#which is also shown in both English and Spanish

[vitiateoriginator]

At my job we have a TV in the breakroom that plays announcements from the company, news of events, and company propaganda (no I am not kidding).

Last month's propaganda piece featured the company's CEO bragging about the corporation making 5 Billion dollars in profits, and that it was all because of the employees (that he only pays $13 an hour). They played this video every 5 minutes and repeated it twice in a row each time, once with English subtitles, and the second time with Spanish subtitles.

This month's propaganda is about Open Door Policy. They also play this one back to back every 5 minutes. Wonder why that is

[prying-pandora666]

Avatar Name Meanings!

Just for fun! Let’s take a look at the most cited meanings for ATLA names.

Aang - When his name is shown in written form, it is composed of the Chinese characters 安 (ān) meaning "peace, quiet" and 昂 (áng)meaning "raise, lift". A fitting name for an airbender who will save the world!

Katara - Taken from the Arabic word قطرة (qatra) meaning "raindrop, droplet". A gentle and poetic name for waterbender who is starting out.

Sokka - Derived from the Japanese phrase “sou ka”, meaning "I understand" or "Is that so?". A reference to both his skeptical and analytical nature, as well as his comic relief.

Toph - Toph was written as 北方拓芙, giving her name the meaning "expanding lotus". The name itself is not a genuine Chinese name, and may have been intended as a pun on the English word "tough". When combined with her last name Beifong, you get “lotus flower expanding northward”, a reference to Toph opening up and making friends, but also because she is from the Southern city of Gaoling and literally travels north with the Gaang.

Zuko - Fictional name written with different meanings in the show. His wanted poster uses 祖 (zǔ) from Chinese meaning "ancestor, forefather" combined with 寇 (kòu) meaning "bandit, robber". Likely meant to portray Zuko as a traitor to his family and people. However, it’s also written as 蘇 (sū) meaning "to regain consciousness" combined with 科 (kē) meaning "sort, class", which is probably the true meaning to his name referring to how Zuko will redeem the Fire Nation and royal family by redeeming himself.

Azula - Fictional name derived from Portuguese, Galician, and Spanish azul meaning "blue" (of Persian origin). A reference to her blue flames.

Want me to cover other ATLA names? Just ask!

(Psst want more ATLA? Check this out!)

[mcx7demonbros]

All Catholic References with Sunday (that I could find)

Well, for starter, I found lots of Catholic references with Sunday, and by extension, some elements in Penacony and even Xipe the Harmony. I feel like I have to write this down and post this. It's the reason this post exists.

Warning, this post will have extensive Bible quotes and religious references. If you are uncomfortable, please ignore this post.

Also, because I could only play the story only once and cannot go back to re-read the story, there will not be screenshots to everything.

Finally, spoilers of the newest Penacony trailblaze quest ofc

1. The name

Sunday's name is Sunday, and as you know, this is the day that is dedicated to God and most Christian (including Catholics) go to church to worship God. Sunday, right before he called upon the machine that he rode to become the weekly boss for the first time, he called it "Dominicus". This comes from the Latin word for Sunday "dominica", which means "the Lord's day". "Dominica" itself came from "Dominum, which means "Lord" or "the Lord". Even though the data bank calls the boss "Harmonious Choir" the Great Septimus, the detailed description of the boss still says "Dominicus".

If you search on the internet, you may find that the Latin word for Sunday is dies solis (which means the day of the sun). But that word was used in the pre-Christian era. Dies solis was changed to dominica after Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century. Till this day, English and other Germanic languages still call the first day of the week "day of the sun" in their respective languages, while other Romance/Latin languages call the first day of the week "the Lord's day", such as Portugese - domingo, Spanish - domingo, Italian - domenica, French - dimanche, etc.

2. Sunday's physical angelic features

Sunday was born a Halovian, a species in Star Rail universe well-known by their angelic iconography, having "halos" over their heads and white wings on the back of their heads. Although currently, only Sunday and Robin are shown to have wings, while other Halovian NPCs don't have them.

3. Confession

This one, I believe, is quite obvious, with Sunday acts like a priest hearing confessions of the people who came to him for guidance and a free-from-guilt conscience in what seems to be a confession booth.

4. "The creation of Adam"

Remember the cutscene with the boss in 3rd phrase reaching out the hand and touches another hand coming down from the sky.

It''s inspired by this

"The Creation of Adam" or "The Creation of Man" is a fresco painting by Michelangelo for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in early 16th century. This painting depicts God outstretching his right hand and finger towards Adam, the first man. This is mirrored and reversed by Sunday outstretching his right hand and finger from below toward the hand appearing from the sky. It is mirrored because in the original fresco, it is God reaching out for human with his right hand and Adam reaching out with his left hand, while in the game, the mysterious hand is a left hand while Sunday reaches out with his right hand. It is reverse because in the fresco, it is God who reaches out for human, while in the game, it is Sunday, a mortal, reaching up for the deity. However, we still don't know to whom that hand in the cutscene belong, I have compared that hand with both Xipe's and Ena's in their models, and it doesn't seem to belong to either of them, although the hand looks more like Xipe's than Ena's.

5. And on the eighth day

"And on the eighth day" is the name of the last quest of the trailblaze mission/main story quest chain of Penacony that was released in version 2.2.

In the quest, we hear Sunday telling us what Ena the Order did within the first seven days of Their existence. This is based on the narrative in the first chapter of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God created everything in six days and He rested on the seventh day. If you have done the side quest to find clues about Sunday's whereabouts for Robin, you will get a notebook with the account of what Ena did in the seven days, the notebook is also divided into numbered chapters and verses, like the Bible.

Now we come to "the eighth day". In the 3rd phrase of the boss fight, each time the boss's turn comes, it doesn't attack but count the 7 days with its turns, corresponding with the narrative of Ena's first 7 days. And even on the 7th turn, the boss doesn't attack. It attacks on its next/8th turn after the cutscene, representing the eighth day.

Now in Catholicism, the day that Jesus rose from the dead is Sunday, the first day of the week. But Sunday is after the seventh day of the week, Saturday, so it's also called the eighth day.

"The eighth day, that is, the first day after the Sabbath [loosely corresponding to Saturday], was to be that on which the Lord should rise again, and should quicken us, and give us circumcision of the spirit." St. Cyprian of Carthage

"God brought it about that Christ’s body rested from all His works on the Sabbath in the tomb, and that He rose from the dead on the third day, which we call the Lord’s Day, the day after the Sabbath, and therefore the eighth day." St. Augustine of Hippo

6. Penacony's Phonograph soundtracks

I said that I also found some religious elements with Penacony. And I found those references with many of Penacony's phonograph soundtracks.

City Upon a Hill - the name is deprived from Jesus's words in Sermon on the Mount. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. (Matthew 5:14)

The Strength of Sin is the Law and The Sting of Death is Sin - now both of these came from the words of St. Paul the Apostle in his first Epistle (letter) to the Corinthians in the Bible, words for words. The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. (1 Cor. 15:56)

Infirma Nostri Corporis - this is a phrase from traditional Catholic hymn Veni Creator Spiritus - Come, Holy Spirit, Creator. The phrase is an invocation of the Holy Spirit to strengthen our mortal body full of frailty and weaknesses.

Requiem Aeternam - eternal rest, this is a introit (hymn that is sung when the priest enters the church at the beginning of Mass). This introit is used at a Requiem Mass or Mass for the deceased or funeral Mass, a prayer to ask God to grand eternal rest to the deceased. Mozart wrote his own Requiem, which I believe to be the direct inspiration for this soundtrack and the next four. That means the original Catholic hymns are indirect inspirations.

Confutatis - confusion, this is a part of Sequence Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), which tells us about the Last Judgement. Confusion here means the confusion of the reprobate if you want the full context of this particular phrase. Also a part of Mozart's Requiem Mass.

Hosanna in Excelsis - Hosanna in the highest (hosanna is a word that expresses adoration, joy and praise). This originally came from the words of the crowd when they acclaimed Jesus at his Entrance into the city of Jerusalem. (Matt. 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19). This was later incorporated into the praise Sanctus, which is sung at every Mass. Being an ordinary part of the Mass, the Sanctus is also a part of Mozart's Requiem.

Agnus Aeon - Lamb of Aeon, this is inspired by Agnus Dei - Lamb of God, another hymn that is present at every Mass. The hymn itself was inspired from the Bible, when St. John the Baptist called Jesus "the Lamb of God" (John 1:36). In Star Rail universe, when saying "god", the Aeons come to mind and the soundtrack's name was subsequently adopted to fit in the story. Also a part of Mozart's Requiem, same case with Sanctus.

Lux Aeterna - eternal light, the name comes from the hymn that is sung at the end of the Requiem Mass. The whole context is a prayer to God to let eternal light shine upon the departed.

7. Xipe - the Triple-Faced Soul

One of Xipe the Harmony's titles is the Triple-Faced Soul, and you can see They have three faces (or heads?) from Their model. They are also called "thousand faces", but here I'll be discussing the Triple-Faced only.

Now Xipe's three faces reminds me of the Holy Trinity, especially the depiction of the Trinity as Trifacial.

This kind of depiction of the Holy Trinity is not allowed anymore after the 1628 ban of Pope Urban VIII, who feared the depiction could make the people confused about the doctrine of the Trinity.

While the Trinity in Christianity is Three Distinct Persons but one God, one Divinity, Xipe is one person with three faces as symbolism.

I do know that gods in Hinduism have multiple heads, but I have only seen gods with 4 heads, 5 heads or even 8 heads. The only time I see a three-head god is when they depict Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva together as the Trimurti.

Well, those are all the Catholic references I could find and remember. Feel free to tell me if I missed something :3

[ollywander]

Dutch Jewish Snape

I’ve been headcanon-ing Snape as Dutch, which sounds random, but hear me out.

Jewish!Snape is a very common headcanon; however, British Jews are not very common because they were purged from the U.K. multiple times throughout history. That being said, Jews were pretty common in the Netherlands before the Holocaust (many were Sephardic because the Netherlands was previously under Spanish control. If Snape is any kind of Jewish, it’s probably Sephardic. He doesn’t have traditional Ashkenazi features).

Snape’s hypothetical Jewish family:

Father:

Tobias being the Jewish one makes the most sense to me. Eileen attended Hogwarts in the fifties, meaning she was born in the forties or very late thirties. Tobias probably was also born in the forties. This could be the result of a Jewish mother moving to the U.K. before World War II as tensions and violence against Jews rose. Snape is an English location name, meaning Tobias’ hypothetical Jewish mother would have married an Englishman. Having fled the Netherlands, she might have been poor, down on her luck, which would make sense with the poverty of Snape’s childhood. After seeking asylum in the U.K., she would have had Tobias probably between 1935 and 1940, given that Snape was born in 1960 and in the Harry Potter universe, characters inexplicably almost always have kids around the age of twenty and the man is always at least a little older. She would have named this child Tobias, a very common name in the Netherlands; less so in the U.K. (though still normal). Tobias is also a Jewish name, symbolizing (the) goodness (of G-d). A reminder of home. Tobias, having Jewish ancestry, might have been more open that your average Church of England man to marry a witch because Jews are more closely connected with magic (the Kabbalah, for example, is an important book of magic in Judaism). Also, Judaism passes from the mother to the child. If Tobias were Jewish, his son would only practice Judaism if Eileen was also Jewish.

Mother:

Eileen Snape née Prince is less likely to be Jewish, in my opinion. She came from a pureblood family, probably well established already in England. Given the expungement and number of Jews in England, a well established Jewish family, let alone a wizarding one, is unlikely. She has dark hair, dark eyes, and thick brows. These features are stereotypically Jewish, but also stereotypically Scottish and/or Welsh. The name Eileen is Scottish. The surname “Prince” is common in Scotland. She probably has Scottish and/or Welsh ancestry; likely both given the long-standing history of magic within Wales, and the fictional town of Cokesworth’s location proximity to Wales (Cokesworth is right under Wales in south-west England. Lily Potter née Evans is from Cokesworth. Evans is a Welsh surname. There is probably a good sized Welsh diaspora in Cokesworth. Also, Eileen is not shown to have had a Scottish accent).

Side note: Tobias being Jewish rather than Eileen also makes sense because Judaism is passed from mother to child. Severus Snape does not practice Judaism. Tobias (and obviously, we don’t know whether he would have practiced or not) might not have practiced it because when he was born, there was a mass genocide of Jews and it would have been frightening and unwise to reveal that about himself. Also, British father, probably Christian, agnostic, or atheist — not Jewish.

TL;DR:

I think Tobias Snape’s mother was a Jewish woman from Amsterdam.

EDIT: OH MY GOD I forgot to add that Latin names are common in the Netherlands! A regular Englishman might have had some objection to naming his kid Severus, but in the Netherlands, though still pretty strange, it wouldn’t have been as weird. I wouldn’t blink an eye if I ran into a Dutch guy called Severus Tobias Something-or-Other.

EDIT II: Another thing. The parish of Snape, England is right across the channel from the Netherlands.

[antimony-medusa]

MCYT on Ao3 — July '23

The state of MCYT on Ao3, just for fun. Yes I do this every month, I like numbers. 

The Cube SMP (8 works)

Slamacow Minecraft Animations (Web Series) (9 Works)

iDots SMP (14 works)

30 Day SMP | Free Trial SMP (27 works)

Legacy SMP (27 works)

Epic SMP (30 works)

Cogchamp SMP (32 works)

Kaboodle SMP (33 works)

Art of Survival SMP (33 works)

Dominion SMP (33 works)

Shady Oaks SMP (42 works)

X Life SMP (45 works)

Mer SMP (50 works)

Area Unknown SMP (51 works)

IvoryCello's Prison Escapes (Web Series) (52 works)

100 Hours Hardcore SMP (53 works)

Bear SMP (55 works)

New Life SMP (70 works)

SadSMP (70 works)

Magic Animal Club (89 works)

Tortillaland SMP (103 works)

Slimecicle Cinematic Universe (Web Series) (111 works)

House Builder Gang SMP | HBG SMP (129 works)

WitchCraft SMP (157 works)

Rats SMP (202 works)

SMPEarth (252 works)

SMPLive (274 works)

Outsiders SMP (277 works)

Mianite (Web Series) (357 works)

Yandere High School (Web Series) (370 works)

Afterlife SMP (371 works)

Evolution SMP (492 works)

MindCrack RPF (493 works)

Fable SMP (694 works)

Karmaland SMP (729 works)

Lifesteal SMP (1,021 works)

Origins SMP (1,416 works)

QSMP | Quackity SMP (2,256 works)

Empires SMP (5,235 works)

3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series (7,127 works)

Hermitcraft SMP (16,348 works)

Dream SMP (78,022 works)

Minecraft (Video Game) (107,041 works)

Video Blogging RPF (255,567 works)

Some Notes:

The only new SMP this month is New Life SMP!

Fics are primarily in English, but now we have three exceptions with significant Spanish fics: Karmaland, Tortilla SMP, and QSMP. QSMP also includes fics in Brazilian Portugese and a (very few) in French.

A couple of the smaller fandoms saw fic decreases, and 100 Hours Hardcore saw a 1-fic decrease for the third month in a row.

For smaller fandoms, both SMPEarth and Outsiders SMP tied for growth, both showing increases of 14 fics. Those are both original canonized tags for MCYT, so we also have one year of stats. Notably, that 14-fic increase breaks SMPEarth's monthly average of 9 fics per month, but doesn't beat Outsider's month-over-month average of 16 fics per month.

For mid-sized fandoms, the stand out is once again our friend Fable SMP, which has a consistent month over month growth pattern, showing a growth of 33 fics this month. Fable is one of the original canonized tags however, so we know that this month doesn't reach the heights of some of the previous months this past year, as the yearly average is 42 per month— by they did break last month's record of 32!

Lifesteal broke the 1k mark and I now officially consider them one of the bigger fandoms! Let's go Lifesteal!

In the larger fandoms, QSMP’s increase of 628 fics did not reach last month’s 692 or the previous month’s 816, but still beat out Empires (218 fics), Hermitcraft (501 fics), and 3rd Life (364 fics). The only one that beat it was Dream SMP, with an increase of 1,376. Dream SMP also broke last month’s increase of 1,357, but did not reach their month-over-month average of 2,446.

Of the canonized tags last year, Dream SMP has shown several months of not reaching their monthly average, Hermitcraft’s 501 this month did not beat their monthly average of 593, Empires 218 this month did not reach their monthly average of 296, Lifesteal's 58 this month did not beat their monthly average of 76, but the one standout is 3rd life, whose 364 this month DID indeed beat their monthly average increase of 359. 

Detailed breakdown of increases under the cut, showing both one month of increases, and one year of changes.

The Cube SMP (8 works, 8 last month, 0-fic increase | 9 works last year, 1-fic decrease over a year, which is an average of 0.08 fic decrease per month

Slamacow Minecraft Animations (Web Series) (9 Works, 10 last month, 1-fic decrease | was not canonized last year)

iDots SMP (14 works, 14 last month, 0-fic increase | was not caonized last year)

30 Day SMP | Free Trial SMP (27 works, 27 last month, 0-fic increase | 25 last year, 2-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 0.17 fic increase per month)

Legacy SMP (27 works, 27 last month, 0-fic increase | 22 last year, 5-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 0.42 fic increase per month)

Epic SMP (30 works, 30 last month, 0-fic increase | 28 last year, 2-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 0.42 fic increase per month)

Cogchamp SMP (32 works, 32 last month, 0-fic increase | 28 last year, 4-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 0.33 fic increase per month)

Kaboodle SMP (33 works, 28 last month, 5-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

Art of Survival SMP (33 works, 34 last month, 1-fic decrease | was not canonized last year)

Dominion SMP (33 works, 32 last month, 1 fic increase | was not canonized last year.)

Shady Oaks SMP (42 works, 41 last month, 1-fic increase | 30 fics last year, 12-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 1 fic increase per month)

X Life SMP (45 works, 45 last month, 0-fic increase | 27 works last year, 18-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 1.5 fics increase per month)

Mer SMP (50 works, 41 last month, 9-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

Area Unknown SMP (51 works, 50 last month, 1-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

IvoryCello's Prison Escapes (Web Series) (52 works, 52 last month, 0-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

100 Hours Hardcore SMP (53 works, 54 last month, 1-fic decrease | was not canonized last year)

Bear SMP (55 works, 54 last month, 1-fic increase | 33 last year, 21-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 1.75 fic increase per month)

New Life SMP (70 works, was not canonized last month | was not canonized last year)

SadSMP (70 works, 70 last month, 0-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

Magic Animal Club (89 works, 87 last month, 2-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

Tortillaland SMP (103 works, 100 last month, 3-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

Slimecicle Cinematic Universe (Web Series) (111 works, 100 last month, 11-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

House Builder Gang SMP | HBG SMP (129 works, 124 last month, 5-fic increase | 94 last year, 35-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 2.92 fic increase per month)

WitchCraft SMP (157 works, 151 last month, 6-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

Rats SMP (202 works, 198 last month, 4-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

SMPEarth (252 works, 238 last month, 14-fic increase | 144 last year, 108-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 9-fic increase per month)

SMPLive (274 works, 268 last month, 6-fic increase, | 236 last year, 38-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 3.17-fic increase per month)

Outsiders SMP (277 works, 263 last month, 14-fic increase | 85 last year, 192-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 16-fic increase per month)

Mianite (Web Series) (357 works, 354 last month, 3-fic increase | tag was not canonized last year)

Yandere High School (Web Series) (370 works, 355 last month, 15-fic increase | was not canonized last year)

Afterlife SMP (371 works, 367 last month, 5-fic increase | 250 last year, 121 fics over a year, which is an average of 10.08-fics per month)

Evolution SMP (492 works, 461 last month, 31-fic increase | 157 last year, 335-fics over a year, which is an average of 27.92-fics per month)

MindCrack RPF (493 works, 493 last month, 0-fic increase | was not tracking that tag last year)

Fable SMP (694 works, 661 last month, 33-fic increase | 194 last year, 500-fic increase, which is an average of 41.66 fic increase per month)

Karmaland SMP (729 works, 706 last month, 23-fic increase | tag was not canonized last year)

Lifesteal SMP (1,021 works, 963 last month, 58-fic increase | 108 last year, 913-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 76.08 fic increase per month)

Origins SMP (1,416 works, 1,378 last month, 38-fic increase | 816 last year, 600-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 50-fic increase per month)

QSMP | Quackity SMP (2,256 works, 1,628 last month, 628-fic increase | tag was not canonized last year)

Empires SMP (5,235 works, 5,017 last month, 218-fic increase | 1,681 last year, 3,554-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 296.16 fic increase per month)

3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series (7,127 works, 6,763 last month, 364-fic increase | 2,822 last year, 4,305-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 358.75 fic increase per month)

Hermitcraft SMP (16,348 works, 15,847 last month, 501-fic increase | 9,228 last year, 7,120-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 593.34 fic increase per month)

Dream SMP (78,022 works, 76,646 last month, 1,376-fic increase | 48,670 last year, 29,352-fic increase over a year, which is an average of 2,446 fic increase per month)

Minecraft (Video Game) (107,041 works, 106,506 last month, 535-fic increase | was not tracking tag last month) Video Blogging RPF (255,567 works, 252,019 last month, 3,548-fic increase)

[graysbullshit]

Summarizing the Brazillian's lore for the gringos that dont understand portuguese but are curious anyway:

Pac & Mike: Starting with the dynamic duo because they have the least amount of lore. Basically, they are best friends and like to do everything together! Like good best friends, they argue all. the. time. Both of them really llve their egg, however, after Mike accidently lead Richarlyson to his death he has been avoiding the egg. He is very scared of fucking up and would rather be an absent father with a living kid than a present father with a dead kid. Pac is more hopefull and likes interecting with the egg.

Also, they are more interested in the minecraft aspects of the server and not the lore aspects, so they don't really tend to go out of their way to interact with people. Besides, they stream earlier, so most people only log on when they are already getting ready to leave. They have created the bar "Buteco do Boi Gordo" which seems to be a huge success on the server and are in good terms with most people! They joined the Ordo Theoritas by accidently walking into Cellbit's hide out and are currently a bit scared of Cucurucho and of being watched.

Felps: He is a very laid back guy (minecraft-wise). He is a very close friends of Cellbit and constantly jokes about either of them going insane and talking to voices. He was also canonically driving the boat when they crashed.

He loves hanging out with Richarlyson and is one of the more present dads. He also hangs out with the other players a lot and likes talking with them, for exemple: he had a very long conversation with Foolish while Leo and Richas played! He seems to talk more to the english speakers because he understands english better than spanish, although he is very sociable in general.

He was invited to the Ordo Theoritas by Cellbit, since they were such close friends. But after talking to Cucurucho he started to suspect Cellbit was actually going insane. He hang out with Cucurucho more and ended up quite liking the little guy. Later, he told Cucurucho his "biggest secret" (that he would give his life away for Richarlyson) and in turn was shown the Heaven Room, in there he was stuck in a another room and disappeared.

(The reason for this specific lore is because he is currently traveling to Japan and didn't want to leave the Qsmp so soon without giving some reason for his character to disappear)

Forever: Arguably the brazillian with the biggest lore Lol. He is an extrovert and tries to talk to everyone, despite the language barriers, and is very good at making friends. He is DEFINITELY the best dad out of all of them. He is also DEFINITELY the best minecraft player from all of the brazillians and absolutely loves exploring the new aspects of the game Although he is more intrested in the game aspect of the sever, he is very invested in the eggs. He loves hanging out with Richas, and enjoy the company of all the eggs too (he even remembered that Tallulah needed to complete her missions and asked Richas to "talk to her" and "see if she can come online, even if she is speaking portugues, if you get what I mean")

In his past he had a best friend/romantic interest that coincidently also uses the Urahara skin, so when he saw Philza he was immediately interested in becoming his friend. Because of his values, he only became truly interested in Philza when he first saw his backpack and just how rich he was. He tried to flirt with Philza mutiple times and tried to convince him to love him mutiple times, not taking rejection very well. Although he has made many plans to conquer Philza's love, he hasn't followed through with any of it. The worst he has done is annoy Philza everytime he comes on the server Lol. (Not-canonically, he is very nice and was worried Philza would be genuinely upset with the storyline, even asking if he wanted him to stop)

Canonically, he was scared to death by a Grim Reapper that asked him to drink water, he suspected it might be BBH and is currently very uneasy around him for this same reason. He was invited to the Ordo by Cellbit, after being deemed trustworthy, he has said many times that he does not like "scary things" and does not consider himself good with this type of puzzles. Therefore, he reports everything he find directly to Cellbit and also seems to trust Cellbit blindly. He somehow managed to find the "Heaven room" in which Felps disappeared and realized the weakness of the reinforced blocks right away, guiding Cellbit and BBH over there.

He is also planing on terraforming an entire desert bioma into an ocean so he can recreate the very famous Copacabana Beach. It might seem HUMANLY IMPOSSIBLE but, considering all the absurd stuff he has done in his channel, I consider this quite tame actually.

Cellbit: He remembers Felps from his past, he also remembers Pac and Mike (who didn't remember him) from his attempt to escape prison (Non-canonically: they did a video together called Prision Break, if you guys wanna watch it). Not only is his character clinically insane, he is also an ex-convict and an alleged murderer. He loves solving charades and puzzles, loves mistery, ARGS and thrillers. Although, he doesnt really care about the minecraft aspect of the server.

He became very good friends with Maximus, bonding over the mysteries of the island. He is also very good friends with BBH, though I am not sure if they remember each other cannonically. He also befriended Roier and they have been flirting non stop ever since, Richas is totally trying to get them together lol (fun fact: his girlfriend also ships Q!roier and Q!cellbit lol). Although he originally seemed to deslike Bobby, later he explained it was all in good fun and he did not genuinely hated the egg. He is very suspicious of Quackity (for obvious reasons) and has decided to befriend him in order to keep him close and where he can be watched.

Cellbit really loves Richarlyson, but he loves solving mysteries more lol, so he is an absent father. He doesnt really expends a lot of time with the other eggs and doesn't really seem to have strong emotions towards them. He believes they were made by the federation to manipulate them and keep them in the island no matter what, so he is also suspicious of them.

He hates the Cucurucho so so so so much, its hilarious. After breaking the rules on purpose to see what would happen, he was teleported to an underground tunnel where the Cucurucho appeared behind him holding a chainsaw. He was terrifiend and ran in the oposite direction, falling in a whole fuelled with iron stakes. After that, he was taken to an "interogation room" where they expend the next minutes conversing through books. Later, he was released and developed a paranoia and a insane amout of hatred for the federation. Therefore, when he saw his best friend talking to the Cucurucho he was enraged, which lead him to follow them only to witness his best friend being taken away.

He is probably the person who logs on the most on the server, but most of the time he only logs on to say that canonically his character is also solving the QSMP puzzle in his computer. He was with Forever when they found the room where Felps was taken too and decided it was too risky to try and break in at that time.

I believe this is it! Maybe, if you guys want, i could summarize the CANNONICAL theories Cellbit has and the evidences he has found, but I wont do that for the ARG because that's too much information.

[alex-leweird]

How the "Puss in Boots 2: The last wish" has a very important literature reference

Puss, even his fairytale is Italian, is a obvious reference of a Spanish character: the accent, the swordmaster, ... . But, in this movie, he also embodies a very important figure in the Spanish literature and folklore.

(if you want to know more keep reading)

First a small description of Puss and how he is shown in the begining of the movie. He is an hedonist who loves to drink, eat, flirt and duel without the fear of dying. He doesn't value the things of live and thinks he will live forever as a libertine (licentious).

The most licentious character in the literature is Don Juan.

Even Don Juan is a well-known character, lets talk more abot him and why he is so similar to Puss (not only bc both of them are Andalusians).

Don Juan is not only a literature character from some plays and novels, he is a very popular legend in the Spanish folklore that has two origins in other two tales:

El burlador (The libertine)

El convidado de piedra (The stone guest)

The libertine

Don Juan is an hedonist, it is shown with his lust, gluttony, avarice and his desire for the duels and the scandal. If we notice Puss' deaths we can see this traits:

The flirtatious

The gambling

Gluttony

The 4th, 5th and 6th deaths are related of his pride.

Puss doesn't have the malice that Don Juan does, but the paralelism is obvious.

The Stone Guest

Following most of Don Juan's versions, he goes to the cementary where there is a funerary statue of the Comendador (Commander). He invites the statue to go to his home to have dinner with him in a act of vanity and malice. The statue accepts and joins him for dinner, he will be the one who bring Don Juan to Hell.

To see the conexion with the movie we have to go to the roots of this legend: the oral tradition of el Galán y la calavera (The Gallant and the Skull).

Here some fragments of this tradition (I won't translate this sorry)

These are narrative poems who tells the story of a young man (libertine too) find a skull in his way. He invites the skull to join for a dinner with him while laughing. For his surprise the skull visits him that night and sits with him at the table joining for dinner. The skull didn't eat nor drink anything, but when the protagonist finish his meal, the skull invites him to join for dinner the next day at its/their home. The dinner would be at the grave, meaning that the Skull is Death itself (herself, bc in most Spanish literature Death is she)

This figure evolved into becoming the stone guest but the core is the same. Both, the Skull and the Stone guest are characters which the protagonist mocked and then reveal that they were Death itself.

This scene makes it clear:

The last wish is more close to Zorrilla's version of Don Juan, Puss is saved from Death by the value he learned from his love (and friends).

It also has more references: The movie begins with the fuss Puss makes in the house of the Governor as most of the versions of Don Juan starts with him making fuss in the Comendador's house.

Sooo, here ends this post. I'm not very good at English but I hope you all enjoyed reading this.

[bihanarms]

Chapter one : Unmasking love

let me warn you, as usual, that I'm just a basic french girl who can make mistakes in her english and spanish :( i apologize in advance, and please don't hesitate to correct me if needed~

After collaborating for several weeks, Luis and (y/n) had become familiar with each other, and a robust professional relationship had blossomed between them. However, he desired something more intimate with this "senorita," as he fondly called her, yet the head of the security team had never shown any interest in his advances. Nevertheless, our handsome searcher remained true to himself and did not give up on trying to charm her.

Fortunately for him, (y/n) was assigned to guard duty every time his search team had an important trip planned, which allowed them to meet frequently. Despite this, after weeks of working together, Luis had yet to catch a glimpse of (y/n)'s face without her helmet, which intrigued him immensely. He had imagined her in countless ways, from a cute blonde with pretty hazel eyes to a charming curly-haired brunette, and he had never seen her skin to guess its color... this mystery was driving him crazier every day.

One day, like any other day, while (y/n) was on guard duty in front of Luis's laboratory, he approached her and asked her once again to show him her face. Using his charming smile and voice as usual, he started « So, querida, I was wondering, as you know, once again... what do you look like under all this gear?" Although (y/n) had heard this many times before, she still replied calmly, "Sorry, Luis, but this information is classified as top secret, and besides, you're in the middle of work. Please stay focused." Despite this negative answer, the young man persisted, he approached her face even closer and started to whisper close to her ear, "Come on, cariña... just take it off for like.. 10 seconds, just for me? Not more."

Shivers ran through her entire body.

(y/n) took a deep breath, trying to hide whatever she was starting to feel at that moment, shook her head, and put a hand on his torso to move him back away from her. "Ask as much as you want, the answer will never change," she said.

Luis pouted. "Por favor? You're not very funny, you know that." (y/n) laughed under her mask and responded, "Oh, I'm very funny, but we're at work, and it seems like you have plenty of work to do, so get to it please, ah-hum sorry, por favor?"

Most of their workdays were spent like this, with Luis flirting with (y/n), showering her with compliments and Spanish nicknames. Although (y/n) appeared indifferent, his persistence made her smile inwardly. She had noticed that the man loved women, perhaps a little too much for her; She sometimes caught him in corridors talking flirtatiously to other female researchers, and (y/n) knew that she needed to stay cautious, besides the fact that she was at work and needed to stay professional.

girl, she was very far from knowing that that boy liked her in a way that was different from any other woman he had met before.

See, on his days off, Luis was always trying to find out more about the military girl but could not find anything interesting. However, he was not just curious about her appearance; he was also attracted to her personality. (y/n) was incredibly strong both physically and emotionally, from what he had seen, and that was something he admired very much. But the thing he liked the most was when she let her guard down, Luis could sometimes see glimpses of humor and sarcasm in their conversations, which surprised him in a good way. It was very rare for her, but it was still good to take, you know.

So despite all his curiosity about her appearance, Luis knew that the real attraction was the whole woman herself. He admired her strength, wit, and intelligence, and he was determined to win over her.

end of the chapter hope you LIKED IT. the rest will be out very soon. feel free to let me know if there’s anything wrong with the storyline or more. have a great day ~

[bethanythebogwitch]

@fishyfishyfishtimes, I noticed you like mermaids and enjoyed my fish Digimon post, so you may be interested in mermaid Digimon.

The OG is Mermaimon and I really like that she's (I'm saying she but whether or not Digimon have genders depends on which setting is being used) also a pirate. The lore says she uses her beautiful singing voice to lure people in and rob them. She also carries an anchor as a weapon and is not afraid to give someone a thrashing.

Mermaimon is the OG mermaid in the sense that she debuted first, but in lore the OG is AncientMermaimon. She is one of the Warrior 10, a group of ancient Digimon from the beginning of the Digital World. The Warrior 10 are dead, having long ago died to stop Lucemon (as in Lucifer) from destroying the Digital World. While the Warrior 10 are long dead, their data went onto spawn many species of other Digimon. AncientMermaimon specifically is the ancestor of all aquatic Digimon. She was effectively a goddess of the sea, able to control the weather and with enough power to sink entire islands. While I like the original Mermaimon's design more for its pirate theme, AncientMermaimon also has a great design.

The only merman in Digimon is Neptunemon. As the name suggests, he is based on the Neptune, roman god of the sea. He is also part of a group, the Olympos XII, who are also based on the Olympian gods. They collectively rule a portion of the Digital World that is on a private server called Iliad. He is the absolute ruler of the oceans on the Iliad server. I really like his samurai-inspired armor and the trident made of shark heads.

While that's all the proper mermaids, I have some honorable mentions in that they still fill the aquatic creature/girl archetype. The first is Ranamon, who has a direct connection to AncientMermaimon from above. In the anime Digimon Frontier, which introduced the Warrior 10, it is established that their spirits, each representative of an element, survived their death and can be taken up and used by others. While half the spirits are taken by the heroes, the other half are corrupted into evil. The good spirits are fire, light, ice, wind, and thunder while the corrupted spirits are steel, water, wood, earth, and darkness (later redeemed). Ranamon and her evolution are the corrupted spirit of water. The only spirit that we saw both the pure and corrupted versions of was darkness and I think that's a big missed opportunity. Ranamon is easily my favorite of the spirits, which is largely due to the english dub making her a classic mean girl with a southern accent. Her name comes from the Spanish word for frog.

Ranamon's evolution is Calamaramon, who is deliberately designed to be a darker version of a mermaid. Instead of a fish tail, she has an entire upside-down squid for a lower body. She's also supposed to be a sea witch and has a major temper. Oddly enough, she's one of the only spirt Digimon from Frontier that has shown up in other series. In the Digimon Adventure reboot she shows up as a major threat and in Digimon Ghost Game she's a monster of the week that's only a villain due to a misunderstanding. In approve given her role in Frontier basically boiled down to a joke about her being uglier than Ranamon.

Last of the honorable mentions is the entire Jellymon evolution line: Jellymon to TeslaJellymon to Thetismon, to Amphimon. They're pretty recent recent Digimon, having been designed for the most recent anime, Digimon Ghost Game, where she's one of the main characters. She is also easily the biggest little shit in the franchise. I really like the jellyfish meets human design of the line. I also suspect Amphimon wearing a full-body dive suit is a deliberate subversion of the trend of feminine Digimon having sexy designs.

Jellymon

TeslaJellymon

Testismon

Amphimon

[proxylynn]

Are the Vees just hot air and edgy or do they actually have the power to start a fight with all the other overlords?

[Vox I consider a real power. His abilities and natural business savvy make him quite a player in the industry.]

[But let's see what the others can do. Starting with Velvette's wiki which is limited due to her low amount of screen time to show off.]

Abilities

Clothing Manipulation - Velvette is able to instantly produce and change the clothing of others in various styles and types by swiping her fingers like she swipes on a phone screen. Her hand is seen glowing while she performs this.

Skillset

Wide Intellect - She correctly deduced that Carmilla was responsible for the demons' first murder of an Exorcist Angel based of her body language and silence during the Overlords' meeting.

Potion-making - Velvette is said to be good with food and skilled in preparing potions. An example of this would be the love potion being advertised under Valentino's brand shown on posters and billboards in "Radio Killed the Video Star" and "Masquerade."

Cooking - TBA <- (I don't eve know why this is here honestly)

Musical Talent - She is capable of singing and even rapping.

Technological Skill - As someone who uses her phone and social media all the time, she has vast skill in technology.

[And now onto Valentino.]

Abilities

Strength - Valentino's strength appears to be greater than the average demon, being able to slam a door so hard a cupboard got knocked down in "Masquerade", and was able to tear demons into pieces with his bare hands in "Radio Killed the Video Star" when Velvette recounts how he "tore up her best model", despite presumably not having any weapons on him. One display of his strength is when he ruthlessly physically abuses Angel Dust by choking him and slamming him around with a single hand.

Charisma - Valentino possesses a flamboyant and vivacious charm that allows him to persuade others of his authority.

Wings - Valentino has a pair of moth wings shown to be able to produce powerful gusts of wind that can easily put out a large fire. These wings can cover his body to form his coat or can be hung down like a cape. It is possible his wings can form coats of various designs as he is seen in "Welcome to Heaven" wearing an alternate styled coat.

Multitasking - Valentino can multitask with his extra arms, such as holding his drink while he's decorating one of his guns.

Typhokinesis - In the "ADDICT" music video, Valentino exhales a red, heart-shaped, smoke from his cigarettes that has the ability to twist and form different shapes, entering the bodies of other demons, as Valentino directs it. However, a similar smoke is also present in a cigarette Angel smokes indicating that this is both from a specific cigarette he owns and also a natural ability of Valentino, since, in "Masquerade," he smokes a cigarette Angel was smoking and the color of the smoke changes when he blows it into Angel's face.

Smoke Constructs - Valentino can manipulate his pink smoke into specific shapes that are physically solid, as shown in "Masquerade" where he formed a chain and manacles to bind Angel Dust and show his dominance over him.

Skillset

Weapon Proficiency - As shown in the prequel comic, Valentino is easily able to shoot a moving target with accuracy from a notable distance away.

Bilingualism - Valentino can fluently speak Spanish, as well as English.

Contracts - Like all Overlords, Valentino amassed his power and influence by "owning" souls. The method he uses to accomplish this is by having his victims sign their souls away to his ownership through the contracts he conjures, as shown in his ownership of Angel Dust, where the latter had willingly signed his real name in his contract to "work" for Valentino. However, in some cases, there are loopholes that makes them untouchable under certain circumstances, such as Angel being free from him and his influence outside his studio. It is possible for Valentino to willingly render the contract null and void and release Angel from his control if he chooses to do so.

Artistic talent - According to the "Clocktower Countdown to Premiere" livestream, Valentino is actually a talented artist.

Singing and dancing - Valentino has shown to be a good singer and exceptional dancer, being able to performing a duet and dance with Vox.

Weaponry

Guns - Valentino has a collection of guns, such as a pink and zebra print revolver called "Moneyshot", and a gold and black half pistol. He sometimes decorates them with glue, gemstones, and glitter, such as when he added "Valentino" to Moneyshot in "Radio Killed the Video Star".

[wikipedia-the-non-official]

*they open one of the packages of fresh tuna setting wiki down infront before laying on the coach again

Coach rhymes with cockroach

Hehe

Cockroach

Cockroaches (or roaches[1][2][3]) are insects belonging to the order Blattodea (Blattaria). About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known pests.

The cockroaches are an ancient group, with their ancestors, known as "roachoids", originating during the Carboniferous period, some 320 million years ago. Those early ancestors, however, lacked the internal ovipositors of modern roaches. Cockroaches are somewhat generalized insects lacking special adaptations (such as the sucking mouthparts of aphids and other true bugs); they have chewing mouthparts and are probably among the most primitive of living Neopteran insects. They are common and hardy insects capable of tolerating a wide range of climates, from Arctic cold to tropical heat. Tropical cockroaches are often much larger than temperate species.

Modern cockroaches are not considered to be a monophyletic group, as it has been found based on genetics that termites are deeply nested within the group, with some groups of cockroaches more closely related to termites than they are to other cockroaches, thus rendering Blattaria paraphyletic. Both cockroaches and termites are included into Blattodea.

Some species, such as the gregarious German cockroach, have an elaborate social structure involving common shelter, social dependence, information transfer and kin recognition. Cockroaches have appeared in human culture since classical antiquity. They are popularly depicted as large, dirty pests, although the majority of species are small and inoffensive and live in a wide range of habitats around the worl

Cockroaches are members of the superorder Dictyoptera, which includes the termites and mantids,[4] a group of insects once thought to be separate from cockroaches. Currently, 4,600 species and over 460 genera are described worldwide.[5][6] The name "cockroach" comes from the Spanish word for cockroach, cucaracha, transformed by 1620s English folk etymology into "cock" and "roach".[7] The scientific name derives from the Latin blatta, "an insect that shuns the light", which in classical Latin was applied not only to cockroaches, but also to mantids.[8][9]

Historically, the name Blattaria was used largely interchangeably with the name Blattodea, but whilst Blattaria was used to refer to 'true' cockroaches exclusively, the Blattodea also includes the termites. The current catalogue of world cockroach species uses the name Blattodea for the group.[5] Another name, Blattoptera, is also sometimes used to refer to extinct cockroach relatives.[10]

The earliest cockroach-like fossils ("blattopterans" or "roachoids") are from the Carboniferous period 320 million years ago.[11][12][13] Fossil roachoids are considered the common ancestor of both mantises and modern cockroaches, and are distinguished from the latter by the presence of a long external ovipositor. As the body, hind wings and mouthparts are not preserved in fossils frequently, the relationship of these roachoids and modern cockroaches remains disputed. The first fossils of modern cockroaches with internal ovipositors appeared in the early Cretaceous. Recent phylogenetic analysis suggests that cockroaches arose by the Jurassic.[14][15]

The evolutionary relationships of the Blattodea (cockroaches and termites) shown in the cladogram are based on Inward, Beccaloni and Eggleton (2007).[16] The cockroach families Anaplectidae, Lamproblattidae, and Tryonicidae are not shown but are placed within the superfamily Blattoidea. The cockroach families Corydiidae and Ectobiidae were previously known as the Polyphagidae and Blattellidae.

Most species of cockroach are about the size of a thumbnail, but several species are notably larger. The world's heaviest cockroach is the Australian giant burrowing cockroach Macropanesthia rhinoceros, which can reach 8 centimetres (3 in) in length and weigh up to 35 grams (1.2 oz).[22] Comparable in size is the Central American giant cockroach Blaberus giganteus.[23] The longest cockroach species is Megaloblatta longipennis, which can reach 97 mm (3+7⁄8 in) in length and 45 mm (1+3⁄4 in) across.[24] A Central and South American species, Megaloblatta blaberoides, has the largest wingspan of up to 185 mm (7+1⁄4 in).[25] At the other end of the size scale, Attaphila cockroaches that live with leaf-cutter ants include some of the world's smallest species, growing to about 3.5 mm in length.[26]

Cockroaches are generalized insects with few special adaptations, and may be among the most primitive living Neopteran insects. They have a relatively small head and a broad, flattened body, and most species are reddish-brown to dark brown. They have large compound eyes, two ocelli, and long, flexible antennae. The mouthparts are on the underside of the head and include generalized chewing mandibles, salivary glands and various touch and taste receptors.[27]

The body is divided into a thorax of three segments and a ten-segmented abdomen. The external surface has a tough exoskeleton which contains calcium carbonate; this protects the inner organs and provides attachment to muscles. This external exoskeleton is coated with wax to repel water. The wings are attached to the second and third thoracic segments. The tegmina, or first pair of wings, are tough and protective; these lay as a shield on top of the membranous hind wings, which are used in flight. All four wings have branching longitudinal veins, as well as multiple cross-veins.[28]

The three pairs of legs are sturdy, with large coxae and five claws each.[28] They are attached to each of the three thoracic segments. Of these, the front legs are the shortest and the hind legs the longest, providing the main propulsive power when the insect runs.[27] The spines on the legs were earlier considered to be sensory, but observations of the insect's gait on sand and wire meshes have demonstrated that they help in locomotion on difficult terrain. The structures have been used as inspiration for robotic legs.[29][30]

The abdomen has ten segments, each having a pair of spiracles for respiration. In addition to the spiracles, the final segment consists of a pair of cerci, a pair of anal styles, the anus and the external genitalia. Males have an aedeagus through which they secrete sperm during copulation, while females have spermatheca for storing sperm and an ovipositor through which the oothecae are laid.[27]

Cockroaches are abundant throughout the world and live in a wide range of environments, especially in the tropics and subtropics.[31] Cockroaches can withstand extremely low temperatures, allowing them to live in the Arctic. Some species are capable of surviving temperatures of −122 °C (−188 °F) by manufacturing an antifreeze made out of glycerol.[32] In North America, 50 species separated into five families are found throughout the continent.[31] 450 species are found in Australia.[33] Only about four widespread species are commonly regarded as pests.[34][35]

Cockroaches occupy a wide range of habitats. Many live in leaf litter, among the stems of matted vegetation, in rotting wood, in holes in stumps, in cavities under bark, under log piles and among debris. Some live in arid regions and have developed mechanisms to survive without access to water sources. Others are aquatic, living near the surface of water bodies, including bromeliad phytotelmata, and diving to forage for food. Most of these respire by piercing the water surface with the tip of the abdomen which acts as a snorkel, but some carry a bubble of air under their thoracic shield when they submerge. Others live in the forest canopy where they may be one of the main types of invertebrate present. Here they may hide during the day in crevices, among dead leaves, in bird and insect nests or among epiphytes, emerging at night to feed.[36]

Social behavior

When reared in isolation, German cockroaches show behavior that is different from behavior when reared in a group. In one study, isolated cockroaches were less likely to leave their shelters and explore, spent less time eating, interacted less with conspecifics when exposed to them, and, among males, took longer to recognize receptive females. Because these changes occurred in many contexts, the authors suggested them as constituting a behavioral syndrome. These effects might have been due either to reduced metabolic and developmental rates in isolated individuals or the fact that the isolated individuals had not had a training period to learn about what others were like via their antennae.[47]

Individual American cockroaches appear to have consistently different "personalities" regarding how they seek shelter. In addition, group personality is not simply the sum of individual choices, but reflects conformity and collective decision-making.[48][49]

The gregarious German and American cockroaches have elaborate social structure, chemical signaling, and "social herd" characteristics. Lihoreau and his fellow researchers stated:[38]

The social biology of domiciliary cockroaches ... can be characterized by a common shelter, overlapping generations, non-closure of groups, equal reproductive potential of group members, an absence of task specialization, high levels of social dependence, central place foraging, social information transfer, kin recognition, and a meta-population structure.[38]

There is evidence that a few species of group-living roaches in the genera Melyroidea and Aclavoidea may exhibit a reproductive division of labor, which, if confirmed, would make these the only genuinely eusocial lineage known among roaches, in contrast to the subsocial members of the genus Cryptocercus.[50]

Sounds

Some species make a buzzing noise while other cockroaches make a chirping noise. Gromphadorhina species and Archiblatta hoeveni produce sound through the modified spiracles on the fourth abdominal segment. In the former species, several different hisses are produced, including disturbance sounds, produced by adults and larger nymphs; and aggressive, courtship and copulatory sounds produced by adult males.[51] Henschoutedenia epilamproides has a stridulatory organ between its thorax and abdomen, but the purpose of the sound produced is unclear.[52]

Several Australian species practice acoustic and vibration behaviour as an aspect of courtship. They have been observed producing hisses and whistles from air forced through the spiracles. Furthermore, in the presence of a potential mate, some cockroaches tap the substrate in a rhythmic, repetitive manner. Acoustic signals may be of greater prevalence amongst perching species, particularly those that live on low vegetation in Australia's tropics.[53]

Parthenogenesis

When female American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) are housed in groups, this close association promotes parthenogenic reproduction.[61] Oothecae, a type of egg mass, are produced asexually.[61] The parthenogenetic process by which eggs are produced in P. americana is automixis.[62] During automixis, meiosis occurs, but instead of giving rise to haploid gametes as ordinarily occurs, diploid gametes are produced (probably by terminal fusion) that can then develop into female cockroaches.

Hardiness

Cockroaches are among the hardiest insects. Some species are capable of remaining active for a month without food and are able to survive on limited resources, such as the glue from the back of postage stamps.[63] Some can go without air for 45 minutes. Japanese cockroach (Periplaneta japonica) nymphs, which hibernate in cold winters, have survived twelve hours at −5 to −8 °C (23 to 18 °F) in laboratory experiments.[64]

Experiments on decapitated specimens of several species of cockroach found a variety of behavioral functionality remained, including shock avoidance and escape behavior, although many insects other than cockroaches are also able to survive decapitation, and popular claims of the longevity of headless cockroaches do not appear to be based on published research.[65][66] The severed head is able to survive and wave its antennae for several hours, or longer when refrigerated and given nutrients.[66]

It is popularly suggested that cockroaches will "inherit the earth" if humanity destroys itself in a nuclear war. While cockroaches do, indeed, have a much higher radiation resistance than vertebrates, with a lethal dose perhaps six to 15 times that for humans, they are not exceptionally radiation-resistant compared to other insects, such as the fruit fly.[67]

The cockroach's ability to withstand radiation has been explained through the cell cycle. Cells are most vulnerable to the effects of radiation while they are dividing. A cockroach's cells divide only once each molting cycle (which is weekly, for the juvenile German cockroach[68]). Since not all cockroaches would be molting at the same time, many would be unaffected by an acute burst of radiation, although lingering and more[clarification needed] acute radiation would still be harmful.[60]

In research and education

Because of their ease of rearing and resilience, cockroaches have been used as insect models in the laboratory, particularly in the fields of neurobiology, reproductive physiology and social behavior.[37] The cockroach is a convenient insect to study as it is large and simple to raise in a laboratory environment. This makes it suitable both for research and for school and undergraduate biology studies. It can be used in experiments on topics such as learning, sexual pheromones, spatial orientation, aggression, activity rhythms and the biological clock, and behavioral ecology.[69] Research conducted in 2014 suggests that humans fear cockroaches the most, even more than mosquitoes, due to an evolutionary aversion.[70]

so with the German cockroach.[95]

A study conducted by scientists at Purdue University concluded that the most common cockroaches in the US, Australia and Europe were able to develop a "cross resistance" to multiple types of pesticide. This contradicted previous understanding that the animals can develop resistance against one pesticide at a time.[96] The scientists suggested that cockroaches will no longer be easily controlled using a diverse spectrum of chemical pesticides and that a mix of other means, such as traps and better sanitation, will need to be employed.[96]

Researchers from Heriot-Watt University demonstrated that a power laser can, with high effectiveness, neutralise cockroaches in a home, and suggest it might be an alternative to pesticides.[97]

As food

See also: Entomophagy

Although considered disgusting in Western culture, cockroaches are eaten in many places around the world.[98][99] Whereas household pest cockroaches may carry bacteria and viruses, cockroaches bred under laboratory conditions can be used to prepare nutritious food.[100] In Thailand and Mexico, the heads and legs are removed, and the remainder may be boiled, sautéed, grilled, dried or diced.[98] Frying makes the insect crispy with soft innards that taste like cottage cheese.[101][102] Recipes from Taiwan also call for its use in omelets.[103][104] It can be a feeder insect for pet reptiles.[104]

Medicinal use

See also: Cockroach farming

Cockroaches are raised in large quantities in China for the production of traditional medicine and cosmetics.[105] There are about 100 cockroach farms in the country. Running a farm involves relatively low starting and operating costs due to how hardy and easy to process the insects are. Chinese and South Korean researchers are investigating cockroaches for treating baldness, AIDS, cancer, and as a dietary supplement.[106][107]

Conservation

See also: Depopulation of cockroaches in post-Soviet states

While a small minority of cockroaches are associated with human habitats and viewed as repugnant by many people, a few species are of conservation concern. The Lord Howe Island wood-feeding cockroach (Panesthia lata) is listed as endangered by the New South Wales Scientific Committee, but the cockroach may be extinct on Lord Howe Island itself. The introduction of rats, the spread of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) and fires are possible reasons for their scarcity.[108] Two species are currently listed as endangered and critically endangered by the IUCN Red List, Delosia ornata and Nocticola gerlachi.[109][110] Both cockroaches have a restricted distribution and are threatened by habitat loss and rising sea levels. Only 600 Delosia ornata adults and 300 nymphs are known to exist, and these are threatened by a hotel development. No action has been taken to save the two cockroach species, but protecting their natural habitats may prevent their extinction. In the former Soviet Union, cockroach populations have been declining at an alarming rate; this may be exaggerated, or the phenomenon may be temporary or cyclic.[111] One species of roach, Simandoa conserfariam, is considered extinct in the wild.[112]

[ccborrega]

A HANDY GUIDE TO KNOWING WHICH FRANKELDA ENGLISH DUB YOU ARE WATCHING BY SOMEONE WHO'S GONE THROUGH BOTH:

It's been brought to my attention that some, ahem, unofficial streaming sites have the old english dub done in what was likely a severe time crunch by a studio that... wasn't really prepared for the task back in 2021, rather than the new and improved one released at the beginning of this month, which results in people meeting excitement over the english version with puzzlement and even indignation having experienced the former rather than the latter.

Here's a few pointers to help you spot which one you're watching:

Titles. @figmentedjedi brought it up in a post already but the 2023 dub has Frankelda herself read it where the old one has Herneval do it.

2023 dub has inserts for anything shown in screen that is written in spanish and otherwise incomprehensible without translation, included the titles of the stories Frankelda reads.

New dub consistently and constantly misses loops and just leaves characters flapping without anything coming out. The best example to this is Nemo's counter during the Gnome's song, where he's very clearly singing but nothing can be heard.

This is where the whole 'Old dub didn't really have any involvement or even revision of the Ambriz Brothers' comes in stronger but you know how the show's title is 'Frankelda's Book of Spooks'? Well, there they call the creatures in her stories 'Scares' for reasons I still can't discern, my best guess is they didn't really have any quality control on board with the project. Long story short, if they say 'Scares', it's the old dub.

If El Coco calls himself 'Boogaboo' and is autotuned AF in his song, you're watching the old dub. New dub has him introducing himself with both El Coco and The Boogeyman and has the same voice actor that voiced him in spanish doing the song. Trust me, it's night and day.

I feel kinda bad about pointing this out because I still insist the actors in the old dub seem to me to have been doing the best they could with what they'd been handed and this seems to have been completely on the production... but the english in the old one is rather clumsy. To be clear, in order to translate from spanish to english, you are often better off pretty much rewriting the sentence AFTER having understood it in it's entirety because the grammar and even the sentence structure can be vastly different between one another, so translating literally and word by word often results in complete nonsense or at least very, very awkward wording both from english to spanish and viceversa. This wasn't done here and it results in a lot of times where understanding what was said takes you a bit because the structure of the sentence was all wonky.

That aside, grammar as a whole wasn't as thoroughly consulted as it could have been. So there's quite a bit of fumbles. The ones I remember the most is the Mermaid saying 'All these innocent childs' and Nemo saying 'Chores' instead of 'Homework' (Tarea can both mean homework and stuff you do around the house so that was probably where they got confused) The new dub is a lot more competent in this aspect.

This one's more of a nitpick I guess but in the old dub they have no idea whatsoever of how to pronounce some of the kids' names. Tere becomes Terry, Uli becomes Julie.

They also call Pan de Muerto 'Bread of the Dead', which... it's not that it's bad but who even calls it that? We don't call Croissants 'Crescent moons' so I see no reason to, and if you have no idea what Pan de Muerto is, that name makes it sound unpleasantly like something made FROM dead people. 'Day of the dead bread', which is used in the new dub is not only clearer to what it IS, something that is consumed in the Day of the Dead, but they use it alongside the original name because that IS its name. I never understand when dubs want to completely erase the cultural identity of what they are representing, and they did a wonderful job going around that in the 2023 dub where the old one even calls them 'Breadrolls' at one point.

This is where I insist the actors at least had some idea of what they were doing for the most part but the old dub adds some reactions that were never there for the original latam track and weren't put in the new one either.

Both Totolina and Francisca's grandma in the old dub sound like they're trying for a really posh british accent (Which is hilarious in context, as it was Francisca's DAD who came from... I wanna say Cornwall as it seems more likely given the time period and provided lore, but her mother's side of the family are locals to Hidalgo.) where the new dub has a very neutral english. She is also voiced by Debra Wilson, and particularly 'You can transform', the witches' song, takes full advantage of her range and energy.

This one's even a little bit obvious but the new dub was released with a visual remaster, making it so the old dub is only available with the old visuals. The newer one is, then, only available with the remaster. Here's a couple of pics for comparison of one of the moments where it's the most evident.

Pre-Remaster:

Post-Remaster.

Finally (And this should make it a lot easier.) the songs are wildly different between one version and another, and you can reference what the new dub versions are easily because they've been posted both on Spotify and Youtube under the Water Tower Music account and the Frankelda's Book of Spooks topic. If the songs don't have those lyrics, then you're watching the old dub, simple as that.

Hope this helps and happy watching! Do watch the original with subs if it's at all possible because, I insist, it's amazing.

[truly-deceitful]

so what povs have been your favorite to watch so far and why?

Mine have been vegetta cause his streams are generally chill and he has shown some of the mods implemented so far and their uses which is cool but my favorite aspect is his eagerness to learn and comunicate with anglos, like he has a very basic level of the language but that has not stopped him at all to make friends and giving them stuff he's like the cool and chill hermit living in a cave that's minding his business but is also down to go create chaos. (also the fact that he's so real with everyone when he gets overwhelmed with the language or tired and how everyone respects that and give him time to rest a bit doing his own things and then joining them again)

Philzas pov while we saw very little of it he also minded his business and started grinding asap but whenever someone came along he would stop and ask if they wanted to accompany him or viceversa and just good vibes al around im so exited to see more of his pov.

Quackitys has been my favorite bc you really get the best of both worlds, he constantly checks on the players, if someone is hanging out alone he goes to them, he speaks spanish with the anglos and english with the hispanics but as soon as someone gets overwhelmed he switches back and helps them or encourages them so it is not forcing them to speak the language and he's just so fucking funny.

I yhank qsmp for introducing me to roier cause ive have gotten so attached to him, he's silly, he has some really questionable but creative ideas and he's such a social butterfly like, he's so cool, he also struggles with English but it like I can almost see thru the screen how his brain works to put the context and clues together to talk with everyone.

MISSA like I wish I knew about him sooner, his voice and accent are so fucking cool and you can tell he's been waiting for the moment to flex his English cause this man right there switches almost as fast as quackity I love him sm.

[11queensupreme11]

Unpopular opinion of the ROR fandom, I don't like that they pair gods with humans, don't get me wrong, I don't hate people who pair them but I don't really see the point. ☠️

An example is with TetonPosy (my favorite 🥰), I don't like Poseidon x Kojiro, seriously, I don't like it, unfortunately for me the fandom in Spanish (I don't know if the same thing happens in the English one), almost always (if not always) they pair it with Kojiro. And Poseidon never showed interest in Kojiro, instead he detested him, damn it, at which point Poseidon showed that he felt attached to the human that he considered inferior.

Also the fact that my favorite tenton died at the hands of the Japanese, and that he is old:( (all the other humans, even over 100 years old, look young and Kojiro doesn't, he looks like an old man; and he is (ignoring that the gods are greater than them). I don't like him per se, and Kojiro's appearance doesn't improve overall. For me (fucked personal opinion), seeing a couple where one looks young person with that appearance and being with someone with an elderly appearance is ... strange (sorry if it sounds controversial, but that's how I think

The people pairing Qin and Hades is another example, saying that they are kings of both worlds among other things, yes I admit that Hades recognized Qin but as far as I remember it was because it reminded him of Poseidon. They even dared to steal the phrase quoted by Poseidon and put it to Qin .😡

It's that of: a perfect god, blah blah, I don't remember what else was about the phrase (I forgot it)

They pair Shiva too much with Raiden when it has been shown that they have partners (Shiva) and canonical love interest (Raiden if I remember correctly)

Adam and Zeus, seriously, I have to explain this. (If there are people who match them)

Buddha and Zengoku (was that the boy's name?) I see them as a relationship like brothers in general, I see relationships with Buddha as a friend-brother, not romantically except with Bruhilde although we all know that she doesn't even fight Buddha)

I won't bother getting into incestuous pairings (cough cough HadesPose) because they are Greek, (reference to incest in Greek mythology)

I would talk more but I got tired of typing so much, so I'll leave it here. And another additional thing, it doesn't bother me that it's bl or gl, what bothers me is that I can't find where they come from to match them and the other one is a fighting manga/anime and in their fandom the only thing which pairing is more popular.

Man, it's an anime about fighting to literally survive mass extinction in humans (reminds me of the end of shingeki in the rumble) and the only thing I find when I look for them is two guys fucking or other things (sorry for the vulgarity )

And The same thing happens in another fandom that I was previously in, which was Bungou Stray Dogs, If you have the opportunity I recommend it to you, it's good (you can ignore my stupid suggestion), that happens with two characters Chuuya and Dazai that the fandom ALWAYS pairs them up, literally whenever they have the chance.

And that's annoying, your fandom with the soukoku , and their ships are toxic, if you talk about something bad about soukoku they hate you.

lLiterally, one is a former mafia executive with serious problems that he takes lightly and the other is a gangster, where do you see how tender it is for a A relationship. And then they become stupid (x2 sorry for my criticisms without argument) that they loved each other in the port, blablabla.

lI'm sorry for complaining without solid arguments to support me and adding another fandom to something that has nothing to do with it, but I seriously hate that in fandom the first thing they ask you is: What pairings do you like? (It has happened to me with ror in face groups :( when romance is not the central thing in ror

i don't ship anyone in ror tbh, ror is one of the manga/animes where i dont ship anyone cuz im just so focused on the future fight matchups. but im pretty sure ppl are shipping the gods with their human opponents because they interacted with each other the most, which makes for good shipping material.

but not all characters in a ship need to have interacted with each other in canon.

one thing you gotta know about shipping, is that it doesn't need to make a point. it doesn't need to make sense. people pretty much just ship what they want. it's just a fun lil thing, we're basically little girls playing with our barbie dolls and making them kiss each other 🤷‍♀️ it doesn't matter if character a canonically hates character b's guts and would never romantically like them, or if character c and character d never interacted.

literally one person just needs to take a look at these characters and go "hmmm i think they would go well together" and bam, a ship is born. there doesn't need to be a reason or a point to it

but i get what you mean about how shippers annoy you. lately jjk shippers are starting to annoy me too (they doxx and bully ppl who like over ships they dont personally like, and accuse boy x girl shippers of homophobia because of it 💀 ppl really need to stop acting as if their gay ship is a form of activism, its not). i haven't seen any toxicity in the ror fandom over their ships yet and that's probably because the fans aren't from america (which is where the majority of those crazy toxic shippers are from)

when an anime/manga's fandom gets too toxic for me, i honestly just stay away. i focus more on reading theories and analyses rather than admire fanarts featuring a ship and stuff like that, which helps in twitter cuz my timeline changes

[ib-past-papers]

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Again, papers for more subjects are available on request via Asks or DMs (it just isn't realistic for me to find and upload like 500 papers at once), just allow a few days for me to find them :) November 2024 Exam Schedule:

[mentallyshattered]

Everyday Freak of Science: part 2

(I, the author of this work, do not consent to this work being crossposted/translated without my knowledge or used to train an AI, ever.)

Masterlist

Incredible.

When I first heard the place was fancy, I started to fear that the place would be like the fancy lab I was made and raised in: sterile white, repeating halls with no decor and only intuition to determine which hall's where.

But, this? This is incredible. There's water- I can't swim or "touch" it, per say, but I can feel it- a comforting pressure on my being. Everything is a kind of fancy I'm not used to: more modern, with décor, color, shapes, and an overall oceany feel I'm not used to, although I should be. I am a shark in part, after all.

I'm hit with inner conflict rather soon: some part of me, the shark part, feels at home and in place. The other part of me- the part that was made instead of sampled from an embryo- feels like I don't belong; like I'm contaminating this beauty with my unnaturalness.

My feelings must soon be pushed aside, though. Before long, I get a real introduction, along with the rest of Octanville's shiny new students: the boy with the off-white hair stands on some kind of raised platform, the lights shut off, and a fucking spotlight shines upon him.

"I am Azul Ashengrotto," he starts, "your new housewarden. Welcome to Octanville. This dorm is based on the benevolence of the Sea Witch, something we try our best to embody, in part by running a café: the Monstro Lounge, which all of you will have the opportunity to work at. Volunteers are always appreciated. First-year dorms are down that hallway. First come, first served, two per room. Choose wisely, as you will be sleeping there until the end of the school year. You are dismissed."

Well, that was sudden. Hey, wait- I'm gonna be late! I want a good pick of the rooms. Should I run? That's what the others are doing. Okay, I'll try- ow! Okay, that hurt. Guess I'm just going to have to try again.

Okay, I can do it now! Let's see... I was near the hallway entrance back at the lab, so I want to be close to the end of this hall. Is there a room? Yep! Mine. I'll take the bed on the left.

Hey, I don't have any stuff... guess I'll just lie on this bed to claim it, then. Ooh, this is extremely soft!

I don't wake up until Jade wakes me up, softly shaking me and whispering.

"Wake up, Requiem. We have something to discuss."

My tired mind recalls a memory: my favorite researcher, softly shaking me awake just like this whenever I dozed off during a test. I like this.

"There you are. Come with me."

The room on the right side of the bed looks like someone else has claimed it. No suprise, there's only so many rooms.

Jade leads me to a place that reminds me of the managers' offices from the shows I was sometimes shown for testing and research. It's probably just that: an office. Azul sits at the desk, clearly waiting.

"Hello, Requiem. It has come to my attention that you are the only student who is not on the list. Why is that?"

"Um. I don't know..."

"Why not?"

"It's my first day..."

"Well, obviously." Azul sighs. "What day did you submit your application?"

Application? "I didn't apply for a job."

"College application. When did you submit it?"

"I'm here as a student, aren't I? Not staff."

"That's... ugh. Okay, allow me to clarify: I have your name and year. I have your year because you just arrived and transfers have a special entry process, which you did not go through, and I have your name because Jade got it at the entrance ceremony. That's it. No birthday, no species, no age, no native language, nothing. As housewarden, that makes much of this very difficult."

Oh, I get it. He wants to make a file on me.

"My name is Requiem Melanopterus. I'm 16 years old. I am a blacktip reef shark, I was made on March 24, and my native language is English, though I am also fluent in Russian, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, and Polish."

They both appear shocked now. Azul, in stark contrast to Jade, is shocked silent.

"You're fluent in nine languages?" Well, O probability should have considered that most people would be suprised.

"What do you mean, made?" Oh, Ashengrotto can still talk? I was worried I had hurt his voice.

"Well, I was made in a lab. They started with a blacktip reef shark embryo, then altered the DNA bit by bit to make a mershark. Then they wanted to test my learning ability, so..."

For a solid minute, nobody speaks. Then,

"How would you like to work at the lounge?"