#which is the species im currently looking at

[horizonandstar]

I'm pretty sure some data entries you get from scanning suggest that the life in 4546b can, in fact, self fertilize and possess both male and female parts.

My guess is it's more common for Leviathans to self fertilize since their numbers, as apex predators, would need to stay fairly low and thus have small clutches along with tending towards being quite territorial about their claimed hunting grounds, but they could also mate as normal if they wanted.

yeah! according to the wiki, a majority of fauna are simultaneous hermaphrodites, and i didnt make celestial leviathans an exception to this. i wouldnt be surprised if they were capable of being autogamous but i expect that it wouldnt be as common as sexual reproduction

but yeah, i expect sexual reproduction >>> autogamy. kind of the whole point is to swap genes and get a good amount of genetic diversity. if too many generations self-fertilize, then the offspring would have more homozygous genes

lets assume this gene is Aa, so Aa x Aa = 25% AA, 50% Aa, 25% aa

and if the offspring turns out to have AA or aa for this gene, then any further offspring gotten from self-fertilizing would have the exact same copy because theres really no other variation from that point forth. do that to enough genes, and that becomes a problem with the low genetic diversity

so yeah! asexual reproduction is still on the table, just that i imagine sexual reproduction would be the more common of the 2, even if the leviathans are territorial

[gibbearish]

btw similar to the whole "if you try adderall at a party and it calms you down, get an adhd test" thing, if at some point in your life you try microdosing shrooms with a friend and end up feeling like a functional person for the first time in your life, get tested for depression. like yeah hallucinogens come with elation so youre probably gonna have some "this is the best ive ever felt in my life" vibes regardless, but like. if that in and of itself feels like finally breathing in for the first time in years, thats for sure a sign that something is up with your ability to process serotonin most of the time. feeling better than ever before should be a nice bonus, not a crushing weight off your chest

[neofelis----nebulosa]

saw a living oriole irl for the first time today!

[botanyshitposts]

Hey! I'm not a botanist, but I'm in circles where it's a bigger thing and I'm kind of curious about something.

So, from an outsider's perspective, the genus Garcinia has a lot of weird and messy classifications. For example, common species like G. intermedia and G. gardneriana are really similar to Garcinia brasiliensis, to the point that it's pretty controversial if they're actually separate species. The Garcinia species colloquially known as "achachairú" also appears to bear a lot of similarities to that trio (although much less than they share with each other), HOWEVER it's almost exclusively referred to (in cultivation and in studies) as G. humilis, a Carribean species with small oval-shaped leaves, despite actually having very long lanceolate leaves and being exclusively found in the Andean foothills of Bolivia. Also, multiple frequently cultivated species like Luc's garcinia and Russell's sweet garcinia haven't actually been described yet, despite for example the former having a decent amount of scientific interest and frequent genetic testing done on it.

All of these odd classification things and even more others have been pretty well known in my circles for the past 15 years-ish, but still nobody seems anywhere close to a conclusion for them. How long does it usually take for a genus to get organized when it has as many species as Garcinia does? And how do they do it? Do they go around testing every single species or only a few at a time? If a species is currently not named, do the same people usually describe them as part this endeavor, or just leave them for somebody else? I saw Plinia and Artocarpus recently got reshuffled a lot because of some prominent genetic studies on them, and several new species and even genera were added, but it just seems alien to me how stuff like that even ends up happening. There are so many plants out there!

Sorry if I'm asking the wrong person here, but I've been wondering about how this stuff will eventually be resolved for yeeeearrs

There are so many plants out there!

ok im kind of surprised i can offer a few possible answers to this question despite having never heard of this but i think i can. if the question is 'why aren't some plants actually described', this is the primary reason why.

when i was in plant anatomy class in college, the person teaching us was a plant anatomist who assigned us different plants from the greenhouse to dissect and describe in a paper for her, and she told us that we might find something that hadn't been described before, which was pretty shocking to me. what do you mean i could potentially find a new-to-science thing? has nobody in history looked at this plant that's just growing in the greenhouse upstairs??

what she said was that no, sometimes not. there are so many plants out there that it's difficult to do one exact in-depth description and published examination of each species, so what botanists end up doing is doing or finding one in-depth examination of one species in a specific group and assuming that all the others in the group are at least similar, if not the same. which is good because it saves time and works as a shorthand, especially if there's not much funding, but also sometimes it has the potential to overlook more nuanced differences that can go undiscovered for a long time. but that's just botanical species in the conventional sense, which i don't think is as straightforward in what you're describing.

another answer to this question that's more specific to the species you're talking about here is that plants are having sex. they have so so so soooo much sex. few things they enjoy more to be honest. and given that the most conventional (but not only) definition for different species is 'can't have sex with other species because it's too different from them', the lines get blurrier to deal with, and one thing botanists do when the lines between species get too blurry (because of all the sex) is to just assume that they're all part of some kind of hard-to-describe genetic soup with individual plants falling along gradients or spectrums of similarities or differences, and in this case you'll see botanists just name the most prominent species among them and call it the '[most common suspect] complex', which groups together all the ones that happen to be having sex with each other at the same time, just to make them easier to talk about. this typically doesn't mean that they're species-less, but more that they can be thought of as a group with a few distinct points where they can look very distinct, and those points are the species, if that makes sense; see the citrus sex graph at the end for an example.

i also see from a cursory google search that people seem to be planting and eating these in a more widespread way, and people are talking about them on forums and stuff. this is one of the cases in botany where things get tricky, because a person looking for traits in a fruit that's having tons of sex might not actually be looking for the same things botanists are looking for when describing a species-- it might seem easiest to just find which species or few species are the tastiest and grow those, but if it's a genetic soup then all you can really do is do it the old fashioned way and breed individual plants for the traits you want. which, who knows, could end up being a hybrid between all of them.

case in point: again i am not completely up to date with the lore here but i found a forum thread where people were debating which species to plant and the consensus was just to plant multiple species at once, which is fine but is also really funny given that it DOES facilitate even more sex, thus blurring the lines even further and-- if the posters decide to plant the resulting seeds from the fruits-- will create even MORE hybrid plants of no discernible concrete species in the plant soup. the hybrid of a hybrid of a hybrid of a hybrid or whatnot. when does one stop calling it a hybrid between two species and start calling it 'the tree in grandma's backyard that's the tastiest of the berries i've tried'? that is the question, truly, one humanity has had for millennia in the search for the tastiest berry, and at that point it might just be easier to call it a variety or cultivar, which are horticultural terms for just that-- a distinct 'kind' among the same species that taste good subjectively and can be reliably rebred and harvested, like all the apple varieties people debate about.

another reason is that plant phylogenies are hard and brain-twisting and plant taxonomists and systemisists are among our strongest warriors. it's not uncommon at all in botany to be researching something and to find out it's been reshuffled because of a new breakthrough on the case a bunch of people more qualified on the subject decided made more sense like a decades later. sometimes species themselves will even change names multiple times if it turns out that it was described earlier by someone else considering the new circumstances. if you're a really unlucky or just controversial plant all this can happen over and over again until, finally, the trees of math have been resolved in a way that makes sense. how long will it take? surely there is a concrete end to the madness? nah. lol

finally, if you're looking into studies on this, you should know that some phylogeny stuff is opinion-based or subjective, especially at first. what counts as a new group for one group of researchers might not count as one for another. so when you see stuff where people are inventing new categorizations or genuses or whatnot or merging multiple ones together spontaneously, it'll depend on how well supported their reasoning is and what the evidence seems to show, and the larger community of plant taxonomists will, overtime, decide what they want to do with that information-- which may include verifying it or refuting it with more evidence. what researchers are proposing when they split stuff off or merge it together is a new or updated model for thinking about existing information, and that model may be more or less useful than the existing one for the means of actually learning more about the plants.

anyway in short there are lots of reasons why this might not be sorted out and the more sex these plants have the longer it's gonna take. i'm strongly reminded of that one citrus sex graph (its this one) (screenshotted to see it on night mode):

[rassicas]

Splatoon 3 artbook is coming! and they gave us hi res sample pages! so i translated them!

I’ve already preordered the book, and since I live in Japan I should be getting it very soon after release. mark my words I’m gonna go crazee translating it i need that Lore

In the meantime, some translations of the sample pages! take a look under the cut:

Page 44, IKIMONO (Living things)

yellow text: Among the living things in the Inkling world, a wide variety of species exist. There are creatures that can take on a humanoid form as well, called "Inklings" and "Octolings", the former being squids, and the latter being octopuses. white text in gray box: The old and the new mix to make the Splatland's youth culture The young people who grew up in Splatsville take pride in being born and raised in the Splatlands, and there is an extremely strong sense of solidarity in the community. They deeply cherish their old local culture, which is unsophisticated and simple, yet strong. At the same time, they like to make fun of urban areas such as Inkopolis for acting like they're "all that". On the other hand, many of them secretly yearn for that sophisticated, high-collar, Inkopolis culture. The current culture of chaos created by the youth with such a flip-flopping mentality is becoming increasingly global.

I’m going to translate these roughly. character select screen outfit, left: lines pointing to reflective goggles, a mask that blocks dust, and the cape. the cape is made from kelp, and is meant to block out sunlight. hero suit outfit, right: the “ultra light earpiece” is so light, it doesn’t even feel like you’re wearing it. The ink display is a digital screen. Boots are meant for rough terrain. Interestingly, agent 3 is holding a weapon called a “Hero Extinguisher.”

the gear on the left is called “hunting equipment”. The earpiece is based on an udon noodle. It’s small, but it has a deep sound (with bass i assume instead of sounding tinny?) Around the neck are cooling pads. The shirt is made from a seaweed fabric. apparently its wrapped around their upper body and kind of hurts to wear. you can see their underwear, but its the kind of underwear that’s supposed to be seen for Fashion. idk what its called but you guys know what im talking about. The ink tank is homemade. in the pouch of the backpack are snacks. to the right are very early concepts.

Page 62, Deep Cut concepts

It’s a lot of handwritten notes with a lot of pointing out what the drawing is, so I’m going to translate roughly.

bottom left is pointing out various things about frye’s head anatomy. small chin, forehead sticks out, thick neck, head curves like this and this etc. middle frye with the bit of green and red makeup is described as having a clown-like feel to it. tiny furthest right drawing is commenting on a specific nose shape concept as “bird-like.” she almost had the same nose as my main OCs what the

red arrows on the right: long arms, long thighs, squared shoulders are pretty. hand in the middle with black text: something like ‘if she has hands with ornamentation like this it makes her hands seem long’ bottom left: the little doodle of the face reads that her ‘mouth is kind of like this.’ the other text talks about how her eyebrows move asymmetrically, as having that kind of variety in the movement is key.

left: she’s saying something about sharks? apparently she was going to be associated with sharks with shiver being associated with eels instead. right: various sound effects. “looking around absentmindedly” “rocking back and forth” “dozing off.” on the bottom it shows her suddenly stiffening to attention.

left: in her left hand, it’s a sensu (japanese folding fan). in her right, its a harisen (the kind of folding fan used to smack people in slapstick routines) gonna be real here the text on the right is too cursivey i cant read it

shiver mask designs. neat stuff.

early design concept.

Page 198, Scorch Gorge

not a lot of text on this page, mostly images, have a look yourself. top right passage: A majestic canyon where the history of the Inkling world can be seen in the strata and rock formations. Many enjoy rock climbing here. There's a spawn point that was once used for ink battles that no-one has bothered to remove.

[morphids]

Ok so I have two requests ideas, you can choose to do one or both if you like :3

The first request: CaitVi x reader where they’re in a poly relationship but the reader becomes a little insecure because they’ve been spending more time with each other and leaving the reader out sometimes (whether this is due to work or maybe as they’re on dates). They don’t realise this at first but when they do they feel bad and try to make it up to the reader. Basically a bit of angst to fluff and it can either be based on the show or a modern au ❤️💙

The second request: Sevika x reader where the reader is talking to Sevika about their current hyperfixiation druring their break or something and she acts like she’s not interested in listening, but then she’s like “no wait continue” when she hears the reader stop. They can be in a relationship or not but still have feelings for each other and haven’t confessed yet 💜

Hope you like my ideas!

thank u for requesting my love! as i dont have much experience with poly relationships, didnt want to risk not doing it justice so as an autistic person, i went with sevika x hyperfixated!reader, hope thats okay!!

reader has a hyperfixation on nature, specifically symbiotic relationships between species im sorry if that’s not what you wanted/find interesting!! i hope you enjoy <3

Sevika x Hyperfixated!Reader

cw: fluff, current relationship, domestic/soft sevika, smoking, angst??? idk reader gets a bit in their head, ambiguous setting, r is gender neutral.

wc: 750 sorry its a lil short

——

The illumination of the room was dim, two mellow oil lamps on either side of the room brightening up the space ever so slightly. Sevika was sat comfortable on her chair, further away to the wall than you, hands grasping a book which lay stable on her lap, her eyes grazing through its sentences.

You glanced over at her, lifting your head from your own nature book rested on the dining table that you had been studying, found neglected deep in a decrepit library you had passed through, and took in her features. She was more at ease than usual, tension relieved from her brows as the ambience softened her face. Shoulders slackened, as she would lift her hand to puff on her cigarette in short bursts, before eventually letting the smoke ripple through the air.

“Guess what I’ve just found,” You spoke, eagerness coating your voice as you grew excited from new facts you had read in your book,

“Yeah?” She answered, eyes still pointed at the pages she held, the response working as a cue that you were to continue on with your sentence.

“I’ve found another symbiotic relationship between species! Crocodiles and the bird species Plovers.”

“After they feed, crocodiles will lay on the riverbanks, hold their jaws open to signal the Plovers to enter their mouths,” You read on the paragraphs from the book, switching between the drawn illustrations of the crocodiles and the birds, before continuing, “The bird will then sit inside their mouths and pick out the remaining food stuck on their teeth!”

You felt your excitement build, enthusiastically word vomiting about this relationship, “The crocodile will not eat the Plover, it’s a mutually beneficial relationship where the crocodile gets its teeth cleaned, helping ward infection from the raw meat, and insects resting on its skin,”

“Yeah,” Sevika interjects, in between your words,

“And the Plover gets free food! Plover’s are basically tiny, flying dentists in the bird world and they charge exclusively in left overs” You chuckled, amused by your own jest.

“That’s really interesting, darling,”

“It gets even better,” you continued, “Then if the Plover senses movement or sudden sounds of potential danger, like other predators, the Plover will use its warning call which the crocodile heeds to return into the water and get away from threats! How amazing is that?” You were beaming, eyes glimmering as you read through the pages.

Finally turning your head to look at Sevika’s reaction, noticing her eyes still glued to her book as she didn’t respond before realising you had kinda just kept talking and not thinking you may have been irritating her, with your useless factoids. The pull on your lips dropped slightly, biting the inside skin of your lip as you thought that she probably could not care less about this, reading her own book full of her own interests.

You began to enter your own head, remembering all the times people had been dismissive or simply not listened as they had their own thoughts going on, oftentimes making you feel like a silly burden for blurting out such things. Tilting your head back to your book, Sevika’s voice broke out through the silence,

“Why did you stop talking?”

Looking back at her, her face was turned to you, brows lifted in curiosity,

“I just… figured you weren’t listening or, I don’t know, didn’t want to hear about it,” You muttered, tone loaded with your unease, as you fiddled with the dried skin on the rims of your nail beds.

Sevika looked over at you for a few seconds, before her features slackened and she closed her book, folding the edge of the page as a placeholder, before getting up and walking closer to where you sat at the table.

“I’m sorry,” She sighed, sitting next to you and wrapping her built arms around your shoulders, “I promise I was listening, was just enjoying hearing you talk about it,”

You looked up at her, meeting her eyes tentatively as she lifted the corner of her lips to smile at you, “I was just kinda thinking how if we were the animals you’d be the Plover,” she chuckled, pressing her lips to your forehead.

You gasped, mouth slightly ajar as your own lips tilted into a small smile,

“Ugh, you’re probably right, too.” You sighed, not impressed.

“Don’t stop talking about that stuff just because I’m not responsive, okay? It’s cute when you ramble,” You fell into her hug, her hand rubbing at your back, before grabbing the side of your face and bring your lips together into a gentle kiss, aware of the way you might still be feeling.

You grabbed onto her, pressing your lips closer against hers.

“Thank you,” you smiled,

“I also found the dentist thing quite funny,”

——

[lilacargent]

Here we go again,

Puzzles/ jigsaws would confuse Aliens so much

Set on the serpentine, beginning of the humans tenure

Important crew:

Primoz, captain -Limoyh a four armed species-Krag, second in command (brother of Primoz)

Kit, dokter -avian, bird like, she has feathers like a swallow-

Ortez, ASR (all species resources, human resources in space) -kiltak, insectoid species, think ants but exoskeleton-

Lugea, helmsperson (does the steering) -rock like alien-

Artex, engineer/mechanic 1 -also Kiltak-

And then our humans:

Kamari, navigator -Eritrean woman- (has cat named Sidra)

Markus, weapons expert (knows how to use them and upkeep, also shields) -Swedish man-

Petrus, mechanic/engineer 2 - Italian man-

Lilly, administrator/note keeper (learns languages for fun)-english woman-

~~~~~~~

Puzzles

The serpentine is on route between trading posts, this is currently the furthest route without proper jump point because of the static energy surrounding the dual planets castor and pollux.

Primoz is getting worried. The humans are becoming increasingly more jittery and Kamari looks like she a pinch away from punch someone, Markus has been ‘humming’ a song that annoys her greatly. Honestly the noises the tall man is making don’t seem that bad but every few minutes her eyebrows twitch which Ortez told him is a sign of frustration.

Before the captain can figure out how to keep them from doing something deathworld worthy, Lilly comes in with precariously stacked carton boxes and Petrus carrying a table. Setting the pile down the smallest human straightens out “look what i brought! Old earth puzzles! This one has a deer and this one has the old world wonders” immediately the humming stops and Markus is at the table with Petrus “oh yes Lilly you are the best! I wanna do the deer one, that is gonna be a challenge”

With the table in the corner of the bridge the tension among crew is nearly gone, as all species try to put the cut apart pictures together, Lilly brought 9 puzzles and at a certain point a competition was forming: after one of the human unit had finished a puzzle the other crew try to make it in less time. They have yet to win.

Looking at his relaxed crew Primoz grins at his brother who is trying to use all his four arms to put pieces together without much succes. Turning away from the competition he taps Lilly on her shoulder “how do you guys do it? Also why did you think to take these things with you.” Lilly looks up from her drawing (the crew bent over the table making the puzzle) “well i knew it was going to be a long trip, Kamari thinks Markus will be ‘professional’ but he can’t help himself” her soft smile when she puts air punctuation around professional makes her look much younger than she is “puzzles are something many humans enjoy, not everyone is as good at them as Markus, but he does this thing where he uses the shape of them more than colours. While he isn’t colour blind, he has real trouble with telling differences in shades. No idea why it works this well but it does, Petrus has already won three nights of free drinking on Castor from betting.” All of a sudden looking bashful Lilly ducks her head “ah eh yes sorry forget i said that we don’t bet on this at all!” Primoz just grins “nobody has broken anything this whole trip, im not going to disrupt the flow you and your unit created. Don’t worry.”

At arrival Petrus has won the whole human crew free drinks for the foreseeable future, and the crew in its entirety hooked on puzzles. While not all species see the colours the same way or understand the patterning in the pieces the feeling of putting in the correct pieces makes it such an enjoyable activity that Lilly brings new puzzles after every holiday back home.

~~~~~~~~~

This one was born out of the confusion my family had when we were making puzzles (jigsaws?) the pictures in pieces… this is where it becomes super clear English is not my first language. Anyway, we had two puzzles out and they were so surprised i could differentiate the positions the pieces needed to be in without context. I had to tell them that the pattern otherwise won’t make sense,

I have the same thing as Markus that colours are fine unless you put several of the same colours next to each other and call them different. This is why the deer one is super hard,

The two puzzles that were described:

[sir-fluffbutts]

which do you like more, chowlings or symprites?

background note: chowlings and symprites are the two closed species im currently in and only active on!

---------------

WELL, its complicated, i like them both for different reasons

take notes those who wanna look into these species behehe 😈😈

------------

chowlings are great cause they have a solid species lore and background, its well set but not too strict to prevent you from build a character for your chowling IN the said lore

the redesign rules are also really loose cause since its a theme based species, you can go ham as long as it showcases the same theme

theres also a game development that lets you play as your own chowling so really excited for that!

however, they are really hard to get with very little adopt/ MYO slot sales and the events prizes can be bit....unfulfilling, so it could be slightly newcomer-unfriendly (aka hard to get into the species in the first place)

------------

symprites are the opposite, they're super newcomer friendly cause the event prizes are 🤌PEEK, theres really frequent adopts that are sold for around 60~100$ (which is considered quite cheap considering the quality of them) and also the MYO slot sales are also quite often (not monthly often, but still)

and even for a adult only species, there seems to be a constent flow of newcomers and it feels like a generaly good time

however the world lore don't have anything unique going on, so theres not much to do species-wise characterbuilding

------------------------

so in short, i like chowlings for their great species lore and excited for their soon to be made game

and i like symprites for their active community and exciting events

so yeah i love em both 😎💖 both are equally great for different reasons

[blorb-el]

Psssst does the au superbat fic exist bc I waaaaaaaaant it

I want it too 😭 tragically it only exists in about........4.5k scattered scenes which I try to poke at in between working on my main project rn!

misc worldbuilding scraps that are currently rotating on the back burner:

(omegaverse) human instinct relies on scent > hearing > taste > sight to find compatible partners, kryptonian instincts lean on sight > hearing > scent > taste, hence the mating markings

omegaverse humans have a much higher degree of face blindness than we normal humans do lmao

helps clark pass, the more he pulls his scent back the more it fades away, clark kent smells so dull/insignificant/mild that it seems like he's got a medical condition (hypomyrodia). jonathan kent had this. when jonathan and martha found bby kal, he was scared and tried to match scents to the two humans who found him, which caused his kryptonian scent to quickly fade. a hypomyrodic pup would probably face high abandonment rates and low adoption rates, so it was probably a relief that two willing parents brought the pup in

kryptonians all pretty much exist along a relatively smooth spectrum of sexual characteristics and can transition somewhat like clownfish if there's a hormonal imbalance in their community. having zero (0) other kryptonians around does things to clark before he grows the fortress and is able to synthesize hormone stabilizers

humans meanwhile have ten major sexes because betas can be true beta, alpha-leaning, or omega-leaning depending on their recessive genes

poison ivy is x100 more horrifying in any omegaverse world. she only manages to zop clark though bc the pollen is enchanted. however it's enchanted to induce primal alpha hindbrain, which means something very different to lone kryptonians than packbonded humans

it would have been the norm on krypton to have one's facial markings out. kryptonians would pull them back if they were sick, or perhaps terrified... primal hindbrain clark looking around and seeing nothing but non-glowing faces, and it coming across as everyone around him fucking terrified of him

for the first few months of their acquaintance clark is like. im not sure what gender batman is and at this point i'm not sure its ok to ask (he can smell past the concealing patches to bruce's strong omega scent but the patches could also be doubling as, like, the equivalent of binders, could be that batman's gender is null, but he mixes in diluted alpha cologne, but that could just be for concealment/intimidation....???)

sun-powered kryptonians have a strong, distinctively alien but somewhat alpha-smelling scent (when they're not pulling it back) but barely leave any on people they try to scent with, and scents barely stick to them. when clark politely explains this to bb dickie hes just like well i guess ill just have to scent you for longer! and clark goes 🥺

at this early point in the timeline barry is the only known omega superhero so the tabloids are huge into superflash

anyway all that's just kind of fluff/details... the core theme i've been rotating around is overcoming real and genuine barriers to intimacy. the loneliness of knowing you're a square peg in a world of round holes, the necessary compromises of sanding away your corners, the joy of meeting someone who will stretch to meet you where you are. there's a fair few excellent fics of bruce uncomfortable in an omega's role and body, i want to come at it from a perspective where a xenomegaverse clark has to define what gender means to him, in the heightened roles of the omegaverse. we are looking also at layers of passing. when parts of your closet become your armor that protects but encumbers you, and other parts become your exoskeleton, which grow into who you are. we are looking at that comic about the orchid that has the pattern on it meant to appeal to an extinct species of bee. we are looking at compromise made of love and compromise made of fear. and we are looking at tentacles baby.................

[badscientist]

hello i would like to learn more about your ocs. holds microphone up to u. can you tell me a bit about your favorite oc atm, or just one you're eager to talk about?

IM ALWAYS RARING TO TALK ABOUT ANKHANUM! hes a character that relies a lot on his context so some background is necessary. this bitch has been living rent free in my head since i was 11 or 12 years old. hes had a number of iterations over the last two decades, but currently.

he hails from a species of immortal beings that got to be that way thru biological tampering, the eldest of which had a hand in that tampering, and is the very same one who would eventually sacrifice themself to bring ankhanum into existence, to undo their people by spreading a virus specifically tailored to kill the undying.

ankhanum - in his original form anyway - carried the memories of his maker and carved quite a bloody trench through the immortals. a 'cure' was made, carrying side effects of its own, and the remaining immortals tore ankhanum apart and abandoned him on the rock that would become earth.

there, ankhanum would rot away over millennia, the world passing him by...until life formed, and he discovered a remarkable compatibility with living things. in particular, humankind.

so thats his backstory; theres a lot of iterations of him existing on earth these days, often with different backgrounds and personalities and identities. we meet clive and A ankhanum in my work dead meat, but with their viral properties, iterations of them exist in several main cast members and differ based on their host, etc. some are more distinct than others; sanderson & mina dont really acknowledge theirs as separate from them, but norman does consider his a part of him, but with a distinct identity. (reus his emotional support ankhanum that keeps him chill.)

some bonus sketches of norman and his ankhanum, for fun.

i have more info coming abt them as a species when dead meat wraps up, particularly a 'handbook' written in the perspective of the cast about them, so PLENTY TO LOOK FORWARD TO!

[snowyborzoi]

What species are the airys (im a professional)

ok it's important to note that no matter what species an object is it doesn't mean they follow the exact behavior of said animal. Objects in one still live in a society like humans and can function as one

Ex : Objects can have a different diet then their species and live in another habit

Airy

The original Airy is commonly believed to be a seal although there's no exact type of seal for him it's still a common theory

First off there's many physical similarities

as well as characteristics

seal have been seen getting knocked over by crashing waves and are shown to be clumsy which is pretty fitting

both sunbathe confirmed by Q (airy- mod)

similar walk / run

same stupid FUCKING expression

similar build

Speculated for Airy to have a diet of fish

both squishy (confirmed by me)

Sounds similar

Ok now to address the cat comparisons

A second theory on what species airy could be Is a cat more specifically a Manul / pallas

Physical appearances is obvious as well as traits

spends time in caves, rock crevices, marmot Burrows

sunbathe

Can survive in cold & dry winters, moderate/low rainfall, warm summers

Overall the Pallas cat is a responsible species for airy considering they both live in similar habits

However it's argued that the using the universe airy was at is unfair for this theory considering it wasn't exactly by choice

A counter-argument is that the Pallas cat would obviously survive better than a seal would in that world and since airy was able to live there for about a decade a Pallas would be a better fit

But it was address earlier that objects live differently than their animal and can survive in their own ways as well as airy being a lantern commonly used for camping/outdoors so it possible regardless of what species he is he can survive on his own

Something about seals and cats

Something interesting about the two is how often their seen together, compared, or just associated with one another

it pretty common for objects to be compared to cats since most animals share similar traits but cats are most known so it often thought of cat traits

However seals and cats have shown to have more in common than any other animal

similar body types

Speech

Teeth

Claws

Similar pupils

These are only a bit of the similarities because of this it commonly theorized that seals and cats could be possibly related or somewhat part of the same family but it's yet to be confirmed or denied

Airy has had things in common with cats such as getting scruffed

Nothing is right or wrong it basically what theory you personally believe in

Evil airy

its possible for him and original airy to be the same species since they have the same appearance with a tail being the only serious difference (the bow and leaves are not apart of him)

This time I do have a specific type of seal he could be

Leopards seal

Similarities on appearance

Both also have similar behavior

Aggressive (a BITCH)

Similar teeth

eyes dilate

leopard seals are the only ones who hunt warm blooded animals and it's known for evil airy to be a serial killer

Evil airy has also mentioned possibly of liking drinking blood

Fanon Airy

Fanon airy is more complicated since it was said how he currently looks isn't what he used to look like so using his appearance may not be as accurate

And he already seems to have animal features like claws and hooves

But IDGAF!!!!

I imagine fanon airy to be a sea lion

Sea lion's are bigger than seals

Ear flaps can translate to horns

Teeth!!

Friendly (compared to the others)

Social (compared to others)

Another species that fanon airy can be (for the airy cat believers)

A lynx

ears translate to horns

Sharper shapes

teeth again

More golden color

Claws

Lynx are associated with eyesight and we've seen fanon airy eyes

There's a lynx god

ok that all I was able to put together if anymore information that comes out that can change or debunk anything I'll do my best to update this :b

@airy-mod @thefanonairy @evil-airy @ask-hfjone-airy @moldydominos109

It is important you now join this discussion @askalampanything

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

i dont send asks often and am kinda nervous but i discovered this blog after starting a fantasy worldbuilding thing ive been doing and i want to ask, should i be considering like, physics and the square cube law? it feels silly but i want my designs to feel plausible and biologically accurate, with my own twists on fantastical creatures.

dragons, specifically, are usually very large creatures, they also often fly. these are traits i want to keep, and have it still feel fantastical, but here are obvious issues here. there is magic, and it is connected to the world, and i could do something like changing gravity or atmosphere, but just saying it's magic feels like lazy cop-out, and changing the laws of physics is too drastic not to be explored, which feels to extreme for one creature. am i overthinking things? can i just handwave this sort of thing? i often don't see fantasy settings explore that sort of thing so idk im kinda lost here

You can hand wave a great deal of things and still also make fantasy creatures that feel plausible. My centaurs have the unusual biology of being born with extra limbs and ribs because they're all chimeric twins. I'm pretty sure it's genetically implausible for an entire species to be born with such remarkably consistent fused anatomy like that. But it's just enough of an explanation to make it feel a little more believable.

For dragons, I like to remind myself that humans have created airplanes at least as big as the average dragon and they work just fine. So maybe you can research how planes work. There are engines, certainly, but planes stay in the air despite being giant heavy metal tubes because of the way their shape interacts with air currents, essentially. So instead of flqpping a lot like a smaller animal, maybe your dragons are more like long distance soaring animals. Albatrosses come to mind. Getting off the ground is another problem, which can be solved by having the dragons soar from high places like cliffs and mountains.

You can also look to prehistory! The quetzalcoatlus was a pterosaur roughly as big as a giraffe and as far as science has determined, it could fly and even launch itself into the air from flat ground.

Here are a few more tips for making large dragons believable:

- bird bones. Contrary to popular belief, they're not completely hollow and they're not actually much lighter than mammal bones. But the open spaces and the mesh-like structure inside them give them a different sort of density and strength that helps them fly, as well as providing more space for internal air sacs that actually help them breathe more efficiently. (I'm on my phone right now, I'll add a source for that later) and we have evidence that this sort of air sac also existed in large dinosaurs like the diplodocus. Dragons probably would need similar structures in their bones.

- hot air balloons. Hot air rises and dragons breathe fire. Make use of those extensive air sacs and fill them with hot air! How dragons manage to have so much heat inside as reptiles is something you can hand wave with magic or find various science-type explanations for doeending on your mood. I like the idea in dungeon meshi where the dragon has a second stomach-like sac for the indigestible parts of its prey and uses that for fire fuel! It's very clever. Dragons may not be as thin and soft as a balloon, but having a body full of air sacs that carry hot air is a reasonable explanation for how dragons fly despite their size.

- wing shape and body shape! Long distance fliers that soar more than they flap usually have very long, narrow wings. And most flying animals also have shorter, rounded bodies. The dragon wing membrane should cover their whole side, from the shoulder to the hip, with a really big wingspan. Their tails probably shouldn't be all long and whippy and full of dense muscle, but maybe they can be flat and broad to catch air or maybe the wing membrane extends to the tail. Maybe you have tailless dragons! Just don't let the tails add too much weight or they'll make flying a lot harder.

- propulsion. One magic explanation I think would be interesting is if dragons used magic like airplane engines. Trying to work out magical gravity fields and atmospheric magic is cool and fun. But it seems like it would be easier for dragons to just have magic jet engines if you want to use magic to explain their flight. And it's fun!

I hope those are all helpful ideas! Dragons are cool and I love to see people messing around to make them more believable. There is nothing wrong with using a little magic fudge in fantasy worldbuilding either! It wouldn't be very fantasy if it always had to follow a hard science system. You can leave that to the scifi genre haha. But if you're going to dive into realism in fantasy, it is more fun to see people really dive deep and get weird with it and explore all sorts of interesting extra details, rather than just dipping a toe in and hand waving the rest. Maybe it's just the neurodivergence in me, but I always have more fun with fantasy stories if it feels like the creator had a real passion for the weird details and didn't just follow a standard fantasy template.

[mochinomnoms]

Im going through your blog again and the symbolism with Mrs.Rosehearts and making her a lionfish is so good! Similarly to how lionfish are an invasive species in the Atlantic because of how they could potentially harm the existing species there remains me of how Mrs.Rosehearts was harmed the potential friendship between riddle and trey and chenya and created a unhealthy environment and mindset for riddle. The coral reefs could’ve flourish and prosper if not for the danger of lionfish just like how riddle could’ve been a happier and healthier child if not for his mother’s teaching methods.

There’s also the possibility that Mrs.Rosehearts methods could be a product of her childhood or something that we just don’t know. If that were the case then it adds even more symbolism as lionfish could’ve be a released or escaped from marine aquariums and are just trying to survive in a environment that isnt made for them just like how Mrs.Rosehearts could have trauma of their own (which of course doesn’t excuse what she did to riddle but it makes her more human than just a evil person) and is trying to raise riddle the best she can

Anyways i hope this makes sense and thank you for feeding my floyd x riddle thoughts :D

-🪸

Thank you!! I'm glad you noticed, I wanted to connect her with a lionfish for a few reasons, like the ones you listed, but also because they're prey for moray eels! If the eel is able to bite on the lionfish head down and face first, their spines collapse down and become harmless.

I wanted to kinda show how she sort of met her match with the Leeches, but a lionfish's spines aren't just to look pretty. They're to protect themselves, and I do like to speculate how she had to grow up to become the prickly woman we're currently familiar with.

I love your analysis tho! I like hearing these sorts of thoughts from people a lot!!

[boopshoops]

hiya!! for the ask thing can I ask for Food and Name for Jocia and Yuu Shi? tysm!!!

(also baby goats baby goats baby goats-)

Name: What does your twst OC's name mean? Why does Rook/Floyd call them [insert nickname]?

OH i have- lots of lil lore tidbits for this

Jocia, according to my research waaaay back when I finally looked into her name (I deadass thought I just made it up at first), is typically associated with "joy!" Though Im sure that was obvious from the almost constant glare on her face /sar. It is also a different form of the name Jocelyn, a German name. I always pronounced it Jo-sha til I learned it was supposed to be- well, exactly as its spelled, Jo-see-ah.

Floyd calls her Barracuda! Initially I was going to have that be what he called Yuu, but the "catfish" pun was too good for me to pass on. So- what else could I do but hand over the title to Jo? Plus I think it fits her better :P Primarily due to how the barracuda is more known for how they hunt and fight.

They are known to be ferocious, attacking quickly and using ambush techniques (similar to a certain pair of tweels). They are also known to just straight up take fish from other species, even human divers- besides that, they don't really attack humans unprovoked. Barracudas also compete with moray eels for food/prey.

I feel like this relates back to how Jocia "handles" her anger- or- howshetakesitout on people around her who wrong her/those she cares about. She is ruthless and fearsome at times, but for the most part she prefers to just... chill. She doesn't purposefully go seeking out trouble when she's in the right place mentally.

Rook calls her "Reine des épices" (pls excuse any mistakes, blame the translator), which translates to "Queen of Spice!" This is honestly more of a personal reference. Me and my partner always used to joke that Jocia was kinda like a pepper- and would often use 🌶️ when joking about her. It's mostly due to her fiery, hot-tempered nature.

Yuu- is- well, yuu. I didnt come up with that, i just snatched it JFNDJDJ. HOWEVER. "Shi" can have many different meanings! I tried my best to go for something vague. I like the thought of having something that leaves you guessing what applies and what doesnt. However! It can actually also mean "you." Yuushi as a whole can translate to "hero!" (Another ironic take, I know)

Floyd calls her catfish bc. It's funny. I think it's funny and I'd bet $20 that he'd think it's funny. So it's catfish KFNDJDK

Besides the obvious- (pretending to be someone she isnt), catfish can live in almost any aquatic climate, making them rather adaptable. They have a large range of size and behavior, and are most well known for their stinging "whiskers." (Glances at shi's taser) They ALSO compete with eels for prey- as long as they arent a small enough species, then theyd become the prey.

Rook calls her "Reine du Rock", which means "Queen of Rock"- this one is just simple. She loves rock music. She plays it all the time, and it is what she most enjoys performing. Again i am not a good translator trust me i tried to learn another languagemybrainjustcant

Another fact, the twin's parents switched them around at birth on accident, and forgot who they named what initially. It's entirely possible that Yuu was supposed to be named Jocia, but they don't know :P they fight over who is older bc of this too.

Food: What is your twst OC's favorite and least favorite food? Why (optional)? Is there anyone they can share their favorite food? Is there anyone they can count on to take over the food they dislike?

I went into this a lil bit with Yuu in the past during different ask games! Here and here. And a lil bit for Jo here. (Their fav and why<)

Yuu Shi is partial to suggesting treats to Trey- whether he actually makes Bungeoppang or just uses Doodle Suit, it is currently her easiest means of getting it when she only had it a few times prior. So, sure, she'll share... sometimes.

Jocia- given she is partial to a barbequed dish, she could share it with Leona given his love for meat... but WOULD she? No.

Yuu Shi would never subject anyone else to caffeine even if they really enjoyed it, unless that someone is the sink drain.

As for Jocia... really, she didnt have too much against olives. They were bad, yeah, but not horrible. She hated the way they made her tongue itch, though... and then she figured out that they weren't supposed to do that. She's allergic. Yuu Shi used to take them for her, but there isn't really anyone who enthusiastically WANTS them either.

[prof-peach]

ADOPTABLES NOW LOOKING FOR A HOME £25 (British Pound) per mon, Paypal only, First come first serve, DM to proceed with a paypal email for the invoice should you be interested.

HOUNDOURXPOOCHYENA -------- SOLD MECH RATTATA --------------------- SOLD ODDISH (CRETA) -------------------- SOLD MAGIKARPXCARVANHA ----------- SOLD

------------------------------Bio's below-------------------------------

As you approach the adoption booth nestled beside a smoothie stand, and a small shack renting wetsuits for the ocean close by, a woman with dark hair tied back smiles in your direction. The staff member dons the token Dōtaku green shirt, whispering to the cluster of pokemon at her feet, and the one in the tank on the table behind her, all watching on, ever hopeful.

"Welcome to Dōtaku Island's adoption day, we have three sweet mons looking for their forever homes, each with unique personalities, which im sure I can shed some light on for you, if you like?"

As you move along the line, she begins to talk to you about each.

You start on the small pup, a dark furred pokemon that stares up at you with big open eyes, standing just under 2ft in height. "This one was rescued from Magma grunts, a Houndour and Poochyena cross. She was quite agressive at the start of her rehabilitation, but now has passed all saftey measures with flying colours, and enjoys a good scratch on the belly these days. The professors have worked wonders on her, she'd make an excellent companion for anyone who struggles with the cold, but probably not the best for serious battle, as she's a little shy when under direct observation by many people. Her typing is Dark currently, and we dont expect her to gain more than mild fire attacks shoudl she choose to evolve. Warm cuddles are something she specialises in, an ember no doubt may be possible with time, but a mighty flamethrower might not be in her cards. Focus her exercise on agility, she sure can run, and LOVES to chase things, so balls and frisbees are great fun!" Next in the line is a rather old looking Rattata, one hand prostetic, but seemingly dexterous and functional.

"This little fella is affectionatly known as Clank, he walks around and you can hear his little paw on the tiles in the labs, so it kind of stuck. He unfortunatly found his way into some farming equipment that got turned on, and was brought to us as a last chance about three years ago now. He survived against all odds, sadly other professors and medical experts didnt want to give him the chance her deserved due to his common species type. Clank however defeated all odds, recovered, despite losing tail and hand, he was gifted a new one by Professor Grey, and now lives a very busy little life. He loves bananas and peanuts, and has a sharp mind, so needs a lot of enrichment like complex toys and one on one time with a trainer. He's not too good with larger mons, so we advise he have his own space, or go to a home with other smaller pokemon."

The third is a rather large oddish, standing double the size of the average specimine of its kind.

"This lovley lady has been nicknamed Monroe, she's a bit of a diva now, but wasn't always so confident. Professor Peach spent a couple years one on one with her to build up her moral. She came to us with a pretty heavy viral infection that caused dieback in the leaves, and her unusual complexion, the lumps however are superficial, and cause no discomfort, issue, or long term effects other than originally causing her emotional distress. She use to feel less than pretty, we'd had a few trainers pass her up due to hew apperance, they were less than friendly about their opinions of her, as you can imagine they got chewed out pretty badly by Peach and all teh staff who were there to overhear. She felt down, so the one on one time was all about making her feel amazing again! When her leaves started to grow back in we realised she was an unusual species, resembling Aglaonema Creta, a very pretty plant. She is jolly and sweet and kind, and just wants to shine, potentially a great candidate for contests or more flamboyant battles if you were so inclined."

The last in sat in a large tank on teh stall behind her, a grumpy looking water type.

"Mr.Grumpy here isnt all that mean, dont let his expression fool you, he's been looking for a home for a while now, but he just gets passed off as intimidating or scary, so it's been a long journey for him to find that perfect partner. A Magikarp and Carvanha cross, he can be tempermental, a little rough at times, not so easy to handle, but more than capable in a fight. he likes his fin held, and the staff have taken to putting movies on a laptop for him when hes not out in the rivers and waterways. His check ups go swimmingly, pardon the pun, thanks to media distraction. He hardly bites anyone these days, unless youre rude and done ask him before handling him. He's all about polite manners, so if you do that, nothign can go wrong! We're not sure what he'll evolve into if he chooses to, though we have a sneaking suspicion he'd be a water/dark type due to his moveset."

[rassicas]

We are getting playable Cuttlefish in Splatoon 3.

i dont like saying im totally certain about predictions, but the evidence is so subtle, yet so very intentional in the exact way that the splatoon team would do if they were trying to hint at something. (under the cut because long post)

I’m sure some of you have seen PandaUniverse’s tweet introducing the cuttlefish evidence. first two images are from that tweet, putting it out there that i cant take credit for those.

exhibit A: train station gates

the splatoon team foreshadowed OE before release with a blocked off train station in inkopolis square....this seems even more obvious? no entry for squids, mysterious 2 finned squid thing can enter? exhibit B: weird hat

again, two finned squid thingy like in the ticket gates. i saw some ppl saying “its just a weird octopus” but like. why would the splatoon team purposely model an octopus hat super weirdly? also @sprousprou​ sent me a better image:

that is not an octopus lol After i saw the tweet, i remembered a thing that me and my friend dodo were scratching our heads at a few months ago while we were reconning all the s3 stages for details, because... Exhibit C: that’s a fucking cuttlefish

again, 2 fins. found in Mincemeat Metalworks, it’s in the same style as the Angry Squid and Angry Octopus graffiti that’s been seen before.

So how do I feel about this? well... not even a month ago i thought it would be weird to expect a new playable species, but the evidence feels so undeniable now. but i also mentioned in that ask, cuttlefish are pretty much the only species that would make sense with current lore. being ink-producing cephalopods in real life, unlike nautiluses or dumbo octopuses, i would expect cuttlefish to be ink-based shapeshifters like the inklings and octolings. and we have seen cuttlefish in splatoon’s canon before... albeit only once in the japan-only octo expansion artbook....and they look a lot like inklings. However i find it a bit... weird... that they’d be introduced like this with next to zero build up, unlike the playable octolings which were hinted at from the first game. i’m also deeply concerned about the idea of this truly becoming a pattern, like the splatoon team potentially introducing a new species in each DLC, leaning on "play as this New Guy” as the main selling point and not “play this cool story.” I also would prefer if they just expanded on customization for octolings and inklings and not added a new species. but i guess it’s splatoon 3, gotta have 3 species too. and ill take it any day over salmonlings also in the aforementioned ask, the only justification i could think of for a sudden introduction of cuttlefish would be that they happen to live super far away outside of inkadia/splatlands. combine that with the knowledge that the DLC is more than likely going to be a world tour of some kind...well, that’s probably gonna be the reason for their introduction: they just live far away. tl;dr im feeling 100% sure cuttlefish are coming to splatoon whether we like it or not