someone like him can do for you.

The moment he set foot within you convent, you found him extemely odd. Bizarre coverings and an air of predation exuded off the monster, but you could never point that out, or chance being fingered for blatant discrimination. After all, the exsanguinarius are an old rank, for certain they wore differing garbs. And Caius had never once disrespected any of you, he's been the perfect picture of politeness and charm this entire time.

There were only but a few tenuous moments of awkwardness before he had your fellow nuns entranced in vivid conversation, even stringing you along at one point. It felt as if this was second nature to him, a natural habitat of sorts. Even the abbess seemed delighted to have Caius around.

The most frustrating part about feeling uneasy around him is that you have no proof that he's nefarious in intent.

Caius has time and time again demonstrated great patience with every nun present. He answered questions about his monstrous nature that are by no means required to be addressed, he calmly and constructively corrected misconceptions that could be more than a little offensive, he even empathized with the more fidgety nuns that would sometimes get frightened by his sudden presence. If that wasn't enough to cement him as a beloved figure, he takes it upon himself to help with all kinds of burdensome chores when he visits, putting a well-built figure to good use. You even caught some of the sisters subtly eyeing him.

He seems, and you really hope you're not just being paranoid, to want to catch you alone specifically. Rope you into interaction through whatever little stretch possible. You're not sure why he finds you fascinating, maybe it's just that he's noticed you're not as open, and wants to prod at your defenses. Conversation doesn't flow easily between you, but it doesn't stop him. There are no eyes in his face. You don't think a leech requires sight the same way humans do, but he looks at you intently, thoughtfully. Mulling something.

It reaches its height when Caius decides the sisters should see the process of a simple, non-invasive purification process. They must become accustomed to these procedures, Magister Draug insisted.

Isn't it just the wildest coincidence that you are selected as the guinea pig?

Denying it means creating tension, perhaps another cleverly disguised guilt-trip where Caius laments the way people still regard his kind as abominable and untrustworthy. The lack of choice here is implicit. So you smile politely, surrendering to the cold and mildly damp touch of the leech while he positions you directly in front of him. Caius breezes clawed fingerpads around your form as he explains the various sections where it is more common to begin the blood letting process. You squirm when he thumbs a claw around the inside of your wrist. Magister Draug whispers that he'll handle you as gently as porcelain, urging you to expose your arm when he kneels before you.

You can't explain how the sight affects you. The way your arm is held just firmly enough to remind you of what's going to happen, contrasted with the way he seems to be smelling your blood vessels through your skin. He pinpoints exactly where the puncturing should occur, and your lips wobble thinking of his massive teeth. Surprisingly however, Caius only uses the very edge of one, flexing his gums in a quick jab motion that sends a jolt of pain through you for only a brief second before he latches his entire mouth around the wound.

You know he can well and truly shred into you, that it would be a lot more effective for a monster like him to sink all bold teeth into whatever part of your body he picks, and the punctures would be deep enough to suck you dry in minutes probably. It takes a while to remind yourself he's not a starving beast or a killer. The sensation of Caius' draining is alien and far too intimate. You can feel his tongue swirling the area, applying periodic pressure to stimulate blood flow, you can feel him sucking and swallowing, the way his throat moves.

Some part of you thinks it's the lightheaded feeling adding to physical sensation, but you shudder in all sorts of ways and pant quietly. When your legs tremble, a practiced motion helps you take a seat on the chair nearby. You get the feeling he's been drinking for a little too long, but just before anxiety and unwanted arousal make you wrench your arm away -What a terrible idea- Caius ceases, popping off your arm with a noticeable hickey.

A spongy tongue quickly wipes redness off his jaws and teeth. He stresses how perfectly you behaved and the manner of impurities he supposedly just drained from your blood. All the while, he's already working on patching your wound, like nothing transpired, like he didn't just give you a brand new erotic experience.

Why... Why is his tail coiled around your leg?

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Cute little 1bd, 1ba 1985 dome home in Bryans Road, MD. It's $680K with 29.32 acres of land and is close to Washington, DC. It's under contract, though.

I love all the skylights in the dome. Kind of cool looking heat stove.

Looks like they had a makeshift kitchen and brought in some cabinets to install.

I wonder who has to install these and get the counter tops?

Some shelving in the dining area.

Lots of storage. Not loving the floor.

The place is really roughed out, very makeshift. Weird toilet placement.

Then, this would be considered the bedroom up here. This is nice. Spacious and that gorgeous dome. I would have to finish this home and make it stunning.

Looking down. It really needs a nice floor.

There's a lot of acreage, but if you want to build there are provisions in the Conservation Easement to build a new home within a specified area of up to 3,000 FSF.

This property is being sold together with an adjacent parcel for a total of approximately 30 acres, near the Moyaone Reserve in Charles County. The Conservation Easement on the property to preserve the natural habitat and character of the property, which requires one owner for both parcels. So, it's a lot of land, but I guess you can't really use it.

There's also this big building on the property. It looks like the owner had a business here.

How did they get vehicles back here? Looks like a loading dock is on the back of this building.

It has a Winnie the Pooh restroom.

Must be the office.

Huge building.

Geez, how big is this place?

This is weird. What do you do with this giant building? Make it into a house?

More of the land.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6805-Simms-Mill-Pl-Bryans-Road-MD-20616/36738349_zpid/

[ryuzakemo128]

Grim Reaper - Supernatural AU

Pairing: Poly! Task Force 141 x you/ female reader

Content Warning: Fantasy Violence, Nogitsune, betrayal. If there is something triggering in this, I have not tagged. I suggest you read at your own discretion.

Words: 1024

Masterlist - Prequel - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six

Credit for Dividers: @cafekitsune + @strangergraphics

Summary: You are known for taking on a human form. Taking joy in tormenting, tricking, and possessing humans.

You are a Nogitsune. The translation for this is wild fox.

Alternate names for you are Yako, Yakan.

Yakan is more archaic. Its origin lie elsewhere. Predominately in a different animal.

Many local variations of your name exist. Only known to those in those areas.

Your habitat is located amongst the fields, forests, and wild areas.

Your diet? Omnivorous. You particularly like wax, oil, lacquer, women’s life force and blood. You are quite happy with your appetite. Only going out of your way to eat when it suits you and your own hunger.

Often referred to as Yako. A type of kitsune. A breed of magical kitsune to be more specific. You wander the East Asian territories amongst your kin.

You do not have a divine soul. Not only that, but you are not a messenger of the gods. You do not serve the Inari.

You are known for taking on a human form. Taking joy in tormenting, tricking, and possessing humans.

A keen sense of danger. Strong disliking for bright light. Hiding from the sun during the day. Scared of swords and knives. You do not do well with bladed objects. An intense fear of dogs. As soon as you smell one. You are already gone. Hiding.

Able to recognise human activity even though you hide from humans. Whenever you get the chance to. You are nowhere to be found. Which you generally enjoy. Sneaking around to steal some of your favourite foods like; wax, candles, lamp oil, lacquer, alcohol, and fried tofu. A feast for you. A delicious feast no other could compare to.

Some kitsune are viewed as holy creatures, magical foxes serving as messengers to the gods. You are not one of them. You are a low-ranking member. Furthermore, you do not act as a messenger. You do not serve the Inari. Despite all of this. You seem relatively comfortable with your low ranking. You don’t aspire to increase your standing.

In order to change your shape, your form, you requite a bone from a horse or a cow. It requires all of your concentration, your magical focus of some form or kind.

This went on for a while. Long enough for a task force 141 to find you all the way out in the English countryside. Resting on dry hay inside an abandoned stable. Clutching onto a worn-out pink teddy bear. A giant one. Big enough to cover your entire body. Engulfing it in a warm beacon of safety.

You knew this day would come eventually. People hated monsters. Monsters would always be stomped out by those who are deemed better on a biased moral compass. You wished you are back at home with your older siblings. Yet you were all the way out here. No way back. Lost and alone.

What you deserve and what you get are two separate things.

You deserved to be home. Instead, you were tricked into coming all the way out here by a person you called 'friend'. A friend who was a liar. A snake. A false promise. A deception. A deceiver. Unworthy of being your friend.

You’ve been running from them for months. You were too tired to put up much of a fight. If any at all. You didn’t hear the stable doors creak open or the footsteps of crunching gravel. “Are you here to kill me?” You asked. “To slay the mighty beast in order to receive a medal and pat on your back? Spare me the hypocrisy that is your kind. Werewolves like you don’t know anything beyond your own kind. Well done. You got your prize. You won the fight. You get something while the beast is slain. How noble of you.”

Noble? Pathetic. Bowing down to the needs of the whims and wants of others. Look at you. Tamed and bound by an entity who would discard you the moment they found something better. I know these things better than you might think.

No wonder you smell. The dog smell. Putrid. Horrid. Disgusting. The dog crate smelled of hundreds of dogs. The putrid smelling seeping into your clothes. The smell stung your eyes to a new level you hadn’t experienced before. Stench overwhelming as you were muzzled to keep you from biting them.

Scared. They’re scared like little pups. Whinging. Whining. Wanting more than what they deserve to get. I don’t care about what they want. I don’t care. I don’t fucking care about anything they could possibly want from me. Their whims and desires can go fucking drown in a river for all I care.

Along the road to the military base full of people marching around in military fatigues. You must have passed out on the way there. Snoring like a bear. A giant bear. A big bear. A big, big bear. They tried prying it from you.

You gave them growls. Snapping at their fingers. Gaz got bit a few times. Not hard enough to hurt. Hard enough to ward him away from you.

Your eyes held a luminous glow to them. Even if they were only open for a few seconds before falling back asleep. Stretching a bit before breathing a steadily.

Lowering the air conditioning between 12 degrees to 17 degrees depending on your mood at the time. Keeping the room you were kept inside. Cold enough for you to keep you comfortable. Not them.

Laswell looking in the crate with flashlight as the dog crate presented to her like an offering to a god who knew little of your kind. The urge to strike. To bite her burned inside your soul.

Those fucking naïve bitches. Dangling a snack in front me? Tempting me to eat her, are we? Idiots. Morons. Just a bite. A nibble is all it takes to get to the sweet red nectar beneath her flesh. To gorge myself on her blood like it was ordained by my nature.

Grim.

Grim.

Grim Reaper.

A new name.

For a new place.

Mine.

All of it.

MINE.

Once they ask for my name.

It is all they shall get from me.

A small kindness for their pathetic interference.

[unnaturalequilibrium]

Capítulo 1

- Mafin rewatch (Sueños de Libertad)

I'm doing a rewatch and I want to dump my thoughts. We'll see how far I get. Block me, or the tag if it gets too annoying.

There’s something about a show establishing itself. It's like marmalade toast slipping out of your clumsy hand and falling to its doom. Sweet, but messy. The exposition that just gets splashed across the screen at every instance. Everything has to be explained as you enter this new world and they try to build it in front of you. It might be a little sticky then and there, but surprisingly nostalgic once you go back and already know all of the building blocks by name. And I can’t quite put my finger on why, but there’s something about the music in this episode that gives me sort of Beauty and the Beast vibes. If one of the colony girls burst out into song I wouldn’t really have been that surprised, it would feel natural and like she is only doing what the habitat required of her. Don’t really know who’d be who in this rendition though, except for Mateo who is clearly Chip and Gaspar who can be no one but Cogsworth.

Also, I kind of love that Marta’s first line of the entire show is about being disgusted by the straights making out in front of her breakfast. That’s my little lesbian in the making. It’s almost as good as Fina’s first introduction as the moody oaf who can’t keep a single emotion off her face even if her life depended on it. And why do I feel such strange warmth at that first two shot of them behind the cash register at the store? I don’t know, but I do. Almost as much warmth as the fact that they are the only ones in the opening credits that come with a pre-established link before there even is one.

Is that the virgin Mary above Fina’s bed? My applause for being able to find a statue that looks like its scissoring its hands together while still being able to pull off Catholicism. In another time and Universe closer to our own contemporary world - Fina would have bought that statue on her own and shamelessly have referred to it as her scissor sister. This is my headcanon and I'm sticking with it.

Marta taking care of her little brother is warming my heart. This neat businesswoman with a kind of regal disposition and she just throws his bag over her shoulder and carries on like no big whup. I like that they break up the somewhat stuck up facade she has by teasing that there's more there if you just focus for a couple of seconds longer.

Aww, jealous and guarded Fina with her box of secret sapphic letters. This is such a contrast to the Fina we know and love, but also one hundred percent is the very same. That mood, oh how I love that mood.

They’re establishing Marta's absent husband and she really doesn’t bat an eye at the fact that he’s off somewhere in Manila. Doing rugged things and not being her problem. Alas, you sweet summer child (I whisper at her, but mostly also to remind myself of what's to come).

Marta really does start off as the mediator between her brothers, I am looking forward to the development and shift in those relationships.

I love how there wasn’t a single bone of subtle in Fina’s gay introduction. The woman practically lost her jaw at a shapely ankle and fidgeted like a frantic frisky teenager when she finally managed to tear her eyes away from Petra. It’s kind of glorious that they spent no time beating around this bush. Straight to the gay point.

Isidro is established as a weather-worn relationship Yoda from the getgo. He sees people and their relationships. It’s kind of sweet actually. He’s the driver, this scruffy old man, but somehow is the one that cuts through to the core of people’s emotions without hardly any effort. I like that from day one he's the one they turn to as a confidante, Fina, Digna and even Damian later on.

There wasn’t actually a whole lot of Marta in this episode. There’s almost as much Fina and she’s clearly a supporting character. It’s kind of interesting. Especially as what we see of Marta is someone who bends to those around her, she’s got a straight back, but she moves in relation to those around her and doesn’t seem to have a lot of personal agency. Very interesting considering where they’re going to be taking her. Fitting. Yeah, this is going to be fun. Fun for me at least.

[sweetbabymantykes]

How do you keep habitats for swamp-dwelling pokémon like Clodsire or Whiscash appropriately... "swampy"?

I've recently come into possession of an Alolan Muk. I'm trying to figure out what sort of habitat it needs online, but all I've found is someone talking about "sludge ponds".

How do you figure out what sort of purity to keep the swamps at? I know she's supposed to eat trash, but I don't want her habitat to just be an uncleaned pool. Do you have to clean the swamps at the aquarium?

Well, uh...Muk is a bit of a special case. For most 'swamp' habitats we make, the most important factor is the substrate. Clodsire and Whiscash specifically require mud-bottom habitats, which means we bring in a lot of silty soil and leaf litter to make sure their environments are accurate and the water's acidity is high enough. Getting the right plants in there too really helps minimize the amount of work that needs to be put in filtering and cleaning the water, most of the cleaning we do of the wetland exhibits involves pruning plants and rotating leaf litter and adding peat moss, but most of this advice isn't particularly helpful with the Muk family.

The thing about Muk, and especially Alolan Muk, is that they feed off of human pollution. The 'sludge pools' in question are usually full of this- trash, oil, chemicals, industrial sludge. And to that end you really can't keep anything else in there, ideal living conditions for Muk are toxic to everything except the most resilient poison types. It's great that you want to do better for your Muk in terms of food, but if they aren't fed something with a diet of enough heavy metals and toxic chemicals- the chemicals are especially important for Alolan Muk, the reactions is where they get a lot of their energy- they get aggressive and destructive, and then they get sick.

I'm not an expert on poison types, but given the conversations I've had with other competitive trainers, you can at least curate the type of garbage your friend eats. The fancy curated diet one of my IRL friends feeds their Alolan Muk consists of cadmium paint, industrial pesticide, and batteries (charged and dead). Kind of expensive, but this is a diet for a high-level competitively-trained Muk, so given that it's still in the same ballpark of other high-level diet costs. I'm not sure how you plan to train your Muk, but I think this diet is a pretty good base to build off of. Paint, household chemicals, and scrap metal generally aren't difficult to come by. And if that doesn't satisfy them, give your local sanitation department a call and see if they're looking for help with waste disposal- I'm sure your Muk would be more than happy to help.

[omg-snakes]

Hey, do you have any recommendations for a potential first time snake owner, like which kind to get and what habitats would be best?

Hello friend!

I recommend that you do a LOT of reading and determine what you want from a pet snake (an adventure pal, a snuggle buddy, a display animal?), what kind of habitat you can manage (how big can you afford and how often can you maintain it?), and which species fits you best! There's no single correct answer. Read multiple sources, cross-reference what you find, and trust published experts over ding-dongs on the Internet (but still see what the ding-dongs have to say.)

Some common beginner species include corn snakes, sand boas, rosy boas, king snakes, garter snakes, and ball pythons. These are not the only species suitable for a beginner, so figure out which species of the many species in the pet hobby really sings your heart-song and then find out everything there is to know about them! Learn about similar species! Learn about species that aren't super common in the trade! Some species that have high humidity needs, arboreal species, giants, and fossorial species are not great in the hands of a beginner but if you find a mentor to guide you it's still doable.

If you were hoping for an easy answer, I'm sorry. I can't tell you what is going to make you happy and fit your budget. What I can tell you is that the welfare of your future reptile pet relies on you being fully prepared, so consider this research and exploration phase absolutely mandatory.

If you're not ready to do the required reading, take that as a sign that you're not quite ready for a snake.

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

Lotad and Dustox please xD

[Still can’t believe yesterday’s news… but the blog must go on! Flipped a coin and landed on lotad!]

Lotad’s, delightfully enough, would make great pets for a lot of owners! So long as you are able to provide your lotad with a sufficeint pool of water to chill in, you shouldn’t have any problem meeting their needs!

Lotads are just little guys! At just five pounds and a foot tall (or perhaps long, this is one of those weird cases where it’s hard to tell what the stat is looking to represent), lotads are just the right size to be a pet. When it comes to aquatic pokémon, size usually becomes a big issue, especially if they are entirely aquatic. While researchers hypothesize that lotads once lived on land, the weight of the leaves on their heads necessitate a fully aquatic lifestyle (Sapphire). Wild lotads make their homes in ponds and lakes, deftly floating along the surface in search of fresh, clean water (Ruby, FireRed/LeafGreen). If you provide your lotad with clean water, the size of the pool doesn’t need to be too extreme. You’re not looking at a pokémon that requires an Olympic-sized swimming pool, if you see what I mean. Not everyone can provide an aquatic habitat for a pet, however, so it’s imperative to keep this need in mind before adopting a lotad.

As an interesting aside, while you will need to make sure your lotad’s pool is clean, keeping the critter themself clean is a breeze: the leaf on a lotad’s head is naturally dirt-repellant (Scarlet)!

Lotads are known to be quite friendly, which is another point in the good pet column! This species has been long observed getting along well with both other lotads (Violet) and other species of pokémon (Emerald). Lotads are known to ferry small pokémon that can’t swim across the water, indicating a kind, helpful nature (Emerald, Diamond/Pearl/Platinum). Now, I wouldn’t expect a lotad to be able to carry you across any water, given their size, but they would surely be happy to give a ride to any other pets you may have!

While there isn’t much data about how well lotads get along with humans (let alone their diet!), we do know that they aren’t exceptionally dangerous. Lotads don’t know as many offensive moves as most pokémon, indicating a lack of adaptation for conflict. Grass-type moves like Mega Drain and Giga Drain could certainly be cause for some concern, but besides those moves a lotad can’t do much more that squirt you with water. Thankfully, it seems that lotads are pretty chill, so the need to worry about an attack is pretty low.

Overall, a lotad would make a pretty easy-going, friendly pet, so long as you are able to provide the pool they need and plenty of clean water to go along with it! Just… don’t try to ride on their leaf! Chances are, it won’t go well.

[maniculum]

Another example from Der Natueren Bloeme, sent to me by @joeyportfolioey, who says:

The first of the manuscripts in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB KA 16 (ca. 1340-1350), you've already posted. It has another scorpion in its section on the zodiac (f. 19r), though. This one sticks out its tongue, which is fitting, because the bestiary text compares the scorpion to a man who will flatter you to your face, but will stick out his tongue when you turn your back.

Unusual choices in this drawing. First, the decision to add trees & grass but still have the animal floating in the air. I can't get after them for scale or perspective, because this is obviously an intentional stylistic decision, just an odd one. Maybe they're trying to represent the habitat in which this creature can be found? That would be a pretty good move on their part.

Second, the everything about this animal. You can kind of see how completely reasonable stuff combines together to have a weird effect. Top-down view? Sure, if I were drawing a scorpion for a bestiary, that's the most reasonable angle to get a good sense of what the animal looks like. I'm sure many modern diagrams of scorpion anatomy do the same. Sticking out the tongue? As pointed out above, this fits with the text, good job. Weird googly eyes? Look, eyes are hard, I get it; put that little black dot just a millimeter out of place and it looks wrong to us. All of that together, though, makes it look like someone ran this animal over. That thing has been flattened.

Also, one more thing before we get into the points. That's... a deer, right? Everyone else sees that? Not in the Old English sense of "a 'deer' is just a generic word for 'animal'", but like a deer deer. A cervid. Which really just makes the "flattened" thing worse, because deer get hit by cars pretty often, so this is just like... yep that's some roadkill there. Chrissakes, it has hooves. Okay, yeah, it has six legs, and the body & tail are more lizardy than anything else, but still, hard to look at it and not think "deer". Or at least "Appalachian cryptid". Anyhow, points:

Small Scuttling Beaſtie? ½ (the scale isn't clear, but the resemblance to a deer makes me think it isn't that small)

Pincers? ✘

Exoskeleton or Shell? ✘

Visible Stinger? ½, there's something going on at the end of its tail but I wouldn't call it a stinger.

Limbs? 6

This does manage to dodge the penalties, though, because I'm pretty restrictive about those. As much as I might look at it and think "deer", that is identifiably not a deer, so no penalty. And I've already committed to the "mammal" penalty only applying if it has four legs and fur, so the extra pair of legs exempts it. (I actually haven't seen any that fit that particular requirement; I just picked it as the most egregious way a medieval artist could draw the Wrong Type of Animal.)

Vibes... I do not like the not-deer. I'm also not thrilled with it looking like it had a bad encounter with a cartoon steamroller. It's not horrible, but I'm not a fan. 2/5.

Total score:

3.6 / 10

Show me one that hasn't been run over and I'll reconsider.

[ryhmus]

Dwarf Bagels; The tiny friends in your garden...

A documentary

What are Dwarf Bagels?

They are small, creatures that resemble Basil, they started appearing in Faraway after [REDACTED.Neutral] and Sunny moved away without telling the Truth. Observed to be emerging from the ground in the Faraway cemetery a few weeks later.

Behavior-wise, they act mostly like rabbits, while most images show them standing upright, Most Dwarf Bagels move around on all fours. Despite human like appearances to the late Basil, Dwarf bagels do not display human sapience, acting more like animals, rabbits in particular. They are often shy around humans and will resort to hiding (This is not the case with Nightshade Bagels, which are far more aggressive and noticeably bigger than others, no causalities yet)

Why they were called Bagels-whether it was some kind of cruel dumb joke or some similarity to their namesake's nickname- it stuck and that's what they are called, regardless if they do get an official name in the future...

...Thanks anyways Kel...

Facts

Dwarf Bagel's come in five known species; Basic, Floral, Nightshade, Daisy [Endangered] and Chocolate [extinct]

All variants have been observed to change colors depending on the season. (Normal Dwarf Bagels during winter will molt their fur and turn white and grey and revert back in spring) They bury themselves in the ground until they eventually emerge with a new seasonal color.

The flowers on the Bagel's heads are a vital part of their bodies, if they were to be removed, the Bagel will die from total organ failure in minutes. Do not trim or otherwise attempt to cut these flowers from your pet or wild Bagels you find. the 'clothes' are actually an intricate fur pattern, specially unique to them, (Nightshades also have thick eyebrows...for looking angry I guess...)

Bagels do not have visible mouths, which add to the cuteness of these creatures. But confirms that they do not eat normal food. It is theorized that they use photosynthesis like plants, feeding off of sunshine and water along with plant nectar, (Feeding them small quantities of human food is fine, however watermelon is shown to be toxic to them and sometimes results in self-cannibalism disturbingly enough)

Dwarf Bagels can sometimes be identified as urban or rural raised by the number of flowers on their heads. One flower identifies as it being born in an urban environment, like a park or a garden. Two or more and it was raised in the wild, Floral Bagels always have multiple flowers.

Dwarf bagels do not reproduce sexually, they instead grow from seeds that are planted in the ground. When A dwarf grows old enough, they self--propagate seeds on their bodies and start to find a spot somewhere to bury themselves. Once an amount of time has passed, the adult will unbury themselves and leave the site where newborn Bagels will sprout.

Most specimens can grow to be about the size of large rabbits in a normal lifespan. (Nightshades can get as big as a ten month old human baby) Newborn Bagels are about the size of ping-pong ball. A chubby looking Bagel is a healthy sign as opposed to a skinny one. (Should look like a Basil plushie)

Taming and Keeping a Bagel

Dwarf Bagels can be tamed and kept as pets, They require very little maintenance save for a healthy living environment, a pot of soil for them to live in and plenty of water.

(Always buy your Bagel from a shelter, do not attempt to take wild Bagels from their natural habitats. This will stress out and cause health issues for them, Floral Bagels are not tamable)

You can own more than one Dwarf Bagel in your home, given that they are the same type, Nightshade Bagels have been known to prey on specific species, even household ones) Bagels can be kept alongside most normal pets without problem.

hope this helps...

...or not...

I dunno, I was bored, so I made this

[mermaidmoose]

First Contact: The Laser Incident

In your defense, when you had selected the "laser" option that popped up on the screen of your gauntlet you had expected a laser pointer. One of those green, high powered ones used to help locate stars and planets. The large, smoldering crater that now marred the garish pink wall proved otherwise.

On one hand you were glad your large, flame themed ward had not been around to witness this. He had dumped you onto his desk and traipsed off chattering away in a collection of garbled clicks and electronic noises. But how would he react to this situation? The mech may seem overly friendly but you had never damaged anything before. What kind of punishment could (or would) he inflict on you?

'Maybe he won't notice' an overly-optimistic voice chirps from within your head. It sounded awfully similar to your 10 year old self, and delusional at that. No way anyone could miss a hole that size suddenly materializing in their living space. As if summoned by your thoughts alone, the tell-tale shakes of someone approaching the room manifested. Man, did it feel like your universal luck was terrible. So you did what anyone would naturally do.

You quickly scramble back inside the little "habitat" Rodimus had set up on his desk. As you hid under the various towels that made up your bedding, you felt like a child who had broken something and was about to get a severe scolding. You were only holding off the inevitable, you knew that. All you could do was hunker down in your shame and fear as the loud shwoosh of an opening door sealed your fate.

Rodimus opened his mouth to call out to his little friend and froze at the smell of burning metal. Turning his head slightly to the right his optics widen at the smoldering crater in his wall. He quickly steps over and bends down to get a better look, squinting in confusion. "How the hell ...?" He reaches up and activates his comm link. "Yo Brainstorm! You been making laser weapons again? We talked about this!" "Do you have any idea how little that narrows things down? Most of our weapons are laser based." "Ok but I think one of them somehow blew a hole in my wall? How exactly would that happen?" Rodimus grouses back, picking at the edges of the crater. He was not looking forward to the patch and paint job this would require. "Uh, honestly that doesn't ring any bells. I've been working on these holomatter avatars for the past 24-hours, so no touching any weaponry ... I can feel your judgy, non-believing stare over the comms, but I'm telling the truth." Brainstorm protests.

Rodimus vents out a long, tired sigh. "Fine, I'll let go and presume this isn't related to you. But someway, somehow I now have a blaster hole in my office and I want to figure out who, and how." "Oooh want to make sure our little fleshy friend didn't become fried eh? I can't really see anyone-"

Rodimus jolts up from his position as he sputters out "Okgoodtalkgottagobye" and quickly hangs up on Brainstorm. What if you were hurt? Or Primus forbid dead? He rushes over to his desk and rips the top of your "habitat" off in a panicked frenzy.

You scream and blindly burrow further into the towels, choosing flight over fight. You're a shaking mess as you feel those warm, yellow hands close in and scoop you up, towels and all. You wince as Rodimus peels off the towels with enough force to almost feel bruising. But the worst is when he lifts you up to eye-level, and you can feel him scrutinizing you through your space suit to an almost molecular degree. His expression shifts from panicked to grinning in moments though, and you find yourself suddenly pressed against his chest as the autobot lets out what you can only describe as some kind of "green noise".

As Rodimus hums to comfort both you and himself, he carefully relaxes into his office chair. You're safe, and that matters more than some stupid hole in his wall.

A hole in his wall that's desk height.

...

Wait a minute ...