#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

[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.

[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

[blooming-smiles]

imagine prompt: what would kamal do if he was actually Self Aware self aware instead of Weird Deja Vu And Leaning On The Fourth Wall self aware

(cw: unreality, dark topics- read with caution!)

🪷 - kamal if he was self aware of the game

- i think waking up back on the bench after the big event would be kamal’s moment of realization that something is Not Right.

- which only gets strengthened when he has the relive the same days leading up to the big event. and then again. and again.

- at first he hopes he’s dreaming. or going through some groundhog day-esk loop that requires him to reach some kind of moral lesson until everything is back to normal again,

- but it feels like no matter what he tells flower kid before or after the big event he doesn’t have any control over what happens. flower kid determines what happens to habit. and kamal has to watch the aftermath of their choice every choice over and over and over and over and

- the more he thinks about it the more he wonders. what role does flower kid play in this? this complete stranger comes and all of a sudden he has to witness the consequences of their actions over and over again. walking down the terrace past all of the object-ified habiticians, smelling nothing but coins, hearing that gut wrenching crash after the punch-

- and it begins to set in that he’s going to have to relive it all. over and over. and his stomach drops.

- but what else is he supposed to do? flower kid did help the habiticians after all, at least in some of the loops. that means that there’s good in them. and anybody with good in them doesn’t deserve to carry the guilt of what kamal is going through, he thinks.

- and if flower kid /is/ the source of the unreality… then that might explain a lot. and i think him realizing that might connect the dots to him and everyone else being an npc in flower kid’s world

- but what is he supposed to do? just stand up and tell fk that the jig is up? there was no way he make himself responsible for confronting habit especially after the seeing the state of the habit before he left… the cryptic murals on the walls, the blood on habit’s coat… god, all of the teeth in his mouth…. he might be even more avoidant of confronting habit than the possibility that he’s not real

- he was really stressed out before it happened, you know? and i think coming to terms with the idea that this whole situation he’s got himself caught in isn’t grounded in reality wouldn’t take away from his worldly problems taking priority. like sure, maybe he’s not real. but his problems are. very, uncomfortably real.

- and even with the horror of the situation i dont think it would really corrupt him per se? i mean. he /is/ strangely casual at the end of the punch ending considering the gravity of that situation.

- i think he would almost fall into a sense of normalcy over time, even if it would sicken him how horrific of a situation it is but he kinda has to just laugh it off for flower kid’s sake. he isn’t one to go against the grain (edit: in this context)

- at the end of the day i dont think he would fight against it. i think he would be more likely to just sit with knowing that his existence might be centered around being an npc kinda just. accept it. if he was created just to be trapped in the habitat for all existence, then well. clinging to the routine is the only way for him to stay grounded

- and if that means that he’ll never get to escape, then at least it gives him infinite attempts to point flower kid in the right direction… even if they don’t listen. it’s all that he gets.

(edit: i missed an opportunity to mention this but also. his whole stand up high and think about not existing thing. yeeeaaaahhh)

(asks open for requests!)

[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 ...

[iwasjoking]

Titans Expansion Pack Part 2

Ok, so- I’ve neglected this topic far too long after my first ever post on these guys!

Now. I need to discuss some points of the Titan expansion pack AU.

Aka my rambling

What qualifies a bot to be a titan?

Art piece of a normal cybertronian, Delta-4 and a minor JS titan-

What mostly qualifies a Titan is if they can host multiple bots within their altmode and base mode comfortably, which can entail some minor JS titans can interact with bots normally, but it’s not often that occurrence.

There are four categories that can be broken down into subcategories

There are a lot of trends too, the bigger the titan, the more impartial and neutral they are, and their ability to communicate gains a bigger wall too. The larger a titan, the less ability they have to communicate, since they speak with so much data… but anyways, let's get to the categories

(Not in order of size)

Metro titans

Opus (JS) Titans

Star-faring Titans

Celestial Titans

Now before you think Celestial means they are godly, it actually refers to what they transform into. A celestial titan would count as a cybertronian who transforms into a moon, a comet, or a planet.

These aren’t really common since cybertronians usually don't get big enough to consider being that kind. They’re psychology differs quite a bit from the other titans, having to support such a large ecosystem, often not interacting with the entities that inhabit them. To them the amount of ecosystems or entity diversity is a source of pride.

Celestial titans

General information

Consummation?

Well, for the circle of life on Cybertron, and for the concept of ‘returning to the planet’ as shown in IDW comics, its possible for Titans who need the energy to convert that into their source. OTherwise the inertia and force of gravity can be turned into energy, having a magnetic force when taking massive blasts from the sun it circles around can also be a source of energy, as the energy is funneled to the poles which can also be a titan’s intake ports. These massive bursts of energy are enough to hold them on for millions of years. These Solar flares also have an off put, often having excess energy, these get turned into energon crystals. Since several solar flares hit this planet, many that aren't strong enough to affect the planet itself, but can all be funneled into their fuel intake.

Having A Good magnetic field.

Larger solar flares are more preferable to a titan, having a massive rush, like being on a food coma? (Being Theoretical)

Time

Scales of time for these giant mechs are much bigger than a cybertronian. Having a lifespan of about a billion years, these giants may see a million years as a blink of time.

Communication

All of them require specialized bots who can handle the information, specialized city speakers since bigger the bot the more systems and data that are controlled. This Leads to some very large communication barriers, but the ones who can interact with them are called ‘Celestial’s lips’ or… something cheesy like that. Or the ‘Celestial Orrator’ (aka me just looking stuff up in latin for Speaker and being ‘oRiGiNaL’/j)

Denizens

Many different types of entities can live on titans like these, more likely to live within a comet titan, or on the surface of Lunar or Planetary titans than other types. Citizens do have wildly varying cultures, can be seen. As they are massive habitats to living beings. More likely to have energon mines than other type of planet.

Adores their living ecosystems. (Sometimes)

Almost entirely impartial to wars, not willing to side with any place, and being totally neutral but caring about each and every individual. Sorta.

(How does energon get to other planets?)

Types

Comet titans

(OC by @/vic), the cultures on these different titans can vary widely, like on the comet I describe. Many bots decorate themselves with neon paints and patterns, considering a life more lively and filled with artistic crafts, isolated from cybertron as they slingshot around the sun. This can vary for each comet titan society, but the idea of it having a wildly different culture still stands. A yo-yo orbit leads them to be missing a lot from Cyebrtron only appearing every few million years in their skies for a vorn then disappearing for another lap around the sun. Comet titans are more unique than the other types of celestial titans, having times that the city is much brighter with energy due to being closer to the sun in orbit. Having whats more like seasons, warmer and brighter vorns, with colder and dimmer vorns too.

(Sometimes has a lap every 1 million years, to every 500,000 years)

Lunar Celestial titans

as the name suggests turns into moons, I have yet to see any but it’d be really cool to see one~

Anyways, I would think they are more attached, like a younger sibling relationship with their planet counterpart having attachment to whatever is there, yet not really being involved. Or being dormant for the most part. These titans are smaller and orbit a larger planet, but what differs them from an Opus (JS) titan is their shape and size, being a sphere and or a moon.

Planet celestial Titans

like Unicron and that one ‘Primus’ from LostLight, they are entire planets that transform. Having many inhabit them, and the requirements of a planet??? Whatever that is. This includes dwarf planets. Have fun with… them? Yah. Got nothing.

NEXT UP we have

Metro titans

Everyone knows the famous one, Metroplex

Image of Metroplex - :,)

General information

The giant cities that transform into bots. These are the canon and original titans, beautiful right? If only they had variation with what types there are. Well, that's what this expansion pack is for! Anyways, they also require a city speaker, not able to produce voices of their own due to their many systems they already have to run, and the complex amount of data they speak when interacting.

Consummation

These titans rely upon their denizens and primes to support them, but before they would support themselves by digging through the planet and supplying themselves with the energon they needed. When in space and controlling their own energy sources unconventional ones like absorbing the radiation from a star. Biofuel created from a planet can be converted into energon

Time

They tend to have a vast expanse of memories, just like planet titans, but they don't live as long. Maybe living up to 1 billion years, idk.

Communication

City speakers, like windblade interact with the mind voice of such a massive being, due to having so many systems bots who don't have the mental capacity to handle such a voice are incompatible to being able to speak with them, may obviously fry their processors.

Denizens

The bots who live within the city are mostly expected to keep the city itself alive, they are impartial to whoever they have, but not totally. Metroplex was an autobot titan so there are exceptions ofc.

Types

Traveler

These titans, like Vilgilim from Till all are one IDW comic, transform into stations that stay in space. They often travel between planets, stopping for refuge in each to gather energon. They don't efficiently convert energon from ambient particles, solar flares, radiation or other forms of energy. These titans are usually way more dependent upon their denizens than the other titans, or they would stay on the ground.

Civilian

As it suggests, a titan that serves as a civilian city. They are usually former conquerors who settle down and remove their weapons. Metroplex could be considered an example. These cities are whats left over after a colony expedition, like on Caminus. Are pretty settled down, usually… Poor Navitas :(

Conqueror

There aren't any conqueror titans left anymore, as they all settled down to become citizenry titans, after the colonies were founded and turned into cities. But these titans were fitted to travel long distances away from cybertron to colonize planets and expand. To colonize the far reaches of the stars after the star faring titans have considered the places safe.

Not as complex as celestial titans but still have their own challenges for them :D

Star-faring titans

General information

They vary in size but what differs these titans from their other counterparts is that they travel. Usually transforming into giant starships to smaller attack ships these titans fly through space with their cybertronian crews to explore, hence the name ‘star-faring’.

Denizens/Crew

Has massive crews or small crews, depending on ships. The LostLight had a crew of over 200 bots, while smaller titans like this, like Zip, hosts 20. The crew is in charge of taking care of said titan, and they try to keep their impartialness to the crew but often have a leaning to certain individuals. Explorer titans adore their crew, Impetum respect and revere their crew, and the Conqueror titans have a… complicated relationship between each titan? (WIP)

TIme

Lifespan can last up to 50 million years so they don't see time as quick as a normal cybertronian, having massive lifespans compared to their smaller counterparts. But they tends to have an extreme attachment to

Communication

Navis speaker or holomatter upon, their actual voices too low and have too much data for an actual bot to understand. Its less likely for a Navis speaker tho since Holomatters are easier to interact with, with emotion and such!

Consumption

Generally fueled up by the bots, has an energon scanner to scavenge around the planets they land upon and being able to convert fuel from star radiation and orbiting inertia. Quantum energy is also a useful tool~

There are subclasses, like Explorer, Impetum, and Conqueror.

Types

Explorer

like Verloren Hemel or the LostLight (From the sentient lostlight AU’s by @/Cuppajj) would be considered explorer and not suited for massive attack power. They tend to have designs to hop in space more efficiently instead of hulking up power. They are more compatible with exploring uncharted territories with massive data banks for recording such types of data.

Impetum Titans.

These Star-faring titans are weaponized for pure offense, or in a sort of militia of the old ages, since not there are not as many titans as there used to be. They lack travel speed unlike their Explorer counterparts. Tending to be more military/defense styled, they don't need that travel power, unless when heading out. (Me totally not using a latin word)

The Conqueror Titans

are a balance between the both. Once, Cybertron used to colonize other planets, sending out the metro titans to settle down in colonies, but what went before them? Conqueror titans would travel out before the metro titans and settle down with their crew first to clear out the area for the metro titans before they head out!

Being weaponized to tackle unknown targets, yet being small enough to fly quickly across the universe, they are a combination between attack titans and Explorer titans.

But they aren't as quick and far traveling as Explorers, or as powerful as Impetums.

They are smaller than celestial titans usually, and vary in abilities to project a holomatter within themselves. Otherwise have a navis speaker (Concept by @/cuppajj.. Also totally didnt use latin again)

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST

OPUS (JS) Titans!

I totally ripped Opus off of ‘Job’ in Latin…. Trust me, it sounds cooler. Anyways, in my last post I neglected to fill anything out on them

General information

Consummation

Usually granted by the crews that board them, and taken from the bombarding radiation using the specialized panels, or rings. Solar energy is at the end of what would be considered useful as such.

Time

Being the smallest of the titans, but still having longer lifespans than them, around 500 million if granted? Well, they tend to be more than the other titans about cybertronian history, denizens and bots who go around, well. Most of them.

Communication

Usually able to interact with their crew or denizens with a holographic avatar, and also being able to communicate via a city speaker (Which is rare- most aren't big enough to require it, and there are many of them than other types of titans who take precedence)

Denizens/Crew

Bots who either work closely with them, live aboard them, or just… show up ever couple years to say howdy. Station Bases, Data Harvesters and AvenTerra surveillers are the ones who usually have a crew. The others tend to work independently, or may have a few bots aboard, or interact with themselves.

Types

Attack Opus

Data Harvester (@/Rctdirectrix)

AvenTerra surveiller

GSP relayers

Deep Spacer interfacer

Station Base

Gee… There are a lot, so let's get down to it!

Opus Titans may have more of a society than bots realize, being able to interact with each other considering how many satellites there are… (I’m using earth as a comparison- possibly many?)

Attack Opus

- Basically its name, they are titans specialized in attacking, often orbiting the planet and shooting off any sort of meteor or comet that may threaten the planet and what lives below, or enemy ships. They often do have an inbuilt weapon within their frame. Being more likely on the outer orbits of planets, there can be many small ‘units’ or otherwise. Most of them have deep space canons to attack targets!

Data Harvesters

(IDEA AND CONCEPT BY @/rctdirectrix)

Like their OC’s, these satellites dig through data upon cybertron, having a better psychic connection to everything than the others, and having mental abilities. These tend to be far less common than the other Opus titans. Being able to dig through data, files, and targets. These titans are far less impartial to the bots than the other larger titans.

AvenTerra surveiller

(Totally didn't take the Latin again-...Partially)

These titans chill in lower orbit, scanning the planet's surface for events, danger or anything in general, keeping an eye on the environment. More or less ignoring bots, they also tend to crowd together in orbit, making ‘colonies’ of 1 or 2… being some of the lesser recognized bots they often pile up environmental data by themselves. They often are more on the lookout for hotspot rays, monitoring cybertron’s core and the activities of vector sigma.

GSP relayers (GPS??)

These titans orbit around, scanning below, being more focused on bot activity rather than environmental, marking out data constantly as places move, or titans move, mapping out cybertron’s areas detailed for bots to look. They tend to be more solitary, and orbiting around by themselves, often disagreeing with each other's findings on the strange behaviors of the main cybertronians, and the metro titans. Essentially can be used as GPS? Extremely aggressive?-

Deep Spacer interfacer

(haha, interface)

These titans often send out signals into space and then take them back, making accurate galactic maps from cybertron, and getting more and more curious about the space around them. Often not meeting with other titans of their class, or in passing by in orbit, these titans tend to be on the outskirts with the Attack Opus titans. Having bodies more specified onto sending out signals into deep space and reading back their findings, these titans tend to be a little eccentric with their scientistic discoveries? Do whatever you want with this- I’m just rambling at this point!

Station Base

These are the ‘Base titans’ from my last post, well, its exactly what it is. Similar to a star-faring titan, they have a massive crew, but these crew mates change out a lot. They are much bigger than the other Opus titans but not shaped or big enough to be celestial, not by a long shot. They inhabit many cybertronians like a small city, could also be considered a traveler metro titan, but has better energy conversion then them. These are one of the few Opus titans that need a city speaker.

End

And thats the end of my rambles….

Shout out to @/Rctdirectrix and @/Cuppajj and @/Vic for these concepts I just… stole- (I’m sorry D:)

…I’m deadTitans Expansion Pack Part 2

[silvershayde]

i return 👁️👁️

1. Since you mentioned inland freshwater dolphins, is there any significant physical/cultural difference between inland merfolk and oceanic ones? Is there a sort of physical difference on account of them maybe being used to different levels of salinity?

2. Following that, what's the general vibe between inland and oceanic merfolk? do they get along? is there some sort of rivalry? etc etc

3. Merfolk fashionnnn, I assume their clothes need to be adapted to underwater life? Any highlights about that?

4. Dietary requirements!! Like I guess merfolk by default would eat more seafood, but DO they specifically need to? how different are their dietary requirements from land peeps

5. Follow up to that, what is merfolk cuisine like? Do they cook?

6. This one might be a more general question for all the Seafarers, but how's their relationship towards Darena? Is it more worship-like, are they just chillin and Darena is just a Special Person™️ but otherwise not "above" the regular merfolk, etc?

7. because i thought of it just now. Do they have a writing system of any sort??

Hehe welcome back!

Imma first say that initially i wanted to add some visual stuff for this but because it’s late for me rn and I really wanna answer, I’ll add the visual stuff in either a reblog or in an expansion page for Merfolk.

Oceanic Merfolk Vs. River Merfolk

Yes there are very much cultural and physical differences. First off all inland/ freshwater/ river Merfolk all have dolphin tails. But! Their dorsal fins are significantly smaller than their ocean cousins across the board (look at any river dolphin’s dorsal fin and you’ll know what I mean) . They are also smaller and more flexible, but they are slower and their eyesight is not the best when underwater.

Because of the salinity issue, all Sea Mers could last a good bit in rivers and such, but River Mers cannot last out in the sea.

Reasons being that one, their kidneys aren’t strong enough for that, and two, they would starve since they wouldn’t be able to last out in the sea. Sea Mers stick together for protection first then for food, grouping for protection isn’t high on a River Mer’s priority list since they would be the apex predators of their habitats. Not to mention food comes much easier in the river than the sea. The only reason a Sea Mer would suffer in a river would be that the food available is not part of their normal diet.

I’ve kind of already mentioned a cultural difference above. Whilst both kinds share their hunting ways, River Mera don’t prioritise fighting for protection/ self defence as much. For a lack of better terms a Sea Mer would more likely be “aggressive” if found alone whilst a River Mer would more likely be “passive”. Even though I say passive there they aren’t as social as Sea Mers because it isn’t as vital to be.

I’d say because of the habitat differences they don’t really mix often (until recently because lore) but the current state of affairs is “that’s our cousin we see once in a decade and they’re cool”

Fashion

Okay, so, my vision. Uhh sidenote first! I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this at all but they are capable of shapeshifting since they are more in tune with Aqua so when they are walking on land they opt for very flowy clothing, nothing constricting. Think togas or himations or chitons (maybe even a yukata). When underwater they don’t try wear anything heavy and anything they do wear has to be form fitting, especially if they are hunters. Speed and agility is everything under the water. If they do ever wear anything flowy under water it’s because of formality and/or festival time.

Food

This comes back to the shapeshifting thing. With shapeshifting comes slight dietary changes. Like when in normal form they don’t have to cook anything, they can just eat as is, they just take the bones out and anything else they don’t like. For which food specifically they eat it all depends on the area they are in. They won’t touch sea cucumbers and hagfish though… usually. I guess the exception would be like how some people like to eat snails and some people don’t. It’s one of those.

Oh also! River lot are Carnivores, Ocean lot are Omnivores. River lot stick with all types of fish and crustaceans, ocean lot do the same but also have greens their kids declare they hate and their parents tell them its good for them. Example is kelp. They also like to eat clams and octopus is for fun occasions.

When shifted to go on land their tolerance for raw seafood decreases a little bit so some things they gotta at least smoke if not cook it all the way through. They are used to spices from the land and is seen by some mers as an “acquired taste”. One thing all Mers are not used to is consciously drinking water. Any Mer that goes on land forgets about drinking water and have to be reminded that it is something they need to remember to do.

Relation with Darena

The civilisations closest to a spirit can give them different names. In this case to the Seafarers, Darena is primordial, and they call her Thalassa. It’s not that they worship her, it’s more that even though each Seafarer has its own kingdom she rules over it all. Darena’s anger can lead to devastation not only to the land but to the sea itself. Not to mention each Seafarer represents a different aspect to Darena.

Merfolk -> Darena’s tranquility

Sirelians -> Darena’s charm

Melusines -> Darena’s turbulence

Nymphs/Nereids -> Darena’s curiosity

All Darena asks is to be respected and her water taken care of, and the Seafarers take that very seriously.

Writing System

When they visit coves and such they like to do rock art as a means of depicting stories and such. That doesn’t really work that well underwater so they carve their images out. I’m leaning towards Merfolk, and the rest of the Seafarers (with a slight exception to Nymphs) having a pictorial writing system.