#ye genetics is fun

[kingsmoot]

um. can i be honest. with you. i think it's dumb as fuck when people talk about great house genetics in asoiaf as if they're a plot hole or a world building flaw and not like. a very cute and fun and purposeful feature of the world. you fr have no sense of whimsy.

[lemongogo]

college … wasted on the youth (me)

[junewashere]

most mutations do vary, you get what you get in a way. some of the strongest versions of the serums straight up turns you into a full blown freak. turns out when you clone strange things and ramp up the side effects for “more power” you get weird almagmations! the mutation process is unfortunately sped up if you’re an adult, say goodbye to your wife n kids bud! not only are you going to change physically beyond the humans understanding of horrific, your mind will be taken over by the little parasites and drive you mental!!! you can thank the scientists later!

fortunately for the kids the process is much slower and they get to expirence every little change very slowly…good luck!

[anantplayingdnd]

The Story of Kazimir and Patrina

Yeah so I ended up writing like two thousand words about them and Barovia, and I can't share it with my players yet, so... here you go, loves. Not gonna be canon-compliant and I do not care. Enjoy!

Also Curse of Strahd Spoilers under the break. Obviously. Read at your own discretion.

Before Barov von Zarovich began his conquest, the Balinok Valley was vibrant and full of life. Among the traveling Vistani, the wide-spread clans of werewolves and wereravens, one of the largest people groups was the Dusk Elves. Distant relatives of the subterranean Drow, they were gentle, peaceful people that never sought to harm their neighbors, but rather to learn from and collaborate with them. They worshipped the Three Ladies of the Weave, with particular deference to the Weaver herself. They took to heart her teachings about remembering the past, keeping detailed records of both their own histories and those of others. However, they were not defenseless and unprepared when Barov and his son came to destroy them. Due to a warning from the Weaver’s sister, the Seeker, they were able to ready themselves for the coming attacks.

The twins Kazimir and Patrina were born in the midst of this preparation, knowing from birth that their people would face a terrible war. Although they were very young, both showed great talent for magic, Kazimir even more so than his sister. But the war came too soon. Before they had even reached their centenium, the war began. The Dusk Elves’ preparations were able to resist for many years, but their resources were finite and soon began to dwindle. People started dying – fast. There were some who believed it was best to surrender to the would-be-conquerors, but the supreme council of Dusk Elves rejected this. Unfortunately, this schism led to Rahadin’s betrayal, as he deserted his own people in favor of the Von Zarovich family. As a member of the council himself, Rahadin was privy to many secrets and plans that the Dusk Elves would have needed to secure their survival.

After that, the defeat was quick and brutal. The vast majority of the Dusk Elves were killed in battle, but many more were slaughtered after the fact, until fewer than five hundred remained in total. Those that remained were forced into a single village, largely cut off from the rest of the new society that Strahd was building. Kazimir and Patrina were among those that lived, in no small part due to Patrina’s cunning. Kazimir did his best to adjust to a life without a war, but Patrina was not content to live in a run-down village and scavenge for whatever scraps they could gather. She had heard whispers of power that she could use to enact her will and take anything she wanted from their oppressor’s hands. Kazimir was initially in favor of this plan, until he learned one final detail: Patrina would go to none other than Strahd Von Zarovich himself for help. Horrified, he tried to convince her not to do this, but it was too late. His sister had made up her mind.

That was the last he heard of her for several years. Kazimir found himself in a position of leadership within their clan, and began building relationships with the Vistani, who were somehow spared Strahd’s wrath. During this time, he took on a Vistana name, Velikov, after a man who helped to lead and mentor him. Despite having only a few friends, Kazimir was well-respected as a leader despite his relative youth.

The Dusk Elves, small and few though they were, began to recover. They started healing from the pain of the war, having children, building homes. Maybe it was because of their slow healing that, when Patrina suddenly returned, Kazimir didn’t hesitate to welcome his sister back home. However, this wasn’t the sister he remembered. Her dusk-purple skin had become hollow and thin. Her eyes, he found, could no longer see color. And what was more, after her return, people started dying. Otherwise healthy people suddenly dying in the night, their bodies missing without a trace and then appearing a few days later as just piles of bones. Many began to question if this was Patrina’s doing, but she refused to answer any questions, even from Kazimir. She would not tell where she had been or what she had done, but it was clear that she was mad with power.

Unfortunately, there would soon be much bigger problems at hand. One evening, a dark mist rushed upon the valley, descending from the southern mountains and spreading across all of Barovia, blotting out the sun. At first, it was thought that this was merely strange weather that would pass quickly. Days turned into weeks into months, and it became clear that this was not something that would simply go away. At least during the first war, the grass was green and the sky was blue, the warm sun would rise every morning. But as Barovia descended into madness and chaos, there was no light. No sun, no clouds. The grass and trees began to wither. Some tried to leave, but any who did were swiftly killed by the mists. The Three Ladies they had long worshiped were attacked, and the shrine of the Huntress was desecrated and destroyed.

In this new darkness, Patrina’s insanity only grew. She began whispering to herself at all hours of the day, sometimes seeming to argue with no one at all. And then one night, she simply disappeared. The deaths stopped. Though relieved, the Dusk Elves couldn’t rest. Only months after vanishing, Patrina returned again, now overflowing with power and anger and hate. Kazimir and the rest of the village confronted her and, finally, Patrina answered.

Yes, she had killed all of those people and more. In the years she was gone, she was at the side of Strahd von Zarovich as his partner and lover. At the same time that he made the deal that led to his Vampirism, she took a deal of her own, in exchange for unimaginable power. But Strahd forgot about her. He was consumed with love for another woman, and so she fled Ravenloft. But she heard word that his new, young lover had died, and so she attempted to return to his side to use his vulnerability to help restore the Dusk Elves. Instead, she was cast aside even more quickly than before, and now she was here, home.

Kazimir couldn’t believe his ears. He was overcome by grief, horror, and fear at what his sister told him. The villagers began taking up stones to kill her, but they were too late. A monster appeared. Not Patrina – Kazimir. Practically unknown to even himself, their male lineage was cursed by a terrible beast that would transform and wreak havoc on their surroundings in times of great stress. For all of his life, Kazimir had been able to stay calm and collected enough that the beast was never released, even during war. But the anger within him at Patrina’s words was too much. Patrina was dead before the first stone was even thrown.

He only returned back to his humanoid form after his sister was gone. Dazed, confused, and nearly unconscious, Kazimir struggled to find his senses after the act. The other Dusk Elves, now scared of him too, refused to get near. He had only just begun to reason with them when none other than Rahadin the betrayer arrived. He demanded to be taken to Patrina, and when he was pointed to Kazimir and the body he was laying over, Rahadin was deeply displeased. Strahd had requested Patrina alive, and Rahadin had long loathed his own people. This was the final straw.

In retribution, Rahadin and his soldiers systematically slaughtered every female Dusk Elf they could find regardless of age, from the oldest woman to the youngest baby – and they did not stop until anyone who could repopulate their people was found. Kazimir and the others fought back, but those who tried to fight were swiftly killed. When he finished, there were barely a hundred-and-fifty men and boys left. As specific punishment for Kazimir, who at that point was already badly wounded, Rahadin cut off his long elven ears. After it all, Rahadin took Patrina’s body and vanished into the night.

[randomshitwithwinter]

im fucking desperate here, but im not desperate enough to go on reddit somone plz say something nice abt my appearance plz?

[inkats]

having a crush is like poison status effect whenever u have to think.

[mad-hunts]

this is a random 2 am thought, but barton actually was diagnosed with a inherited form of tachycardia (which would be CPVT, a type that is caused by a change in the genetic code for a particular cardiac protein that causes it to leak calcium into the heart) whenever he was a kid. and just in case you aren't familiar with tachycardia... it's a condition that causes sudden rhythm disturbances, called arrhythmias, to occur. this specific type tends to show itself at times of high adrenaline levels, such as when you're exercising or experiencing strong emotions, however.

so... the way that barton had found this out was actually when he was 9 years old and with winslow, his surrogate father. he'd unfortunately gone through a period of weeping while around winslow at the time, and he'd fainted because of it, which is something that could happen as a result of it. barton was subsequently rushed to the hospital by winslow because a nine year old fainting was DEFINITELY not normal and found out that the cause of it was CPVT - something that he's been on medicine for, specifically beta blockers, ever since.

and although this is important, accidents do happen + he's forgotten to take it one or two times throughout the years anddd yeah. it was not good JSJSJ but that is just a health fact for him that y'all didn't know before (,:

[bluejaybytes]

yeah on the warriors website they specifically call moonpaw a chimera. idk people are flipping out over nothing like...tortoiseshell cats don't normally have tabby markings? moonpaw is kinda like this kind of chimera:

Well it depends on the type of tabby markings honestly lol, my cat isn't a chimera but IS a tabby tortoiseshell (also known as a torbi or patched tabby or caliby or PLEASE CAN WE MAKE UP OUR MINDS AND SETTLE ON A SINGLE TERM). I'm not 100% sure that's specifically what they're intending for her, given the general lack of... well I don't want to say "detail" but like. Something along those lines when it comes to the character silhouettes. Regardless my issue is mainly that I feel like framing Moonpaw as inherently a wrong depiction of a chimera is a bit too early in that assumption LOL

[ringeddplover]

submitting my dissertation forms within a week. this is an ok fact about my life.

[puyotism]

she has chronic girlie pop syndrome (marfan syndrome)

Also redraw of this 👍👍👍

[loregoddess]

well, despite the wiki's utter lack of useful info, my love of wildly underdeveloped dead moms with little to no info won out, and I now have an updated design for Ikona

for whatever it's worth, I spent several hours comparing key facial features of the Hoshido siblings and Sumeragi to try and reverse-design what Ikona might have looked like, and came up with the shittiest Punnett squares to figure out eye/hair color (eye/hair color aren't Mendelian traits, Punnett squares for calculating eye/hair color are actually BS). I don't...actually think Kozaki spent the time to try and draw familial similarities, not the way Nuri does at least, but damn if I didn't try to find similarities/differences to work out my design for Ikona

[yoonyia]

In ias I studied the Burundi genocide and I was enthralled by the political and colonial and religious and ethnic elements of the conflict

I wrote so many bullet points

it's only supposed to be 4 minutes

I have 6 pages worth of information

it's supposed to be 500~1000 words

I dont know why I hyperfixate on things like this

when the essay prompt lets me get a little autistic with it

[secrets465]

"World of "War""

When the flesh is weak.... They resort to modification and genetics When the sky is bleeding.. They resort to hate, violence and genocide When the moon is cracking.. They return to their animal instincts out of defense, the offensive or involuntary needs When the Earth is cracking.. It croaks it's natural hidden blood for all to see, only for it to be exploited upon.. When the very concept of "War" is questioned.. It is answered with execution.. but sometimes the idea of it begins to crack... and sometimes a few or only one will answer the question... and that answer is.... "The very concept is of Violence, Winter, Dust and Blood.. And in the end you can only keep a few things.." as tons of gun fire and a cacophony of noises of gutteral screams, mortal screams, bestial screams and explosions are heard in the distance of flames and "war"

[gonzodangerfeels]

Then again I have seen a dude with two dicks on this website.

And sorry if I had two dicks it would be double penetration every time.

Faggots can't do that though because they only have one whole

Women, literally twice as good as men because they have two fuck holes downstairs.

[sawkinator]

They need to invent leopard geckos that come in Green.

[leexsa]

if this aint happening in the new anime im not watching it /j

Sometimes I like to think biology and taxonomy as a field is, if anything, even more complicated in the pokemon universe than it is in ours? Like it’d be really funny if the seemingly straightforward, reliable, and intuitive systems that are explained to us in the game is just the simple version given to young people who tend to be just starting out in their relationships with pokemon while across the country you have like. Professor Sycamore giving speeches about how much oversight was required to formally accept Fairy as a valid typing and getting derailed by a pundit talking about the Flying type and he’s like “Don’t talk to me about the flying type if you so much as look at the Flying type you’ll get into about eight taxonomical arguments that have been going on longer than you’ve been alive”

next door you have people arguing for the billionth time whether or not Cleffa should be recognized as a True pre-evolution of Clefairy or if the differences in its anatomy aren’t significant enough to classify and there’s at least one school of thought that Evolution doesn’t exist and the only real pokemon are final evolutions, so neither pikachu nor pichu are their own creatures they’re just immature and/or neotenous raichu.

Somewhere else in the world you have a paleontology conference discussing the latest fossils found of the ancient pokemon basculegion and reconstruction implications only for a time traveler to slam the rear doors open like “I SAW GOD, WAS THROWN BACK IN TIME, AND BASCULEGION DID NOT LOOK LIKE THAT,”