#you benefit too much from thinking you're the most important species

[snekdood]

some of yall think human lives are always more important than animal lives and it kinda sucks ngl

[elbiotipo]

also, while we are at it

"my dragon flies because it's magic xdxddxdxd"

fine, acceptable, it's magic. Okay. Even as a biologist I'm willing to give it a pass. God knows that in my space opera project I've went "mumble mumble convergent evolution mumble" for some of my earth-like aliens. The shape is kinda believeable and original, you chose some cool features, it's fine, no need for the whole phylogenetic tree.

Now, why is it magic? what does it mean it is magic?

Were dragons created by a god? are they manifestations of nature? why are dragons, especifically, magic and not say, crocodiles?

Is it a species with physical presence and a life cycle, or are they magical beings? how many dragons are there, how important they are to your world? are they worshipped, feared, venerated, just some kind of weird megafauna but otherwise unremarkable? what do they eat, how much?

If it's a sentient dragon from a physical species, as most modern fiction seems to assume (you'd be surprised that in most medieval works they were mostly mindless beasts or demons, dragons as noble creatures are very much a modern invention in the West) how do they think? How do they act differently from smaller, less powerful, shorter lived species? Do they have their own gods, their own rituals, their own beliefs? Are they lonely beings or are they able, or interested, to form part of society, or even have their own societies?

What's the cultural role of a dragon in the world you're making? What do your characters think when they hear the word 'dragon'? What do they know about dragons, when your hero goes and finds one, what are their conceptions of it? Can they fight it? How? Why?

Notice that most of my questions aren't stupid UNREALISTIC! CINEMASINS DING!, but things that actually affect your characters, setting and plot. Don't like to write a ethnographical paper about dragons? do it anyways or I'll shoot you, don't, but if you're introducing an element to your story, even if you're using stock fantasy elements like dragons, you will benefit A LOT from thinking how they fit into your story.

And even in settings were "it's magic" is acceptable as an answer, or more *surreal* or comedic stories where things happen without too much logic, a dragon is still a symbol. What does your dragon mean in your story? "oh, a magical dragon". Fine. Why is there a dragon on your story? Don't have a whole herpetology paper, because this is just a romance? Okay, can you spare me a couple lines to tell me what does a dragon mean in your world? That too, is yuri worldbuilding.

[yanderes-galore]

Noticed there's one iconic Sangheili still missing on this blog, so: Rtas 'Vadum (Halo) Concept? Either or both Human and Sangheili darling, Romantic/Platonic intentions.

You are so right, we need more Rtas content. Here you go!

Yandere! Rtas 'Vadum Concept

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective/Possessive behavior, Manipulation, Mentions of "mate", Human/Sangheili darling, Some violence, Threats of isolation/kidnapping, Dubious companionship.

Rtas, compared to a lot of other Sangheili, probably wouldn't mind a Sangheili or Human darling.

He is similar to Thel but even during the war he probably wouldn't mind too much.

Rtas is known to not follow the Sangheili way if it does not benefit him.

He'd be more likely to have a Sangheili Darling during the Human/Covenant war and The Great Schism.

Yet near the end of The Great Schism and the end of the war he'd be more likely to have a human Darling.

Rtas is similar to Thel as they both worked with one another for so long.

They've both seen how capable John was as a human which changed their view on humans.

I feel like Rtas is, surprisingly, not the most intense yandere.

I feel that for this concept I'd focus on an AU after the war.

He'd keep the one he's obsessive about on his ship as he continues his duties.

After the war Rtas is much more tame due to not being in battle as often anymore.

He'd probably be more intense during the end of the war but he certainly tones himself down later.

Instead of going everywhere with this concept to try and tackle every possible outcome… I'll try to stick with the base idea that came to mind when I think of Yandere Rtas.

Yandere Rtas with his obsession who is part of his ship crew/a crewmate.

This could work with both Sangheili and human darlings.

You were recruited on the Shadow of Intent due to your skills with technology.

You are either a Sangheili who worked with Covenant carrier ships often or a human that happens to be skilled in adapting to Covenant tech.

Either way you are placed on the ship due to your skill.

You'll fit in more as a Sangheili as most of the ship crew is Sangheili.

As a human you'll experience a bit more push back from your fellow crew, yet Rtas would call them off.

Rtas has been shown to care deeply for his crew.

Even when he worked for the Covenant he cared for even the Unggoy under his command.

That doesn't change now.

Rtas looks after you as part of his crew.

This care soon extends into his obsession towards you, romantic or platonic.

While you can guess a romantic obsession would happen more likely with a fellow Sangheili, a human isn't impossible after the war.

Rtas can get defensive of you on his ship.

He would see his obsession as a close member of his crew, even when they're new.

He listens to every report you give and has each repair you do monitored.

During meetings you are often called to listen in.

Rtas is one of the few Sangheili who doesn't have prejudice.

He doesn't care about your gender or species.

He just sees you for your skills and respects you for that.

Even if your combat isn't the best, you're still an important asset.

Due to the fact he cares about you, Rtas may give you a high ranking on the ship if he feels you've earned it.

Other Sangheili say this is unfair, only for Rtas to threaten them with kicking them out.

Rtas by this point in his life is a tame yandere.

His violent streak has settled down, although he is fully capable of fighting.

His primary goal has been to hunt down those who have wronged the Sangheili.

The ship docks at times but you're rarely let off of it.

Rtas claims he needs someone to make sure the ship isn't hijacked or damaged.

All of which are valid concerns yet the biggest concern he doesn't tell you.

He doesn't want you to become a casualty, especially if you're human.

Rtas’ obsession is subtle.

For the most part you just assume he does what he does due to him caring for his crew.

Yet as time goes on you'll notice that isn't entirely the case.

Rtas soon begins to call you in private to chat with you.

His obsession is still very slow and planned, very subtle.

When you first entered the Shadow of Intent you were already locked in.

Rtas does mean well when it comes to you yet he begins to show possessive tendencies.

He calls you in to sit beside him, he growls at other Sangheili around you.

It's clear to the rest of the crew he's taken claim to you.

If you try to leave his crew he threatens you under his breath.

He still has holding cells on this ship… don't comply and you may be sent there.

For the most part Rtas is subtle and protective of you.

Although like most Sangheili, Rtas has a possessive side.

He prefers to hide that side of himself.

Although he isn't above putting other Sangheili of his crew in their place when it comes to you.

He can either see you as a close comrade or, well… a mate.

He's more possessive if you're seen as a mate obviously.

The good news is he doesn't mean any harm to you.

You're a skilled crewmate that matters so much to him.

The others on the ship may think their Shipmaster is acting weird.

But he isn't acting weird…

Not as long as he has you.

While Rtas isn't a very intense yandere…

He'll do anything to keep you on his ship to himself… including locking you away until needed.

[monster-slxt]

I've had this fantasy stuck in my mind for a while now.

You and a group of other volunteer researchers are sent to an alien planet to study its culture.

As soon as you and the other researchers arrive, you're all welcomed warmly by the planet's inhabitants.

You're all given a place to stay and are even treated to feast at night.

However, what you don't know is that you and the other researchers were not in fact sent there to study the culture. But rather were sent as a sort of peace offering, so the aliens wouldn't attack earth.

The species is actually on a decline due to less and less females being born each generation.

However, the aliens discovered that human biology was actually compatible with their own. Meaning it was possible for them to use human females to help increase their population.

So in exchange for not invading earth, the aliens demanded a handful of human women be sent to their planet as test subjects to see if it is truly possible for a human woman to conceive their young.

Of course your employers informed none of you about the real reason you're there.

Not that it matters anyways, because you'll all be too busy being fucked by multiple different males to even think of anything other than dicks.

Just a small housekeeping, since this is mainly a queer focused page I do try to keep gendered terms to a minimum, especially with groups, and I would appreciate if requests also tried in turn! No harm no foul anon, but note to anyone requesting that I'm not a man or a woman and I don't appreciate being lumped in with either groups👍 onto the horny!

We didn't see it coming. Not only was the government trying their damndest to keep it hidden from us, but the crew wasn't even only fertile people! We were all more than excited to get on with the xeno-anthroplogy that was sure to take place at this monumental occasion.

We barely had time to exit the ship before the aliens were welcoming us, clearly just as egear as we were. The day was spent touring the incredibly high tech society of our hosts. Of course even walking around we never noticed the lack of viable reproductive partners, we had no familiarity with their biology or culture after all. Our guides seemed to get more and more excited as the twin sun's set, ushering us to a grand feast. It was at thus point the members of our crew not brought as sacrificial lambs departed, slipping away silently and returning to their ship after signing the last of the treaties promising earth's safety.

The food was delicious, everything special made for us since no one was sure yet if our diets were safe for each other. Little did we know the food was special made with a hormone cocktail designed to aid in the breeding process, with the added benefit of being incredibly potent aphrodisiacs. We had barely even started eating when they kicked in and we were quickly moved into a private area to start the impregnation process. Of course only the most important members of this society, strong generals and political leaders, would be allowed first access to mating.

For hours we were locked in a breeding frenzy. Strange cocks never meant for human bodies filled each and every avaliable hole, pumping as much alien cum into us as possible. Still, it was always possible we simply weren't compatible. So we were quickly handed off to scientists to monitor everything.

But it was quickly apparent there was no need to worry. It was clear that our species were hyoerfertile together, every single human was knocked up with multiples.

[hungeringheart]

Hi, Can you do a session analysis of a: Heir of Space

Seer of Breath

Mage of Life

Thief of Mind

Witch of Time

Heir of Blood

Knight of Doom

Rogue of Light

Ooh, hello! Big cast you've got there, it'd be a shame if anything terrible and tormentous happened to them.

(Apologies for the length of time this took, I'm repeating myself like a broken cymbal monkey to my entire ask log but I had a bunch of stuff happen and then a spine injury.)

Let's play in this space, big character sheet anon.

Dramatis Personae

☆ Heir of Space

☆ Seer of Breath

☆ Mage of Life

☆ Thief of Mind

☆ Witch of Time

☆ Heir of Blood

☆ Knight of Doom

☆ Rogue of Light

What Does This Mean For The Session

Looking at the spread here, we can make some suppositions about these good folks' collective problems already.

For starters, let's have a peek at Space and Time --

Space has an Heir (altruistic aspect manipulation class) and Time a Witch (active, slightly more personal aspect change class).

When John's session had an Heir of Breath, there was a wealth of Breath (agency, room to mess around, direction, momentum) in the game. The aspect existed, abounded (no one's parental situations substantially interfered with anything really), and seemed to have a vested interest in giving to/acting through him particularly.

In our case, refreshingly, the Heir of Space is an indicator species for the same type of collective lassitude and happiness. There's a lot of physical space separating your characters, but they also all seem to benefit from this one having more space and room to grow than even most of them, and some non-Breath amount of power over the agency they experience. Maybe the Heir can't actually give people more opportunities, but they help it feel like there are a lot more of them, or create the conditions -- the Space -- for others to grow into their roles in different ways.

The Witch of Time is a good sign too -- whatever the situation actually is with the workings of time for the team, the Witch has the ability to change the conventions of and affect the world through time, rhythm, tradition, cycles and endings. Everyone has room to breathe, and someone in their corner has the ability to refuse the end on their behalf.

You're being nicer to your little guys than a lot of people! I'd give you an award for being decent to your blorbos if I had anything like that to give.

Now, let's examine the two most important aspects for anything to get done, Blood and Breath.

Breath (agency, freedom, will) has a Seer, and Blood (bonds) has... wow, would you look at that, another Heir.

On the surface this looks really good: someone can see the optimal paths to take to preserve agency and follow the narrative, which is a core concern to the session, and someone else inherits, understands and changes for others their close connections and covenants.

BUT WAIT: blood as bonds theory is just one facet of the horrible diamond I'm about to painstakingly show you more of the facets of. And having someone dispensing wise seerly advice about the very topic of your own agency is not as fun as people think. At some point you may want to grab a Breath Seer by the lapels and ask, whose story even is this, dipshit?

Let's briefly digress.

So, the reason people say that blood represents bonds and responsibility ("blood of the covenant" etc) is that for Karkat, his personal arc is about that, it's about taking responsibility for his friends and doing what's right no matter what he has to sacrifice. I think Meenah and Vriska have the same basic journey, but interpreted through their own personal and aspect lenses (and therefore even worse for everyone).

And obviously this holds water, I mean, it does, that's the case. But let's consider something else.

Do you remember how much ... gore there is in that comic? It's mostly technicolor, so as a red-bleeding animal you intellectualize that this is blood but don't feel the same social-animal horror about it. But it's blood. Homestuck is up to the gills in gore (and so is the troll political system, starting from castes, which after all are based on blood and seem to cause tremendous suffering and loss of blood in human societies, and moving further to their war crimes and institutionalized infant cannibalism).

At this point many people hold up Kankri (or Kankri's adult, mangled corpse) like he's Simba and say, aha! Blood is about suffering despite effort! Blood is about sacrifice and futility! Blood is about obligation and the suffering inherent in interdependence!

And this too is true. But not exclusively.

What about all of the biohorror in Homestuck -- Blood as heredity, as genes -- as mutation, as cancer, as eugenics, as suffering therefrom, as the thing that locks you into your destiny? Blood as inevitability, then? Blood as that which is uncertain and feared? Blood as something always under scrutiny, as something vital and struggling? Blood as what is spilled? Blood as something that flows, that changes? Blood as omen on doorframe, both for harm and help?

As a foil and complement not just for Breath (which is in no small part about getting to do what you want, all of this be damned) but also for Doom (law, inevitability) and Time (tradition, rhythm, flow) and Life (the way of things, the struggle)?

Oho! Now we are cooking with the rocket fuel.

Heir of Blood, then... inheritor of and abounder in connections, but also in structural and personal suffering and struggle.

Things are beginning to look a little grimmer.

Well what about the Seer then, why is this a bad thing?

A Seer of Breath sees the optimal course to take about the aspect that doesn't have one, by definition. In a conflict between the nature of the force of existence itself and its representative, obviously the force wins; this Seer then sees possibilities and productive configurations, but they're at least initially flexing authority they don't have a solid basis for, telling everyone how best to be free to make their decisions. Doesn't that sound absurd and restrictive? Isn't this Seer really easy to invert to Doom? Or Rage?

The point of Breath is at least in part the multiplicity of paths; the point of a Seer is to pick one and stick to it. Unfortunately combining the most Rage behaviour with the literal antithesis of the aspect (on the axis of Rage's desperation) produces a guy who applies a very personal type of knowledge to something that approach is wrong for.

Annoying hyperonline friend who keeps trying to get you into discourse, basically, in the same pot as an intersectionally complicated and personally tormented real literal actual flesh and blood person. Ethereal online Thinker(tm) competing with someone Problematic who has nonetheless suffered more than them and has more of a concrete understanding of the things they beef about. Guy who bloviates about ideals because they got robbed by incredibly obvious cops on the way to a protest, in the same place as the organizer.

These people are tugging this game back and forth, Balkanizing the rest of the team; they probably do not get along. Tragically, they had to be doing that yesterday, and now it's everyone's problem.

We're beginning to see the complications.

Surely Life and Doom are set up in a way that hurts and bothers no one here!

Maybe. Mage of Life -- so, motherfucker who doesn't know anything about Life (flourishing, survival, mutation and struggle) and has to learn as they go -- and Knight of Doom, because somebody has to lay down the damn law in here, particularly since the existing people who should do that are too busy writing callout posts about one another and posting them in the group memo to make any decisions.

It's encouraging that at least one pair of these friends has each other.

But are Thief of Mind and Rogue of Light just sitting around on their hands then?

The Thief of Mind finds all this funny and derives fuel for their own thoughts and choices from fucking it up for other people. The Rogue of Light is supernaturally lucky and on the ball and wants to share that with everyone else. I think they're not really even in conflict, though -- I think the Thief is an annoying hanger-on from outside and the Rogue is these people's actual friend, and they undo each other's efforts , but at least they both want to survive and win!

All together now:

Examining all this we can see a narrative taking shape. Two people aren't friends but have mutual friends in common, and rope them into a game together. The group immediately balkanizes under the first available stress, along the lines of what people prefer in a leader. Dealer's choice: Facts and Logic (tm) about extremely personal choices, or decisionmaking by a horribly tormented and jaded person who has no idea how bad anyone else really has it but pontificates about it anyway.

Someone suggests making the game competitive, a bad time is had by all, the Mage and Knight have their own dyadic thing going on, the Heir of Space mitigates all this (or makes it worse, they're too out of touch to tell), and the Witch of Time is ferociously combing through universes to find a normal one to escape into, or maybe at least acknowledges they can't realistically win with the time they have and works behind the scenes to keep it all together. The Knight of Doom helps.

The drama, anon! The power! The presence! If you write this I would actually love to see it.

[eimearkuopio]

Okay so here's my weird hypothesis based on a lot of Wikipedia reading and thinking.

Organised religion is an attempt to contain forces greater than average humans and mitigate the harm those forces might otherwise do. Christianity is a pretty good example, and I'm not here to argue with the Roman Catholic Church over whether they're actually meant to be the One True Faith because idgaf, but the concept of Invincible Immunity definitely ties in pretty neatly with why I am fine with being an Adopted Catholic or with being excommunicated, and why I will never ever ever force my husband to even think about converting (cause that would basically be spiritual kidnapping). I am not a child. I am not a sheep. I cannot thrive in this environment, and neither can those I perceive as the best and brightest of my generation. Change, or die, because you are already suffused with rot. I'm an untrained, volunteer field surgeon in the war between Heaven and Hell. I don't even know what side I started out on, but I'm a conscientious objector trying to protect humanity at any cost. I might be able to help with gangrene, but if you're already experiencing sepsis, it may be too late. I can't promise I'll save the hand or the eye, but I'll try to keep the poison from spreading if I can.

We're all part of an ecosystem. Let's say Christianity worships, specifically, the first manifestation of a specific species of butterfly that evolved spontaneously, and that they have been trying to reproduce ever since, but it's super hard because they insist that they only ever produced one of that species and He was male and a result of parthenogenesis by a female who was definitely not a member of that species but was super special in her own right and also SOMEONE crucified their very special solitary butterfly who has often been imitated but can never be equalled because if He was equalled then by definition they would be out of a job.

They insist they had nothing to do with the crucifixion and could never have prevented it because it was part of God's Plan to put them in charge of everything because only they have the special knowledge acquired from their very special butterfly, but also, they insist that the crucifixion was a necessary part of the whole process, and then they make it the key facet of their worship without ever understanding the implications of a world where all our sins have been absolved AND YET WE CONTINUE TO SIN. They insist it is inevitable, and to retain their own power, they define new sins that only they can absolve. They also tend to fixate entirely too much on statues of their version of the butterfly (which always somehow look more like them than like the actual butterfly did...) pinned to the cross that they swear they had nothing to do with Him getting pinned to, it was all Judas, nothing to do with the one who denied Him instead of rescuing Him, that kind of thing couldn't possibly cause generational religious trauma OR COULD IT.

Christ died for all of us. I am actually willing to give the Roman Catholic Church the benefit of the doubt as an institution, because their stance is not actually inconsistent with my own, and the parts I have a different perspective on were some of the most important clues that led me to my conclusions. I can understand choosing to be a lightning rod if it means letting the oldest tree shelter the younger ones who may nonetheless resent the shadow they cast.

They claim that the doctrine of Papal Infallibility relies on the promise from Jesus to Peter. They also choose the title Servant of the Servants of God for the Pope. I serve Something. My perception of that Something is not inconsistent with my understanding of Catholicism, but it IS inconsistent with the version of Catholicism I was force-fed, which doesn't harm most of its adherents, but which I and many of those caterpillars the Church believes were most likely to become their type of butterflies are genuinely allergic to.

I don't care if women are never ordained as priests, but they need to be included more and listened to more at every level of the Church. It's fine to have them be the lesser lights as long as they are not caged, and as long as we accept that many of them ARE greater lights than those who now claim sole authority to define brightness, but refuse to acknowledge the difference between absolute and relative luminosity. Give them their own copies of the Keys to the Kingdom, because that means any women who cannot thrive within the Church will no longer be given a choice between eternal damnation and being smothered and squandered. You have buried too many Talents because you thought the coin they were minted into somehow implied a baser metal, and that is on you, not on the coins. Better dig them up and start putting them to better use. (To be clear: I will not be surprised if more women than men choose to take on a congressive rather than an ingressive role in society. There does seem to be a genuine correlation. But gender and sex and social expectations and limitations are sufficiently complex concepts that if we use our explanatory conceptual model to make individual assessments using only a few cursory observations about a given individual, we have defeated the purpose of the model and likely done irreparable harm to uncountable innocents by applying our own biases in a form of spiritual eugenics.)

Maybe Nana did make it out of her cocoon after all. Maybe she got to be a real moth, even if her wings were torn by the poor husbandry she experienced under the negligence and abuse of shepherds obsessed with butterflies. Maybe in her grief and rage, she manifested Badb, that terrifying death's-head moth in conjunction with the failures of other moths who believed they must be butterflies or be damned because of the failures of Catholicism the world over. Maybe that's why my family were scattered: to protect us from what you could not understand well enough to heal, and so instead you sacrificed yourselves trying to contain it. But you failed to comprehend the true implications of transubstantiation. I am a manifestation of a single aspect of something infinite - I am not the light, but I am so reflective and have been shattered and repaired so many times that I'm basically a religious disco ball. My illumination is not consistent, and you probably wouldn't want to live in a disco. There will probably be some weird optical illusions and people with certain medical conditions should avoid me for their own safety.

I'm not your butterfly, but I am a moth who evaded you long enough to let my wings dry so I could learn how to fly. When my siblings emerge from their cocoons, your clumsy nature damages and tore their wings. You only saw that they were not identical to your memory of your imaginary butterfly, and you let them fall back into the pit of hungry caterpillars, starving from your negligence and ignorance, who tore them to pieces - and then you mourn, because what could possibly have prevented this tragedy while also giving you the best chance of recreating your precious butterfly, so you can apologise for letting Him die and tearing Him to pieces and feeding Him to His cousins in the hope that one of them would become Him?

But you can never have the same butterfly. And if you keep ignoring the fact that almost every species on Earth experiences a degree of sexual dimorphism, and you prevent women from actually living the life of Mary - a woman who could have been condemned as Fallen, but was instead exalted above all of you assholes even if you resented that fact so much you insisted she had to stay in her cage on her pedestal and could only come and help her people with your express permission and validation - and then complain that Jesus never came back.

How could He? Every time He drags Himself out of a cocoon, you reject Him, tear Him to shreds, and feed Him to the bestiary you have amassed in the Ark you built to survive a flood God promised He would never send again, but He said nothing about preventing y'all from causing one with your imaginary sins.

Be shepherds. You can't go straight back into shepherding; your stupid Ark is lodged like a dam in the river, and if you simply uncork it, I'm not sure even God could save us from the flood; and after the past two millennia, I don't ever know for sure if He wants to. But I'm here to warn you that I know the pressure is more than the Church can take for much longer without doing more harm than good, so sound the alarm in the peaceful valleys you thought you were protecting, and help me dig a runoff channel, because I may not think the Titanic is unsinkable but I definitely don't want to see it launched across the world in a million pieces with a pressurised deluge following in its wake. I may be less concerned with protecting your idyllic sheepherding villages than you are; I belong in the high places with my goats. But I'm not actually your Enemy, even if you like to think of me that way so you don't need to blame yourselves for your own choices, and I'm definitely His servant that He has been kind enough to name as a friend. So maybe let's see if we can avoid a catastrophic flood wherein humanity destroys itself, and then we see what use we can put that Ark and its contents to, eh? You don't even need to pay me in sheep. Just stop torturing my fucking goats; they're a very effective polyculture and you're fucking the whole thing up by letting the wise men who live in the valley tell the shepherds how to run things. Take their gold, their frankincense, their myrrh, promise they'll be the first ones we anoint if anyone survives and they don't make it, and then get them to start fucking digging with their bare hands, because we're saving the shovels for people who actually know what the fuck they're doing.

[xprojectrpg]

Moment of Awesome - Jessie Drake/Chameleon: Nica meets Jessie while she's decorating for Pride, and they discuss being ace in the community.

"Happy Pride!" Jessie threw her arms up in celebration. "Now I accidentally bought a million flags - don't ask how that happened - so do you happen to subscribe to the good word of the queer gods on this door?" She made a show of gesturing to the door like she was about to open it to reveal a grand prize.

Nica paused again. Then she said, rather bashfully: "Do you have a spare ace flag?" Maybe it was time for her to take actual pride in her own orientation.

"Of course!" Jessie dipped into the suite and came back out with an eight by eleven ace flag, proudly presenting it to Nica. "Don't tell the others-" by which she meant the other flags, of course, "but this one is my favorite. The color scheme is just so nice. I might get a bigger ace tattoo next month, I'm starting to get the itch for one again. And the butterflies are so small." She turned her arm to show Nica the pride butterflies in the crook of her elbow - one ace, one aro, and one trans.

Nica blinked. "Wait, are you ace too?" The "too" was kind of a giveaway.

"Sure am!" Jessie puffed up proudly - as much as she was capable of, at least. "It doesn't come up as much as being trans because no one ever really asks, 'hey how do you feel about sex' unless they want to have it with you, but personally I think we should talk more about it."

Nica clutched the flag to her chest. "YES." It couldn't have been more vehement if she'd tried. "I mean, I get it, sex is important for the continuation of the species and all that, but it's everywhere. Especially here. So much sex. All the time." She wrinkled her nose a bit.

"I mean, I feel like the species might benefit from going celibate for like a decade, but..." Jessie waggled her hand back and forth. "That's not the point. And yeah I've noticed people are a lot more..." More hand waving. "Around here. And that's cool, good for them, no shame. But like. Man, I understand libidos even less than I did when I was living in a college dorm."

That got a brief bark of laughter. "I swear the whole place needs hosing down sometimes," she agreed. It was such a relief to talk to someone else who felt the way she did. "I mean, I get it. Lots of attractive, fit young-ish people all crammed into the same living space. But it just gets so damn tiring sometimes!" She tilted her head. "So, this is probably a bit personal, but when you go to Pride... I'm guessing it's under the trans flag? Since it's not really safe with the others?"

Jessie tilted her head a little, curious. "What do you mean 'safe'?"

Nica grimaced. "Well... There's the whole "ace people aren't really queer" dialogue going on. Not just with the straights, but with the whole queer community, you know? And there's a pretty loud group that says we should be included under the Pride umbrella and definitely not at Pride itself." She stopped, feeling awkward.

"You're right, that dialogue does happen." Jessie's tone was a bit more sedate now. "And - first to answer your question, I go under all the flags. I either wear the trans flag as a cape and wear my aro-ace shirt - it's a bow in the ace colors and an arrow in the aro colors - or I wear my ace/aro combo flag and 'nobody knows I'm trans' shirt. And... you're right, people do say that, and they're very loud about it, but they're not the majority. And that's not always reassuring, because they're still loud and kind of scary sometimes, and no amount of reasoning with them is ever going to work. The most important part, I think, is to remember that they're wrong, and also that there are people like them for almost every letter of the community except L and G. Like - bi people who aren't in same-sex relationships. If your partner looks like the opposite gender, then you're not really bi according to the self appointed community judges, and you don't belong at Pride. Trans women - especially lesbians - have a hard time because they're told they 'take resources from real women.' I've been told before that I don't belong to the trans community because I have passing privilege, which is total bullshit. There's always going to be people telling you that you don't belong unless you fit their very strict guidelines of what a queer person should be, and they're wrong. And I know it sounds like I'm making it all seem really easy like you can wake up tomorrow with sudden confidence because you know they're wrong, but really it takes time - and for me years of therapy - so if you want to go to Pride and you're not ready to be loud and proud, that's fine too. No one is going to stop you at the proverbial gate and ask what flag you're attending under, you know?"

Nica took all of this in, nodding along as Jessie spoke. "I guess it's because I've only been out a few years, and only around here," she admitted. "But... maybe it's time I stopped worrying about it." She gave Jessie a shy sort of smile. "If it wouldn't cramp your style, would it be okay if I joined you? For the first little while, anyway?"

"Of course!" Jessie was obviously and absolutely thrilled. She loved helping people find their way into the community, even if they were just testing the waters. "You can join us for whatever you want, however long you want. And if you decide you want to get a little more crazy, we can help."

[selenafreshfriendkidoaf]

Caterpillar Symbolism

What's the significance here When You See A Caterpillar? 1. Show restraint; Beneficial Things Are Coming! With all our tedious devices and progressions in this mechanical world, a range of half a month probably won't appear to be excessively lengthy to numerous for us.

Caterpillar Symbolism

Notwithstanding, for a caterpillar to hang tight for 3 to 5 weeks to transform into its dazzling self, to display its appealing and bright wings before people's yearning eyes, it takes them a ton of persistence. Along these lines, caterpillars are in a profound sense represented for their understanding.

They let you know that your fullest potential hasn't been released at this point. You actually have quite far to go to turn into the very best variant of yourself.

By and by, while intense, the excursion can be lovely, and you ought to never surrender. Trust in your capacities, and strive to develop intellectually, inwardly, and profoundly.

As a matter of fact, caterpillars insatiably feed on a herbivore diet for a really long time to set themselves up to transform. Meaning no gorgeous thing in life can be accomplished with hardly any work, and it is your chance to improve your abilities, set forth the effort and energy, and take a stab at progress.

2. Use Your Abilities To Shield Yourself. Caterpillars soul creatures advise you that however you probably won't know, you are brimming with innovative abilities and potential. It is difficult for a worm-like animal with the look that is regularly disapproved of to get by on this planet.

Shockingly, caterpillars have developed innovative self-preservation instruments to deceive their hunters. These small animals are specialists in covering themselves into twigs, thistles, or essentially mixing themselves to the shade of the leaves they are benefiting from.

Moreover, they even have an instrument to fend off their hunters and senseless people from going after or contacting them.

The separable tips on their body hairs are allergenic or disturbing when it enters the mucosal film of their hunters. The Cuckoo, in any case, is an exemption, as regardless of how shaggy a caterpillar is, they are known to ingest and process the hatchlings effortlessly.

There is a typical guideline with regards to caterpillars - on the off chance that they look fluffy, don't contact them! Besides the fact that caterpillars give rashes and disquiet, however some caterpillar species likewise produce toxins that are deadly to their assailants, including people.

Caterpillars pass a message that you really want on to keep your gifts stowed away and use them to keep others from taking advantage of you genuinely, inwardly, and intellectually. Utilize your assets, be it personal or physical, as self-preservation instruments to fend off your evil wishers.

3. Hypocritic And Underhanded Individuals Encompass You. Caterpillar slithers utilizing all of their leg matches or just purposes the pair situated at every super to push ahead. Many find this slithering movement frightening and partner it with the underhanded and deceitful people creeping around you.

Look hard and long at your companions and close circles, as such harmful and hypocritic goals are most likely concealed by the wonderful and adoring façade of those whom you think about dear. They presumably lie to you and maneuver you toward making moves that aren't advantageous to you in any capacity.

On the off chance that you feel that you're by and large too impacted by others' viewpoints and convictions, don't race into pursuing life or a business choice. Take as much time as necessary to put sufficient idea, and just settle on and pitch the choice once you're certain that your position on the choice is concrete.

4. Tranquil Times Are In front of You. In the event that you experienced a green caterpillar returning today, congrats; a happy time is in front of you. The profound importance of a green caterpillar lets you know that you are probably going to enter a peaceful phase of your life soon.

You'll find your energy moving into a hopeful one. Your viewpoint in life is probably going to turn out to be more sure. You are confident about thrilling things ahead yet, you don't rush, you're not restless, and you let things take as much time as is needed. You are intellectually and sincerely settled.

On the drawback, this stage is probably going to keep going for a brief time frame. Subsequently, ensure you completely partake in this period and handle extraordinary open doors while it endures.

5. Know. Hostile stares Are On You! Know. Hostile stares are on you!

The profound significance of a white caterpillar is fundamentally an admonition for you to be careful about individuals around you who wish you hurt. Depend just those individuals whom you have known for a really long time and have demonstrated on various occasions that they are your ally.

Be cautious as this issue is definitely not a minor one. Your foes are plotting a major event to obliterate you inside and out.

6. A Positive Change Is Coming. We as a whole realize that caterpillars go through groundbreaking changes to transform into the best and the most brilliant variant of themselves, i.e., staggering butterflies. In this way, it isn't by any stretch of the imagination an unexpected that these small animals are represented as a symbol of positive change.

To completely change yourself for something good, you could need to dispose of deceitful and undeserving companions. Your way of life and mentality likely warrant a few positive changes.

Basically, you shouldn't by any stretch of the imagination wonder whether or not to achieve essential changes that are sure to make your life more lovely and serene.

[encyclopika]

Animal Crossing Fish - Expained #225

Brought to you by a marine biologist with our last crabby boy for now...

CLICK HERE FOR THE AC FISH EXPLAINED MASTERPOST!

Today's animal will be our last crustacean for the time being. Above I said "crabby" but, as we learned last time we spoke about crabs, carcinization, and the hermit crab, not every crustacean with a stout body and pinchers is a true crab, the InfraOrder Brachyura. That's right, marine biologists gatekeep crustaceans. Just one of those benefits. So, today's animal is, instead, the largest member of the InfraOrder Anomura, the hermit crabs. It's the infamous Coconut Crab!

I really wish this one was still in the games, especially ACNH. Would be cool as hell while you're scouring your island, you happen across this thing that would be larger than the tarantula, looks like it also, but way less agro. Unfortunately, it only appears in Animal Forest e+ late at night in coconut trees without fruit during the summer months. That is extremely on-brand for the coconut crab, and I appreciate it.

The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is the largest hermit crab in the world, and also the largest terrestrial arthropod as well. Crustaceans just beat every other arthropod in the size department no matter what, it seems. They are native to various Indo-Pacific island chains, including some archipelagoes belonging to Japan, Micronesia, Seychelles, etc etc. Hilariously, they have the densest population on Christmas Island, where they are outnumbered 50 to 1 by the Christmas Island red crab (which we suspected was Animal Forest e+'s other exclusive Crab). The distribution of coconut crabs also seems to follow the same pattern of the Coconut Palm and I just love how Animal Forest e+ brought these three species together, as they are in real life. They also come in various color morphs - looks like Animal Crossing decided to go with the blue variety.

By Brocken Inaglory - English wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3238751

Unlike most crustaceans we have covered who live out their lives on the ocean bottom, the coconut crab, and its terrestrial hermit brethren in Coenobitidae, lives a completely terrestrial life. In fact, if it spends too much time underwater, it will drown! That's because they have an important adaptation to living on land, and that is a lung-like gill-like organ called the branchiostegal lung. Plenty of other terrestrial crustaceans have this organ, allowing them to live on land. However, just like amphibians, the coconut crab needs to return to the sea to hatch their eggs. As larvae, they live amongst the plankton like any other crab does, molting and morphing into an adult that eventually lands on a new beach and begins its land-lubbing life.

Unlike other hermit crabs that famously make a home of discarded shells, the coconut crab, as a large adult, doesn't. Its back end hardens so that it's no longer vulnerable. And good thing, because as the largest invertebrate on land, it would have a hell of a time finding a big enough shell to put its behind in.

I think coconut crabs really got their fame from their immense size. Like I said above, this is THE largest arthropod living on land. It literally beats insects and spiders on their own turf. Some of the largest individuals' leg spans reach 3 ft (~1m). Below is probably one of the most popularized photos of a coconut crab, usually followed by some ignorant comment about "nightmare fuel". It does an excellent job showing how goddamn big they are.

At this size, it only has humans and other, bigger coconut crabs to worry about. Despite the size, there's no danger posed by the coconut crab to people. Though it's an omnivore, its diet is mostly made up of plant material, like fruits, nuts, and, on special occasions, coconuts. Those big claws help it get through its environment and get into the husks of coconuts, among other things, like trash cans.

And there you have it. Fascinating stuff, no?

[mittelfrank-divas]

what are your thoughts on how the crests can correspond to tarot cards like crest of seiros which rhea and edelgard have corresponds to the high priestess tarot I have seen people bring that up as evidence she is a villain along with people going her armor references satan , and the crest of flames corresponds to the world tarot card

I actually haven't spent a lot of time looking at the crests and their corresponding tarot cards. But now that I have, I do think there are some interesting things you can draw from them.

Let's look at the crest of Indech, Bernadetta's crest. The corresponding tarot card for Indech is Temperance. Upright, Temperance means middle path, patience, finding meaning. When reversed, it means extremes, excess, lack of balance.

Bernadetta, when you first meet her, is completely prone to extremes. She hides away in her room, even from activities that would benefit her, such as attending class. She wildly jumps to conclusions in conversations, often assuming absurd scenarios about the other person plotting to harm her. She has emotional outbursts that are often complete overreactions to her situation.

But Bernadetta also has the capacity to grow into somebody who is steady and even-tempered. She engages in all sorts of activities that demonstrate patience: painting, gardening, sewing, etc. And I would argue that finding meaning is very much an aspect of her hobbies: writing stories, illustrating, seeking out new and interesting species of plants.

In other words, both the upright and reversed meanings of the Temperance card can apply to Bernadetta. Broadly, the reversed card fits Bernadetta at her most broken, when her flaws are most apparent, whereas the upright card more closely fits the person Bernadetta can grow into when she overcomes her flaws.

The problem is that people assume that character I like = upright arcana and character I dislike = reversed arcana. It seems to me that all the characters are meant to somewhat embody both!

So let's look at the card associated with the crest of Seiros: The Priestess.

Upright, the Priestess means intuitive, unconscious, and inner voice. Reversed, it means lack of center, lost inner voice, repressed feelings.

Isn't it interesting how both Rhea and Edelgard share a crest that, in the negative, can be expressed as repressed feelings and a lack of center? Does this not describe both of them at their worst? Rhea, losing her moral center so utterly that she's willing to set fire to a city just to slow her enemies? Edelgard, so willing to achieve her goals at any cost that she sacrifices far too many of the very people she aims to protect?

On the other hand, having both Rhea and Edelgard represent the intuitive shows how internally driven they both are, how much of their motivations come from their own personal desires and sense of morality. This is also a highly spiritual card, which seems appropriate for Rhea and a little bit sad and ironic for Edelgard.

Now let's look at Edelgard's other crest. The Crest of Flames corresponds to The World. Upright, the World means fulfillment, harmony, completion. Reversed, it means incompletion, no closure.

Once again, both the holders of these crests could fit here. Byleth could be interpreted as representing fulfillment or a lack of closure, depending on whether you're satisfied with the route you played with them. Edelgard represents a lack of closure in routes where she dies without fulfilling her goals, but certainly could represent completion in the end of CF, as she succeeds in bringing an end to the old ways.

The important thing to keep in mind is that there is tons of room for interpretation, here. It's super interesting to think about, but very silly to take this as Undeniable Proof about the characters.

[that-yandere-life]

Could you maybe do headcanons of Loki with a female darling who has anxiety and depression and has a hard time taking care of herself because of it? I totally understand if you're not comfortable with writing that, though.

[Warnings: Yandere Themes *Obviously*, Mentions of depression and mental health issues, Sweet Loki.]

Loki is fully aware of how bad things can get sometimes for you, he was watching over you long before you ever knew of his existence.

Meaning he is prepared and willing to do anything you need to help you function in some sort of capacity.

Always bringing you fresh water and snacks when you don’t feel up to eating big meals, or getting a big meal of your choosing whenever you have a craving of some sort.

Maids tend to the rooms so you don’t have to worry about cleaning up your laundry, or picking up your used dishes from whatever you consumed that day.

Fresh clothing, linens, anything you might need will be provided for you everyday so you need not lift a finger to do chores.

Bathing with you every other day, making sure that the water is extra warm because he knows how much it relaxes your muscles and your thoughts.

Using the finest smelling soaps and shampoos on you, scratching and massaging your scalp lovingly.

Reading to you on the days where you just can’t force yourself to get out of bed, his silky voice eventually lulls you into a sense of calm and ease.

Holding you close to him explaining to you just how much you mean to him, and how his life is infinitely better with you in it, hell he is a better person because of you.

Never thinking that he deserved to feel the return of the most purest form of love until he met you that gloriously fateful day.

Understanding first hand what it was like to experience depression, dealing with it for most of his life.

While he didn’t always have the healthiest coping mechanisms he will teach himself better ones to benefit you in the long run, and in turn helping himself in new ways he never thought possible.

Urging you to come with him on walks along the gardens to see the mystical flowers and plants that inhabit the mysterious place you now called home.

Telling you what every single species was as you passed them, having extensive knowledge of the flora and fauna native to his home.

Sometimes he just listened to you talk about your thoughts and feelings, thinking that it would be good for you to let out some of the steam you are holding onto.

Embracing you when the voice in your head gets to be too much to bear and you can’t help but begin to cry.

Refuting everything it was attempting to get you to believe about yourself, wishing so desperately that he could show you what you look like through his eyes.

To him you are perfect, even your flaws are part of what makes you that much more of a picture of perfection.

Constantly reminding you how strong you truly are to battle the demons that you battle on a daily basis, things no one else can fully relate to but yourself.

On your worst days he will call you his little warrior, because the war is raging inside of your mind but he knows you will get through this, as you won’t have to ever go through it alone.

Dropping whatever he is doing at the drop of a hat if you need him, even if it is important business, that matters not to him.

In this entire universe the only thing he cares about at the end of the day is you, you who has bewitched his very soul with your mere existence.

Should you experience nightmares or night terrors he will always be there to comfort you when you wake up, likely trying to turn your dreams into pleasant imagery before that happens.

Sure he could alter your emotions with his magic, but that wouldn’t be right as you wouldn’t be yourself it would be him molding you into a different person entirely.

If you should ever ask him to help you in that way he will for a little while just to give you a break from tormenting yourself.

There is nothing he wouldn’t do to take care of you, and help you take care of yourself on your darkest and lightest days.

[I really needed some good old fashioned fluff today and you provided! I hope that you enjoy this, and that it was what you were wanting darling! Please know that you are never alone! If you ever need someone to talk to who can relate, my inbox is always open! <3]

[ordinariums-a]

Peter knew he was joking, but it was still nice that Harry was able to focus on stuff that bettered the world. Considering all the damage that had been done in his universe, he didn't actually have too much trust in the company. His own Harry was just the surface of the problems that had stemmed from Oscorp, there was also, obviously, Max. Connor's, Norman Osborn - who, as admired as he was, hadn't been a good person. His Harry had made that clear while they were growing up. - But most of all, Oscorp was the soul reason he had lost almost everyone he had cared about. Starting with his parents. And ending with Gwen.

He wanted to give this universe's Oscorp the benefit of the doubt, but it was hard. Still. Environmental progress, especially pushed forward by Harry in a way that would actually make some meaningful difference to the world? He was all for it. And he trusted Harry to ensure that the tech used was used for good.

"I'm not saying environmental science is bad, but I'm from another universe. There's an entire- world in space, and I'm pretty sure they invented time travel in another universe. I'm more into that stuff. But-- I mean, it's great that you're doing this. I might not be interested in it, but I know how important it is."

And that was true. Sometimes, Peter did think he needed to be more into the environment. Look after the world and the world would look after you. And when it came to the survival of the human species? This was needed. It was- nice how into it Harry seemed to be though. And hearing about the environmental science exhibit from him seemed to be a role reversal that Peter was enjoying. It was great not to be the super nerd in the conversation for a change.

"How many of these do you do?" He asked; whether or not this was his first or his fiftieth one did not diminish how impressive it was. But it was nice to have a look into a part of Harry's life he didn't know too much about.

"Not the most intriguing?" He echoed, and he couldn't help the sudden, affronted gasp that left him.

Were it another day the gesture would have been so much more dramatic, but for now it was only a gasp, and nevertheless the teasing in his tone and the amusement in his gaze made it clear he wasn't wholly serious.

Just partly, and just in the way that he understood that not everyone shared his passion, but also comfortable enough to tease.

"What do you see as intriguing sciences, then?" He asked in return, and he might have punctuated that with a nudge of the shoulder, only he didn't really trust his hands if he does, and he was still holding his coffee.

So, instead, he answered.

"I don't exactly know everything that will be there, but Oscorp is bringing two different stands, one focused on cleaning air pollution and another about ways to gather and destroy microplastics." He told Peter. "I've been overseeing these projects myself and, well, beyond my personal stake in them, the teams are brilliant and this is their chance to shine, to be recognized. And I want to be there for them."

And he was very proud of his scientists, for all that he knew that those projects had only been allowed to take the forefront because Oscorp was in the middle of a strong PR crisis. Unfortunately for Harry's father, however, Harry had learned from the best: every inch he gained in his quest to make Oscorp better was not an inch he would be giving back.

"There are some smaller companies bringing some stands I'm really curious about, at least from their descriptions." He added. "Some new kinds of plastic, solar-powered recycling stations..." he continued. "There's one on bioelectricity I'm faintly concerned about, given they mentioned eels, but beyond that one I'm quite looking forward to see what will be there."

[bopinion]

2021 / 16

Aperçu of the Week:

Mein Freund der Baum ist tot

Er fiel im frühen Morgenrot

(Alexandra)

My friend the tree is dead

He fell in the early morning

Bad News of the Week:

Christmas 2019, my daughter had wished that instead of another gift from her "budget", it was better to plant trees. And I was proud of it. Of her selflessness and of the trees themselves - after all, the fresh green stands for life and sustainability, breaks down man-made carbon dioxide and gives us oxygen in return. It provides habitat for other species and is also beautiful to look at. Every tree is worth so much more than a cell phone tower. So much for that.

It's no wonder, then, that reforestation is seen as a crucial key in the fight against climate-damaging gases. But two aspects are currently shaking this hope to the core: First, the existing forests are in poor condition. The latest "Forest Condition Report" published by the Thünen Institute states that only one fifth of the tree crowns in German forests are still healthy. And more than a third of the ill trees fall into the highest damage category. The main reasons are nitrogen oversaturation, pests, (less robust) monocultures and climate change itself - with storms in winter and drying out in summer.

Trees extract the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air store carbon in their wood and release oxygen. To grow, they need nitrogen, which acts like a fertilizer. But "a lot helps a lot" does not apply here. The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) observed around 100,000 coniferous and deciduous trees in 23 European countries for 15 years and analyzed their growth. The result: too much nitrogen, if more water and nutrients are not available at the same time, makes for significantly weaker, less resistant trees that also bind less carbon dioxide. This overturns an important factor in all calculations of how humankind still has a chance of sufficiently slowing climate change.

The recipe of quickly planting lots of trees is therefore only partially effective. If only because of the very long cycles involved. It takes 2,000 young trees to replace one adult tree. And they need several decades to grow up. That's why the Bavarian state forests are already relying on so-called climate-tolerant varieties such as serviceberry or weeping cherry, which are supposed to cope better with the much warmer climate in 100 years' time than the currently dominant spruce. It's just too bad that we won't have time to wait for "Forest 2.0." We need to protect the forest of today - today.

In 1968, the pop singer Alexandra sang the hit song "My friend the tree". In the song, she mourns a tree that was cut down to make way for a house. You could almost say that nowadays mankind has more subtle ways of killing trees. Which, in turn, could be interpreted as man's indirect attempt at suicide. Not for nothing is it said to "saw off the branch you're sitting on" when someone endangers themselves out of ignorance. Today is the international "Day of the Tree". But also tomorrow our friend the tree needs our help. Since it benefits ourselves, this should actually not be difficult.

Good News of the Week:

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is one of the most professional politicians ever. The inventor of "controlled democracy" could well be placed in the same row as Julius Gaius Caesar, because both are gifted geostrategists. And, of course, ruthless. Putin gets away with it again and again. The annexation of Crimea in violation of international law? Without any real consequences. The support of the Syrian war criminal Bashar Al-Assad? Without any real consequences. The digital sabotage of free elections abroad? Without any real consequences. The illegitimate condemnation of regime critics? Without any real consequences. Fueling the civil war in Ukraine's Donbas? Without any real consequences. The suppression of liberal media? Without any real consequences.

I could think of many more. After all, Putin disregards democracy seemingly every week. All the more astonishing that I was positively surprised twice in the week that is coming to an end. First, by unexpected participation in Joe Biden's online climate summit. Although that could be taken as a concession to multilateralism. Second, by the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukrainian border. Although that could be understood as a concession to Ukraine's sovereignty.

A rare touch of mild of age? Perhaps even a rethinking away from isolationism? Certainly not. Putin does nothing without self-interest. But he apparently does not automatically put his personal machismo above the raison d'état. Opportunism does not necessarily have to be negative. Perhaps the realization that cooperation does not necessarily mean renouncing sovereignty is beginning to take hold. That would be good news.

Personal happy Moment of the Week:

My twelve-year-old son is definitely addicted to anything with a screen. Whether it's Netflix on the TV or Roblox on the iPad - the main thing is digital. And now he also wants a Switch for his birthday. Of course, the fact that distance learning also takes place on a display doesn't make it any better. So I was all the happier when he now apparently decided to listen to the family predisposition to creativity. Last week I was supposed to tell him one of my favorite musicians. Sting was playing. So all right. Half an hour later, he presents me with a pencil drawing of Gordon Sumner. And his mother's significant other got a portrait for his birthday yesterday that morphs from him to Mr. Spock - because he's a Star Trek fan. Again, in pencil. On paper. So totally analog. Nice...

As I write this...

...I am once again drinking far too much espresso. Freshly ground, of course, from Fair Trade organic Arabica coffee beans. Pleasure apparently often comes with a bouquet of unreason ;-)

[robin-hood-for-freedom]

I now present to you, my followers, the single worst article I have ever read.

TLDR: A supposed 'libertarian' is actually defending vaccine mandates.

This is actually so bad, I think its worth a full response:

If the vaccine causes no appreciable injury, can you still refuse to be injected, notwithstanding that you might be visiting significant risks on others?

For starters, thats a BIG 'if.' In fact, we know for a fact that there is a (yes very small, but not nonexistent) risk of serious harm from the vaccine in the short run, and we have no way of knowing if there will be harm 5 years from now.

But beyond that: The idea that not taking the COVID vaccine is 'visiting significant risks on others' is just...not true. Its pretty well accepted at this point that the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID, it just reduces your chance of having serious problems from it.

And that to me, is why vaccine mandates are dead on arrival. Even if we knew the vaccine was 100% safe(which is isnt), and guaranteed you wouldnt get sick from COVID(which it doesnt), it only protects you, meaning theres no 'externality' to not taking it.

Occasionally, however, advocates of limited government will condone directives to engage in benign activities (even when not cost-free) if failure to do so might cause injury to innocent bystanders. Safety requirements for nuclear power plants would be one example

This is actually a very high-level libertarian question that I dont think I should unpack here(maybe another post). But Its also not really relevant, since not taking a vaccine even if it did reduce the spread of COVID(which again it doesnt) isnt nearly as potentially harmful, nor as clearly intentional as, say building an unshielded nuclear reactor in the middle of a crowded city.

Punishing aggressive acts that have already caused damage is a routine government function. But it’s more complicated when government compels conduct that might minimize or alleviate future harm. That’s an area of the law — endangerment — where rights theory is difficult to apply. How much increased risk do I have to endure before your potentially malign failure to act can be redressed? When rights theory doesn’t provide adequate guidance, defenders of liberty often look to utilitarian, cost-benefit tradeoffs

I'm not sure I actually agree with this. But even if I did, it would have to be in the most cartoonishly extreme cases. Abandoning rights theory in favor of utilitarian cost-benefit analysis in anything less can lead to justifying all kinds of horrific shit. And applied too broadly can justify almost anything.

And, no I dont think refusing to take a vaccine(that doesnt even prevent the spread of COVID) comes anywhere near that level. To quote Jules from Pulp Fiction it ain't the same fuckin' ballpark, it ain't the same league, it ain't even the same fuckin' sport

vaccine mandates are nothing new. Wyoming, an indisputably conservative state, requires vaccines for 12 diseases if a child wants to attend either public or private school or a care facility, or participate in school-sanctioned activities.

A lot to unpack here:

First I'm against every single aspect of this, not just the vaccine mandates, but all the way down to the very existence of public schools. So this probably isnt the best example.

But even if you want to set that aside: Do you seriously not see a difference between a kid needing a vaccine to go to public school, and an adult needing one to go to the grocery store?

Also, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that every single one of the diseases kids need to be vaccinated for are more dangerous to them than COVID-19.

Oh and obligatory mention that the COVID vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of the virus.

More vaccinations would have slowed transmission and thereby afforded fewer opportunities for the virus to mutate.

The vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of the virus. So this is just straight up bullshit.

And even if it were true: the delta variant originated in a country(India) that hadnt had access to vaccines due to fuckery by the US government and pharma companies. So maybe you should be going after them instead of people who are understandably skeptical of a new medical treatment that we cant know the long term effects of.

Significantly, based on data from 40 states, persons fully vaccinated accounted for as little as 0.2 to 6 percent of COVID deaths, and 0.1 to 5 percent of hospitalizations.

While this might be argument for getting vaccinated(assuming those numbers are accurate, which I kinda doubt), its not an argument for forcing the vaccine on people. Since the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID, you arent reducing the risk to anybody but yourself.

Third, can we be sure that a vaccine mandate will remedy the problem? Put differently, haven’t we seen numerous breakthrough cases in which vaccinated persons have nonetheless been infected? Yes, but the key reason breakthrough cases are a growing part of the total is that we’ve vaccinated a higher percentage of the population. Most important, as noted above, people who are fully vaccinated experience far fewer hospitalizations and deaths.

All of this is completely irrelevant since the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID

Yes I'm getting tired of repeating myself, but this point cannot be emphasized enough: If you're argument for vaccine mandates is that not getting vaccinated poses a threat to others, then the fact that the vaccine dosnt prevent the spread kills your argument before it even begins.

Perhaps we should just wear masks and maintain social distancing. But the consensus is that the vaccine would still be necessary, and far more effective.

Funny thing, the CDC is saying masks and social distancing are necessary even with the vaccine because(say it with me now) the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

Perhaps natural immunity from contracting the disease is stronger than vaccine-induced immunity. But most studies say otherwise.

I feel like I should point out here that I've seen a lot of arguments from people on both sides of this question. And I dont have enough knowldge of immunology to be able to judge which is the correct position.

Although it wouldnt really matter if the vaccine were more effective than natural immunity, since it doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

Perhaps a vaccine mandate can be geographically or demographically constrained. That’s an obvious consideration, which suggests that local officials be given substantial discretion in establishing the scope of any mandate.

I suppose that would be better than a national mandate. But even that much would be unjustified since the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

Or perhaps vaccinations could remain optional, but with restricted access to selected activities by the unvaccinated. That notion — a vaccine “passport” — has the support of nearly 82 percent of Americans, according to a recent survey.

In other news: 82% of Americans are morons who dont realize the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

(okay but seriously, given that almost half of all Americans arent vaccinated, I have to question the methodology of this survey).

 we are in the midst of a health emergency, which means that suitably modified, narrowly-tailored, time-limited rules may be justified.

This is a one-time thing because we are in the middle of an emergency is the justification for nearly every tyrannical act ever undertaken by governments. And to hear it coming from a supposed 'libertarian' is equal parts terrifying and nauseating.

Oh and the vaccine doesnt prevent the spread of COVID.

[augiepets]

Common mistakes we make while handling pets and how to avoid them

Making your pets feel at home

Adopting a pet is exciting, especially if you don’t have that much experience in handling pets. It opens a whole new world of love and care for an animal like no other.

Getting your first pet, and handling them for the first time, gives you a significant lifestyle change and comes with many challenges of its own.

They may make your life challenging if you don’t offer them with regular direction, consistent training, and enough exercise.

While having a furry buddy in your life is a delight, handling pet, also comes with a level of responsibility. Because animals cannot care for themselves, you are solely responsible for their health, happiness, and well-being.

It’s not always simple when it comes to handling pets to live their best life as a pet owner. Regardless of whether you have a dog or a cat, they may as well be considered one of your children, and you must undoubtedly spoil and care for them.

However, because your pet is so important to you, it must be in good health

Why pets need our care

Having a pet can be great for our health. Animals are always happy and lighthearted, and they always make us laugh.

Additionally, they teach us how to be kind and empathetic, to love unconditionally, and to enjoy life to the fullest. A dog in the right home is like an extension of the owner: they take care of their owner and care for each other.

If you have a dog, he becomes your partner, and you're not just a slave to your cellphone anymore. However, we also need to remember that we have to give our pets a chance to live their best lives. they require a lot of love and care.

If you don't provide them with constant guidance, consistent training, and sufficient exercise, with proper animal handling techniques they can make your life quite difficult and make it bad to describe your experience handling pets.

10 proper ways of handling pets

1. Trips to the vet/ Skipping regular checkups

Cats and dogs have adapted to disguise pain and sickness by putting on a brave front. Unfortunately, that implies that they're in agony when you discover something is wrong and can't disguise it any longer.

Your veterinarian is qualified to recognize the subtle signs of a disease or sickness. Minor symptoms, such as changes in breathing, heart rate, eyes, and even tiny swellings, can be detected during regular wellness checkups by your veterinarian. Veterinarian are pros in handling pet.

Veterinary checkups regularly can help your pet enjoy a long, healthy, and happy life. Annual or biannual checkups catch growing health concerns early and help you extend your pet's life with you.

Early identification and action allow your veterinarian to treat a disease in its early stages, then control it with medication or simple lifestyle modifications.

Your veterinarian can also provide you advice on how to assist you in handling pet in living the healthiest life possible and avoiding medical problems.

How to avoid: Schedule your calendar accordingly, to plan for vet visits. Make sure you're your pet's checkups are regular.

2. Not prioritizing training/ lack of physical exercise

Consult your veterinarian before beginning an exercise regimen for efficient handling pet.

Schedule an appointment with your veterinarian to determine how much and what sort of exercise your pet need.

Pets require exercise for a variety of reasons, in addition to the health benefits. It encourages them to expend energy, making it simpler for them (and you!) to get a good night's sleep.

Exercising a pet's brain can also be beneficial. That is why many animals like sports such as chasing a ball. Games allow them to exercise both their muscles and their minds.

Even indoor games provide pets with the daily dose of mental and physical simulation needed to keep themselves healthy.

How to avoid: Set some time aside every day to give your pets some exercise. Providing your pet with all your attention during this time will also increase your bonding and gets you closer to your beloved pet.

3. Avoiding socialization

One of the common mistakes dog owners make is not socialize their dogs enough. Dogs are very social animals. They know it when they receive love, and they are masters of reciprocating it back.

A dog who hasn't been exposed to good new experiences is more likely to be terrified of anything unfamiliar.

That garbage bag blowing in the air or the garden statuary at the edge of a neighbor's yard may be enough to make the dog flee.

Fear frequently masks aggression, so even if a reactive dog appears to be attacking in an aggressive manner, it's conceivable that the display is based on fear.

A dog who was never introduced to handling activities as a puppy is likely to be fearful of grooming since it never learned that a comb isn't a torture weapon.

That makes basic husbandry, like nail clipping and tooth brushing, challenging, if not impossible.

How to avoid: Dogs can only stay sociable if they are constantly introduced to new people.

Continued positive interactions with strangers reinforce the concept that strangers are good news in your dog's head.

Dogs can only stay sociable if they are constantly introduced to new people. Continued positive interactions with strangers reinforce the concept that strangers are good news in your dog's head.

Make an effort to avoid walking the same path every day. Allow your dog to explore a range of surroundings, including sidewalks and gravel roads.

This will give much-needed cerebral stimulation for your developing canine.

4. Not getting pet insurance

Life is unpredictable enough already, but when you have a pet, it just takes it to another level. Not having a pet insurance might make a huge hole in your wallet in the time emergency.

To properly engage yourself in handling pet. That is why it's always advised to be prepared. In fact, according to recent research1 from insurance market specialists Consumer Intelligence, more than half of pet owners think that not having insurance is too dangerous given the possible expenses of treatment.

Despite worries about the many plans offered and the terms and circumstances, 53 percent of those polled believe not ensuring their pet is too much of a worry.

Around two-fifths of pet insurance clients (41%) perceive plans to be perplexing.

How to avoid: Get a pet insurance with a trusted company as soon as possible. This gives you a plus when it comes to handling pet and your pet the advantage and courage to face any problems that may arise.

5. Overfeeding

When you overfeed your pet, there are both short- and long-term risks.

According to Banfield's Applied Research, one in every three cats and one in every four dogs is fat.

Heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes are all connected to these illnesses if their weight is not adequately managed.

As a dog owner, it is your obligation to keep track of your pet's health and responsibility in handling pet because it lacks the ability to reason. You want your pet's quality of life to be as good as possible, and you are free to seek professional pet health guidance.

They are unable to engage in physical activity, such as playing or exercising. As a result, you must do all possible to prevent them from being ill.

How to avoid: When it comes to food, a dog's size, age, exercise level, and medical problems should all be considered.

It's difficult to keep a dog's diet under control if they get a lot of goodies or eat your leftovers every day.

Dogs are opportunistic feeders, meaning they will eat more than they require if given the chance, viewing food as a valuable resource.

6. Overlooking TICKS

When it comes to handle how to handle a dog, one of the most important things we need to know about is ticks! Ticks usually lead to ear canal infestations can cause significant discomfort in both dogs and humans.

These ticks' toxins have the potential to paralyze you. There have been reports of secondary infections caused by larval screwworms.

Q fever, tularemia, Colorado tick fever, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are all transmitted by Otobius megnini ticks.

Ticks may be found all over the world. Some tick species feed on specific animals, whereas others prey on a wide range of animals, including people.

Depending on the species, blood-sucking behavior differs. Ticks may go for months or even years without eating if the conditions are right.

How to avoid: Handling pets with ticks can be tricky, the most efficient approach to prevent tick exposure is to keep animals away from tick-infested regions.

Ticks prefer certain microhabitats, such as long grass or the transition between forested and lawned regions. Tick numbers are reduced when these microhabitats are destroyed.

Trimming plants and removing tall grass and weeds can help safeguard your animal. Ticks can be reduced partially by treating plants with insecticides.

7. Not spaying/neutering

When you get a pet, there is a procedure called Spaying/Neutering that is usually done to make your pets infertile. It helps to reduce the population of dogs and help you in properly handling pet.

India alone is said to have a stray dog population of 30- 40 million, and many of these dogs are not given proper treatment.

Male dogs' testicles (or gonads) are removed during neutering, a de-sexing surgery.

Castration refers to the removal of a male dog's testicles, whereas spaying refers to the sterilization of a female dog.

The ovaries and uterus of a female dog are removed in this procedure, which is known as an ovariohysterectomy.

Advantages:

· Spaying your female dog will prevent periods of her being in heat.

· Spaying your dog prevents your female canine from getting pregnant.

· Whether intentionally or accidentally, Breeding can become a significant financial and time-consuming burden for dog owners, which also comes with health risks and responsibilities.

· Paying your dog will eliminate the risk of your female dog developing cancer of her uterus, cancer of ovaries, or reproductive tract.

When these organs are removed, you will have fewer things to worry about regarding your dog's health.

8. Misinterpreting body language

Actions like tail wagging are usually interpreted as happiness. Unfortunately, it may not always be the case.

Sometimes dogs stiffen their tail and move it back and forth to show aggression. Similarly, dogs bare their teeth and growl when they're feeling aggressive, scared, or defensive, but it's also totally normal body language for them to express a play growl, too.

Eye contact might signify different things depending on the human and the dog, like in the prior case.

Humans should avoid making eye contact with puppies they have recently met as a general rule. This nonverbal communication might be regarded as a threat.

Dogs, on the other hand, are known to make eye contact with their owners when they wish to communicate.

They'll even look into the eyes of someone they trust with affection. Yawns aren't just for when dogs are sleepy.

Surprisingly, the reverse is true. When our dogs are worried, confused, or agitated, they frequently yawn.

They can also expand their jaws wide in anticipation of an exciting event, such as a stroll or a vehicle ride. When meeting new people, dogs yawn as a non-threatening soothing gesture.

How to avoid: Educate yourself! The very first step to buying/adopting a pet is educating yourself about behavioral patterns and basic dog handling techniques. The more you know, the better you get at handling pet. Its also very important to familiarize yourself with safety tools when handling animals.

9. Feeding your cats milk/only vegetarian food

Surprisingly enough, some cats, like people, have trouble digesting lactose, a milk sugar present in dairy.

This is because the only period in a cat's life when its body contains enough of the enzyme lactase to digest lactose effectively is when it is born and in its early years. This allows the cat to drink its mother's milk. Following that, lactase production decreases, potentially leading to increased digestive complications.

Cats, unlike humans, cannot thrive on a vegetarian diet. Humans are omnivores, meaning we can eat both meat and vegetables, but cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they must consume meat to survive (or at least thrive).

As a result, unlike humans, cats do not acquire much nourishment from veggies.

How to Avoid: Make sure your pet gets a balanced diet it is the most important step in handling pet. Canines need meat to survive. A good quality cat food will contain all the essential nutrients to feed your cat and keep it healthy.

10. Physically punishing pets

When you use punishment, it's simply to halt the conduct while you're around.

In fact, the pet may rapidly learn that when you are not around, the conduct does not result in punishment, and may fast learn to stop while you are present and resume when you are not.

Mild reprimand (pushing away, eye contact, talking to the dog) is interpreted by some pets as a kind of attention, reinforcing the undesired behavior.

Another major worry is that using physical punishment (striking, jabbing, pinning, rolling over, or seizing the pet's collar) may inflict unnecessary suffering and increase the pet's anxiety level when approached in the future in a similar fashion. It is one of the most common mistakes at pet.

How to avoid: Instead of penalizing what is undesired, training should focus on teaching the pet the desired reaction to get better at handling pet.

Distraction (such as a loud noise, hand clapping, or a "no") and redirection to a more acceptable activity is the greatest response if you observe your pet indulging in undesired behavior. Describe your experience handling pet.

Some concluding pointers

· Taking your pet regularly to the vet is necessary!

· A proper diet gives a healthy pet

· Learn more about the behavioral pattern before getting a pet

· Don't feed your adult cat milk

· Spaying/neutering your dog will give you and your dog a peaceful life.

How can Augie help you?

We have an ideal mix of Products and Services that can aid you in your efforts to take care of your pets. We work with different pets viz. Dogs / Cats / Other pets

You can reach out to us and we can aid you. Looking forward to working with you

Have a great Day Ahead!!

[cubeswhump]

Vampire Study: Physical Characteristics

Vampires take all shapes and forms across various forms of media. While many things vary, they all tend to share two common factors: vampires survive on blood (notable exception is the House of Night series but I don’t want to talk about that, okay?) and are largely nocturnal (notable exception is the titular Blade, but he’s chill). This would move them into the class of predators, and with no natural predators of their own, they would be classed as apex predators. I will be focusing on characteristics of various predatory land animals to see how a bipedal, humanoid mammal would adapt to a nocturnal life as a photophobic apex predator. This study will be split into eight labeled parts so feel free to skip around: sight, hearing, olfactory, dental, musculature, reproduction, digestion, and complexion.

Sight

In this study, sight is not only what we see but the structure of the eyeball and its placement that create and process the images we see. Look at the eyes of a predator and compare them to the eyes of its prey. You will see different placements (forward-facing versus sides), color, size, and pupil shapes. Even taking two different types of predators, like the small ambush predator versus large daytime predators, will present two very different sets of eyes. 

Placement: Herbivorous prey animals’ eyes will commonly be placed on the sides of their heads to watch for predators approaching from the sides AND back. Forward-facing eyes produce better depth perception which will aid in tracking and pursuing prey. This means vampires will have forward-facing eyes so no painful skull transformation is necessary. Plus that would look a bit odd.

Eye color: While eye color doesn't effect visual sharpness, it can effect comfort and clarity in different lighting. Higher concentration of melanin, or dark eyes, act as a built-in sun shade. Lower melanin, or light eyes, take in more light, but at the same time increase sensitivity. Blue eyes, having the lowest amount of melanin, are a bit too sensitive to light so you don't often see it in predators (unless you count my fifth grade bully), but you'll often see hunters with orange, yellow, or green eyes.

Eye size: Look at your cat. Do you see much white? And look how big those suckers are in that cute lil' face. Why is that? The reason might be surprising; eye size often correlates with maximum running speed. Fast animals, like cheetahs and even prey-animal horses, often have big eyes with more iris than sclera (whites) because this gives them better vision to avoid colliding with animals. Is your vampire inhumanly fast? Then I suggest increasing the eye size a bit.

Pupils: There are three main types of pupils, which are round, vertical, and horizontal. I'll start by saying your vampire does NOT have horizontal pupils. That's prey shit (I love you, goats). Round pupils are most commonly found in diurnal hunters, who often are at a greater distance from the ground and do not need to get as close to their prey do to features such as a jump, like lions, or who prey by exhausting victims, like great canines. However, you will see some round-eued nocturnal exceptions, like the aye-aye, which actually relies more on echolocation. A circular pupil, because of the way the muscle bunches, is the least effective at contracting, so this might give your vampire increased light sensitivity. Nocturnal hunters need pupils that can dilate A LOT to let in light in the dark, and slits are often used because of their effective contracting maneuver. You'll often see slitted pupils in ambush predators (i.e. predatorial animals who wait and catch their prey by surprise) too. These animals are often smaller and less-strong, which is the cause for this hunting style, but if your vampires hunt by ambushing prey, slits might be the way to go.

Pupil bonus: You'll often see pupils dilate when the animal (or even human) is really focusing on something, which can be adorable or super sinister. Watch this cat's eyes to see what I mean.

Color vision: Retinas have rods that process light and cones that process color. A nocturnal animal's retinas are almost entirely rods because color is less important when you're prowling in the dark. The effectranges from the world being comprised entirely of shades of grey to seeing dull and muted versions of the colors we see. Your vampire probably can't distinguish colors that well.

Reflection: Have you ever noticed a cat's eyes glowing in dim lighting? Many animals, especially nocturnal ones, have a layer of tissie behind the retina called the tapetum lucidum, which reflects light like a mirror. When light enters the eye, it's supposed to hit a photoreceptor that transfers information to the brain. However, it sometimes misses this photoreceptor, and as it is absolutely critical for the nocturnal animal to recieve that information to make sense of its environment, the tapetum lucidum offers a second chance by bouncing that light back to the receptor. Your vampire will probably benefit from such a function, and also it looks pretty killer. The amount of pigmentation will affect the color of the glowing effect and so will substances like zinc or riboflavin (vitamin B2) existing inside the tapetum lucidum. Cats will often have eyes that glow green, though Siamese cats' tend toward a yellow. Some animals' can even glow turquoise. Animals of the same breed with the same eye color can even produce different lights. Go wild with what color you make your vampire's eyes glow.

Conclusion: A vampire will have forward-facing eyes, typical of predators to aid in pursuing prey, with irises favoring lighter shades to take in more light in dim environments. Blue is the most sensitive to light and nocturnal predators tend to favor shades of orange, yellow, and green. Animals that run fast tend to have larger eyes to avoid obstacles, so your vampire's eye size will depend on their running speed. A layer of tissue called the tapetum lucidum will likely make your vampire's eyes glow in the dark, tending towards yellows and greens but other colors are possible. Color vision is reduced in nocturnal animals, so vampires will likely experience some form of color blindness. Pupils should be able to dilate considerably to take in more light in dim environments. Slitted pupils contract more to protect against light, so circular pupils will increase your vampire's sensitivity to light. Ambush predators tend to favor slitted pupils so if sneaking around is your vampire's style, they might have slits. It depends on how they process light and how they hunt.

Hearing

We often see vampires with pointed ears in fiction and while that probably takes basis from a vampire's association with bats, there may be an evolutionary benefit for vampires having pointed ears. There are other external ear structures that may make sense for your vampire, but much will be influenced by your narrative.

External ears in many mammalian species, especially prey, can swivel or rotate at least partially. This allows them to pinpoint the direction a noise is coming from. You might be looking for a different mobility in the predatory vampire; asymmetrical hearing is very common in nocturnal species; they will hear separately by tilting one ear forward and one back to hear noises in different directions. Consider a new vampire who can't fully control the movement of their ears.

Predators' ears tend to point forward to aid in pursuing prey.

Cupped external ears take in more sound and are common in nocturnal species, including those that use echolocation. Consider this as a possibility for your vamp, but it is not a necessity.

Some nocturnal animals (and even some blind or visually impaired humans) value hearing over sight and will use echolocation. They will produce a high pitched sound wave with their mouth, or click their tongue (seen in visually impaired humans), which will bounce off of objects to make them aware of their surroundings. They can even tell how big or small the object is with larger things giving off a high intensity and smaller things giving off a low intensity.

Pointed ears don't necessarily hear better, but they can pick up more frequencies than non-pointed ears. They are also more sensitive to changes in air movement and temperature, so they may be able to sense changes in weather before a visual effect is produced.

My vampires hunt on the ground and can't fly, but I have seen flying vampires in some media. If your vampires can fly, take a look at birds of prey; their ear structures allow amazing precision even in flight. Owls tend to have outer ears that are fixed yet asymmetrical. One ear is set forward and one is set back, with the left ear picking up sounds from below while the right picks up sounds from above.

Conclusion: Asymmetrical hearing, which is common in nocturnal animals, will benefit a vampire. Ears will likely point forward. Ears may be cupped to take in more noises or pointed to hear more frequency and sense changes in weather. Consider echolocation if your vampire depends on hearing over sight, and if your vampire can fly, one ear may be positioned forward and one may be positioned back to hear noises above and below.

Olfactory

Sense of smell is very advanced in most mammals, though we humans depend more on sight. I myself have lived with ferrets for five years and I'm what the kids would xall "nose blind". But unlike their human counterparts, vampires typically have a great sense of smell in fiction. They smell your paper cut and they're coming for you. Nocturnal anumals very commonly have a keen sense of smell because of their limited sight.

Animals that rely mostly on smell to hunt their prey are called olfactory predators. You might think that on a windless day, a predator can just follow the smell of a gory carcass, but actually, molecules that carry odors have a tendency to get displaced on a horizontal axis (notice how you can smell that cat box EVERYWHERE?), so the process of zeroing in on the source is a bit trickier. Without wind, it spreads out in a smelly radius and is strongest in the center. The smell is all around inside the radius so it's still hard to figure out where to go. It's actually easier to hunt on a windy day because of the way wind changes the shape of that odor cloud; strong wind means the plume is narrow and directional. If your vampire relies heavily on smell, windy nights are preferable.

Nocturnal animals actually rely more heavily on smell than diurnal animals. A raccoon or fox's sense of smell is as strong as our sight (well, in theory. My glasses would be an inch thick if I didn't pay for compression). This allows them to smell food up to several miles away.

It all depends on how you write your vampires. I can see reasons for your vampire to rely on hearin, rely on knowledge of human behaviors, rely on smell. Your vampire probably knows where humans frequent. However, an advanced sense of smell might allow them to catch humans that are out alone or be sure that their meal is not diseased.

The nose isn't the only structure that smell relies on. Have you ever seen an animal pull back its lips in a sort of grimace? It is actually increasing the intensity of an odor reaching an organ at the roof of its mouth called Jacobson's organ.

Conclusion: Again, it depends on the narrative you create. Does your vampire depend heavily on smell, or more on hearing? Your vampire may have a very advanced sense of smell but hunting prey using your nose has its complications. Pinpointing the sourse of the smell isn't as simple as it sounds. Or, your vampire might not even need to be able to sniff out prey depending on how you write them. Do some thinking. Whatever way you write them, you're not incorrect.

Dental

When we think of vampires, we think of fangs. Sometimes those fangs are retractable, sometimes they're permanent fixtures in the mouth. But what would be most beneficial to a mammal that survives on a liquid diet?

Most similar mammal to vampires in terms of diet is the vampire bat. There are actually three species of vampire bats: the common vampire bat, the hairy-legged vampire bat, and the white-winged fampire bat. All are adorable and have teeth suited to an entirely liquid diet. Few teeth in their heads and all teeth are sharp. No molars are needed to grind food, no incisors to cut food; all canines.

A key difference between vampire bats and vampire hominids is that vampire bats are small and only need a quick nip. Vampires are as large as humans and need at least a few pints, even litres or more a day. Thay means they need to be feeding for more than a few moments. Prey will likely struggle, so vampires need something that will keep their prey from escaping mid-feed. I propose two solutions, the first being a number of needle-like teeth of varying sizes that pierce far into the flesh abd hold the prey in place, as seen below.

Another possibility is a type of paralytic neurotoxin the vampire injects while feeding. The potency of the neurotoxin affects the aftermath. A mild one with effects that are only temporary might leave the prey still able to move very slightly, but struggle is limited greatly. A stronger one causing full-body paralysis could very possibly cause respiratory distress when the chest muscles are paralyzed as well. May numb pain or be excruciating.

Another interesting thing about vampire bats is within their saliva. Vampire bat saliva contains an enzyme that prevents the prey's blood from clotting to keep it flowing right into its mouth. Vampires would benefit from this adaptation.

Conclusion: There are two paths you can take when you go with vampire mouths. If the technique is to hold the victim in place, dental features may be very visibly inhuman with a number of needle-like teeth that pierce the skin like a bear trap. If you want your vampire to have a less freaky mouth or perhaps make them a larger threat, they might naturally inject a neurotoxin into the prey while eating. This neurotoxin attacks the nervous system and causes either partial or full paralysis. Potency will gave different effects. An enzyme within the saliva that prevents blood from clotting may also aid in feeding.

Musculature

We often picture vampires as slight in build yet possessing superhuman strength and speed. Stick with me and don't google "vampire muscle growth". Just don't. You'll find horny deviantartists. A strong and/or fast mammalian species is going to have a physique that supports this.

Speedy vamps: When you think of fast animals, your mindight go to a cheetah. Well a cheetah can reach a top speed of 113kph (70mph), the world's largest goose can fly at 142kph (88mph). That's not really relevant but I'm terrified and needed to tell someone. When looking at fast-running animals, let's look at the cheetah, longhorn antelope, wildebeest, and brown hare - in that order. I've put a visual reference below. Three of these are prey animals and one us a predator, all have different survival techniques, but they have similar physiques, you see? More lean than muscular with long legs.

Animals and humans alike tend to be more speed or more strength. A runner might be able to put up a fight, but running is its main defense or hunting technique (or Olympic skillset). Some can run for longer at a slower pace and tire out their prey. Some run very fast but lack endurance. You'll never outrun a housecat, but humans are built for endurance, so when chasing a naughty runaway cat you're supposed to walk briskly and wait for it to tire out. How does your vampire hunt?

Have you ever seen the charts comparing different athletes? Compare wrestlers Brandon Slay and Rulon Gardner in image one to sprint and longjumper Aimee Mullins and long-distance runner Deena Drossin in image three, marathoners John Kagwe and Joseph Chebet in image five. The wrestlers, based on strength and ability to chase, are broad and bulky while the ones based on speed and/or endurance in running are slim and long-limbed. Runners are rarely super muscular while strength-based musculature tends to be less defined and more bulky compared to bodybuilders whose focus is physique rather than strength. Consider builds when considering your vampire's strength and speed.

Conclusion: Your vampire probably has one main way of hunting. Following and tiring out their prey, ambush attacks that require speed and sneakiness, sprinting after a slower prey, or overpowering the prey when they catch it. Your vampire's physique will depend on its hunting style; runners are slim and long-limbed while fighters have less-defined bulky muscles.

Reproduction

It's generally accepted that vampires "reproduce" by spreading the virus. What happens to human reproduction organs? How is the virus spread?

Reproductive organs: With no use, reproductive organs may atrophy. Testes recede, erectile dysfunction is permanent, sperm and eggs die, ovaries shrivel, menstruation stops entirely (please turn me). It is completely impossible for a vampire to get pregnant or impregnate someone and sexual pleasure is probably reduced or nonexistent.

Hormonal: With atrophied testes abd ovaries, production of sex hormones is extremely limited if not entirely halted. Like children, an AFAB and AMAB vampire will have nearly equal levels of testosterone and estrogen. Facial, pubic, and underarm hair may fall out. Male and female pattern baldness may go away (in some narratives, vampires are fully harless, making fe/male pattern baldness a human peoblem). Body hair is thinner and more sparse, if present. Breast volume is reduced but not fully removed.

AMAB versus AFAB vamps: Vampires will have few, if any, sexual differences besides things like height and bone structure left over from humanity. No difference in strength or ability. Vampires are super equal. Down with sexism.

Spread of vampirism: There are multiple routes you can take with this. It may be carried in the saliva like rabies, infecting at first bite. Some writers, like Anne Rice in her Vampire Chronicles and @/breebird33's awesome Patrik the Vampire, have a sort of blood swap. After the vampire bites the intended target, the target is made to ingest the vampire's blood. Or instead of a paralytic neurotoxin, the vampire's fangs could contain a liquid virus injected into the victim.

Conclusion: Vampires do not reproduce; they infect. Sexual functions are halted, causing infertility and changes in physical characteristics. Testosterone and estrogen even out and AMAB and AFAB vampires have little difference. Instead of reproducing sexually, more vampires are created via spread of the vampiric infection. There are several ways a vampire may spread the virus; through presense in saliva, blood transfers, or infectious venom in their fangs.

Digestion

With vampires being predators, you might think to look at a carnivor's digestive tract. However, carnivores tend to ingest meat while vampires survive on a fully liquid fiet. The focus should be on the hematophagous animals, or animals that consume blood.

A female vampire bat can consume half her weight in blood in a single feeding. It's up to the author how much a vampire should consume. In aome narratives, vampires only need a few ounces at a time. Others, litres. Sometimes more than that. Figure out how much your vampire needs to consume. Does the prey need to die to feed the vampire?

If a vampire drains an entire human in one day, don't you dare tell me they stat a skinny little twig. That's five to eight litres consumed. Where does it all go to? Your vampire should plump up a little at least temporarily. Doesn't need to mean your vampire turns into a sphere like a bedbug blowing up after a feed, but a little bloating would make sense until they've digested it.

Vampire bats' (I'm so sorry I keep talking about vampire bats but I won't stop) stomachs and intestines absorb the water which is quickly transported to the kidneys and bladder. A vampire, too, will likely need to urinate briefly after feeding.

A vampire, living on a fully liquid diet, will have no need to defecate. The colon will atrophy into a vestigial organ that's just kinda there.

Having a big meal, a vampire will need some time to digest. They'll settle down for the day and digest the blood, sans water.

Biology creates a natural protection against pathogens in ingested blood. Or not, if you want a vampire sickfic.

Blood is full of proteins and lipids. Vampires should probably stay away from human food but if they want to chance it, they'd best stick to food high in protein and fats, which their bodies are more used to. Put down that milkshake or you'll regret it. A glass of water won't hurt, maybe they can even have a few bites of steak, but too much sugar or fiber and their body will do its best to expel it to prevent injury via regurgitation.

Conclusion: A vampire's digestive system must adapt to an entirely liquid diet. Function of the colon is lost as vampires will excrete solely through urination, particularly shortly after a meal. Depending on how much a vampire consumes in one feeding, bloating and a long digestion may follow. A natural protection against bloodborne pathogens may or may not be present. Human food should be avoided but foods high in fat and proteins and low in fiber and sigar may not cause TOO MUCH trouble.

Complexion

Vampires are just pale, right? That might work, in theory, if vampirism was only found in European and certain Asian populations, but that wouldn't make any sense. If your dark-skinned vampire turns white I'm out. Not only is that bad science, but it's pretty racist. So what can we do about complexion to keep our undead from looking too lively?

One tumblr user based the change in skin color that affects vampires on livor mortis, or the blueish-purple color seen in dead bodies when there is no circulation, allowing blood to pool.

If you've looked at artistic tutorials, you may have noticed a lot of talk about undertones. Check out this tutorial on skin bases and undertones for a general idea of what I'm talking about. Consider leaving the base skin color the same and changing the undertone to something like blue or grey to give the skin an unnatural coloration without changing it entirely - and do NOT only do this for your dark-skinned characters. You can't have a greyish dark-skinned vampire and then a perfectly normal pretty caucasian character with rosy cheeks or you're uninvited to my birthday party.

Conclusion: Vampires are associated with paleness, but that excludes or whitewashes dark-skinned characters, which is not cool. And also turning your black characters caucasian makes no sense?? But there are two ways I've highlighted to help your vampires look a bit less lively without being racist. You can base the palor off of livor mortis, or the blueish-purple discoloration of skin found in corpses, or you can keep the base skin tone based on pigmentation while changing the undertone to something a bit less lively.